> ## Content Index
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# Kansas daily brief
- URL: https://www.citizenjournal.us/kansas-daily-brief-6/
- Published: 2025-12-31T12:32:01.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-04T02:34:13.000Z
- Description: Kansas and US news for busy people - Dec 31, 2025 edition
- Author: Greg Loving
- Tags: hcj, email, #brief

## *There will be no newsletter tomorrow*

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## 🌾Kansas

- **Sumner County Commissioners unanimously rejected a 300-megawatt battery storage facility near 700+ homes, citing safety concerns and the county's ability to regulate emerging technology.** Nextera Energy has 30 days to appeal the decision that overturned the planning board's recommendation.
- [**Red Hills rancher Bill Barby transformed 3,700 acres using prescribed burns to eliminate invasive cedars that consume massive water resources and increase wildfire risk.** ](https://www.citizenjournal.us/top-5-kansas-news-stories-91/)His conservation efforts increased cattle capacity by 50 head and now support threatened species including lesser prairie chickens and whooping cranes.
- **The new Chiefs stadium STAR bond agreement mandates construction quality comparable to four NFL domed facilities:** Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, New Nissan Stadium in Nashville, State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, and U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
- **A 58-year-old Missouri man was arrested for 2000-2003 Lawrence child sexual assaults after forensic genetic genealogy traced DNA from crime scene cigarette butts to his biological mother.** David James Zimbrick faces aggravated criminal sodomy and rape charges on $1 million bond.
- **KLOE 730 AM radio in Goodland permanently ceased operations after 75 years when 80+ mph winds toppled its transmission tower into a wheat field.** The station, operating since 1948, will not be rebuilt due to difficult-to-source replacement parts and company decision.

[Top 5 Kansas news storiesDecember 31 2025![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f7/e6/f7e66a8b-8f27-493f-8b7e-664ecefd4c3d/content/images/icon/favicon-3940.ico)citizen journalGreg Loving![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f7/e6/f7e66a8b-8f27-493f-8b7e-664ecefd4c3d/content/images/thumbnail/Image-123-1.jpeg)](https://www.citizenjournal.us/top-5-kansas-news-stories-91/)

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## 🇺🇸 US

- **Flu hospitalizations surged to 81,000 by late December (up from 49,000 the prior week), with positive test rates jumping to 25%, fueling fears of an unusually severe winter season.**
- **Sanctioned Iranian oil tanker Bella 1 painted a Russian flag on its hull and claimed Russian protection while fleeing U.S. Coast Guard interception in the Caribbean.**
- **Trump administration froze Minnesota's $185 million in annual federal child-care funding over fraud allegations, with Gov. Walz calling it politically motivated despite acknowledging past fraud issues.**
- **OpenAI is paying employees average stock compensation of $1.5 million—34 times higher than comparable tech companies pre-IPO and 7 times Google's 2003 level.**
- **Ukraine's 800,000-strong military will be Europe's largest post-war, but faces sustainability challenges and will likely shift to reserve forces, drones, and domestic weapons production due to funding constraints.**

[Top 5 US news storiesDecember 31 2025![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f7/e6/f7e66a8b-8f27-493f-8b7e-664ecefd4c3d/content/images/icon/favicon-3939.ico)citizen journalGreg Loving![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f7/e6/f7e66a8b-8f27-493f-8b7e-664ecefd4c3d/content/images/thumbnail/Image-122-1.jpeg)](https://www.citizenjournal.us/top-5-us-news-stories-87/)

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## Weather

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f7/e6/f7e66a8b-8f27-493f-8b7e-664ecefd4c3d/content/images/2025/12/Image-125.jpeg)

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## December 31 2019: Wuhan government confirms dozens of cases of virus later ID’d as COVID-19