Capital city to host industry summit

Business news has been breaking furiously in recent weeks.

The Federal Reserve raised rates 0.25 percent, as expected, and more aggressive rate hikes are expected. The Dow dropped this week amid fears the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump would push a trade war. It closed at 23,533.2 on Friday, still up more than 3,700 points from its level at Trump's inauguration.

Locally, last week brought just over three days of Westar Energy hearings, and by June 5 the Kansas Corporation Commission will issue a decision on the proposed merger of equals with Great Plains Energy.

The Kansas Department of Labor on Friday released its labor report, showing the state had a 3.4 percent unemployment rate in February, down from 3.5 percent the previous month. The rate also was lower than the 3.8 percent from February 2017. Nonfarm jobs increased by 500 from January to February.

"Kansas is experiencing a tight labor market with low unemployment and increased demand for labor as reflected in recent gains in jobs, hours, and real earnings,” said Justin McFarland, labor market information director.

From February 2017, the state gained 7,700 seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs, which includes 6,000 private sector jobs.

The Topeka metropolitan statistical area, which includes Shawnee, Jackson, Jefferson, Osage and Wabaunsee counties, has an unemployment rate of 4.1 percent in February, up from 3.7 percent in January.

Workforce shortages are impacting area businesses. By far the most common concern when I talk to business owners, from construction to engineers to retail and restaurant owners, is lack of skilled workers, which can inhibit their ability to grow their businesses. The Kansas Hospital Association identified workforce as one of its critical issues, saying, "Combined pressures — a shrinking workforce, an aging population, financial concerns, increased demand and other stresses — have translated into a severe personnel deficit."

Multiple initiatives in the area seek to make inroads into this challenge that affects the area economy, including the East Topeka Learning Center and Forge. The workforce pillar in Momentum 2022 will continue to explore what can be done locally to build a workforce that will meet needs.

Also this week, spring blew in, styled in true Kansas fashion, which means cold to warm, lots of wind and some warm sunshine, often in the same day. It's my favorite time of year, perfect for haunting some of the Topeka restaurants and bars with outdoor seating, wandering downtown and shooting photos of wildlife at Lake Shawnee.

I'll see you outside.

Summit set for May 10

Visit Topeka will host a daylong sales, marketing, service and hospitality summit featuring best-selling author Jay Baer and advertising executive and author Tom Martin.

The event came about to meet the needs of the robust industries in the capital city that support the featured industries, said Amy McCarter, spokeswoman for the Greater Topeka Partnership. She encouraged anyone interested in sales, marketing and hospitality in the community to attend.

“We are beyond excited to take National Travel & Tourism Week to a new level in industry in Topeka is the front-line, first impression for visitors," McCarter said. "Bringing in two world renowned speakers on customer service and sales and kicking off our certification program is our way ensuring we are offering the best service we can. The best part is that these two speakers will also benefit all local sales- and marketing-focused businesses in Topeka.”

The speakers will kick off the the summit, McCarter said.

"We thought it would be amazing if we could bring in these two big names within that field," she said. "Especially Jay Baer, who really does cater to sales and marketing and service and hospitality. Tom Martin talks more about sales. Those are really interesting guys."

People holding the first 1,000 tickets sold to attend the event, to be held at the Topeka Performing Arts Center, will receive a book written by each of the speakers. Everyone in attendance will receive Martin's "Hug Your Haters."

Also at the summit, Visit Topeka will unveil a new “Topeka Tourism Specialist” program, in which participants qualify for certification by attending educational conferences, trainings, visiting local attractions and reading a book relevant to tourism. Those completing the program will become certified tourism specialists.

Guilt Free Frozen Yogurt store opens

A new frozen yogurt store opened Friday at 2855 S.W. Wanamaker Road.

Guilt Free Frozen Yogurt touts a healthy yogurt option that includes active probiotic cultures and non-fat frozen yogurt sweetened with natural fructose and no table sugar, said owner Rick Miller. His wife and daughter-in-law own Gyroville, which is located in the same building.

"We opened GF Frozen Yogurt because we wanted to offer a healthy dessert option to complement the healthy Greek food offered by Gyroville," Miller said. "We decided to open a second food business on the east side of our space because we sometimes need overflow seating for Gyroville customers. We are installing a 4-foot open doorway between the two businesses so that customers can sit on either side."

Miller said Guilt Free isn't a franchise.

"We offer a frozen Greek yogurt, which has a different taste and texture that many customers love. We offer a sugar-free frozen yogurt sweetened with Stevia, which is a healthy plant-based sweetener. And we are most excited to offer two non-dairy, lactose-free frozen yogurts because so many people are lactose intolerant. We offer a double chocolate and mango flavor non-dairy frozen yogurt," he said.

Only healthy toppings, such as nuts, carob chips, coconut, banana chips and strawberries, will be offered. The syrups, including the standard flavors of chocolate, caramel, raspberry and blueberry, contain no sugar or preservatives.

Miller said he was inspired to open the store because he wanted Topekans to have healthy dessert options.

"The frozen yogurt industry became very popular with the opening of the first TCBY store in 1981," he said. "Sales began to decline in the mid-1990s and many stores were closed. The industry revived in 2005 with the opening of Pinkberry, but frozen yogurt sales have started to decline again nationwide."

He believes there are two reasons for the decline. Many stores opened without including "frozen yogurt" in their name, so consumers don't know what product they offer, he said. Second, most don't offer sugar-free or dairy-free yogurts and do offer such toppings as gummy bears and candy bars, which aren't healthy.

"The industry seems to have forgotten that customers flocked to frozen yogurt stores in the 1980s because they were looking for a healthy alternative to ice cream," Miller said. "We expect that GF Frozen Yogurt will be very popular in Topeka because we offer a delicious, healthy dessert option that customers want."