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, their knockout games would be in Atlanta, Mexico City, Miami, or the final in New Jersey if they go that far, according to an ESPN sports analysis.
Read more: Johnson County Post

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 off Santa Fe Drive, behind the iconic clock tower. To get up to the new Clock Tower Landing area, visitors can use stairs or a ramp. Other amenities include more bathrooms, increasing from two to 12 stalls with an additional family restroom. The change also provides some added bonuses for vendors, with shade in the summer, heat in the winter and numerous places to plug in equipment such as refrigeration units and cooking gear.
Read more: Johnson County Post

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

The Hutchinson Planning Commission voted Tuesday, June 9, to recommend temporary zoning requirements for large-scale data centers and utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) in order to give the city time to make permanent regulations. If the Hutchinson City Council approves the proposed temporary regulations at its July 7 meeting, the city will prohibit large-scale data centers and utility-scale BESS in all residential districts and require conditional use permits for them in commercial and industrial zoning districts but would permit BESS used for on-site needs and server rooms serving a main use at the same location.
Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune

In a rare public appearance Wednesday, the Las Vegas casino magnate and Wichita businessman Phil Ruffin outlined his vision for his Gilley’s entertainment complex in Park City after recently securing the popular Country Stampede music festival. Gilley’s will partner with the Lenexa-based Kustom Entertainment (NASDAQ:KUST) to produce and host music festivals throughout 2027, including the three-day Country Stampede festival that will relocate to Gilley’s next June as part of a multi-year agreement.
Read more: Wichita Business Journal

Young trainers took on the Greenbush Pokemon Gym Challenge, aiming to “catch ’em all” as they visited four themed gyms on the way to the champion gym. Organizers said the event was designed to give families a fun experience while encouraging creativity, movement, problem-solving and positive student engagement.
Read more: www.koamnewsnow.com

Children met some of their community heroes during a special storytime event at the Frontenac Public Library on Thursday. Members of the Frontenac Police Department and Frontenac Fire Department visited the library, showing children their vehicles and talking about how they serve the community.
Read more: www.koamnewsnow.com

Marquette Mayor Hank Kugelman said the day after severe storms brought a new challenge: cleaning up debris in the heat while dealing with the outage.
Read more: KSN-TV