Brownback Signs Medicaid Expansion Ban
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Governor Sam Brownback has indefinitely extended a ban on expanding Medicaid in Kansas under the federal health care overhaul. Brownback yesterday (FRI) signed a bill approved by the GOP-dominated Legislature to keep the ban in place. The governor and other Republicans have been strong critics of the 2010 federal health care law.
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Plane Crash Kills Former Legislator
HILLSBORO, Kan. (AP) — A former six-term Kansas House member who was appointed in December to the state's Supreme Court Nominating Commission has died in an ultralight plane crash near his hometown. The Kansas Highway Patrol reports 69-year-old Donald Dahl was flying at low altitude yesterday (FRI) when he ran into a tree branch 2 miles south of Hillsboro. The retired U.S. Navy officer served in the House as a Republican from 1997 through 2008, including the last two years as speaker pro tem.
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Salina Man Pleads Guilty to Murder
SALINA, Kan. (AP) — A 25-year-old Salina man has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in connection with the death of a 27-year-old woman last April. The Salina Journal reports Joel Heil entered his pleas yesterday (FRI) to the murder charge and attempted robbery for trying to steal purses from two women.