First Lady Michelle Obama Addresses Senior Appreciation Day in Topeka.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is seen as hostile political territory for Democratic President Barack Obama, but part of the crowd at a Topeka event featuring first lady Michelle Obama booed Republican Gov. Sam Brownback.

The first lady spoke Friday at a ceremony honoring Topeka’s high school graduates. Brownback shared the stage with her, along with Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins and other local dignitaries.

Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius also was on stage and received loud cheers, as did the first lady. Sebelius is a former two-term governor.

But when Brownback was introduced, cheers and applause for him were matched by booing.

Barack Obama received only 38 percent of the vote in Kansas when he was re-elected president in 2012. Brownback is a frequent critic of the administration’s policies.

 

By KHI NEWS SERVICE

TOPEKA — The MSNBC television network announced today that it plans to air an interview with Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger next week.

During the interview, Praeger, a Republican, discusses her support for – and Gov. Sam Brownback’s resistance to – expanding the state’s Medicaid program and embracing implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
The segment is expected to air Wednesday as part of the “All In with Chris Hayes” show, which begins at 7 p.m.

“They were here on May 1,” said Bob Hanson, a spokesperson for Praeger’s office. “They taped for a good half-hour, but we have no idea how much of it will actually run.”

The MSNBC film crew was led by Rebekah Dryden, who grew up in Derby, graduated from Kansas State University and was an on-camera reporter for KWCH TV in Wichita before becoming a producer for MSNBC. She’s now senior producer for “All In with Chris Hayes.”

Other Kansas-centered segments expected to air on the program next week will feature:

• Marquette Elementary School Principal Darryl Talbott discussing the school having to close due to budget cuts;

• Greensburg Mayor Bob Dixson discussing the town’s decision to rebuild “green” after being destroyed by a tornado in 2007;

• Pete Ferrell, who runs a wind farm on his cattle ranch near Beaumont, critiquing legislative resistance to renewable energy;

• Julie Burkhart describing the challenges that accompanied the reopening of the Wichita abortion clinic once owned by Dr. George Tiller, who was murdered in 2009;

• Former State Rep. Jim Howell, a Derby Republican, and Wichita City Council Member Janet Miller, discussing their opposing views on gun control.

Diana Rocco, a spokesperson for “All In with Chris Hayes,” declined to predict when the segments would run.

“To be safe – and since things in news often get moved around – it would be best to say the segments will air each night during the week,” Rocco wrote in an email. “I would hate to give you a schedule and have the days move around and your readers miss anything.”

JOHN HANNA, Associated Press

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — First lady Michelle Obama says young people who’ve grown up with diversity must lead a national fight against prejudice and discrimination.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — First lady Michelle Obama has met with a small group of Kansas high school students ahead of an evening speech at a ceremony honoring graduating seniors.

Obama met Friday with 11 students at the national park site in Topeka dedicated to the Brown v. Board of Education decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that declared segregated schools unconstitutional.

Her visit took place the day before the 60th anniversary of the decision. The Brown site is in a former all-black elementary school.

The afternoon meeting involved sophomores and juniors participating in a federally funded program helping at-risk kids prepare for higher education.

Obama told them, “It’s just going to be essential for you guys to succeed.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, released the following statement on the resignation of Dr. Robert Petzel, the undersecretary for health at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

“News of Undersecretary Petzel’s resignation is not a surprise as he was expected to retire in the near future,” Sen. Moran said. “However, it is evidence of the dysfunction at the VA. It is important to note that Undersecretary Petzel was the only VA witness at the Senate VA Committee hearing who admitted knowledge of IG reports – he should not shoulder the blame for VA’s failures. Rather than the VA focusing on damage control, action should be taken immediately to change the bureaucratic culture of mediocrity at the VA and ensure the highest quality and most timely care for our nation’s heroes.”

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach says his involvement in a new firearms manufacturing firm in northeast Kansas stems from his interest in hunting and shooting and not to set up a challenge to federal laws.

The Hutchinson News reports that Kobach is listed as a shareholder in Minuteman Defense, which hopes to begin making rifles by the end of the year in Overland Park. The firearms will be marketed to law enforcement in Kansas and nationwide.

Kobach helped write a 2013 state law that states that Kansas-made firearms that have the proper stamping and never leave the state are free from federal regulation. He said Friday the law wasn’t written for personal gain but to reaffirm the constitutional right to bear arms.

WICHITA (AP) — A new government report shows major Kansas feedlots are feeding the fewest number of cattle since 1999 for the month of May.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Friday that feedlots with capacities of 1,000 or more head contained 2.01 million cattle on May 1.

That inventory is down 3 percent from the same time last year.

Placements of cattle into the feedlots in April totaled 325,000 head, also down 3 percent from a year ago.

The agency reported that fed cattle marketings for April totaled 385,000 head, up 10 percent from last year.