WICHITA, KAN. – The second of two men charged with the murder of an innocent bystander has been sentenced to prison.
Summers
On Friday, District Chief Judge Jeffrey Goering sentenced KeAndre Summers, 24, Wichita to 179 months in prison, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney. On August 9, Summers pled guilty to second degree murder and aggravated assault.
In June of 2017, Erick Vazquez, 25 of Wichita, was found dead in his pickup truck in the 3900 block of East 13th in Wichita.
An autopsy showed Vazquez died of three gunshot wounds. His pickup had several 9mm bullet holes in it. Just before the shooting, Jeremy Levy, 20 of Wichita, told a third party that he saw KeAndre Summers in the parking lot. Levy and Summers began shooting at each other in the parking lot of the strip mall.
At the time of the shooting, Vazquez was waiting in his pickup in the parking lot while his friend was buying cigarettes at a nearby store.
Levy is serving a sentence of life in prison after a jury found him guilty of first degree felony murder. He will be eligible for parole after 25 years.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Abortion opponents who support a constitutional amendment to ban abortions in Kansas are meeting resistance from other anti-abortion groups that are pushing a different approach.
Bruce Garren courtesy photo
Two legislative committees have recommended lawmakers consider the issue during the 2020 legislative session. The recommendations come as lawmakers consider how to respond to a Kansas Supreme Court ruling last year that the state’s constitution guarantees a right to abortion, Kansas News Service reported . The ruling blocked enforcement of a first-in-the-nation ban on a common second-trimester procedure.
At a legislative hearing this week, some advocates pushed for a “personhood amendment” that would ban all abortions in Kansas.
“What the personhood amendment says is that we recognize the humanity of the unborn child from their earliest biological beginning,” said Bruce Garren, the chairman of Personhood Kansas.
Garren and other supporters say any other response to the state Supreme Court’s ruling would bring lengthy legal fights over abortion restrictions.
Some of the state’s largest anti-abortion groups instead want lawmakers to change the Kansas Constitution to clarify it does not include a right to abortion.
It’s not clear how much the differences in opinion will slow the push for a constitutional amendment next year. Anti-abortion legislators have generally deferred to Kansans for Life on policy issues for more than two decades, and the group is an important player in GOP politics. The group has long argued that an incremental approach helps build public support for greater abortion restrictions.
Even if a personhood amendment passed, it likely wouldn’t survive a court challenge, said Jeanne Gawdun, director of government relations with Kansans for Life. She said an amendment stating there is not right to abortion would preserve restrictions already in place and allow lawmakers to approve more of them.
“We’re interested in making a difference, and not just a statement,” Gawdun said.
A constitutional amendment would require approval from two-thirds of both the Kansas House and Senate and would then go to a statewide vote.
Former state lawmaker Chuck Weber is now executive director of the Kansas Catholic Conference. He likes the idea of a personhood amendment but said it’s not a practical response.
“A personhood amendment just simply has no chance,” Weber said. “We live in a real world, and it’s not going to happen.”
Democrats on the committee objected to lawmakers taking up the issue.
Democratic Rep. Stephanie Clayton, an abortion-rights supporter, said voters who don’t like court ruling can vote judges off the bench during retention elections.
And Rachel Sweet, a lobbyist for Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which provides abortion and other health services, said any abortion amendment would discriminate against women.
“The fundamental right to personal and bodily autonomy is too critical to be stripped from our state constitution,” she said, “or put to a popular vote.”
WICHITA, KAN. – Autism Concepts, Inc., an Overland Park-based provider of therapy services for children with autism, has agreed to pay $300,000 to resolve False Claims Act allegations that it submitted false claims to the TRICARE program, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.
TRICARE is a federal health insurance program for active and retired military service members and their families.
The United States alleged that Autism Concepts, Inc. and its director Nancy Champlin represented in claims to TRICARE that the company provided individual applied behavioral analysis services to children with autism spectrum disorders when the company actually provided the services to groups of children at the same time. TRICARE does not cover the services in a group setting.
Autism Concepts and Champlin agreed to pay $300,000 to resolve the allegations.
“TRICARE providers must comply with program requirements that are designed for effective treatment for children with special and particular needs,” McAllister said. “This office is committed to making sure federal funds are spent as intended, while protecting federally funded programs that make it possible for military families to receive vital services.”
“I applaud the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney for their continued efforts to hold health care providers accountable to the American taxpayer,” said Army Lt. Gen. Ronald Place, director of the Defense Health Agency. “The efforts of the Department of Justice safeguard the health care benefit for our service members, veterans and their families. The Defense Health Agency continues to work closely with the Justice Department, and other state and federal agencies to investigate all those who participated in fraudulent practices.”
“As the investigative arm of the Department of Defense – Office of Inspector General (DoDIG), one of the primary missions of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) is the detection of fraud, particularly fraud that targets critical DoD health care funding,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael Mentavlos of the DCIS Southwest Field Office. “Today’s resolution demonstrates our commitment to working with DoDIG’s Deputy Inspector General for Audit as well as the FBI, Department of Labor Office of Inspector General and the Employee Benefits Security Administration to ensure federal health care programs, such as TRICARE, are protected from companies and/or individuals who attempt to take advantage of them.”
First responders on the scene late Friday photo courtesy WIBW TV
RILEY COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting in Manhattan, have made an arrest and identified the victim.
Just after 10p.m. Friday, the Riley County Police Department Emergency Dispatch center received multiple 911 calls concerning the sound of a gunshot in the 1400 block of Cambridge Place in Manhattan, according to a media release.
When officers arrived on scene, they found one victim identified as Tanner Zamecnik, 24, of Manhattan, suffering from a potentially life-threatening gunshot wound. A second person was injured, but was not believed to have been shot. Both victims were transported to Via Christi for treatment of their injuries and Zamecnik died.
Just before 5 a.m., officers took a suspect identified as Richard Goens, 29, of Manhattan into custody. He is being held on a $1million bond on requested charges of First Degree Murder, Aggravated Assault and Aggravated Robbery.
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RILEY COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting in Manhattan and have made an arrest.
Just after 10p.m. Friday, the Riley County Police Department Emergency Dispatch center received multiple 911 calls concerning the sound of a gunshot in the 1400 block of Cambridge Place in Manhattan, according to a media release.
When officers arrived on scene, they found one victim suffering from a potentially life-threatening gunshot wound. A second person was injured, but is not believed to have been shot. Both victims were transported to Via Christi for treatment of their injuries and one of the victims died, according to the RCPD.
Just before 5 a.m., officers took a suspect identified as Richard Goens, 29, of Manhattan into custody. He is being held on a $1million bond on requested charges of First Degree Murder, Aggravated Assault and Aggravated Robbery.
Because of the support from the community, our RCPD detectives were able to identify, and arrest the suspect within 12 hours of the crime.
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RILEY COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting in Manhattan and have made an arrest.
Just after 10p.m. Friday, the Riley County Police Department Emergency Dispatch center received multiple 911 calls concerning the sound of a gunshot in the 1400 block of Cambridge Place in Manhattan, according to a media release.
When officers arrived on scene, they found one victim suffering from a potentially life-threatening gunshot wound. A second person was injured, but is not believed to have been shot. Both victims were transported to Via Christi for treatment of their injuries.
Just before 5 a.m., officers took a subject into custody in the 900 block of Moro in connection to the shooting. People in the area may have heard loud noises, as officers gained entry into a home to apprehend the male suspect, according to officer Hali Rowland.
As part of the investigation, officers are attempting to locate pieces of a handgun that may have been disassembled and left in the Westloop area.
If you are in the area and see parts of a gun, please contact RCPD at (785) 537-2112.
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RILEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting in Manhattan.
Just after 10p.m. Friday, the Riley County Police Department Emergency Dispatch center received multiple 911 calls concerning the sound of a gunshot in the 1400 block of Cambridge Place in Manhattan, according to a media release.
When officers arrived on scene, they found one victim suffering from a potentially life-threatening gunshot wound. A second person was injured, but is not believed to have been shot. Both victims were transported to Via Christi for treatment of their injuries.
Police have not reported an arrest.
If you have any information, please contact RCPD at (785) 537-2112 or Crime Stoppers at (785) 539-7777. Using the Crime Stoppers service allows you to remain anonymous and could qualify you for a cash reward up to $1,000.00.
At the intersection of two unpaved roads about 12 miles north of Interstate 70 in Graham County, the unincorporated town is home to only one business – a drilling company.
Even the Post Office closed almost 100 years ago.
But a few residents have hung on and still call the town home, many are descendants of the original Volga German settlers who first came to the area in the late 1800s.
Now the townspeople will gather Monday to discuss the fate of one of the last reminders of times gone by — a Catholic church that was the heart of the area, a place where townsfolk would gather in celebration, worship and mourning.
Outside of a few special occasions, St. Anthony’s Church has been quiet since 1999, when the last regular mass was held. Since then, the townspeople have chipped in to help take care of the property, but time has not been kind to the 70-year-old building.
It is in desperate need of a new roof. Water has seeped into the walls, ceiling tiles have fallen to the ground and gaps have formed around the stained glass windows.
Meeting to discuss the future of St. Anthony will be 7 p.m. Monday at the church.
It was in 1895 the congregation formed that would build the original church, with names now common to the area such as Brungardt, Billinger, Wasinger and Knoll.
Construction started in 1909 on the first permanent church building after one of the original town settlers, Peter Rome, donated the land on which the church still stands. It was dedicated a little over a year later. A school and rectory stood nearby, home to the local priest and nuns who served as teachers.
In 1949 a new church would be built in the same location with many of the original adornments moved into the new sanctuary from the old.
The school still stands, although heavily damaged. The original rectory remains as well and is now home to Winnie Kingsbury after being auctioned off by the Diocese in 2010.
“It was a vibrant center to this whole area, and it centered around this church,” she said. “It was a faith-based community and the church was everything to them. … They poured their hearts and souls into making sure that they had beautiful spiritual places.”
The church, she said, stands as a testament to those early settlers and what they valued.
“This community was built on the faith of the Catholic Church and the Catholic religion,” Kingsbury said.
Even now, the streets retain the names of Catholic saints.
She said the hope of the community seems to be that at some point a priest would once again regularly return for mass and the Salina Diocese will work to preserve the building.
And an outpouring of support on social media shows interest in saving the building from families who combine their own personal histories into the story of St. Anthony’s and the town of St. Peter.
But many no longer live in the area, and the population of St. Peter is – like many in western Kansas – an aging one.
While she said everyone kicks in as much as they can, the building needs substantial work that will take significant time and money.
“I know everybody has the same feeling out here. They love that church, and they don’t want to see it go,” Kingsbury said.
But she is also a realist.
“At this point, I have to look at it as a beautiful historic building,” she said. “Everyone would love to have the church stay, but the last few years have been hard on it. It’s deteriorated greatly in the last two years.”
Despite the remoteness and the deteriorating building, Kingsbury said a steady flow of people still come to see the church.
She frequently hears their stories about the town and the church, but with fewer people living in the area, the burden of saving the building comes down to the handful who remain.
“It served a great purpose for many years, but there are not many people left,” said the Rev. Charles Steier, pastor at Christ the King church in WaKeeney and St. Michael in Collyer. “That’s a lot to ask a few people.”
The responsibility of maintenance of a church is solely on the parishioners. The Diocese does not allocate funding to buildings — either active or non-active, he said.
Steier has seen the outcome of many similar situations over the years, but generally, as distressing as it is, the best option is often to raze the building.
The concern is that, once a church building is sold, they often fall into further disrepair and become even more burdensome to area residents as they watch a beloved building crumble with no recourse.
He equated the situation to a loved one that becomes ill. The people around the person directly see the effects, but those from a distance might be in denial of how bad the situation has become.
“There is no easy solution,” Steier said.
Despite the outcome of Monday’s meeting, Kingsbury said she is glad the church is looking for definitive action and is grateful the bishop has taken steps to come to a resolution.
She met with Bishop Gerald Lee Vincke, who was appointed last year, when he personally visited the church.
“That has never happened to us before,” Kingsbury said. “That is a wonderful thing.”
Much like the faith the people that founded the St. Peter had in the church and the future of their little town, Kingsbury said she feels the diocese will make the right decision for the building.
“You have to trust that,” she said.
Meanwhile, she said, she hopes the meeting brings a large crowd so they can share their thoughts with the church leaders and all options can be heard.
The Rev. Peter O’Donnell, diocesan tribunal judge, will lead the meeting, scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Monday in the church.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — As Pete Buttigieg works to prove the leader of a city of roughly 100,000 people is ready to assume the American presidency, he’s relying on help from politicians who would know best: his fellow mayors.
Photo courtesy Pete Buttigieg For President campaign
The South Bend, Indiana, mayor has amassed a network of roughly 60 “Mayors for Pete,” a collection of local leaders pushing for his underdog bid. The group includes mayors from former industrial cities, thriving metros and tiny towns of just a few thousand people. It includes the mayor of Dayton, Ohio, a Rust Belt city like the one Buttigieg leads, and the mayor of West Sacramento, California, a rising progressive leader. About a third are from swing states Democrats need to win to take the White House. But just three are from the early voting states Buttigieg needs to win to become Democrats’ presidential nominee.
The campaign believes the mayors bring credibility to the 37-year-old Buttigieg’s chief pitch — a promise to usher in the next generation of Democratic politics and a more pragmatic, no-excuses style of governing.
“He’s a mayor, which means that unlike a lot of people who are running for that office, he’s in a place where he actually has to get things done,” said Steve Adler, the mayor of Austin, Texas, who endorsed Buttigieg in April, passing over Beto O’Rourke, a home state candidate.
But Buttigieg’s list also highlights one of his chief weaknesses in the Democratic primary. Adler aside, the group is short on mayors who represent America’s largest cities, and on city leaders who aren’t white. It’s an omission that reflects Buttigieg’s trouble winning over black voters, a critical group of the Democratic primary electorate, amid criticism of his handling of the fatal shooting of a black man by a white police officer in South Bend.
Meanwhile, some of his competitors have picked up big names: Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan are backing Joe Biden. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney just endorsed Elizabeth Warren.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who flirted with a presidential run himself, has not yet offered an endorsement, nor has Lori Lightfoot, Chicago’s first black and LGBT mayor and a rising Democratic star. Many mayors of majority black cities in the South still haven’t endorsed anyone.
Senior Buttigieg campaign adviser Jess O’Connell said that winning support from mayors is just a piece of the campaign’s overall strategy for capturing the nomination and that she hopes the list of mayors will grow as the Democratic field winnows to fewer candidates.
“For now, what we most want are people that know Mayor Pete and understand his style,” she said. “But we know we have more to do to earn everybody’s endorsement.”
Adrian Perkins of Shreveport, Louisiana, is one of the mayors who hasn’t yet committed. Perkins went to Harvard Law School and served in the military like Buttigieg; the two connected through a friend when Perkins, 33, was still in school and Buttigieg took time to offer him advice.
But Perkins said his endorsement must be the best choice for his city, a majority black community experiencing major floods that he attributes to climate change. Perkins, who is black, acknowledged that Buttigieg has a perception problem with some black voters, but he said that could change if people get to know him.
“It would go a long way for Pete … on coming here and me putting him in front of some of the African Americans in my community, so they can see who I see in him,” he said.
Buttigieg has already won over Sly James, the former mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, and former head of the African American Mayors Association, and Michelle De La Isla, the first Latina mayor of Topeka, Kansas. Christropher Cabaldon, of West Sacramento, is Filipino, part of the West’s growing Asian-Pacific Islander community.
While smaller-city mayors may not seem like coveted presidential endorsements, they are more closely connected to voters than most politicians and are responsible for functions of government that often have a more direct impact on voters’ lives.
“I think that right now you see a complete breakdown of state and federal politics, and the only place you see governing happening and stuff getting done is at the local level,” said Nan Whaley, the mayor of Dayton, Ohio.
Whaley, Adler and Cabaldon met Buttigieg through the U.S Conference of Mayors and developed friendships. Cabaldon, who came out as gay in 2006 while serving as mayor, sought Buttigieg out at the conference in 2015, after Buttigieg came out, to offer support. Three years later, he was a guest at Buttigieg’s wedding to husband Chasten.
All three spoke at Buttigieg’s campaign launch in April, where the effort to win support from other mayors began.
As impeachment battles consume Washington, Cabaldon said, Buttigieg can provide an alternative focused on actual governance, not partisan bickering.
“We don’t fight to the death in local government,” he said.
The mayors have a call every other week with a campaign staffer dedicated to working with mayors, where they toss around policy ideas, discuss Buttigieg’s upcoming schedule and connect the campaign with interested people, Whaley said.
O’Connell, the senior campaign adviser, said the campaign has drawn from various cities to build out its policy proposals.
Whaley said she’s helped at least three Ohio mayors who aren’t backing Buttigieg connect local donors or activists with the campaign. Adler has set up fundraisers and facilitated community meetings, including with Austin’s black and Hispanic communities.
“Mayors know the leadership of every one of their communities,” Whaley said.
Buttigieg won the endorsement of Victory Fund, a group that helps LGBT candidates raise money that is headed by Annise Parker, the former Houston mayor who is backing his bid. Buttigieg didn’t automatically win the group’s endorsement, instead having to prove he was competitive first, Parker said.
With so many other current and former mayors running for president — Cory Booker (Newark), Julián Castro (San Antonio) and, previously, Bill de Blasio (New York) — Parker said Buttigieg’s ability to win over his colleagues stands out.
“One telling indicator is that mayors across the country stood up and said, “We like this one,'” Parker said.
Members of the Kansas State Polytechnic Flight Team pose with their awards from the National Intercollegiate Flying Association SAFECON Region VI competition. Back row, from left: Caleb Strahm, Brent Koenigsman, Robert Weesner, Trey D’Amico, Satoru Okada, Cole Thornberry and Charlie Rusco; and front row, from left: Charles Weeks, Zak Kierstein, Logan Klein, team captain Marc Hinnen, Johannes Seberger and Brandon Vu. Photo courtesy Kansas State Polytechnic
Hays student member of award-winning team
The flight team at Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus is advancing to nationals in the spring after placing second in its region and earning several individual honors during an annual collegiate aviation competition.
Along with six other schools, the Kansas State Polytechnic Flight Team attended Region VI of the National Intercollegiate Flying Association Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference, also known as NIFA SAFECON. Conducted Oct. 16-19 at the Council Bluffs Municipal Airport in Council Bluffs, Iowa, the competition consisted of both ground and air events with participants having the opportunity to win individual awards and receive team placings — which mean a guaranteed spot at nationals for the top three teams.
With a second-place overall finish, the Kansas State Polytechnic Flight Team will compete nationally in May 2020. Additionally, Kansas State Polytechnic scored more than 20 top 10 individual placings, and team captain Marc Hinnen, Edwardsville, earned the coveted Top Pilot award.
“We feel really good about our performance at regionals because it demonstrates our commitment and self-motivation,” Hinnen said.
Ten ground and flight events make up NIFA SAFECON. They range from participants determining different types of aircraft from ambiguous photos to attempting to hit a ground target from the air to landing a plane as close as possible to a specific line painted on the runway.
Thirteen members competed for Kansas State Polytechnic at regionals and more than half of them scored in the top 10 in various events. The following students, all majoring in professional pilot, are members of the flight team. Included are individual placements if earned:
Marc Hinnen, junior, Edwardsville, Top Pilot award, first in Traditional Navigation, second in Message Drop, second in Power-off Landing, fourth in Computer Accuracy and fifth in Short Field Landing; Brent Koenigsman, junior, Hays, 10th in Power-off Landing and 10th in Short Field Landing; Logan Klein, senior, Hesston; Trey D’Amico, junior, Leawood; Robert Weesner, junior, Leawood, first in Traditional Navigation, fourth in Short Field Landing, fifth in Power-off Landing, and seventh in Aircraft Recognition; Caleb Strahm, senior, Sabetha, fourth in Simulated Comprehensive Aircraft Navigation, fifth in Unlimited Navigation, ninth in Computer Accuracy and ninth in Short Field Landing; Johannes Seberger, freshman, Shawnee, second in Message Drop; Charlie Rusco, freshman, Topeka; and Cole Thornberry, senior, Troy, eighth in Unlimited Navigation.
From out of state: Zak Kierstein, senior, Erie, Colorado, third in Simulated Comprehensive Aircraft Navigation; Charles Weeks, sophomore, Woodstock, Georgia, eighth in Short Field Landing and eighth in Unlimited Navigation; and Brandon Vu, sophomore, Johnston, Iowa.
From out of country: Satoru Okada, junior, Yokohama, Japan, fifth in Unlimited Navigation.
“This is such a close-knit group that truly cares for one another. They push each other, encourage each other, and look out for one another,” said Julie Rowe, student programming and career services coordinator at Kansas State Polytechnic who serves as the team’s staff advisor. “While aviation is not my specialty, you don’t have to be an expert to know they love what they do. It’s been inspiring to watch how hard they work.”
Along with competing annually, the flight team uses its student organization as a way to connect the community with aviation. Throughout the year, the team is a part of several campus events like Open House and Candy Canes and Airplanes, and conducts two aviation camps for kids and one for high school students in the summer. These events also help raise money for the team’s expenses at regionals and nationals.
The other colleges competing at NIFA SAFECON’s Region VI were University of North Dakota, University of Nebraska Omaha, University of Central Missouri, St. Louis University-Parks College, University of Dubuque and Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Tickets are now on sale for Cirque Mechanics: “42FT – A Menagerie of Mechanical Marvels,” a performance of Fort Hays State University’s 2019-2020 Encore Series. The performance is set for 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 6, in the Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center on the FHSU campus.
At the center of every circus rests a 42-foot ring full of thrills, laughs and excitement. “42FT – A Menagerie of Mechanical Marvels,” is the latest invention from the creative minds of Cirque Mechanics. The company dares us to leap into the circus ring and experience the timelessness of this evolving art form.
The shows’ unique mechanical interpretation of the traditional, and its story full of the lore of the historic one-ring circus, create a welcoming place, like a big top, where we can be amazed. The action is full of theatricality and a modern sensibility, showcasing a galloping mechanical metal horse and a rotating tent frame for strongmen, acrobats and aerialists.
Cirque Mechanics, inspired by the modern circus, finds its roots in the mechanical and its heart in the stories of American industrial ingenuity. The show, imbedded in realism, displays a raw quality rarely found in modern circus. Cirque Mechanics’ signature style is wrapped in acrobatics, mechanical marvels, and a bit of clowning around. “42FT” follows the great successes of Birdhouse Factory, Boomtown, and Pedal Punk.
This performance is sponsored by Cal Smith and Mark Post, Financial Advisors – Waddell and Reed.
Tickets are available three ways: at the Memorial Union Student Service Center; by calling 785-628-5306; or by visiting www.fhsu.edu/encore.
Tickets for the general public are $40 reserved and $30 unreserved; for seniors, tickets are $35 reserved and $25 unreserved; and for FHSU students and children ages 5-17, tickets are $30 reserved and $20 unreserved.
About the Special Events Committee
Through the presentation of varied forms of performing arts, the Special Events Committee strives to educate, inspire, evoke thought and entertain. The goal is to promote artistic expression, cultural understanding and social awareness at Fort Hays State University and throughout western Kansas through the presentation of diverse, high-caliber performing arts programs. Information can be found at www.fhsu.edu/encore.
TOPEKA — The 2020 federal marketplace for individual health insurance includes more options than ever for Kansas, and premiums for some of those plans are less expensive than 2019. But for the second year in a row, all of the plans will leave consumers footing the full bill for most out-of-network care.
The silver lining: Two new insurance companies have jumped into Kansas this year, offering health plans in some of the state’s most populous counties. A third insurer that’s already active in Kansas City and its suburbs is expanding to 12 more southeast and central Kansas counties.
Statewide, five insurers are offering 82 plans for 2020 — the most insurers since 2015 and the most plans since the marketplace launched in 2014. Though availability varies by county, it’s a significant change from this year (three insurers, 23 plans).
Enrollment starts Nov. 1 and runs through Dec. 15 for insurance policies that start on Jan. 1.
For Kansans with questions about all the options, dozens of trained counselors and navigators across the state offer free guidance on comparing plans and applying.
“It is relatively easy to compare plans, but you still have to do a lot of legwork,” said University of Kansas professor Jean Hall, who directs the Institute for Health and Disability Policy Studies. “I strongly recommend that people work with the navigators.”
Check for federally designated counselors and navigators near you here and here. Search for the health insurance plans available in your county here.
Pro tip from Hall: Sometimes online information from insurers about their networks is out of date, so consider calling to confirm whether specific health care providers are still included in a given plan.
No PPOs in 2020
Preferred provider organization (PPO) plans have disappeared from the marketplace across Kansas and much of the country, according to Katherine Hempstead, a senior policy adviser at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in New Jersey.
Kansas also mirrors the national trend with the addition of more insurers and plans this year. Hempstead describes companies as “bullish” right now.
“They’re entering the market in more places and they’re offering more things,” she said. “There’s a lot of optimism.”
But the lack of PPOs can be especially bad for people who need specialized care, Hall said.
“If people have different types of chronic conditions,” she said, “one of their specialists may be in network but the other one may not be. And that can be a real problem.”
In 2020, most plans are exclusive provider organization (EPO) options, but some Kansans can also pick from health maintenance organization (HMO) plans. Unlike PPOs that often cost more and help with out-of-network bills, HMOs and EPOs restrict coverage to their networks. Some networks include more doctors and specialists than others. HMO plans generally require customers to go through a primary care provider to access specialists.
New options include some cheaper plans with small networks, as well as zero-deductible plans that make you pay more in cost-sharing, Hempstead said.
The new insurers on this year’s market are Oscar Insurance Company and Cigna Health & Life Insurance. They join Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas, Ambetter (a.k.a. Centene subsidiary Sunflower State Health Plan) and Medica.
Ambetter will expand to southeast and central Kansas.
Premiums and income-based discounts
Many Kansans will see lower rates in 2020. The benchmark silver plan for a 27-year-old is dropping $40 to an average premium of $412 in 2020, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Ambetter rates in particular will drop more than 8% after the company gave hefty rebates this fall to customers who overpaid on 2018 premiums.
Many people may not realize they qualify for discounts. Last year, more than 85% of people got income-based tax credits, the Kansas Health Institute* says. With those, the institute pegs a net average premium at $76 a month.
Navigators, who help people choose plans, used to be more common, but the Trump administration cut most funding for them. Still, there are dozens of certified application counselors across the state that serve the same function without the navigator label.
Healthcare.gov also operates a hotline (1-800-318-2596).
Shannon Little-Haines, who oversees navigators at Ascension Via Christi in Wichita, recommends people bring plenty of specifics to the conversation.
“We generally ask that they bring a list of their medications, any specialists and doctors that they see,” she said. “Then we can compare the plans side-by-side.”
*The Kansas Health Institute receives support from the Kansas Health Foundation, a funder of the Kansas News Service.
Celia Llopis-Jepsen reports on consumer health and education for the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter @Celia_LJ or email her at celia (at) kcur (dot) org. The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on the health and well-being of Kansans, their communities and civic life.
Ron Wilson is director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.
By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, population 4 million. Yates Center, Kansas, population 1,417. These two contrasting towns do have something in common: They are each a site for film-making. Today we’ll meet a Kansas entrepreneur who recently produced a film highlighting rural Kansas. It’s today’s Kansas Profile.
Last week, we met Jessica Busteed of Yates Center’s Cornerstone Bakery, site of a recent video shoot.
Steve Radley is the writer, producer and director of this new film. He is president and CEO of NetWork Kansas.
Steve was born in Wichita, grew up in Oklahoma, and went to college at OU. His grandparents had a farm near Yates Center. That farm is still in the family. It’s where Steve and his siblings gather on holidays.
“I’ve been bird-hunting on that place since I was 5,” Steve said.
While in college, Steve majored in film and media studies and wrote a screenplay. He was one of 10 people selected nationally to participate in a film writer’s workshop in California. After graduation, he moved to LA, got an agent, and tried to work into the movie business.
“There was no clear career path and, at heart, I’m a Midwest guy,” Steve said. He moved back to Wichita, met and married his wife, and got his MBA at Wichita State. He became an entrepreneur and went into business. With that experience, he then became president and CEO of NetWork Kansas which works to support entrepreneurs across the state.
Steve Radley
Steve’s interest in film-making was put on the back burner. Then a friend in LA sent him a note about a commercial that was being shot in Wichita. Steve applied and was cast as an extra. He enjoyed it so much that he applied and was cast in a couple of movies also.
In the back of his mind was a film that he wanted to make himself, as he thought about the rural towns he was working with across the state. “The idea came visually first, as I pictured the concept of rural roads and a journey,” Steve said. He wrote a screenplay for a short film about a man who is sent on a mission to reach out to dying small towns in search of hope.
Steve worked with Andrew Kivett, an award-winning KU film student and family friend, who shot and edited the film. Steve himself played the unnamed lead role. The film was shot on location at Steve’s family farm and the nearby rural community of Yates Center, population 1,417 people. Now, that’s rural.
The film begins with Steve clad in black, waking up atop a grassy hill near a single tombstone. He meets a mysterious gentleman who instructs him to “Save the town.” Steve asks “How?” and the answer is, “Find hope.”
Steve’s character starts walking along gravel country roads. He comes to a virtually abandoned town and goes into what appears to be a café, where he engages in unscripted dialogue with the local folks and others about whether their town is dying. He again encounters the mysterious man who tells him to go on to the next town. The final image is Steve’s character walking down another road toward the sunset.
The visual images of this movie are much more powerful than words can describe. “My character is kind of a metaphor for the community,” Steve said. “I wanted to portray both the beauty and the decay in rural America,” he said. The comments from the people he visits provide a message of hope.
The five-minute long film is titled “The Rural Road.” It’s been selected to have its premiere at the White City Film Festival in Nebraska. It’s also been submitted to independent film festivals in Kansas and as far away as LA and Austin, Texas.
Hollywood and Yates Center may be markedly different, but both have provided a setting for film production. We salute Steve Radley, Andrew Kivett, and all those involved for making a difference with creativity and vision. To paraphrase the old saying, we’ll see them in the movies.
And there’s more. We’ll learn about Steve’s work at NetWork Kansas next week.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A record setting day for the Fort Hays State football team as they cruised to a seventh-straight win with a 66-6 rout of Lincoln Saturday at Dwight T. Reed Stadium. It’s the most points scored by the Tigers in the NCAA era, breaking the mark of 63 set against South Dakota School of Mines in 2013. FHSU moved to 7-2, while Lincoln dropped to 1-8.
The Tigers scored on their first five possessions of the first half, building a 31-0 lead by the 7:35 mark of the second quarter. They added two more touchdowns before halftime for a 45-0 heading into the locker room.
Dante Brown opened the first-half scoring with a 26-yard field goal. The lead grew to 10-0 on a Chance Fuller 9-yard touchdown pass to Layne Bieberle. Harley Hazlett helped push the lead to 17-0, rounding out the scoring in the first quarter with a 2-yard rush into the endzone.
The Tigers tacked on 28 points in the second quarter. Fuller found Manny Ramsey for three consecutive touchdowns on passes of 8, 24, and 23 yards. Fuller added his fourth touchdown pass of the quarter and fifth of the game with a 30-yard catch and run to Dandre Reed. Fuller tied his game-high for passing touchdowns this season, which is also the FHSU record shared with several other quarterbacks.
Fort Hays State did all of its scoring damage in the second half on the ground. Te’Corey Tutson and Charles Tigner picked up touchdowns in the third quarter, Tutson from six yards out and Tigner from 18 yards out. Voshon Waiters provided the record-breaking points for FHSU in the fourth quarter on a two-yard dive.
The Tiger defense held the Blue Tigers scoreless until late in the fourth quarter when Hosea Franklin broke loose for an 82-yard touchdown run with 5:24 remaining in the game. That helped Lincoln finish with 230 yards of total offense, but it was still a season low by an FHSU opponent. FHSU held Lincoln to 31 yards in each of the first two quarters and 44 in the third. The Blue Tigers picked up the majority of their yards (124) in the fourth when the game was well at hand. FHSU held Lincoln to 10 first downs in the game, including just two in the first half.
FHSU on the other hand moved the chains all throughout the day, finishing with a season-high 34 first downs. That is also a new school record, going past the mark of 32 set earlier this season against Washburn and in 1986 against Black Hills State. With the movement offensively, FHSU racked up 593 total yards.
Fuller completed 75 percent of his passes in the game (24-of-32) before yielding to Voshon Waiters in the third quarter. Fuller finished with 296 passing yards, while Waiters also had a nice day of completing 6-of-8 passes for 108 yards. The pair combined for 404 passing yards.
Reed produced his first 100-yard receiving game as a Tiger with 169 on 10 catches. He also had a nice 38-yard kickoff return to open the game to spark the Tiger offense. He finished with 213 all-purpose yards, even adding a six-yard rush. Tutson was the top rusher for FHSU with 64 yards on nine carries. Seven different Tigers carried the ball, helping the team produce 189 rushing yards.
With six catches, Harley Hazlett broke the FHSU career record for receptions, now with 173. It passed the mark of 168 set by Eric Busenbark.
Defensively, Drew Harvey, Isaiah Creal-Musgray, and Kolt Trachsel tied for a team-high five tackles each.
Fort Hays State now preps for a battle with Northwest Missouri State next week in Hays. Game time is set for 2 pm at Lewis Field Stadium on Saturday, November 9. The game will have big NCAA playoff implications with the Tigers entering at 7-2 and the Bearcats at 8-1.
By JAMES BELL
