> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.citizenjournal.us/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Top 5 Kansas news stories - URL: https://www.citizenjournal.us/top-5-kansas-news-stories-297/ - Published: 2026-10-28T11:39:32.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-28T11:39:32.000Z - Description: October 28 2026 - Author: Greg Loving - Tags: Kansas, #summary # Cook Moves Kansas Governor’s Race to Toss-Up # Evergy Says Data Centers Will Pay Premium Rates # Moran Seeks Southwest Kansas Immigration Services Office # Wichita Reviews 191 Plate Cameras Before Contract Vote # ICYMI: Vance Announces Tentative Grants for 10 Kansas Meatpackers --- # Cook Moves Kansas Governor’s Race to Toss-Up TOPEKA, Kan. — The nonpartisan Cook Political Report moved the Kansas governor’s race between Republican Senate President Ty Masterson and Democratic state Sen. Cindy Holscher from Lean Republican to Toss Up on Tuesday, Oct. 27, a week before Election Day. Cook cited the tightening U.S. Senate race between Republican Sen. Roger Marshall and Democrat Adam Hamilton and internal Holscher campaign polling; its final governor ratings also moved Nebraska from Likely Republican to Lean Republican. Masterson has led most public polls, and Cook said Republicans remain optimistic about Kansas, which it considers their best opportunity to capture a governor’s seat. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly is term-limited, leaving an open seat in a state President Donald Trump carried by 16 percentage points in 2024\. The Nov. 3 election will determine control of the governor’s office and its veto power, which Kansas’ Republican-supermajority Legislature has repeatedly overridden under Kelly. Advance voting is underway, but the rating is a forecast, and election results have not been reported. Cook Political Report · Newsweek --- # Evergy Says Data Centers Will Pay Premium Rates TOPEKA, Kan. — Evergy told customers in an Oct. 26 email that new data centers and other major electricity users will pay premium rates, as their power costs feature in the governor’s race and local disputes over electricity, water and tax breaks. The rules cover new facilities requiring at least 75 megawatts and existing customers expanding demand by that amount, including manufacturers and distribution centers. Those customers must cover the full cost of substations or transmission lines built solely for them, pay minimum bills based on 80% of contracted demand, post collateral equal to two years of minimum bills and sign contracts lasting at least 12 years. In interviews reported Oct. 27 and 28, Evergy Chief Consumer Officer Chuck Caisley said the company had rejected dozens of data center projects and that qualifying large users would pay about 20% more than other customers he described as “similarly situated.” Kansas Corporation Commission staff separately estimated that large users would pay 7% to 10% more than existing industrial customers; the reporting does not explain why that estimate differs from Caisley’s 20% figure. The commission approved the rules in November 2025, but the tariff proceeding remains open, and Evergy’s assurance that data centers will not increase household bills remains a company claim rather than a regulatory guarantee. KCTV5 · KWCH · KCC · Utility Dive --- # Moran Seeks Southwest Kansas Immigration Services Office GARDEN CITY, Kan. — Republican U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran urged Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to establish a permanent U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services field office in southwest Kansas and restore mobile visits to Garden City, Dodge City and Liberal, according to a letter reported Oct. 26\. The agency handles citizenship applications, green cards and work permits, but its nearest field office is in Wichita, requiring trips of three hours or more that Moran said can cost agricultural workers one or two days of pay. Moran, who has advocated for expanded services for more than a decade and helped secure mobile visits in 2014, said access supports livestock and dairy industries reliant on legal immigrant labor, including a region responsible for more than one-fifth of the nation’s beef-processing capacity. USCIS designated Dodge City for monthly mobile service in May 2025, replacing quarterly stops in the three cities, but Moran said constituents reported roughly nine months without a Dodge City visit. Garden City renewed its more than 20-year push for naturalization services and a permanent office in an October appeal to Moran, Sen. Roger Marshall and Rep. Tracey Mann. The requests follow federal immigration operations in the Dodge City, Garden City, Liberal and Scott City areas that prompted temporary business closures in September; DHS has not announced a new USCIS office. Sen. Jerry Moran’s Office · KSCB · KWCH · KSN --- # Wichita Reviews 191 Plate Cameras Before Contract Vote WICHITA, Kan. — Wichita police briefed the City Council on their Flock Safety license-plate camera system Tuesday, Oct. 27, ahead of an expected vote next week on a six-month contract extension, KWCH reported. The department operates 191 fixed cameras that photograph passing vehicles so their plates can be checked against lists of wanted or stolen vehicles. Police also use the technology on patrol cars but did not disclose how many vehicles carry it. The city approved a Flock agreement in April 2021, and the council funded an expansion of the camera network and gunshot detectors in October 2024\. The Kansas Justice Institute, a nonprofit public-interest law firm, has challenged the cameras in court, and the city has sought dismissal of the lawsuit. The upcoming vote puts continued use of the network before the council amid litigation and a national debate over police surveillance and privacy. KWCH · City of Wichita --- # ICYMI: Vance Announces Tentative Grants for 10 Kansas Meatpackers TOPEKA, Kan. — Vice President JD Vance announced plans for $57.4 million in meatpacking grants, including awards for 10 Kansas facilities, at an Oct. 26 campaign rally for Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, who faces a competitive Nov. 3 election. USDA described 147 tentative awards across 40 states pending congressional funding, while KSNT reported that the Kansas recipients and their individual awards had not been identified. The Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program helps independent processors expand capacity and compete in a concentrated industry, with Kansas among the leading beef-processing states and home to major southwest Kansas packing plants. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins linked the grants to Trump’s executive order on livestock markets and said more local processing would bolster ranchers’ confidence. Vance said the grants would help lower grocery costs amid high beef prices and asserted that two of the largest meatpacking companies are entirely controlled by foreign interests. Kansas State University agricultural economist Glynn Tonsor told KSNT that $57 million would be too little to significantly affect retail beef prices, tempering expectations for savings at Kansas grocery stores. [Vice President JD Vance makes second visit to KansasVisit comes as Republicans struggle for votes in midterm election![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f7/e6/f7e66a8b-8f27-493f-8b7e-664ecefd4c3d/content/images/icon/cj-icon-1000-8d37b778-f08f-4206-8db6-69954895f2ee.png)citizen journalAminah Syed![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f7/e6/f7e66a8b-8f27-493f-8b7e-664ecefd4c3d/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_0443-e358cdc7-1b5e-43ef-abae-40514df59b28.webp)](https://www.citizenjournal.us/vice-president-jd-vance-makes-second-visit-to-kansas/) USDA · KSNT · KMAN · The Hill · Just the News --- ## Sources 1. [Cook Political Report](https://www.cookpolitical.com/analysis/governors/2026-final-governors-ratings?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [Newsweek](https://www.newsweek.com/governor-races-shift-toward-democrats-in-states-trump-won-by-double-digits-12627211?ref=citizenjournal.us) 2. [KCTV5](https://www.kctv5.com/2026/10/27/evergy-says-data-centers-wont-raise-your-rates-heres-how-that-works/?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [KCTV5](https://www.kctv5.com/2026/10/28/evergy-executive-answers-questions-about-data-centers-after-email-customers/?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [KWCH](https://www.kwch.com/2026/10/28/evergy-says-new-data-centers-will-pay-more-electricity/?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [KCC](https://www.kcc.ks.gov/commission%5Fmeetings%5Ffiles/notice%5F20261013.pdf?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [Utility Dive](https://www.utilitydive.com/news/kansas-michigan-data-center-large-load-evergy-consumers/805115/?ref=citizenjournal.us) 3. [Sen. Jerry Moran’s Office](https://www.moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=news-releases&id=AB0223DA-3F49-49FE-9193-44A65B0D5BCA&ref=citizenjournal.us) / [KSCB](https://www.kscbnews.net/2026/10/26/sen-moran-calls-on-dhs-to-establish-permanent-uscis-field-office-in-southwest-kansas/?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [KWCH](https://www.kwch.com/2026/10/08/garden-city-urges-kansas-delegation-address-immigration-services-southwest-kansas/?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [KSN](https://www.ksn.com/news/state-regional/ice-presence-in-southwest-kansas-prompts-temporary-business-closures/?ref=citizenjournal.us) 4. [KWCH](https://www.kwch.com/2026/10/28/wichita-city-leaders-hear-update-police-flock-camera-usage/?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [KWCH](https://www.kwch.com/2024/10/15/wichita-city-council-approves-funding-expand-flock-system-gunshot-detectors/?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [KWCH](https://www.kwch.com/2026/09/29/city-wichita-seeks-dismiss-lawsuit-over-flock-cameras/?outputType=amp&ref=citizenjournal.us) / [City of Wichita](https://www.wichita.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/10933?ref=citizenjournal.us) 5. [USDA](https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2026/10/26/usda-invest-57-million-boost-american-meat-processing-capacity-and-support-us-ranchers?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [KSNT](https://www.ksnt.com/capitol-bureau/how-could-federal-grants-impact-kansas-meat-packing-industry/?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [KMAN](https://1350kman.com/2026/10/jd-vance-announces-millions-in-meatpacking-grants-bolsters-roger-marshall-at-topeka-rally/?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [The Hill](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6173839-vance-announces-meatpacking-grants/?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [Just the News](https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/environment/vance-announces-agriculture-department-investing-57m-american?ref=citizenjournal.us) --- *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](https://www.citizenjournal.us/ai-policy/).* --- Found a mistake? 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