Residents of Gardner, Kansas, are confronting a new data center proposal from Beale Infrastructure just weeks after a similar proposal was withdrawn. Members of the community are concerned about the impact on their environment, utilities, and noise levels. Read more: KCUR

The battle over the R9 Ranch water rights is a complex saga involving decades of legal maneuvering, legislative shifts and environmental concerns.  Read more: KLC Journal

Fights over water in the West tend to follow a particular contour: Scarcity develops. A supply is located. Competition ensues. Government agencies become involved. Judges tend to get the last word. The squabbles are all the same and every one is different. Both the residents of parched Hays and Russell in northwest Kansas and those of thirsty Edwards County, some 60 miles south, covet the water beneath the sprawling R9 Ranch south of Kinsley, seeing it as a matter of survival in a coming era when the precious resource becomes even more scarce. Now, three decades later, the $140-million-dollar project remains [...]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced Thursday that over $80 million is available to support stormwater and sewer infrastructure needs across the country. The funding comes from the EPA’s Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grant program. It allows communities to pay for improvements to safely capture and manage stormwater and keep pollutants, including untreated stormwater, from reaching nearby waterways. Kansas is receiving a total of $467,000 that will be divided among the communities that apply through the Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grant program. Read more: KSN-TV

The discussion about a solar farm and battery energy storage system in Sedgwick County is on hold. The Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Commission was set to vote on the Galena Solar Project proposal on Wednesday, but decided to defer it and gather more information. The commission will pick up the discussion again on June 11. People for and against the project agree that the deferral was a good move. Read more: KSN-TV

The Andover City Council unanimously approved a policy to enforce a new state law requiring people to only use multiple‑occupancy spaces that align with their sex assigned at birth while in government buildings. In February, the Kansas Legislature passed House Substitute for SB 244, directing all cities to comply with this new law and pass a policy on the topic. Read more: KSN-TV

Sedgwick County Fire District 1 announced Tuesday that its first K9 has retired. Benny, born in 2017, began his service as an Accelerant Detection Canine through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in 2018. He was partnered with Investigator Rusty Vollintine and the Topeka Fire Department until Vollintine retired in 2023. The pair later joined SCFD1 as part‑time investigators in 2024. Since joining the district, Benny has responded to 30 structure fires across the region — 13 of them fatal — and his work has contributed to six felony arrests. Read more: KSN-TV

The district has selected Cody Rierson, one of three candidates considered for the role. Rierson currently serves as superintendent of Moundridge USD 423 and previously worked as principal at Lincoln Elementary School in McPherson. The district said he is known for building a positive, collaborative environment while keeping students at the center of every decision. Read more: KSN-TV

Hutchinson USD 308 board members learned why voters turned down the district's $110 million bond last year at a meeting Monday. Discovery Works Collaborative shared results of a survey that showed 63% of people said the price tag was too high. Another 55% said it was because of the proposed location of the middle school. The same amount said they do not need to build when enrollment is going down. Read more: KSN-TV

Cowtown Days is a two-day event in Baxter Springs, Kansas that celebrates the city's cultural heritage as the "First Cowtown in Kansas" with a car show, bouncy castles, live music, and other activities. Read more: KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com