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Kansas commits $304M to chip plant to lure federal funds

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Kansas commits $304M to chip plant to lure federal funds


TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas plans to offer $304 million in taxpayer-funded incentives to a semiconductor firm in its largest metropolis to construct an enormous new manufacturing facility, however the undertaking will not go ahead with out funds the U.S. authorities has promised for rebuilding the nation’s chip-making capability.

Gov. Laura Kelly introduced Thursday that Kansas has an settlement with Integra Applied sciences, primarily based in Wichita, for a 10-year bundle of tax breaks and reimbursement of bills. State officers mentioned the brand new, $1.8 billion plant would cowl 1 million sq. ft, have 2,000 staff and create 3,000 extra jobs amongst suppliers and different native companies.

The announcement comes with the U.S. attempting to reverse a lack of capability for making the chips which are very important to smartphones, laptops and different modern-day conveniences, in addition to cars and life-saving medical units. Congress final 12 months authorized a measure that gives greater than $52 billion in grants and different incentives for the semiconductor trade.

Kelly advised reporters throughout a Statehouse information convention that the state’s incentives are essential to attracting the federal funds and “making Kansas a necessary a part of our nation’s nationwide safety efforts.”

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“This superior manufacturing facility is a part of a nationwide push to revive our semiconductor trade in order that U.S. employees and companies can compete and win within the race for the twenty first Century,” Kelly mentioned.

Integra CEO Brett Robinson wouldn’t say how a lot federal funding the corporate wants, solely that there’s “no commercially viable approach” to do the undertaking with out it. He and state officers mentioned different states had been attempting to draw the undertaking, although they didn’t disclose the opponents.

“It isn’t simply vital to the USA and to safety, however it’s vital to the provision chain,” mentioned Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, a Wichita-area Republican.

President Joe Biden pushed Congress final 12 months to spice up the U.S. semiconductor trade, due to a scarcity of chips made worse by the worldwide coronavirus pandemic and considerations about competing with worldwide rivals, significantly China. There’s been a decades-long shift to cheaper-to-operate Asian chip crops, and the trade is now depending on Taiwan, which China has lengthy claimed as its personal.

“If we had been ever to lose, for a sustainable period of time, entry to the southeast Asian provide chain, what we simply went by means of would pale compared,” Robinson mentioned.

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Integra, based in 1983, has about 500 staff in Wichita and Silicon Valley and describes itself as the most important U.S. supplier of the final two main meeting and testing steps within the chip manufacturing course of. The brand new manufacturing facility is predicted to pay a median annual wage of $51,000, about 46% larger than the state’s common of roughly $35,000.

For Integra to obtain its incentives, it should make investments at the least $1.5 billion within the new manufacturing facility within the subsequent 5 years and constantly present the equal of 1,600 full-time jobs for 10 consecutive years.

The incentives are a part of a program Kansas created final 12 months to ramp up its efforts to compete with different states for brand new, massive factories. Underneath that program, the state was allowed to supply as much as $1 billion in incentives to a single firm every in 2022 and 2023.

In July 2022, Kelly and different state officers introduced that Panasonic Corp. plans to construct a mega-factory to supply electrical car batteries for Tesla and different carmakers. The state lured the Japanese electronics large’s undertaking to the sting of the Kansas Metropolis space with incentives value $829 million over 10 years, probably the most the state has ever supplied.

The legislation permitting the incentives required prime leaders of the Republican-controlled Legislature to log off any deal between an organization and the state Division of Commerce, which is led by Lt. Gov. David Toland, a Democrat like Kelly. The legislative leaders gave their approval simply minutes forward of the announcement, after assembly in personal with Kelly for half an hour to evaluate the settlement, with no alternative for public evaluate or enter.

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The legislation additionally requires Kansas to drop its company revenue tax charges by half a share level for every mega-deal. If the Integra undertaking goes ahead, the highest charge would decline to six% from 7%, saving all companies roughly $100 million a 12 months.

Whereas each mega-projects have had bipartisan help, some lawmakers are vital of promising such large taxpayer-funded incentives to a single agency.

“We’ve got not written the checks for this primary undertaking they usually’re beginning the second with out even understanding that it really works,” state Senate tax committee Chair Caryn Tyson, a conservative Republican from jap Kansas, mentioned earlier than Thursday’s announcement.

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Comply with John Hanna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apjdhanna.

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Kansas

NE Kansas residents pick up after night of storms

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NE Kansas residents pick up after night of storms


TOPEKA (KSNT) – Northeast Kansas residents are picking up after a night of violent storms. Storms caused major tree damage and even knocked out the National Weather Radio near Topeka.

Storm damage is being reported across the Northeast Kansas area Wednesday morning. The National Weather Service of Topeka announced that the NOAA Weather Radio Station that services Topeka was taken off the air. It’s unknown what caused the damage and it’s also unknown when it will be restored.

The Osage County Police Department took to social media to alert residents of power outages, limbs and trees down.

“Our fantastic city crews were on it immediately and cleared the road blockage, and the electric crews responded immediately to power outages,” the Osage City Police Department wrote. “As a result, most of the streets and power is restored.”

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The Marysville Kansas Police Department took to Facebook to let residents that crews are out and assessing damage to get things back in working order.

The storms knocked out power to over 20,000 residents in the northeast Kansas area.

For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.



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Another Kansas City romance? Hallmark to make Chiefs-inspired Christmas movie

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Another Kansas City romance? Hallmark to make Chiefs-inspired Christmas movie


Move over, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift — another love story is coming to Kansas City.

Hallmark and Skydance Sports are teaming up with the NFL to create an original Christmas movie titled “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.” The movie will be starring Tyler Hynes, Hunter King and Ed Begley Jr, and will take place in Kansas City and be filmed entirely on location, per NFL Media.

The synopsis of the movie says it will focus on a Chiefs “Fan of the Year” contest with a romance budding between one of the entrants and the fictional Chiefs official running the contest, played by King and Hynes, respectively. 

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“We are honored to partner with Hallmark on a project as unique as this,” Chiefs president Mark Donovan said. “As a club, we pride ourselves on exploring new ways to grow our brand, as well as connect with new audiences. This partnership unites two passionate fanbases and gives us an opportunity to show Chiefs Kingdom’s energy and tradition on one of the most-watched channels during the holiday season.”

The relationship between the Chiefs tight end and music megastar has been a major point of interest since it went public in September 2023 and has remained highly publicized since, also uniting two passionate fanbases. Swift’s appearance at Kelce’s games last year came with spikes in viewership for both the Chiefs and the NFL as Kelce helped Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City to their second straight Super Bowl title and third in five years. 

Kelce has returned the favor in the offseason as Swift continued the international leg of her “Eras Tour,” most recently making a cameo appearance in a backup dancer during a London concert  last weekend.

“With Hallmark and the Kansas City Chiefs both homegrown, rooted in values, tradition and community, there is a special alchemy between these two iconic organizations,” said Hallmark chief brand officer Darren Abbott. “By blending the warmth of Hallmark storytelling with the excitement of professional football, we are thrilled to give audiences a front-row seat to this community’s spirit, rich traditions and passionate fans that define Kansas City.”

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Pet Resource Center of Kansas City helping pet owners during extreme heat

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Pet Resource Center of Kansas City helping pet owners during extreme heat


KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Staffers with the Pet Resource Center of Kansas City are patrolling streets to ensure pet safety during extreme heat.

If you can keep dogs inside the house when temperatures are this high, you should. Ensure your pets stay hydrated and have access to fresh water and shade.

The Pet Resource Center of Kansas City can provide cooling items for pet owners who need them.

“We’re out patrolling the community, helping clients that we know have outdoor dogs, talking to them about what a heat stroke looks like, what heat exhaustion looks like, what they must have if they’re going to have their dogs outside,” said Rae Lindsey, outreach and mobile manager for the Pet Resource Center. “So a little bit of patrolling and helping people out in the community, but also checking on folks that we know have pets outside.”

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Lindsey said if your pet’s heart rate is high, then they could be experiencing a heat-related illness.

For cats, panting is the most obvious sign of heat exhaustion.

“You never want to cool off a pet too quickly,” Lindsey said. “Kind of like with us, if you’re getting into a heat exhaustion state, you want to cool down slowly. Dogs pant and drool, excessive drooling, lack of being able to hold themselves up, vomiting, and diarrhea are all signs of heat exhaustion. Heat exhaustion also can last 24 to 48 hours.”

During patrols, Pet Resource Center staffers stop by clients’ houses and drop off cooling supplies, including gates and kennels, to facilitate safe indoor environments and water bowls, cooling mats, and other accessories.

“We kept coming out here and making sure there was plenty of water and everything. ” Pet Resource Center Client Brenda Kirkwood said he didn’t eat but drank the water. “It’s complicated because there’s really nowhere for him to go, but just right here, there’s no shade. So that’s his hideaway.”

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While on pet patrols, they also educate people on heat safety and the services they offer.
“If you’re going to go out on a walk with your pet, do it first thing in the morning or late in the evening when the sun is set, and it’s a little bit cooler,” Lindsey said. “And if your dog is outside make sure that you’re checking on them regularly to make sure that he’s not having any of those symptoms of heat exhaustion.”

If you have concerns about your pet’s well-being in the summer heat and need assistance, reach out to the pet resource center at outreach@prckc.org.



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