General News in the 316

[SubGod22]

This is outside of my knowledge zone, but I wonder if these types of offices couldn't find a market and value in other metro area cities. If the market is there, there's definitely a benefit.

WBJ - From Wichita to Hutchinson, IWG exec sees co-working space demand and potential

"We're getting to a point now where we're actually struggling to meet the specific demands coming in for space," said Berger of what he's seeing in Wichita.

While Berger couldn't share specific details, he said there "are some real active opportunities within the greater Wichita area."

That could include long-vacant office spaces, as Berger confirmed he has seen landlords throughout the country — with limited exception — running into challenges with vacancies in Class B and C spaces.

In recent years, IWG has shifted its strategy from focusing on capital leases with its locations, to now a partnership-centric approach with owners.

Versus signing a lease, IWG signs a partnership agreement where a landlord invests capital, and IWG builds and operates the space in exchange for a fee. Then, according to Berger, the landlord receives all net income from revenues generated in the flex workspace location and landlords start earning operating income in the first month.

"As center performance matures, which is normally 12-to-18 months, that revenue increases," he said.

[SubGod22]

Wichita drone company leaving for the coast.

WBJ - AgEagle drone company leaving Wichita after two years

“As we wind down our office spaces, we should see some reductions in our operating costs flow through the beginning of next year,” Mooney said. “Our move to North Carolina is an important step towards reestablishing our core identity and company culture and bringing our team closer together.”

Raleigh was previously the North American headquarters for senseFly, which AgEagle acquired last year from European drone group Parrot. AgEagle also has U.S. operations in Seattle and Washington D.C.

Mooney returned to the CEO seat in January after serving as chairman during a previous two years that saw two other chief executives come and go.

[NCAABound]

Wichita drone company leaving for the coast.

WBJ - AgEagle drone company leaving Wichita after two years

Something just doesn't sit right with me about AgEagle. Seem pretty sketchy with all of their constant changes.

[SubGod22]

MSN - Have your voice heard about construction on east Kellogg

KDOT’s proposal improves the highway in two phases: from the K-96 interchange through 159th St. in Andover and then east of 159th St. to east of Prairie Creek Road in Andover.

KDOT posted the EA documentation on its website, and it is hosting a public hearing on Nov. 17 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Sunflower Elementary School Gymnasium, 616 E. Douglas in Andover.

Those who attend will have an opportunity to review and comment on the EA. They will also be able to see the updated designs for the proposed improvements.

KDOT staff will be available to answer questions. No formal presentation will be given at the meeting, and attendees can come and go as they please.

This seems to now be a larger project than initially planned. I believe the previous plan was to end a little east of 159th. Now they're planning on going to east of Prairie Creek which is a mile east of Andover Rd. Which is an additional two miles of project which would go through Andover.

[SubGod22]

News for our local golf enthusiasts.

MSN - Wichita Open gets new name, sponsor for 2023

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas will become the title sponsor of the Wichita Open, tournament officials announced on Tuesday, renaming the event the “Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics.”

Tournament Director Dusty Buell said tournament officials have reached an agreement with the PGA Tour to hold the event through 2027. Crestview Country Club, which has hosted the Wichita Open since 2001, also signed on to host the tournament through 2027

"As one of the original events from our inaugural 1990 schedule, we are thrilled to see the Wichita Open partner with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, both for the immediate and long-term impact on this tournament and the local community," said Korn Ferry Tour President Alex Baldwin in a news release. "We are honored to have Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas as part of the Korn Ferry Tour family, and this partnership provides one of our longest-running tournaments with an exciting future as our Tour continues to evolve."

A news release says the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics is a 72-hole competition featuring 156 players from around the world.

I believe I also saw mentioned elsewhere that the total purse for the Wichita Open will hit $1M for the first time.

[SubGod22]

And for the basketball enthusiasts. A chance to see what may be the best basketball played in Charles Koch Arena this winter, December 1st thru the 3rd.

KSN - Wichita to host high-level basketball players in Air Capital Hoopfest

“We are so excited to bring together the great basketball city of Wichita, the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference, Sunrise Christian Academy and other talented teams to compete under the same roof at Charles Koch Arena,” Luke Barnwell, head coach for Sunrise Christian Academy, said in a news release.

Sunrise is the only school representing Kansas in the tournament. Other programs participating are:

• Arizona Compass Prep
• Bishop Walsh High School (Maryland)
• Oak Hill Academy (Virginia)
• Wasatch Academy (Utah)
• Legacy — The School of Sports Sciences (Texas)

Legacy has a connection to Wichita, too. Former WSU Shocker PJ Couisnard is the leader of the basketball team.

All of the schools are a part of the NIBC or the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference. The NIBC was founded in 2020 and has produced some of the nation’s top basketball talent.

Cooz will be back in the house it appears, which may make Legacy the 2nd favorite team amongst the locals.

This is a pretty good list of schools. Tickets are $15 thru WSU.

[Shockm]

Something just doesn't sit right with me about AgEagle. Seem pretty sketchy with all of their constant changes.

Well the guy (Bret Chilcott originally a farm boy from Cowley County) who founded the company a decade ago, is now an employee ( no longer on the Board) of the company that went National. From a little bit of research, it appears that the company vision originally was to be an agriculture based company. Now with the development of new software that has the ability to diversify, and can gather data geared to storms, National Defense, Fire Operations, a recent waiver from FAA in October to operate the drones above populous areas(instead of rural), and leadership (new CEO graduated from Florida) who have no ties to Kansas and now own the company, my guess is that they feel they have outgrown Kansas.

[SubGod22]

Wichita is officially in space!

WBJ - Artemis I launch taking Wichita to the moon

The unmanned mission, part of NASA’s new Space Launch System, is designed to help pave the way for Artemis missions that will return humans to the surface of the moon in preparation for eventual voyages to Mars.

Space has been a growing segment of the industry for suppliers in Wichita, including Spirit (NYSE: SPR).

The company — best known for its work on commercial aircraft for the Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) and Airbus — rolled space programs into its defense unit last year.

Defense and space work in 2021 accounted for 14.6% of Spirit’s $4 billion in revenues.

As part of its long-term revenue diversification plan, Spirit hopes to eventually boost that total to 40% of its portfolio.

[giskard]

Which is what I thought the original intention of building the HS in Bel Aire was about. Maybe it was just an assumption that the district would add a Northeast HS to the mix. It's still a school and all, but I think it has some other specified focus or something. I've never looked much into it. Though I also believe they started to build, or at least plan, that school when they were also trying to take some of the Circle district and add it to Wichita. That fight forced Circle to delay the building of Greenwich Elementary until an official decision was made on boundaries and if Circle was going to lose land.

Regardless, it definitely appears that another HS on the east side somewhere might help alleviate some things. I also don't know how Wichita splits up their maps so I'm not sure where else a school might make sense. Wichita is also running low on directional names so they may have to get creative if they do build.

You are correct that the building Northeast is currently in was built as part of the bond issue to be another comprehensive high school to relieve crowding at Heights. After the great recession hit, WPS didn't have the money to staff it up as a comprehensive high school and instead moved NE to the site.

[SubGod22]

A new player has entered the market

WBJ - National civil engineering firm makes move into Wichita with key hire

Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc., a full-service civil engineering, architectural, environmental and planning company based out of St. Paul, Minn., is making a move into the Wichita market.

With 33 offices in 11 states throughout the upper Midwest, the employee-owned SEH has an aggressive growth plan, and "Wichita is definitely part of that," said Jake Vasa, a senior engineer at the firm and a regional leader based in Omaha.

"Wichita is one of those markets that has a lot going on in terms of development," Vasa said. "That is a big interest to us. It seems like there just aren't enough engineers in the area, so we're trying to help fill that gap or that void."

That begins with a key hire.

Samantha Ghareeb, who's had a 10-year career in the construction field, started in October as SEH's project leader in Wichita. She previously worked for ICM Inc. out of Colwich and the Wichita-based UCI Industrial Construction Services before that.

[SubGod22]

AgEagle continues to take hits.

WBJ - Shares of AgEagle stumble on Raleigh relocation plans

A publicly traded drone manufacturer took a hit on Wall Street on Wednesday after revealing plans to consolidate its U.S. operations, including its Wichita headquarters, to Raleigh, N.C.

AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc. was down 8% to $0.53 per share following the announced move, part of a broader decline of nearly 70% since the start of the year.

AgEagle (NYSE: UAVS) did not respond to a WBJ request to speak to CEO Barrett Mooney on Wednesday — one of more than a dozen such requests that were not answered since the company relocated to Wichita from Neodesha in 2020.

Local officials at the time said the drone company was expected to eventually employ around 60 people in Wichita, but AgEagle never provided employment totals to the WBJ.

A city of Wichita spokesperson said Wednesday that AgEagle did not receive any city incentives for its move. A spokesperson for Sedgwick County said the same.

Losing 70% over the course of the year definitely isn't promising.

[SubGod22]

In medical news

WBJ - Ascension Via Christi acquires region's first-of-its-kind robot for lung biopsies

Wichita's Ascension Via Christi has invested in a new robotic-assisted program that can reach new areas of the lung not achievable with previous tools and procedures in an effort to diagnose and begin lung cancer treatments sooner.

Intuitive's ION robot can locate and reach nodules as small as 8 millimeters, according to a news release from the local hospital system.

This matters because lung cancer, when discovered while still small and localized, can be curable.

"Some patients have limited avenues for identifying the cause of their abnormal lung lesions," said Thamer Sartawi, interventional pulmonologist. "For these patients, the ION system provides an excellent alternative with a lower risk for complications, allowing us to safely diagnose cancer at an earlier stage and with a great deal of confidence."

Sartawi used the program for the first time Thursday at St. Francis hospital to perform minimally invasive peripheral lung biopsies for two patients for whom a CT-guided biopsy was not viable.

[SubGod22]

I love me some zoo news

MSN - It's a boy! Sedgwick County Zoo welcomes new baby chimpanzee

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) - It’s a boy! The Sedgwick County Zoo (SCZ) welcomed a new baby chimpanzee on Tuesday, Nov. 15.

According to the Zoo, Chimpanzee Mahale was laboring throughout the morning when the animal care team noticed changes in her progression. They made the decision to intervene surgically, and the baby boy was born at 12:48 p.m. via C-Section.

“Drs. Laura Whisler and Janna Chibry of College Hill OB-GYN were on hand to perform the cesarean section with the Zoo's veterinary team,” the SCZ said. “The pair have consulted with Sedgwick County Zoo veterinarians on all great ape pregnancies for the past decade - most recently delivering Sumatran Orangutan, Lily, via Csection in 2018.”

The Zoo says Mahale is recovering well behind the scenes.

Due to low oxygen levels, the baby boy received treatment and bottle feedings from the animal care team overnight. According to the Zoo, as of this morning, he is doing well, and the team feels he will be able to reunite with his mom very soon.

Mom and her baby boy will stay behind the scenes until it is clear that they are both healthy and bonded.

[SubGod22]

Former Naval Aviator and test pilot is the new leader of Textron Defense. With his experience from the military as well as he time with the DoD, this sounds like a good hire that could potentially be a boost for Textron and Wichita.

WBJ - Wichita's Textron Aviation Defense names new CEO

An experienced pilot, Pierson is qualified to fly a wide range of Beechcraft and Cessna aircraft from the civil lineup of Textron Aviation, as well as the defense unit’s aircraft offerings.

Those include the Beechcraft T-6 Texan II trainer, AT-6 Wolverine and the Textron Scorpion jet.

Pierson, who brings more than three decades of experience with the Department of Defense to the position, joined the company as a senior test pilot in 2017.

He spent the past two years in the role of vice president of defense strategy and sales.

[SubGod22]

News on a development I wasn't aware of on the east side landing it's first business.

WBJ - Laham's mixed-use development on East 13th lands Mokas Cafe as first business

Amy Liebau, chief operating officer of Laham Development, said the company will listen to the market as far as additional types of uses for the property. Office, medical, retail, senior living and multi-family are all possibilities for the development that is still in its early stages.

"We have received a lot of interest from a lot of different groups," she said.

Veranda is close to multiple significant Wichita developments.

The Waterfront is to the north-northwest at 13th and Webb. Laham's Plazzio development, which includes Chicken N Pickle among other businesses, sits to the east of Veranda at 13th and Greenwich.

Liebau said the location, what's surrounding Veranda and the interest that's been expressed are all positive factors for the development's future.