Protect Kansas

08/06/2026

The Compass Datacenter proposal threatens the livelihoods of multigenerational Kansan farmers in Shawnee County. We are fighting for our farmland and our freedoms.

We need your help to speak up for our neighbors.

Sign up to receive our Calls to Action: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeTohdZU08MImzHL4We32M1TkCXWSvxXb2qRkKPb2LsfAc6eg/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=103825147759454104295

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLWUZY00SXU

Shawnee County farmer Ben Marple discusses the massive Compass Data...

08/04/2026

Decommissioning Concerns for Data Center

The language in Section 14 of the Compass Datacenters CUP sounds like they are under no obligation to properly decommission and remediate the site after use.

A decommissioning and remediation plan ensures a hyperscale data center is retired safely and efficiently. It minimizes environmental impacts through proper removal, recycling, and disposal of equipment and materials

Without a proper decommissioning and remediation plan, a hyperscale data center can pose significant environmental, safety, operational, and financial risks. Hazardous materials, fuel, batteries, and electronic waste may be improperly managed, leading to contamination and regulatory violations.

Abandoned or energized infrastructure can create long lasting electrical, fire, and physical safety hazards for the community of Shawnee county.

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08/03/2026

☀️🌻 Happy Monday, friends!! It’s a big week!! Tomorrow is PRIMARY ELECTION DAY!!!

🗳️ Today is the last day for early voting. Polls close at NOON!

🏛️ The Election Office is located at the corner of SW Van Buren and SW Croix Streets. The entrance to the parking lot is from SW Croix Street.

🗳️ 3420 SW Van Buren St
Topeka, KS 66611

IF YOU HAVE A MAIL BALLOT ➡️ Return it in person! Do NOT put it in the mail, it is too close to Election Day to guarantee it’ll be counted. Make sure your voice is heard!

📸 If you’ve already voted, drop your “I Voted” sticker in the comments. IT TAKES ALL OF US TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE! 🤝

❌ P.S. Don’t forget to VOTE NO on the proposed constitutional amendment! Keep our courts impartial. We don’t need Elon Musk or other billionaires coming into Kansas bribing our justices. We don’t need anti-abortion groups and anti-public education groups bankrolling their campaigns, either. JUST SAY NO!

Let’s gooo!!! 🗳️💪💃

08/03/2026

Diesel Generator Use at Compass Datacenters Concerns in Shawnee County

From the Compass Datacenters CUP Supplementary Report Section 6. Electrical Details: this bit talks about the diesel generators that they will use for “backup.”

In that same section just before that though they admit that they don’t currently have sufficient electrical load from Evergy and it will be built up in stages - which means they’ll be using their “backup” generators until that happens.

08/02/2026

Meeting so secret, Auburn-Washburn's media team didn't know about it?

Protect Kansas broke the news that a quorum of USD 437 School Board Members and Topeka City Council members met with Compass Datacenters at unpublished, closed door secret meeting with the multibillion dollar hyperscale datacenter company, Compass on July 28 at 2 pm.

Information about the secret event was provided to Protect Kansas by an anonymous whistleblower.

CJ Enterprise reporter, Stacey Saldanha-Olsen dug deeper into the unpublicized event.

The Capital-Journal reached out to Auburn-Washburn USD 437's media team to ask if an open meeting notice was sent.

Jessica Roberts, the district's communications director, said it was "false information" and that the board "is not meeting with Compass."

When The Capital-Journal asked whether "multiple members of the board currently (were) at the innovation center talking with representatives of Compass," Roberts said they weren't to her knowledge.

To read the full article, visit: https://www.protectkansas.org/news/did-topeka-city-and-school-board-leaders-break-open-meeting-laws

Stacey Saldanha-Olson of the Topeka Capital-Journal covers concerns regarding the unpublicized meeting between quorum of USD 437 Board, quorum of Topeka City Council and the multibillion dollar company proposing a hyperscale datacenter in Shawnee County.

08/02/2026

Compass Datacenters Energy and Staffing Usage Concerns:

According to the Conditional Use Permit Supplementary Report submitted for the Compass Datacenter site in Shawnee County, it is planned to be a 400 megawatt facility.

This number may or may not mean much to you depending on how you look at it, so let give ourselves a comparison:

At the Kansas Municipal Utilities Conference, Chuck Caisley, CCO of Evergy gave these facts: their biggest customer in the entire state at the beginning of this year was about 80 megawatts.

What has been submitted for Shawnee County requires FIVE (5) times that amount of electricity. FIVE times more than what Evergy’s largest customer used at the beginning of 2026.

STAFFING:

The CUP also states that the facility is "Lightly staffed - approximately 30-full-time personnel".

I thought we were told this place would provide consistent, long-term employment.

No.

Approximately 30 full time jobs. And the categories listed are security, operations, and engineering. Security and janitorial or facility staff are not exactly the sort of high-paying tech jobs that most people imagine come along with a data center.

NO Data Centers in Kansas