BREAKING DOWN THE COST FOR KANSAS FAMILIES

As Kansas Rounds the bend to the 2026 Gubernatorial General Election,

Stand 4 The Land Kansas continues to hold a vigilent, watchful eye on those regulatory utility decision makers that seem to be in full swing mode.

There has been no formal invitation to citizens to be part of the conversation when the buildout for AI and the Hyper-Scale Data Centers phenomenon are concerned. 

The cumbersome process for renewable energy projects to acquire special use permits from local county government became secretive or lightly documented by officials with pushback from Citizens for transparency. Such a small request by concerned citizens has become a healthy exercise in civic engagement. In Kansas over 70 concern citizen groups have formed in over 59 counties covering a broad scope of dysfunctional public policies that deliver less than ideal outcomes for Kansas Families.

DeSOTO WITH NEIGHBORS UNITED COALITION

who produces toxic Carbon Nanotube Powders) gave way to millions in Industrial Revenue Bonds (IRBs) and lucrative tax credits that residents are now on the hook for. 

The Sunflower Ammunition Plant cleanup site has become home to 8 planned Hyper-Scale Data Center Projects that have citizens organizing and tracking information. 

Involvement of Blue Owl Equity Partners at the Beale Infrastructure’s campus is now around 1.1 million square feet to roughly 2.9 million, and recently Digital Realty’s advancement of a separate project near the Panasonic plant have sounded the alarms.  

DeSoto's Neighbors United Coalition is gathering petition signatures for a citywide ban, citing water use, low-frequency noise, and the risk that tax abatements will shift school and road costs onto cash strapped households.

Even with hundreds of citizens asking the Planning commissioners to take a pause, the permit still advanced for Digital Realty’s first phase of the Hyper Scale Project with a vote of 5–2.

GARDNER AND SPRING HILL: THE LITTLE TOWNS THAT COULD

EDGERTON A LESSON LEARNED

TONGANOXIE STANDS STRONG 

Citizens Against Bluestem is raising funds for litigation after Leavenworth County let a 90-day moratorium expire and end with the Hiring Legal Counsel. 

Commissioner Mike Steabin, a strong opponent of the project, has been a staunch advocate for transparency. Many have pointed to Senate Bill 98, the gut-and-go vehicle that created long sales-tax exemptions for qualifying data centers as the "Poison Pill" that opened the Flood Gates. 



CRAWFORD COUNTY SHOWS MULBERRY THE DOOR 

including the effort by the small town of Mulberry to Island Annex a patchwork of ground for Industrial Solar. 

After the 2023 HVDC 345 kV Transmission Linne that diagonally dissected SEKS, NextEra Energy has faced scrutiny for untransparent operations. Headed by Becky Willard, the group has been a fixture at Commission Meetings for over two years.

SEDGWICK, BUTLER, BARBER & SUMNER COUNTIES 

Their direct involvement to protect the quality of life in rural Kansas would stop the backroom deals on a massive expansion of Hyper-Scale Data Center Projects across the Counties. Thousands of acres of prime farm ground were saved from Industrial Solar Projects promoted by a foreign Kuwaiti Company. 

This November's general election will allow Butler County Voters to decide the Data Center question. Barber County residents were not fortunate in stopping the giant Google Sharon Hyper Scale when two commissioners signed a Good Neighbor Contract and prevented citizens input. This group was assisted in telling their story and announcing events when Dale Enyart with his Kingman Accountability Project became the local news reporter from commission rooms and council’s chambers.  

RAISING THE BAR FOR OUR STANDARD OF LIFE 

Stand 4 The Land’s Gold Standard Project turns regulations and policies that are passed down from government that seem to lessen the expectations of law-abiding citizens. Kansas must do better! 

As Kansans, we should expect more out of local government. Raising the bar is critical for the people of Kansas. That is why putting guardrails on policies, to make them fit our way life, will help everyone stand up and find their voice.

To ask Counties and the State to require full disclosure of energy agreements and cost studies before permits or abatements are approved. To isolate new infrastructure costs on new loads, lock down rights to water, stop noise pollution, ensure farmland protections against eminent domain. Kansans taking care of Kansans...the "Guardrails" of the Golden Standard in Kansas will help to make policies that lift all Kansans.

Share what is already happening in your county, the contract language withheld, the moratorium that failed, the line survey on the back forty. Those details are how the Guardrails get written into local policy instead of left by the shoulder of the road. 

Join Up! Get Informed! Find Us at Stand4theland Gold Standards: https://thekansasgoldstandard.com

OTHER GROUPS FROM ACROSS KANSAS TO WATCH 

Franklin County KS Wind Turbine and Solar Energy Discussion

Kansans for Responsible Utility-Scale Solar & Wind

Free State News

Stop Solar-Wind-BESS-Carbon Capture Scams

Stand Up Western Kansas Against Industrial Solar

Shawnee County Data Center and Industrial Wind and Solar Discussion

Barber County Recall Effort

Stop the Wind Turbines Harvey County Kansas

Stand Up Western Kansas Against Industrial Solar   

Reno County Citizens for Transparency