General News in the 316

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WBJ - Under new ownership, what's ahead for northeast Wichita's former Opti-Life building

Orthopedic surgeon Pat Do — founder of Mid-America Orthopedics and active in local development — is the majority partner of a group that purchased the 31,800 square-foot building near the northeast corner of Webb Road and 21st Street earlier this year. Do is now reshaping the space into a Class A medical and office property.

The building is being renamed Healical.

Do said the aim is to bring in top medical providers in the city to create a "one-stop shop" for innovative services that can help a person's health span, which is how long a person is healthy — not just alive.

"The vision with this is to be a state-of-the-art medical facility," Do said.

Healical, which should get its new signage later this summer replacing Opti-Life on the building, already has its first tenants at 9758 E. 21st St.

In a partnership between Do and internist Andrew Biggs, Metabolic Life Clinic has already opened a 4,000 square-foot space on Healical's first floor.

The clinic helps treat things like obesity and diabetes.

Integrative Center for Therapy is also moving in to a first floor space. Dr. Fields is apparently well respected and she has patients that travel from all over the state to see her.

Sounds like this could be another great addition for Wichita if his vision comes together and fits in with the medical corridor that has developed along that area of Webb Road. Dr. Do hopes to have the building filled by the end of the year.

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In some shocking news...

Wichita by EB - ICTea will close both locations at the end of July

In some shocking news, ICTea has announced they will be closing their doors at both locations.

A post shared on Facebook noted the owners will be pursuing other interests. The last day of business will be July 31.

They just opened their northwest location in the last month or two. I know I have friends/family that hit up the east location. This isn't my kind of establishment, but I thought they'd been pretty successful. Not sure if they're just tired of this particular business or if the influx in boba and tea places have eaten away at their business.

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MSN - Great Plains Nature Center hosts 'Moonlit Mania'

The Chisholm Trail in northeast Wichita is usually only open from dawn to dusk, but the Great Plains Nature Center is making an exception.

“Moonlit Mania” is an event hosted by GPNC on Friday, July 26, from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. at 6232 E. 29th St. N. in Wichita.

The event will allow people to explore the trail under the stars. The GPNC is partnering with Evergy for the event, which is free and open to all ages.

Could be a fun event for some.

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Some travel notes

KWCH - Upcoming road construction includes work on I-235, US 400

On Saturday, July 20, the Kansas Department of Transportation will close the ramps from northbound I-235 to northbound I-135 and northbound I-235 to eastbound K-254.

The ramp closures are necessary for new sign footing installation. The work will occur from 5 a.m. until noon on Saturday, July 20, after which the ramps will be reopened to motorists.

While installation occurs, traffic will be directed to southbound I-135.

The good news is this part is only for a few hours and hopefully won't have a massive impact on many.

The US 400 work is out by Beaumont and you're already being impacted by precautionary measures that have been in place since May. This should be completed in mid September.

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WBJ - 80-acre Derby residential development set for September groundbreaking

In May 2022, Derby annexed 80 acres of land into the city for a residential development.

Now, the city will welcome that development, with construction scheduled to begin in September.

Courtyards at CrossWater, an 80-acre residential development one mile east of Rock Road and north of Meadowlark Boulevard and St. Mary Catholic Church, will build two 40-acre additions of single-, two- and multi-family housing.

Perfection Builders' Karen Clothier said the additions are divided by a creek, with the first addition to the south and the second addition to the north. She said a total of 263 housing lots will be built.

She said the Courtyards at CrossWater first addition — the initial 40-acre development — will build 105 housing lots in two phases. The first phase is slated to start development of 52 lots in September.

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Some travel notes

KWCH - Upcoming road construction includes work on I-235, US 400



The good news is this part is only for a few hours and hopefully won't have a massive impact on many.

The US 400 work is out by Beaumont and you're already being impacted by precautionary measures that have been in place since May. This should be completed in mid September.

The stuff out by Beaumont is frustrating. It would be nice to see even a little bit of work being done out there. Instead it is a stop light in the middle of no where with nothing being accomplished.

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The stuff out by Beaumont is frustrating. It would be nice to see even a little bit of work being done out there. Instead it is a stop light in the middle of no where with nothing being accomplished.

Per the article, the culvert that runs under the highway is deteriorating and for safety reasons they've closed the portion of road that goes over the at risk section. The delay in action is due to a new culvert being built for replacement. I'm kind of surprised they have to have one specially made, but I'm also not overly familiar with the area and maybe there's something unique about the size or length of it.

Doesn't alleviate the frustration, but it does give a reasonable explanation about why it is the way it is right now.

I'm not sure the last time I've gone east out of Augusta. Probably my last trip out to hike at Fall River, unless I've been to Arkansas since then. Both have been a few years.

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Ike looking to add more direct flights

WBJ - AIRPORT STILL TAKING OFF - As Eisenhower National approaches 10 years, goals of more direct flights remain the same

Since opening in 2015 for $200 million, the airport has reached 16 direct flights, including five seasonal flights, from six national carriers. Director of airports Jesse Romo said Eisenhower Airport served 1.7 million passengers in 2023, which is a 13% increase from 1.5 million in the new airport’s first year.

Wise and Romo said the airport is looking for more routes to add to the airport's schedule. With the recent addition of a direct flight to Washington, D.C. spearheaded by Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan), Wise said the airport team has focused on the northeast U.S. for more direct flights.

“New York and the northeast part of the country is an unserved area for us and we have a lot of business connections in New York, Boston and Philadelphia areas," Wise said. "And so that's an area we'd like to get service to."

Romo said an effort for New York flights emerged from data by the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Air Sevices Committee that showed more Wichita business travelers going to and from the New York area. That led to leakages — when passengers leave a local airport’s market for another airport to catch a flight — as travelers decided to use other airports for a direct flight.

The airport is also trying to get airlines to add daily flights to LA, Miami and SLC.

They're also looking at ways to improve the Ike experience and find ways to be more efficient.

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Boeing deals will keep Spirit busy.

WBJ - Boeing piles up orders during first day of Farnborough Air Show

Korean Air's announcement of an intent to purchase at least 40 Boeing widebody airplanes was the highlight of a busy Monday at the Farnborough Air Show — and a sign that no shortage of work at Wichita's Spirit AeroSystems is ahead before and after its proposed sale back to Boeing.

Korean Air said it would order 20 777-9s and 20 787-10s, Boeing's biggest variant in the Dreamliner series. The airline said it also holds an option for 10 more Dreamliners worth roughly $3.5 billion.

Neither company disclosed a purchase price, but an estimate approaches $16 billion. Customers typically receive discounts with large aircraft orders.

Boeing and its customers announced other deals at Farnborough:

• Japan Airlines announced it reached an agreement with Boeing for 20 additional 787 Dreamliners, adding to the carrier's fleet that already includes 50 widebody jets. The Dreamliner's per-unit cost is around $225 million, though airlines often receive a reduced price when making a large order.
• U.S. cargo carrier National Airlines placed its first order for four 777 freighters, which each carry a price of more than $300 million.
• European regional carrier Luxair said it is ordering four of the largest 737 jets, the Max 10, with an estimated combined cost of $540 million.
• Boeing also announced the Air Force has awarded a $16.8 million contract for software and data enhancements on the KC-46A tanker program that it's hoped will advance mission readiness and performance. Wichita's McConnell Air Force Base is home to the majority of the KC-46 program.

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More ramp closures, and reopenings.

KSN - Busy Wichita interchange to see another ramp closure

On Tuesday, July 23, the Kansas Department of Transportation will close eastbound U.S. 54 to northbound I-135. The project will include milling, patching, and a concrete overlay on each side. KDOT says the work will last until October.

As work starts there, the I-135 northbound ramp to westbound U.S. 54 (Kellogg) will reopen. Work will conclude on Tuesday. The project involved milling, patching and a concrete overlay.

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New west side location for live music, food, and booze.

Wichita by EB - Red Brick Room: Wichita's latest bar for live music

When it comes to regular live music, there aren’t too many options out west compared to other parts of town. There’s a full stage at the east end of the Red Brick Room.

For people who are hungry, there was a limited menu of items, mostly bar staples like burgers, tenders, and some small bites.

Since I hadn’t eaten yet, I ordered the Brick Burger which was a smash burger on a buttered bun with ketchup, mustard, red onion, pickle, and cheese. It was served with a side of fries.

It was a decent little burger. I really enjoyed the buttered bun that collapsed well with the patty and held everything together. It was simple yet effective and a burger I could totally see myself ordering again while catching some live music. Same with the fries which had a light coating of black pepper.

Looks like a nice setup.

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Making waves

MSN - Miss Kansas called out her abuser in public. Her campaign against domestic violence is going viral

A newly posted video of Miss Kansas calling out her domestic violence abuser from the stage the night she was crowned is whipping up a maelstrom of support on social media.

Alexis Smith, who works overnight shifts as a cardiothoracic intensive care nurse in Wichita, was crowned Miss Kansas on June 8, but posted the video of her on-stage comments just this past week on the platform now known as X. Her comments are resonating with thousands in part because she called out her own abuser from the stage while she said the perpetrator was sitting in the audience.

The video Smith posted July 16 has been viewed more than 60,000 times and generated a rash of news stories.

“My vision as the next Miss Kansas is to eliminate unhealthy and abusive relationships,” Smith said during the interview portion of the pageant last month. “Matter of fact, some of you in this audience saw me very emotional because my abuser is here today. But that’s not going to stop me from being on this Miss Kansas stage and from representing as the next Miss Kansas.”

An impressive woman. It can be tough to speak about abusive relationships in general for a lot of people. For her to do it on stage with the alleged abuser in the crowd takes some guts. Then her day/night job is pretty big as well.

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Wichita making it's presence felt in England

WBJ - Wichita works to make a splash on the world stage at Farnborough International Airshow

Wichita is off to a strong start at this week's Farnborough International Airshow outside of London, as Kansas business leaders and government officials promote the state's aerospace industry.

A Sunday reception highlighting what the area brings to the table, hosted by Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and the Greater Wichita Partnership, brought in 450 people, according to Moran — the most since the annual reception launched in 2019 at the Paris Air Show.

Attendees included private sector companies, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall and other officials from the Department of Defense, NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Boeing/Spirit have already landed some good business there.

Along with industry giants Airbus and Boeing, additional companies attending Farnborough either based in the Wichita area or with a notable local presence include:

• Aerospace System & Components
• Cadence Aerospace
• Dassault Systems
• D&O Engineering
• Etezazi Industries
• Fiber Dynamics
• Globe Engineering
• GKN Aerospace
• HM Dunn AeroSystems
• Metal Finishing Co.
• Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics
• NWI Aerostructures
• Park Aerospace
• Valence Surface Technologies.

Another local company, Harlow Aerostructures LLC, an aerospace supplier, signed a letter of intent Monday at Farnborough to start production on two new aerospace-related contracts with Turkish Aerospace.

Muma, Tomblin, and Utash are also there for NIAR.

IT and security representation is also in England with the likes of Weavix, Novacoast, and Knowmadics representing as well.

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Hutch is getting a new YMCA

WBJ - 'There's a synergy': YMCA, hospital team on new Hutchinson branch for a 'health and wellness destination'

As part of a collaborative effort to provide a more comprehensive set of health and wellness services to the Hutchinson area , the community about 50 miles northwest of Wichita will soon see a $30 million, state-of-the-art YMCA facility.

Ronn McMahon, the president and CEO of the Greater Wichita YMCA, said the initiativeapproach to unify preventative health care and long-term wellness within the community.

“We’re really, super excited about the idea that it’s kind of a holistic look at health,” McMahon said in an interview. “The YMCA (is) kind of on the preventative side of health, and then as we go further into the campus, (getting) all of the health care that the hospital brings.”

The new branch will replace the Hutchinson Y's current location at 716 E. 13th Ave.

The 75,000 square-foot facility will reside on 10 acres of land gifted by the HRHS near 20th Street and Lorraine.

"The future of community health rests on our collective ability to proactively prevent illness rather than provide reactive care when people become sick," hospital president and CEO Benjamin Anderson said in a news release. "Preventing disease before it happens can reduce its severity and help curb the costs to treat it

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A couple of locals have started up a unique business.

WBJ - Brothers from Wichita launch business combining water tubing with passion for college sports

Manufacturing for Collegiate Waves started in January, and Collegiate Waves’ products went live on Memorial Day. The business currently sells water tubes for the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, University of Missouri and University of Arkansas.

With both brothers from Wichita and Mike living in Little Rock, Arkansas, Mike said they kept their first product lineup focused around their “home region.”

“We were strategic, how we wanted to start out with just the four schools,” Kyle said. “Let's walk before we run here and kind of prove the concept. It’s been doing really, really well.”

They've added agreements with Wichita State and about 40 other Universities since they went live. They also hope to expand beyond water tubes and grow their footprint as well as they've so far focused more on this region that they're familiar with.