Early voting begins Thursday for Morton County residents as they decide whether to remove Sheriff Thad Earls from office. Early voting will take place at the Morton County Clerk’s Office during regular business hours. The recall election is scheduled for June 9.
Read more: KSN-TV

Kansas City, Kansas, is making it easier for homeowners to get short-term rental permits as the city prepares to host the FIFA World Cup 2026 matches this summer. The Unified Government loosened its short-term rental requirements ahead of the World Cup and launched a new digital licensing system starting in February.
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Data centers and battery energy storage systems will not be developed in South Hutchinson for at least one year, after the South Hutchinson City Council approved a moratorium at its meeting Monday evening at South Hutchinson City Hall. The moratorium comes as the first pause on data center and BESS development in the eastern part of Reno County. The ordinance directs the South Hutchinson Planning Commission to review current regulations and draft zoning regulations for data centers and BESS to be approved by the city council before the moratorium ends.
Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune

The Reno County Commission scheduled possible action on data centers for a Tuesday, June 9, meeting after hearing from seven county residents during public comment during the commission’s Wednesday, May 27, meeting. Susie Ratzlaff of rural Buhler presented the commission with a petition she said had 875 signatures requesting that Reno County establish a moratorium on data center and battery energy storage system (BESS) development. She also cited a national poll conducted by Gallup in March in which 71% of respondents said they opposed the construction of data centers for artificial intelligence in their area. Ratzlaff asked commissioners to give the Reno County Planning Commission direction to begin work on regulating data center and BESS development.
Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune

Memorial Day marked the beginning of concert season for one of Reno County’s oldest institutions, the Hutchinson Municipal Band. The musicians gathered at Fairlawn Burial Park for American Legion Post 68’s Memorial Day remembrance ceremony with a setlist of patriotic songs and kicked off the 151st year of the institution. “There’s history, and then there’s lore,” said Charles Johnston, the municipal band’s personnel manager. “The Hutchinson Municipal Band started as a group of community members back in 1875. We’re not exactly sure what that looked like, but there was a band present.” Johnston said that, eventually, in the early 20th century, local industrialist and State Senator Emerson Carey got a state law passed that allowed municipal bands to be organized under the city. All these years later, the group is still a place for Hutchinsonians to exercise their talents.
Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune

Just shy of 200 residents showed up to the PSU soccer pitch to pose for an aerial photo depicting the number “150” for Pittsburg’s birthday celebration on Wednesday.
Read more: Morning Sun

A series of fast-moving wildfires fueled by lightning, strong winds, and extremely dry conditions has scorched large portions of southwest Kansas this week, prompting a state disaster emergency declaration and a massive multi-agency firefighting response across the region.
Read more: Dodge City Daily Globe