About Pittsburg / Crawford County, Kansas

Located in southeast Kansas, Crawford County is shaped by industry, education, entrepreneurship, and growing confidence in what rural communities can build. At its center is Pittsburg, a university city and regional hub whose concentration of businesses, institutions, and civic investment gives the wider county a strong foundation for innovation and economic growth.

Over the past several years, a close partnership among the City of Pittsburg, Pittsburg State University, and the Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce has helped create a new kind of momentum. One of the clearest examples is Block22, a downtown redevelopment that brought together student housing, entrepreneurship resources, commercial activity, and community gathering space. Inside Block22, The Foundry provides entrepreneurs, , students, and growing businesses with a place to connect, while the Pitsco Idea Shop adds hands-on opportunities for creativity, prototyping, and learning.

That momentum is continuing to reshape downtown Pittsburg.  Its mix of locally owned shops, restaurants, entertainment, university activity, and new investment has strengthened the city’s role as a gathering place for the broader region. The Kelce College of Business at Pittsburg State University relocated downtown, bringing hundreds of students closer to local businesses, entrepreneurs, and community organizations. Investment in projects such as the historic Besse Hotel as student housing and community-facing services, and the creation of PointForward, a community development fund focused on needs including housing and childcare, further demonstrate how local partners are connecting economic development with quality of place. Together, these efforts reflect a community increasingly willing to think big, invest collaboratively, and connect economic development with the places where people live, learn, and build businesses.

Those visible investments in Pittsburg sit within a much broader countywide ecosystem. Entrepreneurs can access advising through the Kansas Small Business Development Center, financing and support through Network Kansas, and a growing network of business and civic partners. Southeast Kansas CTEC connects high school students, college students, and adult learners with hands-on technical education, while Greenbush helps extend STEM learning, career exposure, and educational resources to schools throughout the region. Pittsburg State provides talent, expertise, and employer connections, while local banks, school districts, philanthropic organizations, and the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas add additional capacity.

Crawford County’s vision is to connect those strengths so residents throughout the county can more easily see local opportunity and have clear ways to pursue it.

Community Partners

 

Pittsburg State University

Pittsburg State University is a regional public university rooted in hands-on learning, academic excellence, and community engagement. Through education, workforce development, entrepreneurship, and partnerships with businesses and civic organizations, Pitt State serves as one of Crawford County’s most important sources of talent, expertise, and economic connection.

Southeast Kansas Career and Technical Education Center

Southeast Kansas CTEC expands access to high-quality career and technical education for students and adults across southeast Kansas. Built through a public-private partnership and working with WSU Tech, CTEC gives learners hands-on pathways into skilled careers while helping local employers develop the workforce they need to grow.

City of Pittsburg

The City of Pittsburg works to make Pittsburg a strong place to live, work, build a business, and invest. Through partnerships spanning economic development, downtown revitalization, housing, infrastructure, entrepreneurship, and quality of place, the city has become an important convener and catalyst for growth across the wider region.

Kansas Small Business Development Center at Pittsburg State University

The Kansas Small Business Development Center at Pittsburg State University provides personalized advising and practical support to entrepreneurs and small businesses throughout southeast Kansas. From business planning and market analysis to financial projections and loan readiness, the SBDC helps founders and business owners turn ideas into informed next steps.

Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas

The Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas connects charitable giving with opportunities to strengthen communities across the region. Since 2001, the Foundation has helped donors invest in local organizations and priorities that improve quality of life and create lasting community impact.

Greenbush

Greenbush — The Southeast Kansas Education Service Center helps rural schools and communities access educational opportunities, shared services, and specialized programming that would often be difficult to provide independently. Its work spans student learning, educator support, STEM and career exploration, and community partnerships throughout Southeast Kansas.

Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce

The Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce has served as a voice and connector for the local business community since 1897. Through advocacy, business support, workforce initiatives, economic development partnerships, and community engagement, the Chamber helps businesses grow while strengthening Pittsburg’s role as an economic center for the broader county.

“We are excited for the opportunity to educate ourselves and our community on how tech innovation fits into our ecosystem, so that we can create a welcoming space for tech-based entrepreneurs.”

Amy Sawyer, Business Advisor, Kansas SBDC at Pittsburg State University

What Being a Member of the Network Means to Pittsburg / Crawford County

Pittsburg and Crawford County are entering the Rural Innovation Network with substantial momentum already in place. The region has a major university, a growing downtown entrepreneurship hub, technical training resources, committed civic institutions, strong business-support organizations, and a track record of partners coming together to pursue ambitious ideas.

Network membership creates an opportunity to build on those strengths while learning more about how technology-driven entrepreneurship can fit within the region’s evolving economy. It connects local partners with rural communities across the country that are also working to support founders, build technical talent, create stronger pathways between education and employment, and make innovation accessible beyond major metropolitan centers.

For Crawford County, the opportunity is also geographic. Pittsburg will continue to play an important role as the county’s center for higher education, entrepreneurship, business services, and civic investment, while the wider goal is to make those resources and opportunities increasingly visible and useful throughout Girard and the county’s smaller communities. The result can be an innovation ecosystem that benefits from a strong regional anchor while creating more ways for people across Crawford County to participate.