Hays daily brief
Hays, Kansas and US news for busy people - Oct 2, 2026 edition
Hays
- Heavy rainfall prompted a flash flood warning in Hays, leading city officials to warn motorists of standing water and hazardous roads. →
- The City of Hays closed Oak Street between 13th and 14th streets to repair a broken 12-inch water main valve. →
- The Hays City Commission pledged to explore options with Fort Hays State University to keep the Sternberg Museum of Natural History open. →
- The City of Hays will enforce a 10-minute collection limit per home and size limits on branches during its fall cleanup starting Oct. 19. →
- The Hays City Commission reviewed an option agreement to donate city land near 26th and Main to Epworth Village for affordable housing. →
- Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams announced his retirement effective Dec. 31 after leading the Hays economic development group. →
- Expect plenty of sunshine today in Hays with a light northeast breeze and a high near 65°F.
🌾 Kansas
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The Democratic Governors Association released a digital ad Oct. 1 linking Republican gubernatorial nominee Ty Masterson to Sam Brownback's tax cuts, which Masterson called a "lie" based on deceptive editing. →
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Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Adam Hamilton's campaign refused Sen. Roger Marshall's demand to pull an ad about his former practice's medical-debt collection tactics, instead sending a letter warning against frivolous litigation. →
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The Olathe school board voted 7-0 Oct. 1 to close five elementary schools and one middle school after the 2026-27 school year, affecting about 2,200 students, while United Teachers of Wichita rallied Sept. 30 to support USD 259's $615 million bond on the Nov. 3 ballot. →
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Riley County commissioners agreed Oct. 1 to extend the county's moratorium on data centers and battery energy storage systems by six months to await possible state legislative action in 2027. →
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Gov. Laura Kelly issued a verbal statewide disaster emergency declaration Sept. 30 as remnants of Hurricane Polo merged with a storm system, prompting a flash flood emergency in Dodge City and Ford County and washing out roads statewide. →
🇺🇸 US
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Manufacturing output and unemployment claims stayed strong in September even as prices and oil costs rose, with the ISM manufacturing index hitting 54.5 and jobless claims falling to 197,000. →
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British counterterrorism police arrested a 27-year-old British-Iranian man in London on Oct. 1 in an investigation into a possible Iranian link to a security incident at RAF Fairford air base. →
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The Supreme Court agreed Oct. 1 to decide whether the Trump administration can hold immigrants arrested in the U.S. without bond hearings while their deportation cases proceed. →
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The FDA approved Edwards Lifesciences' Autus valve, the first expandable artificial pulmonary valve for children with congenital heart disease, the company announced Oct. 1. →
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President Trump said in a Time interview published Oct. 1 that heavier U.S. bombing of Iran after the Nov. 3 midterms was "possible," as the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier group headed to the Middle East. →
Weather

October 2, 2020: President Trump and First Lady Test Positive for COVID-19
On October 2, 2020, President Donald Trump announced via Twitter that he and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19 amid a resurgence of the pandemic. The diagnosis followed a White House event for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett and came just days after Trump’s first presidential debate against Joe Biden.
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