Blue Cross and Blue Shield's Pathways to Healthy Kansas program has awarded the Ottawa Memorial Auditorium $50,000. The money will help remake the kitchen in the Exhibition Hall as an incubator kitchen for community use. The auditorium received the check on May 8.

Auditorium Director Tiffany Evans said the plan is a flexible kitchen, built to commercial standards, that can serve many needs in town. Along with classes, staff hope to use it for entertainment and events. Evans said demand for the basement kitchen has risen sharply in recent years.

At the May 6 commission meeting, City Clerk Melissa Scherman announced a $10,000 Sunflower Foundation award for wayfinding and signs on the Prairie Spirit and Flint Hills trails, plus a second $50,000 Pathways award for trail improvements.

For details, see KOFO's report on the kitchen grant and the commission minutes for May 6 and May 13.