McPherson

• Daniel T. Hawkinson faces a preliminary hearing today for voluntary manslaughter following the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Joshua Soden after a rural house party near Inman. Hawkinson faces up to 20.5 years in prison and a $300,000 fine if convicted for the January 31 incident. →
• The McPherson City Commission voted unanimously to transfer day-to-day supervision of the Public Lands and Facilities Department and the Convention and Visitors Bureau to City Administrator Austin Regier as part of a phased administrative restructuring. →
• Two student teams from Inman High School took the top two spots at the Kansas KidWind State Finals, earning the opportunity to compete at the international world championship in Madison, Wisconsin. →
• The McPherson Public Library launches its 'Unearth A Story' summer reading program on May 15 with a kick-off event featuring live music, food trucks, and a series of dinosaur-themed educational activities through June. →
• The city of Lindsborg is launching a television advertising campaign in partnership with PBS Kansas to highlight the community's unique qualities. →
• Finance Director Richard Miller reported the city's general fund expenditures are on target at 25% for 2026, with total cash and investments exceeding $34.5 million. →
• The McPherson Water Park lost 10,000 visitors due to record weather closures, while Turkey Creek Golf Course faced eight separate flood events over the past year. →
• The Prayer and Action mission will bring over 200 student volunteers to the city this June to provide free yard work and home repairs for residents in need. →
• STEPMC and the McPherson Housing Coalition's 'Brush Up Mac' program were named recipients of April benevolent distributions to support local home repairs and poverty reduction. →
• Expect a breezy and pleasant day with partly sunny skies, a high near 75, and south winds gusting up to 30 mph.

🌾 Kansas

• Gov. Laura Kelly announced Tuesday that Kansas is awarding $18.9 million to fund 53 airport development projects across the state through the Kansas Airport Improvement Program. →

• The United Kansas Party and the Free State Party announced Tuesday they are merging to field candidates under the United Kansas name and draw support from voters dissatisfied with both major parties. →

• PBS Kansas is mourning broadcast engineer Ivy Unruh, 25, who died Monday from a gunshot wound sustained Friday outside her northeast Wichita apartment, with her estranged husband charged with first-degree murder. →

• The University of Kansas has posted mixed results in recent national and international college rankings, with continued declines in global assessments even as its standing in U.S. News & World Report improved this year. →

• Thirteen Kansas student teams won state championships at the Kansas KidWind State Finals on April 11 and will advance to the World KidWind Challenge in Madison, Wisconsin, in May. →

🇺🇸 US

• President Trump extended the U.S. cease-fire with Iran with no set end date, hours before two ships came under attack in the Strait of Hormuz. →

• The U.S. has expended at least 45 percent of key missile stockpiles during seven weeks of war with Iran, creating a near-term ammunition risk in future conflicts, according to Pentagon officials and a CSIS analysis. →

• Two U.S. embassy officials killed in a Sunday car crash in northern Mexico were CIA officers operating as part of expanded counternarcotics operations, according to two people familiar with the matter. →

• House Republicans are seeking FBI briefings on at least 10 deaths or disappearances among U.S. nuclear and aerospace scientists since 2022 to determine whether the cases pose a national security concern. →

• Private trade schools are charging tuition bills reaching tens of thousands of dollars as demand for blue-collar training surges and free community college and union apprenticeship programs fill up. →

Weather

APRIL 22, 1889: OKLAHOMA LAND RUSH BEGINS

At noon, an estimated 50,000 “Boomers” raced into formerly Indian Territory to claim 1.9 million acres the U.S. government had opened to white settlement. The chaotic rush, marred by fraud from early-arriving “Sooners,” marked a key moment in the transfer of Native-held lands into white ownership. They were called “Sooners” because they slipped into the territory sooner than the legal start time to grab prime claims—a nickname later embraced by the University of Oklahoma for its athletic teams and identity.

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