If you're voting on the Wichita school district's $615 million bond Nov. 3, early voting is already underway in Sedgwick County. Some neighbors plan to vote no because the district is closing four elementary schools: L'Ouverture, OK, Pleasant Valley and Woodland.
The district cites aging buildings and low enrollment. “We’re in a different era in our community where there’s not a need for that many schools,” Superintendent Kelly Bielefeld told KMUW. Some OK Elementary parents say a no vote would send the board a message.
Passing both questions could upgrade more than 15 facilities
OK Elementary would become an early childhood center if it passes
L'Ouverture closes this school year whether or not it passes
Backers: Wichita Regional Chamber, United Teachers of Wichita, League of Women Voters
The Wichita Eagle reports the Chamber's board backs the bond while flagging property tax worries, and the Chamber says it hasn't given money to the Vote Yes Yes campaign. NAACP vice president Lavonta Williams says she'll support the bond but is disappointed it leaves the former Mathewson site without an early childhood center.
Wichita voters decide Nov. 3 on a bond after a 2025 rejection
2008A bond pays for renovations at OK Elementary.
2025Voters reject a school bond by a thin margin.
Nov. 3Voters decide whether to approve the $615 million bond.
End of school yearL'Ouverture is set to close at the school year's end, regardless of the bond result.
Two Wichita food business owners are in ICE custody as supporters rally and a council member pushes back
If you're wondering about La Galette, the Delano bakery is staying open. Krista Attar says longtime employee Maria Esparza is picking up her husband Rob's kitchen duties, according to the Wichita Eagle.
Rob Attar was detained Thursday at his annual ICE check-in, and close to 75 people rallied outside the bakery Saturday. KAKE reports he pleaded guilty to 10 charges in a 2000 federal case; the Department of Homeland Security says he lost legal status because of his convictions.
Attar's case runs from a 2000 arrest to his detention last week
2000Attar is arrested on drug and gun charges.
Jan. 2001He is sentenced to six years in federal prison.
2004His attorney says he lost his green card.
Oct. 22ICE detains him at his annual check-in.
Oct. 24Close to 75 people rally outside La Galette.
Emergency motion asks that Attar stay 60 days while he tries to get his green card reinstated
Attar is in Oklahoma, his wife says
Family: wife Krista and two children, 11 and 14
Yessica Pena, who owns Lady Burritos, is held at the ICE detention center in Chase County with her mother, sister and brother. Councilman Joseph Shepard told KWCH the two owners weren't “the profile of the folks that we were told that federal agents were going after.” A GoFundMe for Pena's family has raised $12,174.
$12,174raised on GoFundMe for Pena's family as of Monday afternoon
Donations will help cover legal expenses and relocation costs, if necessary.
McPherson said goodbye to 6-year-old Cole Adrian, killed in the Stryker Sports Complex crash
McPherson schools closed Monday so students and staff could attend the funeral of 6-year-old Cole Adrian at McPherson Free Methodist Church. Cole and 35-year-old Nicholas Schafer were killed Oct. 17 when a pickup drove through a soccer field at Stryker Sports Complex in northeast Wichita. Ten other people were injured.
The Oct. 17 crash at Stryker killed two and hurt ten
2
people killed, including Cole and Nicholas Schafer
His father, Chris Adrian, the longtime Bullpups soccer coach, thanked the community for its support. He said Cole often called it the “best day ever,” the Guardian reports. A private graveside service followed.
Driver: a 34-year-old Garden City woman
Nicholas Schafer: 35, McPherson middle school teacher and soccer coach
Still pending: toxicology results and an exam of the truck
Cole was a kindergartner at Roosevelt Elementary, KNSS reports. The Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office has finished its initial review but hasn't made a charging decision.
The Stryker crash led to Monday's funeral for Cole
Oct. 17A pickup drives through a soccer field at Stryker Sports Complex.
Oct. 18The driver is released without charges pending investigation.
Oct. 26Funeral for Cole is held at McPherson Free Methodist Church.
A second Wichita State student was arrested on a rape count in two weeks, this time at a dorm
University police arrested James Vandenberg, 19, of Lenexa, Saturday at the Shocker Hall dorms. Sedgwick County booking records show he was booked on one count of rape. The New York Post reports he's a freshman; details about the alleged incident weren't available.
It's the second such arrest on campus in two weeks. On Oct. 12, 18-year-old Aaron Christian was arrested on charges of aggravated battery and rape, Fox News reports. A university spokesperson said the school “takes all reports of sexual assault seriously.”
Two arrests at Wichita State this month involve rape counts
Before October, last campus sexual assault allegation: Feb. 28 at The Flats
Feb. 18: sexual battery allegation at Shocker Studios
Wichita State has more than 18,000 students
KWCH reported Vandenberg was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail and held on a $100,000 bond. Fox News says he was released Sunday after securing a $100,000 surety bond. Christian was released the day after his arrest.
$100,000surety bond in each of the two arrests
Both men were released after posting it, Fox News reports.
A boil water advisory covers customers south of Kellogg in Sedgwick County Rural Water District 4
If you're a Sedgwick County Rural Water District 4 customer south of Kellogg, you're under a boil water advisory the Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued Monday. KAKE also reported the advisory. City of Wichita water customers aren't affected.
Boil water for one minute before drinking or preparing food, or use bottled water. To disinfect dishes, soak them at least one minute in clean tap water with 1 teaspoon of unscented household bleach per gallon.
Bathing: water generally doesn't need boiling; supervise children
A waterline break caused a loss of pressure, which can let chlorine levels drop and bacteria in. KDHE will rescind the order once tests come back clear.
Three numbers can answer your boil water questions
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Vance rallied for Marshall in Topeka, and Hamilton's bus tour stops in Wichita on Tuesday
If you're following the Senate race, Vice President JD Vance spoke Monday at HME Inc. in Topeka to boost Sen. Roger Marshall. He told undecided voters “gas prices are too high,” while Marshall tied his Democratic opponent, Adam Hamilton, to Chuck Schumer. Hamilton has said he wouldn't support Schumer for a leadership position.
Hamilton is on a 10-day bus tour of more than 20 Kansas communities. KSN reports his Tuesday stops are Wichita, Emporia and Kansas City. He says that when Trump and Vance show up, “it actually helps me.”
Visits and stops stack up in the final week before Nov. 3
Oct. 19Trump rallies for Marshall in Park City.
Oct. 26Vance speaks at HME Inc. in Topeka.
Oct. 27Hamilton's bus tour is set to stop in Wichita, Emporia and Kansas City.
A 74-year-old Udall man died after a Cowley County crash, and a Wichita driver was cited
Amel “Royce” Dockins, 74, of Udall, died at 1 a.m. Oct. 24 after a crash at 202nd Road and 31st Road in rural Cowley County, the Wichita Eagle reports. Deputies were dispatched at 7:19 p.m. Friday, about eight-and-a-half miles southwest of Winfield.
The sheriff's office says the 22-year-old Wichita man, driving a 2011 Ford Fusion, failed to stop at a stop sign and hit Dockins' Chrysler Voyager. KAKE reports the same cause.
Dockins' van: 2021 Chrysler Voyager, going west on 202nd
Fusion: going northbound on 31st
Dockins and the woman were taken to Wesley Medical Center
A fundraiser started by a family friend says Dockins and his wife were “like parents to many of their children’s friends.” Cowley County inmate records did not show the driver was arrested.
The crash happened on a rural road southwest of Winfield
League 42 founder Bob Lutz says he'll step down after another 14 months
If you know League 42, change is coming. Founder Bob Lutz announced Monday that he'll stay on another 14 months, and KAKE reports he'll leave his executive director job at the end of the 2027 season.
League 42 is a youth baseball club that uses community donations to pay for uniforms and equipment for every player. Lutz says nearly 3,000 kids have played, and he credited the group for McAdams Park improvements, including a renovated rec center.
League 42 has reached nearly 3,000 kids and has a budget nearing $500,000
Wichita State men's basketball has 12 national TV games, including USC, Kentucky and Kansas State
If you plan to watch the Shockers, Wichita State has 12 nationally televised games in 2026-27, including nonconference matchups against USC, Kentucky and Kansas State. ESPN2 will carry at least six, with as many as eight possible.
Three nonconference games headline Wichita State's national TV slate
Wichita State opens Wed., Nov. 4, against CSUN at 6:30 p.m. at Koch Arena, and KSN reports the schedule has 19 games there.
Some single-game tickets on sale now start at $25
General admission: as low as $15, on sale a week before each game
Ticket office: Mon.–Fri., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Koch Arena
The Nov. 27 game at Kentucky will be the first regular-season meeting between the programs, which met in NCAA Tournament games in 2014 and 2017. Wichita State went 24-12 last season and was picked to win the American in the preseason coaches poll.
The Shockers' season brings TV, home games and a ticket range
Early in-person voting expands Tuesday in Sedgwick County, with 17 satellite sites open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. KSN lists every site. KSN.com
Foster care
Sedgwick County Commissioner Ryan Baty told a Rotary Club of Wichita panel that 1,506 children are in out-of-home placements. The panel pointed to ways to help, including foster parenting, respite care and mentoring. KAKE
Chapin Park
Safe Streets Wichita says clearing the Chapin Park encampment on Oct. 13 makes it harder to deliver aid such as Naloxone. “That’s not a solution,” outreach coordinator Cat Butler said. KWCH
GreenAcres
Two of Wichita's three GreenAcres Market stores have permanently closed. The Bradley Fair store at 21st and Rock Road will remain open. Wichita Eagle
Restaurant move
Puerto Vallarta Mexican Restaurant is closed this week while it moves from 602 N. Tyler to 756 N. Tyler. Owner Pedro Guevara hopes to reopen next Monday or Tuesday with a second menu of American dishes. Wichita Eagle
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Foster care placements in Sedgwick County have grown by half in a decade
1,506
children in out-of-home placements in the county
50%
increase in placements over the past decade
70%
of children in care will face criminal justice, Baty said
The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own.
— Benjamin Disraeli
🛍️The Buy
🗒️Around Kansas · More
Sternberg Museum
Fort Hays State said Monday the Sternberg Museum is staying open after a donation match helped meet a $1 million fundraising goal. Changes are coming to keep it open long term, and many of its rattlesnakes will go to Arizona. KSN.com
Fact check
Marshall says Adam Hamilton is the reason the Methodist church split, but ordained United Methodist elder Laura Wittman says, “I don't think he had a big role in disaffiliation,” Kansas Public Radio reports. Around a fourth of churches left the denomination between 2019 and 2024. Kansas Public Radio
7,500churches left the United Methodist Church between 2019 and 2024
Those churches were primarily in the more conservative camp, and many joined the newly formed Global Methodist Church.
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👋The Wrap
Calling all amateur sleuths: the Wichita Art Museum has a cold case, and solving it is free. On Fri., Oct. 30, from 6 to 8 p.m., you'll get a brief from a museum inspector in the Boeing Foyer, hunt for clues in the Art Garden and galleries, then build a working theory in PLAY. Solve it for Museum Store prizes and a chance at a WAM Household Plus Membership.
WICHITA, Kan. (TELEMUNDO KANSAS) – A continuación, le presentamos el breve informativo Noticiero Telemundo Kansas con cobertura continua. Para más noticias locales, internacionales y del tiempo, recuerde acudir a nuestras plataformas de redes sociales y sintonizarnos siempre en Noticiero Telemundo Kansas. Arranca Noticias Telemundo Kansas a las 5 PM y a las 10 PM
By Tim Everson It may seem a little earlier than usual, but Kansas State women’s basketball kicks off its 59th season Monday evening when in-state foe Wichita State comes to Manhattan. Led by seniors Taryn Sides and Nastja Claessens, the Wildcats start their journey towards a return to the NCAA Tournament after ending last season
