Top 5 Kansas news stories
May 19 2026
Schmidt Picks Farm Bureau Chief Newland for Lt. Gov.
Seven Tornadoes Reported as Storms Sweep North-Central Kansas
KBI Director Mattivi Faces Trial Over Top Aide's Ouster
ATF Opens $75M Forensic Gun Lab at Wichita State
Drought Slashes South-Central Kansas Wheat, Corn Prospects
Schmidt Picks Farm Bureau Chief Newland for Lt. Gov.
WICHITA, Kan. — Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt on Monday named Kansas Farm Bureau President Joe Newland as her running mate in the 2026 Republican primary for governor. Newland has led the farm lobbying group since 2022 and previously served three years in the Kansas House representing Greenwood, Wilson and Woodson counties and part of Elk County. He and his wife, Dana, operate a roughly 4,000-acre farm in Wilson County, raising wheat, corn, soybeans and hay and managing a 400-head cow-calf herd. If elected, Schmidt said Newland would serve as both lieutenant governor and secretary of agriculture; he plans to step down from Farm Bureau on June 1, when the pair files.
KWCH
Seven Tornadoes Reported as Storms Sweep North-Central Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. — The National Weather Service received seven tornado reports May 18 as severe storms swept eastward across north-central and northeast Kansas, accompanied by flooding, hail and high winds throughout the afternoon and evening. The first confirmed touchdown was a rope tornado about 3:30 p.m. roughly five miles west/southeast of Idana in Clay County, followed at 4:03 p.m. by a tornado three miles southeast of Palmer in Washington County, where a spotter also reported tree damage two miles south of town. A weather service employee confirmed a brief touchdown about 5:30 p.m. one mile north of Wakefield in Clay County, and storm chasers reported a tornado about 5:15 p.m. three miles south of Waterville in Marshall County. Two additional Marshall County tornadoes were confirmed at 5:27 p.m. one mile east/northeast of Blue Rapids and at 5:38 p.m. five miles northwest of Frankfort, where an emergency management official reported damage to grain bins and trees. Various tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings were issued, but the weather service's Topeka office reported no injuries or fatalities.
CJ Online
KBI Director Mattivi Faces Trial Over Top Aide's Ouster
TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas Bureau of Investigation Director Tony Mattivi sat as a defendant Monday in a U.S. District Court civil trial brought by former KBI Associate Director David Hutchings, a 32-year agency veteran who alleges Mattivi ousted him in violation of his constitutional due-process rights. Mattivi was appointed by Attorney General Kris Kobach and confirmed by the Kansas Senate in February 2023, and he is also under consideration for appointment as a U.S. District Court judge. Defense attorney Tom Lemon told jurors Mattivi found Hutchings chiefly responsible for a toxic work environment that fractured the agency, and alleged Hutchings had worked to shield former deputy director Kyle Smith, who pleaded guilty in 2014 to sexual exploitation of a child. An attorney for Hutchings argued Mattivi acted with reckless indifference to his client's constitutional rights and urged jurors to award punitive damages. The case turns on whether Hutchings was terminated or resigned, a distinction tied to a Kansas statute placing the KBI's top positions in the unclassified service while preserving an option to return to a previous bureau role at the end of an administrative appointment.
Kansas Reflector
ATF Opens $75M Forensic Gun Lab at Wichita State
WICHITA, Kan. — Federal and state leaders cut the ribbon Monday on the ATF Forensic Crime Gun Intelligence Laboratory at Wichita State University's Innovation Campus, a $75 million facility first announced in 2023 to process crime scene evidence pulled from firearms. Students and staff will analyze bullets, trace prior gun ownership and process DNA from crime scenes, with results loaded into the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network — a nationwide database that helps investigators link unsolved crimes to specific guns. The lab uses a curriculum from the National Firearms Examiner Academy, the federal training program that sets standards for forensic firearm and toolmark examination. ATF Director Robert Cekada said the facility addresses a critical national shortage of forensic professionals, noting that agencies currently fill openings by recruiting from police departments and state agencies and creating shortages elsewhere. WSU President Rick Muma said students will train alongside active law enforcement, and Sen. Jerry Moran predicted agencies nationwide will soon send fingerprints and ballistic evidence to Wichita for analysis. The lab is not yet fully staffed but will scale up over the coming years.
KSN
Drought Slashes South-Central Kansas Wheat, Corn Prospects
South-central Kansas farmer Craig Meeker told Brownfield Ag News that ongoing drought is wreaking havoc on his crops, with winter wheat test weights expected to fall significantly below last year's. Meeker said he is about three and a half weeks ahead of schedule and could begin test-cutting this week, though he does not expect even an average crop. His corn — planted in late March amid warm weather and adequate soil moisture — has emerged with strong stands but desperately needs rain, and he said none of his cotton will come up without precipitation. The USDA rates Kansas winter wheat at 15 percent good-to-excellent with 93 percent headed, and pasture and range conditions at 32 percent good-to-excellent. Statewide, 63 percent of corn has been planted with 45 percent emerged, while 53 percent of soybeans have been planted with 23 percent emerged.
Brownfield Ag News
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