TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger and the state’s largest health insurer say they’re not sure yet about the implications of President Barack Obama’s decision to modify part of the federal health care overhaul. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas said Thursday it’s waiting for more federal guidance about Obama’s decision to let insurance companies continue offering health plans that would otherwise be canceled. The company has notified about 9,500 Kansas policy holders their coverage would not be renewed because their plans don’t meet mandates under the 2010 federal health care law. Praeger said the Insurance Department…
Author: KMAN Staff
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) A fire that displaced 30 people from a northeast Kansas apartment building earlier this week has now claimed one life. The fire department in Kansas City, Kan., says Darrin Walker, 45, died Thursday. Walker suffered second- and third-degree burns in the blaze Monday afternoon. No one else was injured in the fire, which heavily damaged the three-story, 12-unit building. Another tenant had rescued Walker from his second-floor apartment. Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fire. Total damage was estimated at $180,000.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Increasing the safety of a low-water Topeka dam where three people have drowned could cost nearly $2 million. Topeka utilities superintendent Don Rankin presented four options Wednesday to the Topeka-Shawnee County Riverfront Authority for safeguarding the Kansas River dam where a kayaker died in July 2011 and two canoers in August 2007. The dam is located near a water treatment plant. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the Riverfront Authority board supported two of the options. One was a $1.4 million proposal that would only address the danger zone on the south side of the river. The second…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Police say a man in his 20s has been shot to death in the same Wichita house that was the scene of a fatal 2007 shooting. The Wichita Eagle reports that neighbors called 911 Wednesday afternoon to report the latest shooting. Capt. Rusty Leeds says police found one man lying in the street and suffering from a leg wound. Police followed a blood trail to the house where the victim was found dead. A short time later, a man suffering from an abdominal wound was located. Leed says it’s possible that he was involved in the shooting.…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is proposing a new reading initiative aimed at boosting proficiency among school children. But his plan sparked a debate even before he unveiled it during a Thursday news conference because of how he’d finance it. He wants to use $9 million in each of the next two years from federal assistance funds for low-income families. Those funds would be supplemented with private dollars. Most of the money would come from the Department for Children and Families, which would tap funds from federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program. The program typically provides cash…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A former northwest Kansas wastewater manager charged with lying about nitrogen levels in the city’s discharges has told a federal court he plans to change his plea. The formal notice of intent was filed after a court hearing Wednesday in Wichita in the case against Charles L. Blair, of Hays. An August indictment charges Blair with making false statements about nitrogen levels in effluent at the Hays wastewater treatment plant. The court set a Dec. 2 date for the formal change-of-plea hearing. Prosecutors allege Blair made false statements in discharge monitoring reports. The government also contends he…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Gov. Sam Brownback’s office has awarded grants totaling more than $1 million to 22 groups that help victims of domestic violence. The governor’s office said Wednesday that the grants come from federal funds and are designed to ensure that victims can receive free services around the clock. The programs provide shelter, support groups, crisis intervention and help in obtaining court orders against abusers. The grants went to groups in 21 counties. The largest grant of almost $106,000 went to Safehome in Johnson County. The YWCA of Wichita and Catholic Charities’ Harbor House in Sedgwick County each received…
On today’s InFocus, Cathy talks with Capt. James Carter, Company B Commander, Warrior Transition Battalion, and Thomas Tessendorf, Chief, Occupational Health, Irwin Army Community Hospital, followed by Loren Pepperd and his group regarding their trip to China. https://1350kman.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/111413-Seg-1.mp3 Capt. James Carter and Thomas Tessendorf https://1350kman.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/111413-Seg-2.mp3 Loren Pepperd and group https://1350kman.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/111413-Seg-3.mp3 Loren Pepperd and group
President Barack Obama pauses while speaking about his signature health care law, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013, in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington. Bowing to pressure, President Barack Obama intends to permit continued sale of individual insurance plans that have been canceled because they failed to meet coverage standards under the health care law, officials said Thursday. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Bobby Thompson, who authorities have identified as Harvard-trained attorney John Donald Cody, looks over to the jury as the verdict is read Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013, in Cleveland. Thompson was convicted of racketeering, theft, money laundering and other charges. Thompson was charged with looting the United States Navy Veterans Association, a charity he ran in Tampa, Fla. Authorities believe he defrauded donors of up to $100 million in 41 states. A fraction of that money was found. When he was arrested, authorities found fake IDs and a suitcase with $980,000 in cash. He faces up to 67 years in prison…