This morning the Kansas Senate approved an amendment co-written by 36th District Senator Allen Schmidt, of Hays, which will add Hodgeman County to a list of state Rural Opportunity Zones (ROZ’s).“Many of the counties on the Rural Opportunity Zone list have seen population declines of less than 5 percent in the last decade. Meanwhile, Hodgeman County has suffered a nearly 9 percent population decline,” Schmidt said. “By supporting this amendment, my goal was to give Hodgeman County the same benefits as bordering Edwards, Lane, Ness, and Rush counties.”