Manhattan economy strong minus students
8:46 p.m. Monday, May 19, 2008
Scanners are beeping. Cash registers are ringing. And retailers say the summer looks like it'll be profitable.
Yet while stores are relatively busy, thousands of college students have left the Little Apple.
About 20,000 K-State students live in Manhattan during the school year, but when summer approaches, many students head back to their hometowns, leaving Manhattan in the dust. Despite the number of students leaving the area, some retailers say they've seen an increase in sales.
"Definitely, since our troops have come back to the area, it has definitely offset our college students leaving," said Janice Tronsgard of Target.
Usually the city seems a blip on the economic radar, but not this year. To help maintain profits, Tronsgard says Target actually tailors its sales to work with the 7,500 troops expected to return to the area this year.
"They've really been a big support of our store, so we're making sure we have what they want as well when they come in," Tronsgard said. "Items for them to move back into their homes or to purchase new homes have really been a big driver of sales."
Though businesses notice the student population change, residents also experience a different type of Manhattan.
"Well, traffic's been busy the past few days, but it seems that there's less and less," K-State grad student Lance Kaminski said. "I think it'll be good, less crowded when I go out to eat or something like that."
"It's a lot less busy and it's a small-town feel during the summer, rather than college students everywhere and there's not as much trouble going on really," life-long Manhattan resident Sara Boatman said.
Target says the biggest sales during the summer happen around Mother's Day, the Fourth of July and Country Stampede at the end of June .
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