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The Little Apple Brief

Local, state, and US news for busy people - Jan 16, 2026 edition

Greg Loving, Max Vidavsky

16 Jan 2026 • 4 min read

Downtown Manhattan KS/Facebook

This newsletter will be published daily in the morning, in this format, soon. Until then, we'll publish once a week, on Fridays. The website will be updated more regularly.

-Greg and Max, greg@citizenjournal.us

Manhattan

Manhattan City Commission received a guaranteed maximum price of $21.7 million from Crossland Heavy Contractors to expand the wastewater treatment plant, improving redundancy at the aging facility. →
Over 900 signatures were presented opposing the new 7:30 a.m. elementary start times, citing safety and childcare concerns. The superintendent affirmed the three-tier busing schedule will proceed despite opposition. →
Manhattan's unemployment rate remained at 3.0% in November, well below state and national averages. The area employed 63,434 workers out of a total labor force of 65,399. →
Riley County Police Department reported decreased crime rates but an increase in traffic accidents in their latest statistics. →
Growing tech industry interest is fueling increased enrollment at Kansas State University's nuclear engineering program. →
Riley County police arrested two Manhattan residents on drug charges after a traffic stop and search warrant, with 39-year-old David Labombarbe facing a $300,000 bond for allegedly selling fentanyl and methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a school. →
Nearly 414,000 birds are affected across commercial and backyard flocks, with a single operation accounting for 380,000 cases. The H5 strain kills nearly 100% of infected poultry. →
Expect a chilly day in Manhattan with highs around 41 degrees, mostly cloudy skies, and a slight chance of scattered rain showers early this morning before clearing up.

🌾Kansas

Kansas adds 3,800 jobs in November with unemployment at 3.8% (below the 4.6% national rate); health care led annual growth while hospitality shed positions.
Kansas House passes bill 85-35 declaring international organizations like the UN lack enforcement authority in the state; Democrats called it unnecessary theater.
58% of Democratic voters undecided in governor's race between Sens. Holscher and Corson, with both candidates largely unknown statewide seven months before the August primary.
Boeing's Wichita union reaches deal with 20% wage increases over five years, $6,000 ratification bonus, and improved benefits for 1,600 aerospace workers; vote due January 30.
KSU nuclear engineering enrollment surging driven by tech industry interest and access to one of only 31 university reactors in the U.S.

🇺🇸 US

Trump will try to force Big Tech to fund power plants: Administration proposes requiring Amazon, Google and other tech giants to bid on 15-year contracts worth billions to build new power plants as AI-driven data centers strain the 13-state PJM grid and spike electricity costs.
Iran massacres protesters under internet blackout: Security forces killed thousands during nationwide protests while deliberately cutting communications, prompting Trump to order the repositioning of the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group in the Middle East.
Trump threatens military deployment in Minnesota: President threatens to invoke Insurrection Act to deploy military after ICE officer fatally shot woman during massive operation tied to welfare-fraud scandal in Somali immigrant community.
$38 trillion boomer wealth transfer hits luxury real estate: Baby boomers passing down over $38 trillion globally in next decade, with 1.2 million heirs inheriting $4.6 trillion in real estate including $2.4 trillion in U.S. properties.
Trump hedges on Venezuela: Despite Venezuelan opposition leader gifting Trump her Nobel Prize, administration signals preference for dealing with interim government as CIA Director Ratcliffe becomes first cabinet member to visit Caracas since Maduro's seizure.

🌤️Weather

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