Marshall, Hamilton Clash Over Diesel, Tariffs and Party Loyalty

Masterson, Holscher Offer Competing Affordability Plans

Kansas Data Center Debates Raise Transparency Concerns

Deep Fission Shares Plunge After Critical Report

St. James Wins Kansas’ First Girls Flag Football Title

Marshall, Hamilton Clash Over Diesel, Tariffs and Party Loyalty

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Republican Sen. Roger Marshall and Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton clashed over diesel prices, tariffs and party loyalty Wednesday, Oct. 21, at FOX4’s WDAF-TV studio in their final scheduled debate before the Nov. 3 election. With diesel costing about twice as much as a year ago, Marshall blamed the Ukraine war and reduced production, while Hamilton, founding pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, blamed President Donald Trump’s tariffs and war with Iran and accused Marshall of failing to push back. Marshall defended Trump’s tariffs, saying they were reviving American manufacturing and bringing jobs back to the United States. Hamilton countered that the tariffs were alienating trading partners and allies and creating economic instability. Marshall invoked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer 19 times, according to PolitiFact, and warned Democratic control would bring “open borders”; Hamilton described himself as independent-minded, rejected Schumer’s leadership and welcomed Trump voters. Asked about attack ads concerning his former medical practice’s lawsuits against patients over unpaid bills, Marshall said the accusations “couldn’t be further from the truth” and cited the practice’s free care. He also advocated a “light touch” on artificial intelligence regulation. An Oct. 13-14 InsiderAdvantage poll put Marshall at 48% and Hamilton at 47%, underscoring the stakes for Senate control as advance voting proceeds in a state that has not elected a Democrat to the chamber since 1932.

FOX4 · KCUR · KSN · KCTV5 · CBS News · The Hill · PolitiFact · CNN · Daijiworld

Masterson, Holscher Offer Competing Affordability Plans

BAXTER SPRINGS, Kan. — Republican Ty Masterson and Democrat Cindy Holscher, both candidates for Kansas governor, offered competing approaches to affordability Wednesday, Oct. 21, at a nonpartisan Baxter Springs Chamber of Commerce event at the Maple & Rose events center on historic Route 66 in Cherokee County. Each gave a 15-minute presentation followed by a meet-and-greet, providing rural southeast Kansas voters a comparison at what local coverage described as the candidates’ first joint visit to town. Both identified affordability as a leading concern and criticized each other’s legislative records, with Holscher, a state senator from Overland Park, faulting the Republican legislative supermajority for failing to deliver meaningful property tax relief. She pledged full public school funding, including special education, opposed school-choice programs and proposed expanding Medicaid and pausing new data center development until stronger protections are established. Masterson, the Senate president, cited Senate tax legislation and the elimination of state income taxes on Social Security benefits and state sales taxes on groceries, acknowledged continuing property tax concerns and argued closer ties with the Trump administration would attract investment in oil and gas, ethanol and agriculture. The Nov. 3 election will fill the seat held by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who is term-limited.

Four States Homepage · KZRG

Kansas Data Center Debates Raise Transparency Concerns

EMPORIA, Kan. — Data center proposals across five Kansas counties have sparked disputes over what officials disclose and when, according to Citizen Journal’s Public Meeting Archive. On Oct. 21, Emporia’s city manager estimated that a citizen group’s request for about 19,523 emails would cost $14,000, just 13 days before a citywide vote on banning high-impact data centers. The manager said in June that eight months of talks had taken place behind closed doors, with no nondisclosure agreements signed and no end user identified. Officials in Finney and Reno counties defended confidentiality agreements as a way to review proposals before making them public, while commissioners in Harvey and Shawnee counties raised concerns about invitation-only briefings and late staff reports. In Topeka, council members questioned Oct. 13 why the developer of a Forbes Field project requiring up to 80 megawatts remained unnamed despite a nonbinding agreement with the airport authority. Kansas law allows closed preliminary talks about land purchases and records fees covering actual costs, including staff time.

Emporia City Commission Summary

Week of October 22, 2026

citizen journalCronkite

Citizen Journal’s Public Meeting Archive · Kansas Attorney General · Kansas Statutes

Deep Fission Shares Plunge After Critical Report

PARSONS, Kan. — Deep Fission shares have fallen more than 50% since a critical Sept. 24 report, the Kansas Reflector reported Oct. 21. The decline has raised financing concerns for the company’s proposed pilot reactor near Parsons. The reactor would sit about a mile underground, with surrounding rock serving as containment. Iceberg Research called the venture a “money pit,” alleging understated costs, an unrealistic timeline and overly optimistic electricity projections of $50 to $70 per megawatt-hour before the company’s stock offering. The report’s author is anonymous, and its disclosure tells readers to assume the author holds a short position that profits when the stock falls. Deep Fission called the report “highly misleading” and said it is considering legal options. Several shareholder-rights law firms have opened investigations into potential securities-fraud class actions involving purchases in or after the company’s June Nasdaq initial public offering at $16 a share, while the Parsons-area Prairie Dog Alliance has requested a siting halt pending resolution of the allegations amid concerns about project completion. The U.S. Department of Energy approved a nuclear safety design agreement earlier this month, but further reviews are required before nuclear work, which the company does not plan at the site until 2027.

Kansas Reflector · HPPR · KMAN · Nuclear Engineering International · KCUR · Las Vegas Sun

St. James Wins Kansas’ First Girls Flag Football Title

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — St. James Academy of Lenexa defeated St. Thomas Aquinas of Overland Park 26-7 Wednesday, Oct. 21, to win Kansas’ first state-sanctioned girls flag football championship, KCTV5 and KSHB reported. The title game was originally scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17, at the SCHEELS Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita but was suspended after a pickup drove onto a nearby youth soccer field, killing 6-year-old Cole Adrian and 35-year-old Nicholas Schafer. The Kansas State High School Activities Association moved the game to Overland Park, where four Kansas City-area schools returned to play Wednesday. Aquinas had defeated Shawnee Mission West 47-20 in the semifinals, while St. James beat Shawnee Mission South 20-7. St. James scored first in the championship game before Aquinas answered in the second quarter, according to KSHB. The matchup between two Catholic schools in Johnson County concluded the sport’s first sanctioned Kansas season.

KCTV5 · KSHB

Sources

1. FOX4 / KCUR / KSN / KCTV5 / CBS News / The Hill / PolitiFact / CNN / Daijiworld
2. Four States Homepage / KZRG
3. Citizen Journal’s Public Meeting Archive / Harvey County meeting / Finney County meeting / Reno County meeting / Shawnee County meeting / Topeka meeting / Emporia City Commission records cba6401632 and c1ba1d9e22 / Kansas Reflector opinion — earlier Emporia records request / HPPR — Kansas data center concerns / NPR via HPPR — nondisclosure agreements in other states / KCTV5 — Missouri transparency proposals / Kansas Attorney General — executive sessions / Kansas Statutes — records fees
4. Kansas Reflector / HPPR / KMAN / Nuclear Engineering International / KCUR / Las Vegas Sun
5. KCTV5 / KSHB / KCTV5 video

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