COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – Three black trailblazers at the University of Missouri have been honored on the Columbia campus.

The university on Friday named residence halls for Lucille Bluford and George C. Brooks, and an atrium for Gus T. Ridgel.

The Columbia Missourian reports Bluford was denied entry in the university’s journalism graduate program in 1939 because she was black. Bluford sued and when the Supreme Court ruled in her favor, the university closed the graduate program, preventing Bluford from ever enrolling. She was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in 1989.

Brooks was the director of financial aid at Missouri, where he worked for 17 years. And Ridgel was the first black graduate at Missouri. The atrium inside Bluford Hall was dedicated in his honor. Ridgel earned his master’s degree in economics in 1951.

KANSAS CITY – A Kansas City man was sentenced in federal court for a nearly $500,000 investment fraud scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Ryan Scott Luscombe, 45, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 15 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Luscombe to pay $483,482 in restitution to his victims.

Luscombe was found guilty at trial on Feb. 12, 2018, of three counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud and one count of money laundering.

Luscombe solicited investments for his business, Five Star Trading Group, Inc., claiming to investors that he would utilize his expertise in stock trading to produce exorbitant returns. Instead, evidence introduced during the trial indicated that nearly all the investor funds, which totaled $483,482, was used by Luscombe on personal expenditures in 2013, 2014 and 2015, including the purchase of a 2010 BMW 750I and a trip to Bermuda.

Several victim investors used money from their retirement accounts to invest with Luscombe. None of Luscombe’s investors have received funds from returns or the return of their original investment.

During the course of the scheme to defraud victims of their investment money, Luscombe represented himself as a wealthy individual and a successful day trader capable of producing tremendous returns on investments. Luscombe lied to investors about his past success in order to obtain their money for his own personal use and financial gain.

Luscombe told investors he was creating a new business to manage over $50 million from three investors in Arizona. Luscombe claimed he would be the primary investment trader, but because the dollar amount to be invested would be too large for one person to handle, he was recruiting additional individuals to assist in his trading endeavor. In exchange for a fee or investment in the business, Luscombe offered to train the additional individuals in his trading strategy. Eventually, Luscombe told investors he would allow a small number of friends and family to take advantage or “piggyback” off the investment strategy of the larger investors.

Luscombe’s stated investment strategy was to trade securities in the stock market based on the identification of trends in the upward or downward direction of the stock price. Luscombe told investors the risk was very low and minimal because he constantly monitored the stock price. Luscombe told investors he had been in the trading business for many years and had previously made millions of dollars.

Luscombe regularly provided positive projected investment return updates to the victims regarding their investments, and claimed investor money would be utilized for trading and generating profits for investors. As a direct result of these conversations, investors entrusted their money to him.

Investors never authorized Luscombe to spend investment money on personal expenditures. Luscombe never told investors their investment money would be spent on his personal expenditures. A salary for Luscombe was not authorized by investors. At the time of investment, Luscombe never informed investors that investment funds would be utilized to pay his salary. An analysis of financial activity revealed Luscombe’s spending of investor funds included the following:
(a) $83,088 in cash and cash equivalents;
(b) $78,542 in retail expenses;
(c) $67,990 in restaurants and entertainment;
(d) $52,925 in vehicle expenses;
(e) $45,940 in travel expenses;
(f) $41,058 in rent and utilities;
(g) $39,673 in investment firm losses, fees, and interest1; and
(h) $21,144 in nutrition, fitness and beauty expenses.

Luscombe was not registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority as a broker dealer or as an investment advisor representative. Luscombe and Five Star Trading Group were not registered with the Missouri Secretary of State – Securities Division.

In 2016, Luscombe notified the victims that all of their investor funds had been lost in trading and that Five Star was forced to close down.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A new survey says farmland prices are expected to continue their decline in parts of 10 Plains and Western states.

The latest Rural Mainstreet survey shows that on average, bank CEOs in the region estimated farmland prices declined by 4 percent over the past 12 months. They expect farmland prices to fall by another 3.2 percent over the next 12 months.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says the survey also shows the farm sector is being weakened by negative impacts of tariffs and low agriculture commodity prices.

The overall economic index for the region increased slightly to 54.3 from 51.5 in September. That score still suggests growth because it is above 50, while any score below 50 indicates a shrinking economy.

Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Lawrence city leaders want bar staff to be prepared to respond to predatory behavior, harassment and sexual assault.

Commissioners asked city staff last week to work with drinking establishments and other stakeholders in developing a training requirement.

Commissioner Jennifer Ananda says many alcohol-facilitated sexual assaults start at bars, and she proposed the change as a means to prevent sex crimes.

Assistant City Attorney Maria Garcia told the commission it would be possible to require the training as part of a local license that the city issues to drinking establishments, which is in addition to the state liquor license.

Details are being worked out over who should be required to receive the training and how often it would be required.

By NOMIN UJIYEDIIN

Few issues split Kansas politics like the Obama-era expansion of Medicaid.

Unlike 33 other states, Kansas still hasn’t expanded its Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act.  The decision would pay for the health care of thousands of people who don’t currently meet the program’s stringent eligibility requirements.

The state’s program, KanCare, pays for the health care of 400,000 low-income Kansans — mostly children, pregnant women, and elderly or disabled citizens.  It costs the state more than $3 billion a year.

Currently, KanCare doesn’t cover people who fall into the so-called “coverage gap.”  Their incomes are too high to pass the state’s stringent Medicaid eligibility guidelines, but they make too little money to qualify for the Affordable Care Act’s subsidized insurance premiums.

Those benefits are only available to households that make over 138 percent of the federal poverty level — $25,100 for a family of four.  Some do meet income requirements, but they don’t meet another eligibility guideline, like being disabled, under 19, elderly or pregnant.

In Kansas, 150,000 people fall into that gap. 

They’re not eligible for Medicaid, and if they apply for health insurance through the federal marketplace, they’re on their own with no government financial assistance.

Expansion would allow them to apply for coverage through KanCare, as long as their household incomes are below 138 percent of the poverty line, and regardless of whether they meet other eligibility requirements.

Supporters say that could be a lifeline for the state’s most vulnerable residents and helps them avoid emergency room visits by giving them access to more suitable care.

“This gives them access to not just health care, but the right care,” said Cindy Samuelson, a vice president of the Kansas Hospital Association.

The issue has long been under debate.

Democrats and some moderate Republicans have argued for years that expansion would bring more health care dollars into the state economy, creating medical jobs and filling a coverage void that could keep the doors open at small, rural hospitals.

Conservatives continue to resist. They argue expansion squanders federal tax dollars and saddles Kansas taxpayers with an obligation to pay for an increasingly large share of that government health insurance.

“As much as we all want to try to provide a solid safety net for people, we have to weigh that against other priorities in state government,” said James Franko, vice president and policy director of the Kansas Policy Institute.

A bipartisan majority in the Legislature voted in 2017 for expanding Medicaid, but then-Gov. Sam Brownback vetoed it.  Brownback, a Republican, said in a statementthat he opposed the bill in part because of its cost and because it didn’t require recipients to work.

Gov. Jeff Colyer, also a Republican, served as lieutenant governor in Brownback’s administration and has followed his lead in supporting Medicaid work requirements and opposing the Affordable Care Act — including expansion.

The 2018 governor’s race will decide the issue in Kansas for years to come.

Medicaid certainly won’t expand if Republican Secretary of State Kris Kobach wins the race.  Democratic state Sen. Laura Kelly has promised to sign a bill approving expansion in her first year. Independent Greg Orman also says he supports expansion.

“The governor is extremely important,” said April Holman, executive director of the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, who advocates for expansion. “If we don’t have a governor who supports expansion, we probably would have a similar result to what we have had in the past.”

Here’s what you need to know about each candidate’s stance.

Laura Kelly

Kelly voted in favor of the Medicaid expansion bill that went through the state legislature in 2017.  Her position hasn’t changed.

On her campaign website, Kelly promises to “advocate for and sign legislation to expand Medicaid in her first year.”

Kelly cites rural hospital closures as a major reason to expand Medicaid. 

Rural facilities, such as the recently shuttered Mercy Hospital in Fort Scott, often struggle to cover operating costs while treating areas with higher-than-average proportions of elderly, poor and disabled residents.

In a statement, Mercy Hospital cited “declining reimbursement, especially from government payers which make up the largest source of revenue” as a major reason for closing.

Medicaid expansion isn’t a perfect solution for the problems faced by rural hospitals, said Diane Rowland, executive vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

“Most of them are small, most of them have some economic challenges in terms of being able to even recruit adequate staff and physicians there, because of the medical shortages that plague rural areas,” she said.

Rowland says funds from Medicaid expansion could, however, greatly improve the financial stability of vulnerable hospitals, increasing treatment options for people in rural areas.

“We’ve seen far fewer rural hospitals close and expansion states than in the non-expansion states like Kansas,” Rowland said.

Kelly also argues that Medicaid expansion would create new jobs in the state’s health care industry.

Samuelson said hiring new doctors, nurses, administrative staff and other workers can have a ripple effect on the rest of the economy.

“That nurse is going to also shop at the grocery store, and get gas, and utilize the bank, and have a home, and all these other things that stimulate other jobs in the economy,” she said.  “Maybe they’ll have kids in school and there’s another teacher.”

Greg Orman

Orman also supports expanding Medicaid for economic reasons. 

The independent candidate told the Kansas News Service he wants to encourage recipients to work by ensuring they’ll still get Medicaid at higher income levels.

“We send a terrible message to people in Kansas who are working and not making a lot of money, which is, ‘If you get sick, quit your job,’” he said.  “Ultimately, we need to be building pathways to allow people to improve their lives, not creating these very perverse incentives.”

A platform paper published on Orman’s campaign website argues that expanded Medicaid could attract workers from out of state.

“Someone making $13 per hour in a family of three in Colorado gets healthcare coverage as part of their decision to work in Colorado,” Orman’s paper reads. “That same person in Kansas gets no health care coverage unless an employer provides it. Given the shortage of workers in Kansas, this puts us at a significant disadvantage.” 

Holman said more medical coverage could also attract employers to the state, and not just in the health care industry.

“Employers want to be in communities where there is a hospital and where there is care that would be available to their employees,” she said.

Orman’s platform describes a way to pay for the state’s share of the cost of expansion. The federal government has promised to pay 93 percent of expansion costs in 2019, and will pay 90 percent of costs in 2020 and beyond.

Orman proposes covering the remaining 10 percent through taxes on the health care industry, which he expects will bring in larger profits due to expansion.

Kris Kobach

Kobach joins his Republican colleagues in opposing Medicaid expansion, calling the policy too expensive and unrealistic.

His campaign website does not have a section for health policy, but Kobach has mentioned his opposition to the Affordable Care Act in numerous speeches. He’s promised to ask President Trump for waivers to exempt Kansas from Obamacare requirements.

“The better approach is to do something smart, and look at whether we can spend that money effectively,” Kobach said at a debate at the Kansas State Fair in September.

Kobach says he wants to integrate KanCare with a payment system called direct primary care, sometimes called “concierge medicine.” 

Direct primary care patients pay a monthly or yearly fee for unlimited primary care visits and reduced prices on medications and lab testing.  Orman also supports the idea of allowing KanCare recipients to choose the option of direct primary care.

Kobach, however, has not addressed how KanCare would cover needs like nursing home payments and home care, which comprised 39 percent of KanCare expenditures in 2016.  Direct primary care doesn’t cover emergencies, hospitalizations or specialized care, which don’t fall under the umbrella of “primary care.”

The Kobach campaign has not responded to repeated requests for further information on the plan, although Kobach told the Kansas News Service that he plans on testing the idea with a pilot program in one county or region before expanding it statewide.

“I anticipate it would create a significant amount of savings and it would be very favorably received by the KanCare patients who use it,” Kobach said. “Where direct primary care has been used in the private sector, the doctors love it and patients love it.”

Nomin Ujiyediin is a reporter for the Kansas News Service. You can reach her on Twitter @NominUJ.

COLE COUNTY — One person died in an accident just after 6:30p.m. Saturday in Cole County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2014 Hyundai Elantra driven by Brittany M. Johnson, 27, Jefferson City, was southbound on Highway 50 westbound at Lookout Trail.

The driver attempted to cross the highway and pulled into the path of a westbound 2005 Honda VT 750 driven by Michael D. Poindexter, 49, Sedalia.

Poindexter was pronounced dead at the scene. Johnson and a passenger were not injured. The occupants of the Elantra were wearing seat belts at the time of the accident, according to the MSHP.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – A Springfield woman who killed her live-in boyfriend with a crowbar in 2017 has been sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty in a deal with prosecutors.

47-year-old Jeanette Riddle pleaded guilty Thursday to involuntary manslaughter. She had originally been charged with second-degree murder after police say she fatally beat 44-year-old Michael Butts with a crowbar in February 2017, then cut her wrists in an attempt to take her own life.

Riddle’s attorney had argued she was the victim of yearslong domestic abuse at the hands of Butts. He had planned to mount a “battered spouse syndrome” defense before Riddle took the plea deal.

Court documents say family members told investigators the couple’s relationship was physically abusive.

QULIN, Mo. (AP) – State officials and individuals recovering from addiction say methamphetamine is on the upswing in Missouri, including rural communities that the drug has already ravaged over decades.

Sgt. Mark McClendon of the Missouri Highway Patrol tells KCUR-TV that meth is reaching places and people in the state it never has before. McClendon says meth addiction has exploded across every race and social economic class.

Meth use is increasing due to its price, availability and shortage of treatment options.

Qulin resident Dustin Siebert started a support group called Matthew 25 Project for those recovering from meth addiction. Siebert says meth use is growing because Missouri is focusing on opiates. Intensive treatment for uninsured meth users is difficult to find.

Siebert says the only response seems to be new faith-based meth support groups.