Kansas voters unite across party lines over data centers as midterm elections loom

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A small group that gathered Wednesday afternoon outside the Kansas Statehouse is representative of a much larger movement taking shape across the nation that appears not to worry about party lines.

Residents from El Dorado, Emporia, Shawnee County, and other parts of Kansas have been coming to Topeka to let lawmakers know their opposition to the push for more data centers in Kansas.

They also worry about the artificial intelligence race.

Victoria Fox, who drove two hours from El Dorado to attend the demonstration, said the frustration stems from feeling shut out of decisions that directly affect her community.

Fabian Rosales/KSHB

"It was finding out after the fact that they were shoving this through without us knowing," Fox said.

That sense of betrayal hurts Fox, who said her upbringing shaped how she once viewed government.

"I grew up respecting and believing I should trust unto my government, and I think that's what worked against us finally," Fox said.

Fabian Rosales/KSHB

Despite that frustration, Fox said the fight has brought people together in unexpected ways.

"We don't even know what political affiliations" she told KSHB 41 Reporter Ryan Gamboa, who has reported on data center development. "We don't care, because we live there, we love our town, and we love the people," she said. "We just continue working together."

Fabian Rosales/KSHB

Fox said the pressure to stay quiet is gone.

"We don't even feel like we need to be quiet anymore because they are not listening and they don't even care," she added.

Will Shaw/KSHB

KSHB 41 News has led the way in data center coverage across the Kansas City metro. Unified opposition in communities across the region is something that hasn't gone unnoticed.

KSHB 41 News reporters have watched and reported on residents in numerous communities including — De Soto, Tonganoxie, Spring Hill, Gardner, Edgerton, Osawatomie, and Ottawa — band together for a common cause.

Al Miller/KSHB

Aimee Gillette, from Shawnee County, Kansas, said data centers have given the broader resistance to AI and tech expansion a concrete focal point.

"I think that the data center is a physical, tangible thing that you can locate this concept of AI and tech dominance onto," Gillette said. "It gives people something to fight against as opposed to an abstract concept." Gillete explained.

Ryan Gamboa/KSHB

She said the lack of transparency from officials has added to the frustration, and caused the movement across the state and region to grow stronger.

"I do feel like it feels like an infringement upon our communities, especially when some of the early processes are happening under NDA's and officials are being not forthcoming about the plans," she said. "We're having to do this detective work as citizens just to figure out what's going on."

Fabian Rosales/KSHB

She said the cross-partisan coalition that has formed is something she did not expect.

"We have confirmed Democrats and Republicans working super close together for the same cause," Gillette said. It's really cool. l feel like I found a community in all of this that I never would have found before."

David Calridge, a Democratic candidate for Kansas House District 76 representing Emporia, said the issue cuts across the traditional left-right divide.

"Ultimately, we've been going through this process for decades now, of left versus right," Calridge said. "When really, we've been distracted from the real issues — the top versus the bottom."

Calridge said his conversations with people reflect that shift.

Fabian Rosales/KSHB

"For me, I don't care if the guy I'm talking to is a lifelong Republican or a died- in-the wool Democrat, what I care about is do they care about the farmers, do they care about the schools, do they care about the factory workers, do they care about the people who are struggling week to week to buy groceries," Calridge said.

Jay Veahige, also from Emporia, said the organizing effort in his community has already made a measurable impact.

Fabian Rosales/KSHB

"In our community we have united over 1,400 people so far, more than that, but republicans, democrats, independents, even people that are not registered to vote are getting registered to vote. Because they want to make sure that we are protecting our communities from air pollution," Veahige explained.

Veahige said the unification is spreading well beyond Emporia.

Fabian Rosales/KSHB

"We are unifying," Veahige said. "We are seeing it in El Dorado, Edgerton, Spring Hill, De Soto, we're seeing it in Topeka and Lawrence, all across our country and across our state."

For Veahige, the source of that momentum is clear.

"The hope isn't from the government, it's from the people," he added.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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