Approved Ponca City projects for the Oklahoma Innovation Expansion Program (OIEP) were announced earlier this month. Four companies were accepted into the program for employee tax funding projects for new equipment and construction in the amount of $380,365.00 One of the applicants was bumped up to a bigger program and received $200,000 for their project. The total funding of $580,365.00 will result in an economic impact of $1.9 million for Ponca City. This program is open to......

The New Worldclass Phillips 66 Safety Training Center had its official ribbon cutting this week. Carl Perkins, Refinery General Manager gave a huge thank you to all involved getting this training facility from concept to reality in about a year. The project team is pictured behind him. "This new training facility is world class," Perkins stated. "Phillips 66 is investing not only in our employees and contractors, but all facilities these contractors go on to work at when they leave Ponca City." Boasting a halocave for training (very cool), hazard simulations, an 80 seat training room and much more, this training facility will bolster the Ponca City reputation of safety in the refining/midstream world.

PCDA Staff and Mayor Wagner braved Las Vegas to attend the International Council of Shopping Center (ICSC) tradeshow. This massive show attracts international retailers, countries and communities to connect with each other for three days each May in Las Vegas. The Christmas ornament they are pictured in is not even the biggest one! Meetings were met; Ponca City was talked about, questions were answered and 25,000 steps a day were done to get to all the booths. Exciting times for Ponca City! Stay tuned for new developments.

While a large part of the U.S. workforce is employed for a traditional 40-hour a week schedule, according to Statista, approximately 34% of the workforce is made of gig workers, with half of that number being employed part time. This includes those who work as independent contractors of freelancers, as well as those who use online platforms for gig work. One of the many reasons for this high number of gig workers is childcare. Another, but right in line with childcare, is flexibility. There are many pros and cons for the rise of gig work and workers, both for those that choose to engage and businesses looking to recruit gig workers. Could your company need some gig workers? Find out what makes it so attractive....

Taking place from May 12–16, the week recognizes and honors the dedicated work of economic developers and their contributions to communities around the world. Ponca City Development Authority is proud to be part of this great international organization and participate in the 2025 Economic Development Week, a global initiative led by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). This year PCDA celebrates our partners....

The Ponca City Main Street hosted Tools for your Business on Tuesday this week, bringing together small businesses and local resources. The local resources may have done more networking, but that benefits all of us, yes? SBA, Pioneer Technology Business & Industry, Oklahoma Department of Commerce and many others were in attendance. Thank you to everyone who participated, and special thanks to Ponca City Main Street for hosting the event.

Staff love visitors to City Central. With the addition of Sunny Creek Trading Post, field trips and out of town visitors are a regular thing now. Last week there was also the Young Artists Display which was AMAZING! Such talented kiddos we have here in Ponca City.

FYI. Sunny Creek Trading Post will be closed next Thursday, May 15th. They are receiving an award in OKC! More news on that to come!

Economically speaking, a vibrant downtown makes for a vibrant city but also serves as a hub for commerce. We pay our bills downtown. Grandparents mail packages to their grandchildren downtown. My husband is gonna buy me that ring I really want in the jewelry store downtown, I just know it. And we still have fun things to do downtown like Main Street Ladies Night, Ice on the Plaza and Crazy Days. We still have parades for the rodeo, Veterans Day and Christmas. Hundreds of people work downtown, we shop downtown, we eat downtown......