Happy National Farmer's Day to the Kansans who keep our tables full.

Here's your Monday harvest of Wichita news.

Let’s get to it!

-Landon

Downtown Block

Movement Musick filed a $20.5M permit to turn the historic Shirkmere building at 256 N. Topeka into 110 apartments, about 40 of them more affordable, plus a public cafe and coworking space.

Meanwhile, the City is in early talks with the group about a downtown "Somewhere District," where incentives would go back into developing the area. The same block is also planned for a music hall and a grocery store. If Somewhere sounds familiar, yes it is the same group behind Somewhere Fest and Somewhere Works.

Together with Wichita State

Are your kids (or grandkids, nieces / nephews, friends’ kids, etc) in the Class of 2027? Wichita State has some serious scholarship money up for grabs, including awards worth up to $80,000.

A few of the biggest:

🎓 Richard D. Smith Scholarship: $80,000
🎓 Harry Gore Memorial Scholarships: Three awards of $80,000 each
💼 Ross Tidemann Scholarship: $50,000 for business majors
🎨 James Scholarship: $40,000 for Fine Arts or Liberal Arts & Sciences majors

And those are just a few. WSU has added and increased several scholarships this year, with opportunities for all kinds of majors.

Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8.

See more of the scholarships up for grabs

Interested in advertising with us?

LOCAL BUSINESS

Opening

Yokohama Beyond (same owner as the otehr Yokohamas, this one focused on chicken paitan ramen and chicken dishes) - 1316 W. Douglas (a former pet groomer) - Opening late spring
Naan Stop (second location) - 6600 W Central (old Sam’s Southern Eatery) - Opening TBD
Wingstop (sixth) - 2357 N Maize Rd (NewMarket Square) - Now Open
Crispy's Donuts (4th Wichita location) - 4601 E 13th St (former Hardees, 750 Soul, Miller’s Bar-B-Que, Different Type of Flava) - Openign by 11/1

All-Star Sports Returns

West Wichita's All-Star Sports, which closed without notice in September, is under new local ownership and plans to reopen next week at 8333 W. 21st St. New owners Stacie White, the park's former general manager, and Bryan Nguyen say most of the old staff is coming back, and opening details and hiring info will go up on their socials next week.

Women Mean Business

The 53 companies on this year's largest women-owned businesses list employ ~3,300 people locally, and six of them have 100 or more. The Arnold Group tops the list with 1,053 local employees, followed by Foley Industries with 424.

A Coach At Work

Thrive Restaurant Group and Goodwill have put a success coach in nine Wichita restaurants since early 2025 to help workers with things like a driver's license and stable housing. More than 80 of about 300 workers used it (way over the ~10% goal), with retention nearly 75%, and Thrive wants to take it national with no timetable yet.

Derby's Only Theater

Derby Plaza Theaters owes some back property tax and will need to pay that back before the building is sent to foreclosure auction on 10/13.

Goddard is Growing

Brothers Brian and Paul Suellentrop are planning a $4.5M, six-space retail center next to the Braum's at Kellogg and 183rd in Goddard and construction has to start by 4/1/27.

NONPROFIT

Goodwill Hiring Day

Goodwill Industries of Kansas is holding open interviews Wednesday 10/14 from 10am-2pm at its Edgemoor store (5455 E. Central) and Maize store (3737 N. Maize Rd). Dress the part, bring a resume, and you can interview on the spot.

Family Promise Grows

Family Promise of Greater Wichita, one of only two Wichita programs dedicated to homeless families (along with St. Anthony Family Shelter), has raised ~$7.75M of an $8.5M campaign to expand its reach. A $3M renovation of its space at 1111 N. St. Francis wraps in December, adding room to help families avoid losing their homes and get stable after homelessness.

Grants For Local News

Press Forward Wichita, part of the Wichita Foundation, just gave $20,000 to five local outlets for civic and election reporting. The projects include a bilingual voter guide from Planeta Venus, a PBS Kansas governor's forum, exit polling on the Wichita schools bond, and The Community Voice reporting on questions readers send in.

Back Behind The Wheel

Volunteers from Koch, Kansas Legal Services and the Kansas Bar Association held a free driver's license reinstatement clinic last Tuesday to help people with suspended licenses get their cases resolved. Missed it? Kansas Legal Services is still taking calls from anyone who needs help, at 316-267-3975.

Together with The Podcast Room

Have you always wanted to start a podcast, but don’t know where to start?

Let’s stop you right there.

Call Troy at The Podcast Room and let the Trussell Media Studios team take care of you.

All you have to do is show up and chat. What better time than the new year to start a new habit?

CIVIC

School Enrollment Dips

Wichita Public Schools' headcount is 43,643 this year, down about 3% from 45,075, which means ~$8M less in state funding. Supt. Kelly Bielefeld called the drop "not unexpected," and USD 259 is still the largest district in Kansas by far.

LOCAL

Pour Some Sugar On ICT

Def Leppard and Goo Goo Dolls play INTRUST Bank Arena on Thursday, 4/22/27, with The Struts. Doors open at 6pm and the show starts at 7pm. Presales start today, and general sale opens Friday, 10/16.

Prairie Fire Marathon

Congrats to everyone who raced yesterday as part of the Fall Prairie Fire Marathon! I’m getting the itch to run the half-marathon in the Spring (never ran one before), so as a test to see if anyone reads this, I need someone to hold me accountable. If no one replies, I suppose I’m off the hook…

Wild Lights Returns

The Sedgwick County Zoo's Wild Lights lantern displays are back for year six, 6-9pm Wednesday through Sunday from 10/14 to 12/20.

Tallgrass Returns

The Tallgrass Film Festival runs 10/15-10/18 with 108 films (down from 188 last year), with most screenings at Boulevard Theatres in Old Town, s/o The Community Voice. Flex Passes bring it down to $8 a screening, and the Gordon Parks lineup has three feature docs and eight shorts by Black filmmakers.

Goodbye, Stephanie

Stephanie, the Sedgwick County Zoo's 55-year-old elephant matriarch and the third-oldest African elephant in North America, was humanely euthanized Thursday 10/8 after age-related decline. She lived at the zoo from 1972 and had led the herd since 2016, a herd that welcomed four calves last year.

Record Freshman Class

Wichita State welcomed its largest freshman class ever, with 1,700+ new Shockers. Main campus enrollment still dipped ~2.5% (~450 students), the first drop since 2020, mostly from a ~24% decline in international students as visas got harder to get.

Wichita's Top Trucker

Wichita FedEx Freight driver Terry Covey took first place in the sleeper berth class at the National Truck Driving Championships in Pittsburgh. He has 1.5 million accident-free miles and first rode along in his dad's truck at age 7.

Orlando, Round Two

Southwest is bringing back nonstop flights from Wichita to Orlando next summer, the route's second year. Tickets are on sale now at Southwest.com.

Sunrise Goes Global

Sunrise Christian Academy is joining ATLAS, billed as the first international high school basketball league, with 11 teams including IMG Academy, Lithuania's Žalgiris and Serbia's Mega Basket. The season tips off 11/11-11/13 in Bradenton, Fla., and runs into March.

Whacky Shack Rebuilt

Redditor u/Beaurilla rebuilt Joyland's Whacky Shack as a rideable ride in Minecraft, facing the dark ride that terrified them as a little kid in the early 2000s. The layout borrows from a Whacky Shack that's still running in Pennsylvania, and they posted a how-to video for anyone who wants to build their own.

Estate Sale Jackpot

Wichita reseller Claudia Naranjo picked up a painting at a local estate sale last month, and it turned out to be an original made for Bernie Madoff, tied to his seized assets and now worth ~$275K.

Estate sales just got a lot more competitive.

💼 This Week’s Curated Jobs

Fresh opportunities from the Wichita Life Job Board!

📧 Email Marketing Manager — JOOLA | Wichita
Run the email program for a fast-growing table tennis and pickleball brand, from campaigns to customer retention.
👉 Learn More & Apply

📊 PPC Marketing Manager — Loud Marketing Co | Wichita
Plan, launch and optimize paid search campaigns that drive real results for clients at a local agency.
👉 Learn More & Apply

💻 Developer, ABAP – Information Technology — Sedgwick County | Wichita | $73,736–$110,490
Build and support the systems that keep county services running, with public-sector stability and solid pay.
👉 Learn More & Apply

🔎 Browse more local jobs →