TONGANOXIE, Kan. — KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne reports on stories in Overland Park, Johnson County and topics about government accountability. She’s been reporting on data centers extensively throughout the Kansas City metro. Share your story idea with Isabella.

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In Tonganoxie, Kansas, dozens of neighbors are getting ready to raise their voice in opposition over a 1,000-acre data center proposal just a few miles from town at a special meeting on Wednesday night.

Leavenworth County to host meeting on 1,000-acre data center proposal

“Show up, have your voice be heard,” resident Rebecca Davis said. “There’s so many unknowns.”

Project Bluestem would go near the Tonganoxie Business Park and has now doubled in electricity usage size from its original plan and plans to add an additional powerplant.

The proposal first came up in March before the Leavenworth County Commissioners in March. A few months later, residents submitted a petition for an 18-month moratorium to the county commissioners.

The commissioners ultimately ended up adopting a shorter, temporary moratorium to find out more information on Project Bluestem before making any decisions. That moratorium expired in August, and some neighbors feel it wasn’t enough time to learn concrete details about the impact of the project.

“I’m extremely frustrated,” Davis said. “We had a pause to get regulations in place, it didn’t happen.”

There’s still very few details known about Project Bluestem and the real estate company behind it, Cloverleaf Infrastructure. But what neighbors do know about it, like how it could use up to 1.2 gigawatts of energy and include a gas power plant just a few miles from schools, has neighbors pushing for a pause.

Across the small town of Tonganoxie, large signs that say ‘No Data Centers’ line the rural roads.

“We don’t want this project at that site,” Davis said. “It’s a mile, mile and a half from our elementary school, middle school and nursing home.”

Davis is a part of the Tongie Data Center Watch Dog Group, comprised of Tonganoxie residents demanding more transparency on the data center project. Members are planning to pack Wednesday night’s special meeting and call on the Leavenworth County commissioners to reject Cloverleaf Infrastructure’s proposal.

“Their main focus is just dollar signs and in Tonganoxie, we care about more than just dollar signs,” Davis said.

Leavenworth County’s data center moratorium expired in August. In the interim, Cloverleaf resubmitted its plans for a hyperscale data center that now includes a bigger footprint, larger energy usage and a gas powerplant.

If approved, it would be one of the biggest data center developments in the Kansas City metro.

Dee Karleskint lives near the proposed site, and explained her main concerns are related to health and environment.

Jake Weller

“I have several animals that I love dearly and it really worries me what the after effects will be for them,” Karleskint said.

There’s no known company behind Cloverleaf Infrastructure, listing themselves on their website as a ‘real estate developer’ that will look for a data center once the site is up and running.

“It just adds to the feeling of secrecy, lack of transparency,” Davis said.

Leavenworth County is now looking at adding regulations in place for data center proposals, which commissioner Mike Stieben says Project Bluestem would be a part of.

Jake Weller

“We didn’t have [those regulations or guidelines] in place, so in order to move forward, we have to be judicious. We have to give everybody a fair due process,” commissioner Stieben said. “But in the end, it comes down to do we think this fits?”

The special commissioner meeting will be held at the Tonganoxie Fairgrounds Admin Building at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

KSHB 41 News reporter Isabella Ledonne asked Cloverleaf Infrastructure where the project currently stands and for a comment on the community backlash.

A company spokesperson responded with a statement.

“Cloverleaf’s approach to developing critical infrastructure is grounded in delivering real benefits to the communities we serve. We are committed to partnering with local leaders and residents to create a significant economic opportunity that will support the community’s priorities. Project Bluestem will create quality jobs, generate significant new tax revenue, and strengthen resources for schools, first responders, and the broader community. Additionally, the project includes 330 acres for permanent land conservation. Leavenworth County and the Kansas City region’s infrastructure, strategic location, and skilled workforce make it well positioned to attract critical digital infrastructure while delivering meaningful local benefits. We encourage residents to learn more about the project and its benefits, along with answers to common questions about data centers, at bluestemdatacenter.com.”

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Vice President JD Vance made the case on Monday that any economic hardship Kansas City workers and consumers experience as a result of the Trump administration’s trade war with Canada will be worth the long-term benefits of a renegotiated trade agreement.

Trade talks between the two countries broke down last month, prompting President Donald Trump to impose 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods. Ottawa’s retaliatory tariffs on roughly 700 American products went into effect on Sept. 8.

“One of the things the president is trying to do is just make things more fair for the American worker,” Vance told reporters at a press conference inside Kansas City’s FBI headquarters.

A 2025 study by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce identified Kansas City as one of the three metropolitan areas with the most economic exposure to a protracted trade conflict between the allied North American nations.

The Kansas City metro area exports about $4 billion in goods to Canada annually, including vehicles, plastics, chemicals and agricultural products.

“To your point about that $4 billion export market, we’ve got to ask ourselves, is Canada applying restrictions on Kansas City workers or Missouri workers or Kansas workers that it’s not applying to anybody else?” Vance said.

“And the unfortunate answer is, despite the fact that we love Canada — it’s obviously a friendly country in a lot of ways — their government has imposed extraordinary trade restrictions on American workers all across our country for many years,” he said.

As evidence, Vance pointed to a steep Canadian import tax on American dairy products beyond quotas the two countries previously agreed to.

“If you buy a pound of butter from Canada, we’re not applying any tariffs on it, or at least we weren’t,” Vance said. “But if we actually send agricultural products to Canada, sometimes our farmers are paying 200 percent, 300 percent.”

However, the vice president’s example is misleading. In reality, the Canadian tariff only applies if American exports exceed quotas established in an agreement during Trump’s first term. As a practical matter, American producers do not export enough dairy to Canada to trigger the tax, according to the International Dairy Foods Association.

Kansas City manufacturing

Automobile manufacturing is one industry that stands to suffer if the U.S. and Canada can’t expeditiously agree to new trade terms. The Kansas City area features two major auto plants.

In Clay County, Ford operates a 1,200-acre Kansas City Assembly Plant, which employs more than 9,000 workers and currently produces the Ford Transit van and F-150 pickup truck. General Motors operates the Fairfax Assembly and Stamping plant in Kansas City, Kansas. That facility, which employs about 2,000 people, has been in oprtation since 1947.

“When you increase tariffs, of course, those who suffer first are workers because prices go up and their real wages go down,” Ariel Dvoskin, an economics professor at the University of Missouri Kansas City, told The Star last month.

On Monday, Vance reiterated his stance that American manufacturers are getting a raw deal in Canada compared to other countries. He did not respond directly to a question about what the administration plans to do to mitigate economic hardship brought on by the trade war.

“At the same exact time, while Canada is imposing a whole host of tariffs on our workers and a whole host of export and import controls on American workers, they’re letting products come in from the People’s Republic of China with nothing like that level of restriction,” Vance said.

“So, what the president is doing here — and it’s not in an effort to hurt anybody — certainly not the United States, and not even in Canada. We’re trying to make things more fair, and what we’re saying to the Canadian government is, ‘If you want access to American markets, you have to be fair to American workers,’” Vance said.

On Labor Day, Trump threatened to halt the sale of all Bombardier products unless the Canadian-owned aircraft manufacturer expands its operations in America. The company’s U.S. headquarters are located in Wichita, where workers primarily prepare Canadian-manufactured planes for special mission purposes. Bombardier currently holds a multi-year contract with the U.S. Air Force valued at close to $465 million.

Vance projected confidence that the eventual resolution of the trade dispute will “lead to a place that’s much better for American workers; I think, frankly, much better for Canadian workers, too.”

“But they’ve got to be more fair, and if they’re going to mistreat American workers then it’s incumbent upon the president of the United States to fight back, which is exactly what he’s doing right now,” Vance said.