SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal&nbsp; &nbsp;shooting in Wichita are asking the public for help to locate a suspect identified as Luis Jackson, according to a Crime Stoppers report.

Just after 2a.m. September 10, police were dispatched to report of a shooting in the 4000 block of West Memory Lane in Wichita, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.

First responders&nbsp; located&nbsp;19-year-old Zyles James of Wichita unconscious and not breathing with gunshot wounds to his upper and lower body.

Officers began providing life-saving efforts until EMS arrived. James was transported to a local hospital where he was later pronounced deceased.

During the initial response, officers located another victim with a graze wound to the arm. The victim was transported to a local hospital and was treated and released.

If you see Jackson or know his location, call 911 or Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1694602061567.png" alt="Jackson-photo Wichita Police" />
 <figcaption>Jackson-photo Wichita Police</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal&nbsp; &nbsp;shooting in Wichita are asking the public for help to locate a suspect identified as Luis Jackson, according to a Crime Stoppers report.Just after 2a.m. September 10, police were dispatched to report of a shooting in the 4000 block of West Memory Lane in Wichita, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.First responders&nbsp; located&nbsp;19-year-old Zyles James of Wichita unconscious and not breathing with gunshot wounds to his upper and lower body.Officers began providing life-saving efforts until EMS arrived. James was transported to a local hospital where he was later pronounced deceased.During the initial response, officers located another victim with a graze wound to the arm. The victim was transported to a local hospital and was treated and released.If you see Jackson or know his location, call 911 or Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.

Kansas murder suspect still at large

HUTCHINSON — According to Shawn Steward with AAA Kansas, the pain for drivers at the pump is increasing.

"We've seen quite a spike in gas prices here, not only in Kansas, but basically the entire Central Plains and Upper Midwest," Steward said. "There's been some talk through the industry that refineries in the region have been down for regular maintenance or some repairs."

Area counties are up considerably from last week. Prices were checked on Saturday, Sept. 16.

The statewide average is $3.74 and the fundamentals suggest that prices may stay up for the short term.

"In addition to the refinery issue, we've also seen crude oil prices rising back to around $90 per barrel amidst trader's concerns that crude supplies will remain tight through the rest of the year," Steward said. "Specifically, Saudi Arabia and Russia, some of the top OPEC+ producers have played a role in tightening supplies by continuing their output cuts."

It's not really that more people are driving, in fact, it's the opposite lately.

"We're in a period here where we typically see lower demand," Steward said. "We are seeing that, in terms of gasoline demand in the U.S. currently being down, but all these other factors with tightening supply in the global market and then these issues with refinery outages, hopefully those will be temporary, but all of those factors are driving prices up at the pumps."

A year ago, the statewide average was $3.41 a gallon.

NICK GOSNELL,&nbsp;Hutch PostHUTCHINSON — According to Shawn Steward with AAA Kansas, the pain for drivers at the pump is increasing."We've seen quite a spike in gas prices here, not only in Kansas, but basically the entire Central Plains and Upper Midwest," Steward said. "There's been some talk through the industry that refineries in the region have been down for regular maintenance or some repairs."Area counties are up considerably from last week. Prices were checked on Saturday, Sept. 16.The statewide average is $3.74 and the fundamentals suggest that prices may stay up for the short term."In addition to the refinery issue, we've also seen crude oil prices rising back to around $90 per barrel amidst trader's concerns that crude supplies will remain tight through the rest of the year," Steward said. "Specifically, Saudi Arabia and Russia, some of the top OPEC+ producers have played a role in tightening supplies by continuing their output cuts."It's not really that more people are driving, in fact, it's the opposite lately."We're in a period here where we typically see lower demand," Steward said. "We are seeing that, in terms of gasoline demand in the U.S. currently being down, but all these other factors with tightening supply in the global market and then these issues with refinery outages, hopefully those will be temporary, but all of those factors are driving prices up at the pumps."A year ago, the statewide average was $3.41 a gallon.

Gas prices continue to climb across Kansas

SEDGWICK COUNTY— A Kansas woman, shot in the foot by her 2-year-old was sentenced this week in Sedgwick County.&nbsp;

According to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office, 22-year-old&nbsp; Kianna Jweji was sentenced to 12 months probation. She pleased guilty in July to&nbsp;aggravated endangerment of a child and possession of marijuana.

Just after 11:30a.m. Jan. 12, police&nbsp;were dispatched to a shooting in the 1200 block of North Lorraine in Wichita, according to Officer Chad Ditch.

While Officers were en route to the scene, a suspect later identified&nbsp; as Newji's 25-year-old boyfriend Marlon M. Jones fled on foot to a residence in the 3000 block of East 11th Street. As officers arrived, they saw Jones walking back from the area of that residence.

Officers then located Nweji inside her residence on North Lorraine with a gunshot wound to her foot. EMS transported her&nbsp; to a local hospital for treatment.

The investigation revealed that Nweji and Jones were both lying in bed when their 2-year-old child found a gun and accidentally shot Nweji. 

Jones took the gun to the 11th Street address where an acquaintance of his lives, according to Ditch. Investigators located the gun and found an AR-15 that belonged to nobody in the residence and the individuals in the house did not know how it got there.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673627653047.png" alt="Nweji -photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Nweji -photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY— A Kansas woman, shot in the foot by her 2-year-old was sentenced this week in Sedgwick County.&nbsp;According to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office, 22-year-old&nbsp; Kianna Jweji was sentenced to 12 months probation. She pleased guilty in July to&nbsp;aggravated endangerment of a child and possession of marijuana.Just after 11:30a.m. Jan. 12, police&nbsp;were dispatched to a shooting in the 1200 block of North Lorraine in Wichita, according to Officer Chad Ditch.While Officers were en route to the scene, a suspect later identified&nbsp; as Newji's 25-year-old boyfriend Marlon M. Jones fled on foot to a residence in the 3000 block of East 11th Street. As officers arrived, they saw Jones walking back from the area of that residence.Officers then located Nweji inside her residence on North Lorraine with a gunshot wound to her foot. EMS transported her&nbsp; to a local hospital for treatment.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673627717579.png" alt="Marlon Jones-photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Marlon Jones-photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>The investigation revealed that Nweji and Jones were both lying in bed when their 2-year-old child found a gun and accidentally shot Nweji. Jones took the gun to the 11th Street address where an acquaintance of his lives, according to Ditch. Investigators located the gun and found an AR-15 that belonged to nobody in the residence and the individuals in the house did not know how it got there.

Kansas mother sentenced after toddler shot her in the foot

KANSAS CITY—A judge sentenced a Kansas City man to life in prison plus seven years for the fatal shooting in July 2020 of Lodillar R. Styles, who had driven the defendant to a residence when the 41-year-old Johnathan L. Bradford suddenly shot him in the head, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

The judge sentenced Bradford to Life in Prison for his conviction of Murder 2nd Degree and an additional seven years for sentences in four other convictions: Armed Criminal Action, Tampering with a Motor Vehicle, Abandonment of a Corpse and Assault 4th Degree. Bradford also pleaded guilty to two counts of Felon in Possession and &nbsp;was sentenced to seven years. Those sentences were set to run concurrently with the others.

According to court records, Kansas City police were dispatched to 40th and Tracy on a shooting. They found the victim in the middle of the street. Officers determined the victim had been in a large blue pickup truck with two others, including a witness. 

A witness told police that the victim had &nbsp;picked her up and drove her to his apartment, where Bradford also arrived. The witness noticed Bradford was smoking hash and was acting weird. As they were about to leave, the victim was in the driver’s seat and the witness was in the front passenger seat. 

The victim pulled over to let the Bradford out. Bradford attempted to get out but the doors were locked. The victim asked the Bradford not to pull on the door handles; the child lock was on. 

The victim instructed Bradford to let the window down and to reach outside the door to open it. The suspect uttered "ok," according to the witness, then shot the victim in the head. 

The victim’s vehicle then struck a white van. Other witnesses heard the vehicles’ collision and saw a man pulling the bloody victim from the vehicle. When Bradford was arrested, after a brief foot chase, police recovered a pistol of the same caliber used in the homicide. The suspect told police he had been in the vehicle with the victim, when "all chaos broke out.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1694568875333.png" alt="Bradford-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Bradford-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY—A judge sentenced a Kansas City man to life in prison plus seven years for the fatal shooting in July 2020 of Lodillar R. Styles, who had driven the defendant to a residence when the 41-year-old Johnathan L. Bradford suddenly shot him in the head, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.The judge sentenced Bradford to Life in Prison for his conviction of Murder 2nd Degree and an additional seven years for sentences in four other convictions: Armed Criminal Action, Tampering with a Motor Vehicle, Abandonment of a Corpse and Assault 4th Degree. Bradford also pleaded guilty to two counts of Felon in Possession and &nbsp;was sentenced to seven years. Those sentences were set to run concurrently with the others.According to court records, Kansas City police were dispatched to 40th and Tracy on a shooting. They found the victim in the middle of the street. Officers determined the victim had been in a large blue pickup truck with two others, including a witness. A witness told police that the victim had &nbsp;picked her up and drove her to his apartment, where Bradford also arrived. The witness noticed Bradford was smoking hash and was acting weird. As they were about to leave, the victim was in the driver’s seat and the witness was in the front passenger seat. The victim pulled over to let the Bradford out. Bradford attempted to get out but the doors were locked. The victim asked the Bradford not to pull on the door handles; the child lock was on. The victim instructed Bradford to let the window down and to reach outside the door to open it. The suspect uttered "ok," according to the witness, then shot the victim in the head. The victim’s vehicle then struck a white van. Other witnesses heard the vehicles’ collision and saw a man pulling the bloody victim from the vehicle. When Bradford was arrested, after a brief foot chase, police recovered a pistol of the same caliber used in the homicide. The suspect told police he had been in the vehicle with the victim, when "all chaos broke out.

KC man shot driver after dispute over pickup door handle

HARVEY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating after the body of a man was found at Harvey County East Park Sunday afternoon, according to the Harvey County Sheriff’s office.

Just before 1p.m.., emergency personnel were dispatched to East Park,&nbsp;14 N East Lake Road in Newton. A passerby found the body on park property west of North East Lake Road near Northeast 12th Street on the ground of a dried-out portion of the lake bed.

Authorities have not identified the individual or the cause of death.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1694987135999.png" alt="Google map" />
 <figcaption>Google map</figcaption>
 </figure>HARVEY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating after the body of a man was found at Harvey County East Park Sunday afternoon, according to the Harvey County Sheriff’s office.Just before 1p.m.., emergency personnel were dispatched to East Park,&nbsp;14 N East Lake Road in Newton. A passerby found the body on park property west of North East Lake Road near Northeast 12th Street on the ground of a dried-out portion of the lake bed.Authorities have not identified the individual or the cause of death.

Sheriff: Body found on dried-out portion of the Kan. lake bed

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/madison-mcvan/">MADISON MCVAN</a>

As food prices&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://minnesotareformer.com/2022/12/14/heres-why-food-prices-remain-stubbornly-high-even-as-inflation-cools/">rose</a>&nbsp;around the country, so did farmers’ take-home pay.

Net farm profits rose by 30% from 2021 to 2022, according to recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. At the same time, food prices inflated by more than 10%.

The USDA predicts farm incomes will drop by about 20% in 2023 to levels still above pre-pandemic averages — and interest groups are already using the expected drop in profits to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.fb.org/news-release/president-duvall-testimony-as-prepared-for-the-senate-agriculture-committee">lobby</a>&nbsp;for more money as Congress works on the next Farm Bill.

Farm incomes vary widely based on commodities and local weather patterns, so experts warn against making sweeping industry-wide generalizations. The record-high incomes last year were largely driven by high prices and good yields for the country’s biggest cash crops — corn and soy — according to Pauline Van Nurden, extension economist at the Center for Farm Financial Management at the University of Minnesota.

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/farm-income-and-wealth-statistics/charts-and-maps-about-your-state/">Minnesota</a>&nbsp;was fifth in the nation in farm income last year, bringing in $9.7 billion, mostly through corn, soy, hog, cattle and dairy production.

Most of the income growth is concentrated among the industry’s biggest farms, according to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

In the warehouse of a St. Paul food nonprofit on Aug. 28, Vilsack announced the record-high income levels to a crowd of agriculture leaders and media before visiting the Minnesota State Fair.

He made a show of stepping away from the podium, removing his jacket and walking over to the whiteboard, where he started writing numbers.

Less than 8% of the country’s farms brought in more than $500,000 last year. Those farms made up 89% of the record-breaking farm profits last year, he explained.

Overall, farmers took home&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://data.ers.usda.gov/reports.aspx?ID=17833">$15 billion</a>&nbsp;in direct government payments, most of which go to the biggest farms, according to the Environmental Working Group, which tracks subsidy&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://farm.ewg.org/progdetail.php?fips=00000&amp;progcode=totalfarm&amp;page=conc&amp;regionname=theUnitedStates">data</a>.

Vilsack pointed to the numbers representing large farms, and sent a strong signal the Biden administration has no interest in policies that would negatively affect the richest farmers.

“These folks are great people — good people, hard working people,” he said. “They have a lot of risk. They are providing food for our families and for the world’s families. I don’t think it’s a circumstance or a situation where you necessarily have to do something to this world.”

He pointed to the numbers representing the smaller farms that shared the remaining profits.

“But you sure as heck need to do something about these people,” he said.

Vilsack touted investments that would help create new revenue streams for farms, like paying them to use “climate-smart” farming techniques, opening up carbon markets and finding ways to get fresh produce directly into grocery stores and schools.

Farm groups across the political spectrum largely support voluntary programs that pay farmers for implementing climate-friendly practices.

Ahead of the Farm Bill, however, commodity groups have also prioritized&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/cd49557a-ffe2-33e2-baa4-13cf24f355db/Testimony_Larew_05.02.2023.pdf">protecting and expanding crop insurance</a>, and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncga.com/stay-informed/media/in-the-news/article/2023/05/ncga-leader-highlights-importance-of-crop-insurance-at-senate-ag-subcommittee-hearing-on-farm-bill-priorities">lowering premiums</a>.

Jonathan Coppess, director of the Gardner Agriculture Policy Program at the University of Illinois, said the projected drop in farm income — from extreme highs in 2022 to above-average in 2023 — is to be expected given the ag sector’s volatility.

“There’s a temptation, if not a strategic mindset, to proclaim this as something drastic and bad,” Coppess said, referring to the farm lobby using the expected drop in income to influence the Farm Bill debate.

In a May 2 Senate hearing, American Farm Bureau Federation president Zippy Duvall&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.fb.org/news-release/president-duvall-testimony-as-prepared-for-the-senate-agriculture-committee">presented</a>&nbsp;a bleak picture of U.S. agriculture, leaning on the USDA data that showed a projected decrease in farm income.

“Much uncertainty remains related to the ability for farmers and ranchers to access supplies, to manage volatile markets and to deal with regulation and weather-related challenges,” Duvall said.

Republican U.S. Senate Agriculture committee staff recently published a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/newsroom/minority-blog/usda-forecasts-sharpest-decline-in-us-farm-income-in-history">blog</a>&nbsp;headlined “USDA Forecasts Sharpest Decline in U.S. Farm Income in History,” urging lawmakers to fund strong crop insurance and risk management programs.

The current Farm Bill will expire at the end of the month.

This story was originally published by&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://minnesotareformer.com/2023/09/12/farm-profits-reached-new-heights-last-year/">the Minnesota Reformer</a>, a States Newsroom affiliate.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589039066122.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/madison-mcvan/">MADISON MCVAN</a>As food prices&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://minnesotareformer.com/2022/12/14/heres-why-food-prices-remain-stubbornly-high-even-as-inflation-cools/">rose</a>&nbsp;around the country, so did farmers’ take-home pay.Net farm profits rose by 30% from 2021 to 2022, according to recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. At the same time, food prices inflated by more than 10%.The USDA predicts farm incomes will drop by about 20% in 2023 to levels still above pre-pandemic averages — and interest groups are already using the expected drop in profits to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.fb.org/news-release/president-duvall-testimony-as-prepared-for-the-senate-agriculture-committee">lobby</a>&nbsp;for more money as Congress works on the next Farm Bill.Farm incomes vary widely based on commodities and local weather patterns, so experts warn against making sweeping industry-wide generalizations. The record-high incomes last year were largely driven by high prices and good yields for the country’s biggest cash crops — corn and soy — according to Pauline Van Nurden, extension economist at the Center for Farm Financial Management at the University of Minnesota.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/farm-income-and-wealth-statistics/charts-and-maps-about-your-state/">Minnesota</a>&nbsp;was fifth in the nation in farm income last year, bringing in $9.7 billion, mostly through corn, soy, hog, cattle and dairy production.Most of the income growth is concentrated among the industry’s biggest farms, according to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.In the warehouse of a St. Paul food nonprofit on Aug. 28, Vilsack announced the record-high income levels to a crowd of agriculture leaders and media before visiting the Minnesota State Fair.He made a show of stepping away from the podium, removing his jacket and walking over to the whiteboard, where he started writing numbers.Less than 8% of the country’s farms brought in more than $500,000 last year. Those farms made up 89% of the record-breaking farm profits last year, he explained.Overall, farmers took home&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://data.ers.usda.gov/reports.aspx?ID=17833">$15 billion</a>&nbsp;in direct government payments, most of which go to the biggest farms, according to the Environmental Working Group, which tracks subsidy&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://farm.ewg.org/progdetail.php?fips=00000&amp;progcode=totalfarm&amp;page=conc&amp;regionname=theUnitedStates">data</a>.Vilsack pointed to the numbers representing large farms, and sent a strong signal the Biden administration has no interest in policies that would negatively affect the richest farmers.“These folks are great people — good people, hard working people,” he said. “They have a lot of risk. They are providing food for our families and for the world’s families. I don’t think it’s a circumstance or a situation where you necessarily have to do something to this world.”He pointed to the numbers representing the smaller farms that shared the remaining profits.“But you sure as heck need to do something about these people,” he said.Vilsack touted investments that would help create new revenue streams for farms, like paying them to use “climate-smart” farming techniques, opening up carbon markets and finding ways to get fresh produce directly into grocery stores and schools.Farm groups across the political spectrum largely support voluntary programs that pay farmers for implementing climate-friendly practices.Ahead of the Farm Bill, however, commodity groups have also prioritized&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/cd49557a-ffe2-33e2-baa4-13cf24f355db/Testimony_Larew_05.02.2023.pdf">protecting and expanding crop insurance</a>, and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncga.com/stay-informed/media/in-the-news/article/2023/05/ncga-leader-highlights-importance-of-crop-insurance-at-senate-ag-subcommittee-hearing-on-farm-bill-priorities">lowering premiums</a>.Jonathan Coppess, director of the Gardner Agriculture Policy Program at the University of Illinois, said the projected drop in farm income — from extreme highs in 2022 to above-average in 2023 — is to be expected given the ag sector’s volatility.“There’s a temptation, if not a strategic mindset, to proclaim this as something drastic and bad,” Coppess said, referring to the farm lobby using the expected drop in income to influence the Farm Bill debate.It’s already happening.In a May 2 Senate hearing, American Farm Bureau Federation president Zippy Duvall&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.fb.org/news-release/president-duvall-testimony-as-prepared-for-the-senate-agriculture-committee">presented</a>&nbsp;a bleak picture of U.S. agriculture, leaning on the USDA data that showed a projected decrease in farm income.“Much uncertainty remains related to the ability for farmers and ranchers to access supplies, to manage volatile markets and to deal with regulation and weather-related challenges,” Duvall said.Republican U.S. Senate Agriculture committee staff recently published a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/newsroom/minority-blog/usda-forecasts-sharpest-decline-in-us-farm-income-in-history">blog</a>&nbsp;headlined “USDA Forecasts Sharpest Decline in U.S. Farm Income in History,” urging lawmakers to fund strong crop insurance and risk management programs.The current Farm Bill will expire at the end of the month.This story was originally published by&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://minnesotareformer.com/2023/09/12/farm-profits-reached-new-heights-last-year/">the Minnesota Reformer</a>, a States Newsroom affiliate.&nbsp;

Farm profits reached new heights last year, but are expected to drop in 2023

By RACHEL MIPRO,&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/05/kansas-lawmakers-debate-definition-of-female-and-male-for-county-jails/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA —&nbsp; Kansas has fallen behind national health insurance trends for the second year in a row, with thousands of state residents falling into a health care coverage gap.&nbsp;

Kansas had a higher uninsurance rate than the national average for&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/09/19/kansas-uninsured-rate-now-higher-than-national-average/">two consecutive years now</a>, according to recently-released U.S. Census Bureau health insurance estimates.

In 2021, nearly 264,000 Kansans went without insurance, with the state’s uninsured rate hovering around 9.2%. Federal efforts to increase health insurance coverage meant the U.S. uninsured rate was lower than the state’s average for the first time in years, sitting at a national average of 8.6% in 2021.&nbsp;

In 2022,&nbsp; the trend continued, though the uninsured rate decreased both locally and nationally. For the time period, 247,070 Kansans went without health insurance, marking a state uninsured rate of 8.6%, compared with the U.S. average of 8%.&nbsp;

Linda Sheppard, strategy team leader for the Kansas Health Institute, said pandemic-era federal initiatives, such as continuous enrollment, may have factored into the decrease.

Federal protections stipulated that KanCare, Kansas’ Medicaid program, couldn’t end health care eligibility unless the person in question moved away, died or asked to end coverage. During the pandemic, participation in KanCare went from 410,000 to 540,000 people.&nbsp;

“While encouraging, we know that some of those policies, including continuous Medicaid eligibility, have already started to unwind,” Sheppard said in&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.khi.org/articles/kansas-uninsured-rate-improves-but-remains-higher-than-u-s-rate/">a news release</a>.&nbsp;

The state’s Medicaid unwinding began again in April for the first time in three years, with state health officials determining Medicaid eligibility. Preliminary data as of July 31 shows about 78,850 Kansans&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/08/29/state-official-on-kansas-medicaid-unwinding-we-probably-couldve-done-a-better-job/">have been unenrolled so far</a>.

Health insurance divides in Kansas showed continued disparities in coverage for diverse populations and working adults, especially regarding Hispanic and Black Kansans.&nbsp;

In 2021, the rate of uninsured Hispanic Kansans was 20.3%, compared with 20.1% in 2022. Black Kansans had a 14.1% uninsured rate in 2021, falling to 10.5% in 2022. Both groups had higher uninsured rates than the national 2022 average for these populations. For comparison, the uninsured rate for white Kansans was 6.3% in 2022.&nbsp;

“The coverage gap for Hispanic and Black Kansans remains significant,” said KHI president and CEO Kari Bruffett. “Understanding the barriers that prevent Kansans from accessing insurance coverage, and why those barriers differ so significantly by population, is essential to tackling disparities to improve health in Kansas.”

By RACHEL MIPRO,&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/05/kansas-lawmakers-debate-definition-of-female-and-male-for-county-jails/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA —&nbsp; Kansas has fallen behind national health insurance trends for the second year in a row, with thousands of state residents falling into a health care coverage gap.&nbsp;Kansas had a higher uninsurance rate than the national average for&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/09/19/kansas-uninsured-rate-now-higher-than-national-average/">two consecutive years now</a>, according to recently-released U.S. Census Bureau health insurance estimates.In 2021, nearly 264,000 Kansans went without insurance, with the state’s uninsured rate hovering around 9.2%. Federal efforts to increase health insurance coverage meant the U.S. uninsured rate was lower than the state’s average for the first time in years, sitting at a national average of 8.6% in 2021.&nbsp;In 2022,&nbsp; the trend continued, though the uninsured rate decreased both locally and nationally. For the time period, 247,070 Kansans went without health insurance, marking a state uninsured rate of 8.6%, compared with the U.S. average of 8%.&nbsp;Linda Sheppard, strategy team leader for the Kansas Health Institute, said pandemic-era federal initiatives, such as continuous enrollment, may have factored into the decrease.Federal protections stipulated that KanCare, Kansas’ Medicaid program, couldn’t end health care eligibility unless the person in question moved away, died or asked to end coverage. During the pandemic, participation in KanCare went from 410,000 to 540,000 people.&nbsp;“While encouraging, we know that some of those policies, including continuous Medicaid eligibility, have already started to unwind,” Sheppard said in&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.khi.org/articles/kansas-uninsured-rate-improves-but-remains-higher-than-u-s-rate/">a news release</a>.&nbsp;The state’s Medicaid unwinding began again in April for the first time in three years, with state health officials determining Medicaid eligibility. Preliminary data as of July 31 shows about 78,850 Kansans&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/08/29/state-official-on-kansas-medicaid-unwinding-we-probably-couldve-done-a-better-job/">have been unenrolled so far</a>.Health insurance divides in Kansas showed continued disparities in coverage for diverse populations and working adults, especially regarding Hispanic and Black Kansans.&nbsp;In 2021, the rate of uninsured Hispanic Kansans was 20.3%, compared with 20.1% in 2022. Black Kansans had a 14.1% uninsured rate in 2021, falling to 10.5% in 2022. Both groups had higher uninsured rates than the national 2022 average for these populations. For comparison, the uninsured rate for white Kansans was 6.3% in 2022.&nbsp;“The coverage gap for Hispanic and Black Kansans remains significant,” said KHI president and CEO Kari Bruffett. “Understanding the barriers that prevent Kansans from accessing insurance coverage, and why those barriers differ so significantly by population, is essential to tackling disparities to improve health in Kansas.”

Kansas health care coverage lags behind national average for second year

WICHITA, Kan.— The Kansas Turnpike Authority invites the public to provide feedback on their Turnpike travel experience by participating in its annual <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/67WYJHM">Customer Satisfaction Survey. </a>

Anyone who uses the Turnpike, whether daily or occasionally, is encouraged to share their thoughts to help KTA prioritize future projects and make internal improvements. Those who complete the survey will be entered to win one of six $50 Amazon gift cards.

Previous improvements and enhancements that came from customer feedback include electric vehicle charging stations, increased vertical bridge clearance, and KTA’s 2024 transition to cashless tolling.

“KTA has a legacy of prioritizing customer experience and we’re committed to continuing that. The feedback collected in our annual survey helps provide direction on future projects,” said Steve Hewitt, KTA’s CEO. “That’s why we encourage all travelers to participate in our survey.”

The survey is open until September 30 at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/67WYJHM">https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/67WYJHM</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1694619805401.png" alt="Photo KanDrive" />
 <figcaption>Photo KanDrive</figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA, Kan.— The Kansas Turnpike Authority invites the public to provide feedback on their Turnpike travel experience by participating in its annual <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/67WYJHM">Customer Satisfaction Survey. </a>Anyone who uses the Turnpike, whether daily or occasionally, is encouraged to share their thoughts to help KTA prioritize future projects and make internal improvements. Those who complete the survey will be entered to win one of six $50 Amazon gift cards.Previous improvements and enhancements that came from customer feedback include electric vehicle charging stations, increased vertical bridge clearance, and KTA’s 2024 transition to cashless tolling.“KTA has a legacy of prioritizing customer experience and we’re committed to continuing that. The feedback collected in our annual survey helps provide direction on future projects,” said Steve Hewitt, KTA’s CEO. “That’s why we encourage all travelers to participate in our survey.”The survey is open until September 30 at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/67WYJHM">https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/67WYJHM</a>.

Kansas Turnpike Authority wants to hear from you

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

<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/"></a>TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly completed an economic development tour of Japan and South Korea by visiting headquarters of CJ CheilJedang, which invested $600 million in construction of the world’s largest pizza manufacturing plant in Salina.

The South Korean food company based in Seoul, which since 2019 has owned Schwan’s, opened the pizza manufacturing plant May. A distribution center to complement the production facility could be finished in early 2025.

“By strengthening those relationships and building new ones, we continue spurring economic development success and delivering on our mission to make Kansas the best state to live, work and raise a family,” the two-term Democratic governor said in a statement.

During the Midwest U.S.-Japan Association Conference this week in Japan, Kelly spoke to participants about the state’s pursuit of business collaboration. She joined a bipartisan contingent of Midwest governors who met with U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, an appointee of President Joe Biden.

“Governor Kelly’s commitment to strengthening ties with Japan and South Korea is exactly the kind of forward-thinking leadership needed for trilateral cooperation,” Emanuel said. “These partnerships aren’t just about business. They’re about building a brighter future for Kansans.”

Kelly met in Kyoto, Japan, with Panasonic Energy executives. In 2022, Panasonic committed to building a massive electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility in De Soto. That $4 billion investment in the Kansas economy was projected to create 4,000 jobs and would be the largest economic development project in state history.

The Tokyo leg of the tour took the governor to headquarters of Marubeni Corp., which acquired Creekstone Farms Premium Beef in Arkansas City during 2017. The company has invested $35 million in Creekstone upgrades, including a 20,000-square-foot child care center currently under construction.

“The relationships we’ve established with Japanese and Korean companies like Panasonic, Marubeni and CJ CheilJedang have been instrumental in the $17.4 billion in private investments made into the state since I took office,” Kelly said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1694515193283.png" alt="&nbsp;Gov. Laura Kelly addressed participants in the Midwest U.S.-Japan Association Conference this week during an economic development tour that included visits in Japan and South Korea with companies with businesses in Kansas. (Kansas Reflector screen capture of submitted photo)" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;Gov. Laura Kelly addressed participants in the Midwest U.S.-Japan Association Conference this week during an economic development tour that included visits in Japan and South Korea with companies with businesses in Kansas. (Kansas Reflector screen capture of submitted photo)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY: TIM CARPENTER,&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a><a href="https://kansasreflector.com/"></a>TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly completed an economic development tour of Japan and South Korea by visiting headquarters of CJ CheilJedang, which invested $600 million in construction of the world’s largest pizza manufacturing plant in Salina.The South Korean food company based in Seoul, which since 2019 has owned Schwan’s, opened the pizza manufacturing plant May. A distribution center to complement the production facility could be finished in early 2025.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1694897860211.png" alt="&nbsp;stopped in South Korea to visit CJ CheilJedang headquarters. As the parent company of Schwan's, they invested $600 million to construct a new manufacturing plant and food distribution center in Salina — creating 280 new jobs.- courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;stopped in South Korea to visit CJ CheilJedang headquarters. As the parent company of Schwan's, they invested $600 million to construct a new manufacturing plant and food distribution center in Salina — creating 280 new jobs.- courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>“By strengthening those relationships and building new ones, we continue spurring economic development success and delivering on our mission to make Kansas the best state to live, work and raise a family,” the two-term Democratic governor said in a statement.During the Midwest U.S.-Japan Association Conference this week in Japan, Kelly spoke to participants about the state’s pursuit of business collaboration. She joined a bipartisan contingent of Midwest governors who met with U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, an appointee of President Joe Biden.“Governor Kelly’s commitment to strengthening ties with Japan and South Korea is exactly the kind of forward-thinking leadership needed for trilateral cooperation,” Emanuel said. “These partnerships aren’t just about business. They’re about building a brighter future for Kansans.”Kelly met in Kyoto, Japan, with Panasonic Energy executives. In 2022, Panasonic committed to building a massive electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility in De Soto. That $4 billion investment in the Kansas economy was projected to create 4,000 jobs and would be the largest economic development project in state history.The Tokyo leg of the tour took the governor to headquarters of Marubeni Corp., which acquired Creekstone Farms Premium Beef in Arkansas City during 2017. The company has invested $35 million in Creekstone upgrades, including a 20,000-square-foot child care center currently under construction.“The relationships we’ve established with Japanese and Korean companies like Panasonic, Marubeni and CJ CheilJedang have been instrumental in the $17.4 billion in private investments made into the state since I took office,” Kelly said.

Gov. personally affirms Kan. economic development ties with Japan, South Korea

After more than a year of drought, some heartland towns are searching for new sources of drinking water and restricting usage

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/kevinhardy/">KEVIN HARDY</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/30/u-s-judge-rules-insurers-dont-have-to-cover-many-free-preventive-health-services/">States Newsroom</a>

SEDAN, Kan. — James Rainbolt typically can tackle most problems at his rural water plant with some extra time or money.

“I just can’t make it rain,” he said.

Like others across Southeast Kansas, Rainbolt remains helpless as he watches a persistent drought dry up the local water supply. He runs a public wholesale water supply district that provides the drinking water for several cities and rural water districts. The lack of rain has been so severe that it’s now threatening the water district’s intake pipe, which brings water from a local lake to the treatment plant.

As lake levels fall, the angle at which the 8-inch pipe meets a floating pump station grows steeper and steeper, stressing the flexible joint. If the joint breaks, the consequences would be catastrophic, instantly cutting the water supply for thousands of people, businesses and schools across three counties.

“If we break it, we have no water. Period,” said Jack Warren, the mayor of Sedan, Kansas, a county seat about 100 miles southeast of Wichita and the largest customer of the water district.

This part of Kansas is suffering what<a target="_blank" href="https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?KS">&nbsp;the U.S. Drought Monitor characterizes as exceptional drought,</a>&nbsp;its most severe category. While droughts frequently wreak havoc on agriculture here, residents are facing unprecedented challenges with drinking water supplies. This corner of the state, which lacks the vast underground aquifers that sit below much of Kansas, is overly reliant on surface water such as lakes and rivers.

That means small towns and ranches face tough and expensive choices on where to draw water from, a problem likely to increase as climate change brings more extreme weather. And it’s a quandary that stretches far beyond Kansas. Persistent drought is plaguing communities across the country’s interior:&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/">The map created by the U.S. Drought Monitor</a>&nbsp;shows its deepest red pockets across Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas, among other states.

Lack of rain has hit crops hard: In Missouri, for example, 40% of the state’s corn crop was classified as poor or very poor, according to the drought monitor.&nbsp;Iowa, the nation’s top corn producer, is in the midst of&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/briefs/iowa-drought-is-now-worst-in-a-decade/?emci=c2f083ae-c548-ee11-a3f1-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=3ba9a76d-d848-ee11-a3f1-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=32623">its worst drought in a decade</a>&nbsp;with about 80% of the state in some measure of drought.

Prolonged drought has even reached the banks of Lake Superior: Parts of Wisconsin have the most severe drought designation for the first time since the 1999 inception of the U.S. Drought Monitor, said Dennis Todey, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Midwest Climate Hub.

“It’s the severity of the drought and the length of the drought that are causing some confounding issues right now,” he said.

In Southeast Kansas, locals have taken extraordinary measures to conserve the dwindling lake water supply.

The city pool closed in the middle of the summer. So did the town’s only car wash.

Local schools shut off drinking fountains, furnishing bottled water instead.

A community of about 900 people, Sedan has banned residents from using tap water for plants or lawns, forcing some to get creative. The mayor, for one, has been collecting the water that drains off his basement air conditioning unit to keep outdoor plants alive. The local movie theater is doing the same, allowing locals to come pick up its air conditioning runoff.

“Word’s kind of got around about the various places you can go and get water,” Warren said.

Conservation efforts appear to be working: Warren said Sedan has cut its water usage by about 30%&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ksn.com/news/state-regional/southeast-kansas-town-in-stage-3-water-emergency/#:~:text=During%20a%20stage%203%20emergency,Copyright%202023%20Nexstar%20Media%20Inc.">since entering a stage 3 water emergency in early August.</a>

“Drive around and you won’t see a green yard in town,” he said.

The water district just began construction on an emergency fix to its intake equipment. The work will essentially extend the floating dock farther into the lake, allowing the pipe to fall deeper into the water as the lake drops.

Locals, who noted that the drought has been ongoing since last year, said they’ve never seen a situation this severe.

“It just doesn’t rain,”&nbsp;said Rainbolt, who has lived in the area for nearly two decades. “This is not normal.”

Sedan is surrounded by the foothills of the scenic Flint Hills,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nps.gov/tapr/index.htm">which contain the nation’s largest concentration of remaining tallgrass prairie.</a>

The sidewalks of the small downtown are an homage to “The Wizard of Oz”: Sedan claims to be&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.travelks.com/listing/yellow-brick-road/11782/">home to the world’s largest Yellow Brick Road</a>&nbsp;with more than 10,000 yellow bricks encircling the heart of town.

On average, the town sees nearly 40 inches of precipitation each year, according to National Weather Service data. But last year, Sedan reported only 28.32 inches. Through August of this year, the town has seen fewer than 18 inches.

Signs of drought are apparent throughout the region.

On the Red Buffalo Ranch outside of town, no water flows over the 14-foot Butcher Falls. Normally a scenic&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kansastravel.org/butcherfalls.htm">destination</a>, visitors can now walk across dry boulders where water normally rolls.

At the edge of one nearby community, a church sign implores passers-by to “Pray for Rain.” Inside another church, pews are filled with photocopies of a special prayer for rain.

After Sedan’s public pool closed early this summer, the city allowed ranchers and farmers to pump out the remaining water. They’ve also allowed locals to pump water from a local fishing lake to bring water to dry farms.

“Where are you getting water? Wherever you can find it,” said Jim Bell, a longtime farmer in the area who manages Sedan Farm Supply, which runs a small grain elevator and retail store selling feed, seed and other products.

This is the time of year farmers bring their combines out of the barn to reap the year’s harvest. Bell said local corn yields aren’t great but are better than people expected. Still, more than a year of lackluster precipitation and recent extreme heat has jeopardized many soybean crops.

“Soybeans are burning up in the field, the grass is burning up on the prairie. And water’s becoming a bigger and bigger issue,” he said. “Something needs to happen pretty quick.”

The drought has threatened hay production, a necessity to keep livestock fed through cold Kansas winters. Bell said many ranchers, including himself, have culled their herds because of limited water and hay.

The five ponds on his family farm long ago went dry, forcing him to haul water he buys from the local water district. In nearly 50 years on the property, he said he’s never seen things this dry.

“I’ve got one pond that I had no idea how deep it was until I saw the bottom of it this year,” Bell said.

Luckily, the lake that supplies the area’s drinking water hasn’t totally dried up, though Rainbolt estimates water levels have dropped 8 or 9 feet below normal.

“Typically, there should be water right where we’re standing,” he said, perched atop dry rocks on a metal gangway that leads to the floating pumphouse.

The lake is so small locals don’t even agree on its name: Some call it Murray Gill Lake. Others call it Quivira Lake or Boy Scout Lake, because of the regional Boy Scout council that owns the lake and runs the Quivira Scout Ranch on its banks each summer.

Whatever it’s called, locals agree that the lake is a crucial, but threatened, lifeline. Through its various customers, the water district supplies treated water for some 7,000 residents, Rainbolt said.

Lake levels dropped so low that boat ramps and docks are unusable at the summer camp.

The water district has some reserve funds it will rely on and will also seek state and federal emergency funds to cover construction costs of upgrading and protecting the water intake structure, Rainbolt said.

“That’s what this is: It’s an emergency,” he said.

Officials with the Kansas Water Office say they are well aware of the drought conditions in Southeast Kansas.

The state has encouraged communities to secure secondary sources of water, but that’s easier said than done, according to Nathan Westrup, manager of the Kansas Water Office’s public water supply programs.

That’s especially true in Southeast Kansas, which is typically the wettest corner of the Sunflower State. Many water providers rely on a single river, lake or stream.

“It’s more common than I would like,” he said. “I’d say it’s more common than not.”

He noted that the GOP-controlled legislature&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://governor.kansas.gov/governor-kelly-signs-bipartisan-bill-to-invest-record-35m-to-protect-water-resources/#:~:text=TOPEKA%20%E2%80%93%20Governor%20Laura%20Kelly%20today,the%20first%20time%20since%202008.">made an extra $35 million available to protect water resources</a>&nbsp;in a bill Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly signed into law in April. The legislation makes grants available to communities both for technical assistance and for major water projects.

“That’s, in my opinion, just a start and a recognition that the state might be needed,” Westrup said, “and is willing to assist these small, small communities.”

About 30 miles away, the small city of Caney, Kansas, has for decades relied on the Little Caney River, a small waterway, to feed its water treatment plant.

But that&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=686905083474565&amp;set=a.634208188744255">river’s flow has been compromised for months</a>. Water currently doesn’t even fall over the concrete dam.

Kelley Zellner, city manager for the community of about 1,600 people on the Oklahoma border, blames the problem on a mix of environmental factors and previous decisions by city leaders.

Caney resisted previous regional efforts to consolidate water sourcing and treatment. It runs its own municipal water plant that relies on a singular — and relatively precarious — water supply. Last year, county crews had to bring excavators to break up a logjam decades in the making that clogged water flow and accelerated evaporation.

Aside from the source issues, Zellner said the city is also struggling with an inefficient water plant and water lines. The plant was improperly designed for treating river water, he said. And a patchwork of duplicative, leaky city pipes causes the city to lose about 40% to 45% of its treated water.

Since last summer, city leaders have explored alternative water sources.

An attempt to connect with a water treatment plant in nearby Copan, Oklahoma, was unsuccessful. While the town is only about 9 miles away, moving water across state lines proved politically complicated and overly expensive.

Now, the city is eyeing a new water pipeline to connect to Coffeyville, a town of about 9,000 that sits along the Verdigris River. A tributary of the Arkansas River, the 310-mile Verdigris is replenished by several dams and reservoirs maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

But building a pipeline isn’t easy or cheap.

Last week, engineers told the Caney City Council it would cost nearly $22 million to fix water infrastructure in town and construct a new pipeline to Coffeyville.

“You guys have quite the interesting predicament,” Danny Coltrane, the owner of Midwest Engineering Group, told the council. “Unfortunately it is not going to be a cheap fix.”

Coltrane said the city’s crisis would likely help it compete for state and federal funding. That’s because the city would tackle dual problems: the ongoing drought and the replacement of lead in its pipes,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/lead-epa-water-portland-toxic-bc2cb5c2df5bd73bb013674939d1ee31">a major priority of the federal government</a>.

Plus, some direct allocations could be made available through current congressional negotiations to reauthorize the farm bill,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/09/house-gop-farm-bill-00110350">the omnibus bill that’s expected to top $1 trillion</a>&nbsp;for the first time.

“If you’re related to a senator or representative, now would be the time to call them,” Coltrane said.

The city just made its first formal proposal to connect to Coffeyville’s water plant. The cost of running an 8-inch pipe over 14 miles is expected to top $7.6 million —&nbsp;when the city’s total annual budget is&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://caneyks.com/documents/274/2023_Adopted_Budget-City_of_Caney.pdf">about $7.2 million</a>.

“So, $21 million is pretty big,” Zellner said. “We’re kind of at the mercy of the funding. I hate to say it that way, but we are.”

After a presentation on Caney’s water problems, t<a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G9N7URO3Io">he Coffeyville City Commission Tuesday evening expressed support&nbsp;</a>for a new pipeline and voted to begin planning.

“We don’t have a lot of options,” Zellner told the commission. “ … We’re not on our prayer bones yet but we could be.”

<a target="_blank" href="https://stateline.org/">Stateline</a>&nbsp;is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions:&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="mailto:info@stateline.org">info@stateline.org</a>. Follow Stateline on&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://facebook.com/statelinenewsroom">Facebook</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/stateline_news">Twitter</a>.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1694798889767.png" alt="Extreme drought rendered a boat dock and ramp useless at Quivira Scout Ranch outside of Sedan, Kan. The lake at the Boy Scout camp provides drinking water for thousands of homes, schools and businesses in Southeast Kansas, but its intake valve has been jeopardized as lake levels continue to drop (Kevin Hardy/Stateline)." />
 <figcaption>Extreme drought rendered a boat dock and ramp useless at Quivira Scout Ranch outside of Sedan, Kan. The lake at the Boy Scout camp provides drinking water for thousands of homes, schools and businesses in Southeast Kansas, but its intake valve has been jeopardized as lake levels continue to drop (Kevin Hardy/Stateline).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>After more than a year of drought, some heartland towns are searching for new sources of drinking water and restricting usage</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/kevinhardy/">KEVIN HARDY</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/30/u-s-judge-rules-insurers-dont-have-to-cover-many-free-preventive-health-services/">States Newsroom</a>SEDAN, Kan. — James Rainbolt typically can tackle most problems at his rural water plant with some extra time or money.But he can’t fix this.“I just can’t make it rain,” he said.Like others across Southeast Kansas, Rainbolt remains helpless as he watches a persistent drought dry up the local water supply. He runs a public wholesale water supply district that provides the drinking water for several cities and rural water districts. The lack of rain has been so severe that it’s now threatening the water district’s intake pipe, which brings water from a local lake to the treatment plant.As lake levels fall, the angle at which the 8-inch pipe meets a floating pump station grows steeper and steeper, stressing the flexible joint. If the joint breaks, the consequences would be catastrophic, instantly cutting the water supply for thousands of people, businesses and schools across three counties.“If we break it, we have no water. Period,” said Jack Warren, the mayor of Sedan, Kansas, a county seat about 100 miles southeast of Wichita and the largest customer of the water district.This part of Kansas is suffering what<a target="_blank" href="https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?KS">&nbsp;the U.S. Drought Monitor characterizes as exceptional drought,</a>&nbsp;its most severe category. While droughts frequently wreak havoc on agriculture here, residents are facing unprecedented challenges with drinking water supplies. This corner of the state, which lacks the vast underground aquifers that sit below much of Kansas, is overly reliant on surface water such as lakes and rivers.That means small towns and ranches face tough and expensive choices on where to draw water from, a problem likely to increase as climate change brings more extreme weather. And it’s a quandary that stretches far beyond Kansas. Persistent drought is plaguing communities across the country’s interior:&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/">The map created by the U.S. Drought Monitor</a>&nbsp;shows its deepest red pockets across Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas, among other states.Lack of rain has hit crops hard: In Missouri, for example, 40% of the state’s corn crop was classified as poor or very poor, according to the drought monitor.&nbsp;Iowa, the nation’s top corn producer, is in the midst of&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/briefs/iowa-drought-is-now-worst-in-a-decade/?emci=c2f083ae-c548-ee11-a3f1-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=3ba9a76d-d848-ee11-a3f1-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=32623">its worst drought in a decade</a>&nbsp;with about 80% of the state in some measure of drought.Prolonged drought has even reached the banks of Lake Superior: Parts of Wisconsin have the most severe drought designation for the first time since the 1999 inception of the U.S. Drought Monitor, said Dennis Todey, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Midwest Climate Hub.“It’s the severity of the drought and the length of the drought that are causing some confounding issues right now,” he said.In Southeast Kansas, locals have taken extraordinary measures to conserve the dwindling lake water supply.The city pool closed in the middle of the summer. So did the town’s only car wash.Local schools shut off drinking fountains, furnishing bottled water instead.A community of about 900 people, Sedan has banned residents from using tap water for plants or lawns, forcing some to get creative. The mayor, for one, has been collecting the water that drains off his basement air conditioning unit to keep outdoor plants alive. The local movie theater is doing the same, allowing locals to come pick up its air conditioning runoff.“Word’s kind of got around about the various places you can go and get water,” Warren said.Conservation efforts appear to be working: Warren said Sedan has cut its water usage by about 30%&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ksn.com/news/state-regional/southeast-kansas-town-in-stage-3-water-emergency/#:~:text=During%20a%20stage%203%20emergency,Copyright%202023%20Nexstar%20Media%20Inc.">since entering a stage 3 water emergency in early August.</a>“Drive around and you won’t see a green yard in town,” he said.The water district just began construction on an emergency fix to its intake equipment. The work will essentially extend the floating dock farther into the lake, allowing the pipe to fall deeper into the water as the lake drops.Locals, who noted that the drought has been ongoing since last year, said they’ve never seen a situation this severe.“It just doesn’t rain,”&nbsp;said Rainbolt, who has lived in the area for nearly two decades. “This is not normal.”<h2>Signs of drought</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1694798851417.png" alt="A church sign outside the First Assembly of God in Independence, Kan., is pictured here. Southeast Kansas is suffering some of the most severe drought conditions in the nation after months of lower-than-normal rainfall (Kevin Hardy/Stateline)." />
 <figcaption>A church sign outside the First Assembly of God in Independence, Kan., is pictured here. Southeast Kansas is suffering some of the most severe drought conditions in the nation after months of lower-than-normal rainfall (Kevin Hardy/Stateline).</figcaption>
 </figure>Sedan is surrounded by the foothills of the scenic Flint Hills,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nps.gov/tapr/index.htm">which contain the nation’s largest concentration of remaining tallgrass prairie.</a>The sidewalks of the small downtown are an homage to “The Wizard of Oz”: Sedan claims to be&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.travelks.com/listing/yellow-brick-road/11782/">home to the world’s largest Yellow Brick Road</a>&nbsp;with more than 10,000 yellow bricks encircling the heart of town.On average, the town sees nearly 40 inches of precipitation each year, according to National Weather Service data. But last year, Sedan reported only 28.32 inches. Through August of this year, the town has seen fewer than 18 inches.Signs of drought are apparent throughout the region.On the Red Buffalo Ranch outside of town, no water flows over the 14-foot Butcher Falls. Normally a scenic&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kansastravel.org/butcherfalls.htm">destination</a>, visitors can now walk across dry boulders where water normally rolls.At the edge of one nearby community, a church sign implores passers-by to “Pray for Rain.” Inside another church, pews are filled with photocopies of a special prayer for rain.After Sedan’s public pool closed early this summer, the city allowed ranchers and farmers to pump out the remaining water. They’ve also allowed locals to pump water from a local fishing lake to bring water to dry farms.“Where are you getting water? Wherever you can find it,” said Jim Bell, a longtime farmer in the area who manages Sedan Farm Supply, which runs a small grain elevator and retail store selling feed, seed and other products.This is the time of year farmers bring their combines out of the barn to reap the year’s harvest. Bell said local corn yields aren’t great but are better than people expected. Still, more than a year of lackluster precipitation and recent extreme heat has jeopardized many soybean crops.“Soybeans are burning up in the field, the grass is burning up on the prairie. And water’s becoming a bigger and bigger issue,” he said. “Something needs to happen pretty quick.”The drought has threatened hay production, a necessity to keep livestock fed through cold Kansas winters. Bell said many ranchers, including himself, have culled their herds because of limited water and hay.The five ponds on his family farm long ago went dry, forcing him to haul water he buys from the local water district. In nearly 50 years on the property, he said he’s never seen things this dry.“I’ve got one pond that I had no idea how deep it was until I saw the bottom of it this year,” Bell said.Luckily, the lake that supplies the area’s drinking water hasn’t totally dried up, though Rainbolt estimates water levels have dropped 8 or 9 feet below normal.“Typically, there should be water right where we’re standing,” he said, perched atop dry rocks on a metal gangway that leads to the floating pumphouse.The lake is so small locals don’t even agree on its name: Some call it Murray Gill Lake. Others call it Quivira Lake or Boy Scout Lake, because of the regional Boy Scout council that owns the lake and runs the Quivira Scout Ranch on its banks each summer.Whatever it’s called, locals agree that the lake is a crucial, but threatened, lifeline. Through its various customers, the water district supplies treated water for some 7,000 residents, Rainbolt said.Lake levels dropped so low that boat ramps and docks are unusable at the summer camp.The water district has some reserve funds it will rely on and will also seek state and federal emergency funds to cover construction costs of upgrading and protecting the water intake structure, Rainbolt said.“That’s what this is: It’s an emergency,” he said.Officials with the Kansas Water Office say they are well aware of the drought conditions in Southeast Kansas.The state has encouraged communities to secure secondary sources of water, but that’s easier said than done, according to Nathan Westrup, manager of the Kansas Water Office’s public water supply programs.That’s especially true in Southeast Kansas, which is typically the wettest corner of the Sunflower State. Many water providers rely on a single river, lake or stream.“It’s more common than I would like,” he said. “I’d say it’s more common than not.”He noted that the GOP-controlled legislature&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://governor.kansas.gov/governor-kelly-signs-bipartisan-bill-to-invest-record-35m-to-protect-water-resources/#:~:text=TOPEKA%20%E2%80%93%20Governor%20Laura%20Kelly%20today,the%20first%20time%20since%202008.">made an extra $35 million available to protect water resources</a>&nbsp;in a bill Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly signed into law in April. The legislation makes grants available to communities both for technical assistance and for major water projects.“That’s, in my opinion, just a start and a recognition that the state might be needed,” Westrup said, “and is willing to assist these small, small communities.”<h2>‘It is not going to be a cheap fix’</h2>About 30 miles away, the small city of Caney, Kansas, has for decades relied on the Little Caney River, a small waterway, to feed its water treatment plant.But that&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=686905083474565&amp;set=a.634208188744255">river’s flow has been compromised for months</a>. Water currently doesn’t even fall over the concrete dam.Kelley Zellner, city manager for the community of about 1,600 people on the Oklahoma border, blames the problem on a mix of environmental factors and previous decisions by city leaders.Caney resisted previous regional efforts to consolidate water sourcing and treatment. It runs its own municipal water plant that relies on a singular — and relatively precarious — water supply. Last year, county crews had to bring excavators to break up a logjam decades in the making that clogged water flow and accelerated evaporation.Aside from the source issues, Zellner said the city is also struggling with an inefficient water plant and water lines. The plant was improperly designed for treating river water, he said. And a patchwork of duplicative, leaky city pipes causes the city to lose about 40% to 45% of its treated water.Since last summer, city leaders have explored alternative water sources.An attempt to connect with a water treatment plant in nearby Copan, Oklahoma, was unsuccessful. While the town is only about 9 miles away, moving water across state lines proved politically complicated and overly expensive.Now, the city is eyeing a new water pipeline to connect to Coffeyville, a town of about 9,000 that sits along the Verdigris River. A tributary of the Arkansas River, the 310-mile Verdigris is replenished by several dams and reservoirs maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.But building a pipeline isn’t easy or cheap.Last week, engineers told the Caney City Council it would cost nearly $22 million to fix water infrastructure in town and construct a new pipeline to Coffeyville.“You guys have quite the interesting predicament,” Danny Coltrane, the owner of Midwest Engineering Group, told the council. “Unfortunately it is not going to be a cheap fix.”Coltrane said the city’s crisis would likely help it compete for state and federal funding. That’s because the city would tackle dual problems: the ongoing drought and the replacement of lead in its pipes,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/lead-epa-water-portland-toxic-bc2cb5c2df5bd73bb013674939d1ee31">a major priority of the federal government</a>.Plus, some direct allocations could be made available through current congressional negotiations to reauthorize the farm bill,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/09/house-gop-farm-bill-00110350">the omnibus bill that’s expected to top $1 trillion</a>&nbsp;for the first time.“If you’re related to a senator or representative, now would be the time to call them,” Coltrane said.The city just made its first formal proposal to connect to Coffeyville’s water plant. The cost of running an 8-inch pipe over 14 miles is expected to top $7.6 million —&nbsp;when the city’s total annual budget is&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://caneyks.com/documents/274/2023_Adopted_Budget-City_of_Caney.pdf">about $7.2 million</a>.“So, $21 million is pretty big,” Zellner said. “We’re kind of at the mercy of the funding. I hate to say it that way, but we are.”After a presentation on Caney’s water problems, t<a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G9N7URO3Io">he Coffeyville City Commission Tuesday evening expressed support&nbsp;</a>for a new pipeline and voted to begin planning.“We don’t have a lot of options,” Zellner told the commission. “ … We’re not on our prayer bones yet but we could be.”<a target="_blank" href="https://stateline.org/">Stateline</a>&nbsp;is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions:&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="mailto:info@stateline.org">info@stateline.org</a>. Follow Stateline on&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://facebook.com/statelinenewsroom">Facebook</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/stateline_news">Twitter</a>.&nbsp;

‘It’s an emergency’: Towns scramble as drought threatens drinking water

SEDGWICK COUNTY —One person died in an accident just before 1a.m. Sunday in Sedgwick County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2014 Infinity 4-door vehicle driven by 17-year-old Santiago D. Gomez, of Wichita was southbound on Interstate 235 at Meridan.

The vehicle left the roadway to the right. The driver overcorrected and crossed the highway to the inside shoulder and overcorrected again. The driver then lost control and the vehicle slid off the highway to the right and struck a bridge pillar.

EMS transported Gomez to Via Christi St. Francis Hospital where he was pronounced deceased. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

SEDGWICK COUNTY —One person died in an accident just before 1a.m. Sunday in Sedgwick County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2014 Infinity 4-door vehicle driven by 17-year-old Santiago D. Gomez, of Wichita was southbound on Interstate 235 at Meridan.The vehicle left the roadway to the right. The driver overcorrected and crossed the highway to the inside shoulder and overcorrected again. The driver then lost control and the vehicle slid off the highway to the right and struck a bridge pillar.EMS transported Gomez to Via Christi St. Francis Hospital where he was pronounced deceased. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

Kansas teen dies after crash into a bridge pillar 

SEDGWICK COUNTY— A third suspect accused in the May 2020 shooting death of a Kansas teenager is going to prison.

Jakob Cuble, 21, Grand Prairie, Texas was sentenced Wednesday to just over 15-years in the Kansas Department of Corrections, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office. 

In July, he pled guilty to second-degree murder and attempted aggravated robbery.&nbsp;

On the afternoon of May 21, 2020 police responded to a shooting call at an apartment complex in the 1100 block of South Webb Road in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.&nbsp;

Upon arrival, police located Sain in a parking lot with critical injuries.&nbsp; He was transported to an area hospital for medical treatment and died, according to Davidson.

Several minutes later, officers responded to an area hospital regarding an 18-year-old male walk-in shooting victim with a gunshot wound to his body.&nbsp; He was treated for a non-life-threatening injury and released.

The investigation revealed 25-year-old co-defendant Malcom Ganther,&nbsp; &nbsp;Nathaniel Saunders, Sain, and an 18-year-old boy had arranged to meet in the apartment complex parking lot regarding a drug transaction.

A suspect arrived at the apartment complex parking lot driving a newer-model white mustang, and Ganther arrived at the same time driving a grey Buick.  Sain and the 18-year-old walked up and got into the Buick, occupied by Ganther.&nbsp; &nbsp;

During the transaction inside the Buick, a disturbance ensued, and the suspect seated in the Mustang exited the car and fired multiple shots at Sain and the 18-year-old, striking them and causing their injuries.  Ganther then fled in the Buick, and the second suspect fled in the Mustang. Police arrested Cuble two weeks later.

Earlier this month Ganther was sentenced to 10-years in prison.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1622926965013.png" alt="Cuble-photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Cuble-photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY— A third suspect accused in the May 2020 shooting death of a Kansas teenager is going to prison.Jakob Cuble, 21, Grand Prairie, Texas was sentenced Wednesday to just over 15-years in the Kansas Department of Corrections, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office. In July, he pled guilty to second-degree murder and attempted aggravated robbery.&nbsp;On the afternoon of May 21, 2020 police responded to a shooting call at an apartment complex in the 1100 block of South Webb Road in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.&nbsp;Upon arrival, police located Sain in a parking lot with critical injuries.&nbsp; He was transported to an area hospital for medical treatment and died, according to Davidson.Several minutes later, officers responded to an area hospital regarding an 18-year-old male walk-in shooting victim with a gunshot wound to his body.&nbsp; He was treated for a non-life-threatening injury and released.The investigation revealed 25-year-old co-defendant Malcom Ganther,&nbsp; &nbsp;Nathaniel Saunders, Sain, and an 18-year-old boy had arranged to meet in the apartment complex parking lot regarding a drug transaction.A suspect arrived at the apartment complex parking lot driving a newer-model white mustang, and Ganther arrived at the same time driving a grey Buick. Sain and the 18-year-old walked up and got into the Buick, occupied by Ganther.&nbsp; &nbsp;During the transaction inside the Buick, a disturbance ensued, and the suspect seated in the Mustang exited the car and fired multiple shots at Sain and the 18-year-old, striking them and causing their injuries. Ganther then fled in the Buick, and the second suspect fled in the Mustang. Police arrested Cuble two weeks later.Earlier this month Ganther was sentenced to 10-years in prison.

Texas man sentenced for drug deal killing of Kansas teen

SEDGWICK COUNTY– A Kansas man pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking offense.

According to court documents, Grant Lubbers, 37, of Wichita was arrested in April 2021 in Andover, according to the United State's Attorney.

Law enforcement had been investigating Lubbers for fentanyl trafficking. Using a search warrant, agents searched his vehicle and found a backpack containing approximately 3,000 pills that later tested positive for fentanyl, $22,000 in cash, and a firearm.

Lubbers is scheduled to be sentenced on November 29 and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is investigating the case.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1665081109223.png" alt="Lubbers has previous convictions for theft and drugs, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections-photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Lubbers has previous convictions for theft and drugs, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections-photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY– A Kansas man pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking offense.According to court documents, Grant Lubbers, 37, of Wichita was arrested in April 2021 in Andover, according to the United State's Attorney.Law enforcement had been investigating Lubbers for fentanyl trafficking. Using a search warrant, agents searched his vehicle and found a backpack containing approximately 3,000 pills that later tested positive for fentanyl, $22,000 in cash, and a firearm.Lubbers is scheduled to be sentenced on November 29 and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is investigating the case.

Kan. felon was carrying 3,000 fentanyl pills in backpack

KANSAS CITY, KAN. - A Kansas City, Kansas-based company entered into a civil settlement agreement with the federal government agreeing to pay $250,000 to resolve allegations that a retail pharmacy it owns violated the civil provisions of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), according to the United State's Attorney.

Four B. Corporation, doing business as Balls Food Stores, owns and operates retail pharmacies in the Kansas City metro area including Price Chopper Pharmacy located on East Santa Fe Street in Olathe, Kansas.

In passing the CSA, the U.S. Congress took steps to create “a closed system” of distribution for controlled substances in which the handling of the substances is subject to intense governmental regulation. One of the purposes of the Act is to prevent the diversion and abuse of legitimate controlled substances, while still ensuring an adequate supply of those substances to meet the medical and scientific needs of the country.

The settlement resolves the government’s allegations that between February 2019 and June 10, 2022, the Price Chopper Pharmacy violated the CSA and its implementing regulations by dispensing controlled substances before receiving prescriptions, improperly partially filling prescriptions, and failing to maintain inventory records for controlled substances.

“The Controlled Substances Act seeks to prevent the abuse and misuse of controlled substances, but that effort is futile unless those who dispense these substances adhere to the CSA guidelines” said U.S. Attorney Kate E. Brubacher. “Hopefully this settlement will make pharmacies take heed of the Department of Justice’s commitment to enforcing these rules.”

"How pharmaceutical medications are dispensed is something we have to take seriously because it can so easily result in someone getting hurt from the drugs,” said Diversion Program Manager Kimberly Daniels, the Drug Enforcement Administration's lead for the Diversion program in the states of Missouri and Kansas, and southern Illinois. “One of the many responsibilities that pharmacies have is ensuring medications are dispensed only after receiving legitimate prescriptions, then they must track the prescriptions they dispense. When they fail to do that, DEA must take action.

This settlement is a reminder that DEA's highest priority is the safety and well-being of our citizens."

KANSAS CITY, KAN. - A Kansas City, Kansas-based company entered into a civil settlement agreement with the federal government agreeing to pay $250,000 to resolve allegations that a retail pharmacy it owns violated the civil provisions of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), according to the United State's Attorney.Four B. Corporation, doing business as Balls Food Stores, owns and operates retail pharmacies in the Kansas City metro area including Price Chopper Pharmacy located on East Santa Fe Street in Olathe, Kansas.In passing the CSA, the U.S. Congress took steps to create “a closed system” of distribution for controlled substances in which the handling of the substances is subject to intense governmental regulation. One of the purposes of the Act is to prevent the diversion and abuse of legitimate controlled substances, while still ensuring an adequate supply of those substances to meet the medical and scientific needs of the country.The settlement resolves the government’s allegations that between February 2019 and June 10, 2022, the Price Chopper Pharmacy violated the CSA and its implementing regulations by dispensing controlled substances before receiving prescriptions, improperly partially filling prescriptions, and failing to maintain inventory records for controlled substances.“The Controlled Substances Act seeks to prevent the abuse and misuse of controlled substances, but that effort is futile unless those who dispense these substances adhere to the CSA guidelines” said U.S. Attorney Kate E. Brubacher. “Hopefully this settlement will make pharmacies take heed of the Department of Justice’s commitment to enforcing these rules.”"How pharmaceutical medications are dispensed is something we have to take seriously because it can so easily result in someone getting hurt from the drugs,” said Diversion Program Manager Kimberly Daniels, the Drug Enforcement Administration's lead for the Diversion program in the states of Missouri and Kansas, and southern Illinois. “One of the many responsibilities that pharmacies have is ensuring medications are dispensed only after receiving legitimate prescriptions, then they must track the prescriptions they dispense. When they fail to do that, DEA must take action.This settlement is a reminder that DEA's highest priority is the safety and well-being of our citizens."The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Diversion Control Division, Kansas City Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon Fleenor, Affirmative Civil Enforcement Coordinator handled the case.