On a remote patch of land in the southwest corner of Olathe, an eruption breaks the silence. The explosion is a regular part of rock quarry Hamm Companies’ operations – blasts loosen the earth to allow for removal. But not everyone on a nearby residential street appreciates the activity taking place on the other side of a grassy berm. Residents Randy and Cynthia Kriesel are suing the City of Olathe and Hamm Companies for expanding the quarry’s property, which inches closer to a small neighborhood off West 167th Street near Interstate-35. Source: KC Star Local News

Steve Prudden believes things are about to drastically change for De Soto, a Johnson County community that’s long teetered at the intersection of rural and suburban. Three generations of Pruddens have processed and sold ground beef, bacon and steaks at his local Steve’s Meat Market. With only 6,200 locals in De Soto, the butcher relied on restaurants and grocery stores across the metro area to stay afloat for the last 53 years. But the fabric of De Soto is about to be forever changed by Japanese electronics giant Panasonic, which is building a massive electric vehicle battery plant on the site [...]

Kansans looking to save a bit more money in the new year are in luck. The first phase of the state’s move to eliminate taxes on food went into effect on Jan. 1, reducing the state’s food tax to 4% instead of 6.5%. The state food tax rate will continue to go down year after year until 2025, when it will reach zero. The Kansas Legislature passed this plan in April. Source: KC Star Local News

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has joined 18 other state attorneys general in asking that the U.S. Supreme Court restore the rights states and local governments once had to regulate how long trains can block railroad crossings. Absent that power, the public is put at risk, the attorneys general say in their brief. Countless people have died when emergency vehicles were delayed at rail crossings, The Star reported this month in an investigation of railroad safety lapses. The problem has only gotten worse in recent years for many communities across the country, The Star reported, as the rail industry’s practices have [...]

Parents, students and teachers are urging the Kansas City, Kansas, school board to reject a proposal to spend nearly $6.8 million in federal COVID relief dollars to add cameras to classrooms. District officials are proposing the idea as a stopgap measure during ongoing staff shortages. They say that adding the cameras would make it easier to livestream and record lessons to classrooms that are staffed with long-term substitutes or teachers who are not qualified in the subject area. Source: KC Star Local News

Its nickname is “Little Sweden USA,” and when you pull into Lindsborg, it’s clear why. Pole banners and road signs greet visitors with a friendly “Välkommen.” Many businesses display replicas of Swedish dala horses, the town mascot. The word “SWEDES” is painted in yellow on the blue stands of the Bethany College football field. Wine and spirits are obtained at Swedes Liquor. The street benches downtown possess a distinctly Scandinavian design quality. Umlauts abound. ... Lindsborg, located in a central Kansas region called the Smoky Valley, has long punched above its weight. Settled by Swedes in 1869, it is a town [...]

Wyandotte County Mayor Tyrone Garner will no longer be able to unilaterally stop an issue from landing on the agenda of the Unified Government’s full commission meetings, after a Thursday night vote. The move stripped the mayor of autonomy over the meeting agenda, a power that had been a long-held tradition for the local government. The decision came toward the end of Thursday’s Board of Commissioners meeting, when members voted 9-1 to change the government’s rules and procedures so that the mayor cannot add or remove proposals from the agenda without seeking further approval. Source: KC Star Local News

Without enough bus drivers, the Olathe school district next month will begin eliminating routes on “blackout days,” requiring families to find alternative transportation on those days. The district has previously warned families that its bus driver shortage has reached an “all-time high.” Last week, officials said there is a “substantial waitlist of families unable to receive transportation, as well as several buses that regularly arrive up to 30 minutes late for pick up/drop off, impacting instructional time.” Source: KC Star Local News

No one’s above the law, although the nation’s railroads come close at the state and local level. Over the past quarter century, multiple courts have ruled that only the federal government can impose rules affecting railroad operations. Most notably, states can’t limit how long a train can block motor vehicle and pedestrian traffic at a public crossing, the courts have said. Yet because Congress has passed no laws addressing the subject, there are no limitations. So trains now block some crossings for hours, or even days. The state of Ohio recently asked the U.S. Supreme Court to settle this vexing problem [...]

Flu-like illnesses like COVID-19, RSV, the flu and other viruses are on the rise in Kansas City and beyond. This week’s data shows COVID-19 cases continuing to increase in all five counties and two cities that make up the metro area. Data reported on Tuesday shows that there have been 1,643 new cases reported in the metro in the past week. That’s higher than the 1,309 cases reported the previous week and 997 the week prior. Local experts have warned of an increase in viral illness around the metro as flu season coincides with an RSV outbreak and colder weather causes [...]