WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Agribusiness giant Cargill says it’s considering moving several operations out of the Wichita buildings where they are headquartered.
But the company hasn’t said whether it’s looking into moving the operations to another location within the city. Spokesman Mike Martin told The Wichita Eagle that all he could say was that the Minneapolis-based company was “looking at a variety of options.”
Wichita is home to the company’s beef business; its turkey and cooked meat business, which includes deli meats; its value-added protein services, including its North American egg business; and its food distribution.
Most of the 900 employees that work in those Wichita-based operations are housed in a 10-story building. But Martin says its classic configuration isn’t a good thing for the company going forward.
Police on the scene of a body found in a creek on Monday in Shawnee County- photo courtesy WIBW TV
SHAWNEE COUNTY -Law enforcement authorities in Shawnee County have identified a body found in a creek.
Just before 10 a.m. on Monday, the body of James Otis Martin, 49, Topeka was found by a citizen in Shunga Creek near 21st and Lakewood, according to a media release from Topeka Police.
Martin was transported to the Corner’s Office for an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
SALINE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating a suspect for aggravated battery.
Just after 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Justin Hatton, 25, Salina, was having an argument with a woman in her 20s in the 800 block of Sherman Street in Salina, according to Police Captain Mike Sweeney.
The woman got into a car and was beginning to leave when Hatton allegedly got into the passenger side of the car, bit the woman on the shoulder, and pushed her out of the driver’s door. She narrowly missed being run over, according to police.
Hatton then drove away in the car. While being interviewed by police, the woman told officers that Hatton had damaged her cell phone, and sprayed mace in her face during an another argument on Saturday morning.
Hatton was located Monday afternoon in Lincoln County and taken into custody on requested charges of aggravated battery, DV battery, and damage to property.
The Kansas Board of Regents met Monday morning by phone to select Regent Dennis Mullin of Manhattan as chair of the Kansas State University Presidential Search Committee, according to a media release.
Over the coming weeks, steps will be taken to finalize the committee’s membership and charge for this closed search.
“It will be important for all parts of the K-State community to be represented, including students, faculty, staff, alumni, athletics, endowment, and the wider Manhattan community,” stated Regent Mullin. “I am looking forward to working on behalf of the entire Wildcat family to find the next president of this great university.”
The Board is reviewing candidates for the position of Interim President, with plans to make a decision within the next couple of weeks.
Addressing the accomplishments of President Schulz, Regent Shane Bangerter, chair of the Kansas Board of Regents, began:
“The mission of Kansas State University is to foster excellent teaching, research, and service to advance the well-being of Kansas and the nation.” He continued, “The Board is greatly appreciative of President Kirk Schulz and the time he spent at Kansas State University, where under his watch, K-State has achieved record levels in research expenditures, overall student enrollment, and student body diversity. For the fourth consecutive year, private giving has exceeded $100 million, demonstrating an ongoing belief by countless individuals in the direction of this historic university. A true champion of strategic planning, President Schulz has done wonderful things for this university and the entire state of Kansas, setting the institution in the right direction to create the workforce tomorrow’s economy will need. We wish him well as his journey in higher education continues.”
MEDICINE LODGE, Kan. (AP) — Crews will continue to patrol a wildfire that has burned hundreds of square miles of sparsely populated land in Kansas and Oklahoma.
The fire, which started last week in Oklahoma before spreading to southern Kansas, has largely been contained. But Barber County Attorney Gaten Wood says crew will be watching the fire closely because of high winds and dry conditions forecast for Tuesday.
Oklahoma Forestry Services spokeswoman Hannah Anderson says crews also will continue to patrol and monitor the fire line there and work on putting out any hot spots. She says the fire did not spread Monday despite the hot, windy conditions.
The fire destroyed several homes in rural Barber County, where most of the damage occurred. No injuries were reported.
File Photo Gov. Sam Brownback signed a bill Monday that will allow insurance companies to avoid paying a privilege fee when they sell plans that cover only in-network care. Photo by KHI News Service
Gov. Sam Brownback signed a bill Monday that will allow insurance companies to avoid paying a privilege fee when they sell health plans that cover only in-network care.
The state already allowed insurers to sell network-only plans if they registered with the Kansas Insurance Department as health maintenance organizations, or HMOs, and paid the fee.
Legislators raised the fee substantially last year to help balance the state budget. Their intent was to collect more money from the three managed care organizations that administer Kansas Medicaid, or KanCare, that also pay the fee.
That would in turn draw down more federal Medicaid dollars, which would be used to reimburse the KanCare companies.
But insurers also had to pay the fee on private-sector plans — and they received no reimbursement. Aetna was hit particularly hard by the fee increase and lobbied this year for House Bill 2454, along with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City and United HealthGroup.
The bill allows insurers to sell “exclusive provider organization,” or EPO, plans. Generally, HMOs differ from EPOs in that EPOs do not require a referral from a specific primary care physician for other care as long as that care occurs in network.
But HB 2454 allows insurance companies to include referral, or “gatekeeper,” requirements in their EPO plans, which would make them functionally no different than an HMO plan — although the insurance company would not have to pay the privilege fee.
Representatives of Aetna and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City said the bill will allow them to sell cheaper insurance plans. During a committee hearings, legislators and a representative from the Kansas Insurance Department raised concerns about ensuring consumers know when they consider purchasing the plans that the doctors they currently see may not be in the plans’ networks.
Rep. Willie Dove, a Republican from Bonner Springs who sells insurance, said that after talking with the insurers, he’s satisfied that their company policies as well as the insurance department regulations will ensure that’s the case. “They do have the capacity to find out if the doctor is in network or not,” Dove said.
The state’s budget director did not provide an estimate of how much revenue might be lost due to the bill but did provide a fiscal note stating that the HMO privilege fee is estimated to bring in about $106 million in the current fiscal year and $111 million in the next. The majority of that comes from the KanCare companies.
Andy Marso is a reporter for KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team. You can reach him on Twitter @andymarso
Officer directing traffic off of Tuttle Creek Blvd after after the October 5, fatal accident.
MANHATTAN- Trial has been set for a Kansas man in a fatal traffic accident that killed his 6-year-old daughter.
Joshua Mall, 39, of Riley, KS, appeared in Riley County court on Monday for an arraignment.
He was arrested for 2nd degree murder following an accident on October 5, 2015.
Police in Manhattan reported Mall lost control while driving his 2001 Ford Ranger in the 2400 block of Tuttle Creek Boulevard. Mall collided into a 2013 Chevy Cruz, and immediately left the roadway and collided with a tree.
A child in the Ford, Madilyn Mall, 6, Riley, was transported to Via Christi where she died.
Mall plead not guilty to charges of murder in the 2nd degree, involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, possession of a controlled substance, transportation of alcohol in an open container and transporting a child without safety seat or restraints.
CRESCENT, Okla. (AP) — The U.S. Geological Survey says a pair of strong earthquakes hit central Oklahoma in the overnight hours.
The USGS says a 4.2 magnitude quake struck late Monday in Logan County. The quake was centered 3 miles north-northeast of Crescent, and the USGS says it was felt as far north as Wichita, Kansas.
earthquake has been rated at a 4.2 magnitude by the @USGS Centered 11 miles NW of Guthrie at 1153 pm. #okwx#okquake
A 4.1 magnitude earthquake hit the same area shortly after 5 a.m. Tuesday. The USGS says that temblor had an epicenter 4 miles north of Crescent, or about 37 miles north of Oklahoma City. An earlier earthquake with a 2.9 magnitude hit near Enid around 10:30 p.m. Monday.
On Monday, the USGS released a survey that found Oklahoma has a 1 in 8 chance of damaging quakes in 2016, surpassing California as the state with the highest probability.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A suburban Kansas City woman charged with embezzling from the engineering firm Black & Veatch is being investigated after $1.2 million was embezzled from navigation device maker Garmin.
The Kansas City Star reports that 43-year-old Patricia Webb, of Lee’s Summit, was charged this month with embezzling more than $300,000 from Black and Veatch. She worked there as a payroll manager after a stint as a payroll team leader for Kansas-based Garmin.
Federal prosecutors say in court documents that the investigation into the Black & Veatch thefts led to the FBI discovering larger thefts from Garmin. No charges have been filed in connection with the Garmin case.
Her attorney, John O’Connor, didn’t immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A 25-year-old man has pleaded guilty in an Overland Park traffic crash in suburban Kansas City that killed a part-time police officer.
The Kansas City Star reports that Dana Patton pleaded guilty Monday to reckless second-degree murder in the death of 58-year-old David M. Stubbs. Patton also pleaded guilty to six counts of aggravated battery for injuries suffered by others involved in the crash last October, and aggravated burglary.
Police say Stubbs was killed at an intersection when a car driven by Patton ran a red light. Authorities say Patton ran away from the scene of the crash, but was arrested after breaking into a nearby apartment.
MANHATTAN–Firefighters, aided by rain and snow in the region, have made significant headway in controlling the Anderson Creek Fire in Barber and Comanche counties. Farm, ranch and industry organizations including Kansas Farm Bureau and the Kansas Livestock Association are focusing their efforts on how to assist farmers and ranchers who have been affected by the largest wildfire in Kansas history.
The fire has burned approximately 300,000 acres in southcentral Kansas, taking numerous homes, outbuildings, many miles of fence and an unknown number of cattle. Most fences were destroyed in the fire, leaving wire lying on the ground where wooden posts were burned. Ranchers in the area continue tending to the feed and health needs of surviving cattle, many of whom are suffering from respiratory problems due to smoke inhalation, according to producers and veterinarians. Some were directly injured by fire.
Kansas Farm Bureau has created a fire relief site for those impacted and those willing to help. The site, www.kfb.org/firerelief, will connect those donating supplies like fencing, building materials and labor to those in need. This site will enable Farm Bureau to help ensure the resources can be implemented efficiently. Local contacts include Jennifer Theurer in Comanche County, who can be reached at 620-440-9059, and Zel Polf in Barber County, whose contact number is (620) 886-3316. Contacts at Kansas Farm Bureau include Nancy Brown, (785) 587-6111, and Serita Blankenship, (785( 587-6150.
Anyone wishing to make direct contributions to the Kansas Farm Bureau Foundation may send them to Kansas Farm Bureau, 2627 KFB Plaza, Manhattan, KS 66503, with “fire relief efforts” noted in the memo. All funds collected will be split between impacted counties as directed by county Farm Bureaus.
The Kansas Livestock Association (KLA) has also been working to assist in relief efforts. Donations to the Kansas Livestock Foundation (KLF) will help to meet the needs of ranchers affected by the wildfire. Funds generated will be used for fencing supplies, animal health efforts and other needs identified by KLA leadership in Barber and Comanche counties. Donations are tax deductible and can be sent to KLF at 6031 S.W. 37th, Topeka, KS 66614. Specify the check is for “disaster relief” in the memo line. Online contributions can be made at https://www.kla.org/donationform.aspx.
Several members are generously donating proceeds from the sale of animals to KLF for disaster relief. A heifer donated by KLA President Elect David Clawson and Clawson Ranch Partnership will be sold Thursday (3/31) at Pratt Livestock to generate funds for the relief effort through KLF. The heifer will be re-sold several times. In addition, KW Cattle Company will donate proceeds to KLF from the sale of lot 21, an Angus bull. The bull will sell Tuesday (3/29) at the KW sale near Fort Scott. For more information on the bull, go to www.kwcattle.com.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Concerns are mounting over freeze damage to winter wheat crops that had broken dormancy weeks before temperatures plummeted in recent days.
Agricultural meteorologist Kyle Tapley of MDA Weather Services said Monday that most of the concern steps from freezing temperatures that hit the weekend of March 19-20. He says most of the impact is likely in the western Kansas, Oklahoma and northern Texas.
Unseasonably hot temperatures in February caused the wheat to come out of dormancy weeks earlier than normal, making the crop more vulnerable to cold weather.
Clearwater farmer Scott Van Allen says the freeze damage began showing up this past week in his fields south of Wichita. He says one out of every 10 to 15 wheat heads that he examined had been frozen.
MANHATTAN – A Kansas man was sentenced on Monday for the March 2015 shooting death of a Riley County man.
Tierre Wall, 26, Fort Riley, plead no contest to charges of voluntary manslaughter and attempted aggravated assault in the death of Casey Lindley, 27, Ogden,
Police found Lindley suffering from a gunshot wound in Ogden. He was transported to a Topeka hospital where he died of his injuries.
Wall was arrested after turning himself in at a police station in Georgia.
Wall was sentenced to 61 months for the charge of voluntary manslaughter and 7 months for attempted aggravated assault.
He will also have post-release supervision for 36 months following his incarceration.
KDA
