McPherson

• The city authorized $249,000 in industrial development funds to support a nationally recognized manufacturing training program for students at McPherson High School. →
• The McPherson City Commission approved transferring EMS operations and equipment to McPherson Hospital effective April 1, 2026, using voter-approved sales tax revenue to fund the transition. →
• A veteran detective is leaving the city's drug task force after a tenure that resulted in the seizure of 23,000 fentanyl pills and over 300 years of collective prison time for offenders. →
• The McPherson College Power Day 2026 fundraising event set new institutional records for total funds raised and individual donor participation, surpassing all matching gift challenges. →
• McPherson will spend $17,400 to purchase four 40-foot shipping containers to create a new training structure for the fire department behind Fire Station No. 2. →
• The McPherson YMCA has named David Foster as Senior Branch Director and Darrin Regier as Senior Program Director to oversee staff development and youth sports. →
• The ReUse It Center presented donation checks to four organizations, including The Omega Project and the McPherson Housing Coalition, to support local housing, recovery services, and emergency aid. →
• McPherson High School will host an eight-team girls soccer tournament starting March 30, featuring regional teams including Maize South, Wichita Collegiate, and Salina South. →
• It’s going to be a beautiful, mostly sunny day in McPherson with a high of 75 and just a light breeze out of the northwest.

🌾 Kansas

• Two Kansas National Guard units are currently deployed to the Middle East, the 190th Air Refueling Wing from Topeka since early March and the 130th Field Artillery Brigade from Manhattan since last summer. →

• More than 10 news organizations and 50 witnesses testified against Senate Bill 452, which would grant federal officers authority to impose 25-foot buffer zones and immunity from lawsuits, citing First Amendment concerns. →

• Kansas is now home to five billionaires worth a combined $101 billion, adding two new names this year including Peter Mallouk at $16.1 billion and Douglas Rippel at $1.4 billion. →

• The Kansas House narrowly approved legislation creating a state authority to finance major sports venues, passing 79-41 despite bipartisan concerns about subsidizing billionaire team owners. →

• Wichita State defeated Wyoming 74-70 in a first-round NIT game at Koch Arena, securing the Shockers' first postseason win since 2019. →

🇺🇸 US

• Israel has been systematically striking Iran's internal security forces as part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's strategy to destabilize the regime and create conditions for a popular uprising. →

• The United Arab Emirates and fellow Persian Gulf states now view Iran's theocracy as an existential enemy and want the regime neutered or dismantled when the conflict ends, after enduring weeks of Iranian strikes since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28. →

• The average price of gasoline in the United States has climbed by nearly a dollar since the start of the war in Iran, rising from around $2.90 per gallon in mid-February to $3.70 by mid-March. →

• Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton won Illinois's Democratic Senate primary Tuesday and pledged to abolish ICE, defeating two House members to become the favorite for a seat held by Richard Durbin since 1997. →

• Entry-level jobs in New York City plummeted 37% between 2022 and 2024, erasing nearly 30,000 positions for recent college graduates, according to a new Center for an Urban Future report. →

Weather

March 18 1925: “Tri-State Tornado” hits, the deadliest in U.S. history

The worst tornado in U.S. history passes through eastern Missouri, southern Illinois, and southern Indiana, killing 695 people, injuring some 13,000 people, and causing $17 million in property damage.

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