By Sherman Smith | editor-in-chief
Good morning! U.S. Senate candidate Adam Hamilton deployed his first ad for the general election, staking a claim to the middle ground while a PAC tries to paint him as a "woke megachurch pastor."
Today's column is from McPherson Police Chief Mikel Golden, who is writing about the burden of the mental health crisis on law enforcement.
We're also reporting on a new report that says the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan wasn't appropriately configured and isn't fully operational.
Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector
‘Smack dab in the middle:’ Kansas candidates for U.S. Senate stake out ground for general election
TOPEKA — From Lebanon, Kansas, the geographic center of the contiguous United States, the Rev. Adam Hamilton began his general election campaign for U.S. Senate.
Before launching on Tuesday his debut general election ad, Hamilton visited Lebanon, a physical embodiment of a campaign that hinges on “meeting in the middle.”
“Here in Kansas, we’re right smack dab in the middle of the country,” Hamilton says in the ad, which is scheduled to appear on TV markets in Wichita and Topeka. “The West Coast about 1,600 miles that way. The East Coast 1,100 miles that way. I’m Adam Hamilton, and here in Kansas, we’re proud of being in the middle politically, too. That puts us about a million miles away from the extreme politics of Washington that are tearing us apart and driving up prices.”
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OPINION
We cannot arrest our way out of a mental health crisis, in Kansas or elsewhere
By Mikel Golden
For far too long, one of the greatest frustrations in law enforcement has been that we are often called because someone in our community is experiencing a substance use or mental health crisis and needs help that we aren’t trained or equipped to provide.
Every police officer I know has been through this. Law enforcement responding to people with untreated mental illness or addiction consumes enormous public resources and does little to help with the crisis or the underlying problem.
National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility
Manhattan’s $1.25 billion animal disease research facility not fully operational, report says
TOPEKA — The $1.25 billion biocontainment facility in Manhattan developed for cutting-edge research on the most dangerous animal diseases is not fully operational three years after its ribbon-cutting, a federal report determined.
The Office of Inspector General published a July report stating the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility isn’t able to perform the high-level animal disease science it was designed for.
The facility wasn’t appropriately configured by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the report said.
Kansas Legislature scraps $288,000 contract with company linking lawmakers to constituents
TOPEKA — The bipartisan leadership of the Kansas Legislature ordered cancellation of a contract with a company that offered lawmakers a software service to manage relationships with constituents.
Violent crime in US fell at record pace in 2025
Violent crime in the United States fell by an estimated 9.3% in 2025, marking the largest year-to-year decline in the national violent crime rate since the FBI began estimating crime in 1936, according to new national data.
Trump’s ballroom ‘illegal’ without congressional approval, high court told
WASHINGTON — Historic preservationists asked the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday to deny President Donald Trump’s appeal to continue construction on his $400 million White House ballroom on the grounds of the demolished East Wing.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Kansas Reflector staff will participate in the following free public forums.
3 p.m. Sept. 26, Washburn Library in Topeka. Opinion editor Clay Wirestone will participate in the panel “Why UPK: University Press of Kansas Celebrates 80 Years.” Host: Kansas Book Festival.
2 p.m. Sept. 27, Red Rocks Visitor Center in Emporia. Host: Red Rocks.
7 p.m. Sept. 29, Raven Book Store in Lawrence. Book release event for opinion editor Clay Wirestone’s “Opinionated.” Editor-in-chief Sherman Smith will moderate.
6 p.m. Oct. 12, Riverbank Brewing in Council Grove. Opinion editor Clay Wirestone talks about his book and the latest news. Host: Flint Hills Books.
6 p.m. Dec. 3, Prairie Star Restaurant in Manhattan. Host: League of Women Voters of Manhattan and Riley County.
If you're interested in having us talk in your town, email Sherman Smith at [email protected].
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