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One is a combat veteran and former military criminal investigator. Another is a seasoned commander who moved to Kansas from the Austin, Texas, police department. A third oversaw law enforcement at the University of Colorado Boulder. But with only one or two years on the job, three of eastern Kansas’ top law enforcement officers — Sheriff Eric Kirsch of Wabaunsee County, Chief Chris Vallejo of Topeka and Chief Doreen Jokerst of Overland Park — are bringing major changes to their shops. Although their backgrounds are different, they share some common ideas: a commitment to transparency, a desire to build community trust and [...]

It has been years in the making, but on Wednesday, Empirical Foods is opening is its new beef production facility in Garden City. The new plant is 280,000 square feet and is located at Jennie Barker Road and U.S. Highway 400. The facility will produce ground beef that is 95% lean and will employ 250 workers. Empirical said the new plant will increase beef supplies and will deliver cost savings to restaurants, food service providers and retail customers. Read more: KSN-TV

Members of the Hutchinson City Council finally spoke publicly about their views regarding data centers during Tuesday night’s city council meeting at City Hall. Council member Stacy Goss kicked off the discussion during council comments towards the end of the four-and-a-half hour meeting. “First thing, I believe that we should discuss a moratorium. on data centers until we have appropriate zoning in place,” Goss said. “Currently, and this is a huge concern of mine, under current zoning a data center or BESS (battery energy storage system) could go into a residential area. Because we have not defined what utilities are in [...]

Accusing Republicans of making empty promises about property tax relief, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly on Wednesday vetoed a controversial protest petition proposal and released her own tax plan. Kelly’s reform package was rolled out in tandem with a veto and scathing rebuke of a GOP bill that would have empowered 10% of voters in cities, counties and school districts to reject budgets that spend more than the previous year. “Kansans deserve real property tax relief,” said Kelly, a Democrat, in her veto message. “For several years the Legislature has claimed to make delivering that relief their top priority and yet they [...]

Wichita police will buy a single robot dog for $340,000, the Wichita City Council decided in a narrow 4-3 vote Tuesday. The vote was initially delayed last month so council members could learn more about the police department’s technology at its March 24 workshop meeting. The robot, also known as Spot, was created by Boston Dynamics originally for use in manufacturing sites. The robots have since begun to be used by police departments to resolve hostage situations and during bomb calls. Originally, the Wichita Police Department asked for two robot dogs, one for the bomb squad and another for its SWAT [...]

Governor Laura Kelly is laying out a comprehensive plan to provide immediate and lasting tax relief at the state level, and to begin the conversation about engaging local leaders on enacting property tax reform.  “Kansans deserve real property tax relief, and they deserve the truth about how such relief can be accomplished,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “To date, the Legislature – led by a Republican supermajority – has provided only lip service on this topic and has failed to deliver on the campaign promises and talking points they have been repeating for two years. Today, I’m laying out a fiscally responsible property tax relief plan that I invite [...]

Governor Laura Kelly on Wednesday vetoed Senate Substitute for House Bill 2745. The following veto message is from Governor Kelly regarding her veto of Senate Substitute for House Bill 2745: “Kansans deserve real property tax relief. For several years the Legislature has claimed to make delivering that relief their top priority and yet they have not been successful in delivering on that promise. This session’s attempt, Senate Substitute for House Bill 2745, does nothing to provide that relief. Instead, the truth is that this bill will only restrict the ability of locally elected officials to be nimble enough to adjust to [...]

The program, established in 2021, was intended to buy and sell properties to encourage affordable housing in the city’s core, but the city was unable to acquire land for the program, mainly through Sedgwick County tax foreclosure sales and donations. Read more: Wichita Eagle

Wichita’s cost of living saw a slight increase from 2024 to 2025, according to a new report by financial website SmartAsset, while residents of another city in Kansas saw relief. SmartAsset named Wichita the 174th location nationally for increase in cost of living over a one-year period in its March 16 report “Where Cost of Living Increased and Decreased Most – 2026 Study.” The report found Wichita had an increase of 0.78%, although the city still has a cost of living 12.6% below the national average. Hutchinson saw a 2.75% decrease in cost of living, according to the analysis, landing 14.9% [...]

Wichita and Sedgwick County are sounding the alarm about a bill passed by the Legislature that would allow voters to halt local government budget increases. The bill, HB 2745, is awaiting Gov. Laura Kelly’s desk signature or veto. The governor has not signaled where she stands on the bill. The legislature approved the bill during the last day of the legislative session last week. If 10% of registered voters, not property owners, in a taxing jurisdiction protested, that would cap the jurisdiction’s spending at the same level as the previous year. Read more: Wichita Eagle