HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Hutchinson residents may soon be able to vote on a sales tax proposal that would help fund a $29 million expansion of the city’s 62-year-old sports arena.

A committee of community leaders asked the City Council on Tuesday to put the tax increase up for a public vote in April.

The council didn’t vote on the request but will discuss it at least one more time in January. The Hutchinson News reports the council agreed to let city staff begin drafting a ballot resolution for the group’s consideration.

The proposed renovations would be financed largely by a 0.35 to 0.4 percent increase in the city’s sales tax for about 10 years, or until bonds are paid off. A 0.35 percent increase is expected to generate more than $3 million a year.

JULIE PACE, Associated Press

MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says the U.S. will end its outdated approach to Cuba that has failed to advance U.S. interests.

Obama is announcing Wednesday that the U.S. and Cuba have agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations and open economic and travel ties.

Obama says the U.S. is changing its relationship with Cuba. He says it’s the most significant change in U.S. policy toward Cuba in more than 50 years.

Obama says the U.S. will now begin to normalize its relations with Cuba and begin a new chapter. He says the U.S. intends to create more opportunities for Americans and Cubans to work together.

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JULIE PACE, Associated Press
MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has spoken to Cuban President Raul Castro about normalizing full diplomatic relations between the longtime foes.

Senior administration officials say the two leaders spoke by phone Tuesday for more than 45 minutes. It’s the first substantive conversation between U.S. and Cuban leaders since 1961.

The call follows more than a year of secret discussions between the U.S. and Cuban officials. The talks happened in Canada and the Vatican and included personal involvement by Pope Francis.

Obama will discuss the opening of relations with Cuba from the White House Wednesday. The officials insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly ahead of Obama’s announcement.

PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Shadowy outside groups ran an estimated $25 million in ads to shape state-level elections this year, and their full roster of donors is unlikely to ever be known.

That’s according to an analysis released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Center for Public Integrity.

While that advertising spending is a small slice of the $850 million spent in statewide races, the amount is still almost twice what outside groups shelled out during the last midterm elections in 2010.

Mysterious groups also ran twice as many ads as they did in 2010, the first election after the Supreme Court cleared the way for the ultra-rich, corporations and unions to quietly bankroll campaigns through anonymous groups.

The state that saw the most ads from opaque groups was Kansas, where Republican Gov. Sam Brownback prevailed in an uphill contest with Democrat Paul Davis. The state saw a total of 34,300 ads through Election Day on Nov. 4. Of those, 11,328 were from nonprofits whose finances can be shielded for years, if not forever.

One of the most prominent outside nonprofits in Kansas was the Alliance for a Free Society. The group incorporated in Delaware in July, meaning its tax disclosures will not be available until 2015 or later. And there’s no telling whether those documents will include the patrons or a list of other similarly vaguely named groups.

DORAL, Fla. (AP) — In one of its famous red kettles in South Florida, the Salvation Army has received a gift worth more than a little bit of change: an emerald and diamond necklace.

On Tuesday afternoon, the agency received a call directing bell ringers to check a kettle in Doral, a Miami suburb. There, a worker found the necklace and a note telling the group to keep up the good work.

The Miami Herald reports that it’s the fifth consecutive year the organization’s Miami-Dade chapter has received an unusual gift around the holidays. It always comes with a similar note and a phone call from a woman.

Judith Mori of the Salvation Army says the necklace is appraised at $1,340. Previously, the gifts have been a gold nugget, $1,000 and two diamond rings.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The future of Heartland Park Topeka will be in limbo until at least early next year.

The Topeka City Council learned Tuesday that the city staff isn’t expected to recommend a prospective buyer for the racing venue until Jan. 6.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reported  the city had announced Monday that it received four proposals to operate the park.

The city voted in August to authorize the purchase of Heartland Park, although it does not intend to run the racetrack.

A subsequent petition drive gained enough signatures to put the matter up for a citywide vote. But the city filed a lawsuit and a Shawnee County judge ruled last month that the petition drive was invalid. That ruling was appealed and is awaiting further court action.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) supported a short term tax extenders package, approved by the Senate late Tuesday night, that will benefit small business owners, teachers, farmers and ranchers and families with disabled children. The bill now goes to the President to be signed into law.

“While I prefer to provide tax policy with long term certainty, I will not vote to penalize all of the Kansans who rely on these tax provisions and need them extended. I supported the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 to continue tax relief for teachers, small businesses, farmers and ranchers and others.” Roberts said. “I was especially glad to see that we were able to pass legislation I supported called the ABLE Act. It encourages savings for the care and future needs of disabled children — much like we encourage families to save for higher education.”

Senator Roberts, a senior member of the Senate Committee on Finance, which has jurisdiction on taxes, fought to secure the following provisions for Kansas families and businesses:

deductions for teachers who purchase school supplies with their own money;
help for homeowners who have defaulted on a mortgage or face financial hardship;
deductions for college tuition and expenses;
special depreciation and expensing rules that are important to the agricultural and small business sectors;
and, long term extension of legislation Roberts pushed to make sure smaller businesses are able to access the capital they need to grow and hire new employees.