ALLEN COUNTY —One person died in an accident just before 7p.m. Sunday in Allen County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2011 Chevy Colorado driven by Donald Brian&nbsp;Gaylord, 64, Magnolia,Texas, was southbound on U.S. 169 at Minnesota Road. The pickup crossed the center line and struck a northbound 2015 Volo semi in the trailer.

Gaylord was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to&nbsp;Country Side Funeral Home. The semi driver Luis Alberto&nbsp;Martinez San Miguel, 39, Davenport, Florida, was not injured. Both drivers were properly restrained, according to the KHP.

ALLEN COUNTY —One person died in an accident just before 7p.m. Sunday in Allen County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2011 Chevy Colorado driven by Donald Brian&nbsp;Gaylord, 64, Magnolia,Texas, was southbound on U.S. 169 at Minnesota Road. The pickup crossed the center line and struck a northbound 2015 Volo semi in the trailer.Gaylord was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to&nbsp;Country Side Funeral Home. The semi driver Luis Alberto&nbsp;Martinez San Miguel, 39, Davenport, Florida, was not injured. Both drivers were properly restrained, according to the KHP.

Man dies after pickup strikes semi's trailer on Kan. highway

KANSAS CITY – A chiropractor was sentenced in federal court last week for receiving and distributing child pornography, according to the United State's Attorney.

Eric Hedman, 40, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to seven years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Hedman to 10 years of supervised release following incarceration.

Hedman will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison and will be subject to federal and state sex offender registration requirements, which may apply throughout his life.

Hedman, who operated his own practice at Hedman Chiropractic at the time of the offense, pleaded guilty on Dec. 14, 2023, to receiving and distributing child pornography.

Hedman sent a video and a photo of child pornography to two other users of the Kik messenger in July and August 2022. Kik made two Cybertipline Reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which forwarded the reports to the Southwest Missouri Cybercrimes Task Force for investigation.

Investigators searched Hedman’s multiple Kik accounts and discovered 31 files that contained child pornography. The images depicted children as young as two years old. Additionally, log files indicated that Hedman had transmitted child pornography to at least six other users on July 8 and 9, 2022.

On Dec. 6, 2022, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Hedman’s residence and seized his computer and cell phone.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1718830897069.png" alt="Hedman-photo Greene Co." />
 <figcaption>Hedman-photo Greene Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY – A chiropractor was sentenced in federal court last week for receiving and distributing child pornography, according to the United State's Attorney.Eric Hedman, 40, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to seven years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Hedman to 10 years of supervised release following incarceration.Hedman will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison and will be subject to federal and state sex offender registration requirements, which may apply throughout his life.Hedman, who operated his own practice at Hedman Chiropractic at the time of the offense, pleaded guilty on Dec. 14, 2023, to receiving and distributing child pornography.Hedman sent a video and a photo of child pornography to two other users of the Kik messenger in July and August 2022. Kik made two Cybertipline Reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which forwarded the reports to the Southwest Missouri Cybercrimes Task Force for investigation.Investigators searched Hedman’s multiple Kik accounts and discovered 31 files that contained child pornography. The images depicted children as young as two years old. Additionally, log files indicated that Hedman had transmitted child pornography to at least six other users on July 8 and 9, 2022.On Dec. 6, 2022, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Hedman’s residence and seized his computer and cell phone.

SW Mo. chiropractor was sending child porn images online

RENO COUNTY —Authorities are investigating the cause of a rural house fire in Reno County.

Just before 1p.m. Sunday, crews were sent to a single-story house fire at 6820 North Tobacco Road, according to a media release from the Hutchinson Fire Department. Crews found heavy smoke and fire showing from the roof of the home.

Firefighters searched, but found no one home, and looked for extension of fire to the attic. Because of the rural setting, fire crews had to call in partners to bring extra water. Several dogs were inside the residence and two of three dogs found died.&nbsp;

The Hutchinson Fire Marshal is still searching for a cause.

RENO COUNTY —Authorities are investigating the cause of a rural house fire in Reno County.Just before 1p.m. Sunday, crews were sent to a single-story house fire at 6820 North Tobacco Road, according to a media release from the Hutchinson Fire Department. Crews found heavy smoke and fire showing from the roof of the home.Firefighters searched, but found no one home, and looked for extension of fire to the attic. Because of the rural setting, fire crews had to call in partners to bring extra water. Several dogs were inside the residence and two of three dogs found died.&nbsp;The Hutchinson Fire Marshal is still searching for a cause.

Two dogs killed in rural Kansas house fire

SEDGWICK COUNTY —A Kansas man accused in a hit-and-run that killed a Kansas woman in 2023 has entered a plea in the case.

Chase Faimon, 22, Valley Center, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and leaving the scene of the accident, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

Police arrested Faimon as part of a police Stunt Rider Project investigation..

On May 27, 2023 the Wichita Police Department Traffic Unit witnessed&nbsp; Faimon riding his motorcycle west on Waterman in Wichita doing a wheelie. Officers cautiously followed Faimon to the parking garage of Gander Mountain, contacted him, and placed him under arrest.

During the investigation, officers learned that Faimon had previously been charged with murder in the 2nd degree after hitting a pedestrian with his motorcycle.

In that case, Faimon was doing a wheelie down Broadway when he struck the pedestrian identified as 48-year-old Kristine Sheffield and killed her. 

Officers impounded the motorcycle that Faimon was riding.&nbsp; He is scheduled for sentencing in August, according to the district attorney's office.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1676999156108.png" alt="Photo of Faimon from security cameras- Wichita Police" />
 <figcaption>Photo of Faimon from security cameras- Wichita Police</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —A Kansas man accused in a hit-and-run that killed a Kansas woman in 2023 has entered a plea in the case.Chase Faimon, 22, Valley Center, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and leaving the scene of the accident, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1680125106781.png" alt="Faimon-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Faimon-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>Police arrested Faimon as part of a police Stunt Rider Project investigation..On May 27, 2023 the Wichita Police Department Traffic Unit witnessed&nbsp; Faimon riding his motorcycle west on Waterman in Wichita doing a wheelie. Officers cautiously followed Faimon to the parking garage of Gander Mountain, contacted him, and placed him under arrest.During the investigation, officers learned that Faimon had previously been charged with murder in the 2nd degree after hitting a pedestrian with his motorcycle.In that case, Faimon was doing a wheelie down Broadway when he struck the pedestrian identified as 48-year-old Kristine Sheffield and killed her. Officers impounded the motorcycle that Faimon was riding.&nbsp; He is scheduled for sentencing in August, according to the district attorney's office.-----------

Kan. stunt rider admits guilt for hit-and-run that killed woman

ELLIS COUNTY —On Thursday at 7:47 p.m., the Hays Police Department issued a Silver Alert for 66-year-old Randy S. Goodermuth.

Since the Silver Alert was issued, Ellis County law enforcement members have been searching for him.

On Sunday evening, members of the Hays Police Department, with the help of members from the Kansas Search and Rescue Dog Association, located Goodermuth's body south of Hays, according to a media release from Hays Police. He was deceased.

The Ellis County Coroner has ruled Goodermuth's death an accidental drowning.

ELLIS COUNTY —The Hays Police Department requested the Kansas Bureau of Investigation issue a statewide Silver Alert for a missing Hays man, according to a media release from the KBI.

The whereabouts of 66-year-old Randy S. Goodermuth, of Hays, are unknown and the public’s assistance is requested to help locate him.

Randy is a white male who is 5-feet-8 inches tall and weighs around 180 pounds. He has blue eyes and is balding. Randy was last seen wearing a red Kansas City Chiefs Travis Kelce jersey (with the number 87 on it) and khaki pants.

Randy has schizophrenia. At the time he was last seen he was hallucinating and ran from his home. He has not yet returned.

He also does not have a vehicle or a cell phone.If you see Randy Goodermuth, please call 911 immediately. If you have other information about his whereabouts, please call the Hays Police Department at (785) 625-1011.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1718964286910.png" alt="Randy Goodermuth- courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Randy Goodermuth- courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>ELLIS COUNTY —On Thursday at 7:47 p.m., the Hays Police Department issued a Silver Alert for 66-year-old Randy S. Goodermuth.Since the Silver Alert was issued, Ellis County law enforcement members have been searching for him.On Sunday evening, members of the Hays Police Department, with the help of members from the Kansas Search and Rescue Dog Association, located Goodermuth's body south of Hays, according to a media release from Hays Police. He was deceased.The Ellis County Coroner has ruled Goodermuth's death an accidental drowning.--------------ELLIS COUNTY —The Hays Police Department requested the Kansas Bureau of Investigation issue a statewide Silver Alert for a missing Hays man, according to a media release from the KBI.The whereabouts of 66-year-old Randy S. Goodermuth, of Hays, are unknown and the public’s assistance is requested to help locate him.Randy is a white male who is 5-feet-8 inches tall and weighs around 180 pounds. He has blue eyes and is balding. Randy was last seen wearing a red Kansas City Chiefs Travis Kelce jersey (with the number 87 on it) and khaki pants.Randy has schizophrenia. At the time he was last seen he was hallucinating and ran from his home. He has not yet returned.He also does not have a vehicle or a cell phone.If you see Randy Goodermuth, please call 911 immediately. If you have other information about his whereabouts, please call the Hays Police Department at (785) 625-1011.

Police: Subject of Kan. Silver Alert drowned

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/peggylowe/">PEGGY LOWE</a>&nbsp;AND&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/bramsablesmith/">BRAM SABLE-SMITH</a>

Abigail Arellano keeps her son Samuel’s medical bills in a blue folder in a cabinet above the microwave. Even now, four months after the 11-year-old was shot at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade, the bills keep coming.

There’s one for $1,040 for the ambulance ride to the hospital that February afternoon. Another for $2,841.17 from an emergency room visit they made three days after the shooting because his bullet wound looked infected. More follow-ups and counseling in March added another $1,500.

“I think I’m missing some,” Arellano said as she leafed through the pages.

The Arellanos are uninsured and counting on assistance from the fund that raised nearly $2 million in the aftermath of the shooting that left one dead and at least 24 other people with bullet wounds. She keeps that application in the blue folder as well.

The medical costs incurred by the survivors of the shooting are hitting hard, and they won’t end soon. The average medical spending for someone who is shot&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M21-2812">increases by nearly $30,000</a>&nbsp;in the first year, according to a Harvard Medical School study. Another study found that number&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/children-who-survive-shootings-endure-huge-health-obstacles-and-costs/">goes up to $35,000</a>&nbsp;for children. Ten kids were shot at the parade.

Then there are life’s ordinary bills — rent, utilities, car repairs — that don’t stop just because someone survived a mass shooting, even if their injuries prevent them from working or sending kids to school.

The financial burden that comes with surviving is so common it has a name, according to Aswad Thomas of the nonprofit Alliance for Safety and Justice: victimization debt. Some pay it out-of-pocket. Some open a new credit card. Some find help from generous strangers. Others can’t make ends meet.

“We’re really broke right now,” said Jacob Gooch Sr., another survivor, who was shot through the foot and has not yet been able to return to work.

“We’re, like, exhausting our third credit card.”

As is common after mass shootings, a mosaic of new and established resources emerged in this Missouri city promising help. Those include the #KCStrong fund established by the United Way of Greater Kansas City, which is expected to begin paying victims at the end of June.

Survivors must navigate each opportunity to request help as best they can — and hope money comes through.

GoFundMe, generous strangers and a new line of credit

Mostly, it’s the moms who keep the bills organized. Tucked above the microwave. Zipped inside a purse. Screenshots stored on a phone. And then there’s a maze of paperwork: The Missouri state victims’ compensation form is five pages, including instructions. It’s another six pages for help from the United Way.

Emily Tavis keeps stacks of paperwork with color-coded binder clips in her basement: Black for her partner, Gooch Sr.; blue for her stepson, Jacob Gooch Jr.; pink for herself. All three were shot at the parade.

Tavis was able to walk after a bullet ripped through her leg, and she considered declining the ambulance ride because she was worried about the cost — she lacked insurance at the time.

Gooch Sr. was unable to walk because he’d been shot in the foot. So they shared an ambulance to the hospital with two of their kids.

“I’m not paying for this s—. I didn’t ask for this life,” Tavis, laughing, recalled thinking at the time. They soon realized 14-year-old Gooch Jr. had a bullet in his foot as well.

Tavis and Gooch Sr. received separate $1,145 bills for the ambulance. Gooch Jr. did not, possibly because he has health coverage through Medicaid, Tavis said.

She sends the medical bills to victims’ compensation, a program to help with the economic losses from a crime, such as medical expenses and lost wages. Even though Tavis and Gooch live in Leavenworth, Kansas, their compensation comes from the program in Missouri, where the shooting occurred.

The program pays only for economic losses not covered by&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://dps.mo.gov/dir/programs/cvc/documents/CVC-Fact-Sheet.pdf">other sources</a>&nbsp;like health insurance, donations, and crowdsourced fundraisers. Gooch Sr. and Jr. both had health insurance at the time of the parade, so the family has been sending only the uncovered portion to victims’ compensation.

The family initially received a lot of support. Friends and relatives made sure they had food to eat. The founder of an online group of Kansas City Chiefs fans sent $1,000 and gifts for the family. A&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/helping-one-family-at-a-time-kc-parade-tragedy">GoFundMe</a>&nbsp;page raised $9,500. And their tax refund helped.

They knew money might get tight with Gooch Sr. unable to work, so they paid three months’ rent in advance. They also paid to have his Ford Escape fixed so he could eventually return to work and bought Tavis a used Honda Accord so she could drive to the job she started 12 days after the parade.

And because the donations were intended for the whole family, they decided to buy summer passes to the Worlds of Fun amusement park for the kids.

But recently, they’ve felt stretched. Gooch Sr.’s short-term disability payments abruptly stopped in May when his health insurance prompted him to see an in-network doctor. He said the short-term disability plan initially didn’t approve the paperwork from his new doctor and started an investigation. The issue was resolved in June and he was expecting back pay soon. In the interim, though, the couple opened a new credit card to cover their bills.

In the interim, the couple opened a new credit card to cover their bills.

“We’ve definitely been robbing Peter to pay Paul,” Tavis said.

Ideally, the money that eventually comes from the United Way, victims’ compensation, and, they hope, back pay from short-term disability will be enough to pay off their debts.

But, Tavis said, “You gotta do what you gotta do. We’re not going to go without lights.”

United Way payout expected at end of June

With every mass shooting, donations for survivors inevitably flow in, “just like peanut butter goes with jelly, because people want to help,” said Jeff Dion, executive director of the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://massviolencesurvivorsfund.org/">Mass Violence Survivors Fund</a>, a nonprofit that has helped many communities manage such funds.

Typically, he said, it takes about five months to disburse the money from these large community funds. Victims can potentially get money sooner if their community has a plan in place for these types of funds before a mass shooting. Funds may also advance money to people with urgent financial needs who are certain to qualify.

The United Way hung banners in the Chiefs colors on Kansas City’s Union Station with its #KCStrong campaign within days of the shootings. Driven by large donations from the team, the NFL, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, other individuals, and local companies, it ultimately raised more than $1.8 million.

The promise of a large payout has kept the injured hopeful, even as many felt confused by the process. Some people interviewed for this story did not wish to say anything negative, fearing it would hurt their allocation.

United Way officials announced in April that donations would be closed at the end of that month. On May 1, the organization&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://unitedwaygkc.org/2024/05/01/kcstrong-update-fund-delivery-process-in-motion/">posted a notice</a>&nbsp;saying it would issue “claimant forms” and that the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office was helping verify shooting victims. The United Way affiliate’s board of trustees plans to meet June 26 to determine allocations, with payments arriving as early as June 27.

Kera Mashek, a spokesperson for United Way of Greater Kansas City, said payouts will be made to 20 of the 24 shooting survivors. The other four either couldn’t be verified as victims or turned down the funds, she said. Claimants do not include the 67 people prosecutors say were trampled in the melee, she said.

Pending board approval, money will also be disbursed to 14 community groups that support nonviolence initiatives, mental health concerns, and first responders, Mashek said.

To criticism that the United Way didn’t communicate well with the victims, Mashek said it tried to respond in a timely manner.

“We’ve tried to keep that line of communication open as fast as possible and most people have been very patient,” she said. “I think that they will be very grateful and very, I believe, pleasantly surprised with the amount of funding that they receive.”

Abigail Arellano hadn’t heard of victims’ compensation, which is common. A&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://allianceforsafetyandjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Alliance-for-Safety-and-Justice-Crime-Survivors-Speak-September-2022.pdf">2022 survey</a>&nbsp;from the Alliance for Safety and Justice found that 96% of victims did not receive that support and many didn’t know it existed.

Arellano and her husband, Antonio, didn’t attend the parade but they’ve had medical expenses as well. Antonio has been going to therapy at a local health center to help with the stressful task of guiding his son through the trauma. It’s been helpful. But he’s been paying around $125 out-of-pocket for each session, he said, and the bills are mounting.

One of Samuel’s sisters set up a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/bhwqge-samuels-medical-expenses?utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet-first-launch&amp;utm_medium=copy_link&amp;utm_source=customer&amp;modal=share">GoFundMe</a>&nbsp;that raised $12,500, and Abigail said it helped that the family shared their story publicly and that Abigail reached out to help others in the Latino community affected by the shooting.

It was Abigail, for instance, who connected&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/the-injured-super-bowl-parade-kansas-city-bullets-still-bodies/">71-year-old Sarai Holguin</a>&nbsp;with the Mexican Consulate in Kansas City. The consulate, in turn, helped Holguin register as an official victim of the shooting, which will enable her to receive assistance from the United Way. Holguin’s bills now include a fourth surgery, to remove the bullet lodged near her knee that she had previously made peace with living with forever — until it began protruding through her skin.

‘Generous and quick’ relief to victims

Several survivors were relieved and grateful to receive funds from a less high-profile, nondenominational group called “<a target="_blank" href="https://www.thechurchloveskansascity.org/">The Church Loves Kansas City.</a>”

The day after the shooting, Gary Kendall, who ran a Christian nonprofit called “Love KC,” started a text chain at 6 a.m. with city leaders and faith-based groups, and eventually received pledges of $184,500. (Love KC has now merged with another nonprofit, “Unite KC,” which is disbursing its funds.)

The first payout went to the family of Lisa Lopez-Galvan, the 43-year-old mother of two and popular DJ who was the sole fatality during the parade shootings. Unite KC spent $15,000 on her burial expenses.

Unite KC spent $2,800 so James and Brandie Lemons could get their health insurance restored because James couldn’t work. Unite KC also paid $2,200 for the out-of-pocket surgical costs when James decided to get the bullet removed from his leg.

“I appreciate it,” an emotional James Lemons said. “They don’t have to do that, to open their hearts for no reason.”

Erika Nelson was struggling to pay for household expenses and had to take time off from her home health care job to take her injured daughter, 15-year-old Mireya, to doctor appointments. Mireya was shot&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kcur.org/health/2024-05-08/chiefs-super-bowl-parade-shot-bullets-in-bodies-kansas-city-surgery-doctor">in the chin and shoulder</a>&nbsp;and is recovering.

A&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/child-super-bowl-parade-shooting-victim">GoFundMe</a>&nbsp;page set up by Nelson’s best friend raised about $11,000, but it was frozen after Nelson tried to get into the account and GoFundMe thought it was being hacked. She feared the lights would be shut off in their apartment, because of unpaid electric bills, and was feeling desperate.

“I’m struggling with, like, you know, groceries,” Nelson said. “People were like, ‘Oh, go to food pantries.’ Well, the food pantries are not open the times I can get off. I can’t just take off work to go to a food pantry.”

After meeting with Gary Kendall, Nelson received three months of rent and utility payments, about $3,500.

“A weight off my shoulder. I mean, yeah. In a big way,” she whispered. “’Cause you never know. You never know what can happen in two days, five days, two weeks, two months.”

Samuel Arellano’s family recently connected with Unite KC, which will pay for his ambulance bill, one of the hospital bills, and some therapy, worth about $6,000. The bill for the initial emergency room trip was about $20,000, his parents said, but the hospital had been reluctant to send it and ultimately covered the cost.

And Unite KC also intends to pay off a $1,300 credit card bill for Emily Tavis and Jacob Gooch Sr.

Unite KC has disbursed $40,000 so far and hopes to connect with more of the injured families, hoping to be as “generous and quick as we can,” Kendall said. United Way will be like a “lightning bolt” for victims’ relief, Kendall said, but his group is aiming for something different, more like a campfire that burns for the next year.

“We agree this is a horrific thing that happened. It’s a sad state of humanity but it’s a real part,” he said. “So we want to remind them that God has not forgotten you. And that although he allowed this, he has not abandoned them. We believe we can be like an extension of his love to these people.”

<a target="_blank" href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us">KFF Health News</a>&nbsp;is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kff.org/about-us">KFF</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1719141597423.png" alt="Unable to work after being shot at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade in February, Jacob Gooch Sr. initially received short-term disability payments. But that assistance abruptly stopped in May when he started seeing a new doctor who was in network with his health insurance. The issue was resolved in June and he was expecting back pay soon (Christopher Smith/KFF News)." />
 <figcaption>Unable to work after being shot at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade in February, Jacob Gooch Sr. initially received short-term disability payments. But that assistance abruptly stopped in May when he started seeing a new doctor who was in network with his health insurance. The issue was resolved in June and he was expecting back pay soon (Christopher Smith/KFF News).</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/peggylowe/">PEGGY LOWE</a>&nbsp;AND&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/bramsablesmith/">BRAM SABLE-SMITH</a>Abigail Arellano keeps her son Samuel’s medical bills in a blue folder in a cabinet above the microwave. Even now, four months after the 11-year-old was shot at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade, the bills keep coming.There’s one for $1,040 for the ambulance ride to the hospital that February afternoon. Another for $2,841.17 from an emergency room visit they made three days after the shooting because his bullet wound looked infected. More follow-ups and counseling in March added another $1,500.“I think I’m missing some,” Arellano said as she leafed through the pages.The Arellanos are uninsured and counting on assistance from the fund that raised nearly $2 million in the aftermath of the shooting that left one dead and at least 24 other people with bullet wounds. She keeps that application in the blue folder as well.The medical costs incurred by the survivors of the shooting are hitting hard, and they won’t end soon. The average medical spending for someone who is shot&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M21-2812">increases by nearly $30,000</a>&nbsp;in the first year, according to a Harvard Medical School study. Another study found that number&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/children-who-survive-shootings-endure-huge-health-obstacles-and-costs/">goes up to $35,000</a>&nbsp;for children. Ten kids were shot at the parade.Then there are life’s ordinary bills — rent, utilities, car repairs — that don’t stop just because someone survived a mass shooting, even if their injuries prevent them from working or sending kids to school.The financial burden that comes with surviving is so common it has a name, according to Aswad Thomas of the nonprofit Alliance for Safety and Justice: victimization debt. Some pay it out-of-pocket. Some open a new credit card. Some find help from generous strangers. Others can’t make ends meet.“We’re really broke right now,” said Jacob Gooch Sr., another survivor, who was shot through the foot and has not yet been able to return to work.“We’re, like, exhausting our third credit card.”As is common after mass shootings, a mosaic of new and established resources emerged in this Missouri city promising help. Those include the #KCStrong fund established by the United Way of Greater Kansas City, which is expected to begin paying victims at the end of June.Survivors must navigate each opportunity to request help as best they can — and hope money comes through.<h2>GoFundMe, generous strangers and a new line of credit</h2>Mostly, it’s the moms who keep the bills organized. Tucked above the microwave. Zipped inside a purse. Screenshots stored on a phone. And then there’s a maze of paperwork: The Missouri state victims’ compensation form is five pages, including instructions. It’s another six pages for help from the United Way.Emily Tavis keeps stacks of paperwork with color-coded binder clips in her basement: Black for her partner, Gooch Sr.; blue for her stepson, Jacob Gooch Jr.; pink for herself. All three were shot at the parade.Tavis was able to walk after a bullet ripped through her leg, and she considered declining the ambulance ride because she was worried about the cost — she lacked insurance at the time.Gooch Sr. was unable to walk because he’d been shot in the foot. So they shared an ambulance to the hospital with two of their kids.“I’m not paying for this s—. I didn’t ask for this life,” Tavis, laughing, recalled thinking at the time. They soon realized 14-year-old Gooch Jr. had a bullet in his foot as well.Tavis and Gooch Sr. received separate $1,145 bills for the ambulance. Gooch Jr. did not, possibly because he has health coverage through Medicaid, Tavis said.She sends the medical bills to victims’ compensation, a program to help with the economic losses from a crime, such as medical expenses and lost wages. Even though Tavis and Gooch live in Leavenworth, Kansas, their compensation comes from the program in Missouri, where the shooting occurred.The program pays only for economic losses not covered by&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://dps.mo.gov/dir/programs/cvc/documents/CVC-Fact-Sheet.pdf">other sources</a>&nbsp;like health insurance, donations, and crowdsourced fundraisers. Gooch Sr. and Jr. both had health insurance at the time of the parade, so the family has been sending only the uncovered portion to victims’ compensation.The family initially received a lot of support. Friends and relatives made sure they had food to eat. The founder of an online group of Kansas City Chiefs fans sent $1,000 and gifts for the family. A&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/helping-one-family-at-a-time-kc-parade-tragedy">GoFundMe</a>&nbsp;page raised $9,500. And their tax refund helped.They knew money might get tight with Gooch Sr. unable to work, so they paid three months’ rent in advance. They also paid to have his Ford Escape fixed so he could eventually return to work and bought Tavis a used Honda Accord so she could drive to the job she started 12 days after the parade.And because the donations were intended for the whole family, they decided to buy summer passes to the Worlds of Fun amusement park for the kids.But recently, they’ve felt stretched. Gooch Sr.’s short-term disability payments abruptly stopped in May when his health insurance prompted him to see an in-network doctor. He said the short-term disability plan initially didn’t approve the paperwork from his new doctor and started an investigation. The issue was resolved in June and he was expecting back pay soon. In the interim, though, the couple opened a new credit card to cover their bills.In the interim, the couple opened a new credit card to cover their bills.“We’ve definitely been robbing Peter to pay Paul,” Tavis said.Ideally, the money that eventually comes from the United Way, victims’ compensation, and, they hope, back pay from short-term disability will be enough to pay off their debts.But, Tavis said, “You gotta do what you gotta do. We’re not going to go without lights.”<h2>United Way payout expected at end of June</h2>With every mass shooting, donations for survivors inevitably flow in, “just like peanut butter goes with jelly, because people want to help,” said Jeff Dion, executive director of the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://massviolencesurvivorsfund.org/">Mass Violence Survivors Fund</a>, a nonprofit that has helped many communities manage such funds.Typically, he said, it takes about five months to disburse the money from these large community funds. Victims can potentially get money sooner if their community has a plan in place for these types of funds before a mass shooting. Funds may also advance money to people with urgent financial needs who are certain to qualify.The United Way hung banners in the Chiefs colors on Kansas City’s Union Station with its #KCStrong campaign within days of the shootings. Driven by large donations from the team, the NFL, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, other individuals, and local companies, it ultimately raised more than $1.8 million.The promise of a large payout has kept the injured hopeful, even as many felt confused by the process. Some people interviewed for this story did not wish to say anything negative, fearing it would hurt their allocation.United Way officials announced in April that donations would be closed at the end of that month. On May 1, the organization&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://unitedwaygkc.org/2024/05/01/kcstrong-update-fund-delivery-process-in-motion/">posted a notice</a>&nbsp;saying it would issue “claimant forms” and that the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office was helping verify shooting victims. The United Way affiliate’s board of trustees plans to meet June 26 to determine allocations, with payments arriving as early as June 27.Kera Mashek, a spokesperson for United Way of Greater Kansas City, said payouts will be made to 20 of the 24 shooting survivors. The other four either couldn’t be verified as victims or turned down the funds, she said. Claimants do not include the 67 people prosecutors say were trampled in the melee, she said.Pending board approval, money will also be disbursed to 14 community groups that support nonviolence initiatives, mental health concerns, and first responders, Mashek said.To criticism that the United Way didn’t communicate well with the victims, Mashek said it tried to respond in a timely manner.“We’ve tried to keep that line of communication open as fast as possible and most people have been very patient,” she said. “I think that they will be very grateful and very, I believe, pleasantly surprised with the amount of funding that they receive.”<h2>Other resources available</h2>Abigail Arellano hadn’t heard of victims’ compensation, which is common. A&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://allianceforsafetyandjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Alliance-for-Safety-and-Justice-Crime-Survivors-Speak-September-2022.pdf">2022 survey</a>&nbsp;from the Alliance for Safety and Justice found that 96% of victims did not receive that support and many didn’t know it existed.Arellano and her husband, Antonio, didn’t attend the parade but they’ve had medical expenses as well. Antonio has been going to therapy at a local health center to help with the stressful task of guiding his son through the trauma. It’s been helpful. But he’s been paying around $125 out-of-pocket for each session, he said, and the bills are mounting.One of Samuel’s sisters set up a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/bhwqge-samuels-medical-expenses?utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet-first-launch&amp;utm_medium=copy_link&amp;utm_source=customer&amp;modal=share">GoFundMe</a>&nbsp;that raised $12,500, and Abigail said it helped that the family shared their story publicly and that Abigail reached out to help others in the Latino community affected by the shooting.It was Abigail, for instance, who connected&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/the-injured-super-bowl-parade-kansas-city-bullets-still-bodies/">71-year-old Sarai Holguin</a>&nbsp;with the Mexican Consulate in Kansas City. The consulate, in turn, helped Holguin register as an official victim of the shooting, which will enable her to receive assistance from the United Way. Holguin’s bills now include a fourth surgery, to remove the bullet lodged near her knee that she had previously made peace with living with forever — until it began protruding through her skin.<h2>‘Generous and quick’ relief to victims</h2>Several survivors were relieved and grateful to receive funds from a less high-profile, nondenominational group called “<a target="_blank" href="https://www.thechurchloveskansascity.org/">The Church Loves Kansas City.</a>”The day after the shooting, Gary Kendall, who ran a Christian nonprofit called “Love KC,” started a text chain at 6 a.m. with city leaders and faith-based groups, and eventually received pledges of $184,500. (Love KC has now merged with another nonprofit, “Unite KC,” which is disbursing its funds.)The first payout went to the family of Lisa Lopez-Galvan, the 43-year-old mother of two and popular DJ who was the sole fatality during the parade shootings. Unite KC spent $15,000 on her burial expenses.Unite KC spent $2,800 so James and Brandie Lemons could get their health insurance restored because James couldn’t work. Unite KC also paid $2,200 for the out-of-pocket surgical costs when James decided to get the bullet removed from his leg.“I appreciate it,” an emotional James Lemons said. “They don’t have to do that, to open their hearts for no reason.”Erika Nelson was struggling to pay for household expenses and had to take time off from her home health care job to take her injured daughter, 15-year-old Mireya, to doctor appointments. Mireya was shot&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kcur.org/health/2024-05-08/chiefs-super-bowl-parade-shot-bullets-in-bodies-kansas-city-surgery-doctor">in the chin and shoulder</a>&nbsp;and is recovering.A&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/child-super-bowl-parade-shooting-victim">GoFundMe</a>&nbsp;page set up by Nelson’s best friend raised about $11,000, but it was frozen after Nelson tried to get into the account and GoFundMe thought it was being hacked. She feared the lights would be shut off in their apartment, because of unpaid electric bills, and was feeling desperate.“I’m struggling with, like, you know, groceries,” Nelson said. “People were like, ‘Oh, go to food pantries.’ Well, the food pantries are not open the times I can get off. I can’t just take off work to go to a food pantry.”After meeting with Gary Kendall, Nelson received three months of rent and utility payments, about $3,500.“A weight off my shoulder. I mean, yeah. In a big way,” she whispered. “’Cause you never know. You never know what can happen in two days, five days, two weeks, two months.”Samuel Arellano’s family recently connected with Unite KC, which will pay for his ambulance bill, one of the hospital bills, and some therapy, worth about $6,000. The bill for the initial emergency room trip was about $20,000, his parents said, but the hospital had been reluctant to send it and ultimately covered the cost.And Unite KC also intends to pay off a $1,300 credit card bill for Emily Tavis and Jacob Gooch Sr.Unite KC has disbursed $40,000 so far and hopes to connect with more of the injured families, hoping to be as “generous and quick as we can,” Kendall said. United Way will be like a “lightning bolt” for victims’ relief, Kendall said, but his group is aiming for something different, more like a campfire that burns for the next year.“We agree this is a horrific thing that happened. It’s a sad state of humanity but it’s a real part,” he said. “So we want to remind them that God has not forgotten you. And that although he allowed this, he has not abandoned them. We believe we can be like an extension of his love to these people.”<a target="_blank" href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us">KFF Health News</a>&nbsp;is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kff.org/about-us">KFF</a>.

KC Super Bowl parade shooting survivors await promised donations while bills pile up

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/shauneen-miranda/">SHAUNEEN MIRANDA</a>

WASHINGTON — The only reason John Arthur is able to be a public school teacher is because his wife makes much more money than he does.

Arthur —&nbsp; the 2021 Utah Teacher of the Year&nbsp; — testified on Thursday at a hearing in the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on the challenges facing public school teachers.

Arthur, who is also a member of the National Education Association and holds National Board Certification, pointed to pay as the main reason for both teachers leaving the profession and parents not wanting their children to become teachers.

“The No. 1 solution to addressing the issues we face must be increasing teachers’ salaries,” said Arthur, who teaches at Meadowlark Elementary School in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Gemayel Keyes, a teacher at Gilbert Spruance Elementary School in Philadelphia, told the committee that even as an educator, he still has an additional part-time job.

The special education teacher spent most of his career in education as a paraprofessional. At the time he moved into that role, the starting annual salary was $16,000 and the maximum was $30,000.

“It’s still pretty much the same,” he said.

Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/03.09.23-Sanders-Pay-Teachers-Act-text.pdf">introduced a bill</a>&nbsp;in March 2023 that would set an&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/766/all-actions">annual base salary</a>&nbsp;of $60,000 for public elementary and secondary school teachers.

“We understand that the children, young people of this country, are our future and there is, in fact … nothing more important that we can do to provide a quality education to all of our young people, and yet, for decades, public school teachers have been overworked, underpaid, understaffed, and maybe most importantly, underappreciated,” Sanders said in his opening remarks.

“Compared to many other occupations, our public school teachers are more likely to experience high levels of anxiety, stress and burnout, which was only exacerbated by the pandemic,” he said.

Sanders said 44% of public school teachers are quitting their profession within five years, citing “the extremely low pay teachers receive” as one of the primary reasons for a massive U.S. teacher shortage.

For the 2023-24 school year, a whopping 86% of K-12 public schools in the country documented challenges in hiring teachers, according to an October report from the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nces.ed.gov/whatsnew/press_releases/10_17_2023.asp">National Center for Education Statistics</a>.

Maryland sets $60,000 minimum&nbsp;&nbsp;

But a minimum annual teacher salary of $60,000 is not far off for every state.

In Maryland, the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://marylandmatters.org/2024/06/03/blueprint-blues-local-leaders-cite-school-reform-plans-progress-problems/">Blueprint for Maryland’s Future</a>&nbsp;raises the starting salary for teachers to $60,000 a year by July 2026.

William E. Kirwan, vice chair of Maryland’s Accountability and Implementation Board, said the multi-year comprehensive plan, passed in 2021 in the Maryland General Assembly, “addresses all aspects of children’s education from birth to high school completion, including most especially, the recruitment, retention and compensation of high quality teachers.”

Kirwan said the “Blueprint’s principle for teacher compensation is that, as professionals, teachers should be compensated at the same level as other professionals requiring similar levels of education, such as architects and CPAs.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy, ranking member of the committee, dubbed Democrats’ solution of creating a federal minimum salary for teachers as a “laudable goal.”

But he noted that “the federal government dictating how states spend their money does not address the root cause of why teachers are struggling to teach in the classroom.”

“More mandates and funding cannot be the only answer we come up with. We must examine broken policies that got us here and find solutions to improve,” the Louisiana Republican said.

Nicole Neily, president and founder of Parents Defending Education, a parents’ rights group, argued that “schools don’t have a resource issue” but rather an “allocation issue.”

“There’s a saying: ‘Don’t tell me where your priorities are, show me where you spend your money, and I’ll tell you what they are.’ Education leaders routinely choose to spend money on programs and personnel that don’t directly benefit students,” said Neily.

Neily pointed to a 2021 report from the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.heritage.org/education/report/equity-elementary-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-staff-public-schools">Heritage Foundation</a>, which found that “standardized test results show that achievement gaps are growing wider over time in districts with (chief diversity officers).” Such staff members commonly encourage efforts at diversity, equity and inclusion in schools.

Robert Pondiscio, a senior fellow at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute, said “higher pay does not ease the burden we place on teachers or add hours to their day.”

“By all means, raise teacher pay, but do not assume that it will solve teacher shortages or keep good teachers in the classroom. Poor training, deteriorating classroom conditions, shoddy curriculum and spiraling demands have made an already challenging job nearly impossible to do well and sustainably,” he added.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1719074599272.png" alt="John Arthur, a teacher at Meadowlark Elementary in Salt Lake City, Utah, testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in Washington, D.C., on Thursday (Screenshot from committee webcast)/" />
 <figcaption>John Arthur, a teacher at Meadowlark Elementary in Salt Lake City, Utah, testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in Washington, D.C., on Thursday (Screenshot from committee webcast)/</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/shauneen-miranda/">SHAUNEEN MIRANDA</a>WASHINGTON — The only reason John Arthur is able to be a public school teacher is because his wife makes much more money than he does.Arthur —&nbsp; the 2021 Utah Teacher of the Year&nbsp; — testified on Thursday at a hearing in the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on the challenges facing public school teachers.Arthur, who is also a member of the National Education Association and holds National Board Certification, pointed to pay as the main reason for both teachers leaving the profession and parents not wanting their children to become teachers.“The No. 1 solution to addressing the issues we face must be increasing teachers’ salaries,” said Arthur, who teaches at Meadowlark Elementary School in Salt Lake City, Utah.Gemayel Keyes, a teacher at Gilbert Spruance Elementary School in Philadelphia, told the committee that even as an educator, he still has an additional part-time job.The special education teacher spent most of his career in education as a paraprofessional. At the time he moved into that role, the starting annual salary was $16,000 and the maximum was $30,000.“It’s still pretty much the same,” he said.<h2>Minimum teacher salary&nbsp;</h2>Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/03.09.23-Sanders-Pay-Teachers-Act-text.pdf">introduced a bill</a>&nbsp;in March 2023 that would set an&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/766/all-actions">annual base salary</a>&nbsp;of $60,000 for public elementary and secondary school teachers.“We understand that the children, young people of this country, are our future and there is, in fact … nothing more important that we can do to provide a quality education to all of our young people, and yet, for decades, public school teachers have been overworked, underpaid, understaffed, and maybe most importantly, underappreciated,” Sanders said in his opening remarks.“Compared to many other occupations, our public school teachers are more likely to experience high levels of anxiety, stress and burnout, which was only exacerbated by the pandemic,” he said.Sanders said 44% of public school teachers are quitting their profession within five years, citing “the extremely low pay teachers receive” as one of the primary reasons for a massive U.S. teacher shortage.For the 2023-24 school year, a whopping 86% of K-12 public schools in the country documented challenges in hiring teachers, according to an October report from the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nces.ed.gov/whatsnew/press_releases/10_17_2023.asp">National Center for Education Statistics</a>.<h2>Maryland sets $60,000 minimum&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>But a minimum annual teacher salary of $60,000 is not far off for every state.In Maryland, the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://marylandmatters.org/2024/06/03/blueprint-blues-local-leaders-cite-school-reform-plans-progress-problems/">Blueprint for Maryland’s Future</a>&nbsp;raises the starting salary for teachers to $60,000 a year by July 2026.William E. Kirwan, vice chair of Maryland’s Accountability and Implementation Board, said the multi-year comprehensive plan, passed in 2021 in the Maryland General Assembly, “addresses all aspects of children’s education from birth to high school completion, including most especially, the recruitment, retention and compensation of high quality teachers.”Kirwan said the “Blueprint’s principle for teacher compensation is that, as professionals, teachers should be compensated at the same level as other professionals requiring similar levels of education, such as architects and CPAs.”<h2>An “allocation issue”&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>Sen. Bill Cassidy, ranking member of the committee, dubbed Democrats’ solution of creating a federal minimum salary for teachers as a “laudable goal.”But he noted that “the federal government dictating how states spend their money does not address the root cause of why teachers are struggling to teach in the classroom.”“More mandates and funding cannot be the only answer we come up with. We must examine broken policies that got us here and find solutions to improve,” the Louisiana Republican said.Nicole Neily, president and founder of Parents Defending Education, a parents’ rights group, argued that “schools don’t have a resource issue” but rather an “allocation issue.”“There’s a saying: ‘Don’t tell me where your priorities are, show me where you spend your money, and I’ll tell you what they are.’ Education leaders routinely choose to spend money on programs and personnel that don’t directly benefit students,” said Neily.Neily pointed to a 2021 report from the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.heritage.org/education/report/equity-elementary-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-staff-public-schools">Heritage Foundation</a>, which found that “standardized test results show that achievement gaps are growing wider over time in districts with (chief diversity officers).” Such staff members commonly encourage efforts at diversity, equity and inclusion in schools.Robert Pondiscio, a senior fellow at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute, said “higher pay does not ease the burden we place on teachers or add hours to their day.”“By all means, raise teacher pay, but do not assume that it will solve teacher shortages or keep good teachers in the classroom. Poor training, deteriorating classroom conditions, shoddy curriculum and spiraling demands have made an already challenging job nearly impossible to do well and sustainably,” he added.

‘Extremely low pay’ cited at U.S. Senate hearing as prime reason for teacher shortage

JACKSON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating four suspects on multiple allegations after a traffic stop.

&nbsp;Shortly before 2 a.m. June 19, a Sheriff’s Deputy stopped a northbound passenger van near 150th&nbsp;and U.S. Highway 75 in rural Jackson County for a traffic infraction, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.

 The traffic stop led to the discovery of drug contraband.&nbsp; The driver, Daniel Neil Ivan, 58, of Lenexa, was arrested on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of a hallucinogenic drug, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of stolen property and no insurance.

The front passenger Pamela Denise Kirtdoll, 47, of Topeka, was arrested on requested charges for possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

The rear right passenger, Angel Diane Coulter, 51, of Topeka, was arrested for possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and transporting an open container.

The left rear passenger was identified as Harvey Charles Hamilton, 41, of Topeka, who was arrested on requested charge of possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. All four individuals were booked into the Jackson County Jail.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1719001550706.png" alt="Ivan-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Ivan-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>JACKSON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating four suspects on multiple allegations after a traffic stop.&nbsp;Shortly before 2 a.m. June 19, a Sheriff’s Deputy stopped a northbound passenger van near 150th&nbsp;and U.S. Highway 75 in rural Jackson County for a traffic infraction, according to Sheriff Tim Morse. The traffic stop led to the discovery of drug contraband.&nbsp; The driver, Daniel Neil Ivan, 58, of Lenexa, was arrested on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of a hallucinogenic drug, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of stolen property and no insurance.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1719001675875.png" alt="Kirtdoll photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Kirtdoll photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>The front passenger Pamela Denise Kirtdoll, 47, of Topeka, was arrested on requested charges for possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1719001505067.png" alt="Coulter -photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Coulter -photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>The rear right passenger, Angel Diane Coulter, 51, of Topeka, was arrested for possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and transporting an open container.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1719001815861.png" alt="Hamilton-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Hamilton-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>The left rear passenger was identified as Harvey Charles Hamilton, 41, of Topeka, who was arrested on requested charge of possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. All four individuals were booked into the Jackson County Jail.

Kansas suspects caught with drugs, stolen property

Annual report says 40% of kids endure harmful impact of ‘adverse’ life experiences

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — A 50-state assessment showed the percentage of Kansas children living in poverty declined and the portion of teens not in school or working increased, while there were increases in fourth graders struggling with reading and eighth graders flustered by math.

The 2024 Kids Count report, compiled by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and based on the most recent data, ranked Kansas 19th overall on education, economics, health and family conditions relevant to raising a child. That was a decline from an ranking of 17th in 2023.

Kansas placed among its four neighboring states in the 2024 assessment as Nebraska stood at 9th, Colorado was 17th, Missouri finished 32nd and Oklahoma trailed at 46th.

Looking at changes in household data on child welfare, the Casey Foundation said Kansas had taken steps forward in half of 16 well-being measures contained in the annual report.

Adrienne Olejnik, a vice president at Kansas Action for Children, which partners with the Casey Foundation on the report, said trendlines suggested more could be done by public officials to prepare the next generation of Kansans to enter the workforce or college.

“At the end of the day, we want kids to succeed,” Olejnik said on the Kansas Reflector podcast. “We want the scores to improve. So, we have to keep showing up at the table with good data.”

The new report indicated that in 2021-2022 an estimated 40% of Kansas children experienced one or more “adverse childhood experiences” capable of creating harmful levels of stress and undermining their mental development and ability to cope with life challenges.

Examples of ACEs could range from traumatic episodes related a family death, substance abuse or crime as well as unstable housing, divorce or not having enough to eat.

“These start to stack up. And the reason that they are so important … is that it directly impacts their brain development at that time. We can mitigate these ACEs through trusting relationships with adults,” Olejnik said.

Kids Count says 38,500 or 5% of Kansas children were without health insurance in 2022, which was slightly better than the 6% of 2019. Olejnik said the health care picture would improve if more Kansas families had access to affordable, quality medical services. One option for Kansas lawmakers would be to join 40 states that approved expansion of eligibility under the Medicaid program.

Expiration of COVID-19 federal programs that inflated Medicaid enrollment will leave more families without health coverage in the future.

“Having health insurance reduces the stress in the household&nbsp;so that parents can focus on other things related to their children,” she said.

In terms of other health factors influencing child welfare, Kansas’ percentage of low birth-weight babies climbed to 7.8% in the latest report. That was an increase from 7.6% in 2019.

In addition, the state’s figure for child and teen deaths per 100,000 people went up to 35 in the new report compared to 28 in 2019. The updated report says 29% of Kansas children and teens, aged 10 to 17, were overweight. The national figure stood at 33%.

The net result of state-by-state shifts left Kansas ranked 19th nationally in child health indicators, an upgrade from 22nd in the 2023 report by the Casey Foundation.

The Casey Foundation revealed 69% of fourth-graders in Kansas weren’t proficient in reading and 77% of the state’s eighth-graders had not reached proficiency in math on the 2022 National Assessment of Education Progress. Nationally, 68% of fourth-grade readers and 74% of eighth-grade math students were less than proficient in 2022 on NAEP.

“We’re seeing a decline in proficiencies across the country. Kansas is by no means the worst,” said Ryan Reza, data and policy analyst for Kansas Action for Children. “We’re kind of seeing this general trend&nbsp;with NAPE scores. It started prior to the pandemic, but it was exacerbated by the pandemic.”

The percentage of Kansas children 3 to 4 years of age not in a preschool program climbed to 56% from 2018 to 2022 from 54% in 2013 to 2017.

Meanwhile, Kansas continued to improve its standing in terms of motivating high school students graduate on time. Eighty-eight percent of Kansas students graduated on time in 2020-21, but the pre-COVID-19 benchmark for timely graduation from high school was 87% in 2018-19.

These numbers placed Kansas at 28th in the United States, which was a decline from 26th in last year’s report.

The volume of Kansas children living in poverty was 14% in 2022, up from 13% the previous year and down from 15% in 2019. In 2022, the national average was 16%. In terms of Kansas, that meant about 90,000 children in Kansas resided in homes with a household income of $29,600 for a family of two adults and two children.

The portion of Kansans whose parents lacked secure employment registered at 20% in 2022, which was better than the national average of 26%.

There was an uptick in the percentage of Kansas teens not in school and not working: 6% in 2022 versus 5% in 2019. However, Kansas’ ranking on this factor fell from 11th to 16th compared to the rest of the nation.

The&nbsp; figure for Kansans living in households with a high housing cost burden grew to 23% in 2022, an escalation from 22% in 2019.

Reza said Kansas had generally stayed in the top 10 nationally in terms of economic well-being, but dropped out of that elite group in the new Kids County analysis. In the 2024 report, Kansas ranked 12th after falling from seventh in the 2023 report.

“Other states have done more work, especially in the years following the pandemic,” Reza said.

On family and community metrics, the Case Foundation said Kansas ranked 23rd nationally — a nudge to the better from 24th in last year’s edition of the Kids Count report.

For example, the number of Kansas children living in poverty was at 6% based on a four-year average from 2018 to 2022. That was an upgrade from 7% over the 2013 to 2017 period.

Kansas recorded fewer teen births per 1,000 residents in 2022 with 16, which was an improvement from 19 per 1,000 in 2019. Also, the percentage of children living in single-parent families moved to 29% in 2022, a reduction from 30% in 2019. Another improvement: 9% of children had a head of household without a high school diploma in 2022. In 2019, that number for Kansas was 10%.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1718814054878.png" alt="Kansas Action for Children vice president Adrienne Olejnik and data and policy analyst Ryan Reza prepare for a recording of the Kansas Reflector podcast. KAC partners with the Annie E. Casey Foundation to produce the annual Kids Count report, which shows Kansas slipping in the overall ranking. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Action for Children vice president Adrienne Olejnik and data and policy analyst Ryan Reza prepare for a recording of the Kansas Reflector podcast. KAC partners with the Annie E. Casey Foundation to produce the annual Kids Count report, which shows Kansas slipping in the overall ranking. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Annual report says 40% of kids endure harmful impact of ‘adverse’ life experiences</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — A 50-state assessment showed the percentage of Kansas children living in poverty declined and the portion of teens not in school or working increased, while there were increases in fourth graders struggling with reading and eighth graders flustered by math.The 2024 Kids Count report, compiled by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and based on the most recent data, ranked Kansas 19th overall on education, economics, health and family conditions relevant to raising a child. That was a decline from an ranking of 17th in 2023.Kansas placed among its four neighboring states in the 2024 assessment as Nebraska stood at 9th, Colorado was 17th, Missouri finished 32nd and Oklahoma trailed at 46th.Looking at changes in household data on child welfare, the Casey Foundation said Kansas had taken steps forward in half of 16 well-being measures contained in the annual report.Adrienne Olejnik, a vice president at Kansas Action for Children, which partners with the Casey Foundation on the report, said trendlines suggested more could be done by public officials to prepare the next generation of Kansans to enter the workforce or college.“At the end of the day, we want kids to succeed,” Olejnik said on the Kansas Reflector podcast. “We want the scores to improve. So, we have to keep showing up at the table with good data.”<h2>Out of hand ACEs</h2>The new report indicated that in 2021-2022 an estimated 40% of Kansas children experienced one or more “adverse childhood experiences” capable of creating harmful levels of stress and undermining their mental development and ability to cope with life challenges.Examples of ACEs could range from traumatic episodes related a family death, substance abuse or crime as well as unstable housing, divorce or not having enough to eat.“These start to stack up. And the reason that they are so important … is that it directly impacts their brain development at that time. We can mitigate these ACEs through trusting relationships with adults,” Olejnik said.Kids Count says 38,500 or 5% of Kansas children were without health insurance in 2022, which was slightly better than the 6% of 2019. Olejnik said the health care picture would improve if more Kansas families had access to affordable, quality medical services. One option for Kansas lawmakers would be to join 40 states that approved expansion of eligibility under the Medicaid program.Expiration of COVID-19 federal programs that inflated Medicaid enrollment will leave more families without health coverage in the future.“Having health insurance reduces the stress in the household&nbsp;so that parents can focus on other things related to their children,” she said.In terms of other health factors influencing child welfare, Kansas’ percentage of low birth-weight babies climbed to 7.8% in the latest report. That was an increase from 7.6% in 2019.In addition, the state’s figure for child and teen deaths per 100,000 people went up to 35 in the new report compared to 28 in 2019. The updated report says 29% of Kansas children and teens, aged 10 to 17, were overweight. The national figure stood at 33%.The net result of state-by-state shifts left Kansas ranked 19th nationally in child health indicators, an upgrade from 22nd in the 2023 report by the Casey Foundation.<h2>Education erosion</h2>The Casey Foundation revealed 69% of fourth-graders in Kansas weren’t proficient in reading and 77% of the state’s eighth-graders had not reached proficiency in math on the 2022 National Assessment of Education Progress. Nationally, 68% of fourth-grade readers and 74% of eighth-grade math students were less than proficient in 2022 on NAEP.“We’re seeing a decline in proficiencies across the country. Kansas is by no means the worst,” said Ryan Reza, data and policy analyst for Kansas Action for Children. “We’re kind of seeing this general trend&nbsp;with NAPE scores. It started prior to the pandemic, but it was exacerbated by the pandemic.”The percentage of Kansas children 3 to 4 years of age not in a preschool program climbed to 56% from 2018 to 2022 from 54% in 2013 to 2017.Meanwhile, Kansas continued to improve its standing in terms of motivating high school students graduate on time. Eighty-eight percent of Kansas students graduated on time in 2020-21, but the pre-COVID-19 benchmark for timely graduation from high school was 87% in 2018-19.These numbers placed Kansas at 28th in the United States, which was a decline from 26th in last year’s report.<h2>Economic, family status</h2>The volume of Kansas children living in poverty was 14% in 2022, up from 13% the previous year and down from 15% in 2019. In 2022, the national average was 16%. In terms of Kansas, that meant about 90,000 children in Kansas resided in homes with a household income of $29,600 for a family of two adults and two children.The portion of Kansans whose parents lacked secure employment registered at 20% in 2022, which was better than the national average of 26%.There was an uptick in the percentage of Kansas teens not in school and not working: 6% in 2022 versus 5% in 2019. However, Kansas’ ranking on this factor fell from 11th to 16th compared to the rest of the nation.The&nbsp; figure for Kansans living in households with a high housing cost burden grew to 23% in 2022, an escalation from 22% in 2019.Reza said Kansas had generally stayed in the top 10 nationally in terms of economic well-being, but dropped out of that elite group in the new Kids County analysis. In the 2024 report, Kansas ranked 12th after falling from seventh in the 2023 report.“Other states have done more work, especially in the years following the pandemic,” Reza said.On family and community metrics, the Case Foundation said Kansas ranked 23rd nationally — a nudge to the better from 24th in last year’s edition of the Kids Count report.For example, the number of Kansas children living in poverty was at 6% based on a four-year average from 2018 to 2022. That was an upgrade from 7% over the 2013 to 2017 period.Kansas recorded fewer teen births per 1,000 residents in 2022 with 16, which was an improvement from 19 per 1,000 in 2019. Also, the percentage of children living in single-parent families moved to 29% in 2022, a reduction from 30% in 2019. Another improvement: 9% of children had a head of household without a high school diploma in 2022. In 2019, that number for Kansas was 10%.

Kids Count report shows Kansas children struggling with poverty, reading and math

WABAUNSEE COUNTY —A Kansas man died in an accident just after 9a.m. Saturday in Wabaunsee County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2019 Honda UTV driven by&nbsp; Brian D.&nbsp; Palenske, 50, Basehor, was traveling on private property in a field one mile Southwest of  28502 Loire Creek Road.

The driver lost control and rolled the UTV. The passenger identified as Ray G.&nbsp;Palenske, 74, Lenexa, was ejected and died of his injuries at the scene. Brian Palenske was not injured.&nbsp; &nbsp;The KHP released no additional details.

WABAUNSEE COUNTY —A Kansas man died in an accident just after 9a.m. Saturday in Wabaunsee County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2019 Honda UTV driven by&nbsp; Brian D.&nbsp; Palenske, 50, Basehor, was traveling on private property in a field one mile Southwest of 28502 Loire Creek Road.The driver lost control and rolled the UTV. The passenger identified as Ray G.&nbsp;Palenske, 74, Lenexa, was ejected and died of his injuries at the scene. Brian Palenske was not injured.&nbsp; &nbsp;The KHP released no additional details.

Kansas man dies after ejected in UTV accident

WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;told a group of evangelicals they “cannot afford to sit on the sidelines” of the 2024 election, imploring them at one point to “go and vote, Christians, please!"

Trump also endorsed displaying the Ten Commandments in schools and elsewhere while speaking to a group of politically influential evangelical Christians in Washington on Saturday. He drew cheers as he invoked&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/louisiana-ten-commandments-displayed-classrooms-571a2447906f7bbd5a166d53db005a62">a new law signed in Louisiana this week</a>&nbsp;requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom.

"Has anyone read the ‘Thou shalt not steal'? I mean, has anybody read this incredible stuff? It’s just incredible," Trump said at the gathering of the Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition. "They don’t want it to go up. It’s a crazy world.’’

Trump a day earlier posted an endorsement of the new law on his social media network, saying: “I LOVE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, PRIVATE SCHOOLS, AND MANY OTHER PLACES, FOR THAT MATTER. READ IT — HOW CAN WE, AS A NATION, GO WRONG???”

The former president and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-delegates-republican-nomination-haley-12e336deeb619602f8335f1c4ca1663e">presumptive</a>&nbsp;Republican presidential nominee backed the move as he seeks to galvanize his supporters on the religious right, which has fiercely backed him after initially being suspicious of the twice-divorced New York City tabloid celebrity when he first ran for president in 2016.

That support has continued despite his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-trial-deliberations-jury-testimony-verdict-85558c6d08efb434d05b694364470aa0#:~:text=NEW%20YORK%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20Donald,said%20the%20two%20had%20sex.">conviction</a>&nbsp;in the first of four criminal cases he faces, in which a jury last month found him guilty of falsifying business records for what prosecutors said was an attempt to cover up a hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election. Daniels claims she had a sexual encounter with Trump a decade earlier, which he denies.

Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-2024-election-abortion-christians-13318983232798e44e9638a33811f844">stated opposition</a>&nbsp;to signing a nationwide ban on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/abortion">abortion</a>&nbsp;and his reluctance to detail some of his views on the issue are at odds with many members of the evangelical movement, a key part of Trump's base that's expected to help him turn out voters in his November rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden.

But while many members of the movement would like to see him do more to restrict abortion, they cheer him as the greatest champion for the cause because of his role in appointing U.S. Supreme Court justices who overturned national abortion rights in 2022.

Trump highlighted that Saturday, saying, “We did something that was amazing,” but the issue would be left to people to decide in the states.

“Every voter has to go with your heart and do what’s right, but we also have to get elected,” he said.

While he still takes credit for the reversal of Roe v. Wade, Trump has also warned abortion can be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-trump-republican-presidential-election-2024-585faf025a1416d13d2fbc23da8d8637">tricky politically for Republicans.</a>&nbsp;For months, he deferred questions about his position on a national ban.

Last year, when Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-abortion-evangelicals-supreme-court-3bf88968fcd6d7170abaa31ca3084fa8">addressed</a>&nbsp;the Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition, he said there was “a vital role for the federal government in protecting unborn life” but didn’t offer any details beyond that.

In April of this year,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-abortion-2024-ban-7bf06e0856b88a710c79a6eb85cffa6a">Trump said he believed the issue</a>&nbsp;should now be left to the states. He later stated in an interview that he would not sign a nationwide ban on abortion if it was passed by Congress. He has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ban-trump-criminalize-mifepristone-election-7f43c7e9ab192ebe874a1f0b1b7ba60b">still declined to detail his position</a>&nbsp;on women’s access to the abortion pill mifepristone.

About two-thirds of Americans say abortion should generally be legal, according to polling last year by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Attendees at the evangelical gathering on Saturday said that while they'd like to see a national abortion ban, Trump isn't losing any of their deep support.

“I would prefer if he would sign a national ban,” said Jerri Dickinson, a 78-year-old retired social worker and Faith &amp; Freedom member from New Jersey. “I understand though, that as in accordance with the Constitution, that decision should be left up to the states.”

Dickinson said she can’t stand the abortion law in her state, which does not set limits on the procedure based on gestational age. But she said outside of preferring a national ban, leaving the issue to the state “is the best alternative.”

According to AP VoteCast, a wide-ranging survey of the electorate, about 8 in 10 white evangelical Christian voters supported Trump in 2020, and nearly 4 in 10 Trump voters identified as white evangelical Christians. White evangelical Christians made up about 20% of the overall electorate that year.

Beyond just offering their own support in the general election, the Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition plans to help get out the vote for Trump and other Republicans, aiming to use volunteers and paid workers to knock on millions of doors in battleground states.

Trump also rallied voters in Philadelphia on Saturday with a speech heavily focused on violent crime, telling supporters at an arena that he would grant police officers immunity from prosecution.

“Under Crooked Joe, the City of Brotherly Love is being ravaged by bloodshed and crime,” he said. “We will surge federal law enforcement resources to the places that need them most.”

Statistics from the Philadelphia city controller say there were 410 homicides in 2023, a 20% drop compared to 2022.

Tyler Cecconi, 25, of Richmond, Virginia, said he was glad that Trump is stepping out of his comfort zone and going to places that may not be red. At the venue, a digital banner read “Philadelphia is Trump Country."

“He’s showing the people that regardless if you vote for him or not, or if it’s a blue county or a red county, it doesn’t matter to him,” Cecconi said. “A president is for everybody in this country.”

The GOP Senate candidate of Pennsylvania, Dave McCormick, attended the rally and appeared on stage to talk to voters about the economy and immigration.

“This economy is not working for most Pennsylvanians, and it's not working for most Americans,” McCormick said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1719082917634.png" alt="<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;told a group of evangelicals they “cannot afford to sit on the sidelines” of the 2024 election-image courtesy&nbsp;Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition." />
 <figcaption><a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;told a group of evangelicals they “cannot afford to sit on the sidelines” of the 2024 election-image courtesy&nbsp;Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition.</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;told a group of evangelicals they “cannot afford to sit on the sidelines” of the 2024 election, imploring them at one point to “go and vote, Christians, please!"Trump also endorsed displaying the Ten Commandments in schools and elsewhere while speaking to a group of politically influential evangelical Christians in Washington on Saturday. He drew cheers as he invoked&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/louisiana-ten-commandments-displayed-classrooms-571a2447906f7bbd5a166d53db005a62">a new law signed in Louisiana this week</a>&nbsp;requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom."Has anyone read the ‘Thou shalt not steal'? I mean, has anybody read this incredible stuff? It’s just incredible," Trump said at the gathering of the Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition. "They don’t want it to go up. It’s a crazy world.’’<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1719088284931.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Trump a day earlier posted an endorsement of the new law on his social media network, saying: “I LOVE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, PRIVATE SCHOOLS, AND MANY OTHER PLACES, FOR THAT MATTER. READ IT — HOW CAN WE, AS A NATION, GO WRONG???”The former president and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-delegates-republican-nomination-haley-12e336deeb619602f8335f1c4ca1663e">presumptive</a>&nbsp;Republican presidential nominee backed the move as he seeks to galvanize his supporters on the religious right, which has fiercely backed him after initially being suspicious of the twice-divorced New York City tabloid celebrity when he first ran for president in 2016.That support has continued despite his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-trial-deliberations-jury-testimony-verdict-85558c6d08efb434d05b694364470aa0#:~:text=NEW%20YORK%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20Donald,said%20the%20two%20had%20sex.">conviction</a>&nbsp;in the first of four criminal cases he faces, in which a jury last month found him guilty of falsifying business records for what prosecutors said was an attempt to cover up a hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election. Daniels claims she had a sexual encounter with Trump a decade earlier, which he denies.Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-2024-election-abortion-christians-13318983232798e44e9638a33811f844">stated opposition</a>&nbsp;to signing a nationwide ban on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/abortion">abortion</a>&nbsp;and his reluctance to detail some of his views on the issue are at odds with many members of the evangelical movement, a key part of Trump's base that's expected to help him turn out voters in his November rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden.But while many members of the movement would like to see him do more to restrict abortion, they cheer him as the greatest champion for the cause because of his role in appointing U.S. Supreme Court justices who overturned national abortion rights in 2022.Trump highlighted that Saturday, saying, “We did something that was amazing,” but the issue would be left to people to decide in the states.“Every voter has to go with your heart and do what’s right, but we also have to get elected,” he said.While he still takes credit for the reversal of Roe v. Wade, Trump has also warned abortion can be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-trump-republican-presidential-election-2024-585faf025a1416d13d2fbc23da8d8637">tricky politically for Republicans.</a>&nbsp;For months, he deferred questions about his position on a national ban.Last year, when Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-abortion-evangelicals-supreme-court-3bf88968fcd6d7170abaa31ca3084fa8">addressed</a>&nbsp;the Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition, he said there was “a vital role for the federal government in protecting unborn life” but didn’t offer any details beyond that.In April of this year,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-abortion-2024-ban-7bf06e0856b88a710c79a6eb85cffa6a">Trump said he believed the issue</a>&nbsp;should now be left to the states. He later stated in an interview that he would not sign a nationwide ban on abortion if it was passed by Congress. He has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ban-trump-criminalize-mifepristone-election-7f43c7e9ab192ebe874a1f0b1b7ba60b">still declined to detail his position</a>&nbsp;on women’s access to the abortion pill mifepristone.About two-thirds of Americans say abortion should generally be legal, according to polling last year by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.Attendees at the evangelical gathering on Saturday said that while they'd like to see a national abortion ban, Trump isn't losing any of their deep support.“I would prefer if he would sign a national ban,” said Jerri Dickinson, a 78-year-old retired social worker and Faith &amp; Freedom member from New Jersey. “I understand though, that as in accordance with the Constitution, that decision should be left up to the states.”Dickinson said she can’t stand the abortion law in her state, which does not set limits on the procedure based on gestational age. But she said outside of preferring a national ban, leaving the issue to the state “is the best alternative.”According to AP VoteCast, a wide-ranging survey of the electorate, about 8 in 10 white evangelical Christian voters supported Trump in 2020, and nearly 4 in 10 Trump voters identified as white evangelical Christians. White evangelical Christians made up about 20% of the overall electorate that year.Beyond just offering their own support in the general election, the Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition plans to help get out the vote for Trump and other Republicans, aiming to use volunteers and paid workers to knock on millions of doors in battleground states.Trump also rallied voters in Philadelphia on Saturday with a speech heavily focused on violent crime, telling supporters at an arena that he would grant police officers immunity from prosecution.“Under Crooked Joe, the City of Brotherly Love is being ravaged by bloodshed and crime,” he said. “We will surge federal law enforcement resources to the places that need them most.”Statistics from the Philadelphia city controller say there were 410 homicides in 2023, a 20% drop compared to 2022.Tyler Cecconi, 25, of Richmond, Virginia, said he was glad that Trump is stepping out of his comfort zone and going to places that may not be red. At the venue, a digital banner read “Philadelphia is Trump Country."“He’s showing the people that regardless if you vote for him or not, or if it’s a blue county or a red county, it doesn’t matter to him,” Cecconi said. “A president is for everybody in this country.”The GOP Senate candidate of Pennsylvania, Dave McCormick, attended the rally and appeared on stage to talk to voters about the economy and immigration.“This economy is not working for most Pennsylvanians, and it's not working for most Americans,” McCormick said.At both events, Trump returned several times to the subject of the U.S.-Mexico border and when describing migrants crossing it as “tough,” he said that he told his friend Dana White, the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, to enlist them in a new version of the sport."'Why don’t you set up a migrant league and have your regular league of fighters. And then you have the champion of your league, these are the greatest fighters in the world, fighting the champion of the migrants,’” Trump described saying to White. “I think the migrant guy might win, that’s how tough they are. He didn’t like that idea too much.”Biden's campaign responded to Trump's remarks by saying it was “fitting” that Trump, convicted of a felony, spent time at a religious conference making threats about immigration and “bragging about ripping away Americans’ freedoms.”“Trump’s incoherent, unhinged tirade showed voters in his own words that he is a threat to our freedoms and is too dangerous to be let anywhere near the White House again,” campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said in a statement.___Alexander reported from Philadelphia. Associated Press writers Adriana Gomez Licon, Tom Strong and Amelia Thomson DeVeaux contributed to this report.