Topeka

• Topeka Mayor Spencer Duncan announced the city is preparing to award the first investments from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. →
• Topeka JUMP urged the Topeka City Council and Shawnee County Commission to use an upcoming sales tax to fund affordable housing initiatives. →
• Nutrient pollution, especially phosphorus from fertilizer runoff, is fueling harmful algae blooms in several Topeka-area lakes now on KDHE's EPA impairment list, prompting the agency to develop new modeling tools to target sources and craft more efficient cleanup plans. →
• The City of Topeka launched its TSC Get Digital campaign to increase resident access to devices, internet services, and digital training. →
• Andrew Holt has exited his role as president of Downtown Topeka Inc. after less than a year, with an interim leader yet to be named. →
• Washburn University will host two sessions of a free STEM camp for students in Topeka during the month of July. →
• Keep an umbrella handy today as we're looking at cloudy skies with a few passing showers, a high near 60, and some breezy northeast winds gusting up to 25 mph.

🌾 Kansas

• Institutional Shareholder Services filed a federal lawsuit April 29 against Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach challenging Senate Bill 375, the Proxy Advisor Transparency Act, alleging the anti-ESG disclosure law violates the firm's free speech rights. →

• The Trump White House sent a letter praising the Republican-led Kansas Legislature for its conservative work during the 2026 session, a move that carries weight as GOP candidates — including Senate President Ty Masterson — vie for a Trump endorsement in the governor's race. →

• Prosecutors filed a motion in Barton County District Court to charge a 14-year-old boy as an adult in the killing of Great Bend Middle School eighth-grader Rubi Perez, whose body was found April 9 after she was reported missing the day before. →

• Western Kansas wheat farmers faced a freeze warning Tuesday night threatening drought-stressed crops that are running roughly a month ahead of schedule due to a warm winter, with some heads already formed and vulnerable to cold damage. →

• USDA and National Weather Service data show severe to extreme drought gripping much of the Plains heading into summer, with above-normal temperatures forecast for May through July and Kansas winter wheat 70% headed — far ahead of the 28% five-year average — leaving crops exposed to frost damage. →

🇺🇸 US

• Investor-owned U.S. utilities plan to spend at least $1.4 trillion on capital expenditures through 2030 — more than 21% above prior projections — to power surging electricity demand from AI data centers, with PJM Interconnection approving transmission projects at a cost nearly 1,300% higher than its 2021 plan. →

• The U.S. national debt has exceeded 100% of GDP for the first time since World War II, with publicly held debt at $31.265 trillion against a $31.216 trillion GDP, as the government runs a projected $1.9 trillion deficit this fiscal year. →

• The anticipated "great wealth transfer" of roughly $110 trillion held by baby boomers is unfolding as a slow drip rather than a windfall, as longer lifespans, rising healthcare costs and increased personal spending on luxury retirement and travel delay inheritance for younger generations. →

• The White House is weighing a cybersecurity-focused executive order that would create federal oversight standards for the most powerful AI models, a shift from the Trump administration's hands-off approach prompted by concerns over Anthropic's Mythos model. →

• The Middle East cease-fire faltered as Iran launched drones at UAE oil infrastructure and fired cruise missiles at U.S. warships and commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, which U.S. forces intercepted while destroying six Iranian speedboats threatening ships in the strait. →

Weather

MAY 5, 1961: ALAN SHEPARD BECOMES THE FIRST AMERICAN IN SPACE

Alan Shepard’s Freedom 7 capsule completed a 15-minute suborbital flight, reaching 116 miles above Earth. The mission was a pivotal early victory for NASA in the Cold War space race against the Soviet Union.

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