KANSAS CITY (AP) — It sounds like science fiction hype, but supporters believe ultrafast Hyperloop transportation could become reality within a decade, propelling passengers from Kansas City to St. Louis in a 30-minute trip.

“We’ve already completed a feasibility study, and now we’re on to the next steps with this. It’s happening quicker than even I would have guessed,” said KC Tech Council President Ryan Weber, who is working with numerous other Missouri officials on a project that he predicted could be implemented in about seven years.

Hyperloop is a cutting-edge technology that transports passengers in a vehicle floating above a track via magnetic levitation. It moves by electric power through a depressurized, low-friction tube at airline speeds. A test pod exceeded 240 mph in 2017, and the vehicles are envisioned to reach speeds of up to nearly 700 mph.

More testing is needed to get the technology past the experimental stage.

Late last year, Black & Veatch found that a route along Interstate 70 in Missouri was realistically feasible to construct.

Officials are eager for Missouri to be an early adapter of the technology. One advantage is that the state owns most of the right-of-way along I-70, although some land acquisition challenges remain and the overall costs are projected to be $7 billion to $10 billion, Harvest Public Media reported.

Yes, Weber conceded, the project would be enormously expensive, and numerous questions must still be answered. But he said the relatively flat I-70 route from Kansas City to Columbia and St. Louis is ideal. It makes more sense, he said, to invest in a futuristic, energy-efficient transportation mode that moves people quickly and efficiently than to spend billions on new lanes of traditional highway traffic.

“This won’t be impacted by weather. This won’t be impacted by fuel prices,” he said. “And this will be a fully autonomous electric system that will run 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Kansas City lawyer Greg Kratofil, chair of Polsinelli’s technology transactions group, said motorists are all too familiar with the terrible road conditions currently on I-70, as they drive from Kansas City to the University of Missouri and eastward to St. Louis.

Hyperloop, he said, would be a “fundamental change in transportation,” providing a 15-minute trip to Columbia or about 30 minutes to St. Louis, which would help rural residents along the route as well.

While the project costs appear astronomical, a “Blue Ribbon” panel of Missouri civic and business leaders and elected officials formed earlier this year to explore the specifics of funding and construction.

Weber said an update is expected from the panel later this month or early in October.

“I don’t think there’s an appetite for this to be taxpayer funded,” he said. “I think this has to be likely a public-private partnership where I do think there are a number of investors out there extremely interested in this system.”

Kristen Hammer, business development manager with Virgin Hyperloop One in Los Angeles, said two others U.S. routes are under consideration: Pittsburgh to Chicago and Dallas to Laredo, Texas. But she said she’s been impressed with Missouri’s commitment to the project and the pace of planning in the state.

Hammer said Virgin Hyperloop did a successful quarter-mile test in Nevada and is now scouting locations for a test of several miles, working with state and federal regulators.

“The next step,” she said, “is a longer test that we really are looking forward to using for certification of the technology.”

On Saturday, the public can see the Virgin Hyperloop One XP-1 pod that successfully accelerated to test speeds of over 240 mph on the Nevada test track. It will be on display at the Kansas Speedway during the American Royal Barbecue, and company executives will be present to answer questions.

Hammer said the system’s safety is paramount and will be fully vetted. She said it is also designed to provide a comfortable ride, without excessive G-forces.

“So you’ll actually feel less of that pushback than you do when taking off on an airplane,” she said.

Finally, the cost to passengers would be less than a tank of gas to drive from Kansas City to St. Louis. “That’s really our goal,” Hammer said. “If people can’t afford to take it, then we’re just building an amusement park ride, and that’s not our business.”

RILEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a report of shots fired at a residence in Manhattan.

Just after 3a.m. Sunday, police received a report of a large fight in progress in the parking lot of a house party located in the 1300 block of Fremont Street in Manhattan, according to Captain Josh Kyle.

Shortly thereafter police received multiple reports of shots fired with people running from the area.

The house where the fight occurred was hit by bullets, according to Kyle. Police have not reported any injuries.

An Aggravated Assault report was filed listing several men as victims ranging in ages from 21 to 31 years-of-age, according to Kyle.

The suspect who allegedly fired the shots was described as a black male wearing a white t-shirt and acid washed jeans.

Police have not made an arrest.

MARION COUNTY — A pair of earthquakes Monday morning shook portions of Kansas. The quake just before 10a.m. measured a magnitude 3.6, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was centered approximately 8 miles east of Marion.

The quake follows a 3.9 magnitude quake at 2:37 a.m. approximately 10 miles west of Cottonwood Falls in Chase County.

The two reported quakes are approximately 32 miles apart.  The Marion County Sheriff’s said they had not received any calls on the quake.

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CHASE COUNTY —An earthquake shook portions of Kansas early Monday. The quake just after 2:30a.m. measured a magnitude 3.9, according to the U.S. Geological Survey and was centered approximately 10 miles north of Cottonwood Falls.

The Chase County Sheriff’s office reported they had not received any calls about the quake.

SALINE COUNTY— A burn pit is being blamed for an early Monday fire in the rural Saline County community of Gypsum.

Just before 1a.m. Monday, deputies and crews from the Gypsum Fire Department and Rural Fire District No. 1 were dispatched to 608 Spring Street for a fire in a detached garage that had at one time been converted to an apartment but was being used for storage, according to Saline County Sheriff Roger Soldan.

A 49-year-old resident had been burning tree branches and stumps in a pit in the backyard during the weekend. It is believed that embers from the pit sparked the fire.

The garage, as well as several weed trimmers, chain saws, and a pickup were destroyed in the blaze, Soldan said. Total loss was estimated at $5,000.

Additionally, a next-door neighbor, reported an estimated $3,000 in damage to two of his vehicles that were parked adjacent to the property, according to Soldan said.

The homeowner was cited for burning without a permit in violation of Gypsum City ordinance, according to the sheriff.