Week of August 13 2024

Local

FLASH Public 2025 budget hearing for the City of McPherson is set for August 20, 2024
1 David O'Dell Secures Re-Election in McPherson County Amid Primary Elections 
2 McPherson's New Pickleball Courts Open
3 McPherson County Airport to Receive Upgrades with FAA and KDOT Grants
4 Drought Conditions Worsen Across Central Kansas
5 Elm Street Drainage Project Progresses

State
1 Marion County Record Editor Defiant After Police Raid
2 Nancy Boyda Wins Close Race for Democratic Nomination, Derek Schmidt Wins GOP Primary, in Open KS-02
3 Gov. Laura Kelly to Chair Democratic Governors Association

Nation
1 VP Harris Selects Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as Running Mate
2 Is Kamala Harris really ahead of Donald Trump? 
3 Judge Rules Google Maintains Illegal Monopoly in Landmark Antitrust Case 

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Local

FLASH Public 2025 budget hearing for the City of McPherson is set for August 20, 2024, at 9:00 AM at City Hall, 400 East Kansas Avenue.

1 David O'Dell Secures Re-Election in McPherson County Amid Primary Elections 

In McPherson County's only contested local race during last week's primary election, incumbent County Commissioner David O'Dell beat his opponent Nick Reinecker 493-339 votes.

The election saw significant upsets in neighboring counties. In Harvey County, Treasurer Becky Fields lost her re-election bid to Amy Perkins in a closely watched race, with Perkins winning by a margin of 71-29 percent. In Rice County, Sheriff Bryant Evans was unseated by Nick Sowers, who captured 59 percent of the vote. Similarly, in Reno County, Commissioner John Whitsel was defeated by Richard Winger, who won 60-40 percent.

Saline County witnessed the closest race of the night, where Anne Grevas led Kathleen Malone Crouch by just 19 votes out of more than 1,200 cast. 

In Marion County, Sheriff Jeff Soyez, currently a defendant in several lawsuits related to last year's raid on the Marion County Record, won re-nomination with nearly 75 percent of the vote against challenger Travis Wilson.

Source: Ad Astra Radio

2 McPherson's New Pickleball Courts Open

The pickleball courts in McPherson have officially opened. The courts, located at Challenger Park, are now available for free drop-in play, with a soft opening period lasting until September 2. A grand opening celebration is scheduled for September 3, where local police and fire departments will face off in a "Battle of the Badges" match. Community members have already expressed excitement, with all courts in use during the first weekend, even late into the evening. Following the grand opening, courts can be reserved for a fee of $8 per hour per court. Reservations can be made by calling 620-241-0363.

Source: City of McPherson

3 McPherson County Airport to Receive Upgrades with FAA and KDOT Grants

The McPherson County Commission approved funding for critical improvements at the local airport, backed by grants from the FAA and KDOT. The FAA grant, totaling $680,000, will modernize the runway lighting system with energy-efficient LED lights and enhanced safety features. Meanwhile, a $390,000 KDOT grant will fund essential repairs to the runway’s surface, ensuring the airport remains in top condition. Both grants require matching funds, with the county and city each contributing a share, totaling $19,000 for the county. Commissioners emphasized the importance of these upgrades for the airport’s role in supporting local economic development.

Commissioners also heard from Planning and Zoning Administrator Jon Kinsey, who reported a noticeable increase in permit issuance, driven by ongoing development in McPherson County. He also mentioned last week’s discussion of hiring of a county surveyor and said that further details would be provided in the coming weeks

Article Source: McPherson County

4 Drought Conditions Worsen Across Central Kansas

Drought conditions are worsening across Central Kansas, with the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report showing expanded areas of concern. Much of northern McPherson County is now under moderate drought, with only the northeast corner spared. The drought has also intensified in neighboring areas, affecting northern Rice and southern Ellsworth counties, as well as southwest Saline County. To the south, severe drought conditions around Hutchinson have spread further into Kingman County and now cover more of western Sedgwick County. Residents and farmers are urged to stay informed as the dry spell continues to impact the region.

Statewide, drought conditions have intensified over the past week, with the area affected by drought increasing from 89% to 93% of the state. Moderate drought (D1) coverage has expanded significantly, rising by more than 10%, while severe drought (D2) conditions increased 3%. The data indicate a worsening trend as dry conditions persist.

Ed note: it did rain last night quite heavily after writing this, but my AI assistant didn’t update this draft

Article Source: Ad Astra Radio, US Drought Monitor

5 Elm Street Drainage Project Progresses

During the recent city council meeting, updates were provided on the Elm Street drainage and Euclid extension project, including that phase one removals are nearly done and storm sewer installation is set to begin soon. However, a specific completion date was not mentioned. Based on typical projects of this nature, the estimated completion could range from late 2024 to early 2025. Residents and businesses are advised to stay tuned for further updates.

Article Source: City of McPherson, ChatGPT-4o

State

1 Marion County Record Editor Defiant After Police Raid

Marion County Record editor and publisher Eric Meyer began speaking out about the police raid of his home and office before the officers could even retreat to their celebratory pizza party. He said it never entered his mind to keep quiet. “Crap like this happens more often than we hear about,” Meyer said. “I don’t know of anybody else that’s been raided quite the way we were. But there are other similar things that have gone on, other acts of intimidation of one sort or another, that have gone on around the country. And you don’t hear about them because nobody said anything.” Meyer can afford to take risks. Unlike virtually all other news media, he doesn’t have to worry about his finances — this is a retirement project for him. Other outlets face a different reality. But he sees it as more than work. And there’s a reason he continues to go through the grueling exercise of producing a newspaper. “It’s still a calling,” he said. The attack on constitutional freedoms in Marion placed a spotlight on the inherent tension between journalists and the powerful people they hold accountable. And while the sight of American police seizing computers from a newsroom sent shockwaves around the world, and threats to reporting efforts by local officials continue, the Marion County Record and others like it remain resolute in their mission.

Article Source: KS Reflector

2 Nancy Boyda Wins Close Race for Democratic Nomination, Derek Schmidt Wins GOP Primary, in Open KS-02

The last Democrat to represent an eastern Kansas district in Congress won the party’s nomination for the now-open seat, keeping her bid for a political comeback alive. Former U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda, who held the 2nd District seat in 2007 and 2008, defeated Matt Kleinmann in Tuesday’s primary. Kleinmann is a public health advocate who was a member of the 2008 national champion University of Kansas men’s basketball team. Boyda won the nomination even though she riled up some party activists by positioning herself toward the political center for what she saw as a more viable general election campaign in the Republican-leaning district. She lost her 2008 race for reelection.

KWCH

the 2nd congressional district … generated the most interest because U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, a Topeka Republican, decided not to seek reelection. The opening attracted a field of five Republican candidates. It was a race highlighted by former Attorney General Derek Schmidt, who earned former President Donald Trump’s endorsement. Schmidt is seeking to rebound after losing the 2022 race for governor. Before all 1,070 precincts reported, Schmidt declared victory in the primary. He built a comfortable lead with 53% of the vote and never relinquished it. Topekan Jeff Kahrs, endorsed by former Gov. Sam Brownback, and Council Grove feedlot owner Shawn Tiffany were far back at 18% and 20%, respectively. The other candidates were in single digits.
KS Reflector

Article Source: KWCH, KS Reflector

3 Gov. Laura Kelly to Chair Democratic Governors Association

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly will move up to chair the national Democratic Governors Association with the current chair moving on to run for vice president on a presidential ticket with Democrat Kamala Harris. Kelly, now the vice chair of the DGA, fills the position that had been held by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who was named Harris' running mate on Tuesday.

Article Source: Sunflower State Journal

Nation

1 VP Harris Selects Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as Running Mate

Vice President Harris on Tuesday announced that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) will be her running mate in the 2024 election, at long last solidifying the two major-party presidential tickets with just three months to go. Harris chose Walz over contenders such as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) in an abbreviated process, following President Biden’s decision two weeks ago to drop out of his reelection race. The election will now pit the Harris-Walz ticket against the Republican ticket of former president Donald Trump and Sen. JD Vance (Ohio), along with a smattering of independent candidates that includes Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
WaPo

Republicans’ insta-reaction yesterday to VP KAMALA HARRIS’ choice of Minnesota Gov. TIM WALZ as her running mate was immediate and genuine: They were positively giddy about not having to take on Pennsylvania Gov. JOSH SHAPIRO, the popular leader of the most important state on the electoral map. “She went with the left-wing pick,” one GOP operative told us, calling it the outcome Republicans were “quietly rooting for.” Sen. STEVE DAINES (R-Mont.), charged with electing GOP senators in swing states across the country as NRSC chair, was even more succinct: “Thanks Kamala.” It is, in other words, the reset opportunity that Republicans were looking for. But the GOP glee obscures a big open question that will determine whether the party can capitalize on Harris’ perceived misstep
POLITICO

Article Source: WaPo, POLITICO

2 Is Kamala Harris really ahead of Donald Trump? 

The polls have tightened considerably since Joe Biden dropped out of the race and Kamala Harris secured the Democratic nomination. Many polls show Harris even with Trump and some even show her ahead.  I don’t attach huge importance to national polls, as the election is won and lost in the electoral college. Harris needs to win the national vote by about 4% to win the electoral college based on the experience of the last several election cycles. In 2020, Biden won the national popular vote by 4.5% or about 7 million votes. His combined margin of victory in New York and California was 7 million votes - his total popular vote margin. 
The 2024 election will be decided by handful of battleground states and several hundred thousand voters. Specifically, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada and the blue wall states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. They are called the “blue wall” because they used to be reliably Democratic before Trump won them in 2016. While President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump were known quantities to voters during the summer, Vice President Kamala Harris is new to many voters. As such, editorially I won’t run any Trump-Harris polls until after the first presidential debate in early September.

3 Judge Rules Google Maintains Illegal Monopoly in Landmark Antitrust Case 

A US federal judge has ruled that Google spent billions of dollars on exclusive deals to maintain an illegal monopoly on search, in a landmark win for the Department of Justice as it seeks to rein in Big Tech’s market power. Amit Mehta, the judge who presided over the four-year-old case in Washington, called Google a “monopolist” in a 286-page decision on Monday that found the company had violated US antitrust law. The ruling follows a weeks-long trial in which the DoJ argued the search giant paid tens of billions of dollars a year for anti-competitive deals with wireless carriers, browser developers and device manufacturers — and in particular Apple. These payments, which cemented Google as the default search engine, totalled more than $26bn in 2021, according to the decision. Google — which handles more than 90 per cent of online queries and whose name has become synonymous with search — argued that it did face fierce competition in the sector and its success was driven by the quality of its products.
FT

In 2000, a ruling in a U.S. antitrust case against Microsoft helped set the rules of competition for the digital giant of its day. At the time, a federal judge said Microsoft had abused the monopoly power of its Windows operating system and ordered that the company be split up. A breakup was reversed on appeal, but key legal findings were upheld. And Microsoft was prohibited from forcing restrictive contracts on its industry partners and ordered to open some of its technology to outsiders — preventing the company from single-handedly controlling the internet. More than two decades later, a ruling in a Google antitrust case similarly promises to shape new rules for the tech industry. Judge Amit P. Mehta of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found on Monday that Google had violated antitrust laws by stifling rivals in internet search to protect its monopoly. Google’s loss could have major ripple effects for competition today. U.S. regulators have also accused Apple, Amazon and Meta of violating antitrust laws by advantaging their own products on the platforms they run and acquiring smaller rivals. The Google ruling, and potential remedies to be decided by Judge Mehta, are likely to weigh heavily on those cases, including a second lawsuit against Google over ad technology, which is scheduled to go to trial next month.
NYT

Article Source: FT, NYT

Sources

2. https://www.adastraradio.com/mac-news/2024-primary-election-mcpherson-county-area-results

3. https://www.facebook.com/CityOfMcPhersonLocalGovernment/videos/1518064362150710

4. https://www.mcphersoncountyks.us/949/Agendas-Minutes

5. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mcpherson-podcast-news-8-9/id1694025121?i=1000664813134; https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Maps/CompareTwoWeeks.aspx

6. https://www.facebook.com/CityOfMcPhersonLocalGovernment/videos/1518064362150710

7. https://kansasreflector.com/2024/08/09/after-kansas-newspaper-raid-journalists-remain-defiant-in-battle-for-accountability/

8. https://www.kwch.com/2024/08/07/former-us-rep-nancy-boyda-has-won-democratic-nomination-eastern-kansas-seat-congress/?tbref=hp; https://kansasreflector.com/2024/08/06/kansas-congressional-incumbents-davids-mann-and-estes-coast-to-primary-election-victory/

9. https://sunflowerstatejournal.com/new-kelly-moves-up-to-chair-democratic-governors-association/

10. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/06/5-takeaways-harriss-pick-tim-walz-her-vp-nominee/; Playbook email

12. https://on.ft.com/3SEbA4X; https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/06/technology/google-microsoft-antitrust-cases.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare