SHAWNEE, Kan. (AP) — Two people are OK after escaping an early-morning fire in a Kansas suburb of Kansas City, thanks to the fast actions of a person passing by.

The fire broke out early Saturday at a home in Shawnee. Fire officials say a person passing by saw the fire and alerted the residents.

Fire crews rescued a cat but were unable to save the family dog.

Fire officials believe a wood burning stove in the garage caused the fire.

TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) reports the Kansas Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) held steady in 2016, at 5.9 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, with the lowest number infant deaths (223) ever reported in Kansas. This rate remained unchanged from 5.9 per 1,000 live births (230 infant deaths) in 2015.

The Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) reflects the health and well-being of a nation or state. The U.S. rate is 6.0 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. The Kansas IMR of 5.9 is below the Healthy People 2020 (HP2020) target of 6.0. Healthy People 2020 is a 10-year program from the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion of HHS.

“The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is committed to working with our partners to reduce infant mortality and disparities in infant mortality. Together with community partners, we have continued to maintain the lowest ever recorded infant mortality rate for our State through applied research and community intervention,” said Susan Mosier, MD, MBA, FACS, Secretary of KDHE and State Health Officer.

The White non-Hispanic population IMR (5.2) and the Hispanic IMR (5.1) also met the HP2020 target while the Black non-Hispanic (15.2) rate did not.

For Kansas in 2016, the White non-Hispanic population group had the highest number of infant deaths (139 infant deaths), while the Black non-Hispanic group had the highest rate (15.2 per 1,000 live births). The disparity in rates between White and Black non-Hispanic infant deaths was evident in all periods of death.

In the last century, the Kansas infant mortality rate (IMR) has decreased dramatically, from 73.5 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1912 (2,795 infant deaths) to 5.9 in 2016 (223).

“Even though we have reached our lowest number of infant deaths ever reported, we are not done. We will continue to work with our partners to further decrease infant mortality and disparities in infant mortality,” said Dr. Mosier.

One way KDHE helps at-risk communities is through the Healthy Start Home Visitor Services. Maternal and Child Health Grants are provided to local health departments so they can provide outreach visits to pregnant women and families with newborns. Under public health nurse supervision, visitors provide in-home interventions such as education, support and referrals to other community services.

The Selected Special Statistics, Stillbirths and Infant Deaths, Kansas, 2016 summarizes vital records data on stillbirths and infant deaths. This report is attached and will be posted here.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – A central Missouri sheriff’s deputy is being honored for saving the life of a 2-year-old girl.

The Boone County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Trenton Marshall-Isom received a “Life Saving Award” this week. The Columbia Missourian reports that Marshall-Isom was on patrol on Feb. 19 when a woman ran up to him with the girl in her arms. The girl wasn’t breathing, her eyes were rolled back and her lips were blue.

The sheriff’s department says Marshall-Isom quickly administered several palm strikes between the girl’s shoulder blades until he felt the girl grab his thumb and start breathing. He then monitored the girl until emergency medical personnel arrived.

Marshall-Isom says he was happy he “was able to be at the right place at the right time.”

CARROLL COUNTY — Two people died in an accident just before 1a.m. Saturday in Carroll County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2006 Chevy 2500 driven by Blake L. Wilson, 20, Carrollton, was eastbound on Highway CC just east of CR 261. The vehicle ran off the left side of the road, struck an embankment, a tree and overturned. Two occupants were ejected from the vehicle.

Passengers Teagan E. Birdno, 19, and Matthew D. Landi, 20, both of Carrollton, were pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Bittiker Funeral Home.

Another passenger Zach L. Warner, 22, Carrollton, was transported to Carroll County Hospital with minor injuries, according to the MSHP.  Wilson was transported to Carroll County Hospital and then transferred by air ambulance to Centerpoint Hospital.

The occupants of the vehicle were not wearing seat belts, according to the MSHP.

By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN

Gov. Sam Brownback has more hurdles to clear before potentially leaving Kansas to head the Office of International Religious Freedom at the U.S. State Department.

The governor’s name wasn’t among dozens of nominees approved in the Senate this week, nor was it on a list of nominees to hold over until its next session.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office said Friday that means when the session ends in early January, Brownback’s nomination will go back to the White House, which would need to renominate him.

It’s unclear how long the process will take. U.S. Sen. Bob Corker’s office confirmed Thursday that he has talked with Democrats about scheduling a vote on Brownback’s nomination for early January. Corker, a Tennessee Republican, is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Brownback has been awaiting confirmation since July, when President Donald Trump picked him for the ambassador-at-large post. His confirmation hearing at the Foreign Relations Committee was in October.

Democrats want a recorded vote rather than a voice vote on Brownback’s confirmation. This week the Senate used voice voting to green-light nominees, including Kansas Solicitor General Stephen McAllister, who was nominated in September to be the next U.S. attorney in Kansas.

Brownback’s nomination has drawn scrutiny from Democrats unhappy with his 2015 decision to repeal anti-discrimination protections for LGBT state workers and his 2016 decision to pull Kansas out of a federal program that resettled refugees.

During the October confirmation hearing, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, pressed Brownback to commit to defending women’s rights and LGBT rights. She pointed to examples of denying women access to abortions for religious reasons. Brownback replied that the International Religious Freedom Office should focus on stopping faith-based discrimination.

The delay in confirming Brownback means the lack of clarity over who is calling the shots in the Governor’s Office — and who will deliver the State of the State address before the Kansas legislative session — will continue a little longer.

In recent months, Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer has taken over some of the key functions of Brownback’s job, including preparing the 2018 budget proposal and hiring Cabinet officials and other top administrative staff.

Celia Llopis-Jepsen is a reporter for the Kansas News Service, You can reach her on Twitter @Celia_LJ.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A New Jersey man will be sentenced next month for choking a 4-month-old child at a Walmart in Overland Park.

Fifty-four-year-old Oleh Zhownirovych , of Clifton, New Jersey, pleaded no contest Thursday to aggravated battery and intentional harm and battery. An aggravated kidnapping charge was dropped.

In October, authorities said Zhownirovych walked up to Monquisha Hill in a checkout line and started choking her daughter, who was in the shopping cart.

He stopped when the mother started screaming. People in the store came to help and held him until police arrived.

Hill didn’t know the man and a motive for his actions was unclear.

The baby wasn’t injured.

Zhownirovych was the pastor of a Ukrainian Orthodox church in Clifton but left the position last year.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A white prison employee in Kansas City who filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the Missouri Department of Corrections has won almost $1.5 million.

The Kansas City Star reports that Richard Dixson sued the agency last year saying he was subjected to racial discrimination and a hostile work environment at the Kansas City Re-Entry Center, a minimum-security prison. The lawsuit said managers retaliated after Dixson complained.

A Jackson County jury on Monday ruled in Dixson’s favor on the allegation of retaliation, but not on the discrimination and hostile work environment allegations. The jury awarded Dixson $280,000 in compensatory damages and $1.2 million in punitive damages.

Officials at the Corrections Department and the office of the Missouri attorney general didn’t immediately return calls from the newspaper seeking comment.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — A former Kansas State worker says in a federal lawsuit that the university didn’t adequately respond to her complaints of sexual harassment by a co-worker.

In a lawsuit filed this week, Paulette Arnold says she was harassed for nearly three years while working in the Information Systems Office. She says the systems coordinator, Kevin Yaussi, sent sexually explicit emails, inappropriately touched her and left her inappropriate gifts.

Arnold says she and another worker reported Yaussi’s behavior to their supervisor.

The Kansas City Star reports the university determined Yaussi had harassed Arnold but only ordered him not to interact with her except for work. He was given a written warning and a recommendation to complete training on sexual harassment and workplace professionalism.

A Kansas State University spokesperson said the university doesn’t discuss pending litigation.