WASHINGTON— One day after stepping down as Governor, Sam Brownback officially began his new duties in the Trump Administration.
On Thursday afternoon, Vice President Mike Pence participated in the swearing in ceremony for the new Ambassador for International Religious Freedom. Watch the ceremony here.
Last week, the Republican-led Senate narrowly approved Brownback for the position. Trump originally nominated him to the post in July .
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — The tiny Kansas hometown of a legendary former women’s basketball player who set college scoring records is raising money to help its favorite daughter fight a rare form of cancer.
The Barton County community of Claflin is helping raise money for Jackie Stiles as she prepares for surgery Friday to treat eye cancer.
Students at Central Plains High School set up an online fundraiser Tuesday to help Stiles with some medical costs her insurance won’t cover. The goal is $5,000.
Stiles’ father, Pat Stiles, says he’s “surprised and humbled” that students who don’t personally know his daughter would raise money.
Jackie Stiles put Claflin on the map playing for Missouri State University and later in the WNBA. She currently coaches the university’s women’s basketball team.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Police officers at the University of Kansas will soon start carrying stun guns as a safe option for situations when lethal force isn’t appropriate or necessary.
University Police Chief Chris Keary tells the Lawrence Journal-World that all department officers will be trained and armed with a stun gun by the end of the spring semester.
Keary says most campus police departments in the Kansas Board of Regents system already carry stun guns, as do local law enforcement agencies. He says he wouldn’t be surprised if people had assumed the department was already carrying them.
The cost of the conducted-electrical weapons, including holsters, cartridges, batteries, training supplies and other related equipment, totals to nearly $68,000. Keary says the university’s Public Safety Office is covering the cost.
PAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect in connection with an alleged drug overdose death.
James Allen Roe, 58, Larned, appeared in custody Wednesday morning before Pawnee County Magistrate Judge Julie Cowell on a single count felony complaint filed by the Pawnee County Attorney’s Office.
According to a media release, Roe is charged with one count of distribution of a controlled substance causing death alleged to have occurred in Pawnee County on or about July 27, 2015.
The controlled substance alleged to have been distributed was a fentanyl transdermal patch. The charge stems from an ongoing investigation by the Larned Police Department and Coroner Dr. Lyle Noordhoek related to the overdose death of Ryan J. Henderson.
Henderson, 33, was found non-responsive at his residence in Larned the morning of July 28, 2015.
If convicted, Roe faces a presumptive prison sentence between 147 months and 653 months in the custody of the Department of Corrections depending on his criminal history.
Roe was arrested by the Larned Police Department at his home on January 30, 2018, without incident and is being held in the Pawnee County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bond.
A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for February 7, 2018.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal safety agency says Spirit AeroSystems has exposed some employees to a known carcinogen.
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration said Thursday it is proposing a $194,006 fine against the company.
The agency says the company exposed employees to concentrations of hexavalent chromium at nearly two times the permissible levels.
Spirit AeroSystems said in an email Thursday that it doesn’t believe employees were exposed to improper levels of the chemical. It says the allegations focus on one area on a third shift. It plans to ask OSHA to reduce the penalties and classifications of the citations.
OSHA says the company has taken sufficient steps to prevent more exposure, conduct monitoring and provided training for employees.
Spirit Aerosystems is a parts supplier for Boeing and Airbus.
Virginia Ann Dinkel, 87, of Russell, Kansas died on Wednesday, January 31, 2018 at Russell Regional Hospital.
Virginia was born on January 26, 1931 in Ellis, Kansas, the daughter of Frank Gross and Mary Werth. She grew up in Gorham, Kansas and graduated from Gorham High School in1949. She was united in marriage to Loren Dinkel on May 21, 1951. They made their home initially in Gorham before moving to Russell. From this union they were blessed with seven children. She was a member of the St. Mary’s Catholic Church of Russell. She graduated from Brown Mackie Business School before her marriage when she became a full-time homemaker and mother of her children. Virginia enjoyed her many friends, with whom she kept in close contact for many years. The loves of her life where her husband, Loren as well as her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Surviving family include children Janice Dinkel and husband Glenn Phelps, Jay Dinkel, Bryan Dinkel and wife, Kay, Laurel Dinkel and husband Doug Cubberley, Bradley Dinkel and wife Denise, Kevin Dinkel and wife Teresa, and daughter Deanne Dinkel. Also surviving are her nephews, Verlin Fisher and wife, Kathy, Mike Gross and wife, Dawn, Wes Gross and nieces Leanne Gross, Teresa Gross and Del Herald. Also surviving are seven grandchildren, Brent Dinkel and wife, Stacy, Todd Dinkel and wife, Andrea, Angela Morris and husband, Bryan, Jesse Dinkel and wife, Cassandra, Cole Dinkel and wife, Nichole, Ashley Westerman and husband, Alex, and Sophia Cubberley Dinkel and twelve great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, brothers Fred, Virgil, Leroy and sisters Jenny and Corrine (Butch) and infant sister Delphine.Virginia is also survived, by TwillaFroelich, her friend of 75 years, and her daughter, Colleen Cooper and dear friend, Alice Schmidt.
A celebration of Virginia’s life will be held at 11 A.M. on Saturday, February 03, 2018, at the St. Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church in Russell, Kansas. Burial will follow at the St. Mary Catholic Cemetery in Russell. A vigil and rosary will be held at 7 P.M. on Friday, February 02, 2018, at the St. Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church. Visitation will be on Friday, February 02, 2018, from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. at the mortuary. Memorials may be given to the Dream Theater in Russell, Kansas, and may be sent in care of the morutary.
Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary of Russell, Kansas, is in charge of the funeral service arrangements.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is reporting that it collected $165 million more in taxes than expected in January, and its top tax official sees the surplus resulting from changes in federal tax laws.
Revenue Secretary Sam Williams said Thursday that federal tax changes enacted late last year encouraged people to pay state and local tax bills before 2017 ended.
The Department of Revenue reported that Kansas took in nearly $747 million in taxes last month. The state had expected tax collections of $582 million.
The monthly surplus is more than 28 percent.
It was the eighth consecutive month tax collections have exceeded expectations. Since the current fiscal year began July 1, the state has collected $3.9 billion in taxes. That is $249 million more than anticipated and a surplus of 6.7 percent.
MCPHERSON COUNTY — A Kansas man died in an accident just before 3:30a.m. Thursday in McPherson County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage driven by David L. Chamberlain, Jr., 51, Haven, was southbound on Interstate 135 just south of Navajo Road.
The vehicle rear-ended a 1989 Rockwood Motorhome driven by Kenneth R. Shriver, Wichita. The Mitsubishi then entered west ditch, traveled through a KDOT fence and caught fire.
Chamberlain was pronounced dead at the scene.
Shriver was not injured. Chamberlain was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
BELLEVILLE, Kan. — Authorities say a second suspect in a Kansas homicide has been arrested after a police chase.
The pursuit began Wednesday afternoon in Kansas City, Missouri. Police say it appeared drugs and guns were tossed from the speeding vehicle before the chase ended about 20 minutes later in Kansas City, Kansas. Police say three people were taken into custody including 28-year-old Shannon Dace. She is wanted in connection with the Aug. 30 shooting death of 29-year-old Kevin Fowler.
Another suspect, Zachary Barnes, was arrested in September south of the small Republican County town of Cuba, Kansas, and charged with second-degree murder. The search for Barnes caused several schools and public agencies to be placed on lockdown in two other towns in the
area, which is near the Nebraska border.
Dorothy E. Minson, 93, died January 26, 2018, at Cherry Village, Great Bend. She was born April 17, 1924, in Hoisington, the daughter of Christian and Marie Elizabeth (Karst) Kramer. Dorothy was a 1942 graduate of Hoisington High School.
A lifetime Hoisington resident she worked for the Hoisington Lutheran Hospital as an insurance clerk.
She was involved in the Concordia Lutheran Church where she had taught Sunday school and played the piano and organ. She was a member of the Lutheran Women Missionary League and also played in many different bridge clubs.
On May 26, 1942, she married Lawrence A. Minson, in Hoisington. He preceded her in death on March 16, 2009.
Survivors include; five children, Mike Minson and wife Judy of Boerne, Texas, Elizabeth Ann Lindquist and husband Jay of Great Bend, Gary Minson and wife Joyce of Abilene, D.J. Baird and husband Dean of Hoisington, and Sara Dutton and husband Gary of Salina; a sister, Chris Bickle and husband Don of Hays; 17 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, a sister, Esther Valerius, and three grandchildren.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, February 7, 2018, at Concordia Lutheran Church, with Pastor Gary Wolf presiding. There will be a private family inurnment in the Hoisington Cemetery.
Family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home.
Memorials may be made to Concordia Lutheran Church or Kans for Kids in care of Nicholson-Ricke Funeral Home, PO Box 146, Hoisington, KS 67544.
On Wednesday, Kansans got a new governor.
Jeff Colyer’s emergence from the witness protection program of being Lt. Governor should be the story of the week.
Colyer has six months to establish a record and a persona that will carry him to victory in the crowded GOP primary election. No mean feat.
What’s the problem? In short, the 2018 election is all about gubernatorial candidate Kris Kobach, the current Secretary of State.
First, a little history. Since 1974, when Kansas adopted four-year gubernatorial terms, every successful candidate has either served as a top legislative leader or has held an elected statewide office. In the 1970s and 1980s, Bob Bennett, John Carlin and Mike Hayden came from the Legislature. From 1990 on, Governors Joan Finney, Bill Graves, Kathleen Sebelius, and Sam Brownback all moved to Cedar Crest directly from elected statewide positions, although none served as attorney general, the most notable stepping-stone office.
Winning a down-ballot statewide office is a viable route to the governorship. In 2018, this is the path trod by Insurance Commissioner Ken Selzer and, most notably, Secretary of State Kris Kobach. While Selzer remains essentially unknown, Kobach is far more recognizable, even notorious.
Unlike Bill Graves, who in 1994 rose unexpectedly from serving as a conventional Secretary of State to winning the governorship, Kobach stands in 2018 as the best known gubernatorial aspirant (the good news) and the one with by far the highest disapproval rating (the bad news).
Kobach, given his unapologetic support for voter suppression, nativism, and the Brownback tax cuts, has become the focal point – explicitly or not – of all Republican and Democratic candidates.
Like Donald Trump, Kobach doubles down at almost every opportunity; unlike Trump, he remains consistent in his alt-right approach to politics, whether writing exclusionary, unconstitutional anti-immigrant laws across the country or frothing vitriol at the Breitbart website or defending the indefensible Kansas Crosscheck voter security (sic) system. Add to these issues his unstinting backing for the unpopular Sam Brownback and his own high negatives, to say nothing of modest early fund-raising, and Kobach might well look less than formidable.
For Colyer and the other five so-called major Republican aspirants, however, the problem is to find a way for one of them to surpass the 25-to-30 percent of the vote that Kobach seems destined to win. To be sure, recent national publicity on Trump’s voting commission debacle and state attention to the insecure multi-state Crosscheck could combine to reduce his core support. Still, with six serious candidates and a host of minor ones, winning even 20 percent of the GOP primary vote might propel Kobach to the GOP nomination.
Kobach’s notoriety has increased the visibility of the Secretary of State position, and several candidates from both parties likely regard the office as a gateway to further advancement. Three significant Republicans – Representatives Keith Esau and Scott Schwab and GOP state chair Kelly Arnold – have announced, along with two Democrats — Senator Marci Francisco and newcomer Brian McClendon. While it is noteworthy that four veteran Kansas politicos are vying for the office, it’s equally significant that McClendon, a Kansas native with an extensive background in the tech industry (Google and Uber), has returned to the state to run for a traditionally unglamorous position.
Kobach has certainly raised the relevance of his office, but so have disputes about voting rights, both in Kansas and across the country. The governor’s race will surely be the main event in 2018, but the important undercard battle to become secretary of state will be worth watching as well.
Burdett Loomis is an emeritus professor of political science at the University of Kansas.
James L. “Jim” Warren, 75, Hays, died Tuesday, January 30, 2018 at the Hays Medical Center.
Funeral services will be at 2:00 pm on Saturday, February 3, 2018 at the North Oak Community Church, 3000 Oak Street, Hays. Burial will follow in the Ft. Hays Memorial Gardens Cemetery. Visitation will be from 1:00 pm until service time on Saturday at the church.
A complete obituary will be announced by Hays Memorial Chapel Funeral Home.
FHSU University Relations
Westford Education Group, Al Nahda, United Arab Emirates, has joined Fort Hays State University in a strategic partnership to bring affordable, high-quality business education to the Middle East.
“The collaboration leverages the local market intelligence and student support services of Westford Education Group with the academic content and faculty of the Fort Hays State University MBA program to offer an online and on-ground supported MBA program from an American university,” said Dr. William Painter, dean of the Westford Group.
“This partnership reflects the next step of the university’s ‘World Ready’ efforts,” said Dr. Mark Bannister, dean of Fort Hays State’s W.R. and Yvonne Robbins College of Business and Entrepreneurship. “The university is partnering with one of the world’s leading publishing and training companies in order to benefit students. In doing so, we will enter an important economic region that is seeking quality English language graduate education.”
The educational model combines the transfer of some credits, local instructional support, and direct instruction by FHSU’s MBA faculty. Westford will recruit students for the 34-credit-hour program and provide instruction for six credit hours. The FHSU Virtual College will provide 28 credit hours.
Students will be in the UAE’s Dubai area. The target audience is expatriates and students who are citizens of nearby countries, but living and working in the UAE.
“To reach international students, most American universities either build a branch campus or work with a third party to attract international students to the United States,” said Painter. “This model allows students to remain in their jobs, where they can contribute to the local economy and still receive a high-quality experience at a very affordable price. The costs to both the student and the university are significantly reduced to their mutual benefit.”
“We are committed to improving access to quality higher education programs for those students who are talented but who cannot quit their jobs and leave their families for several years to attend a U.S. university,” said Painter.
The Westford Education Group is an award-winning institution with seven campuses and currently has partnerships with two British universities, Cardiff Metropolitan University and Wolverhampton University, and Marconi University in Italy.
