Salina

• The City Commission paused hiring a third-party consultant for the Salina Animal Shelter following intense public pressure regarding leadership and staffing concerns. →
• Residents shouted down the Salina City Commission as officials addressed animal cruelty charges against two local shelter managers for the euthanasia of three puppies. Despite the public outrage, the commission voted unanimously to pay the legal fees for the accused employees. →
• Commissioners increased the bond debt limit for the West Magnolia Road reconstruction project from $2.5 million to $3 million to cover land and legal costs. →
• A $2 million donation from Quintin and Florence Applequist will fund a memorial natural area at Lakewood Park using tested river silt to build hills and trails. →
• Kubota Manufacturing committed $1.5 million over ten years to fund a new plaza at Fourth Street as part of the Smoky Hill River Renewal Project. →
• The Earl Bane Foundation provided $1.6 million to create a new trail connecting downtown Salina and the riverway, the largest single-project gift in the foundation's history. →
• Daniel P. Klenda was jailed after threatening to burn down a Salina home and causing over $6,100 in property damage during a Sunday afternoon rampage. He faces charges of criminal damage and making a criminal threat for destroying furniture, electronics, and other household items. →
• Calvin Frenzley was arrested for allegedly robbing a man at gunpoint during a van sale before barricading himself inside a police interview room. He eventually surrendered to a de-escalation officer and faces multiple felony charges, including aggravated robbery and battery of a law enforcement officer. →
• Three Salina middle schoolers secured the top spots at the regional National Civics Bee and will now advance to the state competition. Winners Colin Burke, Zaida Correa-Vasquez, and Gabe Rocha are vying for a trip to the national championship in Washington, D.C. and significant college scholarship prizes. →
• The city officially named a parking lot at Santa Fe Avenue and Ash Street the City Lights Pavilion, which features a new shade structure funded by tax increment financing. →

🌾 Kansas

• Gov. Laura Kelly allowed a bill creating the crime of interference with the conduct of a religious assembly to become law Monday without her signature, citing concerns it elevates religious freedom over free expression. →

• A severe weather outbreak April 13 produced at least 14 preliminary tornado reports across Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin, with the most serious damage reported in and near Ottawa, Kansas. →

• Kansas lawmakers Thursday overrode Gov. Laura Kelly's vetoes of two abortion bills that expand legal exposure for providers and add new state-produced paperwork requirements under the Woman's Right-to-Know Act. →

• Kansas lawmakers Thursday overrode Gov. Laura Kelly's veto of a bill that expands the state's authority to verify and remove voter registrations while exempting the data used from open-records laws. →

• Gov. Laura Kelly Thursday signed legislation establishing the Kansas Sports Facilities Authority Act to finance a $3 billion domed stadium in Wyandotte County for the Kansas City Chiefs beginning with the 2031 season. →

🇺🇸 US

• Student debt loads for millennials substantially exceeded those of baby boomers at similar ages, slowing wealth accumulation despite comparable median incomes and a college wage premium. →

• American home builders are installing cheaper materials like particle-board cabinets and reducing standard features such as automatic garage-door openers to offset high construction costs while new homes still sell above $400,000. →

• Cleveland has converted about 30 historic commercial buildings into apartments since 2013, pushing downtown population up 12% since 2019 to roughly 21,000 residents. →

• Amazon has expanded its new-vehicle sales program to more than 130 cities and now offers cars from Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Subaru, Chevrolet and Jeep after launching in late 2024. →

• A U.S.-sanctioned tanker linked to China sailed into the Gulf of Oman two days into President Trump's naval blockade of Iran as enforcement rules for the Strait of Hormuz remain unclear. →

Weather

APRIL 14 1935: “BLACK SUNDAY” DUST BOWL STORM STRIKES GREAT PLAINS

On this day, one of the most devastating Dust Bowl storms swept across the Great Plains, turning daytime skies so dark that many believed the world was ending. The storm, driven by high winds over years of over-plowed and drought-stricken land, carried millions of tons of dust that destroyed farms, sickened people and animals, and forced many families to abandon the region.

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