Data Centers Power Evergy Growth Plan

Kansas Governments Confront Mid-Century Infrastructure

DHS Buys Leavenworth Detention Center

Bonner Springs Deploys AI Gun Detection

Vacant Buildings Become Kansas Apartments

Data Centers Power Evergy Growth Plan

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Evergy reported a second-quarter profit of $215 million, an increase from a year earlier as demand from large customers grew. The utility reaffirmed its earnings outlook, citing grid investments, electricity demand and revenue from major customers. Evergy has signed long-term agreements with several data center projects and expects them to drive strong electricity sales growth through 2030 after two decades of largely flat demand. The company plans additional power generation and grid improvements to serve that growth. The expansion ties Evergy's financial results to pending rate cases and investment plans, while Kansas regulators decide how costs and benefits are divided among large customers, shareholders and other ratepayers.

Evergy · Associated Press · Utility Dive · MarketScreener · Investing.com

Kansas Governments Confront Mid-Century Infrastructure

TOPEKA, Kan. — A Citizen Journal review of more than 1,000 public meetings in its database found Kansas governments and school districts repairing aging power, water, bridge and cooling systems, often after equipment reached the end of its service life. On Aug. 4, Wellington approved a major power-plant repair, Cowley County moved landowners off failing private water lines, Ellis County advanced a federal grant application for three bridges, and Arkansas City awarded a bridge replacement contract. Public-building chillers show the same pattern: Shawnee County approved a $103,800 emergency rental after a catastrophic failure because a permanent unit could take 40 weeks, while officials overseeing Hotel Topeka and schools in Lawrence, Arkansas City and McPherson addressed aging cooling equipment. The projects rely on repairs, grants and outside aid, including state funding for most of the Arkansas City bridge cost. Together, the cases show how delayed replacement can leave Kansas governments facing emergency expenses while they plan and finance permanent work.

Citizen Journal Meeting Database Review · ASCE · KSN · Kansas Governor's Office · U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids

DHS Buys Leavenworth Detention Center

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security bought CoreCivic's 1,033-bed Midwest Regional Reception Center in Leavenworth for $238.4 million as part of a larger two-facility transaction. The site reopened this year as an immigration detention center after CoreCivic received a contested city permit in March, and the company is expected to continue operating it for Immigration and Customs Enforcement under a management contract through September 2027. The sale transfers the building and land to the federal government, whose property is generally exempt from local property taxes. Leavenworth officials are seeking clarity on future payments under a deal that produced an initial $1.5 million payment to help cover police, fire and emergency services. They are also examining whether the city's special use permit and local oversight board will continue to apply after the ownership change, making the sale consequential for both city finances and local oversight.

KCUR · Kansas Reflector · KSHB 41 · KCTV5 · FOX4KC

Bonner Springs Deploys AI Gun Detection

BONNER SPRINGS, Kan. — Bonner Springs-Edwardsville USD 204 has deployed ZeroEyes artificial-intelligence gun detection software across schools serving more than 2,400 students. The system works with existing security cameras to identify a visible firearm and send an image to a monitoring center staffed by military and law enforcement veterans. If reviewers verify a threat, they alert district officials and local police, often within seconds of the initial detection, according to the company. The district paid for the technology through the Kansas Safe and Secure Firearm Detection Grant Program. The deployment may offer other Kansas districts an early test of the state-funded technology, but the system is limited to weapons that are visible to a camera.

KCTV5 · FOX4KC · ZeroEyes · PR Newswire

Vacant Buildings Become Kansas Apartments

TOPEKA, Kan. — A Citizen Journal review of more than 1,000 public meetings in its database found Kansas communities advancing plans to convert vacant motels, schools, stores and civic buildings into housing, often with subsidies or zoning changes. Salina planners recommended rezoning a Motel 6 for apartments; Hays is backing the conversion of the former Lincoln Elementary School into 26 apartments and seven fourplexes; and Emporia approved plans for eight apartments in a former Western Auto store. Lawrence advanced residential reuse of its Masonic Temple with state historic tax credits, while Abilene extended a construction deadline for its delayed Downtown Lofts project. A similar motel conversion in Evanston, Wyoming, required reduced parking standards for a planned 33 apartments, showing the approach is also being used elsewhere in the country. Kansas launched an initiative in January to identify vacant buildings suitable for housing, and the local projects show how adaptive reuse can add homes when communities pair available structures with project-specific financing and approvals.

Citizen Journal Meeting Database Review · KCTV5 · KCUR

Sources

1. Evergy / Associated Press via WUSA9 / Utility Dive / MarketScreener / Investing.com
2. Citizen Journal database of more than 1,000 public meetings / Wellington meeting / Cowley County meeting records / Ellis County meeting / Arkansas City meeting / Salina meeting / Shawnee County meeting / Hotel Topeka board meeting / Lawrence USD 497 meeting / Arkansas City USD 470 meeting / McPherson USD 418 meeting / KSN / ASCE / Kansas Governor's Office / U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids
3. KCUR / Kansas Reflector / KSHB 41 / KCTV5 / FOX4KC
4. KCTV5 / FOX4KC / ZeroEyes / PR Newswire
5. Citizen Journal database of more than 1,000 public meetings / Salina meeting / Hays meeting / Hays report file / Emporia meeting / Lawrence meeting / Abilene meeting / Evanston meeting / KCTV5 / KCUR

This article was written using our proprietary AI system, Cronkite. The final decision to publish this article was made by a human. For more info, read our AI policy.

Found a mistake? Have a news tip or feedback to share? Contact our newsroom using the button below:

citizen journal offers three flagship products: a daily national news summary, a daily Kansas news summary, and local news and school board summaries from 20 cities across Kansas. Each issue contains 5 paragraph-length stories that are made to be read in 5 minutes. Use the links in the header to navigate to national, kansas, and local coverage. Subscribe to each, some, or all to get an email when new issues are published for FREE!

Brought to you by (click me!)