Lawrence

• The Lawrence USD 497 Board of Education unanimously approved a contract raising the base salary for certified teachers to $51,000. →
• The Lawrence USD 497 Board of Education unanimously approved a 2.91 percent increase to the school administration salary pool. →
• The Lawrence USD 497 Board of Education ratified a contract raising the starting hourly wage for school support staff to $20. →
• Lawrence USD 497 officials proposed raising lunch prices by 15 cents and breakfast prices by 10 cents for the 2026-2027 academic year. →
• The Lawrence USD 497 Board of Education is considering joining a coalition advocating for full state funding of special education. →
• Shelly of Prescott Performance Lab demonstrates a core-to-floor exercise designed to strengthen abdominals, hips, knees, and ankles. →
• It's going to be a beautiful, mostly sunny Wednesday in Lawrence with just a light breeze and temperatures topping out at a warm 86°F.

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🌾 Kansas

• Three Kansans exposed to a now-deceased Andes hantavirus-infected cruise ship passenger were discharged from the University of Kansas Hospital on May 21 and remain asymptomatic, as the Legislative Coordinating Council voted 7-1 to extend Gov. Laura Kelly's emergency declaration through June 7. →

• Five of six Kansas public universities are seeking in-state undergraduate tuition increases of 3.5% to 6% for 2026-27, citing legislative budget cuts and a 4.1% regional CPI increase, with the Kansas Board of Regents set to vote in June. →

• A vehicle tag modernization fee paid by Kansas drivers has been diverted to the KDOT highway fund since 2013, even as tag offices face chronic understaffing, after a bill to redirect the funds died in the House earlier this year. →

• All lanes of Interstate 70 between Topeka Boulevard and 8th Avenue will close June 8 through December as KDOT demolishes and rebuilds the Polk-Quincy Viaduct, with through-traffic detoured to I-470. →

• A Johnson County judge ordered former Leawood parish priest Richard Storey to house arrest May 26 after he was formally charged with felony theft of approximately $160,000 from Curé of Ars parish, which the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas uncovered through an internal audit. →

🇺🇸 US

• AI and offshoring have eliminated 26% of customer-service jobs in metro Phoenix over four years, with the Labor Department projecting an additional 4% decline in office and administrative support roles over the next eight years. →

• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated four-term Sen. John Cornyn in the May 26 Republican Senate runoff with nearly 64% of the vote, winning what AdImpact called the costliest Senate GOP primary on record. →

• The Republican-controlled South Carolina Senate voted May 26 to block a mid-decade congressional redistricting plan that would have eliminated Rep. James Clyburn's majority-Black 6th District, with 12 GOP senators joining Democrats in opposition. →

• NASA awarded contracts to Blue Origin, Firefly Aerospace, Astrolab and Lunar Outpost on May 26 to supply landers, terrain vehicles and drones for the first phase of its Artemis Moon Base program, targeting a crewed lunar landing as early as 2028. →

• The New York Knicks swept the Cleveland Cavaliers 130-93 on May 26 to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999, with Game 1 against the Western Conference champion set for June 3. →

Weather

May 27, 1937: Golden Gate Bridge Opens to the Public

San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, a 4,200-foot-long suspension span linking San Francisco and Marin County, opens after five years of construction. That five-year build contrasts with today’s reality, where U.S. infrastructure projects routinely spend roughly four to five years just navigating environmental review and permitting before shovels ever hit the ground.

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