ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) – The presumptive favorite to win the starting right guard spot with the Kansas City Chiefs worked out with the third team on Monday. The guy who is challenging him for the spot slid over to center during another portion of the workout.
Rishaw Johnson and Zach Fulton are just the start of the offensive line shuffle.
After watching three linemen who started last season depart in free agency – all within hours of each other – the Chiefs are trying to cobble together some sort of protection for quarterback Alex Smith that can also manage to open up running lanes for Jamaal Charles during training camp.
And with lingering questions about the health of left tackle Eric Fisher and an ankle injury to starting right tackle Donald Stephenson, that job hasn’t gotten a whole lot easier.
BOSTON (AP) – The Toronto Blue Jays have traded right-hander Liam Hendriks and catcher Erik Kratz to the Kansas City Royals for infielder Danny Valencia.
The deal between playoff contenders was announced as the Blue Jays were starting their game in Boston on Monday night.
The 29-year-old Valencia hit .282 with two home runs and 11 RBIs in 36 games for Kansas City. He also has played for Minnesota, Boston and Baltimore.
Kratz will join the Royals for Tuesday night’s game against Minnesota and Hendriks will be assigned to Triple-A Omaha. Infielder Christian Colon will be called from Omaha and catcher Brett Hayes has been designated for assignment.
The 34-year-old Kratz hit .198 with three homers and 10 RBIs in 34 games for Toronto.
The 25-year-old Hendriks was 1-0 with a 6.08 ERA in three starts for Toronto. He was a Triple-A All-Star this year at Buffalo, going 8-1 with a 2.33 ERA.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The return of hot, dry conditions to Kansas has put stress on farm crops in many parts of the state.
The National Agricultural Statistics Service says in its late crop report that temperatures averaged 2 to 6 degrees above normal in most of Kansas last week, with some areas seeing triple-digit highs.
The agency rated 10 percent of the state’s corn crop in poor to very poor condition. About 31 percent is listed as fair, 44 percent as good and 15 percent excellent.
Most of the sorghum, soybean and sunflower crops are faring somewhat better than corn.
About 24 percent of the soybeans are setting pods, and 14 percent of the sorghum has headed.
Stock water supplies are adequate to surplus across 78 percent of Kansas.
This spring, we received word from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Director that the lesser prairie chicken would be listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. This is not welcome news as the listing has real consequences for a number of Kansas industries.
Sen. Jerry Moran
Oil and gas development is one Kansas industry already being impacted by the new regulations. For example, The Wichita Eagle recently reported Vess Oil Corp. has ceased drilling in western Kansas.
For Kansas farmers and ranchers like Jarvis Garetson, who farms in Haskell, Gray and Finney Counties, the lesser prairie chicken listing will increase uncertainty.
“The lesser prairie chicken listing has the potential to cause great disruptions for Kansas farmers and ranchers. A better conservation approach must be found to protect the species, while providing producers with the certainty they need to maintain and grow their operations,” Garetson said.
For utility companies like the Hays-based Sunflower Electric Power Corporation, the listing is yet another federal regulatory burden that will result in higher prices for consumers.
“Complying with this listing increases costs and limits our flexibility for routing and constructing electric lines,” Sunflower Electric President and CEO Stuart Lowry said. “Unfortunately, the costs are passed along to consumers through higher electric bills. While consumers are forced to pay higher rates, the underlying problem is the lesser prairie chicken listing.”
Scarcity of rainfall, especially in the western half of the state, has put the lesser prairie chicken population in flux. According to an August 2013 Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism survey, “…since 2004 there has been a significant declining trend in the LPCH index but the negative slope is mostly due to recent declines associated with severe drought conditions (not habitat loss).” This corroborates that the drought is contributing to the bird’s declining population.
To avoid the lesser prairie chicken’s threatened species designation, I have been working with colleagues across the aisle over the past two years. Last summer, along with nine Republican and Democratic Senators, I called on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services delay a listing decision by six months — the maximum amount of time allowed by federal law. This effort resulted in an extension and additional time for evaluation of the science behind the listing decision. It also gave Kansas and affected states an opportunity to demonstrate alternative plans for species conservation. That call was a follow-up to a February 2013 letter that brought about an extension to the comment period.
This month, Governor Sam Brownback urged U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Sally Jewel to reconsider the existing conservation programs — Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) — instead of implementing new federal regulations. I’m supportive of that effort and am confident there are ways to address conserving the species without hampering economic growth, as well as farming and ranching activities. In fact, even conservation organizations like Audubon of Kansas support the governor’s approach to increase CRP land as a way to reverse a loss of habitat.
As conservation efforts are considered, producers deserve the flexibility to implement plans that fit their operations. Additionally, it will be imperative to account for ongoing species recovery developments. That’s why I introduced legislation last week to protect producers from the consequences of the listing. The legislation would prohibit the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of the Interior from altering any land management practices based on the listing of the lesser prairie chicken as a threatened species.
I am committed to working with U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism to make certain the measures implemented are based on sound science and common sense, as well as represent the best interest of producers. We will continue to do what we can to assist folks who are working to solve the problem and avoid thwarting industries vital to our state’s economy.
WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), a member of the U.S. Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, on Monday announced that he will support the agreement struck between the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives on legislation to overhaul access to veterans’ health care. The compromise reached will provide Kansas veterans with greater access, choice and flexibility in health care providers and increase accountability and transparency at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Sen. Moran is a cosponsor of the Veterans Choice Act, the Senate version of the legislation that has been agreed upon to address the most pressing concern — giving veterans access to care in light of the ongoing VA scandal.
“I am pleased the Senate and House have not walked away from this issue and I look forward to supporting this compromise,” Sen. Moran said. “This legislation is another important step toward ensuring veterans no longer struggle with unacceptable wait times at VA facilities by giving certain veterans the option of seeing their local physician. Our nation’s veterans should be treated like patriots, deserving of care from a grateful nation – not made to feel like a burden. I will not rest until Kansas veterans have a Department of Veterans Affairs worthy of their service and sacrifice.”
WAMEGO — Two Kansans died in separate motorcycle accidents Monday afternoon.
Just after 3 p.m. in Pottawatomie County, the Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2009 Yamaha driven by Stephanie R. Kickbush, 29, Wamego, was southbound on Kansas 99, approximately 3 miles north of Wamego. The motorcycle struck a 1999 Ford pickup driven by Robert Herptig, 54, Wamego, as the pickup was attempting a left turn across southbound lanes into a driveway.
Kickbush was transported to Wamego Memorial Hospital where she died just after 5:30 p.m. Herptig was not injured.
The KHP reported Kickbush was wearing a helmet.
A Hutchinson man died in a separate motorcycle accident just before 4:30 p.m. in Reno County.
The KHP reported a 2005 Chrysler Town and Country driven by Karen L. Reyes, 56, Hutchinson, was southbound on Dean Road and was stopped at a stop sign, approximately 5 miles west of South Hutchinson.
A 1994 Kawasaki motorcycle driven by Michael R. Nelson, 33, Hutchinson, was westbound on U.S. 50. The KHP said the Chrysler pulled out in front of the motorcycle, which hit the side of the van
Nelson was pronounced dead at the scene. He was transported to Preferred Mortuary Services, Haysville. Reyes was not injured.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic challenger Paul Davis has raised more in contributions this year than Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, but the incumbent is entering the fall campaign with more cash on hand.
Finance reports filed Monday by the two campaigns show Davis raised more than $1.1 million in cash contributions from January through July 24. Brownback’s total was about $744,000.
But Brownback’s campaign also received a $500,000 loan on July 23 from Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer. He made a similar loan in December, only to see it paid back within days in early January.
The Davis campaign reported nearly $566,000 for the period and had $1.32 million in cash left. Brownback spent about $370,000 on his campaign and ended with $2.37 million in cash.
Get the latest from Chiefs training camp report from St. Joseph, Missouri with the “Voice of the Chiefs” Mitch Holthus. It can be heard Monday through Friday around 5:30pm on KFIX (96.9-FM).
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, Colo. (AP) — Officials have released the name of a man whose body was found on Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Park spokeswoman Kyle Patterson says a climber was on the Keyhole Route of the 14,259-foot peak when he and his group saw the body 18-year-old Nicholas L. Hellbusch, of Lenexa, Kansas, below The Ledges area Friday morning.
Park rangers reached the body about three hours later and flew it by helicopter to a nearby meadow. Investigators have not said how Hellbusch died.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Medicare Trustees today projected that the trust fund that finances Medicare’s hospital insurance coverage will remain solvent until 2030, four years beyond what was projected in last year’s report.
Due in part to cost controls implemented in the Affordable Care Act, per capita spending is projected to continue to grow slower than the overall economy for the next several years.
“The Medicare Hospital Insurance trust fund is projected to be solvent for longer, which is good news for beneficiaries and taxpayers,” said Marilyn Tavenner, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). “We have made major progress in improving patient safety, decreasing hospital readmissions, and establishing new payment models such as accountable care organizations aimed at reducing costs and improving quality. These reforms slow the rise in health care spending while improving the quality of care for beneficiaries.”
A number of factors have contributed to the improved outlook, including lower-than-expected program spending in 2013 and lower projected utilization in the types of health care needed by Medicare patients.
Medicare spending per beneficiary has grown quite slowly over the past few years and is projected to continue to grow slowly over the next several years. During the past four years, per capita Medicare spending growth has averaged 0.8 percent annually, much more slowly than the average 3.1 percent annual increase in per capita Gross Domestic Product and national health expenditures over the same period.
Officials said although the Medicare Part B premium for 2015 will not be determined until later this year, the preliminary estimates indicate it will remain unchanged from the 2013 premium for the second consecutive year.
In 2013, Medicare covered 52.3 million people, including almost 450,000 Kansans.
The program covers about 43.5 million people ages 65 and older and 8.8 million people with disabilities.
CMS officials said that about 28 percent of the beneficiaries have chosen to enroll in Part C private health plans that contract with Medicare to deliver Part A and Part B health services. Total expenditures in 2013 were $582.9 billion. Total income was $575.8 billion.
The Medicare Trustees are U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell, Treasury Secretary and Managing Trustee Jacob Lew, Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, and Acting Social Security Commissioner Carolyn Colvin. Two other members are public representatives appointed by the President, subject to confirmation by the Senate. Charles Blahous III and Robert Reischauer began serving on Sept. 17, 2010. CMS Administrator Tavenner is the board’s secretary.
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s a battle pitting the nation’s airlines against their passengers, and the first round has gone to the industry.
The House used a voice vote Monday to approve a bipartisan bill letting airline advertising emphasize the base price of their airfares. That’s before taxes and fees are added.
The legislation would roll back federal regulations that since 2012 have required airlines to most prominently feature the full price in their advertising — including those fees.
But airlines — backed by pilots’ and flight attendants’ unions — say including taxes and fees in their advertised prices hurts business and hides from consumers the extra costs that government imposes on air travel.
Consumer groups say advertising the pre-tax fare is misleading.
Beginning Wednesday, the 2014 chip seal repair project will begin. Various streets in the area between Vine and Canterbury streets from East 13th to East 29th streets will be restricted to the traveling public during the application of the seal coat.
Click on the map for specific locations. Crews will begin at the south end of the project (13th Street) and process north until completion. The project is expected to be complete in two to three weeks, weather permitting.
Traffic control will be in place to direct the public. The traveling public should use caution and if at all possible avoid these areas. The construction is in relation to 2014 street maintenance project.
For more information, call the Public Works Planning, Inspection, and Enforcement Division at (785) 628-7310 or the contractor, Hi-Plains Sand, at (785) 472-4880.
BOARDMAN, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s largest coal-burning power plant is expected to shut down in a few years, but that doesn’t mean coal is dead.
Under a plan by an Australian energy conglomerate, coal being shipped to the Boardman Coal Plant will instead be exported to Asia, where pollution will still spew into the earth’s atmosphere.
This town on the Columbia River is a real-life example of the gulf between President Barack Obama’s strategy to reduce coal emissions and reality. As the U.S. reduces its own carbon pollution, it is sending more abroad.
An analysis by The Associated Press found that over the last five years, as the U.S. has cut coal use by 195 million tons, about 20 percent of that has been shipped overseas.
