By STEPHAN BISAHA

Kansas universities had about 800 more students enrolled this spring than they did last year, according to new data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

That’s about a half percent more — essentially flat. But flat is better than the national figure, which saw enrollment across the United States drop about 1.3 percent, or about 231,000 fewer students.

Other Midwestern states saw steeper drops, including Kansas’ neighbors. Colorado had about 9,000 fewer students this past spring semester compared to the previous year — a decline of  3.2 percent.

Kansas has struggled to enroll more students in its ongoing effort to increase the number of Kansans with some level of post-secondary education. A Georgetown University study found that Kansas will need to do so to avoid future workforce shortages.

Rick Muma, the provost at Wichita State University, said failing to meet those goals could have consequences.

“We could be losing businesses who are going to go somewhere else where they can get those needs met,” Muma said.

Last year was the second year in a row where Kansas fell short of its targets for the number of students who obtained a degree or certificate at a public university.

WSU has put a stronger emphasis on enrollment and recruitment, according to Muma. In order to attract more students, Muma said the university is looking into more online courses and focusing on industrial needs.

“What we’re seeing from a lot of local industry is they want short courses or curriculum that’s truncated in a matter that their employees can easily digest and get the skills that they need,” Muma said.

Stephan Bisaha reports on education for the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter at @SteveBisaha.

RILEY COUNTY — Four people were injured in an accident just after 11:30p.m. Sunday in Riley County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2010 Volo passenger car driven by Michael S. Shivers, 39, Clay Center, was westbound on U.S. 24.

The Volo collided with an eastbound 2008 Nissan Pathfinder driven by Maria A. Gallegos Torrez, 42, Manhattan, that was turning left from U.S. 24 onto Kansas 13.

Gallegos Torrez, and passengers in the Nissan Salvatore Moreno-Fabela, 45; Alexandra Moreno, 15 and Chavita Moreno, 5, all of Manhattan, were transported to Via Christi in Manhattan.

Shivers, an adult and two children in the Volo were possibly injured. The KHP did not indicate they were transported for treatment.

The KHP reported they did not know if Gallegos Torrez was wearing a seat belt. All the others were properly restrained at the time of the accident.

SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal domestic disturbance.

Just after 8 p.m. on Sat. police responded to a domestic disturbance that had occurred at a residence in the 1900 block of south Santa Fe in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.

EMS initially responded to the residence in reference to an unconscious 45-year-old man. The man was transported to an area hospital where he died.

At the residence Officers spoke to the man’s 46-year-old girlfriend who reported the man getting into an argument with her 23-year-old son and attempting to strike her son with his fist, according to Davidson.

Her son then punched the male one time in the head in defense and the man lost consciousness, according to Davidson.

Through the investigation it was learned a preexisting medical condition may have contributed to the death.  An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death.  Police did not release the man’s mane or additional details.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Department of Children and Families is monitoring a foster care contractor that has kept children in offices overnight due to a shortage of beds.

The department announced the added oversight of KVC Health Systems on Wednesday after hearing concerns.

A department email says it’s aware of the difficulty the state’s contractors have in children’s placement, “and we continue to work with them to minimize the time youth spend in offices.”

KVC spokeswoman Jenny Kutz says the contractor is working to place children in foster homes. She says no children have been kept in KVC offices since May 18.

Child welfare advocates and lawmakers have scrutinized the department for the past year after discovering the lack of beds and missing foster care children.

By Dewey Terrill

GEARY COUNTY —Frank and Mike and a crew from the television program “American Pickers” paid a visit to Geary County Friday.

They met with automobile dealer D.E. Lacer, and spent much of the day at his family’s warehouse in Grandview Plaza where a number of classic cars and related smaller items are housed.

Lacer said they just wanted to look through his parents’ warehouse, “and look at some of the old cars.” Lacer noted they were ready to make some purchases. “I ended up selling, I don’t know how many items, but quite a bit.” None of the classic cars sold, but there were smaller items that were sold.

There are a lot of vehicles stored in the warehouse. “Oh we’ve got little bit of everything. There’s Packard, Buick, Riley, a Graham, an Allard, they were really spun up over this Allard.” That car is a 1950 model.

Lacer was interviewed by a production crew for a future segment on American Pickers. While the personalities you can see on the show were there, numerous other employees of the show were also on hand to help load and haul items. American Pickers is shown on the History Channel.

TOPEKA — The Kansas Supreme Court has ruled against a Salina man fighting against 15 convictions.

Glenn Gross was convicted in Saline County District Court of nine counts of criminal threat, two counts of criminal damage to property, and three counts of battery against a county corrections officer.

During a trial conference between the judge, Gross’ attorney, and the prosecutor, Gross’ attorney raised concerns about Gross’ competence to stand trial. The trial judge noted Gross had been recently evaluated as competent to stand trial and found the attorney’ concerns did warrant a new evaluation. On appeal, Gross argued he had been denied his statutory right to be present during a competency hearing.

The Supreme Court held the Kansas competency statute did not require Gross’ presence during a discussion of whether to order a competency evaluation, a step the court distinguished from a competency hearing.

Gross, 68, has a total 19 convictions dating back to 2001 in Saline, Pawnee, Ellis, Douglas and Shawnee, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

By JIM MCLEAN

Democrat Laura Kelly all but set the field in the Kansas governor’s race Thursday by picking fellow state Sen. Lynn Rogers as her running mate.

Among the leading contenders, only former Republican state Sen. Jim Barnett has yet to complete his ticket. He’s expected to do that a day ahead of the June 1 filing deadline.

Kelly’s choice of Rogers, a longtime member of the Wichita school board before winning a Senate seat vacated by a Republican incumbent in 2016, signals an intention to make education a cornerstone of her campaign.

“His commitment to our schools, students and staff make him the right choice to help lead Kansas at this critical time,” Kelly said at an announcement ceremony staged with Topeka High School serving as a scenic and topical backdrop.

As a senator and school board member, Kelly said Rogers has “fought tirelessly to reverse the damage of the (state’s tax cut) experiment and give all our children the opportunities they deserve.”

As the top Democrat on the Senate’s budget writing committee, Kelly has long railed against the income and business tax cuts that former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback pushed through the Legislature in 2012.

Kelly and others charge that those cuts precipitated a state revenue crisis that forced repeated cuts in higher education, highways and social services and the issuance of $1 billion in bonds backed by the state pension fund.

“After years of crisis and turmoil, it’s time for us to elect a governor who will be a champion for our families and invest in the priorities we share — especially public schools,” Rogers said.

If Kelly wins the Democratic nomination, she would likely face either a Republican nominee who must defend Brownback’s policies — former lieutenant governor, now Gov. Jeff Colyer — or one who has promised a new round of tax cuts if elected — Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

The Kelly/Rogers ticket is long on experience. She’s a 68-year-old lawmaker in her fourth term and he’s a retired banker soon to turn 60 in the middle of his first term at the Statehouse.

“We are at a time of crisis,” she said. “We need someone who can go into that governor’s office and go to work on day one to fix this state.”

Their main primary opponents are taking a different tact.

Former legislator and state agriculture secretary Josh Svaty, 38, and Katrina Lewison, 40, are selling their youth. They’re also hoping that Lewison’s background — a West Point graduate who led a Black Hawk helicopter platoon in Iraq — appeals to voters looking for fresh faces.

“This is less of a policy primary and more of a personality primary,” Svaty said Wednesday after paying the filing fee to get on the August ballot.

Both tickets check multiple boxes with voters, said Washburn University political scientist Bob Beatty. But, he said, while Rogers is “solid,” Lewison is “exciting.”

“Oh, she’s a huge asset,” he said. “What a find.”

On Tuesday, another contender for the Democratic nomination, former Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer, named another former mayor as his running mate. Brewer said that Chris Morrow, former mayor of Gardner, “has shown again and again that he listens to the community her serves.”

Morrow, a Navy veteran who lost a bid to unseat Republican state Sen. Julia Lynn in 2016, is the vice-chair of the Johnson County Democratic Party.

On the Republican side, Beatty said Kobach’s choice of former rival Wink Hartman seems a good fit. Hartman, a wealthy Wichita businessman, gives the ticket geographic and private-sector experience balance, Beatty said.

Colyer made his choice in February. Shortly after Brownback’s departure for an ambassador’s post in the Trump administration moved him into the governor’s office, Colyer installed Tracey Mann to replace him as lieutenant governor.

Mann, who lives in Salina but works for a Kansas City-based commercial real estate firm, ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House in 2010. His campaign for the 1st District seat was sidetracked when he called on then-President Barack Obama to prove he was an American citizen.

Mann called his foray into birther politics a mistake.

“I had a football coach one time that said ‘when you make a mistake you don’t make excuses and you move on,’” he said when he Colyer appointed him lieutenant governor. “I’ve moved on from that.”

A recent poll showing Kobach and Colyer in a near tie with nearly half of GOP voters undecided indicates that Barnett and Insurance Commissioner Ken Selzer are still factors, Beatty said.

“This race will be decided by the undecideds,” he said.

The poll, conducted by Remington Research Group, a GOP polling firm based in Kansas City, put Colyer’s support at 29 percent, with Kobach at 27 percent.

Barnett, the only moderate in the Republican race, drew support from 9 percent of respondents while 5 percent said they favored Selzer.

On Monday, Selzer named Goodland businesswoman Jenifer Sanderson as his running mate. She’s the owner of a Sonic Drive-In franchise and a past chair of the board that oversees the Kansas Chamber’s leadership program.

Sanderson, Selzer said in a campaign news release, “brings a small business owner’s experience to fixing an overreaching government, a wealth of financial management education and a mother’s commitment to a better world for the next generation.”

Jim McLean is managing director of the Kansas News Service. You can reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks.