Kansas Department of Education: Graduation Rate at Highest Level Ever
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) — Kansas education leaders reported Wednesday that the graduation rate for the class of 2025 is over 90% for the first time. Kansas high school students have until the end of October to earn the credits they need to graduate. The Kansas News Service reports that new numbers from the State Department of Education show that a record 90.5% of students earned a high school diploma. The overall graduation rate has increased by more than four percentage points since 2015. Education Commissioner Randy Watson told Kansas Board of Education members the rate for special-education students, children in poverty and English language learners is rising as well. “You should feel very proud that in all of those categories, including all students, we are at the highest ever in the history of Kansas,” Watson added. State education leaders set a goal of a 95% graduation rate by 2030.
==========
Report: 30 Kansas Schools Show Higher than Expected Reading Scores for 3rd-Graders
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) — A new report highlights more than 30 Kansas schools where third-grade reading scores are much higher than expected, based on the schools’ poverty rates. The Kansas News Service reports that the national nonprofit news outlet “The 74” set out to find school districts that are doing the best job of teaching kids how to read. A new searchable database shows reading scores versus poverty levels for nearly 42,000 U.S. schools, and it highlights exceptional schools in the top 5% of their state in terms of outscoring their expected reading proficiency. Dighton Elementary School in western Kansas is the highest performing school in the state, with 95% of third graders reading proficiently. In Wichita, two schools made the exceptional list: Hyde Elementary and College Hill Elementary. The searchable database is at the74million.org.
==========
Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe Comments on Possibility of Arrowhead Renovation
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCUR) — Will a roof over Arrowhead Stadium keep the Chiefs in Missouri? KCUR reports that the possibility is being floated by Missouri's governor. Governor Mike Kehoe says he was in Germany two years ago to watch the Chiefs play at a one-hundred-year-old soccer stadium. It had been renovated, he says, with a translucent, retractable roof. Kehoe told KCUR he shared that observation this week with a Jefferson City reporter. “Certainly had nothing to do with what the Chiefs have said, that doesn’t represent, it was just a casual comment that I’ve seen a fabric dome before,” Kehoe said. One of the options floated to lure the Chiefs to Kansas is a domed stadium in western Wyandotte County. Kehoe says he is in constant contact with the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals as the teams decide where they will play when their leases expire in 2031. The state of Missouri has offered to sell bonds to pay for half of new or renovated stadiums plus $50 million in tax credits for each team.
==========
Governor Says Kansas Won't Try to Claw Back Food Assistance Payments
UNDATED (KNS) — Kansas Governor Laura Kelly’s administration said Monday that it would not attempt to undo food assistance payments sent out Friday. The Kansas News Service reports that the Trump Administration had ordered states to undo the payments or face penalties. On Friday, Kansas recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, received full payments that had been stalled by the government shutdown. The total was almost $32 million. But the national legal fight is dragging on. A spokesperson for the governor said Kansas is under no legal obligation to take any action on November payments. Haley Kottler with advocacy group Kansas Appleseed says the back-and-forth is causing a lot of confusion. “It’s kind of a merry-go-round right now and we don’t know where … things are going to land. And it’s really putting folks in a bind,” Kottler added. Partial payments could go out in Missouri this week.
==========
Marion County to Pay $3 Million for Its Role in Police Raid on Local Newspaper
TOPEKA, Kan. (Kansas Reflector) — Marion County will pay a total of $3 million to three journalists and a city council member connected to a 2023 law enforcement raid on the local newspaper - the Marion County Record. The Marion County Sheriff's Office also issued a statement admitting "regret" for its handling of search warrants connected to raids on homes and the offices of the newspaper.
Marion County's board of commissioners approved agreements this week with Eric Meyer, the owner and editor of the newspaper, Marion city council member Ruth Herbel, and journalists Deb Gruver and Phyllis Zorn. The Kansas Reflector reports that the agreements could have an impact in the paper's ongoing cases against the city. The county agreed to pay editor Eric Meyer $1.5 million. Insurance will cover most of that but the county itself must pay Meyer $50,000.
An additional lawsuit against the former Marion police chief, Gideon Cody, was settled earlier this year for $235,000.
==========
Sixth Small Earthquake in Recent Weeks Rattles Northwest Kansas
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Another small earthquake has rattled northwest Kansas, but hardly anyone noticed. KSNW TV reports that the quake happened around 6 pm Monday in Ellsworth County, about halfway between the city of Wilson and Wilson Lake. This was the sixth small earthquake near Wilson in the last two weeks.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake had a magnitude of 2.8 and occurred at a depth of roughly six miles. Quakes below 3.0 in magnitude typically go unnoticed by the public.
==========
Kansas Regulators Approve Higher Rates for Businesses with High Power Demands
TOPEKA, Kan. (Kansas Reflector) — Kansas regulators have approved new, higher electric rates for businesses with high power demands, including data centers. The Kansas Corporation Commission approved the “large-load tariff” on Thursday. The Kansas Reflector reports it allows power companies to charge higher rates to new businesses that use more than 75 megawatts of peak load energy per month. Regulators hope that will mitigate the effect data centers and other businesses that use a lot of electricity will have on residential customers’ bills.
==========
This summary of area news is curated by KPR news staffers. Our headlines are generally published by 10 am weekdays and are updated through 7 pm. This ad-free news summary is made possible by KPR members. Become one today. And follow KPR News on X (formerly Twitter).