McPherson

• A sparking vehicle with mechanical issues along I-135 just north of McPherson ignited a grass fire Monday afternoon that burned 30-40 acres, jumped Navajo Road due to high winds, and was brought under control with no injuries, per McPherson Fire Chief Chad Mayberry. →
• The Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved the $252,686 purchase of a new plow dump truck to replace a failing 2008 model, coming in roughly $20,000 under the anticipated budget. →
• More than 200 student volunteers will visit McPherson this June for the Prayer and Action mission, providing free home repairs and yard work for residents in need. →
• The ReUse It Center has selected STEPMC and the McPherson Housing Coalition's 'Brush Up Mac' program as the recipients of its April benevolent distributions to support poverty reduction and home repairs. →
• The City Commission will evaluate a nearly half-million-dollar contract for the 2026 Mill and Overlay Project and discuss a new Fire Inspection Captain job description. →
• City Commissioners will consider a $22,854 purchase of a new mosquito sprayer and review grant applications for events like the Sunflower Splashtacular and the 2026 Motoring Festival. →
• The McPherson boys and girls track teams combined for 46 personal records while competing at the Emporia State Relays and Smoky Valley Invitational, despite weather-related cancellations. →
• McPherson High School's Team Red finished as runner-up in the 11-team Doug Gayer Classic, narrowly trailing 4A powerhouse Independence while featuring strong performances from Rylan Unruh and the doubles pair Mason Eisenbarth and Jonas Emery. →
• The McPherson boys varsity golf team finished fifth out of 19 teams at the Sand Creek Station Golf Course invitational, led by Cole Cooper's 12th-place individual finish. →
• The McPherson girls varsity soccer team fell 2-1 to Salina South despite a goal from Audra Sandbo, while the junior varsity squad earned a 2-0 shutout win. →
• It’s going to be a beautiful sunny day in McPherson with a high near 77, though you’ll want to hold onto your hat as those southwesterly winds could gust up to 29 mph.

🌾 Kansas

• Kansas will run a deficit every year through 2028, according to updated Consensus Revenue Estimates that show income tax collections falling $127.4 million below previous predictions for the fiscal year ending June 30. →

• Former Coldwater Mayor Joe Ceballos pleaded guilty Monday to three misdemeanor counts of disorderly election conduct, receiving a $2,000 fine and suspended six-month jail sentence for voting illegally as a noncitizen. →

• Ford County Fire and EMS Firefighter/Paramedic William Cory "Liam" Price died Sunday after suffering a medical emergency while on duty. →

• Former University of Kansas runner Sharon Lokedi won her second consecutive Boston Marathon on Monday, finishing in 2:18:51 to capture her third World Marathon Majors title. →

• Kansas health and extension officials are warning residents that ticks have emerged in large numbers this spring, with experts attributing the early activity to warmer-than-average weather. →

🇺🇸 US

• Uncertainty over U.S.-Iran peace talks Tuesday exposes a power struggle between political officials leading negotiations and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which increasingly holds final authority over Iran's positions. →

• Virginians vote Tuesday on a Democratic-backed referendum that could redraw the state's congressional map and deliver the party as many as four additional House seats. →

• Tim Cook is stepping down as Apple chief executive Sept. 1, handing the role to hardware chief John Ternus while becoming executive chairman. →

• Amazon will invest an additional $5 billion in Anthropic as part of a broadening partnership that could grow to $25 billion, with Anthropic agreeing to buy more than $100 billion of Amazon cloud services. →

• Uber has committed more than $10 billion to buying autonomous vehicles and taking stakes in their developers, marking a shift from its asset-light gig-economy model. →

Weather

APRIL 21, 753 B.C.: ROME FOUNDED BY ROMULUS

According to Roman tradition, the city was established by Romulus on the site where he and his twin brother Remus were miraculously saved and nursed by a she‑wolf. The myth, later refined by scholars like Marcus Terentius Varro, became the foundational legend explaining Rome’s divine origins and early rise.

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