OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Bioscience Authority says it will become a private entity this year.

The Olathe-based authority was established in 2004 to attract bioscience technology to Kansas, using both state and private funds. The Lawrence Journal-World reports it has been criticized in recent years for the types of investments it made. Some lawmakers also said it wasn’t appropriate to use state funds for private equity investments.

Last year, lawmakers cut the authority’s state appropriation to $13 million for each of the next two years, rather than $35 million and $75 million the KBA was expecting.

The authority said Thursday its board of directors voted Dec. 18 to become a private entity. President Duane Cantrell will be replaced by Kevin Lockett, the current chief financial officer and chief operating officer.

HUTCHINSON – Law enforcement authorities in Reno County are investigating a Kansas man in connection with a fatal stabbing on New Year’s morning.

Police in Hutchinson were dispatched to a large disturbance just after 2 a.m. to an area around at 8th and Madison, according to a media release.

When they arrived, they found 24-year-old Deshamus Diron Luckey of Hutchinson with a stab wound.

He was transported by Reno County EMS to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center where he died

Kevin Wayne Ginn Jr., 24, Hutchinson, was taken to jail in connection with the stabbing and is in custody with a $50,000.00 bond.

Anyone who has information in regards to this case may Call Detective Dean Harcrow at 620-694-2867 or Crime Stoppers of Reno County at 1-800-222-TIPS.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas Court of Appeals panel has ruled that a Dodge City casino doesn’t have to pay the state’s “use tax” on electronic gaming machines it operates for the Kansas Lottery.

The three-judge appeals panel agreed with a state Board of Tax Appeals decision that said the Kansas Department of Revenue was wrong in collecting $801,588 in compensating use tax from the Boot Hill Casino and Resort in Dodge City.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports  the tax was from the casino’s purchase of out-of-state vendors’ electronic gaming machines on behalf of the Kansas Lottery, the state agency that oversees operations at three state-owned casinos.

The Court of Appeals panel said the casino isn’t obligated to pay the tax because it doesn’t own the equipment but manages them for the lottery.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas legislative panel is recommending that hepatitis C patients who drink alcohol or stop using their medications should lose Medicaid coverage.

The KanCare Oversight Committee also recommended this week that the state health department use step therapy, which requires Medicaid patients to try cheaper treatments first and receive more expensive treatments only if the other medicines fail. State law currently forbids that practice.

The Wichita Eagle reports  that Sen. Jim Denning, a Republican from Overland Park, suggested the proposals.

Republicans on the panel said the state shouldn’t have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on someone with hepatitis C who doesn’t follow doctor’s orders.

The two Democrats on the committee voted against the hepatitis C proposal, with one calling it a “death sentence” for some patients.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. drivers saved a bunch of money on gasoline this past year, as Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members kept the pumps going in the face of low oil prices. Massive stockpiles of crude globally turned 2015 into the year of the pain-free fill up. More of the same is expected for 2016 as oil prices remain low. Here’s a quick breakdown of the numbers, courtesy of the AAA.

ONE FOR THE OIL MAN, TWO FOR ME

Americans saved a collective $115 billion plus this year on trips to the gas station. The average licensed driver pocketed more than $550, enough to cover a lease payment or two. The average price for a gallon of gas never broke $3 in 2015, and it dipped below $2 in December, the first time that’s happened since the Great Recession in 2009.

HOW ABOUT A NEW YEAR’S ROADTRIP?

You’ll likely be paying less on average this New Year’s Day than on the past seven. The national average price for a gallon of gas is $2, the lowest since 2008. But you’d likely pay less. About 71 percent of gas stations are selling gas for less than $2 per gallon, and 16,000 stations are charging less than $1.75. But you’ll pay up if you drive to California, Nevada, Washington, Alaska — or rent a car in Hawaii. Those are the five states where gas costs $2.47 or more.

CALIFORNIANS PAY MORE

No one paid as much as Californians for gas, the first time that’s ever happened. The culprit: unplanned maintenance at some major refineries. Still, the average price in the state of $3.16 per gallon was cheap compared with $3.79 in 2014. On the opposite end of the spectrum and the country, the Southeastern U.S. is rolling in gas savings. For the fourth year in a row, South Carolina was the lowest countrywide, at an average of $2.10 per gallon. Other states where the savings were grand included Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Louisiana.

LOOKING AHEAD

AAA estimates that the annual average price of gas in 2016 will be between $2.25 and $2.45 per gallon, which would be cheaper or at least comparable to the 2015 average of $2.40 per gallon. Some industry analysts believe that cutbacks by U.S. producers will trim the huge surplus in oil, and gasoline prices will rise as a result. But remember, oil is priced globally and with sanctions being eased, Iran could add to the glut and further pressure prices. During a two-day conference in November, some 50 major oil, gas and petrochemical projects were introduced in Tehran. That, for anyone who buys gas, points to a buyer’s market in 2016.

MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court’s lineup of cases is fit for an election year.

Affirmative action, abortion and another look at the Obama health care law and its contraceptive mandate all are before the court. And they could well be joined by immigration, giving the justices a run of cases that reads like a campaign platform.

Also coming are disputes involving labor unions, the death penalty and the way electoral districts are drawn.

Decisions in these high-profile cases almost certainly will split the court along ideological lines, mirroring the country’s stark partisan split. The most contentious issues won’t be resolved until late June, barely four months before the 2016 presidential election.

WINCHESTER- A Kansas man died in an accident just after 10:30p.m. on New Year’s Eve in Jefferson County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1999 Chevy Malibu driven by Jackson, Isaiah J. Jackson, 27, Atchison, was westbound on Kansas192 at 7th Street in Winchester.

The driver missed the curve and continued straight onto Delaware Street.

He lost control of the vehicle. It entered the south ditch and overturned several times. The Driver 1was ejected through the rear window.

Jackson was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Frontier Forensics.

He was not wearing a seatbelt, according to the KHP.