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Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Nov 11, 2007

Four new signs made from native Kansas limestone now welcome visitors to the Flint Hills.

Each is 25 feet wide, 9 feet high and weighs 30 tons. Westbound travelers on I-70 will be greeted near Maple Hill, and eastbound travelers will see their greeting on the west side of Junction City. The north and south signs are on the Kansas Turnpike at Emporia and Cassoday.

"The new welcome signs will help the millions of travelers who pass through this area get a sense of the magnitude of the land they are crossing," said Deb Miller, secretary of the Kansas Department of Transportation. She spoke at the Nov. 2 dedication of the signs, which was at the Konza Prairie Overlook five miles north of I-70 on K-177 highway.

The Konza Prairie is the state's main site for research on the tallgrass prairie that covers Kansas' Flint Hills. The Flint Hills Scenic Byway runs from Council Grove to Cassoday on K-177.

Another nearby scenic road is the Native Stone Scenic Byway that runs from near Alma to Dover. It offers views of fences and buildings made from native stone.

"These monuments demonstrate the power of collaboration in pursuit of a common goal," said Linda Craighead, executive director of the Flint Hills Tourism Coalition. "In this case, it was a shared love of the Flint Hills by citizens of the 22 Flint Hills counties, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Commerce's Travel and Tourism team and the governor."

THE COST: KDOT funded the signs with $294,000 from federal Transportation Enhancement funds. Olson Associates, of Overland Park, designed the monument welcome signs, and R.F.B. Construction Co. Inc., of Pittsburg, did the construction and installation.