K-State senior wide receiver Tyler Lockett is one of 10 finalists in the Football
Bowl Subdivision for the 2014 Senior CLASS Award, the organization announced Tuesday.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in the areas of community, classroom, character, and competition. The award program is designed exclusively for college seniors who are utilizing their complete athletic eligibility.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The suspect in a Lawrence homicide is being evaluated at Larned State Hospital after a judge found her incompetent to stand trial for a burglary case in Topeka.
A Shawnee County District judge committed 38-year-old Angelica Kulp, of Lawrence, to Larned before she can be tried on misdemeanor theft and felony burglary charges. Authorities say she entered a man’s home, took money from his change jar and then hid in the closet.
Kulp is charged in Douglas County with first-degree murder in the July death of Christine Kaplan at the victim’s home in Lawrence.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports the homicide case against Kulp in Douglas County District Court will not proceed until her case in Shawnee County is resolved.
Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism
TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) has received two awards for KANSAS! magazine, adding to the popular magazine’s collection of industry honors.
The International Regional Magazine Association, Inc. (IRMA) bestowed Magazine of the Year honors on the publication, as well as the Gold Award for Best Cover for the Winter 2013 edition.
The Winter 2013 edition was entitled “Celebrating Sunflowers” and featured a cover photo of country music artist Logan Mize. Industry professionals served as judges and based their decisions on overall writing and design. The awards were given in the Under 35,000 Circulation category. KANSAS! magazine reaches 32,000 subscribers and readers.
“We are honored to receive these awards,” said Linda Craghead, Assistant Secretary for Parks and Tourism. “Readers from around the world enjoy KANSAS! magazine, and it has been a messenger for our great state since 1945. Our team works hard to bring our readers amazing photography and colorful stories that showcase Kansas at its best. Receiving national recognition as Magazine of the Year is a terrific achievement indicative of the talent on the team.”
KANSAS! is editorially produced and designed by Sunflower Publishing, Lawrence; and is printed by McCormick Armstrong, Wichita. A regional magazine is a general-interest publication that helps define, interpret and explore a specific, recognizable region for those living there or yearning to.
KANSAS! magazine is published quarterly in February, May, August and November. The magazine is available on newsstands in bookstores, grocery stores and museum gift shops across Kansas.
St Joseph woke up to icy driving conditions Tuesday, and by 6:30 a.m. there were wrecks blocking traffic in four locations.
Authorities urged caution. Elevated roadways, overpasses and bridges can be especially treacherous.
St Joseph Police warned motorists to avoid several highways.
A multi-vehicle accident just before six a.m. blocked traffic on US-36 highway and I-229 at the Stockyards Expressway.
I-29 was blocked in both directions of travel at US-36 highway because of a traffic incident.
US-36 highway between 10th and 22nd Street. Traffic in westbound and eastbound lanes was blocked by another traffic incident.
I-229, southbound, at Highland Avenue was also closed by a traffic accident.
By Jim McLean
KHI News Service
TOPEKA — Dr. Robert Moser has resigned as secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
His resignation will be effective at the end of the month.
Moser broke the news to the agency’s staff late Monday afternoon in an email.
“I am stepping down from my current position as KDHE secretary and state health officer effective the end of November,” Moser said.
Moser said “it was a hard decision” to leave the state’s public health and Medicaid agency.
“However, it is the right time for me and my family to look at other opportunities,” he said.
Moser was not immediately available for additional comment.
It’s not unusual to have turnover on a governor’s Cabinet prior to the start of a second term.
Moser took the reins of KDHE in January of 2011 at the age of 52. Prior to that, he practiced medicine for 22 years in his southwest Kansas hometown of Tribune.
Moser earned pharmacy and medical degrees from the University of Kansas.
As secretary, Moser helped to oversee the dismantling of the Kansas Health Policy Authority and the relocation of the Medicaid program to KDHE. He also was instrumental in the creation of KanCare, the Brownback administration’s privatization of Medicaid.
Since January of 2013, the $3.2 billion program has been administered by three for-profit managed care companies.
Moser said putting all Medicaid enrollees into managed care would allow the state to provide better, more coordinated care.
“There will be an intense focus on data as we hold ourselves accountable through the performance of our care organizations,” he said at a November 2011 news conference.
Moser and other Brownback administration officials have said that despite some persistent administrative problems, KanCare is on track to achieve its twin goals of reducing costs and improving care. But nearly two years after its launch, providers from across the state continue to complain about late payments and difficulties getting the MCOs to authorize needed services.
Moser was criticized last spring for approving what appeared to be a political appointment to a high-level job overseeing the financial performance of KanCare. Former Republican Rep. Phil Hermanson landed the inspector general’s job despite not having any relevant education or training. He resigned a few weeks into the job after questions also were raised about his previous legal and financial problems.
Jim McLean is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Ford’s new aluminum-bodied F-150 is set to go into production Tuesday.
It’s the company’s biggest vehicle launch in decades. Ford thinks it will win buyers with a truck that is lighter, more fuel efficient and even more capable.
But there are big risks. F-Series trucks have been the top-selling vehicles in the U.S. for 37 straight years, and are a big contributor to Ford’s profits. Quality issues or consumer concerns about the new material could cost Ford its pickup crown.
Aluminum isn’t new to the industry, but it has never covered such a high volume vehicle before. Ford made more than 647,000 F-150s last year.
The truck will go into production at Ford’s Dearborn, Michigan, plant Tuesday and at a plant in Missouri early next year.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Topeka Fire Department says two fires that broke out at vacant houses were intentionally set.
The department says the fires were set about a block away from each other on Monday night. Firefighters say flames at the first home had multiple points of origin. Two homeless people were inside the house during the fire and one suffered minor burns trying to put it out. The man refused medical treatment.
Firefighters saw smoke after extinguishing the flames and discovered the second fire, which was also extinguished.
They say the fires caused a combined $10,500 in damages.
Authorities are investigating.
JOHN HANNA, AP Political Writer
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A new Kansas revenue forecast says the state will face a $279 million budget shortfall by July and an even bigger gap to close in the year after that.
State officials released a new financial forecast Monday that revised the state’s revenue projections for budget year that began in July.
The forecasters dropped the expectation of total revenues by $206 million, to just under $5.8 billion.
The state officials and university economists also issued the first projections for the fiscal years beginning in July 2015 and 2016. They said revenues would be $5.8 billion in the next fiscal year, then just shy of $5.9 billion.
Officials said after closing a $279 million gap in the current budget, the state still would have another $436 million shortfall by July 2016.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has issued an order temporarily blocking gay marriage in Kansas.
Sotomayor’s brief order Monday puts on hold indefinitely a lower-court order clearing the way for same-sex couples to marry despite a ban in Kansas on gay marriage.
The lower-court order was set to take effect at 5 p.m. Central time Tuesday. Sotomayor acted at the request of Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.
But Sotomayor also directed the American Civil Liberties Union to file a response to Schmidt’s request by 4 p.m. Central time Tuesday.
The ACLU filed a federal lawsuit last month for two lesbian couples challenging the state’s gay-marriage ban. It resulted in the lower-court order.
Equality Kansas Executive Director Tom Witt said Sotomayor could quickly reconsider once she receives the response.
RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The administration is dialing back expectations for health insurance sign-ups in the second year of President Barack Obama’s big push to cover uninsured Americans.
A report released Monday by the Health and Human Services department estimates that 9 million to 9.9 million paying customers will enroll for 2015.
That’s significantly lower than the 13 million the Congressional Budget Office projected earlier this year.
But it does represent an increase of roughly 30 to 40 percent from the 7.1 million currently signed up.
Under the health law, people who don’t have coverage on the job can buy taxpayer-subsidized private insurance through HealthCare.gov and state insurance markets. Many are required to do so to avoid fines.
Open enrollment starts Saturday. Consumers can get an early peek at premiums now on HealthCare.gov.
