Manhattan daily brief
Manhattan, Kansas and US news for busy people - Sep 23, 2026 edition
Manhattan
- The Manhattan City Commission pushed to negotiate a higher city share of tax increment financing revenue from the Edge 3.0 development. →
- The KSU Foundation asked the Manhattan City Commission for public financing to fund 17% of the $304 million Edge 3.0 development project. →
- Manhattan city commissioners expressed skepticism over a proposed 140-to-150-room hotel planned within the university's Edge 3.0 project. →
- Kansas State University clarified to Manhattan leaders that its 30,000-student goal includes 7,000 online or non-degree learners by 2030. →
- The Riley County Law Board required reviews before accepting an unapproved $31 million federal grant submitted by county police. →
- Manhattan city staff saved taxpayers nearly $285,000 by using an internal solution to repair the Manhattan Wastewater Treatment Plant. →
- The Fort Riley Safe Passage rideshare in Manhattan paused after a surge in ridership exhausted its funding, with plans to restart Oct. 1. →
- Expect partly sunny skies today with a comfortable high near 76°F and a gentle breeze out of the east.
🌾 Kansas
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Kansas regulators rejected Groundwater Management District No. 3's first districtwide Ogallala Aquifer conservation plan, saying its proposed pumping reductions would address declines too slowly. →
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Wichita city staff told the City Council on Sept. 22 that a programming fault, not human error, caused the backup generator failure that triggered last week's boil water advisory affecting about 500,000 people. →
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The Kansas Corporation Commission has scheduled Sept. 28-29 hearings on a proposed 180-mile, 345-kilovolt transmission line across eight western Kansas counties meant to strengthen the western grid. →
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The Kansas Bureau of Investigation announced Sept. 21 that a joint sex-crimes sting with Riley County and Geary County agencies led to 19 arrests in Riley and Geary counties. →
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ICE conducted immigration operations Sept. 21-22 in Liberal, Dodge City and Garden City, three southwest Kansas beef-packing towns that rely heavily on immigrant labor. →
🇺🇸 US
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Senate Leadership Fund boosted its Texas ad commitment to $100 million for Republican Ken Paxton, part of a broader GOP financial edge of more than $557 million in fall Senate advertising compared with Democrats' $343 million, according to a Sept. 18 NPR analysis. →
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Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrives in Washington Wednesday for a three-day summit with President Donald Trump aimed at preserving a trade truce, marking Xi's first White House visit since 2015. →
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Vice President JD Vance said Sept. 22 that the administration's fraud task force canceled roughly 315,000 Affordable Care Act marketplace policies covering about 760,000 people in August, saving an estimated $2.2 billion in federal subsidies. →
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Google has asked Indiana regulators to approve 228 additional emergency diesel generators at its Fort Wayne data center, which would bring the permitted total to 402. →
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President Donald Trump told the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 22 that he faces a choice between a deal with Iran or moving to "annihilate the Islamic Republic," while predicting an agreement after the November midterms. →
Weather

September 23, 1933: Standard Oil Geologists Arrive in Saudi Arabia
In 1933, American geologists from Standard Oil landed at the Persian Gulf port of Jubail to begin surveying Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province for oil. Their work, backed by a concession from King Abdulaziz, laid the foundation for the creation of the Arabian American Oil Company, later known as Saudi Aramco. This moment marked the beginning of Saudi Arabia’s transformation into a dominant global oil power and reshaped the energy landscape of the 20th century.
This article was written using our proprietary AI system, Cronkite. The final decision to publish this article was made by a human. For more info, read our AI policy.