After hearing from the public, the Wichita City Council amended an ordinance on Tuesday to make back-in parking legal in most city spaces. Council members approved the amendment 7-0, despite staff’s recommendation to keep the current ordinance that had been in effect since 2008. The council ultimately agreed with the public, who sent dozens of emails speaking against the back-in parking rule. The only spots where backing in will still be illegal are on-street parking. This was a safety concern since many of the spots are angled, and drivers could be pulling out into traffic. Council members were also worried that [...]

A new dairy held its grand opening in western Kansas on Tuesday. Twin Circle Dairy, owned by Blue Sky Farms, opened its facility just south of Lewis. The $250 million facility houses about 23,000 to 24,000 head of cattle and will be able to produce roughly 19,300 gallons of milk each day. “We’re just very excited about this day, and finally everything is full, and we’re ready,” Blue Sky CEO Harry Dwit said. Read more: KSN-TV

City leaders in Emporia are considering the addition of a specialized district that could hold future data centers. The City of Emporia announced in a social media post on Tuesday that its Planning Commission is considering a proposal to establish a new Digital Infrastructure Overlay District (DI-O). The Planning Commission will hold a special meeting and public hearings tied to this topic later this month. Read more: KSN-TV

The City of Park City said it was a successful opening weekend, but it cautions that because of staffing shortages, there may be days when operations will be limited. Read more: KSN-TV

To mark America's 250th birthday, Wichita's Cowtown has added a new exhibit honoring America's pastime. The exhibit, titled the “155th Celebration of Base Ball in Wichita” opens Sunday at Old Cowtown Museum. The exhibit showcases early “base ball” as it was spelled back then, in Wichita and the city’s place as an innovator, not just in the sport, but in civil issues that were changing society. Read more: KSN-TV

Residents gathered at the Perry Memorial Armory in St. Marys on Wednesday to learn more about a potential data center project that could be developed in Pottawatomie County. The informational meeting, hosted by the Kaw Valley Chamber of Commerce, aimed to provide community members with facts about data centers and answer questions about the potential economic benefits and challenges such a project could bring. Read more: KSNT 27 News

The City of Arkansas City is inviting residents to help preserve a piece of local history through a new community time capsule set to be buried Friday, June 5, on the City Hall lawn. Community members are encouraged to submit photographs, letters, memorabilia, newspapers, school items and other small keepsakes that reflect life in Arkansas City in 2026. The capsule burial ceremony is scheduled for noon and comes just ahead of the June 6 opening celebration for Etzanoa, while also tying into the nationwide lead-up to America's 250th birthday celebration. Read more: Cowley Post

A Marion food truck owner questioned Monday whether the city’s food truck ordinance treats similar businesses differently. Anita Seacat, owner of Poncho’s Food Truck, told council members she had been buying $10 daily permits to operate Mondays and Saturdays at 616 E. Main St., property she owns with her husband. “I questioned why would we have to pay $10 a day or $100 for six months for us to do business on our own property?’” Seacat said. Read more: Marion County RECORD

When they voted in February to approve hundreds of millions of dollars in public subsidies for the Kansas City Chiefs, Wyandotte County officials wanted to make sure they would not be left out of oversight for the new Chiefs stadium. Now, four months later, at least one state official is saying the county has not yet earned a spot at the table. Rep. Sean Tarwater, a Republican from Stilwell in Johnson County, said that although Wyandotte County approved its $450 million subsidy for the Chiefs, a provision in that ordinance bars the county from having representation on the newly created Kansas [...]

The City of Hutchinson is working on temporary and permanent regulations for data center and battery energy storage systems (BESS) development, with a final decision on the desk of the Hutchinson City Council by October. That’s according to Director of Community Development Matt Williams, who gave a timeline of regulations to the council during the public comment section of the most recent Hutchinson City Council meeting. Williams said the two-track process to regulate data centers and BESS began with a May 5 approval from the council to begin the review process for temporary and permanent regulations. Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune