Developers eye idle KCK power plant as the region pursues data center projects

Investors have offered to buy the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities’ defunct Quindaro Power Station and develop a data center on the site. (Vaughn Wheat/The Beacon)

A defunct Kansas City, Kansas, power station astride polluted land has caught the eye of investors eager to develop an energy-hungry data center. The investors have offered to pay millions of dollars for the environmental remediation of the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities’ defunct Quindaro Power Station — and then some. The Unified Government…

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Manufacturers Out of Step with Customers on Repairs

One goal of right-to-repair legislation, including measures considered in Missouri and Kansas, is to make it easier for farmers to fix their own equipment.

Would you want your livelihood to depend on your daughter’s choice of dance escorts? Don’t laugh. Nathan Proctor has heard anecdotes to that effect in his role with PIRG, a Denver-based federation of state-based public interest research groups. Proctor is the senior director of PIRG’s right-to-repair campaign, which aims to break down the barriers that…

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The Blue River is Kansas City’s River — Can Kansas Citians Access it?

A photo of the Blue River. The river is larger at the foreground of the image and thins to a point in the background of the image. The water is blue with small ripples. On the sides of the river are clean, grassy banks. Just beyond the river bend in the background of the photo is a treeline.

The Blue River is Kansas City’s river — but does everyone have equal access to it? There’s only one boat ramp on the entire 40-mile Blue River, and some community members say there could be more done to better connect them with the water flowing through their backyards. Flatland talked with the Heartland Conservation Alliance…

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Trump Views Raise Questions for De Soto Panasonic Plant

Morning sun peeks over the roof of the Panasonic EV Battery Facility in DeSoto, Kansas, on Jan. 17, 2025. (Chase Castor | Flatland)

The mammoth $4 billion Panasonic electric vehicle battery plant nearing completion on the western edge of Kansas City is the biggest investment ever in the state of Kansas. Now it looms as possibly the biggest paradox and largest question mark hanging over the state and its future fortunes. The paradox is that one of the…

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Watch: Mapping and Managing Energy Burden in Kansas City

Natural gas meter.

Energy burden is defined as the percentage of gross household income that is spent on energy costs. In some areas of the Kansas City Metropolitan area, residents experience an elevated energy burden. We caught up with experts to learn more about how energy burden impacts residents and potential solutions for mitigating the problem.

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