McPherson

• Seventeen McPherson Chamber of Commerce leadership graduates launched Suds & Smiles, a free laundry service for McPherson County families. →
• The McPherson USD 418 Board of Education is evaluating a temporary location for its CTE program during summer drainage construction. →
• McPherson USD 418 concluded the school year with eighth-grade recognition and high school graduation ceremonies following All Schools Day. →
• The McPherson Water Park is scheduled to open for the 2026 season around Memorial Day weekend, weather permitting. →
• Plastics Extrusion Machinery LLC continues its expansion in McPherson, growing its workforce to over 100 employees. →
• McPherson City Planning Commission will hold a public hearing June 2 regarding Central Christian College's request to rezone 33 properties. →
• The McPherson Public Lands and Facilities Department will host Music on the Plaza featuring a performance by Deluge at noon on May 13. →
• The McPherson County Extension Office will host a free Teach & Taste class on May 13 at 600 W. Woodside to prepare Southwestern Enchiladas. →
• The McPherson Public Library and Health Department will host a Summer Kick Off Party on May 15 at Memorial Park to start summer reading. →
• It’s going to be a beautiful sunny day in McPherson with a high of 88°F and some breezy southwest winds gusting up to 26 mph.

Correction: Yesterday's item about $6k relocation grants was misattributed to the McPherson County Community Foundation MIDC leads the program, with MCCF serving as fiscal sponsor.

🌾 Kansas

• Kansas Corporation Commission approved the western half of Evergy's Buffalo Flats to Delaware transmission line but ordered the utility to reroute the eastern portion to protect the Flint Hills and avoid disrupting active oil and gas leases. →

• KDHE is monitoring three Kansas residents with high-risk exposure to Andes hantavirus following international contact with a passenger linked to an active outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship. →

• The Kansas State Board of Education began reviewing a proposal to ban digital devices through fifth grade and allow parents to opt out of one-to-one device learning in later grades. →

• The Shawnee County Planning Commission recommended zoning changes requiring conditional use permits for data centers and energy storage facilities, with a full commission vote expected June 11. →

• Wichita leaders are preparing a formal bid to become a permanent annual host of NCAA men's basketball tournament opening-round games as the tournament expands next year. →

🇺🇸 US

• April consumer prices rose 3.8% year-over-year, the largest annual increase in three years, driven by higher gas prices linked to the war with Iran and tariffs still filtering through to goods, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. →

• President Trump will arrive in Beijing tonight for his first visit to China in nearly a decade, meeting with Xi Jinping amid ongoing tensions over Taiwan, trade and the Iran war. →

• The average American defaulting on student loans is now nearly 40 years old, with more than 3.5 million people defaulting since collections resumed in 2023, according to Federal Reserve Bank of New York research published Tuesday. →

• Princeton University faculty voted Monday to reinstate proctored exams, ending a 130-year-old honor code, as AI tools fuel a nationwide surge in academic cheating. →

• Arabian Desert trucking convoys have become a critical global trade workaround after U.S. and Israeli strikes disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, with firms including MSC and Maersk moving cargo overland across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman. →

Weather

MAY 13, 1920: SOCIALIST PARTY NOMINATES IMPRISONED LEADER EUGENE V. DEBS FOR PRESIDENT

The Socialist Party selected Debs as its presidential nominee even though he was serving a 10-year federal prison sentence for violating wartime speech laws. Campaigning as “Convict 2253,” Debs ran from behind bars and went on to win more than 900,000 votes in the November election.

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