Court Vote Drives Kansas Primary Turnout

Evergy Plant Reshapes Reno County Agenda

Second Battery Fire Hits Panasonic Plant

Kansas Drought Expected to Persist Into Fall

Chiefs Explore Kansas Super Bowls at Planned Dome

Court Vote Drives Kansas Primary Turnout

TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab said Wednesday that turnout for the Aug. 4 primary is running significantly higher than in a typical primary year with statewide offices on the ballot, attributing the increase to a proposed constitutional amendment that would replace the current appointment system with direct elections for Kansas Supreme Court justices. Advance in-person voting continued at county election offices after the window to request a mail ballot closed this week. The Kansas Court of Appeals declined Monday to pause a Douglas County injunction restoring a three-day grace period, meaning mail ballots postmarked by Election Day may be counted if they arrive within three days. Attorney General Kris Kobach said he would continue asking the Kansas Supreme Court to intervene, while plaintiffs including Kansas Appleseed and the Disability Rights Center of Kansas say the grace period protects voters from mail delays. As of Thursday morning, the court had taken no action, leaving the appeals court ruling in control for a primary that also includes the first open governor’s race since 2018 and a contested U.S. Senate field.

WIBW · KWCH · KCLY Radio

Evergy Plant Reshapes Reno County Agenda

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A Citizen Journal review drawing on its archive of more than 1,000 local-government meetings found that Evergy’s planned 705-megawatt McNew Generating Station, expected to enter service in 2030, has shaped Reno County decisions on borrowing, land use, property rights and economic development across four commission meetings since June 10. Commissioners approved bond financing for a plant-access road and rejected a proposed data-center ban. At a packed June 16 special session, they rejected bans on battery storage and data centers after debate over grid capacity and potential litigation. In July, the county set its budget ceiling, researched data-center regulations, sold road bonds and tabled eminent domain proceedings involving landowners along the road corridor. Commissioners also heard Greater Hutch say it helped secure the billion-dollar project and increased the group’s county allocation. Kansas regulators approved the route for a companion transmission line in April, and Evergy is building a twin generating plant in Sumner County.

Citizen Journal · Reno County Commission · Hutchinson Tribune · Hutch Post · KWCH · Kansas Corporation Commission

Second Battery Fire Hits Panasonic Plant

DE SOTO, Kan. — Firefighters responded shortly after 2 a.m. Wednesday to a battery fire at Panasonic Energy’s electric-vehicle battery plant in Desoto after an automatic water-flow alarm indicated the building’s sprinklers were running. Northwest Consolidated Fire District crews, assisted by firefighters from Olathe and Lenexa, found smoke and burning batteries in storage racks in a testing area, while plant workers had evacuated and no injuries were reported. Officials said the sprinkler system contained the fire to the affected racks, and the cause remained under investigation. The approximately $4 billion plant began producing lithium-ion batteries in 2025, is described as the largest private economic-development project in Kansas history and is expected to employ thousands of people. The fire followed a May 5 thermal event that forced an evacuation, putting renewed attention on safety systems at a project that received more than $800 million in state incentives.

KCTV5 · Johnson County Post · FOX4 · KSN · Sunflower State Radio

Kansas Drought Expected to Persist Into Fall

TOPEKA, Kan. — The federal government’s drought early-warning system said Wednesday that long-term drought in western Kansas will likely persist into early fall. The Southern Plains update, published through Drought.gov by the NOAA-led National Integrated Drought Information System, said dry conditions in parts of Kansas, Oklahoma and northern Texas are raising wildfire risk and harming crops, rangeland and water supplies. Forecasters expect above-average temperatures across the region from August through October, with roughly equal chances of wetter- or drier-than-normal conditions. This week’s Kansas hay report described persistently dry fields across much of the state ahead of winter wheat planting in September, when producers will need soil moisture. Drought-stressed pastures also can force cattle sales as the national herd remains historically small and beef prices stand at record highs. The drought’s duration could shape fall wildfire conditions and increase long-term pressure on the Ogallala Aquifer, the declining groundwater source that irrigates western Kansas.

Drought.gov · High Plains Journal · Brownfield Ag News

Chiefs Explore Kansas Super Bowls at Planned Dome

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Kansas City Chiefs President Mark Donovan said Wednesday that the team has discussed hosting the 2033, 2034 and 2035 Super Bowls with the NFL at its planned domed stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, which is scheduled to open in 2031. Donovan said an enclosed stadium would make the franchise eligible to bid on major events it cannot pursue now, and the team also is seeking an NCAA men’s Final Four. He said training camp will remain at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph through the 2030 season and that the team’s $300 million Olathe headquarters, expected to open before the 2031 season, is being designed to potentially host future camps. His comments were the first public confirmation of Super Bowl discussions tied to the Wyandotte County stadium since the franchise agreed in December to move to Kansas. Landing a Super Bowl or Final Four would raise the economic stakes and scrutiny surrounding bond-financed stadium and practice-facility projects in Wyandotte and Johnson counties. A Super Bowl would be the largest single sporting event Kansas has hosted.

KSHB 41 · KCTV5

Sources

1. WIBW / KWCH / KCLY Radio
2. Citizen Journal’s Hutchinson meeting archive / Reno County Commission, June 10 / Reno County Commission, June 16 / Reno County Commission, July 8 / Reno County Commission, July 29 / Hutchinson Tribune / Hutch Post / KWCH / Kansas Corporation Commission
3. KCTV5 / Johnson County Post / FOX4 / KSN / Sunflower State Radio / KCTV5, May 5
4. Drought.gov / High Plains Journal / Brownfield Ag News
5. KSHB 41 / KCTV5 / [KSHB 41

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