Furloughed Federal Workers Can Seek Unemployment Benefits
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Department of Labor is recommending that federal employees who are furloughed because of the partial government shutdown should apply for unemployment benefits. The department said in a news release Thursday that unemployment insurance was created to help people who are not working through no fault of their own. Federal employees in Kansas can apply for benefits by calling a contact center at 1-800-292-6333. Applicants will need to provide wage verification, such as pay stubs or W-2 forms. Federal employees who are working full time but not being paid are not eligible for unemployment benefits. The law requires anyone receiving back pay to repay any jobless benefits they received.
click here to connect with the Office of Personnel Management's shutdown furlough guidance
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Kelly Pleads for Bi-Partisan Cooperation in State of the State Address
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Newly inaugurated Democratic Governor Laura Kelly laid out an ambitious agenda last (WED) night during her first State of the State address. But fulfilling that agenda depends on whether Republicans answer the governor’s call for bipartisanship. Governor Kelly urged Republicans and Democrats to team up. She asked lawmakers to work with her to expand Medicaid, end the legal battle over school funding and repair the lingering damage she says was done by former Republican Governor Sam Brownback’s tax cuts. In the Republican response, Senate President Susan Wagle said the GOP-controlled Legislature is willing to work with the new governor but Republican leaders show no signs of ending their opposition to Medicaid expansion or agreeing to the funding increase that Kelly wants for public schools.
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Kelly Pitch on Medicaid Expansion Doesn't Move GOP Leaders
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Democratic Governor Laura Kelly's pitch to expand Medicaid in Kansas to cover up to 150,000 more people has not moved Republican leaders opposed to the idea. Kelly spent nearly six minutes of her 37-minute State of the State address Wednesday night attempting to make a case that expanding Medicaid will help Kansas families and rural hospitals and communities. She promised to have a plan drafted before the end of January. But top Republican lawmakers said nothing in her speech made them rethink their opposition. They continue to view Medicaid expansion as too costly to the state, even after the federal government covers the bulk of the expense. Past GOP governors opposed expansion. About three dozen pro-expansion demonstrators stood outside the House chamber before Kelly's speech, waving signs.
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Kelly Embraces $364M Schools Plan, Warns Against Tax Changes
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Governor Laura Kelly's proposed budget embraces a proposal to phase in a $364 million increase in funding for public schools over four years. The Democratic governor also proposed Thursday to spend $14 million during the budget year beginning in July to expand the state's Medicaid health coverage for the needy. As Kelly outlined her budget proposals to legislators, she warned against pursing changes in tax laws. Income tax relief is a top priority for Republican leaders. The education proposal is the State Board of Education's plan for complying with a Kansas Supreme Court order last year. Kelly proposed lowering annual payments to pensions for teachers and government workers. She also would take three years to end an ongoing diversion of highway funds to general government programs.
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GOP Lawmakers Rip Kelly Plan on Kansas Pensions
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican lawmakers are strongly criticizing a proposal from Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly to reduce the state's annual payments to Kansas' public pension system. The plan is a key part of the budget proposals Kelly outlined Thursday for legislators. Kelly wants to increase spending on public schools, expand the state's Medicaid program and boost spending on services and social workers to help troubled families. A 2012 law committed the state to an aggressive schedule of increasing payments to pensions for teachers and government workers to close a long-term funding gap in the pension system by 2034. Kelly is proposing to revise the schedule so that the gap closes in 2049. GOP lawmakers said the state will not only put off closing the gap but increase its overall long-term costs.
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Kelly Names Kansas Lottery Attorney as Interim Director
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Governor Laura Kelly has named the Kansas Lottery's top attorney to serve as its interim executive director. The new Democratic governor announced Wednesday that Stephen Durrell will lead the agency. He has worked at the lottery since 2007, serving as its general counsel and an assistant Kansas attorney general assigned to the agency. Durrell also served previously as an assistant attorney general assigned to the state Racing and Gaming Commission. The lottery operates its games of chance and oversees four state-owned casinos through contracts with private management companies. Kelly's office said Durrell was involved in negotiating the existing contracts and drafted rules for the lottery's games. As interim director, he replaces Terry Presta, a former Kansas House member appointed to the job in 2013 by then-Republican Governor Sam Brownback.
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USDA to Open Offices to Help Farmers with Loans and Taxes
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Federal officials say 90 offices will be open in Kansas for three days to process loans and tax information for farmers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday that the offices will be open Thursday, Friday and Tuesday. The offices will be closed Monday on Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The opening is part of a national recall of 2,500 Farm Service Agency employees in response to the federal government partial shutdown. The USDA says the staff will help agriculture producers with existing farm loans and to ensure the agency provides 1099 tax documents to borrowers by the Internal Revenue Service's deadline. Some services won't be available, including paperwork for new loans or for new applications for the Market Facilitation Program.
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Lawsuit: Student Told Her Skin Was 'Too Dark' to Perform
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A black student has filed a lawsuit against a Kansas school district alleging she was prevented from performing with her high school's dance team after being told her skin was "too dark" and would clash with the color of the team's costumes. Camille Sturdivant also alleges she was subjected to racial discrimination and ostracized after she complained about how she was treated in the Blue Valley School District, The Kansas City Star reported. Sturdivant graduated in May 2018 from Blue Valley Northwest High School, where she was one of two black students on the 14-member Dazzlers dance team. The lawsuit alleges the team's choreographer made the comments about her dark skin in 2017, and that the team's coach was fired because of racial comments she made about Sturdivant in text messages with the choreographer. The Blue Valley school district released a statement Wednesday confirming that Sturdivant showed the principal the text messages and that the coach's employment ended the next day. The district didn't specifically address other allegations in the lawsuit, but said: "The District expects staff to treat all students with respect at all times, and any report that this expectation has not been fulfilled is taken very seriously." Sturdivant alleges she saw text messages between the two when she was given the coach's phone to play music for the team. The texts discussed how Sturdivant had been named to the Golden Girls dance team at the University of Missouri for the next year, with the coach and choreographer expressing distaste for the decision. The coach also used an expletive when saying she believed Sturdivant was chosen because she was black, according to the lawsuit. Sturdivant showed the texts to her parents, who showed them to the school's principal, Amy Pressly. The coach was fired the next day. The lawsuit alleges the coach was also told she could not be on school property or have contact with Sturdivant or any other member of the dance team, but that she was seen at the school and with members of the dance team several times. Sturdivant alleges her family was told the team banquet paid for by parents was canceled, but that she later learned the fired coach and all the other dancers ate together on the County Club Plaza on the same date as the canceled banquet. All the members of the dance team except Sturdivant and the other black member wore ribbons during their last performance with their former coach's initials, CL. The two black team members also were excluded from team photos taken after the event on school property, according to the lawsuit. Along with the school district, the lawsuit also names Pressly, the parent of another dancer on the team and a teacher. Sturdivant is seeking an unspecified amount in damages.
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Wichita Man Sentenced for Human Trafficking Operation
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 33-year-old Wichita man has been sentenced to 47.5 years in prison for human trafficking. Prosecutors say Christopher Reed used social media to sell drugs and promote prostitution. His youngest victim was 17. He was convicted in December of 19 crimes including rape, human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of a child. Evidence during this trial showed Reed used a vacant apartment in a Wichita building he owned to post photos of teenage runaways online and to force them to work in prostitution. District Attorney Marc Bennett said in a news release that Reed was on parole for voluntary manslaughter while he was trafficking teen girls and young women.
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Nurse Sentenced for Medicaid Fraud in 3 Kansas Counties
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A 57-year-old nurse has been sentenced to nearly two years in prison for Medicaid fraud and related charges in three Kansas counties. Kathleen Kleuskens, of Ogden, was sentenced Thursday in Pottawatomie County to 21 months in prison. Earlier this month, she was sentenced to 20 months in Clay County and 21 months in Geary County. The sentences will run concurrently. Prosecutors say Kleusken committed the crimes will working as a licensed practical nurse in nursing facilities in Clay Center, Junction City and Wamego. Investigators found Kleuskens forged prescriptions for opioids and intercepted delivery from pharmacies to nursing facilities, altered records to make it appear that nursing home residents were given opioids when they hadn't, altered medical records, forged signatures, and exploited internal procedures for discontinued prescriptions.
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Ex-Kansas Representative Yoder Joins Quayle's Son in DC Lobbying Firm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Kansas Congressman Kevin Yoder has joined a Washington lobbying firm in which one of former Vice President Dan Quayle's sons is a partner. HHQ Ventures announced Wednesday that the former Republican congressman from Kansas is now a partner in the firm. Another partner is Ben Quayle. He is the younger of the former vice president's two sons and a former GOP congressman from Arizona. Yoder represented the 3rd District of the Kansas City area from 2011 through 2018, losing his bid for a fifth term to Democrat Sharice Davids. Ben Quayle said Yoder's "deep knowledge of policy" will benefit the firm. Yoder is a former chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on homeland security.
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Authorities Seeking Information on Woman Missing Since 2017
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ The Kansas Bureau of Investigation and Lincoln County Sheriff's officers are asking the public for information about a woman who hasn't been seen since November 1, 2017. Authorities say a 39-year-old Glenna Bullard was last seen in Lincoln, Kansas. She was thought to be going to Texas but never contacted relatives in that state. She was traveling in a blue, single-cab pickup around the time of her disappearance. Bullard is a white female, 5-feet-11 inches tall, weighing about 180 pounds. She has brown hair and green eyes. Anyone with information about Bullard's disappearance should to contact the KBI at 1-800-KS-CRIME. Callers may remain anonymous.
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Student Sues Kansas School District over Alleged Racial Discrimination
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) - A black student is suing a Johnson County school district, alleging that she was told she couldn't perform with a school dance team during a school event because her skin was "too dark." Camille Sturdivant alleges in a lawsuit against the Blue Valley School District that she suffered racial discrimination and was ostracized from dance team events after she complained about how she was treated because of her race. Sturdivant graduated in May 2018 from Blue Valley Northwest High School, where she was one of two black students on the 14-member Dazzlers dance team. She also contends the dance team's coach was fired last year because of racial comments she made about Sturdivant. The school district said in a statement that it doesn't tolerate discrimination.
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Junction City Man to Stand Trial in Killing of Drug Informant
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) _ A judge has found sufficient evidence for a Junction City, Kansas man to stand trial in the killing of a confidential drug informant whose body was found by deer hunters. TheManhattan Mercury reports that Steven Meredith was bound over for trial Wednesday on charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the death of 48-year-old Carrie Jones. During the preliminary hearing, witnesses testified that Meredith believed Jones might reveal information about him and others in a 2013 drug-related case. One witness testified that Meredith told her that he and another man drove Jones to a field, forced her to get out of the vehicle and then shot her. He was arrested almost a year after her body was found in October 2017 in rural Riley County.
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Kansas Library Asked to Move Children's Books with Transgender Characters
ANDOVER, Kan. (AP) — Members of a central Kansas public library board are considering a request to move books that include transgender characters out of the children's section. Andover resident Marci Laffen said in a written request that the books "George," ''Lily and Dunkin," and "I am Jazz" should be moved to the library's adult section. She cited the "sexual content" of the books, along with issues such as bullying. Library board member Blake Cooper said that Laffen's written request referred to the books as part of a "sexual revolution agenda, indoctrination of children. About 55 people attended a board meeting in the Wichita suburb last week to discuss the issue. Library board members will meet next month to decide where the books should be shelved.
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2 Men Arrested After Incident at Home of Koch Family Member
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Two men were arrested after their car intentionally rammed a police car at the home of a member of the Charles Koch family. The incident happened Tuesday night at the home of Chase Koch, son of Wichita billionaire Charles Koch. Police spokesman Charley Davidson said in a new release that officers were called to the home after a car intentionally rammed a private security vehicle before driving through a closed security gate. The driver then hit a Wichita police car. The car became disabled after it hit a tree. The officer suffered minor injuries. No one at the home was endangered. Rob Carlton, a spokesman for Koch Industries, confirmed the incident happened but said the family would have no comment while it is being investigated.
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Medical Tech in Hepatitis C Outbreak Challenges Sentence
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A traveling hospital technician who was sentenced to nearly 40 years in prison for infecting patients in multiple states with hepatitis C through tainted syringes has asked a federal judge to vacate his sentence, saying his lawyer was ineffective in representing him. 39 year-old David Kwiatkowski was a cardiac technologist in 18 hospitals in seven states. He was sentenced in 2013 after admitting that he stole painkiller syringes from hospitals where he worked and replaced them with saline-filled syringes tainted with his own blood. Kwiatkowski had moved from job to job despite being fired at least four times over allegations of drug use and theft. When he was arrested, at least 46 people had been diagnosed with the same strain of hepatitis C he carried. Authorities said the disease played a role in a woman's death in Kansas. Kwiatkowski, who learned he had the disease in 2010, apologized to his victims at his sentencing, saying his crime was caused by an addiction to painkillers and alcohol.
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Ex-Teacher, Cop Sentenced to Probation for Sex with Student
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A former teacher and police officer has been sentenced to probation for having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student. The Wichita Eagle reports 45-year-old Johnny Yelverton was sentenced to three years of probation after the relationship with a Maize Career Academy student. He could be sentenced to 32 months in prison if he violates his probation. He also must register as a sex offender. Yelverton pleaded guilty in December to two counts of unlawful sexual relations. Court records indicate Yelverton and the girl had sex on and off the school campus between March and May in 2018. He taught fire science and law and public safety courses to Maize High School and Maize South High School students at the academy. He resigned shortly after he was arrested May 7.
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Driver of Farm Tractor Killed in Crash in Southeast Kansas
NIOTAZE, Kan. (AP) _ Authorities say a man was killed when a pickup truck rear-ended a farm tractor in southeast Kansas. The Kansas Highway Patrol identified the victim as 67-year-old Kenneth Sullivan, of Havana. He was driving the tractor when the truck crashed into it around 6 p.m. Wednesday on U.S. 166 about 3 miles east of the small town of Niotaze. The patrol says the truck's driver was taken to an Oklahoma hospital with an injury that was believed to be serious.
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Kansas City Zoo Penguin Hatched During Winter Blast Named “Blizzard”
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ The Kansas City Zoo has named a newly hatched king penguin Blizzard because it arrived amid a winter blast. The Kansas City Star reports that the chick emerged Sunday at the zoo's Helzberg Penguin Plaza, an indoor exhibit that allows visitors to observe the birds through glass. The hatching is the first of a king penguin egg laid at the zoo's $15 million exhibit since it opened in 2013. Another king penguin hatched at the zoo last year but it was from a surplus egg provided by the Saint Louis Zoo. It was incubated by zoo staff. Blizzard's parents took turns holding the egg under their bellies to keep it warm. Kings are the second-largest species of penguins, growing to be about 3 feet tall and weighing 30-45 pounds.
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Rural Bankers in 10 States Worry over Farm Loan Defaults
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A monthly survey of rural bankers in parts of 10 Plains and Western states suggests banks are growing increasingly concerned about farm loan defaults in 2019. More than 4 of every 10 bankers questioned for the Rural Mainstreet survey for January said they expect farm loan defaults to be the year's biggest challenge. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the survey, says their outlook is being negatively influenced by tariffs, trade tensions, weak commodity prices and the partial federal government shutdown. The survey's overall index dropped to 51.5 from December's 54.2. Any score above 50 suggests a growing economy in the months ahead, while a score below 50 indicates a shrinking economy. Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.
