Just weeks after De Soto’s incoming 300-acre data center site broke ground, a separate data center developer is looking to build a campus nearly quadruple that size just down the road at Astra Enterprise Park. This marks the fourth data center proposal to come up since March in western and southern Johnson County. Spring Hill and Gardner received applications earlier this spring, though both were withdrawn, and another application in Edgerton was denied earlier this month. Following the applications in Gardner and Edgerton, residents pushed for moratoriums, which would’ve temporarily blocked data center applications. Earlier this month, both the Gardner City Council and the Edgerton City Council denied imposing six-month pauses.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Rural hospitals in Kansas will use federal money to help them transform and expand access to healthcare. Some are creating new services like mobile maternal health clinics, but looming Medicaid cuts still mean many hospitals are at risk of closing. The money comes from the federal Rural Health Transformation Program. The funding is partially intended to offset cuts to Medicaid, and the first group of grantees were recently announced.
Read more: KCUR News

The Algerian men’s national team adopted Lawrence as its home base for the World Cup. In return, the Kansas college town embraced the team in a big way — and flooded the streets Monday when Algeria won its first match of the tournament. Locals are hosting watch parties, creating art, and even altering KU’s classic chant into “Rock Chalk Algeria” to show their allegiance.
Read more: KCUR

The Finney County Commission will consider a Special Use Permit request for a proposed commercial solar farm between Ulysses and Garden City at its meeting on Monday. The proposal, from Lone Bison Solar, is for a 3,853-acre solar farm. According to Finney County, the permit request was recommended for approval by the Holcomb – Garden City – Finney County Area Planning Commission in March. The special use permit review process includes consideration of several factors, including compatibility with surrounding land uses, traffic and road impacts, environmental considerations, and public health and safety.
Read more: KSN-TV

Struggling rural hospitals in Kansas are receiving an $83 million injection from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Gov. Laura Kelly and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced Wednesday that CMS has approved the state’s plan to fund critical access hospitals and rural emergency hospitals through the Health Care Access Improvement Program. HCAIP puts an assessment on Kansas hospitals, and the revenue generated is matched with federal Medicaid funds and then returned to the hospitals in the form of higher reimbursement rates.
Read more: KSN-TV

Three years after rejecting Flock surveillance in Bel Aire, the north Wichita suburb is revisiting the topic. “To me it makes sense to support our PD having those tools. It is our expectation that they utilize that technology correctly. . . . There is no expectation of privacy on public roads, and that’s where these would be installed,” council member Tyler Dehn said at the May 5 City Council meeting, where a letter of support for Flock cameras from Police Chief Darrell Atteberry was read. The cameras also were discussed at an April workshop. Flock cameras are automated license plate readers that police departments can use to help find suspects. If Bel Aire moves forward with Flock, it would join Wichita and several suburbs in using the cameras.
Read more: Wichita Eagle

When Kristine Polian heard that Lawrence had been chosen by CNN as one of America’s 10 best towns to visit, she couldn’t hide her excitement. “This makes me so stinking happy, man!” the city commissioner said on Wednesday morning in downtown Lawrence, a few hours after the CNN article came out.
Read more: LJWorld and CNN List No. 9