Will this green energy line create a 'scar' across Missouri?

By Nomin Ujiyediin,

Published April 28, 2022 at 4:00 AM CDT

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Kansans with substance use problems say they are falling through the cracks of a legal system that’s more concerned with punishing them than getting them sober. And, a transmission line that would deliver wind energy from southwest Kansas to other parts of the country has some Missouri farmers concerned about the use of eminent domain to complete the project.

Samantha Bishop wasn’t offered drug treatment until she was in prison. She beat addiction, but her journey through the criminal justice system only made recovery harder for a woman raising her young daughter. As Blaise Mesa of the Kansas News Service reports, the state’s criminal justice system is struggling to provide treatment for people who need it.

The transmission line known as the Grain Belt Express would deliver wind from southwest Kansas to other parts of the Midwest. Developers say the line would create the equivalent of 15 million barrels of oil annually. But as Cami Koons of Kansas City PBS reveals, some landowners oppose a private company using eminent domain to complete its project.

The interview about the Grain Belt Express contained some inaccuracies. The Grain Belt Express would generate the equivalent of about seven Hawthorn coal plants and would connect with the SPP, MISO and PJM grids.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love, Trevor Grandin, and KCUR Studios and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

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Corrected: May 2, 2022 at 11:34 PM CDT

The interview about the Grain Belt Express contained some inaccuracies.
The Grain Belt Express would generate the equivalent of about seven Hawthorn coal plants and would connect with the SPP, MISO and PJM grids.