Chiefs Unveil $3 Billion Domed Stadium Design for Kansas

Emporia Approves Data Center Zoning; Teacher Arrested

Shawnee County Drones Reach 911 Scenes Before Deputies

KBI Arrests Wichita Priest on Child Sex Abuse Charges

Horse Racing Charts October Return to Kansas

Chiefs Unveil $3 Billion Domed Stadium Design for Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The Kansas City Chiefs on July 22 released the first renderings of a planned $3 billion domed stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, to be built near the Kansas Speedway at 126th Street and State Avenue in Wyandotte County. The roughly 70,000-seat design by Kansas City firm MANICA features a translucent roof with more than 400,000 square feet of lightweight ETFE panels, a curved exterior and scalloped upper decks that nod to Arrowhead Stadium, the team's home since 1972. Plans call for about 20,000 parking spots to preserve the franchise's tailgating tradition, with the stadium set to open for the 2031 NFL season in the Legends area alongside Sporting Kansas City's stadium and the Monarchs' ballpark. The move would carry the Chiefs across the state line from Missouri under a Kansas incentive package — House Bill 2466 created a public sports authority to own the stadium — that supporters call transformative and critics call an oversized subsidy, a dispute that resurfaced this week in the Democratic governor's debate. A fully enclosed dome would also put the region in contention to host Super Bowls, Final Fours and College Football Playoff games.

KCTV5 · ESPN · KCUR · KRPS

Emporia Approves Data Center Zoning; Teacher Arrested

EMPORIA, Kan. — Dozens of residents packed the Emporia City Commission meeting July 22 to oppose the proposed 1,000-acre Flint Hills Digital Campus, citing concerns over water depletion, environmental pollution, noise and the business history of Kanza Park Place LLC President Gary Pinkston, including his recent testimony in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case involving an unrelated Hawaii development. Despite threats of recall petitions and pleas to table the decision until November, commissioners proceeded with their scheduled votes, unanimously approving Ordinance 26-22 to rezone 11 tracts to light industrial and industrial flex designations — a measure that required a three-fourths supermajority under state law because adjacent landowners filed a valid protest petition. Commissioners also passed Ordinance 26-21 establishing a Digital Infrastructure Overlay District, which requires digital infrastructure developers to submit studies on traffic, acoustics, environmental impact and emergency response before any construction is approved. Two companion resolutions, 3795 and 3796, adopted large-volume water and wastewater service policies requiring major industrial users to pay for the infrastructure needed to serve them, with full cost recovery through individual service agreements so costs do not shift to existing ratepayers. During the tense comment period, which required overflow seating and strict time limits, police arrested Lux Claridge, a 37-year-old Emporia High School physics teacher, after he continued clapping in support of project opponents despite repeated warnings; he was released on bail and said he will plead not guilty at a September court appearance. City staff emphasized the votes do not approve any specific project, and any future end user must still negotiate a development agreement with the city.

Emporia City Commission Summary

Week of July 23, 2026

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Citizen Journal · KWCH

Shawnee County Drones Reach 911 Scenes Before Deputies

TOPEKA, Kan. — The Shawnee County Sheriff's Office on July 20 detailed a drone program, quietly operating since July 1, that dispatches remotely piloted aircraft to emergency scenes before deputies, firefighters or medics arrive. Two drones based at undisclosed locations can reach most of the county and logged nearly 200 flights — about 15 per day — in the program's first three weeks, responding to more than 100 incidents including search-and-rescue efforts, crashes, fires and criminal investigations. Operators fly the aircraft from a control room miles away, giving commanders a live aerial view of a scene before anyone is sent in. Sheriff Brian Hill said the drones have already saved resources by confirming false alarms without dispatching fire trucks, patrol cars and ambulances, while drone coordinator Lt. Eric Coffin said the aircraft respond only to calls for service and are not used for general surveillance. The effort is funded through a $5 million state-backed public safety pilot that also supports upgrades to the county's Real Time Crime Center, making Shawnee County among the first Kansas jurisdictions to adopt a drones-first response model that promises faster response times while raising privacy questions.

WIBW · KSNT

KBI Arrests Wichita Priest on Child Sex Abuse Charges

WICHITA, Kan. — Kansas Bureau of Investigation agents on July 22 arrested the Rev. Ryan A. McCandless, a 44-year-old Catholic priest from Wichita, on a warrant charging three counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. The charges allege McCandless sexually abused a 6-year-old child in Belleville, a Republic County town in north-central Kansas, between July and September 2025. Agents took him into custody at a home in the 2100 block of South Erie Street in Wichita, and reporting indicates the investigation began with a cyber tip. McCandless is presumed innocent unless convicted in court. The arrest comes amid years of heightened scrutiny of clergy abuse in Kansas, where the KBI has previously conducted a broad review of abuse reports involving Catholic clergy across the state's dioceses.

KWCH · Hays Post

Horse Racing Charts October Return to Kansas

EUREKA, Kan. — Eureka Downs in Greenwood County plans to host live horse racing from Oct. 3 through Nov. 1, the state's first race meet since Thoroughbred racing ended in 2008. The revival is funded by a new state law authorizing 1,000 historical horse racing machines — slot-like terminals for wagering on replays of past races — at Gilley's in Park City. Three percent of the money wagered on those machines flows into a fund projected at roughly $15 million a year to bankroll the purses needed to draw horses and trainers back to Kansas. The state's tracks closed in the late 2000s after losing business to casinos in neighboring states, and a successful meet at Eureka Downs would test whether the new model can rebuild the industry.

KSN · Thoroughbred Daily News · Paulick Report · BloodHorse · KCLY Radio

Sources

1. KCTV5 / ESPN / KCUR / KRPS
2. Citizen Journal / KWCH
3. WIBW / KSNT
4. KWCH / Hays Post
5. KSN / Thoroughbred Daily News / Paulick Report / BloodHorse / KCLY Radio

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