McPherson

• Eighteen-year-old Daniel T. Hawkinson has been formally charged with voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Joshua Soden and released on $200,000 bond. The defense team has been appointed public counsel and granted funds for an investigator and expert witness ahead of an April 22 hearing. →
• The USD 418 Board of Education has scheduled interview dates and public forums for late April to select a new superintendent following Shiloh Vincent's resignation. Community members can meet candidates at 4 p.m. at the Central Office on scheduled interview days before the formal board sessions begin. →
• The McPherson County and Moundridge Community Foundations distributed $33k in grants to six organizations, funding library technology upgrades, classroom modernizations, and local welfare programs. →
• The County Board of Commissioners will evaluate a repair request for a 2008 Caterpillar backhoe and review personnel matters involving four employees from the Sheriff's office and Register of Deeds. →
• The McPherson boys varsity golf team secured first place at the Turkey Creek Golf Course Invitational with a team score of 311, led by junior Cole Cooper who won the tournament individually with a 2-under-par 68. →
• The McPherson Bullpups placed third out of seven teams at a meet in Salina, with Adyson Wiens winning two individual events and Ella Schrag earning a state consideration time in the 50 freestyle. →
• The McPherson girls softball team bounced back from a 13-3 opening loss to secure an 8-5 victory in the second game against Circle High School, highlighted by home runs from R. Whitfield. →
• The McPherson varsity boys tennis team finished second in a seven-team tournament in Andover, highlighted by Cooper Bohme's No. 1 singles championship victory. →
• In track, the Bullpups boys finished second and the girls placed fifth at the 12-team Pratt Invitational, with seniors Caden Wenderott and Caleb Muehler both setting new meet records in their respective events. →
• The seasonal Farmer's Market will return to Three Rings Brewery on April 18, 2026, and will be held on the third Saturday of each month through September. →
• Treg Fawl shot a 9-under-par 61 to win the Open Division of the Turkey Creek Masters, leading a field of 77 golfers in the McPherson community tournament. →
• It’s going to be a beautiful, mostly sunny day in McPherson with a high of 87, but hold onto your hat as those southwesterly winds could gust up to 35 mph.

🌾 Kansas

• The Kansas Legislature overrode Gov. Laura Kelly's vetoes on 17 of 24 bills before adjourning Friday, including measures on immigration enforcement, abortion provider liability, and legislative oversight of agency rulemaking. →

• A Kansas property tax relief bill died Friday after Republican House leaders declined to attempt an override of Gov. Laura Kelly's veto, letting the deadline expire without a vote. →

• An effort to expand Kansas' private-school scholarship program is dead for the year after Republican legislative leaders opted not to challenge Gov. Laura Kelly's veto of House Bill 2468. →

• Unauthorized immigrants in Kansas will not face a sweeping ban on state and local public benefits after Republican lawmakers walked away from Senate Bill 254, allowing the Senate to adjourn April 10 without attempting to override Gov. Laura Kelly's veto. →

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued its first Class VI underground injection permit in Kansas, authorizing PureField Carbon Capture to store carbon dioxide deep underground near Russell. →

🇺🇸 US

• President Trump announced a U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz after overnight negotiations with Iran collapsed, threatening a two-week ceasefire and sending oil prices above $100 a barrel. →

• Trump's Hormuz blockade targets China's oil supply as Beijing imports 1.38 million barrels per day from Iran and depends on the strait for 45% of its oil imports ahead of May summit talks. →

• The expiration of federal pandemic relief funding is forcing municipalities nationwide toward sharp service cuts or steep tax increases as healthcare costs surge and state aid declines. →

• NASA's Artemis II crew splashed down off California after completing a historic lunar flyby that carried humans farther from Earth than any previous spaceflight. →

• The AI boom is exhausting global computing capacity, triggering service outages, product cancellations and GPU rental price increases of 48% in two months. →

Weather

APRIL 13 1970: APOLLO 13 OXYGEN TANK EXPLODES

An oxygen tank on the Apollo 13 spacecraft exploded about 200,000 miles from Earth, crippling the mission and forcing NASA to abort its planned lunar landing. Astronauts James Lovell, John Swigert, and Fred Haise instead focused on survival as mission control devised emergency procedures that helped them safely return to Earth four days later.

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