Manhattan

• Manhattan commissioners directed the Parks and Recreation Department to scale down a proposed $13 million cemetery maintenance facility, arguing that a basic service office and storage shed should not carry such a high price tag. →
• A $97,000 state-grant-funded pedestrian bridge is set to open in May, completing a major trail loop in Warner Park identified in the 2019 master plan. →
• The city will continue its in-house road striping program for $25,000 annually to avoid high mobilization fees from regional contractors that inflate the cost of short-term projects. →
• Unified School District 383 has maintained its Aa2 credit rating from Moody's, allowing the district to secure lower interest rates on bonds and save taxpayer funds. →
• Manhattan High School signed an exclusive five-year sponsorship with Adidas that will provide uniforms and gear for varsity sports, reducing student fundraising needs. →
• District officials expressed concern over state proposals that would financially penalize schools for student walkouts and limit local board authority over cellphone policies and protests. →
• USD 383 officials approved a fee schedule that maintains current rates for textbooks and materials, providing economic stability for district parents. →
• Riley County police arrested 31-year-old Jose Maria Lara for allegedly attacking two men with a knife Tuesday afternoon. Lara remains jailed on an $8,000 bond for aggravated assault. →
• It’s going to be a beautiful sunny day with a high near 85 and a light southern breeze.

🌾 Kansas

• A proposed Google data center near Sharon in Barber County has divided residents over economic benefits versus concerns about water usage, noise and lack of public information, as neighboring counties impose data center moratoriums. →

• SkyWest Airlines cut the ribbon on a new Overnight Maintenance Base at Salina Regional Airport on Thursday, expected to add jobs and support fleet operations alongside groundbreakings for a Salina Family Healthcare community center and a General Atomics facility. →

• Fort Hays Tech Northwest will receive federal funding for renovation of its rural advanced manufacturing innovation lab to prepare students for manufacturing careers across Kansas. →

• Newman University opened a Smart Mobile Agriculture Lab in Garden City to provide hands-on training for agriculture students at its Wichita and southwest Kansas campuses, funded through federal resources secured by Sen. Jerry Moran. →

• WSU Tech and Foley Equipment opened a nearly 4,000-square-foot ThinkBIG Lab at WSU Tech's City Center Campus to expand hands-on training for students pursuing careers as heavy equipment technicians. →

🇺🇸 US

• The Trump administration is in preliminary talks with GM and Ford executives about using automakers' factories and personnel to produce munitions and military supplies, echoing World War II practices, as wars in Ukraine and Iran deplete U.S. weapons stockpiles. →

• U.S. stocks hit record highs Wednesday with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite setting new marks as investors grew confident in eventual U.S.-Iran peace talks, while oil prices rose modestly to around $96 a barrel for Brent crude. →

• A New York jury found Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation illegally monopolized U.S. live event markets, with states expected to seek a forced sale and damages for overcharging fans. →

• Twenty-seven percent of Americans now hold a favorable view of China, up 6 points from last year and nearly double the 2023 low of 14%, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in March. →

• Iran faces a $270 billion reconstruction bill after U.S. and Israeli forces struck at least 17,000 targets over five weeks, pushing Tehran toward negotiations for sanctions relief despite casting the cease-fire as a victory. →

Weather

APRIL 16 1881: BAT MASTERSON’S LAST GUNFIGHT ERUPTS IN DODGE CITY

On this day, famed lawman and gunslinger Bat Masterson fights his final documented shootout on the streets of Dodge City, Kansas, then a booming and volatile cattle town. Rushing back to defend his brother in a business dispute, Masterson trades gunfire by the railway, wounding a man before paying an $8 fine and leaving Dodge City that evening.

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