The Overland Park Police Department announced an update Wednesday to the departments policy on using automated license plate readers. OPPD said automated license plate readers (ALPRs) are tools that help officers find stolen vehicles, spot vehicles used in serious crimes, etc. The department announced Wednesday it met with a host of community groups and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to alter some use guidelines. Read more: KSHB News

The company behind one of the hyperscale data center proposal projects in De Soto, Kansas, announced it is preparing to provide direct credits of up to $1,000 for every household in the city. Digital Realty is preparing its 300-acre site for a data center at Astra Enterprise Park near the Panasonic Plant. Construction is expected to start in 2027. Beale Infrastructure has started construction on its data center campus down the road from Panasonic and Digital Realty's site. But even with the promise of Digital Realty's money, neighbors are still skeptical of what the project could mean for their everyday life. [...]

Kansas Main Street State Director Drew Simpson told a packed Quarterly Downtown Meet & Greet on Tuesday that enforcing building codes on vacant downtown properties and retaining a well-paid Main Street director are essential to the city's downtown revitalization efforts. Simpson, who spent 10 years with the Georgia Main Street program before taking the Kansas post, said he had never seen so many people at a community meeting. Lindsay Madison, president and CEO of the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, gave Simpson a tour of downtown before he spoke. Simpson said Kansas Main Street will make a baseline visit next [...]

The city’s planning commission on Tuesday hashed out initial regulatory framework for local data centers in Hutchinson, focusing on eight topics that are now guiding efforts to create permanent zoning rules for the hotly debated developments. Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune

Nine new black squirrel statues will be unveiled during Black Squirrel Fall Fest Oct. 24 in downtown Marysville. The unveiling begins at 3 p.m., kicking off an afternoon and evening of activities for all ages. Read more: www.marysvilleonline.net

Downtown Marysville has officially earned a place on the National Register of Historic Places, recognizing the district’s architectural heritage while opening up new opportunities for investment in its historic buildings. Read more: www.marysvilleonline.net

Violators of Prairie Village’s e-bike and e-scooter ordinance are now more likely to get a citation instead of just a warning. After more than a year of educating the community about new restrictions on e-bikes and e-scooters, the Prairie Village Police Department now plans to move “to a more aggressive enforcement, including citations,” according to an Oct. 1 city email. Kids riding e-bikes and e-scooters — and even faster-moving e-motorcycles that require a driver’s license — have become an increasingly prominent trend across Johnson County. And safety concerns have grown alongside that, especially as parents of kids struck by cars have [...]

The potential for a “drastically different” downtown Merriam may come with the cost of a new municipal sales tax. On Monday, City Administrator Chris Engel outlined an early proposal to the Merriam City Council for a potential sales tax ballot initiative to put before voters, aimed at helping pay for a not-yet-finalized downtown makeover. Read more: Johnson County Post

Federal Reserve officials expect they will raise interest rates again before the end of the year to head off inflation that has run above target for more than five years, according to meeting minutes released Wednesday. But the meeting summary provided no indication of when specifically that policymakers expected to raise benchmark rates – only that persistently higher prices and a stable labor market likely would lead to a second hike this year. Read more: CNBC Bonds

The Overland Park Police Department has tightened guidelines around the use of the city’s 37 stationary automated license plate readers and 110 vehicle mounted cameras. “While automated license plate reader technology has been a part of Overland Park’s public safety efforts since 2011, evolving technological capabilities require our policy to evolve alongside them,” police spokesperson Officer John Lacy said in a statement to KCUR. The new regulations ban the use of automated license plate reader data to gather information on free speech or religious activity. Cameras are prohibited within “100 feet of any place of worship, polling place, or medical facility.” Read [...]