COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The University of Missouri System is seeing an increase in freshman applications at three campuses this fall compared to last year, according to system officials.
Mun Choi, the system’s president, announced Thursday that freshman applications grew by nearly 6 percent at the Columbia campus, from 17,864 in fall 2018 to 18,878 in 2019. Choi said the university’s freshman deposits have increased by 37 percent from last year, the Columbia Missourian reported.
“That’s the result of us changing how we did some of admissions and how we contacted people earlier,” said MU Chancellor Alexander Cartwright. “So it’s all of those little things that add up to make a big difference.”
Cartwright credits the increase in part to the university’s admission office responding to applications 48 hours after being submitted. Cartwright also pointed to the office including scholarship and student aid information in admissions to encourage students to seek financial support early.
Choi reported hikes in freshman applications of nearly 14 percent at the Rolla campus and 1 percent in St. Louis. Missouri University of Science & Technology in Rolla saw freshman application numbers grow from 4,019 in 2018 to 4,654 in 2019. Meanwhile, the University of Missouri in St. Louis tallied 2,968 freshman applications this fall, up from 2,932 in 2018.
The Kansas City campus saw a 7 percent drop in applications, from 5,832 in 2018 to 4,989 in 2019.
The University of Missouri had experienced a steep drop in freshman application and enrollment numbers in 2016, right after protests and the resignation of administrators which many viewed as the culmination of years of racial tension at the Columbia campus.
Last year was the first time in several years that application numbers had begun to rise.
“I want to caution everyone that those numbers are going to experience some melt through the months ahead,” Choi said of the recently announced figures. “But, we’re in a very good spot.”
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas has trouble keeping road equipment operators from leaving for other, better-paying jobs — so much so that supervisors worry about being able to cobble together crews to clear snow after blizzards and to fill potholes quickly.
For Department of Transportation leaders, the 100 percent annual turnover rate among entry-level equipment operators signals a problem that requires an immediate solution. For new Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, the staffing woes are a prime example of the worse-than-expected problems she says she found as she was preparing to take office last month.
Like many funding questions, it’s a Rorschach test, viewed as more or less important based on an official’s overall philosophy of government.
Kelly says it’s part of an overarching message that state government might take years to recover from damage caused by past Republican tax-cutting policies. But some Republican legislators are skeptical that KDOT faces a crisis and think Kelly is overstating problems to push the GOP-controlled Legislature into higher spending.
“We probably have a lot of work to do, but is it in as bad a shape as she’s alleging? No,” Sen. Richard Hilderbrand, a conservative Galena Republican.
The conflicting agendas leave KDOT workers and supervisors with the daily chore of filling out crews to fix potholes, repair or replace signs, pick up trash and clear highways. KDOT says it needs almost 1,200 operators to drive trucks; 640 of the jobs are filled. In Topeka, supervisor Mike Daniel is supposed to have 12 workers and has seven, with three still training to operate equipment.
“It’s just a constant trying to catch up,” said Daniel, who has worked for KDOT for 36 years. “It has gotten progressively worse, probably, in the past five to eight years.”
Kansas has had a national reputation for good highways because of its commitment to big, multi-year transportation programs since the late 1980s.
The libertarian Reason Foundation has consistently rated the Kansas system as one of the nation’s best — ranking it 2nd in 2018. Republicans have cited its reports to counter criticism that GOP officials have allowed the state’s roads fall into disrepair.
Other ratings are not as generous. The American Society of Civil Engineers said in a report last year that Kansas had consistently kept 80 percent of its roads in good condition for two decades but still gave its highway system a C-minus grade, partly over funding concerns. There’s bipartisan agreement that funding for highway programs has been shorted too much over the past decade.
The state started a 10-year transportation program in 2010 meant to tackle safety issues and modernize bottlenecked stretches. But the program became “the Bank of KDOT,” with nearly $2.5 billion diverted to other parts of state government to close budget shortfalls, almost two-thirds of the amount in the last four years.
Legislators of all political philosophies have decried the continued diversion of transportation funds, and Kelly said while running for governor last year that the state had to stop the practice.
But to reach her top goals of boosting spending on public schools and expanding state Medicaid health coverage for the needy, she’s not proposing to end the siphoning off of highway funds immediately. Her proposed spending blueprint for the next fiscal year still diverts $369 million, and her stated goal is end the practice by 2023.
Kelly raised KDOT’s staffing as an issue even before taking office. Pay is a big issue. Other parts of state government have similar concerns: Prisons have trouble keeping uniformed officers even after special efforts to boost salaries, and wages are a long-standing sore point in the court system.
KDOT promises untrained equipment operators that they’ll get commercial driver’s licenses within two months, but it starts them in metro areas at $13.33 an hour. After three years, a senior equipment operator would earn a little more than $14 an hour.
The city of Topeka just bumped its starting pay for street maintenance workers by nearly $2 an hour, to $15. Daniel said area contractors will pay laborers — who don’t need a commercial driver’s license — from $15 to $18 an hour.
“I’m really worried about churning people like we’re churning them,” said interim Transportation Secretary Julie Lorenz. “We currently have stuff cobbled together, and that’s not where we want to be.”
Rep. J.R. Claeys, a conservative Salina Republican who was chairman of a House budget committee on transportation funding for four years, questioned whether the department needs as many equipment operators as it says.
“I drive Kansas interstates frequently, and I know that they are doing an excellent job, a. keeping the ditches mowed and b., keeping our roads clear and safe,” said Claeys.
HARRISON COUNTY —One person was injured in an accident just before 12:30p.m. Sunday in Harrison County.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2013 GMC Acadia driven by Quinton P. Johnson, 16, Bethany, was southbound on MO 13 one mile south of Bethany.
The driver lost control of the vehicle in the slush. The vehicle crossed the center line and struck a 2008 Dodge Ram driven by Colby O. Graham, 32, Bethany, head on.
A private vehicle transported a passenger in the Dodge Billy V. Fisher, 32, Bethany, to Harrison County Hospital.
Graham was not wearing a seat belt, according to the MSHP.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Some parents are praising legislation that would expand charter schools in Missouri, while administrators for traditional public schools are raising concerns that they will drain resources.
Rep. Rebecca Roeber
Republican Rep. Rebecca Roeber, of Lee’s Summit, has introduced a bill that would allow charter schools in any city with more than 30,000 residents, the Columbia Missourian reports . Currently, charters are mostly limited to students residing in the Kansas City and St. Louis districts, as well as those in unaccredited school systems.
“I am not against traditional public schools,” Roeber said. “However, when they are not working for kids, families should have other options.”
During a hearing this past week before the House Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education, several parents, teachers and education stakeholders shared emotional testimony about how school choice has opened access to quality education.
Carmen Ward said her son, who has autism and intellectual disabilities, bounced around public and private elementary schools in St. Louis for years. She said it wasn’t until he reached fifth grade that Ward found somewhere that met his special educational needs: KIPP, which is short for the Knowledge is Power Program, part of a national nonprofit network of public charter schools.
“His reading has improved beyond my expectations, and I have seen a drastic improvement in his mathematics skills,” Ward told the committee.
Among opponents, the chief concern was financial. State funding is based largely on enrollment, so fewer students equal less money.
“When we are faced with charter school expansion down the road, that could take kids away in an unpredictable way that I can’t plan for,” said Kearney school district superintendent Bill Nicely. “This bill doesn’t provide a level playing field for choice to occur in a responsible way.”
Rep. Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, who is the vice chairman of the committee, said he is in favor of the intent behind the bill.
“I’m very supportive of parental choice, whether it be for a public, private or charter school,” he said.
MARYVILLE, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State University will celebrate 20 years of its Northwest Online program with an anniversary reception Tuesday, Feb. 12.
According to a news release from Northwest, the public is invited to attend the event from 3 to 5 p.m. on the second floor of the B.D. Owens Library. Refreshments will be provided, and a program at 4 p.m. will feature remarks from Dr. Darla Runyon, director of the Learning and Teaching Center; Dr. John Jasinski, president; Dr. Dean Hubbard, president emeritus; Dr. Jim Eiswert; Northwest Online faculty member; and Dr. Gregory Haddock, associate provost of graduate studies and special programs.
The University launched Northwest Online Aug. 3, 1999, and the initiative has evolved into an internet portal and a course management system that provides valuable education resources for students as well as faculty. Additionally, Northwest’s Learning and Teaching Center supports faculty through the development and sharing of pedagogical and content-specific knowledge while providing access to professional development support and resources.
Northwest Online launched with nine courses and a total enrollment of 57 students, including one based in Malaysia. The courses consisted of six general education courses and three business management courses.
Today, 536 Northwest Online courses exist with nearly 3,000 students enrolled each semester. Most Northwest Online students are campus-based, but the courses enroll students from throughout the world. It consists of 11 online graduate programs, three bachelor’s degree completion programs and at least one general education course for each academic area. Blended courses, consisting of a combination of online and classroom coursework, also are established within Northwest Online.
Building on the Learning and Teaching Center mission, faculty online course development fellowship grants are offered each year to provide faculty with opportunities to study new teaching methods and enhance their courses with instructional technology. Workshops, training sessions, online tutorials and one-on-one sessions are offered on a regular basis.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Officials say the reservoirs along the Missouri River are ready to handle the floodwaters that are expected to flow into the system this year.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it has the full flood storage space available in the reservoirs, so it is in good shape headed into the year.
The amount of water being released from Gavins Point Dam on the Nebraska-South Dakota border will be reduced again in mid-February to 17,000 cubic feet per second.
The Corps’ John Remus says the current forecast calls for slightly more than the normal amount of runoff this year.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A man found guilty of sexually assaulting and burglarizing victims at a Kansas City, Kansas, apartment complex has been sentenced to more than 33 years in prison.
Adalberto Mata-Deras -photo Wyandotte Co.
Wyandotte County District Attorney’s office announced 36-year-old Adalberto Mata-Deras was sentenced Friday. A judge ordered lifetime post-release supervision and registration as a sex offender for Meta-Deras
Mata-Deras was convicted last April of two counts of rape, aggravated sexual battery, three counts of aggravated burglary and interference with law enforcement.
The case stemmed from multiple sexual assaults and burglaries reported at Woodview Apartments between August 2014 and October 2016.
Prosecutors say DNA evidence linked Mata-Deras to one of the victim’s apartments.
A wintry mix of precipitation will continue this morning, gradually ending from west to east by early this afternoon. However, a second round of wintry precipitation will move up from the south late tonight and early Monday morning before transitioning to rain as the day progresses. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: A slight chance of freezing rain between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Cloudy, with a high near 36. South southeast wind 5 to 9 mph becoming light southeast in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Tonight: A slight chance of freezing drizzle after 3 a.m. Cloudy, with a low around 30. Light east wind increasing to 5 to 9 mph in the evening.
Monday: A chance of snow, freezing drizzle, and sleet before 10 a.m., then a chance of drizzle between 10 a.m. and noon, then rain likely after noon. Cloudy, with a high near 35. East wind 8 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Little or no ice accumulation expected. Little or no snow and sleet accumulation expected.
Monday Night: Rain likely before 1 a.m., then a chance of freezing drizzle between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m., then a chance of snow and freezing drizzle after 4 a.m. Cloudy, with a low around 27. East wind 6 to 16 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Little or no ice accumulation expected. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Tuesday: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 37. West northwest wind 11 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 21.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 48.
Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 31.
Thursday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 49.
Thursday Night: Rain showers likely before 1 a.m., then rain and snow showers likely between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m., then snow showers likely after 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 20. Blustery. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Friday: A chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 27. Blustery. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 11. Blustery.
Another hospital led by EmpowerHMS, the North Kansas City company that has defaulted on its bills and missed payroll at its hospitals over the last couple of months, is under new management.
Jorge Perez addresses a crowded city council chamber in Fulton, Missouri, after he was introduced as the new owner of the town’s hospital in September 2017. BRAM SABLE-SMITH / KBIA/SIDE EFFECTS PUBLIC MEDIA- via Kansas News Service
City officials said that Fulton Medical Center, a 37-bed acute-care hospital in Fulton, Missouri, is now being run by a management team led by its CEO, Mike Reece.
Bruce Hackmann, economic development director of the Callaway Chamber of Commerce, told KCUR that EmpowerHMS’ contract to run the hospital had expired and not been renewed.
“We’re now hearing very good things about how the hospital is performing and that’s the main thing to us, because we have jobs at stake and a hospital means a lot to a community our size,” Hackmann said.
In fact, Empower had not acquired the hospital. Rather, it had a contract with Leawood, Kansas,-based NueTerra, the hospital’s owner, to manage the hospital and an option to buy it. But those agreements expired sometime last year, according to Hackmann, and NueTerra did not renew them.
NueTerra officials did not return calls seeking comment.
Missed payments
Empower and other companies affiliated with Perez own around 20 rural hospitals in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee and elsewhere. Since late last year, various news outlets have reported that Empower has missed payments to its hospitals’ creditors and been late in paying hospital employees.
Last month, a Kansas state judge appointed a receiver to run Hillsboro Community Hospital in Hillsboro, Kansas, about 50 miles north of Wichita, after it defaulted on a bank loan and the bank foreclosed on the hospital. Around the same time, a Tennessee state judge appointed a special master to temporarily oversee the finances of Lauderdale Community Hospital in Ripley, Tennessee.
More recently, The Kansas City Star reported that employees of Horton Community Hospital in northeast Kansas did not receive their paychecks last week and were dipping into their own pockets to pay for supplies. Other Empower hospitals in Oklahoma have experienced similar financial woes recently.
The CEO of Horton Community Hospital, Ty Compton, told the Topeka Capital-Journal this week that a clerical error caused paychecks to be deposited late. He also blamed the hospital’s woes on the problems afflicting rural hospitals nationwide.
“It’s at risk in every rural community,” Compton told the newspaper. “The facility in Fort Scott and the facility in Independence, Kansas, both closed and those are much bigger towns than Horton is. So we’d be naive to say that health care’s not in a crisis. It certainly is in a crisis. Rural America, in general, is in a crisis.”
The U.S. Government Accountability Office last year said that rural hospital closures were generally preceded and caused by financial distress. That distress, it said, was due to multiple factors, including the higher percentage of elderly residents in rural areas, the higher percentage of residents with chronic conditions, lower median household incomes, decreasing populations and slow employment growth.
Lab billing backlash
George Ross, senior marketing director at Empower, blamed Empower’s cash flow problems on insurers’ unwillingness to pay Empower’s hospitals in the wake of questions raised about lab billing arrangements at other hospitals owned by groups affiliated with Perez.
“There’s so much backlash right now that it’s real hard for him to receive his money,” Ross said. “Yet he tries to find a way to pay the bills even though he’s not receiving money.”
One of Perez’s hospitals, Putnam County Memorial Hospital in Unionville, Missouri, was the subject of a highly critical audit by Missouri State Auditor Nichole Galloway in 2017. Galloway questioned the legality of the lab billing arrangement, under which the tiny hospital billed insurers for lab tests for patients who had never set foot in the hospital.
“Based on our review of hospital accounts, the vast majority of laboratory billings are for out-of-state lab activity for individuals who are not patients of hospital physicians,” the audit stated.
Perez, through a company called Hospital Partners Inc., took over Putnam County Memorial Hospital in late 2016. At the time, the hospital was on the verge of closing. The hospital is now under different management and Hospital Partners has since sued the hospital for breach of contract and Galloway for exceeding her authority.
Ross said Perez had taken out personal loans to cover bills and payroll, all the while awaiting delayed reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid.
“See, if these hospitals are little gold mines feeding him money, or if there’s no money coming in, right? And I don’t have to tell you, if there’s no money coming in, then the guy’s going above and beyond to make it happen,” Ross said.
Ross insisted the lab billing arrangement at Putnam County Memorial Hospital was perfectly legitimate.
“He had all his hospitals send their samples to that hospital,” Ross said. “He basically invested money into lab equipment (at Putnam County Memorial Hospital) in order to be able to process what you’d normally send” to Quest Diagnostics, the giant lab testing company.
A federal judge recently declined to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that the lab billing scheme was fraudulent. The suit was brought last year by RightChoice Managed Care and dozens of Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance plans.
The suit charges that Hospital Partners and individual defendants, including Perez, defrauded RightChoice by billing it for blood, urine drug and other lab tests run through Putnam County Memorial Hospital, even though the tests were performed at outside labs throughout the country.
RightChoice alleges the scheme defrauded it of more than $73 million — a staggering sum for a hospital that in fiscal 2016, before it was taken over by Hospital Partners, posted operating revenues of just $7.5 million.
Dan Margolies is a senior reporter and editor in conjunction with the Kansas News Service. You can reach him on Twitter @DanMargolies.
PHELPS COUNTY —One person died in an accident just after 12:30p.m. Saturday in Phelps County.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2018 Chevy Silverado driven by Carl B. Rial, 68, Eaton Rapids, MI., was eastbound on Interstate 44 at Route 8 near St. James.
The pickup struck Stephen D. Goode, 65, Union, who had walked into the path of the vehicle.
Goode was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Jones Funeral Home. The MSHP released no additional details late Saturday.
