General News in the 316

[SubGod22]

This seems like something of interest.

Macholevante.com - Exciting New Partnership in Wichita! Local Innovation Center Welcomes Game-Changing Collaboration.

Transforming Innovation in Wichita


A remarkable partnership is taking shape in downtown Wichita, as Groover Labs prepares to welcome the OnRamp Hub, a project initiated by the Department of Defense. This collaboration is set to enhance local innovation by integrating military technology with community resources, showcasing Wichita as a center for cutting-edge development.

Tracy Hoover, co-founder of Groover Labs, expressed her enthusiasm for this new venture, highlighting the vital role that OnRamp Hub will play in their mission. She noted that Groover Labs is recognized as an innovative space aimed at fostering technological advancements, and the partnership will bring valuable networks and resources to the area.

Since the partnership’s inception last summer, Groover Labs has focused on physical product development, collaborating with various companies—including a recent project with Greenfield Robotics to enhance their agricultural robot’s electronics. Tracy emphasized that the collaboration is not just about technological advances; it also honors the legacy of her late husband, Curt, whose vision inspired Groover Labs.

Looking forward, Tracy is optimistic about the future, believing the presence of the OnRamp Hub will significantly enrich Groover Labs’ capabilities in prototyping and product development. With a two-year membership agreement in place, the OnRamp Hub is poised to make a lasting impact on Wichita’s innovation landscape.

I like anything that could benefit and progress the tech field in Wichita.

[SubGod22]

KSN - Carhartt to open fist Kansas store in Wichita

Carhartt will open its first Kansas store in Wichita.

The brand, known for its workwear clothing, footwear, and accessories, will be coming to Bradley Fair in Spring.

“We are thrilled to add Wichita’s Bradley Fair to our retail footprint to make Carhartt’s durable and versatile workwear more easily available,” says Mark Kastner, Director of Direct-to-Consumer Store Strategy and Experience at Carhartt, in a news release. “We are excited to expand our retail presence to meet an increased need for gear that supports the lifestyles of Wichita shoppers.”

Founded in Detriot in 1889, the durable workwear has become a part of American culture. It’s been worn by everyone from politicians to rappers like Tupac and Dr. Dre, actors like Matthew McConaughey, to the stars of TV’s “Yellowstone.”

Will be located in the former Jos. A. Bank store.

[SubGod22]

KSN - KC and the Sunshine Band coming to Wichita

The band behind the hits “That’s The Way (I Like It),” “Get Down Tonight,” and “Shake Your Booty” is coming to Wichita in February.

KC and the Sunshine Band is bringing the Doin’ It! World Tour to Wichita’s historic Orpheum Theatre on Saturday, Feb. 15.

The band was one of the most progressive bands of the 1970s and is still widely popular 50 years later. It has sold over 100 million records and received nine Grammy nominations, three Grammy Awards, and an American Music Award.

Thought some of you old folk might enjoy this.

[ShockTalk]

KSN - KC and the Sunshine Band coming to Wichita



Thought some of you old folk might enjoy this.

EWWW! And, yes, I resemble "you old folk".

[SubGod22]

The Northwest Expressway is in the news again.

KWCH - Plans for highway project connecting Maize, Goddard in jeopardy

A Wichita road project many years in the making could be in jeopardy. The Northwest Expressway is a project that would involve building a road between Maize and Goddard.

Plans called for the Northwest Expressway to begin near K-96 and Tyler. A direct route connecting Mazie to Goddard has been a goal of local leaders for decades. That project now could be in trouble.

“We put $100,000 into a feasibility study and he’s not keen on conducting a state feasibility study at this time,” Sedgwick County Commissioner David Dennis of the Kansas transportation secretary.

Dennis said the county is having a hard time getting support from the state on the Northwest Expressway.

Ryan Baty says up to $18M in taxpayer money has already been spent purchasing land along the proposed route and wants to push things forward.

I'd like to see this done as it could be a real benefit to the western side of the immediate metro area. Everyone points to what K96 has done for NE Wichita and they're not wrong.

How long before we start talking about a SE Expressway that better connects Andover/East Wichita to Derby/South Wichita?

[WuDrWu]

How long before we start talking about a SE Expressway that better connects Andover/East Wichita to Derby/South Wichita?

I'm guessing a very, very, very long time. You've got 2 Andover/near Andover entrances to 35 to SWB or further south just west of Derby. I cannot fathom duplicating that anytime in the next 25 years.

May a couple of new on/off ramps on 35 for more access, but that's it.

[ShockBand]

I'm guessing a very, very, very long time. You've got 2 Andover/near Andover entrances to 35 to SWB or further south just west of Derby. I cannot fathom duplicating that anytime in the next 25 years.

May a couple of new on/off ramps on 35 for more access, but that's it.

Plus there are a lot more rural housing developments between the two. So finding a route would be tougher. I'd rather see the development of what is called the "95th Street Corridor", which would put an exit on the Turnpike at 95th Street, and route a boulevard over to Rock Road just south of Derby. It would give a Derby a more direct connection to the Turnpike.

[SubGod22]

WBJ - Park City approves incentive to finance baseball, softball fields at Champtown

On Tuesday, Park City's City Council unanimously approved the creation of a community improvement district that includes land on the west side of I-135 between 53rd and 61st streets to finance the construction of a multi-sport venue with eight to 10 softball and baseball fields and other commercial uses in Champtown, a 160-acre, $500 million development.

"We are grateful for the continued support from the city of Park City and the belief in Champtown," Rachel Lange-Mills, president and supervising broker at Lange Real Estate, said in an email to the WBJ. "The CID will play a vital role in supporting baseball operations, and we are excited to share that baseball activities are on track to begin in the summer of 2025."

A CID is an incentive program that provides funds to a development project through the levy of additional sales tax within the district boundary — in this case a 2% sales tax to consumers. CIDs can be used for commercial, industrial or mixed-use projects, and the tax revenue can be used to pay for a range of capital costs and certain ongoing operating costs.

Reimbursements from the new CID are expected to total between $86 million and $126 million, according to Park City.

In addition to the sport fields, Champtown is slated to include a 180-room hotel, around 132,000 square feet of retail space with restaurants, big-box retail, and an aquarium and rainforest-inspired butterfly conservatory operated Arizona-based operator OdySea.

I haven't been out that way since they started moving dirt, but according to the article Prep Baseball has already scheduled 10 national tournaments for the venue this summer.

Sounds like they're finalizing contracts for the businesses that will be a part of the development.

[Ted Lasso's Neighbor]

North junction update.

The new exit, to open next week, along northbound 235, just west of 135 will hopefully ease congestion and connect to 96 as Exit 16A.

Exit 16B will continue to take you to southbound 135.

Exit 16C will direct you to northbound 135.

Still to be done is replacing the loop ramp from westbound 96 to southbound 135 with a two-lane flyover connecting to southbound 135. This coincides with widening southbound 135 south of 96.

Also, we will eventually have a two-lane ramp from westbound 96 to northbound 135.

Those should also help alleviate the congestion on 96.

Trust the process.

I've taken the new 16A exit a couple times this week, with one being during afternoon rush hour traffic. Here's a little report that hopefully helps out others:

• The exit is nice because there are two lanes and there are two lanes for a mile or so.
• It's a headache though as you get closer to the E96/35 work area because the left lane is the only one that continues on to 96. The right lane becomes the exit for 29th street. I saw a lot of people move from the left lane over to the right lane, only to have to move back to the left lane the closer they got to 96.
• During rush hour it becomes a bottleneck when you get close to 96 because the people in the right lane start moving over to the left lane, and vehicles that exited off of 35 are trying to get into that lane too.
• The best thing to do is when you exit from 235 is just stay in the left lane. But be on the lookout as you get closer to 96 for vehicles trying to move over from the right lane and the cars merging in from 35.
• If you are in the right lane and can't get over, you can take the 29th street exit and take a left and go about a quarter mile, and there's an entrance ramp to get on E96. I actually did that during rush hour because the left lane was backed up (it looked like there was an accident from someone merging into from 35) and it was quicker to do that then sit in the left lane.

I think their plan is to eventually have more than one lane to E96, but right now it's a headache with just the one lane, especially if there's a lot of traffic.

[SubGod22]

I haven't had to take it as I'm usually going the opposite direction of traffic. I will say that at least on 235 in the mornings, when it used to be backed up to where 96/Hutch meets 235, has been open and free flowing. So 235 is improved to that point.

I'm not sure how the rest of the 135/96 work will impact what you're talking about, but the future plans of expanding 96 and adding an additional lane each direction should help in the long run. Also, people getting familiar with it will help.

As someone who just takes 235 into 254, the opening of 16A has been great as traffic doesn't slow way down as people are fighting for positioning or the exit to 135 is getting backed up. Now it's just the regular jack-wagons.

[Ted Lasso's Neighbor]

I haven't had to take it as I'm usually going the opposite direction of traffic. I will say that at least on 235 in the mornings, when it used to be backed up to where 96/Hutch meets 235, has been open and free flowing. So 235 is improved to that point.

I'm not sure how the rest of the 135/96 work will impact what you're talking about, but the future plans of expanding 96 and adding an additional lane each direction should help in the long run. Also, people getting familiar with it will help.

As someone who just takes 235 into 254, the opening of 16A has been great as traffic doesn't slow way down as people are fighting for positioning or the exit to 135 is getting backed up. Now it's just the regular jack-wagons.

Yeah, basically they moved the bottleneck off of 235 and placed it a mile down the road on the 16A exit :) It looks like they're building a 2nd lane over 35, so hopefully at some point both lanes from the 16A exit just continue through to E96 instead of just the left one and the 29th street exit is a regular exit off of the right lane vs being the actual exit.

Anyone wanting to exit southbound 35 to 29th street has their work cut out for them. First they have to get into the lane that goes through to E96 and then move over to the 29th street exit lane. Maybe they'll eventually have a better way for them to exit to 29th, although there may be one now because I don't use southbound 35 often.