TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Republican Party’s chairman is demanding that Democrats’ last nominee for governor withdraw as an attorney from a federal lawsuit challenging voter registration policies.
GOP Chairman Kelly Arnold said Tuesday that former Kansas House Minority Leader Paul Davis’ involvement in the case filed last week violates state law.
Davis says he intends to proceed with the case.
Davis represents two northeast Kansas residents seeking to block enforcement of a 2013 law requiring new voters to provide proof of their U.S. citizenship to register.
They’re also challenging Republican Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s directive to counties to cancel thousands of incomplete registrations.
Arnold cited a state law preventing some ex-legislators from participating in such lawsuits unless they voted against the statute being challenged. Davis voted for the proof-of-citizenship law.
TOPEKA–Recently in Hutchinson the Kansas Water Authority (KWA) adopted the final water supply goals for each of the 14 regions. The KWA also appointed Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) members to serve and represent various water users in their regions.
As part of the process for the Long Term Vision for the Future of Water in Kansas call to action, local stakeholders have been working for the past eight months to help develop water supply goals based on public input and available resource condition information for each of the 14 regions. Since being approved by the KWA, the priority goals will guide the newly selected RACs as they implement the priority goals for each region.
“The KWA and I want to commend the stakeholders in each of the 14 regions who put in so much time and effort to produce water supply goals to help ensure their area’s water future,” said KWA Chairman Gary Harshberger. “With Governor Brownback’s leadership on Kansas water priorities this will enable the KWA and KWO to change the way water planning will be done in Kansas going forward. I encourage all citizens to continue with this momentum and have an active role in implementing the strategies of the Water Vision for future generations to come.”
The newly appointed RACs main task will be to work with the KWA to ensure water supply priorities and goals of each region are implemented.
“As citizens of Kansas the time is now to start planning for a viable source of quality water for our future. Although most of us take our water for granted, we must realize water is not an unlimited resource,” said Verdigris RAC Chair Doug Blex. “I was honored to serve as chair of a talented team of volunteers who recommended a “grassroots” solution to the Authority to help solve Kansas water issues and look forward to helping lead the Verdigris region in now implementing those solutions as well.”
The KWA will encourage the RAC members to help implement the following Vision statement for each region:
Kansans act on a shared commitment to have the water resources necessary to support the state’s social, economic and natural resource needs for current and future generations.
“This aquifer is a finite, nonrenewable resource that we must manage to prevent the total collapse of our economy that would ensue with its depletion,” said Upper Smoky Hill Chair Shane Mann. “This whole process has highlighted the water issues all across our state. It is important that each region implement the goals to ensure the water supply can meet their needs now and in the future.”
In the coming months the Vision will be coordinated with other aspects of the Kansas Water Plan (KWP). The KWP is used by the state of Kansas to coordinate the management, conservation and development of the water resources of the state. It contains recommendations on how the state can best achieve the proper use and control of water resources. KWP implementation may be through legislation, funding, or focus on existing agency (ies)’ programs.
To read the final version of the Long-Term Vision for the Future of Water Supply in Kansas, view the approved water supply goals for each region or see the RAC meeting schedule, visit www.kwo.org.
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Low grain prices are driving down Kansas cropland values, at the same time that high prices for cattle are pushing up the value of pastures.
Agriculture Department data shows the value of cropland slipped to an average $2,210 per acre in Kansas. That is down 2.2 percent compared to last year.
But the average pasture values rose nearly 7 percent to $1,390 per acre in Kansas.
Kansas State University agricultural economist Mykel Taylor researched property valuation records of actual sales transactions and found those tend to be higher than those reported on government surveys, although general trends are the same. Her study included factors such as location, rainfall and taxes.
Irrigated cropland in south-central Kansas is worth more than land in western counties where it rains less.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A pesticide company has found evidence of bedbugs at a Topeka library.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Schendel Pest Services’ bug-sniffing dog, Scout, on Monday found signs of the bugs in two sections of the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library.
Library spokeswoman Diana Friend says no bedbugs were seen, but materials including several books were removed from the library for treatment.
The library check comes after a report last week of bedbugs in upholstered chairs at the library.
Friends say the company has told her all public buildings can have bedbugs, and that the library will continue to monitor for the pests.
Shawnee County health officials also say bedbugs aren’t known to carry diseases and should be considered a nuisance instead of a public health risk.
SALINE COUNTY -Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating why a woman was lying in the middle of a highway Monday night and injured when struck by an SUV.
Sheriff’s Captain Roger Soldan said a Solomon woman was driving eastbound on Old Highway 40 just after 8:40 p.m., when she saw a woman lying on the highway on the northeast edge of New Cambria near the intersection with Cunningham Road.
The driver swerved to avoid 49-year-old Tammy Stiefel but ran over her legs.
Stiefel was transported to Salina Regional Health Center for treatment of injuries.
Another westbound driver had stopped and tried to get the attention of the eastbound driver.
Soldan said deputies have no idea why the woman was on the highway, and don’t know how she wound up at that location.
JUNCTION CITY -An investigation into the cultivation of marijuana has led to three arrests, and the seizure by the Junction City – Geary County Drug Operations Group of an active indoor marijuana grow consisting of 15 marijuana plants, marijuana, methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, ammunition, two rifles, and one handgun.
Junction City Police Chief Tim Brown reported that the Drug Operations Group assisted by the Junction City / Geary County SWAT team executed a search warrant at 527 West Pine Street after a two-month long investigation.
Arrested were:
Lawrence Nielson
–Lawrence Daniel Nielson II, 46, Junction City, and Mandy Elizabeth Coffey, 34, Junction City on suspicion of Sale / Cultivation of Marijuana, Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Marijuana With Intent to Sell Within 1000′ Feet of a School Zone, No Kansas Drug Tax Stamp, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.
–Richard Bruce Payne Jr., 44, Kansas City, on suspicion of Possession of Marijuana and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.
Bond was set at $2,500 for Payne. Nielsen and Coffey were confined without bond at the Geary County
Payne
Detention Center pending their first appearance in Geary County District Court.
COWLWEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Cowley County are investigating the death of a baby.
On Monday, sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to the 1000 Block of 211th Road for a medical call regarding a 3 month old baby that was not breathing, according to a media release.
The baby was pronounced deceased at the scene by medical personnel.
The coroner was notified, responded and arrived at the scene. Due to the age of the child and by state statute an autopsy has been ordered and the case.
Multistate Outbreak of Salmonella Poona Infections Linked to Imported Cucumbers-CDC image CLICK to ENLARGE
A Kansas woman is suing a San Diego-based produce distributor after she was hospitalized with Salmonella poisoning linked to tainted cucumbers.
Monica Rios of Sedgwick County said she bought a Fat Boy brand cucumber in August at a Wal-Mart store, washed it thoroughly and ate it in a salad. Within a couple of days, she was hospitalized with abdominal cramping and pain. “I would call my sister, like, every day, just to ask her, ‘Am I gonna die?’
Because the pain wouldn’t go away,” Rios said in a telephone interview. More than 670 people in 34 states have been sickened in the latest Salmonella outbreak, including two in Kansas.
The victims range in age from just 8 months to the elderly, and as of Sept. 29 three people had died. The case count could go higher, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC estimates that Salmonella causes 1.2 million illnesses annually in the United States and 450 deaths.
People are typically sick for four to seven days, and most recover without treatment. Symptoms include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps. Rios said doctors tried several medicines in an attempt to control her pain.
The intestinal symptoms were soon followed by intense headaches, and she became too weak to walk to the bathroom without assistance. Rios was hospitalized at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita for nearly a week. When she went home in mid-August, she said she was prescribed 10 medicines.
Rios described her recovery as slow and said she’s only now getting back to full strength. Rios is represented by Bill Marler, a Seattle lawyer who specializes in food safety issues. Marler said Rios tested positive for the same strain of Salmonella found in cucumbers recalled by Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce.
How the cucumbers became contaminated remains under investigation, but Marler said he suspects the water used to wash them contained Salmonella. “When you have something that’s this large of a contamination event, it usually has to do with water contamination,”
Marler said in a phone interview. “The idea is to catch the Salmonella before it leaves the manufacturing plant. With current regulations, high levels of bacteria can slip through the cracks, and it results in hundreds of really sick people. We can prevent it, for the most part, but legislation needs to change for that to happen.”
The Rios suit is the 12th Marler has filed against Andrew & Williamson, according to a release from his law firm, Marler Clark. Rios said she has incurred medical expenses of more than $52,000, but that’s not the main reason she filed suit.
“I feel like these companies need to make sure what they’re doing, so these people don’t get sick,” she said. “I didn’t think I was going to live, and anybody could die from this.”
Bryan Thompson is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Fort Hays State’s Kristen Thompson has been named the MIAA Women’s Soccer Goalkeeper of the Week after helping the Tigers to a pair of conference home wins over the weekend. Thompson went 2-0 for the week, picking up a shutout against Lindenwood in double overtime and then a win against the nations top-ranked team, Central Missouri, by a score of 2-1.
Thompson went all 102:15 in the 1-0 win over Lindenwood and recorded four saves. In the 2-1 upset of Central Missouri, she also had four saves and limited an offense averaging over four goals per match to just one.
Thompson moved to 5-3 overall and now has three shutouts for the season. She had a goals against average of 0.47 for the week and lowered her season average to 0.98.
The 5-8 sophomore goalkeeper is a native of Manhattan, Kan. where she competed at Manhattan High School.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Royals will start hard-throwing youngster Yordano Ventura in Game 1 of the AL Divisional Series, regardless of whether Kansas City plays the Yankees or Astros on Thursday night.
Royals manager Ned Yost announced his starter before Tuesday’s workout at Kauffman Stadium. Johnny Cueto will pitch the second game and Edinson Volquez will start Game 3.
The 24-year-old Ventura weathered a rollercoaster year that saw him briefly shipped to Triple-A. But the star of Game 6 of last year’s World Series has rebounded down the stretch, going 4-1 with a 3.14 ERA in seven starts in September.
Cueto is 0-2 with a 5.19 ERA in three postseason starts, all with Cincinnati. Volquez is 0-2 with a 12.15 ERA in two postseason starts with the Reds and Pirates.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers have agreed to pay a firm about $2.6 million to perform a government efficiency study although another firm offered to do the job for less than $1 million.
The Wichita Eagle reports lawmakers signed a contract Monday with Alvarez & Marsal, which would be paid $2.6 million to perform the study.
Another firm, McGladrey, bid the job for less than $1 million. Another firm, Deloitte, submitted a bid for $2.5 million, and the Boston Consulting Group submitted a bid for $2.8 million.
Rachel Whitten, spokeswoman for House Speaker Ray Merrick, says lawmakers considered expertise before cost when choosing the firm and that McGladrey’s bid was not as thorough.
The Kansas contract includes an analysis of the state’s budget and an evaluation of the state’s budget process.
MUNJOR — The town of Munjor will be turning off water effective immediately until further notice. A reason was not given in the notice.
Check HaysPost.com for details as they become available.
Update
Water service has been restored to Munjor, after approximately 30 minutes without service, according to a spokesman for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
The outage was necessary to hook up a residential water line and there is no concern to the public.
