TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Two Republican-controlled committees of the Kansas Legislature have stripped Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s proposed state spending for Medicaid expansion out of budget legislation. The Senate Ways and Means Committee voted 7-6 on Thursday to remove $14 million from a proposed budget for the state health department for the fiscal year beginning in July. The money represented Kelly’s initial estimate for the state tax dollars needed to draw down federal funds for the first six months after expanded Medicaid coverage started in January. Medicaid expansion has bipartisan support, but GOP leaders strongly oppose it. They argue that…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A tax relief bill pushed by Republican leaders has cleared the GOP-controlled Legislature. The measure went to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly after the Senate’s 24-16 vote Thursday evening. The House approved it last week. The bill is designed to prevent businesses and individuals from paying more in state income taxes because changes in federal tax laws at the end of 2017. It also contains a small cut in the state’s sales tax on groceries. Republicans said the bill is a matter of fairness and prevents an unlegislated tax increase. But Democratic senators excoriated the bill as…
The Greater Manhattan Community Foundation will be holding the Community Foundation Awards, or CFA’s, during the annual meeting on Monday. GMCF President and CEO Vern Hendricks says this year will be special because they will also be celebrating their 20th anniversary. One of the big guests they are expecting is Steve Coen from the Kansas Health Foundation. Other guests for the event include former executive directors, members of the Kansas Association of Community Foundations, and affiliation representatives. “The whole intention of this event is to bring community philanthropists and leaders with nonprofits who are doing great work that don’t usually…
After more than a day of high winds throughout Manhattan and its surrounding communities, a focal point at Aggieville’s Triangle Park was blown over. The Mayor’s Christmas Tree was blown down after noon Thursday. The National Weather Service declared a high wind watch yesterday which has continued as a wind advisory through 7 p.m. Thursday. Meteorologists say that sustained wind speeds of 25 to 30 miles per hour with the possibility of gusts up to 50 miles per hour. City officials advise residents and motorists to be extra alert while traveling today. The tree will be disposed of and the…
One of Manhattan’s City Commissioners will be shifting his service from the Little Apple to Fort Benning at the end of his term. Commissioner Jerred McKee announced Thursday on his Facebook page that he will be joining the Army Officer Candidate School in January 2020 and will not be seeking another term in Manhattan’s government. McKee was elected to a two-year term starting in 2018. He writes his time as a commissioner has been amazing and humbling and that while the Army will be a big change, it’s something he’s “always wanted to do. “We must embrace the opportunities that…
PITTSBURG — The Kansas Attorney General’s office says it executed a search warrant at a southeast Kansas hospital that closed last month. The Pittsburg Sun reports the search warrant was executed in February at Oswego Community College, about a week after the hospital and two other medical facilities in Labette County closed. C.J. Grover, spokesman attorney general Derek Schmidt, confirmed the search warrant but declined to comment further. On Tuesday, the Horton Community Hospital in Brown County also closed. Grover said the attorney general’s office also is investigating that hospital. The hospitals were once run by EmpowerHMS, which has had…
TOPEKA — Kansas weather can be unpredictable. That’s why each year the National Weather Service stresses the importance of having its trained weather spotters to aid them in severe weather events. National Weather Service Warning Coordination Meteorologist Chad Omitt will be in Manhattan next week leading a storm spotter training event for Riley County. Omitt says they also discuss the difference between watches and warnings, awareness , behavior, and storm structure. While forecasters work with the radars and different models to track storms as they happen, Omitt says they rely heavily on the boots on the ground, the trained spotters.…
Wednesday’s guests included USD 323 Rock Creek Superintendent Kevin Logan with a mid-semester update on school happenings. We also chatted with Manhattan Arts Center Director Penny Senften, Education and Marketing Director Michelle Ward and actor/playwright and teacher Brent Weaver about upcoming events at MAC.
A bill that would allow people without EMT training to drive ambulances in rural areas wouldn’t impact Riley County if passed. The proposal before the Kansas Legislature is intended as a way to alleviate shortages of ambulance workers to perform hospital transfers in Western Kansas counties — which often take multiple travel hours. One medically trained person would still be required to be on board during transfers, according to Riley County EMS Director David Adams. “And they’re hoping that, through this legislation, they can reduce the number of certified staff so they can more easily facilitate these transfers,” says Adams.…
HORTON — A northeast Kansas hospital run by an embattled health management company has shut down operations after struggling for months without enough funds to pay its employees or buy medication and food for patients. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the city of Horton’s only medical provider, Horton Community Hospital, closed on Tuesday. Residents will now have to travel 12 miles to Hiawatha for medical care. The hospital’s chief of staff, Dr. Richard Brown, says the closure didn’t come as a surprise. Hospital staff said they’ve had to negotiate with city officials to keep the lights on at the hospital,…