These Rural Americans Are Trying to Hold Back the Tide of AI
Fearing rising utility costs, job losses and privacy violations, residents have blocked or delayed data-center projects around the country. Read more: Wall Street Journal
Matt Stiles ready to begin as Saline County administrator
A Kansas native, Stiles has served in city governments in his home state for nearly 20 years, and is excited about the opportunity to take on this new challenge at the county level. Read more: Salina Journal
AG Opinion 2026-2: State and local cooperation with ICE
Synopsis: K.S.A. 12-16,140 and 12-16,141 obligate state and local law enforcement officers to cooperate with federal immigration officials and to honor ICE detainer requests on the basis of such cooperation. State and local law enforcement officers are also authorized to arrest illegal aliens in cooperation with federal immigration officials. Read more: Kansas Attorney General Opinion 2026-2
City staff to gather feedback from Lawrence commission on whether to repeal clean energy ordinance, citing ‘unrealistic’ goals and timeline
Lawrence has already fallen short of its 2025 goal for fully powering municipal operations with renewable energy, and city staff say this, along with other targets, is unrealistic and lacks a clear path on how to achieve them. Now, staff want to recommend repealing an ordinance passed in 2020 outlining all of these goals. Read more: LJWorld.com
City Manager – Kingman, KS (Review 03-01-2026)
Reporting directly to the City Commission, the City Manager is responsible for the overall administration of City government and supervision of department heads. The City Manager plays a critical role in budget development, infrastructure planning, and organizational leadership. Key responsibilities include: Directing and coordinating all City departments and operations Preparing and administering the annual budget Providing leadership in public finance and long-term fiscal planning Overseeing infrastructure planning, capital improvement projects, and utility operations Managing human resources functions, including recruitment, employee relations, and organizational development Advising the City Commission on policy matters and operational impacts Promoting transparency, accountability, and effective communication throughout [...]
Company leaders discuss why they chose Newton
Why is Hillsboro Industries in Newton? Housing, for one. Last week, local elected officials, city staff, business owners and others involved in economic development heard from and asked questions to a panel including GAF VP Tommy Richardson and Hillsboro Industries CEO Michael Gerkin. Both individuals answered the question about what made Newton attractive to their companies. “Newton had a strategic plan, and Newton’s doing housing,” he said. Gerkin said the lack of available housing made them begin to look outside of Hillsboro, where the company began. As part of their search, they traveled up and down I-135, considering a location. Read [...]
Panasonic explores data center-related production in De Soto as EV sales slow
Panasonic is exploring a potential shift at its De Soto battery plant as electric-vehicle sales slow and artificial intelligence data centers create new energy storage opportunities. Read more: Kansas City Business Journal
House Committee Considers Bill to Move Kansas Local Elections to Even-Numbered Years to Boost Voter Turnout
On Tuesday, the House Elections Committee held hearings on House Bill 2452, a proposal to increase accountability in local government by moving all Kansas elections to even-numbered years. Currently, most local elections are held in odd-numbered years, often seeing voter turnout below 20 percent and even falling into the single digits in many communities. The bill aims to boost participation and ensure elected officials are accountable to a broader electorate. Chairman Pat Proctor noted that a previous effort to move local elections from spring to November in odd years failed to increase turnout, with some areas still seeing fewer than 10 [...]
What towns will Biking Across Kansas go through this year?
Organizers released the route map for this year’s Biking Across Kansas on Saturday. The annual group bike ride from one end of the state to the other will take place in June. This year’s route will travel from the Colorado border to the Missouri border on a southern path. The route mainly travels along U.S. Highway 160 Highway, with some deviations onto U.S. 56, U.S. 400 and other highways along the way. Read more: KSN-TV
City of Lawrence staff to propose new climate neutrality resolution
City of Lawrence staff will make recommendations to commissioners to repeal a 2020 renewable energy ordinance and instate a new resolution aiming to attain climate neutrality by 2050, which would be tied to a countywide climate plan. Kathy Richardson, the city’s sustainability director, said that climate neutrality is defined by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and avoiding greenhouse gas use in government operations and throughout the community. This would mean Lawrence has a net-zero emission level. The resolution hasn’t been drafted yet, as staff members want to first gauge commissioners’ interest in pursuing a revised project while sunsetting the ordinance. Read more: [...]