33 Kansas Counties Now Eligible for Federal Disaster Relief
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Fifteen more Kansas counties have been added to the list of counties eligible for emergency disaster assistance. Governor Laura Kelly announced Saturday that 33 of the state's 105 counties are covered by the federal declaration in response to damage from recent tornadoes. The designation makes the counties eligible for federal support and resources in addition to state and local help to rebuild from the storm damage. Counties added to federal list include Allen, Doniphan, Dickinson, Douglas, Geary, Jefferson, Leavenworth, Linn, Lyon, Marshall, Morris, Pottawatomie, Riley, Salina and Wabaunsee. The 18 counties included in the original federal declaration were Anderson, Butler, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Coffey, Cowley, Crawford, Elk, Franklin, Greenwood, Harvey, Montgomery, Neosho, Osage, Reno, Sumner, Wilson and Woodson.
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Commission Reduces Insurance Rates for Some State Employees
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Most Kansas state employees will be getting a break on health insurance rates after years of significant increases. The Kansas Employees Health Care Commission voted Monday to reduce state employees' rates 6 percent or keep reductions flat, while the state increases payments by 4.5%. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the vote reverses a five-year trend that saw some state employees' health insurance premiums increase by 115.5%. The commission approved a 6 percent reduction for plans that include spouses, families and retirees. Increases for other plans will stay flat. During the last five years, insurance fund reserves dropped from $195 million in 2014 to a low of $24 million in 2017. Under the changes adopted Monday, the reserve balance is expected to increase from $48 million to $52 million next year.
(– earlier reporting –)
Gov. Kelly Supports Changes in State Employee Insurance
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Laura Kelly's administration is considering changes — and possible reductions — in health insurance premiums for state employees, who faced premium increases of more than 30% for three consecutive years under Republican Gov. Sam Brownback's administration. At the same time that employees' health care premiums were increasing, the state reduced its contribution to the state employee health insurance fund to cover shortfalls in the state budget, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported . During the past five years, premium payments by state employees with policies that included spouse or family ballooned 115.5% — 36.7% in 2016, 30.4% in 2017, 31.7% in 2018 and 16.7% in 2019. Premium increases for state retirees in the health insurance system went up 74.1%. On Monday, the Kansas State Employees Health Care Commission will consider premium adjustments for 2020 that include up to a 6% rate reduction for participants with plans that include a spouse or family. Options for employee-only plans range from no increase to a 3.5% reduction. At the same time, the state employer contribution to the fund could increase 3.5% to 7%. State Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt, a Republican who was elected in November, said she was shocked by the insurance premium numbers in the last five years. Sarah LaFrenz, president of the Kansas Organization of State Employees, said 7,300 Kansas employees in 300 job classifications represented by her organization were severely impacted by health insurance decisions in the Brownback era. Rep. Tom Cox, a Shawnee Republican and vice chairman of the House Insurance Committee, said masking state budget cuts by raising premiums was "bad public policy." The idea of raising state insurance contributions and reducing employee insurance rates should be considered but the cost has to be considered.
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Kansas Collected $77 Million More in Taxes in May than Anticipated
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas reports it collected $77 million more in taxes than expected in May. The state Department of Revenue said Monday that Kansas collected $563 million in taxes last month when it anticipated $486 million. The surplus was 15.9 percent. Tax collections for the budget year that began in July 2018 were nearly $6.7 billion, or $158 million more than anticipated, for a 2.4 percent surplus. And that's after officials issued a more optimistic fiscal forecast in mid-April. Kansas's tax collections have exceeded expectations 23 of the past 24 months since legislators in 2017 repealed past income tax cuts championed by then-Republican Gov. Sam Brownback. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has vetoed two tax relief plans from GOP lawmakers since taking office in January, saying the measures would undermine the state's finances.
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Kansas Man Dies After He was Pinned Under ATV on Flooded Road
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Reno County authorities say a rural Hutchinson man died after he was pinned beneath an ATV on a road that was washed out by flood waters. The sheriff's office said a motorist on Saturday reported seeing an empty ATV in the middle of the flooded street. Deputies found Brian Sollers face down in the water Saturday afternoon. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. Authorities say the road was closed because of flooding but there were no signs on one side of the washout.
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Newspaper: Ex-Kansas Commerce Chief Linked to Data Transfer
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A newspaper report says a former Kansas commerce secretary participated in transferring state data to a private company with ties to him while in office. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that it used state documents and interviews to link ex-Secretary Antonio Soave to the transfer of state files containing contact, personnel and financial data on more than 10,000 businesses. The newspaper said data went from Soave's special assistant at the Department of Commerce to an employee of the Capistrano Global Advisory Services business consulting firm in Overland Park. Soave was CEO before and after serving as commerce secretary.
Soave was secretary under Republican Governor Sam Brownback from December 2015 until June 2017. Brownback fired him. Soave didn't answer a Facebook message seeking comment and telephone listings for him had were disconnected.
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Report: Spring Planting Far Behind in Kansas Amid Storms
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The latest government report shows just how far behind Kansas growers are in planting their crops amid all the rain and flooding in the state. The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Monday that 26% of the soybeans have been planted. Normally by this late in the season about 53% on average would be seeded by now. Just 8% of the state's sorghum crop has been planted, well behind the 26% average. Corn planting is going slower than usual with 79% seeded, compared to the 93% average for this time. Even winter wheat planted last fall is maturing slower. About 16% of the wheat is coloring, well behind the 48% average for this time. Wheat condition is rated as 13% poor to very poor, 30% fair and 57% good to excellent.
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Woman, 2-Year-Old Boy Injured in Shooting at Birthday Party
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A young pregnant woman and her 2-year-old son were hospitalized after being wounded when gunfire erupted at a family birthday party in Kansas City, Kansas. Police say the shooting was reported late Saturday in the city's Armourdale community. The injured woman and child were in an upstairs bedroom when they were shot from outside the home. The woman lived at the house. The Kansas City Star reports family members said more than 20 relatives, including several children, were in the back yard of a house when an altercation started in a nearby alley. They say when shots rang out, everybody ran inside the house. Family members said they don't know if anyone from the party was involved in the altercation. They said the wounded victims' conditions were improving Sunday.
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Kansas Highway Patrol: 2 Killed in Head-On Crash
PARSONS, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Highway Patrol says two people have died in a head-on crash involving a semitrailer in southeastern Kansas. Television station KAKE reports the crash happened around 4:30 p.m. Friday when a westbound pickup truck crossed the center line of a rural highway just west of Parsons and hit a semitrailer head-on. The crash resulted in the vehicles erupting in flames. The patrol says the crash killed 39-year-old pickup driver Steven Bradford, of Jetmore, and the semi driver, 53-year-old Harry Pierce, of Torrington, Wyoming. The fiery crash shut down the highway until early Saturday morning. Authorities continue to investigate.
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Man Dead After Shooting in Downtown Wichita
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police say they have made an arrest in the case of the fatal shooting in downtown Wichita this weekend. Wichita police said in a news release Monday that they have arrested a 34-year-old Wichita man on suspicion of first-degree murder. The investigation is ongoing and the case will be presented to the Sedgwick County. KSNW-TV reports that that Police spokesman Charley Davidson says that officers responded to a shooting call shortly after midnight Sunday. When they arrived, officers found 29-year-old Ivell Ray of Wichita with multiple gunshot wounds. Ray died at the scene. Police say the investigation revealed Ray and the suspect had a disturbance in the street and the suspect fired a handgun multiple times, striking Ray.
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Ex-Kansas Band Teacher Pleads Guilty in Student Sex Case
WELLINGTON, Kan. (AP) — A former south-central Kansas band instructor has pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child. The Wichita Eagle reports that 30-year-old Benjamin Olson entered the plea Thursday in Sumner County District Court. As part of the plea, Olson admitted to having a nude photo of a 17-year-old girl. In exchange, prosecutors dropped four other felony counts in the case. Prosecutors will recommend Olson serve 16 months in prison when he's sentenced July 25. Olson was arrested in March. Police say he asked for nude photos and video from a student, of sending the student sexually explicit texts and fondling the girl. Olson had been the band teacher for the middle school and high school at Wellington since 2015.
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Director Says Topeka Should Discuss Privatizing City's Zoo
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Topeka Zoo's director says city officials should discuss turning its operations over to a private, nonprofit group. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Director Brendan Riley says having Friends of the Topeka Zoo oversee operations would allow the zoo to grow without risking higher property taxes. Mayor Michelle De La Isla and the City Council plan to hear a presentation Tuesday on privatizing the zoo. De La Isla said during a news conference last week that she's not necessarily opposed to the idea but any action has to been well thought out. The city has operated the zoo in largest park since the 1930s and is responsible for staffing and day-to-day operations. The Friends group formed in 1964. It provides support for the zoo and handles fundraising for major projects.
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McCurdy Auction Set to Sell Wichita Home for the Homeless
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — McCurdy Auction is preparing to sell to a house that a Wichita man willed to the Union Rescue Mission in 2018 before he died. The Wichita Eagle reports that McCurdy will sell Amin L. Brandhorst's four-bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house to the highest bidder on Saturday. All of the profits will be given to the Union Rescue Mission, an evangelical Christian ministry, to help the charity continue its work helping house homeless men. The house will be available for visits for one hour before the auction and will be shown to prospective buyers by appointment. The Sedgwick County Appraiser's Office shows the house is worth at least $114,100. But it will be sold at what's denoted as an absolute auction, which means there is no established minimum bid or reserve price.
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Slain Sedgwick County Deputy to Receive National Award
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Sedgwick County sheriff's deputy who was killed in the line of duty will receive a national award from the National Sheriffs' Association this summer. Deputy Robert Kunze III will be honored with the Charles "Bud" Meeks Award Deputy Sheriff of the year for Valor. His family will receive the award for him on June 17 in Louisville, Kentucky, at the association's annual conference. Kunze was fatally shot on Sept. 16, 2018, while trying to handcuff a man on suspicion of vehicle theft about 20 miles west of downtown Wichita. Before he died, Kunze shot and killed his attacker, 29-year-old Robert Greeson, likely saving the lives of two witnesses hiding nearby.
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Survey Suggests Midwest Slowdown of Economic Growth
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new report says a May survey of business supply managers suggests economic growth will slow over the next three to six months in nine Midwest and Plains states. The report issued Monday says the Mid-America Business Conditions Index dropped to 54.3 last month from 55.9 in April. The figure was 58.2 in March. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says tariffs and flooding have harmed several states. The survey results are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth. A score below that suggests decline. The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
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