KCC Orders Evergy to Reroute Transmission Line Around Flint Hills

KDHE Monitors Three Kansans Exposed to Andes Hantavirus

Kansas Board Weighs Limits on Classroom Screen Time

Shawnee Planners Back Conditional Permits for Data Centers

Wichita Eyes Annual NCAA Tournament Host Bid

KCC Orders Evergy to Reroute Transmission Line Around Flint Hills

TOPEKA, Kan. — State utility regulators on Tuesday approved the western half of Evergy's Buffalo Flats to Delaware transmission line but ordered the utility to redesign the eastern portion through southeast Kansas to protect the Flint Hills and avoid interfering with active oil and gas leases. The Kansas Corporation Commission found substantial evidence to approve the proposed route from Garden Plain to where the line intersects U.S. Route 77 in Cowley County, but determined the remainder of the route to the Oklahoma border lacked sufficient justification. Regulators urged Evergy to parallel the existing U.S. Route 166 right-of-way to the maximum extent feasible, saying that alignment would significantly reduce permanent impacts to the Flint Hills and minimize disruptions to ongoing oil and gas extraction. The 345-kilovolt line is part of the Southwest Power Pool's Branson Overlay Project and is intended to bolster grid reliability across Sedgwick, Sumner, Cowley and Chautauqua counties. The KCC has ordered Evergy to propose an updated procedural schedule by June 12, which will trigger additional statutory requirements including a new routing study, mailed landowner notices, public comment periods and evidentiary hearings before the eastern portion can proceed.

citizen journal

KDHE Monitors Three Kansans Exposed to Andes Hantavirus

TOPEKA, Kan. — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is monitoring three Kansas residents who had high-risk exposure to a person infected with Andes hantavirus, the agency said Tuesday. KDHE is coordinating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a local health department, and described the broader risk to the public in Kansas as extremely low. The exposure occurred internationally after contact with a passenger from the MV Hondius cruise ship, which is at the center of an active outbreak, but the three Kansans were not aboard the vessel and are not currently experiencing symptoms. KDHE said individuals are not considered infectious to others unless they become symptomatic, and the agency will not release additional details about those being monitored in order to protect their privacy. There are no suspected or confirmed cases of hantavirus in Kansas, and the Andes strain — the only hantavirus known to spread person-to-person — typically requires prolonged close contact or shared living space with a symptomatic individual to transmit.

KMBC

Kansas Board Weighs Limits on Classroom Screen Time

TOPEKA, Kan. — The Kansas State Board of Education heard a first report Tuesday on potentially limiting digital device use in classrooms, with an initial proposal that would keep classrooms screen-free through fifth grade in favor of traditional textbooks. The proposal would also allow parents to opt out of one-to-one device learning in later grades. Board members offered differing views in opening discussion: District 7 member Dennis Hershberger said reading scores show young students are falling behind because of devices, while District 8 member Betty Arnold cautioned against assuming children performed better before classroom technology arrived. State lawmakers considered the issue this past session and passed a separate law banning cell phones in schools, but did not impose limits on instructional device use. The board will continue studying the matter through the summer.

WIBW

Shawnee Planners Back Conditional Permits for Data Centers

TOPEKA, Kan. — The Shawnee County Planning Commission voted to recommend zoning changes that would require conditional use permits for data centers, energy storage systems and private and public utility structures, which currently need only a building permit when other requirements are met. Planning staff said a battery storage facility has already leased land in the Tecumseh area, and County Commissioner Aaron Mays said the county has fielded interest from data center developers as well, though no specific projects are on file. Mays told WIBW that projects of that scale — some valued at up to $1 billion — likely require case-by-case review rather than a blanket policy. He also said the county would not grant property tax exemptions for data center developments. The Shawnee County Commission is expected to vote on the proposed zoning changes at its June 11 meeting, while neighboring Pottawatomie County continues separate discussions of a proposed Beltline data center near Emmett.

WIBW

Wichita Eyes Annual NCAA Tournament Host Bid

WICHITA, Kan. — Wichita leaders are moving to make a formal bid to host opening-round games of the NCAA men's basketball tournament on an annual basis once the tournament expands next year. Visit Wichita confirmed Friday it has been tracking the expansion, which would require an additional permanent host city alongside Dayton, Ohio, to stage the new opening round. The city has previously hosted tournament games at Intrust Bank Arena, and downtown business owners said those years brought a measurable boost in foot traffic and spending across Old Town. Visit Wichita said bid specifications have not yet been released by the NCAA but the organization expects to review them once available. Sports Illustrated has listed Wichita among its top five candidates to join Dayton as a permanent opening-round host.

KWCH

Sources

1. KMBC
2. WIBW
3. WIBW
4. KWCH

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