Ten to 15 buildings and a facility that uses an amount of electricity equal to a third of the capacity of Jeffrey Energy Center. Those are some of the specifications of a proposed data center in Pottawatomie County that members of the county’s planning commission have heard so far. Beltline Energy, the Atlanta-based developer brokering the deal, has said that it wants to build a large-scale data center near Jeffrey Energy Center, a power plant north of St. Marys that’s owned by Evergy, and sell to another company. Beltline reps have held meetings to lay out some of their plans, but [...]

City commissioners debated proposed revisions to Manhattan’s workforce housing sales tax policy Tuesday night. Commissioners pushed back against removing certain requirements and references to workforce housing, which was meant to give the commission more discretion on a case-by-case basis. “The whole rationale for having a policy is to have a set of standards … that our developers can be looking at,” Mayor Susan Adamchak said. The discussion focused heavily on how to define affordability targets, how strictly to cap income eligibility and whether the program should prioritize ownership, rental development or a mix of both. Read more: News Radio KMAN

Starting next year, the outdoor country music and camping event Country Stampede Kansas will be held at the newly opened Gilley’s Gambling Hall in Park City, Kansas. Kustom Entertainment Inc., a live entertainment and music festival company, announced a multi-year partnership agreement with Gilley’s to produce and host music festivals throughout spring, summer, and fall seasons beginning in 2027. Read more: News Radio KMAN

Newton could soon have a common consumption district in the downtown. The Newton City Commission heard a recommendation from its Main Street Board to designate an area that roughly follows the Downtown Business District as an area where alcohol can be consumed in public. “The number one business people have wanted to see in our community was a brewery,” Choose Newton/Main Street Kansas Coordinator Jen Lehman said. “Something like this can be seen as an incentive, if we already have something like this in place.” The City of Newton already has common consumption outlined in its city code. However, the city [...]

Newton resident Meagan Waltner used to wait until her two children ate to eat. If there were leftovers, she ate something. If not, she didn’t. That was around 2009, when she raised two kids as a single mom. What’s going on with the economy now reminds her of what it was like then. Now, her children are grown, and one lives at home. She’s having trouble making ends meet. “I’m working right now,” she said. “I’m not getting as many clients as I need, so things are really tight.” She’s a therapist at a group practice and is self-employed. Sometimes, she [...]

A federal plan to reduce flood risk of Turkey Creek in downtown Merriam may require up to a decade of additional planning and construction, as well as the removal of 17 buildings. After four years of design work and $6.5 million, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers revealed 65% of its plans for flood mitigation in downtown Merriam — namely, 740 feet of levee, more than 6,000 feet of floodwall and the replacement of both the Merriam and Johnson Drive bridges. The city of Merriam has yet to sign onto the Corps’ plan, and is simultaneously mulling a flood mitigation plan [...]

For the past year, Madison Moore has managed to bring a piece of Hawaii to landlocked Johnson Countians. Her love story with baking started early, in a junior high economics class. She got a KitchenAid mixer after that, and began whipping up baked goods for her family and friends. Today, her Hawaiian-inspired baked goods have worked up a following by making appearances at farmers markets in Lenexa and Mission. This winter, her bakery, Mahalo Mornings, will start a new chapter further south. Madison Moore and her father, Tim Moore, plan to open Mahalo Mornings’ new cafe in downtown Olathe by the [...]

News that England’s national team will stay in Prairie Village while training for the World Cup created a stir when it hit in February. But now that the team’s arrival is imminent, England fans and ex-pats are wondering if they’ll have any chance to glimpse their standard bearers in person. They also say they don’t expect mobs of the team’s supporters — who have a long-standing reputation for, shall we say, passionate revelry — to descend on Johnson County. The problem is, none of England’s group stage matches take place in Kansas City. Even if the team comes out on top, [...]

When it came time to cut the ribbon at the opening of the new Overland Park Farmers’ Market space in the Clock Tower Landing area, city officials were surprised by the size of the crowd. “We did not anticipate this many people being this excited,” said Bryan Toben, director of the city’s parks and recreation department, to the assembled group. Part of what makes it more accessible than the old space is that part of the construction involved flattening out what used to be a 10 to 12-foot grade change from the top to the bottom of the market area, just [...]

The Manhattan City Commission, with a 5-0 vote, approved a resolution that opposes the suggested incorporation of the City of Green Valley in Pottawatomie County. The resolution will be submitted for Pottawatomie’s Board of County Commissioners June 11th public hearing.   If approved by Pottawatomie County, the area would become its own municipality with authority over local governance matters, rather than remaining solely under Pottawatomie County jurisdiction. Read more: KCLY Radio