More Brutally Cold Weather for Kansas
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - It remains brutally cold in Kansas, but some relief is on the way. That's according to Brandon Drake, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. "Tuesday morning will be the last, official, bitterly cold morning with dangerous wind chills," he said. "Still gonna' be cold into Wednesday morning but that will be at least manageable." This brutally cold weather is not normal for Kansas, even during the cold winter month of January. "Our normal high temperature for Lawrence (this time of year) is 40 degrees," Drake said. "And then our low temperature is typically 18 degrees. So, you know, we're well below that." The current cold snap is colder by almost 30 degrees from the average January day in Kansas.
A Wind Chill Warning remains in effect for eastern Kansas until noon Tuesday. Snow is likely by Monday afternoon, with accumulation around an inch. Wind chill values will be as low as 22 below.
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Missouri Health Officials: Measles Exposure at KCI
KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) - Health officials in Missouri are trying to notify the public about a possible measles exposure at Kansas City International Airport. According to KCTV, the Clay County Public Health Center says a Liberty, Missouri, resident (who has tested positive for measles) was at KCI's Terminal B on January 4 and then at Kansas City North Hospital on January 5th and 6th.
This means anyone who was in Terminal B, the general concourse or the baggage claim area on the evening of January 4 could be at risk of contracting measles. In addition, anyone who was at North Kansas City Hospital's Emergency Department in the waiting area and patient processing area on January 5th could be at risk.
Measles is highly contagious. The disease in this country used to be fairly common but it was thought to have been largely eradicated by the consistent use of modern vaccines, like the MMR vaccine. Health officials say people who are up to date on their MMR vaccines have a very low risk of getting sick. The best way to prevent measles is to get an MMR vaccine, which is designed to prevent measles, mumps and rubella.
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Boil Water Advisories Issued for Topeka, Muscotah and Belvue
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - Kansas health officials have issued a Boil Water Advisory - until further notice - for the city of Topeka. The advisory was issued Sunday morning after low chlorine levels were detected at the water treatment plant. Meanwhile, two other communities in northeast Kansas are also under boil water advisories: the city of Muscotah, in Atchison County, and the city of Belvue, in Pottawatomie County.
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Kansas Governor Hopes to Reduce Child Care Red Tape
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) – Governor Laura Kelly wants to remove what she calls “red tape” that can make it difficult to open new child care centers. Kansas Public Radio reports that the state has a major shortage of daycare openings. As it stands, the governor says navigating the state’s child care services is too complicated and creates a hurdle for people wanting to open child care centers. “Right now, if a daycare center wants to set up shop, it must work with one state agency to get licensed, another to receive workforce support and a third to get funding,” Kelly said. In an effort to streamline the process, Kelly wants to consolidate all of those services under a new agency called the Office of Early Childhood. The governor also wants to put more than $56 million toward building new child care centers and helping existing ones stay open. (Read more.)
(– Related –)
Kansas Governor's Proposed Budget Includes Millions for Child Care
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Kansas families would have more options for child care and early education under a plan from Kansas Democratic Governor Laura Kelly. She wants to include $56 million for the programs in the next state budget. Kelly’s budget director, Adam Proffitt, told lawmakers Thursday that nearly $30 million would go toward constructing new child care facilities. “There is a capacity shortfall in Kansas, and as we all know child care issues are work force issues," he said. "If parents can’t find child care for their kids, it’s going to be difficult to go to work.” About $15 million would go toward supporting existing child care providers, especially home-based ones. The governor's plan would give grants of around $4,000 to thousands of providers. The governor also wants to consolidate state programs for day cares in a new Office of Early Childhood. Kelly says child care is too costly in Kansas, leading many parents to exit the workforce to care for their children.
(Additional reporting...)
Kansas Governor Pushes Medicaid Expansion, Tax Cuts, Rural Issues in Annual Address
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR/KNS/AP/LJW) - In her State of the State address Wednesday night, Kansas Democratic Governor Laura Kelly proposed familiar legislative priorities with a focus on rural areas. Medicaid expansion and fully funded public schools have become signature priorities for the governor since she took office in 2019. But during her annual speech in front of lawmakers, she refocused those goals from the perspective of rural Kansas, which is predominantly represented by her Republican counterparts. She said expansion would benefit struggling rural hospitals. “Step up for rural Kansas. Step up," she said. "This must be a priority. When rural Kansas is strong, Kansas is strong.” Kelly also said she would veto any efforts to approve private school vouchers, which give tax cuts to parents for private education or homeschooling.
While Kelly renewed her call to expand Medicaid, the issue has been a non-starter in the Republican-controlled Legislature. Kelly noted that Medicaid expansion would help 150,000 Kansans access health care and would also help rural hospitals. Another of the governor's priorities is water policy, including finding a way to address declining water levels in the High Plains Aquifer, which is used to irrigate crops in western Kansas.
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More than 1.500 Kansans Owed Back Wages
WICHITA, Kan. (KMUW) – More than 1,500 Kansas workers are owed more than $1 million dollars in back wages recovered by the U.S. Department of Labor. KMUW reports that the department of labor can require companies that don’t follow certain labor laws to pay their workers back wages. But the agency says many workers don’t collect the money because they can’t be located. A recently-updated online portal allows workers to search their name and employer to determine whether they are owed any wages.
Trini Murguia of the Department of Labor recommends any worker in Kansas check the portal, but says some are more likely to be owed back wages. "Some of the industries where we commonly find wage violations include construction, agriculture, restaurants and the care worker industry," she advised.
The department doesn’t ask about workers’ documentation status. The portal, called Workers Owed Wages, is also in Spanish. It's available at dol.gov.
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Adults in Southwest Kansas More Likely to be Uninsured
LIBERAL, Kan. (KNS) - Adults in southwest Kansas are less likely to have health insurance than anywhere else in the state. That has a lot to do with demographics. Hispanic Kansans are three times less likely to have health insurance than non-Hispanic White Kansans. Multiple counties in southwest Kansas are majority Hispanic, contributing to the high rates. Janeth Vazquez, a city commissioner in Liberal, says 26% of adults are uninsured in Seward County. She says affordability, cultural stigmas and eligibility due to legal status are barriers to health insurance for southwest Kansans. If Medicaid were to expand in Kansas, half of the uninsured adults in the region would be eligible. But the Republican-led Legislature is unlikely to support that.
(Additional reporting...)
Southwest Kansas Dealing with High Rate of Those Without Health Insurance
LIBERAL, Kan. (KNS) – Adults in southwest Kansas are less likely to have health insurance than anywhere else in the state. The Kansas News Service reports that Hispanic Kansans are three times less likely to have health insurance than non-Hispanic White Kansans. Multiple counties in southwest Kansas are majority Hispanic, contributing to the high rates. Janeth Vazquez is a city commissioner in Liberal. 26% of adults are uninsured in her county, according to the Kansas Health Institute. Vazquez says affordability, cultural stigmas and eligibility due to legal status are barriers to health insurance for southwest Kansans. “And so they don't go to the doctor, they'll tough it out as long as they can until they can no longer and then like I said, they usually end up in the ER, ” Vazquez explained. If Medicaid were to expand in Kansas, half of the uninsured adults in the region would be eligible. But the Republican-led Legislature is unlikely to support that.
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Kansas Department of Agriculture to Seek Ban on Ornamental Pear Trees
UNDATED (KNS) – Conservationists will cheer if Kansas moves forward with a ban on selling invasive ornamental pear trees. The Kansas Department of Agriculture wants to ban Callery pear trees, which are also called Bradford pears and many other names. It will hold a hearing on the issue later this month. These trees are popular for their white flowers. But they’re escaping suburbia and invading prairies and woods, squeezing out native plants that support the food web. Under the proposed ban, homeowners wouldn’t be required to cut down existing trees. But some conservation groups and local governments give free native trees to people who cut down Callery pears on their property. (Read more.)
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Chiefs, Dolphins Game Watched by 28 Million
STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) - Saturday night's AFC wild-card playoff game between the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs on Peacock set a record for the most-watched event on a streaming service. According to Nielsen, the game had a total reach of 27.6 million. Many fans outside of Kansas City and Miami had to pay for a subscription to Peacock, which starts at $5.99, to watch the game. That move by the NFL generated a lot of complaints. According to various reports, NBCUniversal paid $110 million for the rights to the game. The Chiefs-Dolphins game was one of the coldest playoff games in NFL history.
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K-State Climbs to No. 7 in AP Top 25 Women's College Basketball Poll
UNDATED (AP) – Iowa moved up to No. 2 and Colorado to No. 3 behind top-ranked South Carolina in The Associated Press Top 25 women's basketball poll after a chaotic week that saw half of the top 10 teams lose...but the Kansas State Wildcats moved up to no. 7.
The Gamecocks (15-0), who are the last unbeaten team left, routed Missouri in their lone game last week and received all 36 first-place votes from the national media panel in Monday's poll released hours before South Carolina hosted Kentucky.
Previously undefeated UCLA and Baylor both lost and fell in the rankings. The Bruins dropped from second to fifth and the Bears plummeted from fourth to 12th after losing to both Kansas and Iowa State. The Cyclones entered the poll at No. 24.
Caitlin Clark and Iowa moved up to second after routing then-No. 14 Indiana on Saturday night. Colorado and N.C. State followed the Hawkeyes. The Buffaloes are 15-1 for the first time since the 1992-93 season.
USC moved up to sixth after handing the Bruins their first loss of the season.
Kansas State shot up five spots to seventh, the Wildcats' best ranking since they were fifth in the preseason poll in 2003. Stanford and UConn were next, with the Huskies moving up four spots to return to the top 10 at No. 9. Defending champion LSU saw its nation's best 16-game winning streak end with a loss at Auburn and fell three spots to 10th.
West Virginia dropped out of the poll after losing to Iowa State.
APPROACHING COACH K
Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer moved within one victory of tying Duke men's coach Mike Krzyzewski for the most wins all-time in college basketball. VanDerveer sits at 1,201 after her team beat Utah on Friday, but lost at Colorado on Sunday. She will next have a chance to tie the mark on Friday at home against Oregon.
SURGING SEMINOLES
Florida State had two wins over ranked teams last week, topping then-No. 20 North Carolina and previously 11th-ranked Virginia Tech to move up to 15th from 21.
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