NICHOLAS RICCARDI, Associated Press
JENNIFER AGIESTA, Associated Press

DENVER (AP) — A new Associated Press-GfK Poll shows that candidates will have a hard time rallying voters around social issues on Election Day.

The poll found that likely voters’ top issues are the economy, health care, Ebola and the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. Those issues largely favor Republicans. Democrats have tried to rally their base of single women by focusing on abortion rights and other social issues.

But last month’s poll found only 43 percent of likely voters found abortion an important issue. Democrats have the advantage on that subject and same-sex marriage, but those issues are not priorities for voters.

EUDORA, Kan. (AP) — A train has injured two people on a bridge in northeast Kansas.

Douglas County dispatchers say emergency personnel responded Saturday afternoon to the accident west of downtown Eudora. The Lawrence Journal-World  reports that all train traffic was stopped while emergency vehicles parked on the tracks to attend to the victims.

Two helicopters were called in to transport the severely injured victims. One person was taken to the University of Kansas Medical Center, while the other was flown to Children’s Mercy Hospital.

No other details were immediately available.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A University of Kansas fraternity has agreed to remain suspended while a sexual assault investigation continues.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the university sent a letter Friday to the president of the school’s Kappa Sigma chapter. In it, university student conduct and community standards coordinator Joshua Jones wrote that it could be after the beginning of December before the investigation is completed.

Jones noted that the fraternity’s agreement to remain suspended is not an admission of wrongdoing.

The fraternity has been on interim suspension since Sept. 30. University Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little has said that “disturbing and serious” behavior was reported at a party.

Kappa Sigma Fraternity’s executive director, Mitchell Wilson, said the national organization also continues to investigate and is working with law enforcement and the university.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — A predicted shortfall in the Kansas budget loomed over Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s close re-election race as he and Democratic challenger Paul Davis scramble for votes in the final days of their heated campaign.

Davis started a swing into western Kansas on Saturday at a coffee shop in the Aggieville bar-and-restaurant district near the Kansas State University campus in Manhattan. He’s pressed his argument that massive personal income taxes enacted at Brownback’s urging have wrecked the state’s finances.

Brownback started his day in southeast Kansas on a state GOP bus tour meant to persuade voters that the state is on the right path economically even if it faces short-term budget challenges.

The state reported Friday that tax collections in October fell $23 million short of expectations.

CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press
JULIE WATSON, Associated Press

WESTON, Fla. (AP) — A U.S. Marine veteran is back home in Florida after a Mexican judge ordered his release from jail, where he spent eight months for crossing the border with loaded guns.

SHAWNEE, Kan. (AP) — Independent candidate for U.S. Senate Greg Orman says a Republican accusation that he called former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole a “clown” is a distortion of his words.

Orman is in a tight race with three-term Republican Sen. Pat Roberts, who was traveling Friday with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and Dole.

Asked about a potential Republican organizational edge in the tight Senate race, Orman said Friday: “It sort of seems like a Washington establishment clown car to me. Every day a new person comes out of that car.”

Roberts’ campaign released a statement calling Orman’s comment “personal attacks and disdain for Senator Dole.”

Orman says he is “outraged” and calls Roberts’ claim “distorting my words.” Orman said Saturday that Dole is “a great example of bipartisanship.”

By Andy Marso
KHI News Service

TOPEKA — Voters in McPherson County will decide Tuesday whether to raise their sales tax by a half-cent, with proceeds going to three hospitals in the county.

If the ballot measure passes, 75 percent of the tax revenue would go to McPherson Hospital, and the remaining 25 percent would be split evenly between Lindsborg Hospital and Moundridge’s Mercy Hospital. The increase would take effect in April and expire after 10 years. The money generated could be used for capital improvements or operating budgets.

McPherson Hospital would get about $1.65 million per year if the measure passes. The facility has one wing built in 1921 and another built in 1971. It is in the midst of a multi-phase renovation project.

“One of those phases is being funded by philanthropic dollars, so we’re essentially running a capital campaign concurrently with this tax initiative,” said Cyril Russell, marketing director for McPherson Hospital.

The final phase of the renovation project includes building a new wing that would allow the hospital to raze the portion built in 1921.

“If it doesn’t pass, we would have to take a look at several options,” Russell said. Those could include expanding the capital campaign, scaling back or adjusting the timing of renovation plans, and considering other funding options.

Lindsborg Hospital and Mercy Hospital would stand to gain about $250,000 to $275,000 each per year if the ballot measure passes.

An administrator from Mercy Hospital told the McPherson Sentinel the money could “help with our survival.”

Larry Van Der Wege, hospital administrator at Lindsborg Hospital, said the situation was not that dire at his facility.

Van Der Wege said Lindsborg Hospital already benefits from a city sales tax and has made difficult financial decisions to position itself to survive even if the county ballot measure does not pass.

But he also said health care reform has created some uncertainty about future reimbursements, and his hospital already does a substantial amount of uncompensated care.

“There are facilities with more,” Van Der Wege said. “This past fiscal year we had just under a half-million dollars of charity care or bad debt, which is always a challenge. But it is part of our mission to provide that care to people who don’t have insurance or struggle to afford care, because health care is expensive.”

Van Der Wege said his facility’s annual operating budget is about $13 million, and some capital work might be on the schedule before the tax increase ends.

“We’re fortunate to have a relatively newer facility,” Van Der Wege said. “It was built in ’91, but by the time this sunsets it will be 35 years old, so there will be improvements needed.”

Andy Marso is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.