KEY QUOTE: "Since IKE was founded, the two funds have awarded nearly $50 million in grants and matching community contributions to improvement projects," Kelly said. "By providing funding to rehabilitate and build newer lines, these two funds in a sense have unclogged the arteries of commerce in Kansas. We’re seeing this here at Monarch."

Governor Kelly cements focus on infrastructure while visiting Humboldt

- Kelly unveiled plans pertaining to the latest round of funding for the 2022 Kansas Rail Improvement Fund, awarding $11.5 million for 17 short line rail projects. The Kansas Rail Service Improvement Fund and the Short Line Rail Improvement Fund are overseen by the Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program, also known as IKE.

- "The core value of IKE is collaboration, and each grantee must agree to fund 40 percent of the improvement project," Kelly said. "That means everyone, from the state to the individual companies, has a stake in the project’s success."

- "A modernized rail network empowers shippers to keep our economy moving in the right direction," she said. "It strengthens our state’s position as a national logistics hub, and enables our Kansas ranchers and farmers who feed the world to get their products to market that much faster."

- "Kelly noted that she has always championed infrastructure improvement projects, and that it’s a top priority for her administration. I was in the state Senate before I became governor, and watched what happened when we were not investing in infrastructure," she said.