Nine residential units in South Hutchinson will receive cash incentives from Reno County, aimed at reducing their price and increasing residential development in the city. The South Hutchinson City Council approved nine $7,000 incentives at its regular meeting Monday, with six payments for homes to be completed and sold by the end of 2027 and three for homes to be sold by the end of 2028. All homes will be built by Free State Builders in the Prairie Ridge subdivision , near Bluestem Drive off west Blanchard Road. Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune

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

Eighteen Kansas communities will share in nearly $14 million in funding to support infrastructure projects. Gov. Laura Kelly announced Wednesday that over $10.1 million in federal Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act funding will be paired with over $3.6 million in matching funds from the Kansas Infrastructure Hub and the Build Kansas Fund, along with $165,000 in local funds. The money will support improvements at multiple Kansas airports, as well as energy grid improvements. Read more: KSN-TV

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

A 10-megawatt data center has been operating in Pittsburg since January, bringing new revenue streams to the city while raising questions among some residents about future expansion and community input. Read more: www.koamnewsnow.com

Data centers are on the fast track in communities across the Midwest and Great Plains, but rising concerns over water, energy and noise leave lawmakers rushing to catch up. Plus: Supporters and opponents are debating a proposed data center in southwest Kansas. Read more: KCUR News

Although some projects already have secured city approvals and land purchases, others face legal challenges and are working through planning with local governments. Read more: Kansas City Business Journal

Data center regulations under discussion by the Pottawatomie County government would impose limits on noise, limit the height of the data center buildings, and prohibit any perceptible vibrations. Any data centers also would have to submit a plan to “mitigate the depletion of water,” document how much water they’re using, produce a plan to mitigate the impact of the development on plants and animals, and allow annual inspections by the county to assure compliance. And they would have to be located within 1,000 feet of an existing high-voltage power transmission line. Those are some of the highlights of a new nine-page [...]

Emily Roush is all too familiar with the struggles facing rural grocery stores. Emily, an Iola native, and husband Kaden have stressed creativity and flexibility in keeping their own small grocery afloat in a community of 180 in rural Smith County. It’s why customers hungry for high-quality, locally produced meat, (and now a wide selection of gluten-free products) will travel from miles around to Main Street Mercantile, which aside from a local co-op station, is Lebanon’s sole business. The Roushes also have taken a novel approach to other issues most folks don’t think about, such as ensuring grocery orders are large [...]