(AP) — The Kansas Department of Transportation has chosen a team to design and build changes to a congested intersection of three major highways in Johnson County.

The project will be completed by Gateway Interchange Constructors, a joint venture led by Clarkson Construction Co., of Kansas City, Mo. The improvements will be made near and along the intersection of Kansas Highway 10, Interstate 435 and Interstate 35.

The contract, announced Friday, is worth $288 million and includes a $3 million incentive for early completion. Construction is scheduled to begin in the late spring and completed by late December 2016.

The project is part of four phases of work along the corridor in the densely populated northeast Kansas county.

(AP) — The first bill being considered by a Missouri House committee this year would prohibit the payment of union fees from being a condition of employment.

The legislation, known as “right to work,” is scheduled for a Monday hearing in the House Workplace Development and Workplace Safety Committee.
It is a top priority for Republican House Speaker Tim Jones, of Eureka. He led a rally of about 100 activists in support of the bill before the legislative session opened last week.

While the proposal is at the top of the House agenda, Senate leaders haven’t been as optimistic about it passing this year.

The measure is sponsored by Republican Rep. Eric Burlison, of Springfield.

(AP) — Kansas City is sending city employees to Spain on a fact-finding mission for its streetcar system.

Sherri McIntyre, public works director for Kansas City, said the trip is needed because the company selected for Kansas City’s streetcars has its engineering headquarters in Spain. McIntyre and two other city engineers will be making the trip in February along with a consultant who has advised the city on the streetcar procurement.

The trip, which involves four days in Spain, is estimated to cost $2,600 per person. The money is coming from the city’s streetcar fund.

McIntyre says the trip will allow for in-depth conversations about the vehicle’s design and provide information on ways to customize the vehicles to Kansas City’s demands.

by John Maday, Managing Editor, Drovers CattleNetwork

The USDA adjusted projections for 2013-2014 feed-grain supplies downward somewhat based on a slightly lower estimate of yields and higher projected use. The World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE), released on January 10, also featured an increase in estimated beef production for 2013 and 2014.
USDA raised its estimate for harvested corn acres by 436,000 acres, but lowered its estimate for yield by 1.6 bushels per acre, leaving a projected corn harvest of 13.9 billion bushels. The report also raised the projection for corn use by 100 million bushels for the 2013-2014 marketing year.
Other key items in the report include:
Corn used to produce ethanol is raised 50 million bushels reflecting continued strong weekly ethanol production, a reduction in expected sorghum use for ethanol, and higher forecast 2014 gasoline consumption.
Corn ending stocks for the 2013-2014 crop are projected 161 million bushels lower than last-month’s estimate at 1.6 billion.
The projected 2013-2014 season-average farm price for corn is unchanged at the midpoint with the range narrowed to $4.10 to $4.70 per bushel.
Global coarse grain supplies for 2013-2014 are projected 1.2 million tons higher despite this
month’s reduction in U.S. production.
The forecasts for total red meat and poultry production for both 2013 and 2014 are lowered from December. For 2013, beef production is raised, but pork, broiler, and turkey production are reduced.
The forecast for 2014 is reduced as lower pork and turkey production more than offset an increased beef production forecast.
Although producers intend to farrow more sows in the first half of 2014, the impacts of the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv) will likely slow growth in pigs per litter and keep supplies of market hogs relatively tight during 2014.
Beef production is raised for 2014 as higher-than-expected placements in the later part of 2013 and expected availability of winter pasture support increased cattle marketings and slaughter during the year.
Beef imports are unchanged for 2013, but are raised slightly for 2014. Beef exports are raised for both 2013 and 2014 as the pace of exports over the past several months has been strong.
The 2013 milk production estimate is reduced from last month, based on recent milk production data. The forecast for 2014 is raised as improving returns are expected to support a more rapid increase in output per cow.

(AP) — The Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences is in the first phase of a $60 million, five-year expansion plan.

It’s a step forward for a university that is recovering from controversy. In 2009, its then-president, Karen Pletz, was fired and several administrators resigned. Pletz was charged with embezzling and other financial crimes, and she committed suicide in November 2011.

All litigation involving the school and Pletz has been settled.

Two months ago, a project began to convert an auditorium into an academic center. Projects proposed for the future include upgrades of several other facilities, including offices in the Strickland Education Pavilion and classrooms in Smith Hall.

The university’s CEO, Marc Hahn, says he also plans to strengthen the school’s relationship with the community.

(AP) — A judge in Santa Fe is expected to decide Monday whether a Roswell company can start slaughtering horses.

State District Judge Matthew Wilson is hearing a request from Attorney General Gary King to issue a preliminary injunction against Valley Meat Co.

King has filed suit against the company, alleging its operations would violate state environmental and food safety laws.

The plant was blocked from opening last year after animal protection groups filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Agriculture for issuing permits to Valley and two other companies that would become the first domestic plants to slaughter horses in seven years. A federal judge in Albuquerque threw out that lawsuit. And after a federal appeals court declined to keep the plants shuttered, King filed the state suit.

(AP) — Emergency crews have responded to a gasoline leak at a fuel distribution terminal in Kansas City, Kan.

The gasoline spilled Sunday at the Magellan Midstream Partners petroleum terminal. No injuries were reported.

Magellan spokesman Bruce Heine in Tulsa, Okla., says the spilled gasoline is being controlled in a containment area at the facility. He says the company reported a loss of 100 barrels of gasoline but that figure could change.

The fuel leak occurred at a valve connected to an above-ground storage tank. Heine says the cause of the leak is under investigation. The Environmental Protection Agency have been notified.

Magellan’s Kansas City terminal provides distribution services for gasoline and other fuels.

TOPEKA (AP) — Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer loaned $500,000 to Gov. Sam Brownback’s re-election campaign at the end of 2013.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reported financial disclosure reports submitted to the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission by the Brownback campaign revealed the last-minute loan from Colyer, Brownback’s Republican running-mate and a graduate of Thomas More Prep-Marian High School in Hays. The contribution pushed the governor’s total receipts for the year to $1.6 million.

Brownback’s Democratic challenger Paul Davis had $1 million in total receipts for the year.

Brownback campaign spokesman David Kensinger says the inflow of money to the governor’s campaign is an insurmountable obstacle for any challenger.

Davis campaign treasurer William Kassebaum says the Democrat’s ability to attract money in the four months since declaring his candidacy shows Brownback’s vulnerability.