The U.S. Energy Information Administration recently released its Annual Energy Outlook for 2019 report. It’s a federal forecast for anticipated energy needs in the future. Chris Bliley, vice president of regulatory affairs for Growth Energy, says this report underscores the importance of providing lower-cost options at the fuel pump.
“America’s thirst for clean, affordable fuel options is set to remain strong for decades to come,” he said. “Consumers deserve a cleaner, more affordable options, and that’s exactly what higher ethanol blends like E15 can deliver. Regulators at the Environmental Protection Agency must act quickly on the president’s promise and open the door to competition at the fuel pump year-round.”
The new EIA report predicts that “motor gasoline and diesel fuel retail prices will increase by 76 cents per gallon and 82 cents per gallon, respectively, between 2018 and 2050. The jump in fuel prices over that time frame will come because of rising crude oil prices.
Additionally, the report also concludes that light-duty vehicle miles traveled will jump by 20 percent, going from 2.9 trillion miles in 2018 to 3.5 trillion in 2050. The rise in miles traveled comes as a result of rising incomes and a growing population.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A book by the daughter of the BTK serial killer about finding out that her father had killed 10 people in the Wichita area will be released Tuesday.
Image courtesy Thomas Nelson Publisher
Kerri Rawson’s memoir, “A Serial Killer’s Daughter,” details the 40-year-old’s panicked descent into denial and depression after the 2005 arrest of her father, Dennis Rader.
His self-coined moniker was BTK, which stood for “bind, torture, kill.” The book being put out by Thomas Nelson Publishers also includes letters he sent her from jail.
BTK killer Dennis Rader is being held in the El Dorado Correctional facility photo Kansas Dpt. of Corrections
Rawson, who now lives in Michigan, has said that she hopes her story helps others wade through their own emotional turmoil. In the book’s epilogue, Rawson talks about finally finding her own peace. She says she misses her father, “the one I mainly knew.”
NEWTON COUNTY — One person died in an accident just before 6:30p.m. Sunday in Newton County.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2007 Dodge Ram driven by John M. Johnson, 49, Stark City, was eastbound on MO. 86 five miles east of Neosho.
The pickup rear-ended a horse ridden by Keith Hopper, 49, Granby. Hopper was transported to Freeman West Hospital where he died.
The accident remains under investigation. Johnson was tested for alcohol as required by state law, according to the MSHP.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers have introduced at least six separate proposals since last month to restrict the use of cellphones while driving.
Missouri has seen the numbers of cellphone-related traffic crashes increase by 35 percent since 2014, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Cellphone use is “one of the fastest growing causes of fatal crashes in Missouri, and like most other contributing factors, it’s completely preventable,” said Jon Nelson, a highway safety assistant for the Missouri Department of Transportation.
There were almost 920 fatal crashes in Missouri last year, down slightly from about 930 fatalities last year, according to the department’s preliminary figures.
“When it comes to cellphones, nobody wants to be on the road with a driver constantly using their phone, but so many people find it acceptable to do themselves,” Nelson said. “We can do better.”
Republican Sen. Wayne Wallingford has introduced legislation to ban texting for all drivers, or face a $50 fine that would double in a work or school zone.
State law currently prohibits texting for drivers under the age of 21 and commercial motor vehicle drivers. Those who violate the texting and driving law could be fined $200 and have 2 points added to their driving record.
Most states have already banned texting and driving for all age groups. Sixteen states have banned hand-held phone use by all drivers, according to the National Council of State Legislatures.
But Missouri’s Republican-led has struggled to garner support for restrictions to cellphone use behind the wheel. Lawmakers have introduced eight separate proposals in the past two years to limit cellphone use while driving.
This legislative session, Reps. Nate Tate, Gretchen Bangert and Greg Razer have introduced bans on using cellphones while driving. Other proposals target cellphone bans in school zones.
A hot job market and the increasing cost of tuition have slowed the growth in the number of Kansans earning a college education nearly to a halt. Educators are worried that will worsen shortages of high-skilled workers and impede prosperity long term.
“It is concerning,” said Donna Ginther, an economist at the University of Kansas. “Having these types of degrees and certificates are very important for the future of economic growth in the state and the country.”
Kansas’ public colleges and universities granted 40,856 undergraduate degrees and certificates last year, according to the latest progress report from the Kansas Board of Regents. That’s virtually the same as five years ago and well short of the state’s goals.
The number of undergraduate degrees and certificates earned in Kansas is well below the goal set by the Kansas Board of Regents.
CREDIT STEPHAN BISAHA | SOURCE KANSAS BOARD OF REGENTS
Kansas is nine years into the 10-year “Foresight 2020” plan designed to increase the number of Kansans getting post-secondary education and to better align state college and university programs with economic needs.
The Regents have found some success, particularly in technical education.
An initiative started in 2012 greatly increased the number of Kansans earning college credit before they graduated from high school. More than 10,000 students participated last year. And many of those students have continued technical education programs after high school, contributing to the growth of technical colleges by more than a third from 2012 to 2017.
Yet most of the state’s other colleges and universities have gone the other direction.
There are likely not enough students currently enrolled for the main objective in Foresight 2020 — more than 53,000 degrees and certificates earned by the end of this decade — to be achieved.
Much of the declining enrollment at Kansas colleges and universities is among white students. Their enrollment numbers have dropped 12 percent since 2010, according to data in the Foresight 2020 progress report. Enrollment by Hispanic students has grown the most, by more than 42 percent.
The progress report blames several factors outside of the Regents’ control, including the Kansas economy. The low unemployment rate means Kansans are able to find jobs without a college degree.
In the early days of the recovery from the 2008 recession, college enrollment increased in Kansas as elsewhere. Unemployed Americans decided to go back to college instead of hunting for non-existent jobs.
The reverse was true as the economy continued to improve. In 2013, enrollment in Kansas colleges plunged as the Kansas unemployment rate hit 5.3 percent.
But while more Kansans are now employed, many remain shut out of high-skill, high-paying occupations that offer a pathway to the middle class.
“A high school education is not going to cut for economic prosperity,” Ginther said.
Ginther and others also worry that high-skill industries such as aerospace manufacturing that Kansas is trying to foster will experience increasing workforce shortages without more Kansans completing a college education.
Rising tuition has also driven students away from Kansas schools.
Higher tuition could be an outsized barrier for poorer students. The number of Pell Grant recipients at Kansas universities, students receiving grant money for college from the federal government, has been declining since 2015.
Studies have shown a link between increasing tuition and decreasing enrollment, though there are disputes over the size of the effect. What’s indisputable is the massive leap in cost colleges have seen over the years. At Kansas State University, the sticker price for a semester has increased 57 percent over the last ten years.
“When I started at K-State in the late ‘60s I paid out-of-state tuition and was able to work my way through the university with summer jobs and employment through the school year,” said Pat Bosco, the vice president for student life at Kansas State University. “That’s no longer the case now.”
SHAWNEE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas felon on new charges after a traffic stop.
Anderson photo Shawnee Co.
On Friday, a police officer observed Dominique Anderson 27 of Topeka leaving the Law Enforcement Center, according to Lt. Aaron Jones.
The officer recognized Anderson and knew he was wanted for a felony criminal damage domestic case which occurred January 20.
Anderson left the property in a vehicle which was stopped at 4th and SW Jackson in Topeka. Police took him into custody without incident.
A search of the vehicle revealed a small amount of marijuana, other suspected narcotics, drug paraphernalia and a stolen Taurus 9mm handgun. Anderson has at least one prior felony conviction leading to a charge of Criminal Use of a Firearm, according to Jones.
He was transported to the Shawnee County Department of Corrections under suspicion of felony Criminal Damage (Domestic), Criminal use of a Firearm, and narcotic related charges.
This is the 6th case in 2019 with a charge involving a felon in possession of a firearm reported by the Topeka Police Department.
ALLEN COUNTY — Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver De’Anthony Thomas is out on bail after a weekend arrest, according to a report by the Allen County Sheriff’s Department.
Thomas -photo Allen Co. Sheriff
De’Anthony M. Thomas, 26, Lee’s Summit, Missouri, was booked Saturday into the Allen County Jail on suspicion of Possession of Marijuana and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.
He was no longer in custody Sunday, according to online jail records.
The Chiefs selected Thomas from the University of Oregon in the 2014 NFL Draft. He played in five games in the 2018-19 season before a leg injury in practice ended his season.
The Chiefs had not released a statement on the arrest late Sunday afternoon.
LAWRENCE — Most people vastly overestimate the population of gun owners in the United States, and it potentially influences how groups approach gun policies, according to a study by two University of Kansas political scientists.
“Because gun owners are actually a minority, perceiving their group as larger and even as a majority could make them feel more empowered to advocate on gun issues,” said Don Haider-Markel, professor and chair of the Department of Political Science. “Likewise, non-gun owners that perceive a larger gun owner population now and in the future might be less likely to advocate for gun regulations.”
Mark Joslyn
Mark Joslyn, professor of political science, and Haider-Markel are co-authors of the study, recently published in the journal Politics & Policy. They examined results from a 2016 nationally representative survey of 1,290 American adults who answered questions on a variety of policy, election-specific, psychological and political questions, including a number on gun ownership and regulation.
Specifically, the survey asked people to give their “best guess” on what percentage of Americans owned firearms. The actual percentage of U.S. individual gun owners is roughly 25 percent, and about 33-40 percent of U.S. households have at least one gun in the home, the researchers said.
However, the researchers found that more than 75 percent of respondents overestimated the number, and only a small minority, 2.3 percent, underestimated the number of gun owners.
The most common estimate was 50 percent, and nearly one-fifth of respondents estimated the gun owner population was 70 percent or higher.
“Generally speaking, less knowledgeable people tend to overestimate the size of groups, but so, too, do people who belong to the group, have contact with the group or have positive affinity towards the group,” Haider-Markel said. “In short, we inflate the size of groups we belong to or are close to.”
The overestimation of the population among both gun owners and non-gun owners could provide some explanation for the level of support surrounding pro-gun policies or the lack of support for federal gun control measures, even in wake of high-profile mass shootings, such as Newtown, Connecticut; Las Vegas; and Orlando and Parkland, Florida, though the professors said future research would likely examine potential trends after more recent advocacy efforts by gun violence victims.
“We see this as another in a line of politicized issues where facts are contested and factual beliefs might influence policy attitudes on the issue. As such, we wanted to explore basic knowledge about gun owners, perceptions of future gun ownership, and determine whether these perceptions influenced gun attitudes,” Haider-Markel said.
He added that past research in this area is built around the notion of a perceived threat of a group, but rarely is that threat actually assessed.
The researchers have conducted similar research on how people overestimate the gay population in the United States.
“As with the earlier study, people are not very good at estimating the size of groups, and this has implications for their policy preferences,” Haider-Markel said. “Here we can also show that people tend to think that the gun owner population will grow in the future even though all indications are that the gun owner population is getting smaller.”
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Some lawmakers are pushing legislation that could end a long-running economic borderwar between Missouri and Kansas that has prompted both states to spend millions of dollars in the last decade to lure businesses in the Kansas City metropolitan region across the state line.
Kansas spent $184 million in incentives since 2010 to entice businesses to move, while Missouri spent about $151 million in the same time period, according to the Hall Family Foundation. Those millions resulted in a net of about 1,200 jobs in Kansas.
“We’re using (economic development incentives) to divide the pie, not increase the pie,” said Bill Hall, president of the foundation and a Kansas City metro area civic leader.
Missouri passed a law in 2014 that prohibited the use of state incentives to poach businesses in Douglas, Johnson, Miami and Wyandotte counties. But the law required Kansas to pass a similar bill pledging not to go after businesses in Clay, Cass, Jackson and Platte counties in Missouri, The Kansas City Star reported.
Kansas lawmakers and then-Republican Gov. Sam Brownback rejected the plan. Brownback suggested a similar proposal two years later but it ultimately failed.
Missouri’s bill expired in 2016. Sen. Mike Cierpiot, a Republican from Lee’s Summit, has filed a bill this session that would renew the legislation through 2021 to provide a chance for further discussion.
“I don’t understand why reasonable people can’t sit down and figure this out,” Cierpiot said. “It’s just bad policy.”
Critics of the tax incentives say companies get millions of dollars in tax breaks to move a few miles and often add only a few new jobs.
For example, Kansas spent $3 million in tax breaks to move about 60 jobs at HCA Midwest Health four miles from Kansas City, Missouri, to Overland Park, Kansas.
New Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said in a statement that everyone agrees the current situation doesn’t make sense “but the devil is in the details.”
“We will be looking at this issue and reviewing the legislation to determine if it is in the best interest of Kansas,” she said.
Some Kansas City metro area question the need for legislation, saying the economic realities are different than they were in 2014.
Blake Schreck, president of the Lenexa Chamber of Commerce, questioned how urgent the problem is now because the economy is healthy and both sides of the state line are flourishing.
“We’re all growing and doing fine, so it hasn’t been a huge issue,” he said.
But he said getting a bi-state agreement to award incentives only for net new jobs would help both sides.
“I would anticipate we’ll take a crack at it sometime this year,” he said.
Bill Hall, who has spent years advocating for a cease-fire in the incentives border war, said now is a good time to get an agreement because of the strong economy.
“The economy is not always going to stay good,” Hall said. “This is the perfect time to deal with it because emotions aren’t as high and more reason can be brought to it, because people aren’t fighting for every last job.”
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A 37-year-old Springfield woman was sentenced to eight years in prison for the death of another woman in a drunken driving crash.
Mahan photo Greene Co.
Melissa Mahan was sentenced Friday in the December 2016 death of 54-year-old Leslee Owrey, of Fair Play.
She pleaded guilty in November to involuntary manslaughter.
Investigators said Mahan was speeding when she hit the rear of Owrey’s vehicle just outside of Springfield. Owrey was thrown from her vehicle and died at a hospital.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol says Mahan’s blood alcohol content was .295 percent, far above the legal limit of .08 percent.
She also refused to perform sobriety tests at the scene.
