County Of Grant

County of Grant, a Kansas county government entity headquartered in Ulysses, operates as a federal grant recipient (76% of recent awards) focused on airport infrastructure and public health programming. The county does not hold federal contracts and does not serve as a prime contractor on any federal contract vehicles; all federal activity flows through grant awards from civilian agencies and sub-award pass-throughs from state health departments and research institutions.

County of Grant's federal footprint centers on two capability areas: airport infrastructure improvement and local health administration. On the airport side, the Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration Central Region has funded four runway and taxiway reconstruction projects at the Johnson City and Ulysses, Kansas airports between 2023 and 2026 under the Airport Improvement Program (CFDA 20.116). Representative awards include a $592,096.67 project grant (June 12, 2023, ultimate completion June 11, 2027) to reconstruct runway lighting and install runway identifier lights and precision approach path indicators, covering 79.76% of total project costs; a $261,603.33 project grant (June 16, 2023, ultimate completion June 15, 2027) for runway lighting reconstruction and vertical/visual guidance system installation, covering 20.24% of project costs; and a $430,033.68 project grant (July 31, 2026, ultimate completion July 30, 2030) to reconstruct six airfield signs and parallel taxiway lighting. The county also received $270,000 in American Rescue Plan Act economic relief funding from FAA (awarded November 16, 2021, completion November 15, 2025) to support airport operations and COVID-19 mitigation.

On the public health side, County of Grant operates as a sub-recipient under pass-through agreements with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the University of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute. Sub-award activity includes administration of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) under two awards from KDHE (October 1, 2024 and April 1, 2026) covering staff salaries, eligibility determination, nutrition education, and program operations; support for a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention community health worker initiative (August 28, 2024) connecting Latino community members to breastfeeding resources; and a KDHE public health workforce and infrastructure grant (January 26, 2024) addressing organizational improvement and health equity. The county also received FEMA disaster assistance following a March 2023 storm event that removed surface material from eleven miles of county roads.

Federal activity shows modest and intermittent award volume—two to three awards annually over the past five years—with $5.7 million in combined obligated dollars across twenty-one total awards. The FAA Central Region accounts for the vast majority of recent awards and dollars, with the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, CDC, and FEMA comprising the remainder of the active customer set.