Manhattan

• The Riley County Commission rejected a preliminary 2027 budget proposal containing an 8-mill property tax increase. →
• The Riley County IT department froze computer purchases after data center demand doubled the cost of two critical servers. →
• The annual Riley County property tax sale will feature only 26 to 35 delinquent properties after all occupied homes were redeemed. →
• The Manhattan-Ogden USD 383 Board of Education is considering a cost-of-living tax levy to generate an additional $278,000 for personnel. →
• The Manhattan-Ogden USD 383 Board of Education approved new state-mandated policies on student electronics and artificial intelligence. →
• The Manhattan-Ogden USD 383 Board of Education will transfer general funds to cover a $1 million state special education budget shortfall. →
• citizen journal launched a preview of its House 2 Home real estate platform connecting agents and listings in McPherson and Hutchinson. →
• Grab your light jacket for some patchy morning fog, but expect mostly cloudy skies and a high near 80°F for the rest of your Friday in Manhattan.

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🌾 Kansas

• Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt proposed June 25 that social media platforms be barred from allowing Kansans under 16 to create or maintain accounts without parental consent, placing the compliance burden on companies rather than parents or schools. →

• Kansas's three Democratic gubernatorial candidates diverged sharply on data centers June 25, with Sen. Cindy Holscher calling for a statewide construction moratorium while Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog opposed a halt and Gov. Laura Kelly-backed Sen. Ethan Corson emphasized schools and tax relief. →

• The Trump administration has unfrozen U.S. Department of Energy funding for University of Kansas research aimed at breeding corn varieties that require significantly less fertilizer, a project paused when the administration took office in 2025. →

• U.S. Marshals arrested Latron Wesley-Osayande, 28, in Topeka on June 25 on a first-degree murder warrant connected to the April 11 fatal shooting of William Johnson in Wichita, with bond set at $1 million. →

• University of Kansas baseball coach Dan Fitzgerald was named Baseball America's national College Coach of the Year on June 24, one day after KU guard Darryn Peterson was selected No. 2 overall by the Utah Jazz in the NBA Draft — the highest KU pick since Andrew Wiggins went first overall in 2014. →

🇺🇸 US

• The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Mullin v. Al Otro Lado that migrants who fail to step onto U.S. soil cannot apply for asylum, reviving restrictive border policies and potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of people annually. →

• The Commerce Department revised first-quarter 2026 U.S. GDP growth upward to 2.1%, while May PCE inflation data showed prices rising 4.1% year-over-year, the Fed's preferred gauge. →

• Iran's Revolutionary Guard struck the Singapore-flagged cargo ship Ever Lovely with a drone in the Strait of Hormuz on June 25, prompting the UN's International Maritime Organization to pause its vessel evacuation plan pending new safety guarantees. →

• Satellite imagery and interviews reveal Iranian missiles and drones caused extensive damage to US Naval Support Activity Bahrain between late February and June, damage the Pentagon had not publicly acknowledged, prompting a U.S. reassessment of its Middle East military footprint. →

• Türkiye defeated the U.S. men's national team 3-2 on a stoppage-time goal June 25, handing the host nation its first 2026 World Cup loss, though the U.S. still advances to the knockout round. →

Weather

JUNE 26, 1956: CONGRESS APPROVES FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAY ACT

The Federal-Aid Highway Act funded the construction of 41,000 miles of interstate highways, launching the largest public works project in U.S. history. The new interstate system reshaped the national economy by supercharging trucking, enabling just-in-time shipping, and fueling growth in roadside businesses, suburbs, and auto manufacturing. Its legacy is a deeply integrated national market and car-centered landscape, but also the decline of rail, the disruption of small towns and farms, and enduring debates over land use and urban design.