WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A research group that supports abortion rights says more than half of women of reproductive age live in states with unneeded restrictions on abortion facilities.

The analysis released Tuesday by the Guttmacher Institute comes after a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year striking down a widely replicated Texas law on abortion clinics. The court held the regulations were medically unnecessary and unconstitutionally limit a woman’s right to an abortion.

That ruling prompted Guttmacher to look at laws it says are not based in science.

Abortion opponents say such restrictions protect women’s health.

Guttmacher analyzed laws that mandate standards for abortion providers, require waiting periods and ban abortions after 20 weeks.

It found Kansas and Texas have the most such restrictions, followed by Louisiana, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

FINNEY COUNTY- Law enforcement authorities and USD 457 officials continue to investigating a threat at schools and have made an arrest.

Police reported in a media release Jaquelin Rico, 16, was arrested for criminal threat and identity theft in relation to the original Snapchat message threatening violence towards students of the Garden City High School.

She was also arrested for an additional threat sent through social media on Saturday May 6.

She is being held in the Southwest Kansas Regional Juvenile Detention Center and could face the possible charges of, Criminal Threat (x9), Identity Theft, Making False Information for the original incident on May 4th. She could face additional charges, Criminal Threat (x9) and Making False Information for the additional Snapchat message on May 6th.

Through the investigation, it was also learned of an individual at the Garden City High School who was allegedly creating fake Snapchat accounts to send defamatory messages to other students at the school. Police arrested 16-year-old Jonathan Gonzalez of Garden City.

These alleged defamatory messages along with other disconcerting activities were the cause of the initial threat being issued.

He is also being held in the Southwest Kansas Regional Juvenile Detention Center

There was never an actual plan to carry out the original threat and students were not in danger from this incident. Both cases have been referred to the Finney County Attorney’s Office.

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FINNEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities and officials with USD 457 are investigating alleged threats at Garden City High School.

Just after 7p.m. Thursday May4, officers of the Garden City Police Department were made aware of reports of threats of violence towards students of the Garden City High School through social media, according to Police Captain Randy Ralston.

Based on information received during the investigation, police placed a 16-year-old boy into protective custody.

On Monday evening, the Garden City Police Department reported they identified the person who allegedly made the threat. “We believe there was never an actual plan to carry out the threat and students were not in danger from this incident,” according to a media release.

No arrests have been reported.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers are looking to more closely oversee the state’s privatized foster care system and the contractors that run it amid questions about how the state monitors the program.

The House Children and Seniors Committee passed a bill Tuesday that would create a foster care task force to study the system and make recommendations.

A three-part audit says the Kansas Department for Children and Families and the contractors that run foster care don’t do enough to ensure children are placed in appropriate homes. The final part of the audit published last month said some parts of the state don’t have enough homes for the children awaiting placement.

The vote comes a day after a Kansas jury sentenced Michael Jones to life in prison for abusing and killing his son.

The boy’s stepmother, Heather Jones, pleaded guilty to the same charge in November and is serving a life term.

By Rocky Robinson

SALINE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating a suspect on forgery and a number of additional charges after a high-speed chase.

On Sunday afternoon, Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Greg Arnold said he attempted to pull over a 2000’s model Ford Expedition near the Target parking lot at Ninth and Schilling in Salina.

The vehicle sped down Schilling and turned north on Ohio. Trooper Arnold said he briefly pursued the suspect through the outskirts of town, reaching speeds of 70 miles-per-hour. When the vehicle turned towards more residential areas, Arnold said he called off the chase for safety reasons.

“I was trying to keep my speed lower and safer for everyone else and he just kept getting faster,” Trooper Arnold said. “In the interest of public safety I disregarded the pursuit.”

The same vehicle was spotted by a different trooper near Harley-Davidson of Salina, 2200 N Ohio, about 10 minutes after the initial chase. The second trooper pursued the suspect down I-70 and into Dickinson County.

The driver ditched the vehicle after going off-road on 3100 Avenue near Fair Road. The trooper apprehended the suspect following a foot pursuit.

Cunningham was taken into custody and booked into the Saline County Jail.

SALINA -Union Pacific is boosting safety and efficiency with an approximately $57 million infrastructure investment in Kansas this year.

In a media release they indicated the projects funded by Union Pacific benefit Kansas’s overall transportation infrastructure without taxpayer funds.

Union Pacific’s investment plan funds a range of initiatives: $43 million to maintain railroad track and $12 million to maintain bridges in the state. Key projects planned this year include:

• $13 million investment in the rail line between Topeka and Herington to replace 102,740 railroad ties and install 53,137 tons of rock ballast.
• $4.8 million investment in the rail line between Junction City and Salina to replace 33,828 railroad ties and install 327 tons of rock ballast.

“Union Pacific’s targeted investments fund projects that strengthen our railroad tracks, increase safety and minimize delays as trains travel through communities across Kansas,” said Donna Kush, Union Pacific vice president – Public Affairs, Northern Region. “Maintaining a healthy railroad is the foundation of our ability to serve customers and communities across the state.”

This year’s planned $57 million capital expenditure in Kansas is part of an ongoing investment strategy. From 2012 to 2016, Union Pacific invested more than $425 million strengthening Kansas’s transportation infrastructure.

Union Pacific plans to spend $3.1 billion across its network this year. The company has invested $51 billion since 2000, contributing to a 40 percent decrease in derailments during the same time frame.

SEWARD COUNTY – A Kansas junior college football player died of natural causes as determined by an autopsy, according to a media release from the Seward County Sheriff’s Department.

Sean Callahan, 19, was found unresponsive Sunday afternoon at a home in Kismet, Kansas. He was taken to a Southwest Medical Center in Liberal where he was pronounced dead.

Callahan was a sophomore offensive lineman at Garden City Community College. He received an associate degree during spring commencement ceremonies on Friday.

The 6-foot 4inch, 295-pound offensive lineman is originally from Gardner, Kansas

“I’m very sad for Sean’s family, friends, teammates, our college, myself and anyone that had contact with Sean,” Broncbuster Coach Jeff Sims said in a statement.

“He truly was growing and developing into a man with a bright future.”

In December, Garden City won their first national championship with a 25-22 victory over No. 2 Arizona Western in the El Toro Bowl.

BY MEG WINGERTER

Another poll has found strong majorities of Kansans support expanding Medicaid, but some political experts say it isn’t likely to make a difference this legislative session.

The latest Medicaid expansion poll found about 68 percent of Kansans surveyed said they supported expanding the program to non-disabled adults who earn up to 138 percent of the federal poverty line, or annual income of about $16,600 for an individual and $33,400 for a family of four. About 60 percent of Republicans polled said they also supported expansion.

The American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network and the American Heart Association commissioned the poll, which was released Monday.

Download the new Kansas poll on Medicaid expansion.

Both legislative houses passed a Medicaid expansion bill earlier this year, but Gov. Sam Brownback vetoed the bill, saying it would prioritize non-disabled people. Disability rights groups objected to that line of argument, but the House failed to override the governor’s veto.

Talk about another attempt has simmered since, but it isn’t clear if supporters can muster the votes.

Despite the polling numbers and supporters’ determination to push Medicaid expansion again, a change isn’t likely to happen this year, said Burdett Loomis, a professor of political science at the University of Kansas. Lawmakers have too much on their plates as they try to balance the budget and find more money to fund schools, he said.

“Now it’s a question of, ‘Do you have time and energy at the end of this difficult session?’” he said. “My guess is the answer is no.”

But Hilary Gee, Kansas government relations director for the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network, said the latest poll is “more evidence” that voters support expansion. It also shows voters are engaged in the issue and think it has momentum, she said.

“Several legislators who voted against expansion previously stated they wanted to find a solution,” she said. “Now we definitively know that voters would like to see an expansion solution as well.”

Previous polls released in January, March 2016, February 2014  and February 2013 all found more Kansans supported expanding Medicaid than opposed it, but this session was the first time the issue made it to a vote in the Legislature.

During the 2010, 2012 and 2014 elections, candidates who opposed anything associated with Obamacare — as the Affordable Care Act is commonly called — typically were among the winners, said Bob Beatty, a political science professor at Washburn University.

It was an unusual situation where the public appeared to support an idea but consistently voted for representatives who opposed it, he said.

But last fall Kansans elected more moderate Republicans and Democrats to the Legislature, which sent a message about support for expansion, Beatty said.

However, conservative Republicans who kept their seats generally came from districts where being associated with Obamacare would be politically perilous, he said, giving them little incentive to change their votes.

“They survived 2016, so their districts are probably OK,” he said. “Some conservatives and Republicans have been very successful at linking Medicaid expansion up to Obamacare.”

Opposition to former President Barack Obama may become less politically compelling under the administration of President Donald Trump, Beatty said, so voting against expansion may no longer be a winning position in 2018. It isn’t likely that Medicaid expansion will move forward this year in Kansas, however.

“Right now, reading the tea leaves, it doesn’t look like the votes are there” to override a Brownback veto, he said.

Meg Wingerter is a reporter for the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of  kcur.org, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics. You can reach her on Twitter @MegWingerter.