With only a little over three months to go before the first World Cup match kicks off, one thing is becoming clear: Hosting a once-in-a-generation sports event comes with a once-in-a-generation workload. County staff provided a glimpse of that on Thursday when they presented a mega update on all the things that have been coming together as the international soccer tournament draws ever nearer. The “high level” overview, described by World Cup special project manager Bo McCall as “just the tip of the iceberg,” was an hour and a half with nine county staffers talking at breakneck speed about special events, bus routes, charging stations, disease outbreak response, watch parties and much, much more.
Read more: Johnson County Post

An energy company is scouting out potential sites in Kansas to house a new nuclear reactor, and many county officials are eager to give it a home. Energy company TerraPower is working to identify a location in the Sunflower State for a new natrium-style nuclear reactor. Many counties have thrown their hats in the race to attract this potential nuclear project which brings with it the promise of significant economic advantages. We checked in with TerraPower to find out where the company is at in the process in 2026. A TerraPower spokesperson said the company is beginning site evaluations.
Read more: KSNT 27 News

The Harvey County District Court could soon move to Walton for three years. County Administrator Kevin Frymire provided more information about county remodel plans during a meeting with the Newton Board of Education on Monday. The county is looking at using the Walton Rural Life Center to house the courts, as well as attached staff and court services. “We’ve been to several places and haven’t marked them all off yet, but the Walton school came out as a potential option for us,” he said. “When I heard that, the first words out of my mouth were ‘This is a great idea.’”
Read more: Harvey County Now

StartUp Hutch announced Monday that it will launch a new Housing Entrepreneurship Program, supported by a $50,000 grant from the Hutchinson Community Foundation. The two-year pilot program’s purpose is to strengthen the local contractor and skilled trades pipeline and thereby support housing development in Hutchinson and Reno County. A shortage of local contractors, subcontractors, and skilled trades entrepreneurs is a critical gap in the community’s housing ecosystem, according to the announcement.
Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune

The robotic dogs are different than the robots the department already uses. “These robotic systems provide capabilities that address current operational gaps, including the ability to open and close doors, navigate stairs, and move over uneven terrain and obstacles commonly encountered in real-world environments,” Wichita Police capt. Aaron Moses said in an email. “These capabilities allow officers to manage high-risk incidents more safely and reduce risk to both the public and responding personnel.”
Read more: Wichita Eagle

Sedgwick County’s siren system is undergoing a six-year improvement, and currently, two different system communicate with the sirens. The devices are split into zones so sirens can target various parts of the county. In this week’s case, the wrong zone was activated. “Because the city of Mulvane falls in both counties and the programming challenges we have with two systems, it did activate our zone in the southeastern part of the county,” … When a tornado warning is issued, it’s for a specific area. In weather broadcasts, the area under a warning will appear as a polygon. That polygon is issued by the National Weather Service and, when under a warning, every siren in that polygon is activated. In response to Friday’s issue, the county has readjusted its zones.
Read more: Wichita Eagle