McPherson

• Voters approved a two-part bond initiative to fund a new high school academic wing and convert Eisenhower Elementary into a middle school, which will result in a 4.75-mill property tax increase. →
• In a dramatic shift from previous attempts, yes' votes nearly doubled since 2021 and 'no' votes dropped significantly. →
• The McPherson City Commission approved $2.25 million in financing for a new aerial ladder fire truck to replace an unreliable 2009 model, with delivery expected in 2029. →
• The McPherson County Board of Commissioners expressed frustration with KDOT over a lack of communication regarding U.S. 56 corridor redesigns, which may include a bypass south of Galva and property acquisitions in Canton. →
• The city is applying for a state drinking establishment license for Turkey Creek Golf Course to allow the sale of liquor and wine in addition to cereal malt beverages. →
• Construction on the $974,274 county-funded bridge project near Groveland is starting earlier than expected, prompting the county to fast-track the hiring of a project inspector. →
• Officials approved the 113th All Schools Day events for May 7-9, including a community concert at Wall Park featuring a beer garden and fireworks. →
• The Buhler Crusaders ended the McPherson Bullpups' season with a 53-50 victory in sub-state play, led by Kinley Combes' 15 points and Torie Tustian's 11 points. →
• The Moundridge Wildcats improved to 20-3 on the season following a dominant 83-22 victory over Herington, led by E. Shahan’s 15 points. →
• Expect a high of 55 with patchy morning fog and a few midday showers giving way to mostly cloudy skies and light north winds.

🌾 Kansas

• Kansas voters approved four school bond and sales tax measures and rejected two Tuesday, with McPherson and Newton passing school bonds, Wellington narrowly rejecting a renovation bond by 26 votes, Hutchinson approving a city sales tax and Wichita rejecting a citywide sales tax increase in a landslide. →

• Republican Kansas House members introduced HB 2789 Tuesday, a bill that would classify all abortions as criminal homicide under the state's existing fetal protection statute nearly four years after 59% of voters rejected an anti-abortion constitutional amendment. →

• The Kansas House voted 119-0 Tuesday to pass SB 348, expanding state oversight of electric cooperative subsidiaries that serve about 10-15% of Kansans, almost all rural. →

• The Kansas Senate introduced SB 525 Tuesday requiring county sheriffs to honor ICE detainers and mandating the state pay legal costs and judgments from related federal court cases. →

• Both chambers of the Kansas Legislature moved Tuesday to approve a gaming compact between the Wyandotte Nation and the state submitted by Gov. Laura Kelly in February. →

🇺🇸 US

• Israeli airstrikes are systematically targeting Iran's internal security infrastructure, including Basij paramilitary forces and senior intelligence officials, with the United States joining the campaign by striking the Tehran headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. →

• The Assembly of Experts met virtually Tuesday to deliberate on a successor to slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with his son Mojtaba emerging as the clear front-runner despite some members' concerns about announcing the appointment too quickly. →

• Oil and gas tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped to near zero since U.S.-Israeli strikes began Saturday, prompting Trump to order U.S. Navy escorts for tankers and political risk insurance for maritime trade through the strait. →

• The Senate Banking Committee released a combined bipartisan housing bill merging the ROAD to Housing Act with the House's Housing for the 21st Century Act, adding a Trump-backed ban on large institutional investors controlling more than 350 single-family homes from purchasing additional ones. →

• The Trump administration's blockade of all foreign oil shipments to Cuba has forced Russian and Canadian airlines to suspend flights and evacuate thousands of tourists as gasoline rationing and power outages cripple the island's tourism industry. →

Weather

March 4 1918: First cases reported in deadly 1918 flu pandemic

Army Private Albert Gitchell reported flu-like symptoms at Fort Riley, Kansas; within hours over 100 soldiers were ill, in what are believed to be the first reported U.S. cases of the 1918 influenza pandemic. This outbreak quickly spread through military camps, across the Atlantic with U.S. troops in World War I, and around the globe, ultimately infecting about 28% of Americans and killing tens of millions worldwide—far more than the war itself.

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