Manhattan

• December sales tax revenue spiked 30% due to an annual payment from a local auto dealership, bringing year-to-date collections 14.7% higher than last year. →
• Local officials expressed concern over state legislation that would restrict budget increases beyond the revenue-neutral rate plus inflation, potentially impacting 2027 financial planning. →
• Officials are outlining a $20 million to $30 million renovation of City Park for a future sales tax renewal, replacing a previous $100 million indoor facility proposal. →
• A city commissioner announced they will vote against future residential tax abatements, arguing that subsidized housing should support the tax base immediately rather than through long-term exemptions. →
• The City Commission rejected a proposal for two roundabouts on Anderson Avenue after traffic studies showed low volumes and residents voiced opposition. →
• Manhattan will invest $3 million in sales tax funds for road repairs this summer, though some projects are delayed due to late state gas tax revenue. →
• The city is drafting stricter guidelines for housing funds to prevent subsidies for luxury or student housing, prioritizing owner-occupied homes under $250,000. →
• Kansas State is reportedly hiring Belmont's Casey Alexander to replace Jerome Tang as the program's head men's basketball coach. Alexander comes to Manhattan after leading the Bruins to a 26-win season and a Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title. →
• Manhattan is collaborating with Kansas State University on a $400,000 study to analyze the downtown watershed and plan for future infrastructure needs. →
• City officials noted a significant discrepancy between the 333 active short-term rentals reported by tourism officials and the number of properly registered units. →
• The Riley County Police Department is expanding its Operation Greek initiative to offer safety and law Q&A sessions to all college-aged groups of 20 or more. This program connects students directly with police and victim advocates to discuss local ordinances and community safety. →
• Three people were hospitalized following two separate vehicle accidents in Riley County on Tuesday. The crashes involved a failure-to-yield collision on Highway 24 and a single-car strike against guardrails on Tuttle Creek Boulevard. →
• It’s going to be a beautiful, mostly sunny day in Manhattan with highs reaching 60 degrees and light north winds.

🌾 Kansas

• A proposed constitutional amendment to cap assessed value increases on real property and mobile homes failed to advance out of the Kansas House Committee of the Whole on Tuesday after a floor amendment was defeated 37-78. →

• The Sedgwick County Commission approved a one-year moratorium on applications for battery energy storage systems through March 11, 2027, as dozens of Labette County residents gathered to hear from Deep Fission about plans for an underground nuclear reactor. →

• Documents show a federal grand jury subpoenaed records from Kansas City related to Anton Washington and his company as part of an FBI investigation connected to Mayor Pro Tem Ryana Parks-Shaw and her husband, Public Works Director Michael Shaw. →

• Neither of the two KC-135 Stratotankers involved in a fatal mid-air collision over western Iraq on Wednesday was assigned to Wichita's McConnell Air Force Base, with four of six crew members killed aboard the downed aircraft from Joint Base Andrews. →

• Kansas overcame a halftime deficit to beat TCU 78-73 in the Big 12 Conference men's tournament quarterfinals. →

🇺🇸 US

• A U.S. Air Force KC-135R Stratotanker crashed in western Iraq on Wednesday after colliding with another tanker during a mid-air refueling operation, killing four of six crew members. →

• A former ISIS supporter killed one person and wounded two others Thursday at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, before ROTC students tackled and subdued him. →

• A 41-year-old man rammed his vehicle into Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, on Thursday and died in a shootout with security guards. →

• The U.S. Treasury Department issued a license Wednesday authorizing all countries to purchase Russian crude oil and petroleum products loaded on vessels as of March 12 through April 11. →

• Iran claimed to have formally closed the Strait of Hormuz this week as attacks on commercial vessels reached at least 14 ships since February 28, echoing Tehran's 1980s tanker war tactics that ultimately prompted devastating U.S. naval retaliation. →

Weather

March 13 1781: William Herschel discovers Uranus

The first new planet found with a telescope, expanding the known boundaries of the solar system beyond the traditional naked-eye planets. His discovery reshaped astronomy by proving the solar system was larger than previously thought and helped cement the use of telescopic surveys in finding new celestial bodies.

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