Little Arkansas Community Coalition

05/11/2026

Subject: Minisa Bridge Contract Specifications – Vote Today, May 11

Attached (or below) are the Minisa Bridge contract specifications to be voted on today, May 11, by the Wichita Preservation Wichita State University Community Service Board.

If you’re not yet a member of Make Wave, just let me know, and I’ll add you.

05/11/2026

Subject: Minisa Bridge Contract Specifications – Vote Today, May 11

Linked below to our file storage page, Make Waves, are the Minisa Bridge contract specifications to be voted on today, May 11, by the Wichita Preservation Wichita State University Community Service Board.

If you’re not yet a member of Make Wave, just let me know, and I’ll add you.

05/10/2026

Update.
The Central Riverside Park redevelopment contract was scheduled to appear on the consent agenda for Tuesday, The item was pulled, and the contract and the upgraded budget of $700,000 have been approved.

That is enough for the 2 playground upgrades, and more.

During the May 12th meeting, the director of parks insisted that further community engagement would occur.

If you attended engagement events and pop ups in the fourth quarter of the previous year, up through the most recent meeting at Evergreen, our followers are encouraged to attend future sessions or engage with the city’s chosen communication team.

Note: maintenance falls under a separate budget. Engagement efforts focused on requesting maintenance may be more effective if directed toward budget meetings or by contacting elected officials directly.

Here is the link to documents included in the consent agenda. Start on page five. and scroll several pages for more information. https://www.wichita.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/14776

05/04/2026

Tax credits...

05/04/2026

Happy Preservation Month.

May is Preservation Month and this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF). Federal regulations require that a portion of these funds be passed through to local communities and organizations to assist with their preservation efforts. To meet those federal requirements, each year applications are accepted by the Kansas State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) as part of a competitive grant round. Grants are used to fund projects such as historic property surveys, National Register nominations, preservation plans, design-review guidelines, and educational activities such as brochures, conferences, and workshops. Learn more at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/historicpreservationfund/index.htm

04/29/2026

More about the Minisa bridge by Jenni Amina of KMUW and a North High alumni. Thank you Jenni and KMUW.

Riverside neighbors and local historians say the bridge over the Little Arkansas River is finally getting the recognition — and the repairs and maintenance — it deserves.

04/18/2026

More serious consequences of AI facilities...law suits

Breaking: We're suing xAI for illegal pollution from its data center power plant.

SELC, NAACP, and Earthjustice are taking Elon Musk's company to court for violating the Clean Air Act. The company’s failure to get a permit for its power plant—which is located near homes, schools, and churches—creates added health risks for families in North Mississippi and Memphis.

xAI effectively built a power plant for its Colossus 2 data center in Southaven, which is across the border from Memphis, Tennessee, and has the potential to emit more than 1,700 tons of smog-forming nitrogen oxides (NOx) each year.

The staggering emissions numbers likely make the facility the largest industrial source of NOx in the greater Memphis area, an area already failing to meet national smog standards.

The illegal turbines also have the potential to release up to 180 tons of fine particulate matter, 500 tons of carbon monoxide, and 19 tons of formaldehyde—a toxic, cancer-causing chemical—each year.

“xAI must be held accountable for its reckless, unlawful actions—and that’s exactly what this lawsuit aims to do.” - Senior Attorney Ben Grillot, SELC.

04/18/2026

Ackerman Island.

04/17/2026