In the wake of Monday mornings announcement that the Board of Osage County Commissioners have decided to close all county-owned properties, Executive Director for Osage County Tourism, Kelly Bland, still said Osage County is a bright spot for people to come visit.

Bland said the tourism board had been following the lead of the Pioneer Woman Mercantile in terms of promotion. It was announced Monday afternoon that the Pioneer Woman Mercantile would be closed through Saturday, March 28^th. This will change the way Bland operates moving forward.

Bland recently returned from a successful trip in St. Louis where she got to mingle with more than 40,000 people. She was scheduled to go to a trip in northwest Arkansas this month, but she said that has been postponed until further noticed.

The board approved Bland to use $2,500 to advertise the Ben Johnson Memorial Steer Roping Event in June.