By BEN KUEBRICH, Kansas News Service

Amtrak may end passenger rail service through Dodge City, Garden City and destinations to the west.

The agency told a congressional delegation last week that it might shut down parts of the Southwest Chief route that runs across Kansas on its way between Chicago and Los Angeles. That news followed ongoing disputes about track maintenance and upgrades.

Amtrak told Congress ridership on the line has been falling in recent years, and that the service loses about $50 million a year. But U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, said that’s not the point.

“Amtrak is not doing its job,” Moran told the Kansas News Service on Thursday. “It was created to support long-distance passenger rail service, and it ought to be much more supportive of the Southwest Chief than it is today.”

Steve Cottrell, assistant to the City Manager of Garden City, said cities on the route have helped maintain the tracks. He’s taken aback that despite that Amtrak may still end service between Albuquerque and Dodge City.

“All of these communities for the last several years have been putting in funding, working with Amtrak,” said Cottrell. “We’re shocked, concerned. We don’t want to lose our service, it’s a key link for all of our citizens.”

Amtrak suggested replacing the train service between the two stations, but Cottrell thinks such a stop-gap would just be the beginning of the end for the line.

“Are these people that ride the trains to go on vacation just going to start driving?” said Cottrell. “Replacing it with a bus line that takes you somewhere that you catch the train, it’s not the same.”

Moran said the bussing proposal signaled a lack of commitment to the Southwest Chief.

Amtrak is expected to release an updated analysis on the Southwest Chief in July.

In the meantime, Moran said he’s put holds on nominations to Amtrak’s board. He and Senator Tom Udall, a New Mexico Democrat,  have put language in the appropriations bill for Amtrak requiring the agency to consult with communities along the route before changing service.

“We are going to do everything we can to see that we reverse the direction that Amtrak is headed,” Moran said.

Ben Kuebrich reports for HPPR in Garden City and the Kansas News Service. Follow him on @Ben_Kuebrich. 

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A man who owed almost $400,000 in taxes has been convicted of walking into a tax office in Kansas and shooting and wounding a state tax agent who was working on his case.

52-year-old Ricky Wirths was found guilty Thursday of attempted first-degree murder in the September 2017 shooting of agent Courtney Holloway. The shooting happened about three hours after Holloway and sheriff’s deputies had gone to Wirths’ house to seize assets.

Officials say Wirths asked for Holloway by name after he was buzzed into the waiting area of a Wichita tax office.

While meeting with Holloway, Wirths pulled out a handgun and shot the agent multiple times. The owed money was related to a construction business Wirths owned.

Sentencing is set for Aug. 8.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A California man accused of making a hoax phone call that led police to fatally shoot an unarmed man in Kansas has pleaded not guilty.

A judge on Friday set the jury trial for 25-year-old Tyler Barriss for Oct. 1 in Sedgwick County District Court in Wichita, Kansas. He’s charged with involuntary manslaughter, giving a false alarm and interference with a law enforcement officer.

Barriss is accused of calling from Los Angeles on Dec. 28 to report a shooting and kidnapping at a Wichita home. Authorities say an online dispute over a video game between two gamers prompted the call. A responding officer fatally shot 28-year-old Andrew Finch after he opened the door. Finch was not the gamers’ intended target.

Barriss also faces federal charges.

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A California man will return to court to enter a plea on state charges related to a hoax call that led police to fatally shoot an unarmed man in Kansas.

Twenty-five-year-old Tyler Barriss faces his arraignment Friday in Sedgwick County District Court on charges of involuntary manslaughter, giving a false alarm and interference with a law enforcement officer.

He is accused of calling from Los Angeles on Dec. 28 to report a shooting and kidnapping at a Wichita home. Authorities say an online dispute over a video game between two gamers led to the call. A responding officer fatally shot 28-year-old Andrew Finch after he opened the door.

Barriss also faces related federal charges, but federal prosecutors have said the state case against Barriss would proceed first.

KANSAS CITY (AP) – Court records say a driver charged in a deadly hit-and-run crash was texting before he struck a man using a wheelchair.

21-year-old Ramello Robinson was charged over the weekend with a felony count of leaving the scene of an accident that killed 50-year-old Phillip Noel, of Kansas City. His bond is set at $10,000. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.

The crash happened last month in downtown Kansas City. Court records say surveillance footage showed Robinson had a green light and Noel entered the intersection after the light had turned green.

Police say Robinson was texting at the time. Robinson’s partner was in the vehicle, along with their 4-year-old. The partner initially told police she’d been the driver.

WASHINGTON– U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) voted Thursday in support of the Senate Farm Bill, which includes a number of Moran provisions to benefit Kansas agricultural producers and rural communities.

The Farm Bill provides a stable safety net for American farmers and ranchers, protects key risk management tools, such as crop insurance, and ensures continued access to credit for producers.

“With the ongoing low commodity prices and uncertainty in export markets that our farmers and ranchers experience today, passing a strong Farm Bill is more important than ever,” said Sen. Moran.

“One of the primary ways I judge a Farm Bill is if the policies it contains will encourage more young people to live in rural America, to go back to the communities in which they grew up and to take over family farming and ranching operations. This legislation will provide stability for producers by protecting crop insurance, strengthening the farm safety net and encouraging responsible land stewardship through conservation programs. This Farm Bill supports key rural development initiatives, including a pilot program within USDA to bolster broadband deployment. I was also pleased my amendments were included to allow Emergency Conservation Program payments for fences to be made in advance in times of disaster and to increase the accuracy of the ARC commodity program for mixed irrigated/dryland counties. Thanks to Senator Roberts for leading the Ag Committee and the Senate through this process – I look forward to continuing to work on this important bill as it heads to conference and eventually to the president’s desk.”

The Farm Bill passed June 28 includes an amendment led by Sen. Moran to allow advance payments through the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) for farmers and ranchers to replace fences following natural disasters. This bill also contains Sen. Moran’s proposal to more than double the amount of ECP assistance a landowner is able to receive when rebuilding from a disaster. These provisions reflect legislation Sen. Moran introduced in 2017 and were drafted based on input from Kansas ranchers following devastating fires in March 2017. Sen. Moran’s amendment carries no cost.

The second amendment Sen. Moran included in the legislation would increase the accuracy of Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) commodity program for mixed irrigated/dryland counties. The amendment would set up a process by which a county with a blended irrigated/dryland yield is able to request that USDA separate the yields by irrigation practice.

Sen. Moran also cosponsored an amendment offered by Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) to add an additional 150-air-mile radius exemption for agriculture to the end of a drive for livestock haulers. Sen. Moran has repeatedly advocated for a lasting solution to make certain livestock haulers in Kansas and across the country can transport cattle and other animals safely and humanely. Sen. Moran will continue to work toward finding a permanent solution to the hours of service challenges faced by our producers.

The Farm Bill addresses a number of Sen. Moran’s priorities in expanding rural broadband access for Kansans. This legislation prevents the federally-subsidized overbuilding of broadband infrastructure in an effort to more strategically use taxpayer dollars to close the digital divide.