Jul. 27—The Abilene City Commission met Monday afternoon for a regular city meeting. The commission voted on three items, held a public hearing for the condemnation of the property at 413 W. 1st St., and discussed the 2023 city budget.

First, the commission approved the boundary resolution, In September of 2021, Kansas Department of Transportation requested an updated boundary resolution, said Ron March, city manager. Marsh said city staff hired Olsson Associates, the city's engineers, to create the new city limits description and map since the city's boundaries have not been updated since 2007. The survey for the boundary cost the city $6,400.

Second, the commissioners approved the hiring of Olsson Associates to design and manage the City Connecting Link Improvement Program through KDOT. The city will be making improvements on Buckeye Ave from 6th Street to the railroad tracks through two projects, Marsh said. With KDOT funding 90 percent each project, Marsh said, each project will cost around $300,000.

The commission then held a public hearing to hear comments on why the house at 413 W. 1st St. should not be condemned. According to the agenda item document, the property has received complaints about the run-down condition of the home. The agenda reads city staff believes the owner, Michael McAlpine, is physically unable or unwilling to repair the home. The structure is in disrepair, as anything can enter the house due to the back end being nonexistent, said Travis Steerman, city inspector. Steerman said he found several other issues with the structure. The commission approved the public hearing in the June 14 city meeting. No one made public comments. The commissioners then approved a resolution labeling the house as unsafe. The estimated cost for the city to demolition the house is $8,000.

City staff then heard questions and comments from the city commission about the 2023 budget.

Lastly, Marsh then gave a city manager report. Joe Hawk, Public Works Department's utilities supervisor, has been certified as a commercial driver's license trainer. Marsh said his certification will allow new city staff to stay in town for training and not travel elsewhere. The Public Works Department is in the middle of replacing fire hydrants. The department also received a solid waste management grant from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The estimated cost of a new wood chipper is $67,723, and the grant will cover $49,005. The department purchased their current wood chipper in 1997. The Fire Department and Abilene School District will meet to discuss "proactive involvement for school safety," Marsh said.

The Abilene Commission will meet next August 1 at 4 p.m. for a study session.

For once, Mitch McConnell was the one who got double-crossed.

“If Donald Trump is watching, just let him know we didn’t come up with that number. That’s what the poll said,” co-host Brian Kilmeade told viewers.

A horrific video posted online on Thursday appears to show a Ukrainian prisoner of war being castrated by his Russian captors.

Senate Republicans approved a semiconductor bill on Wednesday they had vowed to stop if Biden's agenda was revived. It came alive hours later.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said that he did not remember talking to former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson on Jan. 6, 2021, about the prospect of former President Trump going to the Capitol that day as Congress certified the 2020 Electoral College results. “I don’t recall talking to her that day,” McCarthy said…

Jabin Botsford/Pool via ReutersFor years, Democrats have watched Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell deploy ultra-partisan legislative tactics to outmaneuver them on everything from fiscal cliff negotiations to filling a Supreme Court seat.But this week, Senate Republicans may have gotten a taste of their own medicine—and it didn’t go down smoothly.On Wednesday, McConnell and 13 Republicans joined with all Democrats to pass a sweeping bill investing in U.S. high-tech manufacturing, a major

Americans reacted in June to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that established a constitutional right to abortion access. In the court’s ruling, telegraphed in a rare court leak, Republican-appointed judges voted 5-4 to overturn Roe v. Wade. Chief Justice John Roberts did not back using the latter decision to overturn Roe.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said in an interview on Thursday that he was “ostracized” and “victimized” after he poured cold water late last year on Democrats’ efforts to pass their major climate and social spending bill, the Build Back Better Act. In a radio interview with West Virginia’s “Talkline with Hoppy Kercheval,” the centrist Democrat…

Missing text messages for top Trump administration Homeland Security officials in the days surrounding Jan. 6, 2021, are raising new questions about why the agency’s watchdog did not alert officials to the potential destruction of records. According to a document obtained by the Project on Government Oversight, text messages for former acting Homeland Security Secretary…

Jared Kushner in his upcoming book described Steve Bannon as "toxic" and a constant source of problems.

After Justice Alito joked about world leaders' reaction to overturning Roe v. Wade, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said SCOTUS has a "legitimacy crisis"

Jared Kushner, former President Trump’s son-in-law and a top White House adviser in his administration, claims in a new book that Trump’s chief of staff John Kelly once shoved his wife, Ivanka Trump, after a tense Oval Office meeting. According to an excerpt of “Breaking History: A White House Memoir” obtained by The Washington Post,…

ROMAN PETRENKO - FRIDAY, 29 JULY 2022, 13:03 Units of the Azov Regiment announced a hunt for all those involved in the mass murder of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Olenivka on 29 July. Source: Andriy Biletskyi, founder of the Azov Regiment and leader of the National Corps party, on Telegram Quote from Biletskyi: "Regarding the attack on the [penal] colony in Olenivka, where our comrades from "Azovstal" are located: last night, the Russians killed some of the captured "Azov" fighters.

Larry Summers, former treasury secretary and well-known Biden critic, is reportedly behind Manchin’s switch.

Former President Donald Trump filed a preliminary statement Thursday, claiming absolute immunity to all civil lawsuits against him regarding his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

The phones of Homeland Security leaders Chad Wolf and Ken Cuccinelli reportedly were wiped, much like those of Trump's Secret Service agents.

At the LIV Golf Invitational tournament at Trump's Bedminster, N.J., course, the seal has been widely visible, which could be a violation of federal law.

(Bloomberg) -- Senator Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat at the center of negotiations over an economic-policy bill, said he opposes changes to the state and local tax deduction, dealing a blow to House Democrats seeking to expand the writeoff.Most Read from BloombergRockstar Games Cleaned Up Its Frat-Boy Culture — and Grand Theft Auto, TooUS Economy Shrinks for a Second Quarter, Fueling Recession FearsBiden, Xi Plan In-Person Meet as Taiwan Tensions IntensifyThe Strong Dollar Is Wreaking

Readers share their views on a proposed fake lighthouse in Martin County; voting out those who pose a threat to social justice; and abortion laws

Democrats are racing to send the $740 billion climate and healthcare bill to Biden's desk within two weeks.