The Sedgwick County Commission approved the Downtown Wichita Action Plan 2035 on Wednesday. The Wichita City Council also gave the plan the green light this week, so the nonprofit in charge of the plan, Downtown Wichita, can move ahead. The nearly 170-page document lays out — what Downtown Wichita said — is the public’s vision for the city’s core. Read more: KSN-TV

Valley Center is one of several towns scrambling to figure out fire services after Sedgwick County Fire District 1 (SCFD 1) planned to end mutual aid agreements. Tuesday’s meeting lasted hours, with people willing to stand the entire time. The motion carried out in Valley Center is to bolster its own fire department, decline the invite to join SCFD 1, and leave a sales tax regarding public safety to the November ballot. Over the last stretch of the meeting, confusion and disconnect spread across the room and among the council. The deadline for the fire budget in Valley Center was Tuesday [...]

City leaders in Emporia have voted in favor of seeking district court intervention into a citizen-organized petition against battery energy storage systems within city limits. The Emporia City Commission considered the issue at its regular meeting on Wednesday, which it held virtually. On July 14, the City of Emporia received two citizen petitions, one to prohibit certain data centers and the other to prohibit certain BESS within city limits. On Aug. 5, city officials voted in favor of seeking judicial intervention for the data center petition. During Wednesday’s virtual meeting, the commission took the same approach to the BESS petition. Read [...]

Growing concerns about the use of automated license plate readers, like Flock cameras, have prompted one Johnson County police department to discontinue its use of the controversial devices. On Monday, the Gardner City Council voted to immediately turn off four Flock cameras in use in the city and cancel the city’s roughly $13,000 contract with Flock, after several residents came forward with concerns over privacy and surveillance. Even though the topic was not on the meeting agenda, Gardner resident Eric Arnold used the public comment period to ask the city council to call the Flock contract forward for a vote. Read [...]

The city of Edgerton has filed a lawsuit in Johnson County District Court to block a citizen-led petition seeking to ban data centers in the small southern Johnson County community. On Aug. 4, the city filed the lawsuit against Kimberly Twente, Carrie Schmidt, the civic watchdog nonprofit group Twente recently incorporated, Public Trust Collective Inc., as well as other unnamed defendants, alleging their petition aimed at stopping data centers from being built in the city is “legally and factually deficient.” The petition proposes an ordinance classifying data centers as “industrial nuisances” that would have “substantial risks to the public health, welfare, [...]

No. Revenue from the city’s downtown parking plan has not exceeded initial investment costs or yearly maintenance fees as of August 2026.  As former assistant city manager Troy Anderson noted, the city paid Car Park $1,638,539 in management and capital investment fees between July 31, 2025 to June 30, 2026. Meanwhile, July 2025 revenues to the end of the year totaled $229,049.38. Revenues from January 2026 to the end of June totaled $412,416. This adds to revenues being about 40% short of initial investment so far. Read more: KLC Journal

Yes. There are maternity health care deserts in nearly every state in the U.S., including Kansas.  Forty-eight of Kansas’ 105 counties are considered maternity care deserts. More than one-third of U.S. counties are maternity care deserts. This number is higher for rural counties, where nearly 58% of counties lack obstetric clinicians. Maternity care deserts are regions with no obstetric clinicians or birthing facilities.  They are associated with poorer maternal and infant health and higher mortality risks. Counties with maternity care deserts are home to 2.4 million women of reproductive age and 149,000 infants born each year. Residents travel three times longer [...]

Belleville’s grassy lot off the downtown square will soon be revitalized with the help of a $10,000 Networked Community Solutions Grant from Network Kansas. Chris Zach, Republic County Economic Development Director, said he hopes this project brings new life to a once underused lot. “Our vision is to take an underused grassy lot right off the downtown square and turn it into a welcoming gathering space for the community. We wanted to add picnic tables, create a place for food trucks, community events, and eventually add more amenities as funding becomes available,” he said. Read more: KCLY Radio

Chris Scott has been hit by a car while on his bike three times in his life. Maybe three and a half times, depending on the way you look at it. There have been several other close calls he’s had over the years. He’s also encountered reckless and angry drivers who don’t want to share the road with cyclists like him. Scott, who lives in Overland Park, is an endurance cyclist who has competed in multiple long-haul races. He likes to cycle to work in Olathe when the weather cooperates, too. Transportation experts consider individuals like Scott to be vulnerable road [...]

During a meeting earlier in August, the Haysville City Council discussed and eventually voted on an item to place the use of Flock cameras on the November general election ballot. According to The Times-Sentinel, the council voted 4-2 against putting the issue to a public vote. Council member Eric Myers, who voted in favor of the ballot item, had placed it on the agenda. Regarding the city’s eight Flock cameras currently in use, Myers noted he is opposed to spending taxpayer dollars on mass surveillance, with several residents speaking out against the cameras during a period of public comment. Read more: [...]