TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s office has taken a swing at promoting his tax-cutting policies through Kansas City Royals star Alex Gordon’s new, $72 million contract.
The Wichita Eagle reported that Brownback’s critics Thursday treated the resulting tweet from the Republican governor’s office as a strike out.
Congrats, Alex Gordon! With your new contract, you’ll save about $1.8M/year in taxes just by living in KS instead of CA. #GordoNation#ksleg
The World Series champions’ All-Star outfielder signed a four-year deal Wednesday. Brownback’s official account tweeted congratulations — and said Gordon would save $1.8 million a year living in Kansas instead of California.
Brownback pushed successfully in 2012 and 2013 for massive income tax cuts to stimulate the economy. Kansas has struggled to balance its budget since.
ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Fort Hays State was held to a season-low in points and shooting as they see their six-game win streak snapped in a 68-49 loss to Lindenwood Thursday night at Hyland Arena. The Tigers (11-3, 5-3) were held to just 18 points in the first half and shot 34.5% for the game.
The Lions (10-4, 6-2) opened the game with an 11-0 run and led by 27 at halftime. They pushed the lead to 29 early in the second half.
Fort Hays State used a 21-8 run to pull within 16 with a little over five minutes to play but would get no closer.
Mark Johnson Postgame Interview
Game Highlights
Dom Samac and Rob Davis both scored 17 to lead the Tigers, who only had five players score.
Cory Arentsen scored 20 of his game-high 22 points in the first half to lead Lindenwood. 7-1 center Stanislas Heili added 16 along with 15 rebounds.
TOPEKA — If you or a family member received a recreational drone—a small unmanned aircraft—as a holiday present, Ken Selzer, CPA, Kansas Commissioner of Insurance, has words of caution for you: Check your insurance policy and register the drone with the Federal Aviation Administration(FAA).
“Estimates show that between 700,000 and 1.6 million drones were purchased during 2015,” Commissioner Selzer said in a news release. “That means the possibility of insurance claims concerning them is likely to increase. I urge Kansans who have them to check with your insurance agents or companies. See whether your homeowners or renters policies will cover losses or damages done by the drones to buildings and vehicles, as well as bodily injuries to people.”
The FAA also began requiring registration of new drones before their initial flight use as of Dec. 21, 2015. The registration is free until Feb. 19, 2016, after which a $5 fee will be charged. Only the smallest toy drones—weighing 250 grams or less (a little more than half a pound)—are exempted from the registry.
“Using a private drone as a hobby is generally covered under a homeowners insurance policy, which usually covers radio-controlled model aircraft,” Commissioner Selzer said. “Look at your policy, or talk to your agent to see if your drone will be covered if it is lost, stolen or damaged. The policy will also typically be subject to a deductible.”
The FAA urges all drone users to follow these guidelines:
• Fly below an altitude of 400 feet (that is 1 1/3 times the length of a football field).
• Always keep your unmanned aircraft in sight.
• Never fly near manned aircraft, especially near airports.
• Never fly over groups of people, stadiums or sporting events.
• Never fly near emergency response efforts.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Frontier Airlines plans to add non-stop flights from Kansas City International Airport to Atlanta, Chicago and Philadelphia, beginning this spring.
The city’s aviation department says the airline will start selling tickets for the flights on Thursday.
The Kansas City Star reports services to and from Chicago-O’Hare International Airport will begin April 14 with flights Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Service to Atlanta-Hartsfield International Airport will begin April 15 with flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Service to and from Philadelphia International Airport begins June 2, with flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
The announcement comes the same week Frontier launched new non-stop service to Orlando.
ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Chelsea Mason scored 21, Beth Bohuslavsky 14 and Jill Faxon 10, leading the No. 3 ranked Fort Hays State women to a hard fought 65-59 win over Lindenwood Thursday at Hyland Arena. The Tigers (13-1, 7-1 MIAA) have won three straight while handing the Lady Lions (7-7, 3-5) their third straight loss.
Tony Hobson Postgame Interview
Game Highlights
The Tigers outscored Lindenwood 10-4 over the final four minutes, holding the Lady Lions to four free throws after a Kelsey Gengenbacher layup tied the game 55-55.
FHSU hit 11 of 12 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter including six straight by Bohuslavsky.
The Tigers win despite shooting 34-percent (21-62) and 6-of-22 from 3-point range. They were outrebounded by six and turned the ball over 12 times.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas legislator says he regrets sharing a post on Facebook that mocked Hispanics who speak accented English to make a derogatory comment about President Barack Obama.
Conservative Republican Rep. John Bradford of Lansing said in a statement Thursday that sharing the post was “in bad taste.”
Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley and others called the posting racist. Hensley said the House should investigate and consider disciplining Bradford.
The original posting was dated Sunday. The Wichita Eagle reported that Bradford shared it Tuesday. He had removed it from his Facebook page by Thursday afternoon.
The post featured a man wearing a sombrero and an altered photo of Obama. It made fun of heavily accented English by using several unrelated words to celebrate Obama’s leaving office next year.
MARION, Kan. (AP) — A grain elevator fire caused an evacuation of part of an east-central Kansas town but only one worker suffered smoke inhalation.
Marion County authorities say the fire Thursday at the Cooperative Grain & Supply in Marion did not cause an explosion. But streets around the elevator were evacuated for about three hours.
Marion City Administrator Roger Holter says the fire started when grain dust caught fire in the area where grain trucks unload their cargo.
The Hutchinson News reports (https://bit.ly/1kQwdIh ) a maintenance worker who was in the area dropped to the floor below the fire and was not burned but he was treated for smoke inhalation.
Authorities did not have a damage estimate for the grain elevator.
SHAWNEE COUNTY- A Kansas woman was injured in an accident just before 1p.m. on Thursday in Shawnee County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2001 Honda Accord driven by Ashley Wright, 22, Junction City, was eastbound on Interstate 70 at Carlson. The Honda rear-ended a semi.
Wright was transported to Stormont Vail. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita man has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison after trying to rob a business and firing shots inside.
District Judge Jeffrey Goering sentenced 21-year-old Dallas Clayborn to 130 months in prison Wednesday.
In November, a jury found Clayborn guilty of attempted aggravated robbery, criminal discharge of a weapon and aggravated assault.
Authorities say that in April 2014, Clayborn pointed a pistol at the owner of a Phamily Express gas station.
Clayborn fired the pistol, striking a soda fountain. He then walked across the parking lot, returned seconds later and fired again, missing the owner a second time.
Police later found a bundle of clothes tied in a knot in a backyard in the neighborhood. DNA from the clothing matched Clayborn.
An exhibit of almost 40 oil and acrylic paintings will open in Fort Hays State University’s Moss-Thorns Gallery of Art on Monday, Jan. 11.
The Ballougan Exhibition showcases the collaborative work of Joel Dugan, assistant professor of art and design at FHSU, and Matt Ballou, associate teaching professor at the University of Missouri. Ballou and Dugan, who attended Indiana University-Bloomington together, have been working on the collaborative pieces since mid-2013.
The paintings focus on the idea of “portal” and the individual interests of both artists.
“The pieces they have created under the portal theme,” says the artists’ exhibition statement, “engage with the history of the painted surface as a threshold between the actual physical world and an imagined, constructed space.” Each artist has developed his own set of artistic methods, and the exhibition showcases the similarities and differences between Ballou and Dugan.
The Ballougan Exhibition will be open through Friday, Jan. 22. The Moss-Thorns Gallery of Art will host a closing reception from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22. Dugan will present a gallery talk and answer questions from the public.
The Moss-Thorns Gallery is on the first floor of Rarick Hall on the FHSU campus. Gallery hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
PAOLA, Kan. (AP) — Officials in an eastern Kansas county say they’re frustrated by safety problems at a state mental hospital that recently lost Medicare funding.
Federal officials said last month that the Medicare program would stop paying for patient care at Osawatomie State Hospital because the hospital falls short of meeting federal regulations.
Miami County Commissioner Rob Roberts said at a meeting Wednesday that some of the issues “are not ones that anyone in our county should be proud of.”
Among numerous issues cited by federal inspectors was a report that an employee was raped by a patient in October.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Kelli Ludlum with the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services spoke before the Miami County Commission and rejected findings that there was “systemic failure” at the hospital.
Mike Cooper speaks with the secretary of the Hays NAMI Board, Mary Akin, about the upcoming NAMI “Family to Family-to-Family Education Program” and what it’s all about.
Hays and Russell city officials discuss the R9 Ranch project at a meeting June 24, 2015, in Russell.
City of Hays
After decades of study, research, and planning, Hays and Russell, Kansas, are a huge step closer to finally obtaining an adequate and dependable water supply. On Thursday, January 7, 2016, Hays and Russell filed an application to transfer up to 7,625.5 acre-feet of water from their R9 Ranch in Edwards County for their municipal use.
The Cities purchased the R9 Ranch, including its 30 irrigation water rights, in 1995 in order to transfer water to Hays and Russell. As the only feasible long-term water source available to the Cities, approval of the transfer will provide the Cities, and potentially other water suppliers in the region, with a drought-proof water supply.
“Anticipating future needs, in the 1940s and ‘50s, Russell and Hays acquired water rights in Cedar Bluff Reservoir and on the Smoky Hill River. In 1995, the Cities demonstrated the same kind of foresight when they purchased the water rights on the R9 Ranch. Thursday’s action is the next step in that process that began more than 75 years ago,” said Hays City Manager, Toby Dougherty.
Russell City Manager, Jon Quinday, agreed: “We believe that using the water rights on the R9 Ranch for the Cities’ populations is essential to our ability to grow responsibly. We anticipate that the water rights will not only serve our populations, but those of our regional neighbors as well. It is the highest and best use of the water and will help halt the population decline in Western Kansas.”
In anticipation of this transfer application, in June 2015, the Cities filed applications to change the water rights on the R9 Ranch from irrigation to municipal use. Those applications are currently awaiting approval by the Chief Engineer at the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources.
After the transfer is approved, a pipeline from the Ranch to the existing water supply infrastructure will be built. This multi-year project will finally end the Cities’ long-term and expensive search for a reliable and sufficient source of water.
Kansas law requires that the Chief Engineer, the Director of the Kansas Water Office, and the Secretary of Health and Environment review and approve proposals to move 2,000 acre-feet of water or more per year a distance of 35 miles or more. A copy of the application can be found HERE.
