McPherson

• Thousands attended the annual McPherson County All Schools Day celebration featuring a parade, concert, and fireworks in McPherson. →
• McPherson High School celebrated its Class of 2026 commencement ceremony Saturday for graduating seniors within McPherson USD 418. →
• The McPherson City Commission will vote on a resolution to apply for KDOT grant funds to finance the Northview multi-use path third phase. →
• The McPherson County Commission will review a traffic study for safety upgrades on Old Highway 81 and hear 2027 budget presentations. →
• The McPherson County Board of Planning and Zoning Appeals will hear subcommittee reports on data center, battery storage, hydrogen and nuclear power. →
• The McPherson USD 418 Board of Education will discuss the $89.5 million bond program and consider a new district-wide cell phone policy. →
• The Moundridge USD 423 Board of Education accepted the resignation of Superintendent Cody Rierson, effective June 30. →
• The McPherson High School boys varsity tennis team won the Class 4A regional title, qualifying all six players for the state tournament. →
• The McPherson boys and girls track and field teams finished second and fourth, respectively, at the Hesston Varsity Invitational Thursday. →
• It will be a mostly sunny day in McPherson with a high near 84°F, though you might see a stray shower pass through during the early afternoon.

🌾 Kansas

• Moody's Investors Service upgraded Kansas' credit outlook from stable to positive, citing improved governance, strong reserves and responsible tax cuts under Gov. Laura Kelly's administration. →

• Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport recorded its strongest first quarter in history, with 195,341 passengers boarding flights from January through March, a nearly 2% increase over the previous record set in 2024. →

• Boeing and WSU Tech announced a 35,000-square-foot workforce training center near WSU Tech's South Campus in Wichita, expected to be operational by end of 2026 and capable of supporting thousands of trainees annually. →

• The Wall Street Journal profiled Wichita as a city deliberately targeting middle-income earners, where median household income is about $66,000 and average monthly apartment rent of roughly $950 runs 45% below the national average. →

• Sen. Jerry Moran returned from a bipartisan congressional delegation trip to China ahead of President Trump's planned Beijing summit, saying he pressed Chinese officials to honor a November agreement to purchase at least 25 million tons of Kansas soybeans through 2028. →

🇺🇸 US

• K-12 public school enrollment has fallen in 30 states since the mid-2010s, driven primarily by a 24% drop in U.S. fertility rates since 2007, with pandemic losses exceeding one million additional students. →

• Nearly all U.S. net job growth over the past year has come from female-dominated healthcare sectors while men's employment-to-population ratio fell to 64.1% in April — far below the 1990s average of 70.9% — as industries dominated by men shed jobs. →

• Seventeen American passengers from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius are being flown to a Nebraska quarantine facility, with one American testing positive and a French woman also confirmed infected after her repatriation flight. →

• Virginia's Supreme Court struck down a Democratic-drawn congressional map recently approved by voters, eliminating four Democratic-leaning U.S. House districts and handing Republicans a structural advantage heading into midterm elections. →

• Iran submitted a formal response to the latest U.S. war proposal that fell short of American demands, rejecting upfront commitments on its nuclear program while proposing a gradual opening of the Strait of Hormuz — prompting President Trump to call the response "totally unacceptable." →

Weather

MAY 11, 1934: DUST STORM SWEEPS GREAT PLAINS TOPSOIL ACROSS EASTERN STATES

A massive storm lifted an estimated 350 million tons of drought-loosened Great Plains topsoil and carried it as far as New York, Boston and Atlanta. The disaster, driven by years of prairie grass removal and aggressive wheat farming, coated cities in dust and highlighted the environmental costs of poor land management.

Found a mistake? Have a news tip or feedback to share? Contact our newsroom using the button below: