General News in the 316

[SubGod22]

Towne West saga continues with another unpaid bill. This time the water has been shut off.

[SubGod22]

Meeting on K96 tonight.

KSN - Meeting to be held on K-96 expansion in Wichita

The public is invited to attend a meeting for the K-96 Improvement Project in Wichita on Thursday, April 11, 2024, from 5-7 p.m. at the WSU Eugene M. Hughes Metropolitan Complex, 5015 E. 29th Street N.



The Kansas Department of Transportation is hosting the event.

Work is being planned to improve the K-96 freeway between Interstate I-135 and 21st Street on the east side of Wichita. The road would be expanded from four to six lanes. Interchanges would be improved at Hillside, Oliver, Woodlawn, Rock, Webb, Greenwich, and 21st Street. Some of the intersections may get a diverging diamond format.

[SubGod22]

KAKE - Improvements coming to K-96 in three years, KDOT says

Every single day around 50,000 people use K-96 to get around Wichita and right now traffic can get really backed up as people get on and off of the highway.

Wednesday afternoon a long line of cars formed at K-96 and Woodlawn at the traffic stop as people waited to turn onto the highway. KDOT says as one of the city's most used highways it can get pretty congested and by 2050 it estimates 100,000 people will use K-96 every day. That's why it's coming up with plans to make traffic on K-96 more efficient.

"We want to make these interchanges safer. We want to improve the road and make sure it can accommodate an increasing capacity of drivers," said a spokesperson for KDOT, J.B. Wilson when explaining why KDOT is planning this.

He says one improvement the department is looking at doing is building five diverging diamond intersections as entrance ramps onto the highway. He says places like Kansas City already have these and it's been proven to make traffic move more effectively. This will be the first one in Wichita.

[SubGod22]

Wichita by EB - Sedgwick County Zoo announces the return of "Flocktail", an adults only social event

Get ready to “fla-mingle” at the Zoo! This morning the Sedgwick County Zoo announced the return of its popular Flocktail event series, beginning Friday, April 26.

Flocktail is an exciting adults-only social event where guests will enjoy live music, yard games, a special food and drink menu, and so much more.

Tickets for Flocktail, which are $65 for non-members and $60 for Zoo members, allow guests after-hours access to featured areas of the Zoo. Flocktail will take place from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Besides April 26, additional dates for Flocktail are June 21 and Oct. 18.

Seems like a pretty cool fundraising opportunity for our lovely zoo.

Also never thought about it, but our zoo is the number 1 outdoor family tourist attraction in Kansas. That may change once Mattel has their park built near Bonner Springs in a few years.

[SubGod22]

KSN - Electric scooter ordinance could be changed in Wichita

The Wichita City Council on Tuesday will consider changing the electric scooter ordinance.

The ordinance would be amended to remove the current prohibition of scooter operation “between the hours of dusk or 9:00 p.m., whichever is earlier, and sunrise.”

Penny Feist, interim director of Wichita Transit, said instead, the ordinance would be replaced with a provision that all scooters must have a headlamp.

“We see a lot of demand increase around 6 or 7 p.m., and so when we disable them shortly thereafter, we think that we could really increase ridership by allowing them to be available a little bit longer,” Feist said.

Around 60K rides and only two safety issues is pretty good. How many scooters were pulled from the Arkansas though I do not know.

[SubGod22]

Say what you want about the Steven family, but they're involved in a number of good things in the metro area that add to quality of life and make the area more attractive to others.

Eagle - Massive Derby Shores project now at $160 million with new, well-known Wichita partner

After a few years of false starts and delays, the group bringing the massive Derby Shores project to Derby has a new partner and an expanded $160 million plan.

Wichita businessman Dave Murfin and Kansas City developer Rick Worner brought in Rodney Steven II as what Worner called their component developer — the one who will build and operate a four-and a-half-acre crystal blue lagoon with various water features and activities.

It was Steven — who is best known for his almost 70 Genesis Health Clubs nationally and the Genesis Sports Complex, aquatic complex and Blast Off Bay water park in Goddard — who bumped up the lagoon size from the original planned two acres.

“I didn’t think it would be enough of a draw,” Steven said.

“I just wanted to do it right. I didn’t want to do something little.”

On something like this, I'd want to err on the side of going too big rather than too small.

There will be many components to Derby Shores, but the centerpiece is the lagoon, which is in partnership with a national company called Crystal Lagoons that creates them all over the world.

“I’ve gone to a few of these places,” Steven said. “They’re absolutely beautiful.”

Sand surrounds the zero-entry lagoon, which goes to depths of 8 feet.

“And you feel like you’re on a beach,” Steven said. “We’ll bring in tons and tons of white sand.”

He compares it to the Caribbean “except the water is even clearer.”

There will be a boathouse, beach volleyball and all kinds of water activities, including slides, paddle boards, kayaks, power boards and glass-bottom boats.

There also will be docks and a wedding peninsula.

There will be waterfront restaurants, a tiki bar, a climbing wall, a zipline, an aerial park with climbing ropes, a BMX course, a picnic lawn, a park for camping and an esplanade for events.

In addition to all the activities, there will be a hotel and residential features, including apartments and senior housing.

Worner said he’s in talks with component developers for the hotel and residential developments.

A little of what it will have to offer.

Construction is expected to begin later this year and will be a 2 year build.

[shocker_torero]

Not actual news, just a hunch. I don’t foresee Integra getting CHIPS act funding. Beyond the minor awards right up front, all the other awards have been multi billion dollar awards to massive companies with direct chip manufacturing. The latest was a chip manufacturer in TX, getting 6 billion. They’re also building their own packaging facility with the money.

Integra’s business model (outsourced contractor for packaging) may not be attractive to invest into when all the new companies sprouting up are just going to do their own thing.

They missed the April deadline for state incentives, and I’ve seen nothing about that being renewed again.
I was hopeful this would happen, but I’m growing increasingly pessimistic. Will be a major swing and miss for Wichita metro imo, but hope I’m wrong.

[ShockBand]

Say what you want about the Steven family, but they're involved in a number of good things in the metro area that add to quality of life and make the area more attractive to others.

Eagle - Massive Derby Shores project now at $160 million with new, well-known Wichita partner



On something like this, I'd want to err on the side of going too big rather than too small.




A little of what it will have to offer.

Construction is expected to begin later this year and will be a 2 year build.

New reality series - Derby Shore? At the very least Mosley Street Melodrama can do a show based on the name play!

[WstateU]

New reality series - Derby Shore? At the very least Mosley Street Melodrama can do a show based on the name play!

[SubGod22]

Chase moving on up.

WBJ - Chase Koch makes move from Koch Disruptive Technologies to parent company Koch Industries

Chase Koch has left Koch Disruptive Technologies as CEO to become Koch Industries' executive vice president of origination and partnerships.

The parent company's board of directors made the decision in March. Charles Koch, 88, is Chase's father and chair of the board.

Chase Koch founded Koch Disruptive Technologies, which invests in enterprising young companies, and is expected to remain involved.

"In this new role, I will expand efforts to originate and build new preferred partnerships for Koch Industries to accelerate our knowledge networks and enhance Koch's brand," Chase Koch said in an internal announcement.

[SubGod22]

Another building near the Biomed Campus will be converted to apartments

Eagle - Downtown Wichita Biomedical Campus inspires another building purchase

Lawyer Abdul Arif is the latest person trying to take advantage of the coming Wichita Biomedical Campus by purchasing a building with plans to convert it — in this case to apartments.

“Having the biomed campus coming in definitely piqued our interest,” Arif said. “We feel like there’s tremendous opportunity there.”

There has been an ongoing building shuffle around the site where the Wichita Transit center is downtown along William between Broadway and Topeka, which is where Wichita State University and the University of Kansas Medical Center are planning the first phase of their new campus in 2026.

Unlike some of the people buying property near there, Arif is going a few blocks south of Kellogg to 944 S. Topeka, which he noted is not currently a good place to be.

“The opportunity is where most people think there isn’t any,” he said.

He'll be investing a couple million into renovations and is planning on making the apartments more affordable than the newer luxury apartments in the area.

I'm not familiar with the area. It may not be a great area but one could assume that with the new campus going in that there could be a lot of changes for the better.

[shocktown]

Another building near the Biomed Campus will be converted to apartments

Eagle - Downtown Wichita Biomedical Campus inspires another building purchase



He'll be investing a couple million into renovations and is planning on making the apartments more affordable than the newer luxury apartments in the area.

I'm not familiar with the area. It may not be a great area but one could assume that with the new campus going in that there could be a lot of changes for the better.

That area south of Kellogg to Lincoln and from St Francis on the east to the river on the west would be a great candidate for gentrification. That particular building looks like it was built in 1950's as Grace M.E. Church.

[SubGod22]

Wichita by EB - Sedgwick County Zoo announces a fifth pregnant elephant

Last year, Sedgwick County Zoo announced that four of its female elephants are expecting calves in 2025. Today, SCZ is excited to announce that a fifth female is pregnant.

With this news, all of the herd’s females except for Stephanie, who is post-reproductive, are now expecting. Among the expectant mothers, Simunye, mother to Titan, a beloved male elephant at SCZ, brings valuable maternal experience to the upcoming births. Talia, Xolani, Arusi, and Zuberi are all pregnant with their first offspring, adding to the anticipation and joy within the Zoo community. The first birth is expected in early spring 2025.

The dedicated elephant care team at Sedgwick County Zoo prioritizes the wellbeing of the herd throughout their entire lives, and that’s especially true during pregnancy. They provide comprehensive care, including monitoring body condition, hormones, vitamin and mineral intake, and routine bloodwork to ensure optimal health at this crucial time.

[SubGod22]

This could be big.

Wichita by EB - Elsewhere Fest with over 70 musical acts could be Wichita's biggest music festival ever

This could end up being the biggest musical festival to ever take place in Wichita. The inaugural Elsewhere Festival and Conference will be held in Wichita, Kansas, June 21 and 22, 2024.

Created and produced by Midtopia, a Wichita-based artist and music worker collective striving to build new models for the music industry, both the festival and conference will take an unconventional, inclusive approach to supporting regional arts.

The genre-agnostic festival will feature performances from Killer Mike, Lane 8, Vince Staples, Steve Aoki,
Snow Tha Product, BADBADNOTGOOD, Sudan Archives, and more. Many local Wichita venues will host festival and conference programming throughout the event, with one free stage open to the public. The festival will also include various art experiences, an immersive light and sound stage, and will act as a platform for community-based artists of all kinds.

In all, there will be over 70 acts taking place at over five venues in a two-day span.

The conference will feature Killer Mike discussing the importance of freedom of expression, as well as guests from City Winery, Stand Together, No Depression, Berklee College of Music, Union Stage, Primary Wave, and others, sharing their experience in and knowledge of the music industry with conference attendees. With low-cost admission, the conference is geared towards musicians as well as practicing and potential career music workers, with the opportunity for one-on-one meetings with industry professionals.

[SubGod22]

Towne West preparing for the worst

Yahoo! - Towne West tenants warned of possible shut-offs ahead

The smaller tenants at Towne West Square have been warned that water and electricity may be turned off again in the next few weeks.

One of the tenants, Passageways Ltd., shared a notice it got on Tuesday from Towne West Mall Realty Holding LLC. The letter lists the next possible shut-off dates and suggests the shut-offs would be because the owner has not paid the utility bills.

“Please be informed that we will be facing a potential disconnection from Evergy Monday April 29th if payment is not made by April 27th,” the notice reads. “As of right now Corporate is aware and they are working on payment. I just want to advise we have potential disconnection of the water as well for May 4th. I will update as we get closer to those dates. I want to be transparent.”