hcj

Top 5 Kansas news stories

October 3 2025

Greg Loving

03 Oct 2025 • 5 min read

President Trump gave King Charles a replica of a sword belonging to Dwight D. Eisenhower last month during his state visit to Britain. The administration had sought a real one.

Eisenhower Library Director Ousted After Declining Trump's Artifact Request

Kobach Seeks Special Session to Block Transgender License Changes

Kansas Colleges See Enrollment Growth for Third Consecutive Year

Wichita Deploys New Emergency Alert System During Teen Kidnapping Case

Agriculture Secretary Warns Mexico on Screwworm Threat Near U.S. Border at KC Talk

1. Eisenhower Library Director Ousted After Declining Trump's Artifact Request

President Trump wanted a gift for King Charles. Ahead of his state visit to Britain last month, the administration began looking for an artifact relating to President Dwight D. Eisenhower that the president could give the British monarch — a sword perhaps, or something else that spoke to Eisenhower’s role as the supreme commander of the Allied forces in World War II. Through a personal email address, an administration official approached the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum, and Boyhood Home in Abilene, Kan., which has at least one Eisenhower sword in its collection, given to him in 1947 by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. But the library declined to release it or any other original artifact in its collection, on the grounds that they are the property of the U.S. government, which the library is obligated by law to preserve for the American public. Instead, Mr. Trump wound up giving King Charles a replica sword. And this week, the director of the Eisenhower library, Todd Arrington, was forced out of his job. It was not immediately clear what led to his ouster, or what role his refusal to hand over the sword might have played.

NYT

2. Kobach Seeks Special Session to Block Transgender License Changes

Attorney General Kris Kobach is asking Republican legislative leaders to convene a special session aimed at preventing transgender Kansans from changing gender markers on driver's licenses and birth certificates, despite the Kansas Supreme Court declining to hear his appeal this week. In letters to GOP lawmakers, Senate President Ty Masterson and House Speaker Dan Hawkins said Kobach urgently requested the special session to block the Kansas Department of Revenue from resuming its practice of accommodating gender marker change requests, calling it more important than redistricting. The high court's decision Monday paved the way for Kansans to adjust listed gender on official state records for the first time in over two years.

Kansas City Star

3. Kansas Colleges See Enrollment Growth for Third Consecutive Year

Most Kansas public colleges and universities reported enrollment increases this year, with the state's higher education system growing by 2.2% in full-time students compared to last year. The six state universities added 2,338 students, community colleges grew by 499 students, and technical colleges saw 722 more enrollees, marking three consecutive years of fall enrollment growth across the system. Emporia State University led state universities with 6% growth, followed by Kansas State at 4.6% and Wichita State at 4.3%, while the University of Kansas reached record-high enrollment with a 1.2% increase. Washburn University in Topeka grew 4.7% overall, driven by record enrollment at Washburn Institute of Technology, which jumped 15.7% over last year. Technical colleges showed the strongest long-term growth statewide, with 68.2% more students than a decade ago, while community college enrollment increased 0.8% this year and remains 11.5% higher than five years ago.

CJOnline

4. Wichita Deploys New Emergency Alert System During Teen Kidnapping Case

Wichita's new Civic Ready emergency alert system was activated Thursday afternoon during a kidnapping investigation that ended with two armed 17-year-old suspects in custody after a crash and foot chase on the city's west side. The incident began around 11:45 a.m. when police tracked a stolen vehicle carrying a potential 16-year-old kidnapping victim using the FLOCK camera system from downtown to the west side, where the suspects ran a red light at 21st and Tyler, crashed into three vehicles, and fled on foot. The Civic Ready system works with 911 to send text alerts to registered residents when dangerous situations occur in their neighborhoods, though Sedgwick County Emergency Communications Director Elora Forshee noted that alerts won't go out for every incident since police typically have situations contained.

KWCH

5. Agriculture Secretary Warns Mexico on Screwworm Threat Near U.S. Border at KC Talk

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced at the Ag Outlook Forum in Kansas City that a New World screwworm fly was recently found in a trap just 70 miles from the U.S. border in Mexico, compared to the previous closest find at 400 miles away, and warned that the U.S. will not reopen the border to animal imports until Mexico shows full compliance with monitoring protocols. Rollins said Mexico has failed to enforce cattle movement restrictions and is not conducting required daily fly traps, prompting USDA to dispatch a team to investigate. The screwworm fly lays eggs in open wounds, with larvae consuming living flesh and potentially killing cattle within seven to 14 days if untreated, and can infect any mammal species including humans.

High Plains Journal

Sources

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