Reality Check dispatch: AI data center will ruin 30-year dream home, they fear
Editor’s note: The following is from this week’s Reality Check newsletter, published weekly on Wednesdays. You can sign up here to get them delivered to your inbox.
Hi Star readers,
When childhood sweethearts Howard and Mary Hoff moved their young family to an 8-acre former cattle farm in Independence in 1997, they had hoped to build a peaceful home where their grandchildren — and visiting geese — could enjoy nature and community for decades.
Now, after more than 30 years and thousands of dollars invested in renovations, the Hoffs are mentally preparing to pack their bags.
What could push the retired couple to move away from the home where they shared bonfires, volleyball games and picnics with neighbors for years?
A $6.6 billion, 400-acre AI data center is set to move down the street, with heavy machinery already clearing the way.
The Hoffs told me they now fear the massive AI data center will “ruin their lifestyle” — and they say the city kept them in the dark for months.
If you have a question about your local government or a tip about what else we should look into, please email iarougheti@kcstar.com.
Elsewhere in the metro...
✅ A bystander filming ICE sweeps in Lawrence last week, said an agent injured her. Why won’t Kansas police charge him?
✅ Before he allegedly fatally shot a deputy in southwest Missouri yesterday, the former KC man was charged with firing at a Johnson County deputy over a decade before.
✅Habitat for Humanity secured Lenexa’s approval to build 50 affordable homes on a beloved green space. But some neighbors are now suing to try and stop it.
✅KC prosecutors want to know how a gun got through security and inside a downtown nightclub where two women were shot and killed over Valentine’s Day weekend.
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