WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The National Agricultural Statistics Service is forecasting that the nation’s winter wheat crop will be up 7 percent this year.

Their official production estimate of 1.47 billion bushels released Tuesday is based on average yield forecast of 43.5 bushels per acre.

For Kansas, the agency estimated the state will bring in 272 million bushels of winter wheat. That is up from the 246.4 million bushels cut during last year’s drought-plagued season.

But the government’s initial forecast is less optimistic than the 288.5 million bushels estimated by participants in last week’s wheat tour.

NASS is forecasting the average Kansas yield at 32 bushels an acre.

Their estimate for the nation’s hard red winter wheat crop is up 16 percent to 853 million bushels. Kansas grows mostly hard red winter wheat.

CONCORDIA- A Kansas man was injured in an accident just before 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday in Cloud County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1980 Chevy pickup driven by Dalton L. Forshee, 20, Concordia, was westbound on Kansas 9 five miles southwest of Concordia.

The pickup left the roadway and overturned.

Forshee was transported to Cloud County Hospital.

He was not wearing a seat belt according to the KHP.

OMAHA -Union Pacific plans to invest about $120 million in 2015 to improve Kansas’ transportation infrastructure they announced in a media release today.

The company’s multi-million dollar private investment will enhance employee, community and customer safety and increase rail operating efficiency. Freight railroads like Union Pacific operate on track built and maintained without taxpayer funds. Union Pacific’s private investments sustain jobs and ensure the company meets growing demand for products used in the resurgent American economy.

Union Pacific’s planned investment covers a range of initiatives: nearly $110 million to maintain railroad track, $2.2 million to enhance signal systems and $7.5 million to maintain or replace bridges in the state. Key projects planned this year include:

$7.7 million investment in the rail line between Oakley and Sharon Springs to replace 68,500 railroad ties and install 38,700 tons of rock ballast. In addition, crews will repair the surfaces at 21 road crossings.

$20.2 million investment in the rail line between Whiteside and Pratt to replace nearly 25 miles of rail and repair the surfaces at 43 road crossings.

$12.6 million investment in the rail line between Waldeck and near McPherson to replace more than 15 miles of rail and repair the surfaces at 28 road crossings.

This year’s planned $120 million capital expenditure in Kansas is part of an ongoing investment strategy. From 2010 to 2014 Union Pacific invested more than $482 million strengthening Kansas’ transportation infrastructure.

“We constantly evaluate our customers’ needs to make targeted investments that enhance our efficiency and deliver the goods American businesses and families use daily,” said Donna Kush, Union Pacific vice president – Public Affairs, Northern Region. “Continuing to aggressively invest in our infrastructure is an important element in Union Pacific’s unwavering safety commitment.”

Union Pacific plans to spend $4.2 billion across its network this year, following investments totaling more than $31 billion from 2005-2014. These investments contributed to a 38 percent decrease in derailments over the last 10 years.

MONTROSE — A landowner in southeast Iowa has accused the land agent for a proposed oil pipeline of offering prostitutes in exchange for land rights.

Click HERE for the story from KBUR.com.

By Kelsie Jennings
KU Statehouse Wire Service

TOPEKA –- United Way of Douglas County receives about 20 percent of its funding from donations made by state employees through payroll deductions, but the nonprofit is concerned its future funding could be hurt by a bill that would limit deductions.

Senate Substitute for House Bill 2096, a bill that would eliminate state employee’s option for payroll deduction, could hurt future donations, said Erika Dvorske, president and CEO of United Way of Douglas County.

United Way of Douglas County receives about $300,000 a year from Douglas County state employees, which is almost 20 percent of its $1.65 million projected campaign total, according to Colleen Gregoire, Douglas County vice president and campaign director for United Way.

“The social service sector continues to struggle in general. Dollars are scarce. It’s a pretty competitive fundraising world,” Dvorske said. “The more we make it difficult for people to give, the easier it is for people to say no.”

United Way of Douglas County, based in Lawrence, works with 29 agencies to collect funding to target education, health and self-sufficiency programs for Douglas County residents. This location is just one of 27 others throughout Kansas, but each location is governed separately.

Dvorske said employees could still donate to United Way directly by check and credit card, but she said charitable giving should be as easy as possible and there’s less hassle with having it come straight out of employees’ checks. She said United Way estimates 20 to 30 percent of state employees would still donate other ways if payroll deduction were eliminated.

Other than the convenience of having donations come directly out of a paycheck, Dvorske said it’s also cost effective because only a few checks that might include hundreds of employees are being processed instead of hundreds and thousands of individual check or credit card transactions.

“It costs everyone less, so then more dollars can go to address the services that are really needed,” Dvorske said.

But some legislators feel the cost of processing the deductions is unnecessary when people can easily pay by phone or online. Sen. Molly Baumgardner (R-Louisburg) said its costs six cents to process each deduction and that people are using multiple deductions to pay bills.

“What we’re really trying to do is bring payroll to the 21st century. You just get your pay and how you choose to spend it is totally up to you,” Baumgardner said. “Just do your own banking and let’s just have your payroll be your pay and get us out of the banking business.”

United Way is the only Kansas nonprofit that pays for the 6-cent processing fee for the state to process deductions for state employees, according to Baumgardner, but she said some senators are concerned that this could open the door for other nonprofits to want to do the same.

“Right now, United Way is the only not-for-profit that is allowed in to do that, and so there was some concern expressed by members of the Senate that “why is the state government selecting the non-for-profit of choice?’” she said.

Even though United Way pays the processing fee and the state is reimbursed, Baumgardner said it still takes employees to process the deductions.

Dvorske said United Way normally doesn’t get involved with legislation because it doesn’t have the capacity, but this bill caught its attention.

“There’s certainly a lot of issues that we could weigh in on, given our focus on education, health and self-sufficiency,” she said. “We’ve stayed pretty narrowly focused … this one obviously was a big deal for us. It would actually change our activities; that’s a big deal.”

HB 2096 was introduced by the House Commerce, Labor and Economic Development Committee and passed the House in February. It then made it to the Senate floor, but was referred back to the Senate Ways and Means Committee, one of the few committees that can still meet at this time in the legislative session.

The bill could still be changed in some way, but Baumgardner said they don’t know for certain what will happen.

If the bill were to pass, Dvorske said United Way would promote other ways for people to donate.

“There’s lots of options and we know that, but this is a really straightforward and easy one,” Dvorske said. “If the change were to happen, somehow we would adapt. It’s just one more challenge.”

Kelsie Jennings is a University of Kansas senior from Olathe majoring in journalism

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Shawnee County District Attorney says police officers were justified in the fatal shooting of a man in Topeka after he committed two carjackings.

Four law enforcement officers shot 38-year-old Richard Reed of Maple Hill in April during a standoff on a bridge in Topeka after he fired a rifle at them.

District Attorney Chad Taylor said Monday three officers from the Topeka police department and one Capitol Police officer acted in self-defense and to defend others when they shot Reed.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reported (http://bit.ly/1Rz084p ) that Reed carjacked two cars and rammed three vehicles — including a police car — before he was shot multiple times as he fired at officers. He was hospitalized for eight days before he died April 18.

TOPEKA, KAN. – A federal jury has convicted a Topeka man of producing child pornography according to U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom.

Jonathan Kearn, 40, Topeka, Kansas, was convicted on one count of producing child pornography, one count of distributing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography.

During trail, prosecutors presented evidence that the investigation began in April 2013 when Homeland Security Investigations received a report from the Queensland Police Service, Queensland, Australia. An Australian investigator had received emails from Kearn in Kansas containing child pornography Kearn had produced. The child pornography included images of a child under six years old.

Sentencing is set for Aug. 10. He faces a penalty of not less than 15 years in federal prison on the production count, not less than five years on the distribution charge, and a maximum penalty of 10 years on the possession charge. Grissom commended Homeland Security Investigations, the Topeka Police Department, the Queensland Police Service and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Kenney for their work on the case.