Top 5 Kansas news stories
October 31 2025
National Guard Member Charged With Spying for Russia at Fort Riley
Moran Investigates Veterans Disability Fraud Claims
Kansas Farmers Cautious About China Soybean Deal
Study Examines Kansas Journalists' Response to Marion County Raid
Cool, Dry Conditions Expected for Halloween
National Guard Member Charged With Spying for Russia at Fort Riley
A Kansas National Guard member faces federal charges after allegedly agreeing to photograph Fort Riley Army Post for Russian intelligence and illegally export a helicopter radio. Canyon A. Amarys, 28, of Alamogordo, New Mexico, was arrested Oct. 28 following an investigation by the FBI's Kansas City office and U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command. Amarys allegedly met with someone he believed to be a Russian intelligence agent in February 2025, signed an agreement confirming his relationship with Russian intelligence, and purchased a helicopter radio in March that he attempted to ship to Romania. Federal investigators later recovered the radio, and Amarys now faces charges for attempted violation of the Export Control Reform Act.
Moran Investigates Veterans Disability Fraud Claims
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran convened a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing Wednesday to examine reports of fraud in the veterans benefits system following a Washington Post investigation. The Kansas Republican said veterans with legitimate service-connected injuries deserve proper support, but the system needs scrutiny after reports showed some veterans received disproportionate benefits for minor conditions or falsified disabilities. The Post investigation found the Veterans Benefits Administration sometimes pays veterans with sleep apnea more than those with leg amputations below the knee, and documented cases of veterans lying about their conditions to earn higher benefits.
Kansas Farmers Cautious About China Soybean Deal
President Trump announced a deal during his Asia trip in which China agreed to resume purchasing American soybeans and reduce illegal fentanyl flow in exchange for a 10% tariff reduction. The agreement calls for China to purchase 12 million metric tons of soybeans, offering potential relief to Kansas farmers who faced market uncertainty during recent U.S.-China trade tensions. Kent Winter, a fifth-generation Sedgwick County farmer, said this year's soybean harvest was strong but the trade dispute depressed markets and affected farmers across the country. While the announcement brings some optimism, Winter and other Kansas farmers say they need to see a signed agreement with concrete terms before making planting decisions. Winter said he'll watch grain markets over the coming weeks to gauge whether buyers show confidence in the deal. "Until we can get some agreement signed and get some teeth into it, I don't really know that we have anything solid that we can plan on," he said.
Study Examines Kansas Journalists' Response to Marion County Raid
More than two years after police raided the Marion County Record newspaper, a new academic study explores how the Aug. 11, 2023 incident affected Kansas journalists and their work. The article, published in Journal of Communications Inquiry and co-written by University of Kansas professor Stephen Wolgast, describes how the raid caused "shared press distress" among reporters across the state. The county prosecutor withdrew the search warrants five days after the raid, citing insufficient evidence. The study examines how Kansas journalists reacted to the incident and the human factors that influence their daily decisions about news coverage in 2025's challenging media environment. Wolgast and co-author Nick Mathews of the University of Missouri detail the complicated pressures facing rural Kansas journalists who work amid newspaper closures, declining revenue, staff cuts and political animosity. The study raises questions about whether the raid was an isolated incident or a warning about broader threats to press freedom.
Cool, Dry Conditions Expected for Halloween
Kansas will see cold morning temperatures in the lower 30s with widespread frost Friday, followed by afternoon highs in the upper 50s to lower 60s. Halloween evening will be cool for trick-or-treaters with temperatures in the upper 40s to mid 50s and light winds under 10 mph, with skies turning cloudy by afternoon.
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