Rural development

Big tech companies are facing formidable opposition from a coalition of people across the political spectrum. Meanwhile, local elected officials find themselves scrambling to draft regulations and defend themselves against accusations of secrecy.

Data center distrust is so strong that Kansans are putting forward petitions to stop local governments from developing the facilities. In return, at least three Kansas cities are suing constituents over those petitions.

Companies including Amazon and Google are building data centers in Missouri amid a boom in generative artificial intelligence. For residents in many communities, they aren't getting many answers from either the developers or the lawmakers approving the projects.

Data centers are on the fast track in communities across the Midwest and Great Plains, but rising concerns over water, energy and noise leave lawmakers rushing to catch up. Plus: Supporters and opponents are debating a proposed data center in southwest Kansas.

The eight-state highway's origins started in Springfield, Missouri, a century ago on April 30, 1926. The route helped keep some Missouri and Kansas towns afloat during the Great Depression and after World War II.

It’s getting more difficult to find an attorney in rural Kansas as people retire, so the state is offering incentives to attract a new generation of lawyers. Still, filling the civic leadership roles left by veteran lawyers will not be easy.

Residents of a rural Johnson County community are confronting a new data center proposal from San Francisco-based Beale Infrastructure, just weeks after they blocked a similar proposal.

Residents of Gardner, Kansas, are confronting a new data center proposal from Beale Infrastructure just weeks after a similar proposal was withdrawn. Members of the community are concerned about the impact on their environment, utilities, and noise levels.

Rural communities have been turning to nonprofits and other strategies to keep grocery stores open. But one of those new stores is closing in Kansas, which shows how challenging it can be to provide food in small towns.

Sedalia's newest effort to help its most vulnerable residents appears to be a win: a building with the area’s most crucial social service providers all under one roof, available throughout the week on a walk-in basis. It's part of a Missouri pilot program to better serve rural communities.

Western Kansas has the potential to capitalize on our region’s growing energy demands even as rural populations shrink. There’s plenty of land, wind and sun to be a center for renewable energy production. But skepticism is bringing these projects to a halt.

The hyperscale data center would go in eastern Independence, near schools and an ammunition plant. A growing number of residents are trying to stop city officials from providing any tax incentives to the company to keep it from being built.