Data Center Surge Tests Kansas Power Grid

Emporia Weighs Rezoning for Hyperscale Data Center

Osawatomie Sets Comment Rules for $1 Billion Data Center

Storms Halt Drought-Shortened Kansas Wheat Harvest at 58%

Kansas Steers Nearly $80 Million to Rural Health Care

Data Center Surge Tests Kansas Power Grid

DE SOTO, Kan. — Kansas is rapidly becoming a hub for the energy-hungry data centers that power artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Developer Digital Realty is advancing a 600-megawatt campus southwest of Kansas City, known in city documents as "Project Jayhawk," with an initial $3.1 billion investment, construction slated to begin in 2026. The campus sits within the 9,000-acre Astra industrial park, the former site of the U.S. government's Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant, which closed in 1993 before the land was transferred for redevelopment in 2005 and is now operated by real estate firm Kessinger Hunter. Panasonic is developing a battery production facility on 300 acres at the park, and a separate 600-megawatt solar farm could be built on about 3,000 acres within it. The push builds on electric-service contracts totaling about 1.9 gigawatts that regional utility Evergy signed with Google, Meta and Beale Infrastructure in February 2026, and Evergy has raised its capital-spending plan about 24% to $21.6 billion, including nearly 1.9 gigawatts of new natural-gas generation in Kansas and Missouri. To shield ordinary households, state regulators approved a "large load" tariff in late 2025 under which the biggest users pay specially designed rates and cover the grid upgrades their projects require, a structure Shawnee County officials publicly scrutinized in early June 2026. The stakes are high because surging demand from these centers could strain the grid and push up bills if costs are not contained.

DataCenterDynamics · Utility Dive · KSNT

Emporia Weighs Rezoning for Hyperscale Data Center

EMPORIA, Kan. — The Emporia Planning Commission was set to hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 23, 2026, at the Civic Auditorium on a zoning request to create a "digital infrastructure overlay district" for the proposed Flint Hills Digital Campus. The roughly 1,000-acre hyperscale data center would sit on land west of the city. The developer is listed in filings as Kanza Park Place LLC, whose identity was kept confidential until the site was annexed and rezoned. The earliest the city commission could act on the panel's recommendation is July 15.

KSN

Osawatomie Sets Comment Rules for $1 Billion Data Center

OSAWATOMIE, Kan. — Osawatomie officials set public-comment rules ahead of a June 25, 2026, special City Council meeting on Alcove Development's proposed $1 billion data center in Miami County. Speakers must email questions or comments to the city manager by noon on June 24. Comments will be limited to three minutes, with priority given to Osawatomie residents. The developer's presentation and question-and-answer session will be held at the Osawatomie Middle School gym.

KSHB 41

Storms Halt Drought-Shortened Kansas Wheat Harvest at 58%

TOPEKA, Kan. — The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Monday, June 22, 2026, that the Kansas winter wheat harvest reached 58% complete for the week ending June 21, far ahead of the 26% five-year average, before severe thunderstorms beginning Saturday afternoon, June 20, halted cutting across much of the state. The fast pace reflects drought and a spring freeze that forced the crop to mature early. Yields have been uneven and generally below average, with a Farmers Cooperative in Barber County reporting 45 to 60 bushels per acre and a Saline County farm near Gypsum averaging near 50, while protein levels have run weak in the mid-11% range. The USDA rated the crop 23% very poor, 32% poor, 31% fair and 14% good, and its May 12 forecast pegged statewide production at roughly 214.6 million bushels on an average of about 37 bushels per acre, below last year. Across the 18 winter-wheat states, about 45% of the crop was rated poor or very poor, and growers in Kansas and Nebraska abandoned large shares of planted acres. Rain and high humidity continued to slow progress across south-central and southwest Kansas.

KSN · Kansas Wheat · KCUR · KRSL · Farm Progress

Kansas Steers Nearly $80 Million to Rural Health Care

TOPEKA, Kan. — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced in late May 2026 that it would distribute $79.1 million to 39 organizations through the state's new Rural Health Transformation Program, one of the largest single investments in rural medicine in recent state history. Of that, $50 million in Regional Partnership grants went to 22 organizations to build collaborations among Kansas providers, while $29.1 million flowed to 17 organizations to help convert struggling facilities into rural emergency hospitals and upgrade critical-access sites. Citizen Journal previously reported on the awards. The agency followed up in June by opening applications for an additional $9.5 million in "emerging technology" grants, with the window running June 10 to July 10, 2026, and hosted an informational webinar on June 22. The program responds to a long crisis in rural Kansas, where many small hospitals operate on thin margins and some have closed or cut services, leaving residents to drive long distances for care.

KSN · WIBW · KDHE

Sources

1. DataCenterDynamics / Utility Dive / KSNT / DataCenterDynamics
2. KSN
3. KSHB 41
4. KSN / Kansas Wheat / KCUR / KRSL / Farm Progress
5. KSN / WIBW / KDHE

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