SALINA, Kan. (AP) — A Delphos man has pleaded no contest to five felony counts in connection to the robbery and sexual assault of a convenience store employee and the kidnapping of a female customer at a Salina Wal-Mart.

The Salina Journal reports that 31-year-old Jerrid W. Logan entered his plea Tuesday. He was charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault, robbery, attempted rape and aggravated criminal sodomy.

Logan was accused of approaching a woman in July and leading her into a Wal-Mart at knifepoint. Authorities say she pulled away and Logan punched the woman before fleeing.

Later that day, prosecutors say Logan entered a convenience store and took a female clerk, at knifepoint, into a back room. Authorities say Logan took money that the clerk offered and then sexually assaulted her.

He is scheduled to be sentenced May 2.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The great-grandson of President Dwight D. Eisenhower will serve as Kansas’ next aviation director.

The Kansas Department of Transportation says Merrill Eisenhower Atwater of Basehor will become part of the agency’s staff in his new job. The Lawrence Journal-World reports  he will work with the Federal Aviation Administration and other aviation groups, as well as overseeing the transportation department’s aviation programs.

Atwater’s last job was national sales director for Housby, a Des Moines, Iowa, company that handles Mack and Isuzu truck retail sales, truck maintenance, auctions and more.

Atwater replaces Tiffany Brown, who went to work for the FAA in Denver.

President Eisenhower spent his boyhood in Abilene, where his presidential library is located.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Six states have filed a new lawsuit against the Obama administration over the Affordable Care Act.

The complaint that Texas, Wisconsin, Kansas, Louisiana, Indiana and Nebraska filed Wednesday in the Northern District of Texas takes issue with the Health Insurance Providers Fee assessed to health insurers to cover federal subsidies.

The lawsuit says nothing in the Affordable Care Act’s language provided clear notice that states would have to pay the fee.

The suit seeks an injunction against the federal rules that say states are responsible for the fee. It also asks for states to be refunded for what they’ve already paid.

The suit says the fee is projected to allow the federal government to collect between $13 billion and $15 billion from states over the next decade.

MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The flu vaccine is doing a better job this year.

Preliminary data suggest it is 59 percent effective. That’s a big improvement from last winter’s nasty flu season when the vaccine was less than 20 percent effective.

Unlike last year’s vaccine, this year’s is a good match to the strains making people sick.

It’s been a milder flu season so far, though health officials said it has not yet peaked.

The numbers were presented Wednesday at a medical meeting in Atlanta.

WABAUNSEE COUNTY – A Kansas man was injured in an accident just before 3p.m. on Wednesday in Wabaunsee County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2010 Jeep Wrangler driven by James A. Goble, Jr., 61, Lawrence, was westbound on Interstate 70 just east of Snokomo Road.

The vehicle entered the grass on the shoulder, went airborne, rolled end over end several times and ejected the driver.

Goble was transported to Stormont Vail. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A new government report forecasts the 2015 value of field and other crops in Kansas at $6.48 billion.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service said Wednesday that its estimate for the state is down less than 1 percent from 2014.

The agency said it anticipates the value of the state’s corn production at $2.18 billion. That is up 2 percent from the previous marketing year. It projected the Kansas corn price at $3.75 per bushel.

The value of winter wheat production in Kansas trailed behind at $1.56 billion, up 4 percent from the previous marketing year. The average wheat price is projected to average $4.85 per bushel.

BARTON COUNTY -When Brandon and Megan Fyler found out they were expecting quadruplets, the couple said there was silence and then pure shock.

Megan’s pregnancy has been followed closely by thousands via Facebook and the Albert, Kansas parents were finally able to announce the four Fyler boys were welcomed into the world early Tuesday morning.

The first boy Ayden was born at 1:22 a.m. Tuesday, February 23, and Braxton, Cameron, and Dexter were all born less than 30 minutes later.

The Fyler parents say all four babies are doing fine in the NICU at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.

The four babies already have an older brother Colton who is 2 ½ years old.

The Barton County couple has been amazed by the support they have received from friends, family, and even strangers.

A Go Fund Me webpage has been formed and multiple organizations are forming fundraisers to help with the family’s medical expenses.

The Fylers expect to bring the boys home in six weeks. Each boy weighed close to three pounds at birth. Fyler said there were over 30 people that piled into the operating room to witness and assist with the quadruplet’s birth. Megan gave birth to the four boys completely natural with no epidural.

In addition to the Fylers Go Fund Me page, they are selling bracelets for $5.

All the proceeds go to the medical expenses for the babies.

Bracelets are available at Kansas Land Tire, Roth Embroidery, Hair Eclips, Krebaum Chiropractic, and Credit Union.

BROWN COUNTY –Two people died in an accident just before noon on Wednesday in Brown County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2013 Ford SUV driven by Douglas L. Rehfeld, 47, Overland Park, was westbound on Kansas 246.

The driver failed to stop at a posted stop sign, entered U.S.75 and was struck broadside by a 1998 Dodge Truck driven by James F. Hunter, 80, Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Rehfeld and Hunter were pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Popkess Mortuary.

A passenger in the Dodge Carol S. Martin, 70, Council Bluffs, IA., was transported to the hospital in Sabetha.

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

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A hearing for a woman accused in the 2014 killing of another woman has been pushed back to April.

The Lawrence Journal World reports that 39-year-old Angelica Kulp appeared in court Tuesday, where her attorney asked for an upcoming hearing to be pushed back to allow more time for discovery.

Douglas County District Court Judge Kay Huff granted the attorney’s request, scheduling Kulp’s next court appearance, where a date will be set for her preliminary hearing, for April 12.

Kulp is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 56-year-old Christine Kaplan, who was found dead at her Lawrence home. The cause of Kaplan’s death has not been released.