Topeka

• Topeka officials are preparing annexation options for a massive data center proposed outside city limits in Shawnee County. →
• The Kansas Bureau of Investigation selected a downtown Topeka site for a proposed $79 million headquarters facility. →
• Topeka officials expressed caution over subsidizing a proposed $80 million downtown Kansas Bureau of Investigation headquarters. →
• A new 10-member community commission will form this fall to advise the Topeka City Council on fire station locations and staffing. →
• The Topeka City Council approved a $417.8 million budget for 2027, maintaining a flat mill levy for the 15th straight year. →
• Topeka leaders are considering a ballot measure for a half-cent sales tax to address projected multi-million-dollar budget deficits. →
• Expect a beautiful, mostly sunny Wednesday across Topeka with a gentle breeze and a comfortable high of 77°F.

🌾 Kansas

• Kansas regulators rejected Groundwater Management District No. 3's first districtwide Ogallala Aquifer conservation plan, saying its proposed pumping reductions would address declines too slowly. →

• Wichita city staff told the City Council on Sept. 22 that a programming fault, not human error, caused the backup generator failure that triggered last week's boil water advisory affecting about 500,000 people. →

• The Kansas Corporation Commission has scheduled Sept. 28-29 hearings on a proposed 180-mile, 345-kilovolt transmission line across eight western Kansas counties meant to strengthen the western grid. →

• The Kansas Bureau of Investigation announced Sept. 21 that a joint sex-crimes sting with Riley County and Geary County agencies led to 19 arrests in Riley and Geary counties. →

• ICE conducted immigration operations Sept. 21-22 in Liberal, Dodge City and Garden City, three southwest Kansas beef-packing towns that rely heavily on immigrant labor. →

🇺🇸 US

• Senate Leadership Fund boosted its Texas ad commitment to $100 million for Republican Ken Paxton, part of a broader GOP financial edge of more than $557 million in fall Senate advertising compared with Democrats' $343 million, according to a Sept. 18 NPR analysis. →

• Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrives in Washington Wednesday for a three-day summit with President Donald Trump aimed at preserving a trade truce, marking Xi's first White House visit since 2015. →

• Vice President JD Vance said Sept. 22 that the administration's fraud task force canceled roughly 315,000 Affordable Care Act marketplace policies covering about 760,000 people in August, saving an estimated $2.2 billion in federal subsidies. →

• Google has asked Indiana regulators to approve 228 additional emergency diesel generators at its Fort Wayne data center, which would bring the permitted total to 402. →

• President Donald Trump told the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 22 that he faces a choice between a deal with Iran or moving to "annihilate the Islamic Republic," while predicting an agreement after the November midterms. →

Weather

September 23, 1933: Standard Oil Geologists Arrive in Saudi Arabia

In 1933, American geologists from Standard Oil landed at the Persian Gulf port of Jubail to begin surveying Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province for oil. Their work, backed by a concession from King Abdulaziz, laid the foundation for the creation of the Arabian American Oil Company, later known as Saudi Aramco. This moment marked the beginning of Saudi Arabia’s transformation into a dominant global oil power and reshaped the energy landscape of the 20th century.

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.