By Andy Marso

As the 2016 Kansas legislative session was winding down in May, Sen. Jake LaTurner sat for an interview on a bench just outside the Old Supreme Court chamber. The first-term Republican from Pittsburg was still about a half-year away from facing his first re-election challenge.

But he already could anticipate one issue that would be big for his campaign. “Highway 69 is always an issue in the elections,” LaTurner said.

“If you’re a Republican, a Democrat, an independent, whatever your party affiliation is, you better be a supporter of Highway 69.” U.S. Highway 69 connects southeast Kansas to Kansas City.

Earlier this year, the Kansas Department of Transportation was scheduled to expand the 20-mile stretch between Pittsburg and Fort Scott to four lanes with a median — something locals have desired for years.

Then, in April, that project was among 25 delayed by the department due to highway fund sweeps that Gov. Sam Brownback and Republican legislators have used to balance the budget the last several years.

A portion of the U.S. 69 expansion has since been reinstated after LaTurner protested. But two-thirds of it remains in limbo, along with dozens of other road projects across the state.

That could make re-election bids rockier, especially for Republicans associated with Brownback and his budgets. The state has had to cut many areas since the governor spearheaded large income tax reductions in 2012.

Pittsburg State University was among them, but the school’s president, Steven Scott, said the public outcry went to a higher level when U.S. 69 landed on the chopping block. “When it was the road being cut, that was a totally different thing,” Scott said.

“It’s like it just touched everybody in the community because virtually everybody at some point is going to head up in that direction.”

Those who use the road are concerned about safety, Scott said. A 17-year-old high school student who planned to attend Pittsburg State died in a head-on collision north of town earlier this year.

Brownback’s campaign promise 

This isn’t the first time U.S. 69 has factored into an election.

Brownback went to southeast Kansas just a month before the general election in 2014 to reassure voters the expansion to four lanes was going to happen.

He was seeking re-election against Paul Davis, a Democrat who had warned that Brownback was more committed to income tax cuts than highway projects and other budget priorities.

Brownback won the race, but has swept increasing amounts from the highway fund every year since to keep the state general fund balanced. KDOT was still able to keep up with its scheduled projects for a while.

Interest rates were very low and gas prices also fell. But as the fund sweeps passed $1 billion, something had to give, and U.S. 69 was among the projects that did — at least for a while.

After the delays were announced in April, LaTurner sent an open letter to Brownback decrying the inclusion of U.S. 69 and asking that it be reinstated.

Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Democrat from Topeka, predicted that Brownback would try to help LaTurner, who has been generally supportive of the governor’s tax policies.

Weeks later, the governor announced that KDOT had freed up $25 million to put the U.S. 69 expansion back on the schedule and said the contract would go up for bids in October, a month before the election. Still, that’s only about one-third of the money the state will need to complete the project.

And more than 20 others are still on hold, including one in Hensley’s district. “If the governor chooses to approve the continuation of the project on 69 Highway, then he should do the same thing for Highway 31,” Hensley said.

“Unless in fact he’s just going to cherry-pick and choose to engage in political favoritism here, where he would, you know, help Jake LaTurner, who’s a Republican and wouldn’t help me, being a Democrat.”

Hensley said the Democrats would still use the highway delays as campaign fodder. To do so in southeast Kansas, they’ll have to prove they’ve restored trust there.

A party official was caught bad-mouthing the region in an online chatroom just before the last election, in what Hensley called “a very unfortunate incident.”

Wilma Herman, who has lived in Pittsburg for more than 50 years, said the residents of the state’s most economically-depressed region feel little love from anyone in Topeka.

“It just seems like this corner of the state is kind of forgotten,” Herman said. “Like we don’t exist. We do a lot of things for other people. That just kinda hurts.”

A highway rescue? 

The governor’s spokeswoman told the Topeka Capital-Journal that he was following through on the assurances he made in 2014 by freeing the $25 million to start the U.S. 69 expansion. But some in southeast Kansas remain skeptical that the money will materialize.

Melody Brennon, who works at an area school, noted that during a recent special session, prominent legislators suggested using that money to satisfy a school finance court ruling.

The Legislature ultimately tapped other sources. But given the state’s precarious fiscal position, and the on-again/off-again history of the U.S. 69 expansion,

Brennon said she won’t believe it’s really happening until the shovels hit the dirt. “There’s money, then there’s not, then all of a sudden there’s money,” Brennon said.

“If you can find $25 million, how about funding our schools too?” Destry Brown, the superintendent of schools in Pittsburg, also said voters need to broaden their focus beyond U.S. 69 to the overall budgetary policies that pulled the money for that project and the others.

“The reason they were cut is because the state’s broke,” Destry said.

“Why is the state broke? Because the tax plan that they’ve got in place can’t support the state. They can’t pay their bills.”

It remains to be seen how much the road construction delays will factor into the legislative elections for Kansas House and Senate. But Democrats aren’t the only ones who plan to make them an issue.

The Kansas Contractors Association, a group that represents roadwork companies, had warned for years that the highway fund could only take so many sweeps before projects were put off.

Bob Totten, the association’s executive vice president, said the group plans to be active in the upcoming elections, letting Kansans know whether their representatives voted for tax and spending policies that necessitated the highway fund sweeps.

The association already has placed prominent billboards across the state calling the sweeps “highway robbery.”

Totten said that unless the state changes its tax policy, the delayed projects will remain delayed. “They’re not going to come back, because we don’t have a revenue stream that’s going to make any difference,” Totten said, “and our Legislature chose not to do anything about it and go home and start to seek re-election.”

Kansas Legislative Districts Where Highway Projects Are Delayed

	KDOT announced in April that scheduled work on the highways listed below would be delayed. The 25 delayed projects have been condensed here, with multiple stretches of connected road grouped together.
	Delayed Project	County	Legislative District	Incumbent	Challengers
	I-135	Harvey	Senate 31	Carolyn McGinn (R)	Renee Erickson (R)
			House 72	Marc Rhoades (R)	Tim Hodge (D)
	K-14	Reno, Rice	Senate 34	Terry Bruce (R)	Ed Berger (R), Homer Gilson (D)
			Senate 35	Rick Wilborn (R)	Levi Morris (D)
			House 114	Jack Thimesch (R)	Herchel Crainer III (R)
	K-31	Osage	Senate 19	Anthony Hensley (D)	Zach Haney (R)
			House 59	Blaine Finch (R)	unopposed
			House 76	Peggy Mast (R) not running	Kelly Atheron (D), Teresa Briggs (D), Eric Smith (R)
	K-68	Miami	Senate 37	Molly Baumgardner (R)	Kevin King (D)
			House 6	Jene Vickrey (R)	Christy Levings (D)
	K-177	Morris, Geary	Senate 35	Rick Wilborn (R)	Levi Morris (D)
			Senate 17	Jeff Longbine (R)	Susan Fowler (D)
			House 51	Ron Highland (R)	Adrienne Olejnik (D)
			House 68	Tom Moxley (R) not running	Nicholas Allbritton (R), Dave Baker (R), Vance Donahue II (R)
	K-383	Norton, Phillips	Senate 36	Elaine Bowers (R)	Brian Angevine (D)
			Senate 40	Ralph Ostmeyer (R) not running	Alex Herman (D), Rick Billinger (R)
			House 110	Ken Rahjes (R)	unopposed
	US-50	Gray, Ford	Senate 38	Garrett Love (R) not running	Bud Estes (R), Joyce Warshaw (R), Miguel Angel Rodriguez (D)
			House 115	Ron Ryckman Sr. not running	Andrew Evans (R), Boyd Orr (R)
	US-50	Lyon	Senate 17	Jeff Longbine (R)	Susan Fowler (D)
			House 60	Don Hill (R) not running	Steve Pearson (R), Mark Schreiber (R), Matthew Shepherd (R)
	US-54	Seward	Senate 38	Garrett Love (R) not running	Bud Estes (R), Joyce Warshaw (R), Miguel Angel Rodriguez (D)
				Shannon Francis (R)	unopposed
	US-69*	Crawford, Bourbon	Senate 13	Jake LaTurner (R)	Lynn Grant (D)
			House 2	Adam Lusker (D)	Unopposed
			House 3	Chuck Smith (R)	Monica Murnan (D)
			House 4	Marty Read (R) not running	Arlyn Briggs (R), Trevor Jacobs (R), Rick James (R)
	US-75	Montgomery	Senate 15	Jeff King (R) not running	Virgil Peck (R), Dan Goddard (R), Chuck Schmidt (D)
			House 12	Virgil Peck (R) running for Senate	Doug Blex (R), Brad Hall (R)
	US-77	Geary	Senate 17	Jeff Longbine (R)	Susan Fowler (D)
			House 65	Lonnie Clark (R)	unopposed
	US-169	Anderson	Senate 12	Caryn Tyson (R)	Christopher Johnston (D)
			House 5	Kevin Jones (R)	Doug Walker (D)
	US-169	Montgomery	Senate 15	Jeff King (R) not running	Virgil Peck (R), Dan Goddard (R), Chuck Schmidt (D)
			House 11	Jim Kelly (R)	unopposed
	US-166	Cherokee	Senate 13	Jake LaTurner (R)	Lynn Grant (D)
			House 1	Michael Houser (R)	unopposed
	US-281	Russell	Senate 36	Elaine Bowers (R)	Brian Angevine (D)
			House 109	Troy Waymaster (R)	unopposed

Andy Marso is a reporter for KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team. You can reach him on Twitter @andymarso

SEDGWICK COUNTY – A Kansas man died in an accident just after 1p.m. on Friday in Sedgwick County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Jeep SUV driven by Christopher D. Hunt, 32, Wichita was westbound on Kansas 96. The SUV hit a 2001 International Semi that was northbound on 279^th Street and crossing K-96.

Hunt was pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger in the SUV Amanda K. Hunt, 28, Wichita, was transported to St. Francis Medical Center.

The semi driver Linn, Justin N. Linn, 35, Hutchinson, was not injured.

All three were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

DETROIT (AP) — Fiat Chrysler is recalling nearly 410,000 vehicles worldwide because a wiring problem can cause them to move slowly.

The company said Friday that the recall covers some Jeep Renegade and Cherokee SUVs, Chrysler 200 sedans and Ram ProMaster City vans from the 2015 model year. Also included are certain 2014 Cherokees. Vehicles built after Sept. 23, 2014 aren’t affected.

FCA began investigating after getting warranty claims and found wires that weren’t crimped properly. That can lead to a rare solenoid problem that can cause the engines to go into a limited power mode so they can limp home.

Fiat Chrysler says it doesn’t know of any related crashes or injuries.

Dealers will update software and replace wiring as needed. Owners will be told when to schedule service.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on Campaign 2016 between the Republican and Democratic nominating conventions

Hillary Clinton says in a text message to supporters that she’s picked Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine to join her on the Democratic ticket as their party’s nominee for vice president.

In the message, Clinton says: “I’m thrilled to tell you this first: I’ve chosen Sen. Tim Kaine as my running mate.”

Kaine is expected to join Clinton at a rally in Florida on Saturday.

A favorite since the start of Clinton’s search for a running mate, Kaine is a former governor of the battleground state and former mayor of Richmond.

Kaine won election to the Senate four years ago after serving as the chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Clinton is choosing Kaine from a group that included Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

MANHATTAN -Kansas State University’s Bryan Pinkall has that Olympic touch.

A 2003 Great Bend High School graduate and KSU assistant professor of music is again lending his talents to the staging of an Olympic opening ceremony. This time he is part of the opening ceremony performance operations team for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, according to a media release.

Pinkall was selected in late 2015 to be part of the team, joining performing arts professionals from around the world in volunteering their time and expertise to create the opening ceremony, which is one of the world’s largest artistic events.

“The details surrounding the opening ceremony are highly secretive,” Pinkall said. “On the evening of Aug. 5, a worldwide television audience of billions will be able to witness the ceremony live from Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. The 2016 games are the first to be hosted in South America.”
Pinkall is becoming an old hand at helping manage such large events. He was part of the Emmy-winning team behind the opening ceremony for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. He also helped with staging the 2015 World Meeting of Families Papal Mass in Philadelphia.

Along with teaching vocal performance at Kansas State University’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance in the College of Arts & Sciences, Pinkall is a professional singer with the Kansas City Chorale. The group is under the direction of Charles Bruffy and won a Grammy Award in 2016 for best choral performance.

More information about Pinkall is available at bryanpinkall.com. More information about the 2016 Olympic Games is available at rio2016.com.

Joining Pinkall in Rio de Janeiro will be Phillip Vardiman, director of the university’s athletic training program, who is an athletic trainer on the medical team serving the U.S. track and field team.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Officials say the sugarcane aphid has returned to Kansas.

The Wichita Eagle reports that the tiny Southern pests have threatened grain sorghum, or milo, fields in the Sunflower State the previous two years. Kansas is the nation’s leading producer of grain sorghum.

Aphids were reported and confirmed in fields in Sumner and Cowley counties this week.

Officials are scouting fields but haven’t determined how far north the aphids have spread.

Last year, some sorghum producers saw heavy yield losses due to sugarcane aphids. Kansas State University says the pest spread to 36 Kansas counties, making it close to the Nebraska border.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge has told Kansas that for three more years he will monitor its compliance with the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic decision legalizing gay marriage across the nation.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree issued a permanent order Friday barring the state from treating same-sex couples differently than opposite-sex couples in allowing them to marry or extending the benefits of marriage to them.

He ruled in lawsuit filed in 2014 against the state’s health and revenue departments. The Department of Revenue also issues driver’s licenses.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision last year.

Crabtree said the state’s actions since the high court ruling suggested Kansas might not fully comply without a permanent injunction.

The attorney general’s office did not immediately return telephone and email messages seeking comment.