Police investigators on the scene of Friday shooting-photo courtesy KWCH
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police are searching for two suspects after a man was critically wounded in a shooting near Friends University.
Police were called to a home about three blocks east of the university. A 19-year-old woman told officers that two suspects forced their way into the home and shot the 22-year-old victim.
The woman and a 3-year-old boy at the home were not injured.
Sgt. Nikki Woodrow said one of the suspects shot the man after demanding his personal property and the suspects then fled.
Wichita police say the suspects targeted the person who was shot.
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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A man has reportedly been injured in a shooting near Friends University in Wichita.
The Wichita Eagle reports a Sedgwick County dispatcher said the shooting happened Friday morning.
According to the newspaper, the unidentified man was taken to a local hospital in critical condition.
The Kansas House Health and Human Services Committee voted Thursday to introduce a Medicaid expansion bill at the request of Rep. Susan Concannon, a Beloit Republican. CREDIT KANSAS NEWS SERVICE FILE
It very well might be too late, but some Kansas lawmakers are moving ahead on a plan to expand KanCare, the state’s privatized Medicaid program.
The House Health and Human Services Committee voted Thursday to introduce an expansion bill at the request of Rep. Susan Concannon, a Beloit Republican.
“I just want to talk about it,” said Concannon, whose support of expansion prompted former House Speaker Ray Merrick to remove her from the health committee just before the 2016 session.
Back on the committee as vice chairwoman — courtesy of new Speaker Ron Ryckman, an Olathe Republican — Concannon believes Merrick’s retirement and the ouster of several conservative lawmakers by moderate Republicans and Democrats give expansion supporters the votes they need.
“I believe we can get it on the governor’s desk,” she said. “I believe we can pass it out of the House and Senate. Then, it will be up to him (Gov. Sam Brownback) from there on.”
Concannon’s bill, largely crafted by the Kansas Hospital Association, would expand KanCare coverage to between 100,000 and 150,000 low-income Kansans, mostly adults who make less than $16,243 a year.
At the moment, the Affordable Care Act requires the federal government to pay 95 percent of expansion costs. By 2020 that will gradually decline to 90 percent, where it will remain as long as current rules are in effect.
“It would all go away if the percentages drop below that,” Concannon said, referring to a provision in the bill authorizing the state to terminate expansion if and when Congress repeals or modifies the ACA.
Dedicated funds from a drug rebate program and an assessment on Kansas hospitals would cover the state’s share of the cost under the bill, which also establishes a working group to identify additional sources of state funding if necessary.
Brownback renewed his opposition to expansion earlier this week in his State of the State address, saying it would be reckless to move forward in the face of plans by President-elect Donald Trump and Republican congressional leaders to repeal the ACA.
“It would be foolish to endorse the Obamacare expansion of Medicaid — akin to airlifting onto the Titanic,” Brownback said. “Kansas should stay the course.”
Concannon disagrees. She and other expansion supporters say it would be foolish to miss what could be the state’s last opportunity to provide health coverage to low-income Kansans and claim billions in additional federal dollars.
“The Kansas Hospital Association’s website has a running calculation of the federal dollars that we’ve missed by not expanding,” she said. “It’s at $1.6 billion and adding up as we speak.”
Kansas isn’t the only state racing the clock on expansion. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has notified federal officials of his intention to pursue expansion despite a 2013 law that prevents him from doing so without legislative approval.
Rep. Dan Hawkins, the Wichita Republican who chairs the health committee, said hearings on the expansion bill likely will be scheduled for early February.
Jim McLean is managing director of kcur.org‘s Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics in Kansas. You can reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The AFC divisional playoff game Sunday between the Steelers and Chiefs has been moved from an early afternoon kickoff to primetime because of an ice storm due to hit the Kansas City area this weekend.
The game was originally scheduled to kickoff at 12:05 p.m. Central time. It will now start at 7:20 p.m. to give road crews and public safety officials more time to treat roads and parking lots.
The forecast calls for ice to move into the area Friday, and persistent cold temperatures throughout Saturday and Sunday. Additional precipitation is expected Sunday, though mostly in the form of rain.
The time change means the Packers-Cowboys game scheduled to kickoff at 3:40 p.m. Central time on Fox on Sunday will lead into the Steelers-Chiefs game, which will air on NBC.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Royals and All-Star first baseman Eric Hosmer have agreed on a $12.25 million contract for next season, avoiding arbitration with a deal that could take him to free agency.
General manager Dayton Moore has long been optimistic that the Royals will be able to sign their homegrown star to a long-term deal, but the price has risen considerably.
The 27-year-old Hosmer made $8.3 million last season in the second year of a $13.9 million, two-year contract that he signed to avoid arbitration in 2015. He has won three Gold Gloves and flashed more power at the plate last season, hitting .266 with a career high 25 homers and 104 RBIs.
Hosmer is eligible for free agency after the season.
Left-hander Danny Duffy and closer Kelvin Herrera remained eligible for arbitration.
SAN DIEGO COUNTY, CA – The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) announced Friday that arrests were made in connection to three homicides which occurred October 30th in rural Moundridge, Kansas.
Shortly after 7:00 p.m. Thursday evening, January 12th, Mexican authorities arrested 35-year-old Jereme Lee Nelson and 31-year-old Myrta Rangel. The arrest warrants were executed without incident south of the United States border. Nelson and Rangel were then handed over to the U.S. Marshals Service and returned to the U.S. according to a media release.
The initial criminal investigation was conducted by the KBI and the Harvey County Sheriff’s Office. In November, arrest warrants out of Harvey County were issued for Nelson and Rangel for capital murder. The warrants allege the suspects committed the murders of 33-year-old Travis Street and 37-year-old Angela May Graevs, both of Moundridge, and 52-year-old Richard Prouty of Newton. At the scene of the murders, an 18-month-old child, belonging to Street and Graeves, was found unharmed inside the home.
Prior to the arrest warrants being issued, Nelson and Rangel fled Kansas. The KBI’s investigation then shifted its focus to working with Mexican authorities through the U.S. Marshals Service to identify the movements and location of the suspects within Mexico in an effort to apprehend them.
“I’m proud of the hard work our agents undertook to get to this point in the investigation. We are pleased that the suspects will be brought back to Kansas and tried for these crimes,” KBI Director Kirk Thompson said.
The suspects were booked into the San Diego County Jail. Nelson and Rangel are expected to appear at an extradition hearing Friday in San Diego County, California court.
An ice storm warning has been issued for a large swath of western Kansas, including Ellis County.
Freezing rain is expected to develop after daybreak on Saturday and continue through Sunday night. Ice accumulations are expected to be between a half inch and an inch.
Check Hays Post and tune into Eagle Radio of Hays stations for the latest on severe weather and cancellations.
The full notice from the NWS is below.
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NWS
URGENT – WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
459 AM CST FRI JAN 13 2017
KSZ030-031-043>046-132200-
/O.EXT.KDDC.IS.W.0001.170114T1200Z-170116T1200Z/
TREGO-ELLIS-SCOTT-LANE-NESS-RUSH-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF…WAKEENEY…PFEIFER…HAYS…
SCOTT CITY…SCOTT STATE LAKE…DIGHTON…NESS CITY…LACROSSE
459 AM CST FRI JAN 13 2017
…ICE STORM WARNING NOW IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM SATURDAY TO 6 AM CST
MONDAY…
* TIMING…FREEZING RAIN IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP AFTER DAYBREAK ON
SATURDAY AND CONTINUE THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT. THE FREEZING RAIN
IS EXPECTED TO OCCUR OVER ALL OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST KANSAS.
SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER FAR SOUTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL
KANSAS SUNDAY NIGHT. PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN ESPECIALLY AROUND
SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY.
* ICE ACCUMULATIONS…A HALF INCH TO AROUND ONE INCH OF ICE IS
POSSIBLE.
* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS…TWO TO THREE INCHES OF SNOW COULD FALL
FROM AROUND SYRACUSE TO SCOTT CITY.
* MAIN IMPACT…FREEZING RAIN AND POTENTIALLY SIGNIFICANT ICING.
ICE ACCUMULATIONS OF ONE HALF INCH TO AROUND ONE INCH COULD
CAUSE SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO TREES AND POWER LINES. SNOW
ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 3 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER WEST
CENTRAL AND FAR SOUTHWEST KANSAS.
* OTHER IMPACTS…TRAVEL MAY BECOME IMPOSSIBLE WITH ICE COVERED
ROADWAYS. DOWNED TREES AND POWER LINES MAY CAUSE POWER
OUTAGES.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT
ICE ACCUMULATIONS THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL. CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE
LATEST FORECASTS.
AN ICE STORM WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF ICE ACCUMULATIONS
WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS OR IMPOSSIBLE. TRAVEL IS STRONGLY
DISCOURAGED. COMMERCE WILL LIKELY BE SEVERELY IMPACTED. IF YOU
MUST TRAVEL…KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT…FOOD…AND WATER IN YOUR
VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY. ICE ACCUMULATIONS AND WINDS WILL
LIKELY LEAD TO SNAPPED POWER LINES AND FALLING TREE BRANCHES THAT
ADD TO THE DANGER.
BARTON COUNTY –Law enforcement authorities in Barton County are investigating a suspect on drug and theft charges.
Just before 10:30 p.m. Thursday, Barton County Sheriff’s Deputy Sierra Thorne conducted a traffic stop in the 5600 block of Broadway in Great Bend to check the registration plate on a vehicle.
Thorne contacted the driver of the vehicle. There was also a passenger in the vehicle identified as Lucas Webster, 36, of Great Bend.
A Great Bend Police Department K-9 unit was called to the scene. The dog indicated a presence of controlled substances.
Upon searching the vehicle it was found an item belonging to Webster contained suspected methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, multiple cell phones and stolen property.
The stolen properties were items taken in a burglary at Susank, Kansas.
It was also discovered Webster was wanted by the District Court of Ellis County, two no bond warrants had been issued for his arrest.
Webster was arrested for possession with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school, possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of stolen property as well as the two Ellis County warrants.
Webster is being held in the Barton County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bond on the Barton County charges and no bond on the Ellis County charges.
Jerry K. VanAllen, 66, of Topeka, formerly of Sharon Springs, died January 8, 2017 at Topeka, Kansas.
He was born July 18, 1950 in Tribune, Kansas, the son of Cecil and Phyllis VanAllen, and graduated from Wallace County High School in 1968. He attended Colby Community College where he received his Associate of Arts Degree; Fort Hays State University where he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Master of Science Degree. Jerry also held special degrees from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg and Northwest Kansas Area Vocational School. He served in the US Navy as a Personnel Third Class Petty Officer.
Mr. VanAllen worked in the family businesses from 1972 to 1985 and was Executive Director of the Kansas Masonic Foundation from 1990 to 2000. His later years were spent with the State of Kansas in the Kansas Corporation Commission. Jerry was a member of the United Methodist Church in Sharon Springs. He served as a lay-minister and on the stewardship committee for many years. Jerry was a member or past member of: the American Legion, Topeka Rotary Club, Philanthropic Society of Topeka, Public Relations Club of Topeka, Unity and Pride, Concerned Citizens of Topeka, and Volunteer for TAP, Sojourn and the American Red Cross. He was a Past Master and member of Sharon Springs Lodge #417 AF&AM since 1976. He was a Past Patron of Sharon Chapter #381 of Sharon Springs and Worthy Grand Patron of Kansas in 1988/89.
He is survived by his sisters, Patsy Studt of Hutchinson and Janet Weigel of Great Bend; brothers, Cecil Leroy VanAllen of Tucson, AZ, Larry and Richard VanAllen of Sharon Springs, Robert VanAllen of Wheeler; fifteen nephews and nieces and twenty-one great-nephews and nieces, as well as a multitude of friends and other relatives.
Memorial services will be held on Wednesday, January 18, 2017 at 10:00 AM MT at the United Methodist Church in Sharon Springs with Reverend Paul McNall officiating. Inurnment will follow in the Sharon Springs Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be designated to the United Methodist Church (Building Fund) in Sharon Springs; Fort Hays State University Endowment or the OES Grand Chapter (Scholarship Endowment Fund) and may be left at the services or mailed to Koons-Russell Funeral Home, 211 N. Main St., Goodland, KS 67735.
Online condolences may be left at: www.koonsrussellfuneralhome.com.
Local service arrangements were entrusted to Koons-Russell Funeral Home in Sharon Springs, KS.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary Tom Vilsack is leaving the Agriculture Department a week before his tenure ends and President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
Trump has not chosen Vilsack’s replacement. Kansas Governor Sam Brownback had been mentioned as a possible candidate for the appointment.
Vilsack told employees in an email that Friday is his final day. He has led USDA for eight years and was President Barack Obama’s longest-serving Cabinet secretary.
The email did not say why Vilsack is leaving or if someone will replace him until Trump is inaugurated next week. Vilsack has said he wants to remain involved with agriculture after leaving government.
Vilsack has criticized the Trump administration for lagging in picking an Agriculture Secretary. It is the only Cabinet position Trump has not filled. In a statement, Vilsack said the new person will be “at a tremendous disadvantage” learning what the department does.
Logan resident LaVergne L. Bietz passed away, Tuesday, January 10, 2017 at the Logan Manor in Logan, KS at the age of 101.
She was born March 15, 1915 in Phillips County, Kansas the daughter of Albert P. & Amalie A. (Jaenicke) Schick.
She was preceded in death by her parents; brother, Carl; twin sister, Maxine Bietz; sister, Martha Bruning; and husband, Arthur F. C. Bietz.
Survivors include a son, Myron Bietz & wife, Sherland of Norton, Kansas; 4 grandchildren; 11 great grandchildren; and 3 great great grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at 2:00p.m. Wednesday, January 18, 2017 in the Logan Funeral Home, Logan, KS, with Pastor Joel Hiesterman officiating. Burial will follow in the St. Peter’s Lutheran Cemetery, Phillips County, KS.
Mrs. Bietz will lie in state from noon until 9 p.m. Monday and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday in the Logan Funeral Home, 102 E. Church St., Logan, KS 67646.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Lutheran Hour.
Online condolences may be left at www.olliffboeve.com.
Phillipsburg resident Neva Stephenson passed away Jan 12 at the Phillips County Retirement Center in Phillipsburg at the age of 95. She was born April 20, 1921 in Speed, KS, the daughter of Arthur & Myrtle (Olds) Hayes.
She was preceded in death by her husbands, Reuben Richardson & Dane Stephenson, her daughter, Leora Hutton & grandson Kurt.
She is survived by her son Ron Richardson of Garden City, MO; 4 daughters: Patsy Dodge and Barbara Schindler of Stockton, Marcia Louis of Dundalk, MD & Roxie Pope of Phillipsburg; 17 grandchildren, 23 great grandchildren & 20 great great grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 2:00 p.m. in the Community Church of God, Phillipsburg, with Pastor Tim Kraft officiating. Burial will follow in the Fairview Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 12:00 to 9:00 Sunday & 9:00 to 9:00 Monday at the Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel, Phillipsburg.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Church or the Phillips County Retirement Center.
Online condolences: www.olliffboeve.com.
Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
TOPEKA — Ice, winds, blowing snow and cold temperatures have hit most of Kansas. Kansans need to check their homeowners and vehicle insurance policies to be sure they are familiar with potential winter weather situations.
If you can, check with your local insurance agents about what’s covered in your policies. Overall, homeowners and vehicle policies provide basic protection, but some policies provide a broader range of coverages than others. It is best to know what your individual policy contains.
Consumers should review these points about their winter insurance coverage:
Most homeowners policies include coverage for wind, blowing snow and the weight of ice, snow and sleet on the structure.
Damage to homes caused by falling objects such as trees is covered under most policies. However, the cost to remove limbs is usually not covered unless the tree first damages the structure.
Water damage to a structure or its contents is usually excluded under most property insurance contracts. Check with your local insurance agent to be sure.
Some policies may provide coverage from frozen pipes, as long as the damage is not a result of the homeowner’s failure to keep the home adequately heated.
Many policies don’t include coverage for water that backs up from drains or sewers. That protection can be added to a policy by purchasing additional coverage or a rider.
Flood damage from snow and ice melt is almost always excluded by homeowners’ policies. Flood-related policies can be obtained through the National Flood Insurance Program. Your local agent can provide details and make recommendations on what’s right for you.
Vehicle coverage for winter-related accidents involving snow removal could be covered through collision coverage. Check with your agent for details.
There are a couple of things to know if you lose power. First, if a fallen tree is to blame for the power outage, you may be covered by your homeowners policy. Second, regarding food spoiling in your refrigerator or freezer, a homeowners or renters policy often allows for compensation for food losses, but only up to a certain (usually fairly low dollar) amount. If your deductible is equal to or greater than this amount, unless you have other losses, you probably can’t claim just the loss of the food.
Finally, hail damage can often occur during the winter months. Talk to your agent about vehicle and homeowners policy coverage for hail.
When you contact your agent, you should have a copy of your policy or insurance card handy. If you have put together a vehicle or household winter storm preparation kit, you might want to keep a copy there.
If you still have questions, contact the Kansas Insurance Department Consumer Assistance Representatives at 800-432-2484. You can also go to the KID website to use the online chat feature on the home page.
