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Following is recent booking activity for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.salinecountyks.gov/Sheriff-Office/Online-search/Booking-Activities">Saline County Jail</a>, as provided by law enforcement. Photos, if provided, are courtesy of Saline County Jail. All persons are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

REQUESTED CHARGES:&nbsp;Probation Violation; Failure to appear; Use/poss drug paraphernalian/human body; Poss of opiate, narcotic, or certain stimulant; Poss of substance in KSA 65-4105(h); prior conv

NAME:&nbsp;Barrera-Reyes,Angel Francisco

REQUESTED CHARGES:&nbsp;Outside warrant/NCIC hit; Driving under influence of alcohol or drugs; Misdemeanor; License carried/exhibited

NAME:&nbsp;Chaca,Shane Christopher

REQUESTED CHARGES:&nbsp;Battery on LEO; Physical contact with county or city officer on duty; Criminal threat; Cause terror, evacuation or disruption; Interf w/LEO; obstr/resist/oppose felony warrant

REQUESTED CHARGES:&nbsp;Use/poss drug paraphernalian/human body; Poss of marijuana; Transporting an open container

REQUESTED CHARGE:&nbsp;Failure to appear

REQUESTED CHARGES:&nbsp;Failure to appear; Use/poss drug paraphernalian/human body; Poss of marijuana

NAME:&nbsp;Stallworth,Jonathan Wedey

REQUESTED CHARGE:&nbsp;Criminal damage to property; Felony

REQUESTED CHARGES:&nbsp;Defective tail lamps; Display of license plate; Driving under influence of alcohol or drugs; Misdemeanor; Transporting an open container

Saline County Jail Bookings, March 14

City Manager Jacob Wood has appointed Jason Maxwell as the new Municipal Judge. 

Maxwell will bring 30 years of law experience to Salina. He is currently the Municipal Court Judge and Treatment Court Judge in Liberal. He has also served as a Municipal Judge on a parttime basis for the cities of Sublette and Satanta, Kansas, and Hooker,&nbsp; Oklahoma.

 Other experience includes being the County Counselor for Haskell County, Kansas, along with managing a private practice serving Kansas and Oklahoma clients. He received a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from Oklahoma State University prior to earning a Juris Doctor from University of Oklahoma College of Law. 

Maxwell is a member of the Kansas Bar Association, Oklahoma Bar Association, and Seward-Haskell County Bar Association. He has been an active member and has held leadership roles in the Kansas Municipal Judges Association and has served on numerous professional committees. 

His wife, Lara, will be joining him in the relocation to Salina.

Wood states, "Jason’s demonstrated leadership and law experience will be an asset for Salina’s Municipal Court. We were fortunate to have several strong applicants for this role, but his background and approach made him a great fit for this position. We’re excited to have him join our community.”

Maxwell succeeds Brenda Stoss, who is retiring after 22 years of service. He will begin the role within the next month.

City of Salina appoints new Municipal Judge

Birger Sandzén Memorial Art Gallery

LINDSBORG -&nbsp;The Jansen-Colle-Hernandez Trio, comprised of Madeleine Jansen on violin, Syneva Colle Hernández on cello; and Alfonso Hernández on piano, will perform works by Astor Piazzolla, Mel Bonis, and&nbsp;Dmitri Shostakovich&nbsp;at the Sandzén Gallery on Sunday, March 22, 2026, at 2:00 p.m.

Dr.&nbsp;Madeleine Jansen&nbsp;is a dynamic violinist, educator, and arts advocate, praised by the&nbsp;San Francisco Classical Voice&nbsp;for her expressive interpretations across a wide repertoire. She is currently Assistant Professor of Violin and Viola at Kansas State University. As a soloist and chamber musician, Jansen has performed throughout the U.S., Brazil, and Europe, and is a dedicated champion of contemporary music. Jansen studied at Boston University, the Royal College of Music, the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, and earned a doctorate from the University of Maryland, where her research focused on audience engagement.

Dr.&nbsp;Syneva Colle Hernández&nbsp;is a performer, educator, and arts advocate who currently serves as the Teaching Assistant Professor of Cello and String Education at Kansas State University. She is Assistant Principal Cellist for the Topeka Symphony, and is a featured soloist on over twenty commercial albums. Syneva is an Artistic Director for the performance series Chamber Music Kansas, and directs the String Academy at K-State, a community music school and teacher training program.

Dr. Alfonso Hernandez is a passionate musician and arts advocate, praised by&nbsp;Prensa Libre&nbsp;as “one&nbsp;of the best Guatemalan pianists today, thanks to his energy, precision, and delicacy.” He earned a Doctorate in Musical Arts from the University of Maryland and an MBA in Arts Innovation from the Global Leaders Institute in Washington, D.C. Hernandez also earned degrees from the University of Houston, Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, and Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida. He has participated in many renowned music festivals, including Chautauqua in New York, Aspen in Colorado, and Zeister Muziekdagen in the Netherlands.

The Sandzen Gallery is located at 401 North First Street in Lindsborg. 

There is no charge for the concert, however, donations are appreciated. 

For further information, please call the Gallery at 785-227-2220 or email&nbsp;<a href="mailto:sandzengallery@gmail.com">sandzengallery@gmail.com</a>.

Chamber music concert at the Sandzen Gallery on March 22

A Salina store unlawfully selling alcoholic beverages had their products seized by the state of Kansas.

The Kansas Department of Revenue’s (KDOR) Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (ABC) announced the results of a multi‑county enforcement operation targeting the unlawful sale of alcoholic products disguised as kratom extract “shots” in retail stores across the state. The action underscores ABC’s commitment to protecting public health and safety, educating consumers, and ensuring businesses comply with Kansas law.

The investigation began in September 2025 following a formal complaint alleging that O.P.M.S. Kratom Extract liquid products—commonly marketed as “shots”—contained alcohol and were being sold without proper licensing. These products were available in small bottles, intended for human consumption, and sold in stores not authorized to sell alcoholic beverages.

The ingredients of Kratom is found to have&nbsp;<a href="https://salinapost.com/posts/e0c7aa11-53de-4dd5-a5a3-a95a91ccd48a">7-hydroxymytragynine (7-OH)</a>. According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) 7-OH is more addictive, and using it in combination with alcohol or other sedatives can cause severe respiratory depression, and in some cases, even death.

7-OH is unregulated, the potency and quality of products can vary widely, making it difficult to safely gauge dosage.

VIP Smoke Shop in Salina was reportedly involved from the search by the ABC.

ABC enforcement agents initiated a comprehensive investigation, locating the products in multiple Kansas retail locations and purchasing samples of O.P.M.S Black Kratom Extract liquid and O.P.M.S. 

Gold Kratom Extract liquid. The products underwent field testing and were submitted to a federal forensic laboratory for chemical analysis. Laboratory results confirmed that the products contained between 15.7% and 16.1% ethanol alcohol, classifying them as alcoholic beverages under Kansas law.

The investigation determined that these unlicensed alcoholic products were being sold primarily in vape shops and similar businesses lacking the required alcoholic beverage licenses.

Working in coordination with county attorneys, ABC agents obtained search warrants for 12 business locations across Kansas, including:

At 11:00 am on March 11, ABC agents simultaneously executed the search warrants. 

A total of 1,006 bottles of the illegal alcoholic products were seized and all 12 businesses were found to be in possession of the unlawful beverages.

Criminal charges will be submitted to the respective county attorney’s offices for review and prosecution.

“Sales of unlawful alcoholic beverages by unlicensed businesses pose a clear risk to consumers and undermine the integrity of Kansas’ regulated marketplace,” said ABC Director Debbi Beavers. “This operation demonstrates our ongoing commitment to safeguarding the public and ensuring that all businesses follow state law.”

ABC encourages consumers to report suspected violations to help protect Kansas communities from unsafe or unlawfully sold products.

Potential violations can be reported at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://links-2.govdelivery.com/CL0/https:%2F%2Fwww.ksrevenue.gov%2Fabcindex.html/1/0101019ce810fdb4-112e0dca-5e76-43b1-940f-c0425d56b406-000000/sIURXLVdwlF0RwPX-J-C7D8sOKRnlw_s1mSSr1tnmJY=448">www.ksrevenue.gov/abcindex.html</a>

Salina store caught with unlawfully selling kratom alcoholic beverages

On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman talks with Kathleen Cook, Fort Hays State University Director of Academic Success about the Schmidt Foundation Scholarships.

🎥  Forward Ever: FHSU director of Academic Success

Saline County Sheriff's are seeking tips for a suspect(s) who allegedly threw an ignited Molotov into a field.

According to the Saline County Sheriff's Office on February 26 between the hours of 10:30 pm and 11:30 pm, an unknown suspect(s)&nbsp;ignited a Molotov cocktail and threw it in a field in the 2300 block of S. Simpson Road. 

As a result, this ignited a fire approximately 30 yards long and wide in the field.

If you have any information concerning who attempted to commit this crime, call Crimestoppers at 825-TIPS, text SATIPS to CRIMES (274637).

Visit <a href="http://www.pd.salina.org">www.pd.salina.org</a> and follow Crimestoppers link to submit a web tip. You may receive a cash reward of up to $1000, and you are not required to give your name

Crimestoppers: Tips sought for suspect throwing ignited Molotov into field

Efforts to clean up contamination on the Salina airport, which was left over when the former Schilling Air Force Base was established is progressing

According to the airport, the Salina Public Entities is working in coordination with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), is making progress on environmental remediation efforts associated with the former Schilling Air Force Base. 

The cleanup effort is a long-term project that includes multiple phases and a variety of remediation methods designed to address historical contamination in soil and groundwater.

A significant milestone has recently been reached with the completion of remediation work in the Plume B Soil Source Area. 

The cleanup process involved excavating impacted soil from the source area and conducting confirmatory sampling throughout the excavation to ensure that contaminated material had been fully removed. Soil testing continued until sampling confirmed that no remaining contamination was present at the source location.

The excavated soil was disposed at the Salina Landfill under authorization from KDHE.&nbsp;The excavation was backfilled with clean fill from an off-site source. The site was then graded and reseeded to restore the area.

In addition to this completed work, environmental monitoring remains ongoing. Groundwater and indoor air quality continue to be regularly monitored to confirm that people living and working near the site are not being exposed to harmful levels of contaminants. 

These monitoring efforts provide important data that helps guide the cleanup process and ensure that public health and safety remain the top priority.

The Salina Public Entities are also continuing to work closely with KDHE on the planning and implementation of additional remedial actions outlined in KDHE’s Corrective Action Decision (CAD). 

These actions will address remaining soil and groundwater impacts and will be implemented in phases using a range of remediation methods appropriate for the conditions at each location.

The environmental remediation work is part of an ongoing effort to responsibly address legacy environmental conditions associated with the former military installation while supporting the continued use and development of the property for the benefit of the Salina community.

Additional updates will be shared as progress continues on future phases of the project.

Clean up of contamination associated with former Air Force Base on airport grounds progressing 

A fire destroys 100 acres of grassland in Saline County.

According to the Saline County Sheriff's Office on Friday at around 1:30 am, deputies and Rural Fire District 1 were dispatched to Assaria and Niles Roads for the report of a grass fire.

Reportedly,&nbsp;The fire started at the top of a utility pole in the 5700 block of Assaria Road owned by DS&amp;O Electric who responded and secured the pole and power lines.

Approximately 100 acres of grassland were burnt with no financial loss, according to the Sheriff's Office

RFD 1 had the fire under control in under an hour.

Sheriff: Fire destroys 100 acres of grassland in Saline County

Match Madness 2026 broke records across the board since 15 years of establishment.

According to the Greater Salina Community Foundation,&nbsp;$849,751.65 were raised and&nbsp;3650 gifts to 109 nonprofits locally.

This tops last year's record of&nbsp;$818,100.01.

With $315,000 in matching funds, over $1.1 million was raised for the nonprofit and charitable organizations.

A Better Smile raised the most with a total of&nbsp;$30,686.13 and 63 gifts.

Second was A Work in Progress with $9,465.19 and 22 gifts.

Third was&nbsp;AMBUCS - Salina AM Breakfast Bandits&nbsp;with $8,928.22 and 33 gifts.

<a href="https://www.matchmadnessgscf.org/leaderboard.cfm">Click here to see the full leaderboard of money raised and gifts received for each local nonprofit.</a>

🎥 Match Madness shatters record of most money raised, over $800,000

NAME:&nbsp;Chambers,Tristan Gerald

REQUESTED CHARGE:&nbsp;Domestic Battery: rude physical contact

REQUESTED CHARGE:&nbsp;Battery; Knowing/recklessly causing bodily harm

REQUESTED CHARGE:&nbsp;Driving under influence of alcohol or drugs; Misdemeanor

REQUESTED CHARGES:&nbsp;Aggravated burglary; Dwelling for felony, theft, domestic violence, or sexually motivated crime

NAME:&nbsp;Linaweaver,Amberlee June

REQUESTED CHARGE: Probation Violation

REQUESTED CHARGES:&nbsp;Violation of restrictions on driver's license or permit; DUI; 3rd in 10y;comp evidence blood/breath .08+; Failure to stop at accident; Injury or damage over $1000; Ignition interlock device; Operate a car without a required device; No Proof Of Insurance

REQUESTED CHARGES:&nbsp;Battery; DUI; 2nd conv; comp evidence of blood/breath .08+

Saline County Jail Bookings, March 13

<a href="https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Salina&amp;state=KS&amp;site=ICT&amp;lat=38.8158&amp;lon=-97.6178">For a full look at the weather forecast, click here.</a>

Monitor local weather updates frequently in multiple ways by listening to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.weather.gov/nwr/">NOAA Weather Radio</a>, checking local news and emergency notifications. You can also stay informed by following Saline County and the National Weather Service on social media.

For the latest forecast updates, visit&nbsp;the&nbsp;National Weather Service Wichita office at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.weather.gov/ict/">https://www.weather.gov/ict/</a>. To check forecasts frequently, go to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.weather.gov/">weather.gov</a>.

Three day weather forecast Salina, March 13 - March 15

Saline County Emergency Management is warning the public of grassland fire dangers across central Kansas due to windy conditions.&nbsp;

According to the US National Weather Service in Wichita, a combination of strong southwest winds and above-normal temperatures will create elevated grassland fire danger across central Kansas on Thursday. 

A Fire Weather Watch has been issued for portions of central and south-central Kansas as conditions develop that could support rapid fire growth.

Dry vegetation combined with gusty winds can allow&nbsp;fires to spread quickly&nbsp;across open areas, fields, and ditches.&nbsp;Even small sparks can start fires under these conditions.

<a href="https://files.constantcontact.com/55d47694801/a19d484a-4727-48f1-ba8c-ff0cf81d4269.pdf?rdr=true">Click here for more information about safety tips and helpful information.&nbsp;</a>

Weather: Elevated grassland fire danger expected throughout central Kansas

Three day weather forecast Salina, March 11 - March 13

Saline County Emergency Management

Saline County Emergency Management has notified the public of potential severe weather on Tuesday.

According to the US National Weather Service in Wichita, they are monitoring the potential for severe storms across central Kansas Tuesday afternoon and evening. 

Storms may begin developing after 4:00 pm, with more widespread activity possible after 7:00 pm and continuing overnight.&nbsp;

Storms may become strong, bringing up to golf ball-sized hail, damaging winds, and heavy rain.

<a href="https://files.constantcontact.com/55d47694801/0b463edf-523b-41ba-8837-207de1fd27db.pdf?rdr=true">Click here for more information about safety tips and helpful information.&nbsp;</a>

Weather: Severe storms expected throughout central Kansas Tuesday 

Three day weather forecast Salina, March 9 - March 11

The National Weather Service in Wichita reports that multiple rounds of thunderstorms are expected to move through Kansas today, with a higher risk of severe weather developing later this afternoon and evening.

A few storms may develop during the morning and early afternoon hours. 

These storms could produce wind gusts up to 50 mph, dime-size hail, and periods of heavy rainfall.

The main concern for Saline County arrives later today. 

Forecasters expect a second round of storms to redevelop across central Kansas during the afternoon and evening before moving southeast through the night. These storms could bring damaging winds up to 70 mph, hail as large as golf balls, heavy rainfall, and the possibility of a strong tornado.

Storms may begin impacting the area after 4 p.m. and could continue into the overnight hours.

Residents are encouraged to monitor weather conditions throughout the day and make preparations now in case warnings are issued.

- Have multiple ways to receive weather alerts, especially if storms occur overnight.

- Review your shelter plan. The safest place during a tornado is a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building.

- Secure outdoor items such as patio furniture and trash cans that could blow away in strong winds.

- Charge phones and devices so you can receive warnings and updates.

- Avoid travel during severe storms if possible.

<a href="https://files.constantcontact.com/55d47694801/09190bda-a7e3-40e0-b04b-c5f2b3aa3999.pdf?rdr=true">Click here to see the severe weather packet for more details on this weather report.</a>

Multiple rounds of t-storms expected in central Kansas 

Three day weather forecast Salina, March 6 - March 8

Three day weather forecast Salina, March 4 - March 6

For the latest forecast updates, visit the National Weather Service Wichita office at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.weather.gov/ict/">https://www.weather.gov/ict/</a>. To check forecasts frequently, go to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.weather.gov/">weather.gov</a>.

Three day weather forecast Salina, March 2 - March 4

Three day weather forecast Salina, February 27 - March 1

KANSAS CITY – A Missouri man has been indicted with two counts of willful transmission of national defense information.&nbsp; The indictment was returned by a grand jury under seal and was made public this week after the arrest and initial appearance of the defendant, according to the United State's Attorney.

Seth Chambers, 35, a former United States Marine Corps. Intelligence Analyst, was employed as a civilian contractor and stationed in Iraq during the time frame alleged in the indictment.&nbsp;The indictment states that, as part of his duties, he held a security clearance that authorized him to view classified material up to a TOP SECRET level and therefore had access to national defense and classified information.

According to court documents, on two separate occasions, the defendant willfully transmitted SECRET level documents to two separate individuals who were not entitled or authorized to receive it.&nbsp; 

The first transmission occurred on Dec. 10, 2022, when the defendant transmitted a white paper containing verbatim and near verbatim excerpts from classified U.S. government documents and was sent to an individual in Maryland.&nbsp; The second transmission of a document containing verbatim and near verbatim excerpts from classified U.S. government documents occurred on April 20, 2023, and was sent to an individual believed to be in the People’s Republic of China.

If convicted, under federal statutes, Chambers is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole on each count. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Kelleher and Trial Attorneys Nicolas Hunter and Sean O’Dowd of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section. It was investigated by FBI Kansas City Field Office.&nbsp;

Former U.S. intelligence analyst accused of sending classified info to China

By&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/jaimie-ding">JAIMIE DING</a>

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Math nerds and dessert enthusiasts unite to celebrate Pi Day every March 14, the date that represents the first three digits of the mathematical constant pi.

Representing the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, pi is approximately equal to 3.14159 — but its digits go on forever. In school, you might have used it to calculate the area of a circle or the volume of a cylinder. But the applications of pi are endless and part of every corner of our world.

The holiday was created in 1988 by Larry Shaw, a physicist at the Exploratorium science museum in San Francisco.

“He had a very open and expansive view of the world and saw an opportunity with this number, mathematical concept, to invite people into the joy of mathematical learning,” said Sam Sharkland, program director of public programs at the museum, who worked with Shaw before he died in 2017.

While it began as a small staff celebration featuring pie, it soon turned into a grand procession where hundreds of visitors marched around the pi shrine, each carrying a digit. Attendees often show up early to claim their favorite digit for the parade. One woman who has the symbol tattooed on her neck comes every year and marches near the front with a pi flag, Sharkland said.

The celebration begins at 1:59 p.m., signifying the next three digits of pi.

Here are a few ways pi is being used on the cutting edge of science.

In Artur Davoyan’s field of mechanical and aerospace engineering, pi is so fundamental that it would be hard to pinpoint one use case for it, he said.

Pi is part of “literally every single formula that you would use to do any calculation, like for spacecraft motion, for materials and how they work, or propulsion systems,” said Davoyan, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Anything that is round or has cyclical or repeating properties — such as radio waves — involves pi. Even squares or irregular blobs can be broken down into a series of progressively smaller circles and calculated using pi, Davoyan said.

Davoyan’s research looks at how to create new propulsion systems to send spacecrafts more quickly to the far reaches of the solar system to gather and send back information to Earth. He pointed to NASA’s Voyager 1 and 2, which launched in 1977 but didn’t reach interstellar space until 2012 and 2018.

To send a signal to those space probes, NASA must calculate Earth’s exact position in orbit around the sun and design antennas for communication using pi. Then scientists use pi once more when receiving and breaking down complex signals that are being beamed back to Earth.

“Say aliens send something to us, something that we don’t know how to deal with,” Davoyan said. “So the very first thing that you would do, you would try to split it into simple functions... and turns out that when you do this operation, you will naturally have pis in it.”

Pi also comes up frequently when studying small amounts of fluids.

Dino Di Carlo, chair of the bioengineering department at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, conducts research that involves creating little particles out of polymers that act as tiny test tubes for cells. This is used as an important tool to examine cells closely and learn about their functions and what’s inside them.

The pi constant is used in calculating how to form those droplets, surface tension calculations that define how droplets can break up, and how researchers can control the size of those volumes, Di Carlo said.

Di Carlo is using this technique to find antibodies — small proteins that fight diseases in your body — that could block signals put out by cancer cells.

Pi is also an important part of calculations when looking at how liquids flow through tubes and barriers. One example is when the fluid sample slowly flows sideways in a take-home COVID-19 test.

Di Carlo used these properties to devise a new test for Lyme disease that can be completed in 20 minutes, rather than days or weeks like previously.

“As an engineer and scientist, (pi) is just a part of life,” Di Carlo said. “Maybe I’ve taken it for granted.”

Pi Day 2026: How the number pi is embedded in our lives

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/ghills/">GRACE HILLS</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA —&nbsp;Advocates, medical providers and recipients of public assistance programs rallied Thursday at the Statehouse with a clear message: restricting access to these programs would hurt Kansans.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb363/" target="_blank">Senate Bill 363</a>&nbsp;imposes a&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2026/02/10/kansas-senate-bill-may-add-17m-to-oversight-of-health-and-welfare-programs/">sweeping set of steps</a>&nbsp;to verify Kansans’ eligibility for the state’s medical and food assistance programs. April Holman, executive director for Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, said opponents disapprove of the whole bill, but have stronger concerns for two elements.&nbsp;

The first is eliminating self-attestation. That means applicants no longer could self-attest their income, residency, age, household composition, caretaker relative status or other coverage. State agencies would have to verify those claims.

Income and residency are already verified by state agencies, but Holman said the bill would ask the agencies to verify things like household size, which she said are difficult to identify.&nbsp;

“The first is the self-attestation, the prohibition,” Holman said. “The second tends to be the thing that we are most concerned about.”&nbsp;

The second thing is the quarterly redetermination process, a switch-up from the current one-year reapplication.&nbsp;

“We know that all of the people who are in the Medicaid program in Kansas, because we don’t have expansion, tend to be very vulnerable,” Holman said. “They are people who have a disability that’s been determined by the Social Security Administration. So it’s very difficult to get determination.”

Amendments to the bill would exempt pregnant people, seniors, those younger than 19 years old, and those on home and community-based service waivers from the quarterly redetermination.&nbsp;

The bill still applies to people with mental illness.&nbsp;

Angela Watson, a mental health provider from Wichita who spoke at the rally, said she is a Medicaid success story. She was on Medicaid for 13 years.

“This proposal to move Medicaid eligibility checks to quarterly redeterminations may sound like a single administrative change,” Watson said. “For people living with serious mental illness, it has the potential to create very harmful consequences.”&nbsp;

She said the red tape of managing paperwork can be difficult for people with severe depression, anxiety, trauma, psychosis or delusions.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“Changing this process to every three months means quadrupling the chances that someone will lose coverage simply because a form was missed, a letter arrived late, or a document wasn’t submitted in time,” Watson said.&nbsp;

“This doesn’t mean they’re no longer eligible. It means they got lost in the system,” she added. “And when people lose Medicaid coverage, even temporarily, the consequences are immediate. Mental health treatment depends on continuity of care.”

Kari Rinker, who represents the American Heart Association, said she has a masters degree and has spent years navigating paperwork. She helped her son fill out the public assistance programs’ paperwork after he suffered a life-altering car crash.&nbsp;

“I found myself overwhelmed,” Rinker said. “It is complex. We would receive paperwork well past deadlines and feel abject panic.”

Her son would be subject to the quarterly redeterminations.&nbsp;

After the rally, opponents of the bill flooded Thursday’s House Welfare Reform Committee.&nbsp;

Along with ending self-attestation and implementing quarterly redeterminations, the bill would:&nbsp;

The process would cost the state an estimated&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/documents/fisc_note_sb363_00_0000.pdf" target="_blank">$17 million</a>. Republicans in both the Senate and House raised their eyebrows at that.&nbsp;

The Florida-based FGA Action, the lobbying arm of the conservative Foundation for Government Accountability, which is dedicated to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/05/06/nx-s1-5387527/fga-foundation-for-government-accountability-states-snap-work-requirements" target="_blank">limiting government benefits</a>, brought forward the sole two proponents of the bill — who said it would eventually pay for itself. They also said it would bring Kansas in step with President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“That’s not the case,” Holman said.&nbsp;

Holman said federal law would control what happens in Kansas regardless of if it is codified in Kansas law. But she said there are two elements of the bill that go beyond federal law that would hurt both Kansans on public assistance programs and the departments that administer those.&nbsp;

In an interview, vice chair of the House committee Rep. Dale Helwig, a Republican from Columbus, said he believes the bill brings Kansas into compliance with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which is also called H.R. 1.&nbsp;

“There are some things that probably are a little more restrictive than H.R. 1, which we need to work through, but I think we will. We do need to get rid of the self attestation on some of this stuff,” Helwig said.&nbsp;

He pointed to the recent state audit that estimated Kansas subsidized&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2026/01/20/kansas-house-studies-free-lunch-enrollment-audit-implications-of-at-risk-overpayment-to-schools/">a jarring amount</a>&nbsp;of free-and-reduced lunches that shouldn’t have been.&nbsp;

Rep. Clarke Sanders, a Republican from Salina also on the House Welfare Reform Committee, said he isn’t a fan of self-attestation either.&nbsp;

“The problem, of course, is that’s gonna take more people to get that done. And we probably don’t have enough as it is now,” Sanders said in an interview.&nbsp;

Both are apprehensive about the quarterly redetermination process for different reasons. Helwig said it could be more efficient — there was a five-minute long conversation during the committee about state agencies’ use of fax machines.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Sanders thinks redetermination once a year is enough. He thinks there will be amendments proposed when the committee works the bill.&nbsp;

“I think once those get on, I’ll be able to support it,” Sanders said.&nbsp;

Kansans rally against restrictions to public assistance programs 

KANSAS CITY —Three people were injured in an accident involving a car crash into a building.

Just before noon Thursday, Kansas City Fire Department crews responded to a reported car into a building in the 4200 block of 31 Street in Kansas City, Missouri, according to Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins.

First responders found two vehicles had been involved in a motor vehicle accident with one of the vehicles crashing into the building located on the corner. 

Three patients were transported to local hospitals for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.&nbsp;The building houses an automotive shop nad sustained significant damage, according to Hopkins.

Dangerous Buildings and City Planning were requested to the scene. No other injuries were reported at this incident other than the three occupants of the vehicles.&nbsp;

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