> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.citizenjournal.us/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Top 5 Kansas news stories - URL: https://www.citizenjournal.us/top-5-kansas-news-stories-271/ - Published: 2026-09-18T11:06:11.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-18T11:06:11.000Z - Description: September 18 2026 - Author: Greg Loving - Tags: hcj, #summary # Graves Backs Hamilton Over Marshall in Senate Race # Regents Prioritize AI Rules, Approve College Funding Request # Deep Fission Releases Parsons Reactor Safety Agreement # Metal Detectors Catch Gun at Wyandotte High Entrance # Driver Gets 123 Months for Reckless Murder --- # Graves Backs Hamilton Over Marshall in Senate Race TOPEKA, Kan. — Former Republican Gov. Bill Graves, 73, who led Kansas from 1995 to 2003, endorsed Democrat Adam Hamilton over Republican Sen. Roger Marshall in a campaign video circulating this week. Graves accused Marshall of turning his back on Kansas during his six years in office and praised Hamilton, a Methodist minister, for his kindness, humility and service. Graves also backed Democrat Laura Kelly in her successful 2018 and 2022 gubernatorial campaigns, continuing a pattern of cross-party endorsements amid the moderate-conservative Republican divide that shaped his governorship. Marshall, seeking a second term, led Hamilton by one percentage point in an August poll for the Democratic-aligned Senate Majority PAC and by five points in a September co/efficient survey, among the limited public polling available. The Cook Political Report moved the race from solid Republican to likely Republican after Hamilton won the August primary, drawing national Democratic attention to a potentially competitive Kansas seat. The general election is Nov. 3, 2026. KSN · The Hill · Washington Examiner · CNN · Mediaite · Cook Political Report · KCUR · Washington Times · Inside Elections · Sunflower State Journal --- # Regents Prioritize AI Rules, Approve College Funding Request TOPEKA, Kan. — The Kansas Board of Regents made responsible artificial intelligence use in teaching, research and administration its top strategic-plan priority at its September meeting, with potential implications for instruction, grading and academic honesty at the six universities it governs: Kansas, Kansas State, Wichita State, Emporia State, Pittsburg State and Fort Hays State. Regent Neelima Parasker, president and CEO of SnapIT Solutions, will lead a committee reviewing campus AI work, statewide priorities and workforce preparation before recommending safeguards to the full board; universities currently set their own rules, and no statewide policy has been adopted. The board also approved a fiscal 2028 appropriations request Sept. 16 for public universities, community colleges and technical colleges, including $10 million for Pittsburg State science laboratories, $40 million for community and technical college capital projects, apprenticeships and operations, and funding for the Kansas Blueprint for Literacy and a Job Creation Act. The proposal seeks full funding for two-year colleges’ tiered and non-tiered course rates and Excel in CTE, which pays tuition for high school students taking career and technical courses, supporting access to training in rural Kansas. Board Chair Alysia Johnston said the request balanced systemwide needs with lawmakers’ funding constraints, and all new funding would be subject to the board’s statutory performance agreements requiring institutions to demonstrate progress on student outcomes. The request goes to the governor’s budget office and lawmakers ahead of the January legislative session, with every amount awaiting executive and legislative decisions; the previous year’s request would have left higher education about $4.6 million below its prior appropriation. Kansas Reflector · Lawrence Times · KAKE · Kansas Board of Regents --- # Deep Fission Releases Parsons Reactor Safety Agreement PARSONS, Kan. — Deep Fission published a public version of its Gravity reactor Nuclear Safety Design Agreement and accompanying frequently asked questions Sept. 15, saying it was the first participant in the Energy Department’s Reactor Pilot Program to release its agreement. Approved by the department in July, the agreement establishes the project’s safety framework, and its public release gives residents of Parsons, a southeast Kansas city of about 9,500, more information about the proposed nuclear installation in Labette County. The company’s design places a small pressurized water reactor about a mile underground in a narrow shaft, using the water column above it for pressure and surrounding rock for containment instead of a conventional surface containment dome. Since breaking ground in December 2025, Deep Fission has drilled a data-acquisition well about 6,000 feet deep and delivered a prototype reactor canister that the company says passed structural-integrity and leak-tightness tests. The project is not generating electricity, and the company’s target of roughly 5 megawatts by late 2027 remains subject to further regulatory approvals. The Parsons pilot would test the underground approach before any broader deployment. Kansas Reflector · POWER · Deep Fission · Interesting Engineering --- # Metal Detectors Catch Gun at Wyandotte High Entrance KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Entrance metal detectors at Wyandotte High School detected a firearm on a student about 7:20 a.m. Sept. 16, allowing security personnel to intercept the weapon before the student cleared the checkpoint. School security confiscated and secured the gun, and the student was arrested at the scene. No one was injured, and classes and the school’s daily schedule continued normally. Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools operates its own police department, and the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department said its officers were not involved in the response. The reports did not identify the student’s name or age or announce charges. KCTV5 · KSHB · Ad Astra Radio --- # Driver Gets 123 Months for Reckless Murder OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — A Johnson County judge sentenced Isaiah Charles Wallace Sadowski of Overland Park on Sept. 16 to 123 months, or 10 years and three months, in state prison for reckless second-degree murder in the death of 75-year-old Barbara Patterson. A jury convicted Sadowski in June 2026, securing a murder conviction for prosecutors in the fatal traffic crash. About 8:30 p.m. Dec. 27, 2021, Sadowski ran a red light in a Chevrolet Camaro on Quivira Road in Overland Park and struck the Nissan Versa Patterson was driving. Investigators determined he had been traveling more than 100 mph shortly before impact on a road with a 45 mph speed limit. Sadowski failed to appear for a March 2024 hearing and acknowledged in a video posted that June that he had left the United States. U.S. Marshals tracked him to Manzanillo in the Mexican state of Colima in August 2025, and his flight contributed to the nearly five-year interval between the crash and sentencing. KCTV5 · Johnson County Post · KSHB --- ## Sources 1. [KSN](https://www.ksn.com/news/politics/former-kansas-governor-endorses-adam-hamilton-in-us-senate-race/?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [The Hill](https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/6093288-graves-endorses-hamilton-senate/?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [Washington Examiner](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/congressional/4730589/bill-graves-endorse-adam-hamilton-kansas-senate/?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/17/politics/video/ebof-bill-graves-kansas-senate-endorsement-trump-midterms?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [Mediaite](https://www.mediaite.com/politics/ex-gop-governor-turns-on-gop-senator-in-deep-red-state-endorses-democratic-opponent/?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [Cook Political Report](https://www.cookpolitical.com/analysis/senate/kansas-senate/hamiltons-primary-victory-kansas-senate-shifts-solid-likely?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [KCUR](https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2026-08-09/kansas-us-senate-roger-marshall-adam-hamilton-forecast?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [Washington Times](https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/sep/17/democrats-try-expand-senate-battlefield-red-kansas/?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [Inside Elections](https://insideelections.com/election-year/2026/?office=ii&state-district=ks&ref=citizenjournal.us) / [Sunflower State Journal](https://sunflowerstatejournal.com/new-polling-shows-marshall-masterson-leading-in-kansas-races/?ref=citizenjournal.us) 2. [Kansas Reflector](https://kansasreflector.com/2026/09/17/kansas-board-of-regents-to-focus-on-crafting-artificial-intelligence-policy-standards/?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [Lawrence Times](https://lawrencekstimes.com/2026/09/17/kr-kbor-focus-ai-policy/?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [KAKE](https://www.kake.com/home/kansas-board-of-regents-approves-appropriations-request-for-higher-education-system/article%5F4301aca8-fe37-4fd4-829a-a1abd5f858dc.html?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [Kansas Board of Regents](https://kansasregents.gov/about/news-releases/2026-news-releases/1019-regents-approve-fiscal-year-2028-unified-appropriations-request-for-kansas-public-higher-education-system?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [Kansas Board of Regents, 2025](https://kansasregents.gov/about/news-releases/2025-news-releases/966-regents-approve-fiscal-year-2027-unified-appropriations-request-for-kansas-public-higher-education-system?ref=citizenjournal.us) 3. [Kansas Reflector](https://kansasreflector.com/2026/09/17/deep-fission-releases-safety-design-agreement-for-kansas-nuclear-pilot-project/?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [POWER](https://www.powermag.com/doe-approves-safety-design-of-deep-fissions-underground-smr/?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [Deep Fission](https://www.deepfission.com/investors/news-events/press-releases/detail/116/department-of-energy-approves-nuclear-safety-design-agreement-for-deep-fissions-gravity-reactor-designed-to-convert-to-commercial-operation?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [Interesting Engineering](https://interestingengineering.com/energy/deep-fission-releases-safety-plan-underground-nuclear-reactor?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [Interesting Engineering](https://interestingengineering.com/energy/deep-fission-tests-underground-nuclear-reactor-canister?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [Deep Fission safety agreement](https://www.deepfission.com/nuclear-safety-design-agreement-gravity-nuclear-reactor?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [Deep Fission project update](https://www.deepfission.com/sites/parsons?ref=citizenjournal.us) 4. [KCTV5](https://www.kctv5.com/2026/09/16/student-arrested-after-gun-detected-wyandotte-high-school-checkpoint/?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [KSHB](https://www.kshb.com/news/crime/student-arrested-after-bringing-gun-to-wyandotte-high-school?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [Ad Astra Radio](https://www.adastraradio.com/adastra-news/student-arrested-after-gun-detected-at-wyandotte-high-school/?ref=citizenjournal.us) 5. [KCTV5](https://www.kctv5.com/2026/09/17/overland-park-man-sentenced-murder-deadly-crash/?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [Johnson County Post](https://johnsoncountypost.com/2026/09/17/isaiah-sadowski-sentencing-johnson-county-296432/?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [KCTV5](https://www.kctv5.com/2026/06/18/overland-park-man-convicted-deadly-crash-that-killed-75-year-old-woman/?ref=citizenjournal.us) / [KSHB](https://www.kshb.com/news/crime/man-who-fled-country-after-deadly-overland-park-crash-to-serve-10-year-sentence?ref=citizenjournal.us) --- *This article was written using our proprietary AI system, Cronkite. The final decision to publish this article was made by a human. For more info, read our [AI policy](https://www.citizenjournal.us/ai-policy/).* --- Found a mistake? Have a news tip or feedback to share? Contact our newsroom using the button below: [Contact Us](https://www.citizenjournal.us/contact/) --- citizen journal offers three flagship products: a **daily national news summary**, a **daily Kansas news summary**, and **local news and school board summaries from 20 cities across Kansas**. Each issue contains 5 paragraph-length stories that are made to be read in 5 minutes. Use the links in the header to navigate to national, kansas, and local coverage. Subscribe to each, some, or all to get an email when new issues are published for FREE! [SUBSCRIBE](https://www.citizenjournal.us/subscribe/) --- ### Brought to you by (click me!) [Want to advertise here? ](https://ads.citizenjournal.us/?ref=citizenjournal.us) --- [ ![Alt text](https://rosebud-ads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/JOB.png) ](https://gregl72.github.io/job/?ref=citizenjournal.us)