Why a Johnson County town’s push to get broadband is headed toward a DA investigation

City leaders told residents in Spring Hill (KS) that their notoriously unreliable internet service would soon improve, igniting hope that they could effortlessly stream Netflix or pay the bills online without relying on a mobile hot spot. But recently in some quarters, hopes for fiber optic internet at every home and business have twisted into suspicions over how the city government operates. Critics question the City Council’s plan to spend hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on a so-called dark fiber network that would connect only a few city buildings before residents and businesses get access. And a secret bid process — paired with one council member’s aggressive lobbying for a preferred vendor — raised wider questions. Allegations of corruption and secrecy were so overwhelming that the mayor has called for the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office to investigate the actions of the City Council in this town of 7,000.