Some southwest Kansas counties flip blue
Three southwest Kansas counties that normally go for Republicans flipped blue Tuesday, giving Democrat Adam Hamilton a push to help win the election.
The diverse counties with meatpacking plants — Seward, Finney and Ford — were in the national spotlight recently when Immigration and Customs Enforcement swept the area and detained more than 100 people.
Voting and Immigration rights advocate Kathleen Alonso said her work getting more young Latinos to vote in southwest Kansas paid off.
“Just seeing how many young people were voting, and how many Latinos were voting, these people felt motivated and called to show up to the polls," she said.
Seward County voted for Donald Trump in 2024 by almost 74%. This year the county, which is almost 70% Latino, went to Democrats in the races for Senate, governor and U.S. House.
Kansas voters decide sales tax questions
Voters in several cities and counties in Kansas decided sales tax questions Tuesday. The two proposed in Sedgwick County failed.
Voters in Andale rejected a proposed 1% sales tax that would have provided mill-levy support, helped establish a general fund reserve and paid for citywide improvements.
In Valley Center, residents voted down a 1% sales tax that would have paid for public safety services, capital improvements, equipment and maintenance.
Voters in Douglass in Butler County voted to renew a 1% sales tax that pays for street maintenance.
And in Reno County, voters in Nickerson approved a 1% tax to pay for city repairs, tornado-siren updates and property tax relief.
WSU plans to phase out philosophy program
Wichita State University plans to phase out its philosophy program, a discipline widely regarded as a core pillar of the liberal arts and humanities.
WSU's student newspaper, The Sunflower, reports that the chair of the philosophy department was told last month that the program would be discontinued.
The chair said he was told the department is not meeting degree production requirements set by the Kansas Board of Regents.
WSU President Richard Muma said during a recent town hall that humanities programs are not a priority for the university.
"We’re not going to be having a PhD in all the humanities and all the social sciences. That’s not who we are, that’s not where we want to put our resources," Muma said.
WSU is trying to establish itself as a top-tier research university. The philosophy chair said the program is integral for a research institution.
Kansas governor's race still too close to call
Republican candidate Ty Masterson is asking state election officials to take another look at the Kansas governor’s race.
Democrat Cindy Holscher leads by roughly 7,000 votes, but the margin is close enough to trigger an additional audit in every county.
Election officials will hand-count ballots in 10% of precincts and compare them with election-night results.
That’s on top of the routine post-election audit.
The Secretary of State's Elections Director Brian Caskey said he’s confident in his office, and they have a great record over their six elections of post audit election work.
"Every time, in every county, we've been able to account for every ballot that was cast," Caskey said.
Eligible mail ballots received through Friday will also be included in the unofficial totals.
Voters overwhelmingly say no to data centers
Voters across the country overwhelmingly voted to restrict data centers Tuesday, and that includes three Kansas communities.
Residents in El Dorado, Ottawa and Emporia voted to ban data centers in the midterm election. The measures opposing the centers all received at least 60% of the vote.
Emporia passed a 10-year ban on both large data centers and battery storage systems in the city.
Jay Vehige is with Emporia Neighbors United, a group formed to fight a proposed data center. He said the referendums show Kansans are concerned about the centers’ environmental impact.
"What it tells me is that Kansans want to protect our state. They want to protect each little nook and cranny of Kansas, and that's a beautiful thing," Vehige said.
He said the three Kansas communities worked together to write their ballot questions and will help other cities craft similar measures.
Wichita-area musicians want to build connections
The Wichita music scene is economically healthy, but musicians say they want the community to be more organized.
That’s according to the new Wichita Music Census, which drew nearly 1,500 responses.
Two-thirds of respondents said finding and connecting with one another is their greatest need.
The census found that local music venues host more than 5,000 events per year. And musicians generate about $25 million in income annually.
Census partners will introduce the results during an event on Saturday at CityArts.
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