College students are testing private wells in south-central Kansas. The results are prompting families to install treatment systems to reduce nitrate levels.

&nbsp;By&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/people/celia-llopis-jepsen">Celia Llopis-Jepsen</a> <a href="https://www.kcur.org/">Kansas News Service</a>

Matthew Kirk has an unpleasant task: breaking the news to families about fertilizer chemicals in their drinking water.

The Kansas State University geology professor and his collaborators check for nitrogen pollution in the private wells that so many rural households depend on.

“Most of the well owners that I've talked to,” Kirk said, “this isn’t something that’s really on their radar.”

Researchers aim to test about 150 private wells in south-central Kansas in Barton, Stafford, Pawnee, Edwards, Rice, Pratt and Kiowa counties.

Students and scientists from K-State and Barton and Dodge City community colleges have teamed up to test about 90 so far.

Of those, half contain more nitrate than federal regulators allow in public water systems.

“Of those that didn’t,” Kirk said, “a lot of them were pretty darn close.”

One well contained more than five times as much nitrate as the federal government tolerates in public water supplies. That household has started treating the water before drinking it.

Drinking too much of these nitrogen compounds is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/environment/water/contaminants/nitrate.html#:~:text=Only%20recently%20has%20scientific%20evidence,%2C%20headaches%2C%20and%20abdominal%20cramps." target="_blank">dangerous for babies</a>, and scientists are investigating suspected links to serious health conditions in children and adults, such as cancer.

Public water sources have to comply with federal standards, so utilities treat water to reduce nitrate levels when necessary.

But the same rules don’t apply to private wells, and people often don’t know what their groundwater contains.

Meanwhile, decade by decade, chemicals accumulate.

In 2016, K-State researchers checked water quality in south-central Kansas wells that&nbsp;<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10040-019-02083-z" target="_blank">had also undergone testing 40 years earlier</a>.

“We’re seeing nitrate increases that are massive,” Kirk said, adding that they are “among the biggest” when compared to long-term data from a similar national study.

Farms and livestock facilities rank among the top sources of the nitrogen pollution spilling into U.S. waterways and seeping into groundwater.

Above ground, scientists at the University of Kansas and elsewhere find this runoff makes the blue-green algae on many bodies of water&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2023-10-31/algae-blooms-are-getting-more-toxic-and-spreading-north-on-the-great-plains" target="_blank">increasingly toxic</a>. These toxic blooms poison thirsty animals, spoil weekend plans at the lake and increase the cost of treating public drinking water.

Below ground, in aquifers, the effects of nitrogen call less attention.

Part of the problem: It’s not easy to collect large datasets of chemical analyses from private property. Not everyone tests their wells, and if they do, there’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.neha.org/private-well-water-practices" target="_blank">no centralized database</a>&nbsp;where members of the public and academic researchers can see what they found.

But public health experts continue to dig.

Scientists at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/2023-11-08/nitrate-levels-are-often-higher-in-the-rural-midwest-how-does-this-affect-health" target="_blank">University of Nebraska Medical Center</a>&nbsp;are investigating areas with troubling patterns of childhood cancer. They’re trying to understand whether groundwater contaminated with nitrate and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-09-27/kansas-gov-kelly-sides-with-trump-urges-bidens-epa-to-back-down-from-herbicide-rules" target="_blank">atrazine</a>&nbsp;(the second most common farm herbicide in the U.S.) could play a role.

Nitrate contamination contributes to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/water/blue-baby-syndrome.htm" target="_blank">blue baby syndrome</a>. And scientists continue to scrutinize correlations with thyroid disease, premature births and more.

The questions about health effects&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/2023-11-08/nitrate-levels-are-often-higher-in-the-rural-midwest-how-does-this-affect-health" target="_blank">leave some scientists uneasy</a>&nbsp;with the Environmental Protection Agency’s current standard for nitrate levels in public water supplies.

The agency allows up to 10 milligrams of nitrate per liter of water.

In Kansas, an estimated&nbsp;<a href="https://www.neha.org/private-well-water-practices" target="_blank">150,000 to 175,000 people</a>&nbsp;use groundwater from private wells. No one knows how many of them treat it first.

Families that depend on private wells can consider several treatment options of varying effectiveness, with prices ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

Kirk often points well owners to a guide from the Minnesota Department of Health that explains each&nbsp;<a href="https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/environment/water/docs/factsheet/hometreatment.pdf" target="_blank">home water treatment</a>&nbsp;approach and typical price tags.

In south-central Kansas, K-State’s analysis of water samples indicates that most of the nitrate pollution comes from chemical fertilizers sprayed onto cropland.

Despite advances in technology that help farmers apply the stuff more precisely, the contamination persists.

Wells in the area pull water from the&nbsp;<a href="https://geokansas.ku.edu/kansas-high-plains-aquifer-atlas" target="_blank">Great Bend Prairie Aquifer</a>.

On the whole, this groundwater is relatively close to the surface, and the ground above it is relatively permeable, Kirk said.

That means nitrates trickle into the aquifer faster than, say, into the Ogallala aquifer farther west.

However, Kirk warns that nitrogen pollution could worsen in the Ogallala, too, even if it takes longer.

K-State researchers plan to share their well water data from south-central Kansas with the&nbsp;<a href="https://kgs.ku.edu/water-resources-and-geohydrology" target="_blank">Kansas Geological Survey</a>&nbsp;and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment — agencies that monitor groundwater issues.

As some aquifers shrink, it could exacerbate the problem of nitrogen pollution by concentrating the chemicals in less water.

More people using private wells will either need to treat their water or drink troubling levels of nitrate.

Already, the EPA estimates that about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/estimated-nitrate-concentrations-groundwater-used-drinking#:~:text=EPA's%20maximum%20contaminant%20level%20(MCL,syndrome%20is%2010%20mg%2Fl" target="_blank">one-tenth of the land in Kansas</a>&nbsp;has groundwater with nitrate levels that exceed 10 milligrams per liter.

Meanwhile, small-town and rural water systems — which have tight budgets but must comply with the same federal nitrate limit that applies to larger public water sources — will struggle to handle this.

Haviland, with a population of less than 700 people, had to build&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-03-29/as-fertilizer-pollutes-tap-water-in-small-towns-rural-kansans-pay-the-price" target="_blank">a $2.4 million treatment facility</a>. This nearly tripled residents’ water bills.

“This is going to make it hard to sustain a lot of rural communities,” Kirk said, “who aren’t going to be able to afford a big, fancy treatment plant.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1703791488398.png" alt="Students from Barton Community College, Dodge City Community College and Kansas State University take samples from a family’s well to check the nitrate levels. Photo by Joe Vinduska/Barton Community College" />
 <figcaption>Students from Barton Community College, Dodge City Community College and Kansas State University take samples from a family’s well to check the nitrate levels. Photo by Joe Vinduska/Barton Community College</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>College students are testing private wells in south-central Kansas. The results are prompting families to install treatment systems to reduce nitrate levels.</h2>&nbsp;By&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/people/celia-llopis-jepsen">Celia Llopis-Jepsen</a> <a href="https://www.kcur.org/">Kansas News Service</a>Matthew Kirk has an unpleasant task: breaking the news to families about fertilizer chemicals in their drinking water.The Kansas State University geology professor and his collaborators check for nitrogen pollution in the private wells that so many rural households depend on.“Most of the well owners that I've talked to,” Kirk said, “this isn’t something that’s really on their radar.”Researchers aim to test about 150 private wells in south-central Kansas in Barton, Stafford, Pawnee, Edwards, Rice, Pratt and Kiowa counties.Students and scientists from K-State and Barton and Dodge City community colleges have teamed up to test about 90 so far.Of those, half contain more nitrate than federal regulators allow in public water systems.“Of those that didn’t,” Kirk said, “a lot of them were pretty darn close.”One well contained more than five times as much nitrate as the federal government tolerates in public water supplies. That household has started treating the water before drinking it.Drinking too much of these nitrogen compounds is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/environment/water/contaminants/nitrate.html#:~:text=Only%20recently%20has%20scientific%20evidence,%2C%20headaches%2C%20and%20abdominal%20cramps." target="_blank">dangerous for babies</a>, and scientists are investigating suspected links to serious health conditions in children and adults, such as cancer.Public water sources have to comply with federal standards, so utilities treat water to reduce nitrate levels when necessary.But the same rules don’t apply to private wells, and people often don’t know what their groundwater contains.Meanwhile, decade by decade, chemicals accumulate.In 2016, K-State researchers checked water quality in south-central Kansas wells that&nbsp;<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10040-019-02083-z" target="_blank">had also undergone testing 40 years earlier</a>.“We’re seeing nitrate increases that are massive,” Kirk said, adding that they are “among the biggest” when compared to long-term data from a similar national study.<h2>The stakes for human health</h2>Farms and livestock facilities rank among the top sources of the nitrogen pollution spilling into U.S. waterways and seeping into groundwater.Above ground, scientists at the University of Kansas and elsewhere find this runoff makes the blue-green algae on many bodies of water&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2023-10-31/algae-blooms-are-getting-more-toxic-and-spreading-north-on-the-great-plains" target="_blank">increasingly toxic</a>. These toxic blooms poison thirsty animals, spoil weekend plans at the lake and increase the cost of treating public drinking water.Below ground, in aquifers, the effects of nitrogen call less attention.Part of the problem: It’s not easy to collect large datasets of chemical analyses from private property. Not everyone tests their wells, and if they do, there’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.neha.org/private-well-water-practices" target="_blank">no centralized database</a>&nbsp;where members of the public and academic researchers can see what they found.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1703791731083.png" alt="Barton Community College faculty, students and members of the public view information about nitrate levels in central Kansas groundwater during a presentation at the college. Photo by Joe Vinduska/Barton Community College" />
 <figcaption>Barton Community College faculty, students and members of the public view information about nitrate levels in central Kansas groundwater during a presentation at the college. Photo by Joe Vinduska/Barton Community College</figcaption>
 </figure>But public health experts continue to dig.Scientists at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/2023-11-08/nitrate-levels-are-often-higher-in-the-rural-midwest-how-does-this-affect-health" target="_blank">University of Nebraska Medical Center</a>&nbsp;are investigating areas with troubling patterns of childhood cancer. They’re trying to understand whether groundwater contaminated with nitrate and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-09-27/kansas-gov-kelly-sides-with-trump-urges-bidens-epa-to-back-down-from-herbicide-rules" target="_blank">atrazine</a>&nbsp;(the second most common farm herbicide in the U.S.) could play a role.Nitrate contamination contributes to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/water/blue-baby-syndrome.htm" target="_blank">blue baby syndrome</a>. And scientists continue to scrutinize correlations with thyroid disease, premature births and more.The questions about health effects&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/2023-11-08/nitrate-levels-are-often-higher-in-the-rural-midwest-how-does-this-affect-health" target="_blank">leave some scientists uneasy</a>&nbsp;with the Environmental Protection Agency’s current standard for nitrate levels in public water supplies.The agency allows up to 10 milligrams of nitrate per liter of water.In Kansas, an estimated&nbsp;<a href="https://www.neha.org/private-well-water-practices" target="_blank">150,000 to 175,000 people</a>&nbsp;use groundwater from private wells. No one knows how many of them treat it first.Families that depend on private wells can consider several treatment options of varying effectiveness, with prices ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars.Kirk often points well owners to a guide from the Minnesota Department of Health that explains each&nbsp;<a href="https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/environment/water/docs/factsheet/hometreatment.pdf" target="_blank">home water treatment</a>&nbsp;approach and typical price tags.<h2>What can people do?</h2>In south-central Kansas, K-State’s analysis of water samples indicates that most of the nitrate pollution comes from chemical fertilizers sprayed onto cropland.Despite advances in technology that help farmers apply the stuff more precisely, the contamination persists.Wells in the area pull water from the&nbsp;<a href="https://geokansas.ku.edu/kansas-high-plains-aquifer-atlas" target="_blank">Great Bend Prairie Aquifer</a>.On the whole, this groundwater is relatively close to the surface, and the ground above it is relatively permeable, Kirk said.That means nitrates trickle into the aquifer faster than, say, into the Ogallala aquifer farther west.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1703791840268.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>However, Kirk warns that nitrogen pollution could worsen in the Ogallala, too, even if it takes longer.K-State researchers plan to share their well water data from south-central Kansas with the&nbsp;<a href="https://kgs.ku.edu/water-resources-and-geohydrology" target="_blank">Kansas Geological Survey</a>&nbsp;and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment — agencies that monitor groundwater issues.As some aquifers shrink, it could exacerbate the problem of nitrogen pollution by concentrating the chemicals in less water.More people using private wells will either need to treat their water or drink troubling levels of nitrate.Already, the EPA estimates that about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/estimated-nitrate-concentrations-groundwater-used-drinking#:~:text=EPA's%20maximum%20contaminant%20level%20(MCL,syndrome%20is%2010%20mg%2Fl" target="_blank">one-tenth of the land in Kansas</a>&nbsp;has groundwater with nitrate levels that exceed 10 milligrams per liter.Meanwhile, small-town and rural water systems — which have tight budgets but must comply with the same federal nitrate limit that applies to larger public water sources — will struggle to handle this.Haviland, with a population of less than 700 people, had to build&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-03-29/as-fertilizer-pollutes-tap-water-in-small-towns-rural-kansans-pay-the-price" target="_blank">a $2.4 million treatment facility</a>. This nearly tripled residents’ water bills.“This is going to make it hard to sustain a lot of rural communities,” Kirk said, “who aren’t going to be able to afford a big, fancy treatment plant.”

Researchers are finding high levels of fertilizer in drinking water in Barton County, rural Kansas wells

Lawmakers chopping previous 6.5% tax on groceries to zero on Jan. 1, 2025

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly said the next scheduled reduction in the state’s sales tax on groceries on Jan. 1 would cut the rate in half to 2 percent and enable shoppers in Kansas to avoid $150 million annually in food costs.

The agreement embraced by the 2022 Legislature and the governor established a three-year approach that included a Jan. 1, 2023, drop in the state sales tax on groceries from 6.5 percent to 4 percent. The next step on Jan. 1 moves the state’s assessment to 2 percent on food, food ingredients and certain prepared foods. That would trigger a reduction in state tax collections of $12.5 million per month.

Kansas would join the majority of states by exempting groceries from state sales tax collections on Jan. 1, 2025. Local government sales taxes would still apply to groceries.

“By taking a middle-of-the-road approach,” Kelly said, “we have been able to continue putting money back in the pockets of every Kansan.”

In 2021, Kelly recommended the Republican-led Legislature pass a bill abandoning the state sales tax on groceries. She again called for sacking of the state’s sales tax on food in 2022. The Legislature didn’t bite. Lawmakers, pressured to act in an election year, agreed to the stair-step idea.

In 2022, the Senate unanimously voted for the food sales tax reduction plan. An overwhelming majority of House members agreed. Kelly signed the bill.

The step down from 6.5 percent to 4 percent saved consumers shopping for groceries in Kansas an estimated $187 million during 2023. The compounding influence of the previous and upcoming decline to 2 percent would provide consumers an estimated $500 million in sales tax reductions by the end of 2024, Kelly said.

During a bruising recession in 2010, Democratic Gov. Mark Parkinson agreed to raise the statewide sales tax from 5.3 percent to 6.3 percent to prevent cuts in core social service and education programs. That law promised to draw the rate back to 5.7 percent after three years.

In 2012, Republican Gov. Sam Brownback signed a bill aggressively reducing the state’s income tax, especially for some business owners. It was an experiment in supply-side economics inspired by conservative consultant Arthur Laffer. A soft economy and the refusal of Kansas politicians to reduce state spending to match tax revenue losses led to years of painful budget problems.

Brownback leaned harder on the state sales tax in an attempt to sustain his quest to eliminate the state’s income tax. In 2013, he signed legislation repealing the 2010 law that promised to shrink the state sales tax rate to 5.7 percent. Instead, Brownback reset the rate at 6.15 percent. It allowed him to include in the legislation provisions that would gradually lower the Kansas income tax.

“It has been difficult,” Brownback said at that time. “We’re on a path to growth. Now we’re set.”

In 2015, however, the state government continued to be plagued by revenue shortfalls. Brownback returned to the well. He secured an increase in the state sales tax rate to 6.5 percent.

Brownback’s income tax strategy was repealed by the GOP-controlled House and Senate in 2017 over the Republican governor’s veto. The state’s sales tax, including on groceries, was left unchanged.

The 2019 Legislature passed a bill that would have slashed state tax revenue by at least $500 million over three years. It included a reduction in the food sales tax. Kelly vetoed that bill, arguing it would jeopardize the state’s financial health in a way reminiscent of Brownback policy.

In 2022, Kelly proposed immediate elimination of the state sales tax on groceries and the Legislature offered the three-year phase out associated with food purchases. The state sales tax for non-grocery purchases has stayed at 6.5percent, but that plan cut the food sales tax to 4 percent on Jan. 1, 2023. It is to be rolled back to 2 percent on Jan. 1, 2024, and decline to zero on Jan. 1, 2025.

None of this maneuvering at the Capitol altered city or county sales tax rates, which also apply to grocery purchases in Kansas. In Missouri, that state’s sales tax on groceries is 1.2 percent. Oklahoma charges a 4.5 percent statewide sales tax on groceries. Nebraska and Colorado exempt groceries from the state sales tax.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1703862975530.jpeg" alt="A bill approved by the 2022 Legislature and signed by Gov. Laura Kelly initiated a three-year phase out of the state's 6.5% sales tax on groceries. The next step in the plan is a decline from 4% to 2% on Jan. 1. It will be eliminated at the state level on Jan. 1, 2025. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>A bill approved by the 2022 Legislature and signed by Gov. Laura Kelly initiated a three-year phase out of the state's 6.5% sales tax on groceries. The next step in the plan is a decline from 4% to 2% on Jan. 1. It will be eliminated at the state level on Jan. 1, 2025. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Lawmakers chopping previous 6.5% tax on groceries to zero on Jan. 1, 2025</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly said the next scheduled reduction in the state’s sales tax on groceries on Jan. 1 would cut the rate in half to 2 percent and enable shoppers in Kansas to avoid $150 million annually in food costs.The agreement embraced by the 2022 Legislature and the governor established a three-year approach that included a Jan. 1, 2023, drop in the state sales tax on groceries from 6.5 percent to 4 percent. The next step on Jan. 1 moves the state’s assessment to 2 percent on food, food ingredients and certain prepared foods. That would trigger a reduction in state tax collections of $12.5 million per month.Kansas would join the majority of states by exempting groceries from state sales tax collections on Jan. 1, 2025. Local government sales taxes would still apply to groceries.“By taking a middle-of-the-road approach,” Kelly said, “we have been able to continue putting money back in the pockets of every Kansan.”In 2021, Kelly recommended the Republican-led Legislature pass a bill abandoning the state sales tax on groceries. She again called for sacking of the state’s sales tax on food in 2022. The Legislature didn’t bite. Lawmakers, pressured to act in an election year, agreed to the stair-step idea.<h2>Political ping pong</h2>In 2022, the Senate unanimously voted for the food sales tax reduction plan. An overwhelming majority of House members agreed. Kelly signed the bill.The step down from 6.5 percent to 4 percent saved consumers shopping for groceries in Kansas an estimated $187 million during 2023. The compounding influence of the previous and upcoming decline to 2 percent would provide consumers an estimated $500 million in sales tax reductions by the end of 2024, Kelly said.During a bruising recession in 2010, Democratic Gov. Mark Parkinson agreed to raise the statewide sales tax from 5.3 percent to 6.3 percent to prevent cuts in core social service and education programs. That law promised to draw the rate back to 5.7 percent after three years.In 2012, Republican Gov. Sam Brownback signed a bill aggressively reducing the state’s income tax, especially for some business owners. It was an experiment in supply-side economics inspired by conservative consultant Arthur Laffer. A soft economy and the refusal of Kansas politicians to reduce state spending to match tax revenue losses led to years of painful budget problems.Brownback leaned harder on the state sales tax in an attempt to sustain his quest to eliminate the state’s income tax. In 2013, he signed legislation repealing the 2010 law that promised to shrink the state sales tax rate to 5.7 percent. Instead, Brownback reset the rate at 6.15 percent. It allowed him to include in the legislation provisions that would gradually lower the Kansas income tax.“It has been difficult,” Brownback said at that time. “We’re on a path to growth. Now we’re set.”<h2>Shopping for a deal</h2>In 2015, however, the state government continued to be plagued by revenue shortfalls. Brownback returned to the well. He secured an increase in the state sales tax rate to 6.5 percent.Brownback’s income tax strategy was repealed by the GOP-controlled House and Senate in 2017 over the Republican governor’s veto. The state’s sales tax, including on groceries, was left unchanged.The 2019 Legislature passed a bill that would have slashed state tax revenue by at least $500 million over three years. It included a reduction in the food sales tax. Kelly vetoed that bill, arguing it would jeopardize the state’s financial health in a way reminiscent of Brownback policy.In 2022, Kelly proposed immediate elimination of the state sales tax on groceries and the Legislature offered the three-year phase out associated with food purchases. The state sales tax for non-grocery purchases has stayed at 6.5percent, but that plan cut the food sales tax to 4 percent on Jan. 1, 2023. It is to be rolled back to 2 percent on Jan. 1, 2024, and decline to zero on Jan. 1, 2025.None of this maneuvering at the Capitol altered city or county sales tax rates, which also apply to grocery purchases in Kansas. In Missouri, that state’s sales tax on groceries is 1.2 percent. Oklahoma charges a 4.5 percent statewide sales tax on groceries. Nebraska and Colorado exempt groceries from the state sales tax.

Next phase of Kansas’ gradual repeal of state sales tax on food to yield savings of $150 million

<a href="https://hayspost.com/pages/state-farm-weather-window">For a full look at the weather forecast, click here.</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1703890565601.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://hayspost.com/pages/state-farm-weather-window">For a full look at the weather forecast, click here.</a>

Three-day weather outlook

By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post

Hays High School launched a new Career and Technology Education pathway for teaching this fall.

The school is offering a new year-long course that helps high school students explore the teaching profession.

Jennifer Olt leads the teaching/training and health sciences Career and Technology Education pathways at the high school. Ott has 16 students enrolled in the class this year.

"We have had a little theoretical with practical," she said.

Olt brought in Chris Jochum from the Fort Hays State University College of Education to discuss the coursework the students would have to take to earn degrees in education.

Students also attended the teacher's education day at FHSU where they were able to speak with FHSU education students.

"Once a month, we have what we call a professional learning experience," Olt said. "We have a speaker, and then we go out into the community and work in a school."

After Wilson Elementary School Principal Anita Scheve visited the high school class, the HHS students created and presented three units to Wilson kindergarteners. They included math, science and literacy units on fire safety.

In November, the HHS students visited Lincoln Elementary and led Thanksgiving activities for second graders. The high school students were learning about child development, so the activities focused on fine and gross motor skills.

In December, the HHS students designed a social/emotional learning lesson for their peers at the high school, which focused on handling stress during finals.

Next semester the students will meet with special education director Kyle Carlin and visit the STAR program at Roosevelt Elementary School.&nbsp; The students in the teaching/training class also will be learning about the role of paras and technology in the classroom.

"The whole thing is to make them have experiences they truly would have in the classroom. I make them lesson plan. We practice the lessons," Olt said.

Olt said she thinks students need opportunities to explore professions.

"I think it's important to let them have a taste of it because a lot of times we get to college and we realize what we wanted to do is not at all what we wanted to do," Olt said. "I started out as a chemical engineering major. Joke's on me. Now I'm a chemistry teacher. I'm teaching kids to be really great teachers."

The high school also provides students with opportunities to spend part of their school day as seniors working in internships in the community.

Addy Belle Birdsall, HHS senior, interned at O'Loughlin Elementary School in Anne Dinkel's first-grade class.&nbsp;

Birdsall assisted students during their reading centers. She sometimes works with a student who has advanced to a second-grade reading level.&nbsp;

Birdsall wants to teach younger children, K-2, with a minor in special education.

"I like the one-on-one connection with them," she said.

Birdsall said she thinks the internship will be helpful for her as she embarks on her teaching career.

"I got a lot of connections with the school, so if I want to do student teaching there, I have that connection. If I stay in Hays, I have a connection to where I could work there possibly. Then I get a lot of one-on-one connections with the students."

She also was able to experience the day-to-day duties of a teacher, which she said helped her solidify her decision to be a teacher.

Emma Anderson, HHS senior, also worked in an elementary school during the fall semester. Anderson is a paraprofessional at Roosevelt Elementary School in the special education STAR program.

"We work very one-on-one with students and different tasks they have to accomplish throughout the day, life skills or group work," she said.

Anderson said the para job changed her ideas about her career path.

"I was going to go into social work," she said. "I have always known I wanted to do something with kids. I went into this job. I grew such a huge connection with the kids. I really fell in love with teaching and the relationships you build. That's 100 percent what I want to do."

She intends to major in elementary education with a minor in special education.&nbsp;

Anderson said being a para has been challenging but also a blast.

"The kids' moods can change all of the time, but it's so rewarding," she said. "Even the kids who are in the special needs program ... when they come up to you and say hi or come up to you and give you a hug, it's so rewarding and makes everything worthwhile."

Anderson will be attending Fort Hays State University in the fall.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1703181468372.jpeg" alt="Emma Anderson, Hays High School senior, gives a presentation during a recent HHS career day on her work as a paraprofessional during the fall semester. She plans to study education after graduation. Hays High is now offering a career pathway for future teachers. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Emma Anderson, Hays High School senior, gives a presentation during a recent HHS career day on her work as a paraprofessional during the fall semester. She plans to study education after graduation. Hays High is now offering a career pathway for future teachers. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays PostHays High School launched a new Career and Technology Education pathway for teaching this fall.The school is offering a new year-long course that helps high school students explore the teaching profession.Jennifer Olt leads the teaching/training and health sciences Career and Technology Education pathways at the high school. Ott has 16 students enrolled in the class this year."We have had a little theoretical with practical," she said.Olt brought in Chris Jochum from the Fort Hays State University College of Education to discuss the coursework the students would have to take to earn degrees in education.Students also attended the teacher's education day at FHSU where they were able to speak with FHSU education students."Once a month, we have what we call a professional learning experience," Olt said. "We have a speaker, and then we go out into the community and work in a school."After Wilson Elementary School Principal Anita Scheve visited the high school class, the HHS students created and presented three units to Wilson kindergarteners. They included math, science and literacy units on fire safety.In November, the HHS students visited Lincoln Elementary and led Thanksgiving activities for second graders. The high school students were learning about child development, so the activities focused on fine and gross motor skills.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1703181811188.jpeg" alt="Addy Belle Birdsall, HHS senior, interned at O'Loughlin Elementary School during the fall semester. She said she thought it helped her make valuable connections for her future career. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Addy Belle Birdsall, HHS senior, interned at O'Loughlin Elementary School during the fall semester. She said she thought it helped her make valuable connections for her future career. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>In December, the HHS students designed a social/emotional learning lesson for their peers at the high school, which focused on handling stress during finals.Next semester the students will meet with special education director Kyle Carlin and visit the STAR program at Roosevelt Elementary School.&nbsp; The students in the teaching/training class also will be learning about the role of paras and technology in the classroom."The whole thing is to make them have experiences they truly would have in the classroom. I make them lesson plan. We practice the lessons," Olt said.Olt said she thinks students need opportunities to explore professions."I think it's important to let them have a taste of it because a lot of times we get to college and we realize what we wanted to do is not at all what we wanted to do," Olt said. "I started out as a chemical engineering major. Joke's on me. Now I'm a chemistry teacher. I'm teaching kids to be really great teachers."The high school also provides students with opportunities to spend part of their school day as seniors working in internships in the community.Addy Belle Birdsall, HHS senior, interned at O'Loughlin Elementary School in Anne Dinkel's first-grade class.&nbsp;Birdsall assisted students during their reading centers. She sometimes works with a student who has advanced to a second-grade reading level.&nbsp;Birdsall wants to teach younger children, K-2, with a minor in special education."I like the one-on-one connection with them," she said.Birdsall said she thinks the internship will be helpful for her as she embarks on her teaching career."I got a lot of connections with the school, so if I want to do student teaching there, I have that connection. If I stay in Hays, I have a connection to where I could work there possibly. Then I get a lot of one-on-one connections with the students."She also was able to experience the day-to-day duties of a teacher, which she said helped her solidify her decision to be a teacher.Emma Anderson, HHS senior, also worked in an elementary school during the fall semester. Anderson is a paraprofessional at Roosevelt Elementary School in the special education STAR program."We work very one-on-one with students and different tasks they have to accomplish throughout the day, life skills or group work," she said.Anderson said the para job changed her ideas about her career path."I was going to go into social work," she said. "I have always known I wanted to do something with kids. I went into this job. I grew such a huge connection with the kids. I really fell in love with teaching and the relationships you build. That's 100 percent what I want to do."She intends to major in elementary education with a minor in special education.&nbsp;Anderson said being a para has been challenging but also a blast."The kids' moods can change all of the time, but it's so rewarding," she said. "Even the kids who are in the special needs program ... when they come up to you and say hi or come up to you and give you a hug, it's so rewarding and makes everything worthwhile."Anderson will be attending Fort Hays State University in the fall.

Hays High offers career pathway for future teachers

Ellis County Historical Society would like to thank everyone who has stepped up to support the Brick-by-Brick campaign to save and reopen the historic brick church building on Seventh and Main in Hays. 

In 2023, ECHS capital fundraising set a record year. Foundation grants certainly carried momentum through the various projects but private donations from the community spoke volumes in support of the society’s mission to preserve and share the stories of our history.&nbsp;

In particular, the matching campaign, initiated by Hays resident Darrell Seibel’s donation of $18,000 raised over $50,000 in donations in July 2023. Philanthropists and longtime supporters like Darrell, and his late wife, Marilyn, lead the important charge of Saving Our Past’s Future by encouraging others to join the mission and work of ECHS. When so many do their part, by whatever means possible, we are empowered to realize our vision for generations to come.&nbsp;

In January, ECHS will host its annual meeting of members. The public is welcome and invited to attend. Everyone can view our new entries and renovated curator lab. Votes will be counted to select board members and approve the 2024 budget allowances. Ballot voting is reserved for members only. Applications are available at the meeting for anyone wishing to join and become a voting member. All member dues support the general operations budget.&nbsp;

The Museum Space Committee is excited to share plans for Phase 3 (the final step of this project) at the annual meeting and a unique fundraising initiative will be revealed. Please join us at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 29 in the basement commons area of the ECHS red brick building, 100 W. Seventh St. in Hays. For easy access to the basement, the ramp entrance is open on the south side of the building.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1635966752944.jpeg" alt="File photo/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>File photo/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>ECHS&nbsp;Ellis County Historical Society would like to thank everyone who has stepped up to support the Brick-by-Brick campaign to save and reopen the historic brick church building on Seventh and Main in Hays. Phase 2 renovations are almost complete.In 2023, ECHS capital fundraising set a record year. Foundation grants certainly carried momentum through the various projects but private donations from the community spoke volumes in support of the society’s mission to preserve and share the stories of our history.&nbsp;In particular, the matching campaign, initiated by Hays resident Darrell Seibel’s donation of $18,000 raised over $50,000 in donations in July 2023. Philanthropists and longtime supporters like Darrell, and his late wife, Marilyn, lead the important charge of Saving Our Past’s Future by encouraging others to join the mission and work of ECHS. When so many do their part, by whatever means possible, we are empowered to realize our vision for generations to come.&nbsp;In January, ECHS will host its annual meeting of members. The public is welcome and invited to attend. Everyone can view our new entries and renovated curator lab. Votes will be counted to select board members and approve the 2024 budget allowances. Ballot voting is reserved for members only. Applications are available at the meeting for anyone wishing to join and become a voting member. All member dues support the general operations budget.&nbsp;The Museum Space Committee is excited to share plans for Phase 3 (the final step of this project) at the annual meeting and a unique fundraising initiative will be revealed. Please join us at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 29 in the basement commons area of the ECHS red brick building, 100 W. Seventh St. in Hays. For easy access to the basement, the ramp entrance is open on the south side of the building.&nbsp;

ECHS grateful for Seibel’s Challenge; public invited to annual meeting Jan. 29 

Julia Debes Kansas Wheat

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Wheat farmers, grain trade representatives and state and national wheat organization staff members got to walk a figurative mile in the shoes of their end-use customers this month during a flour milling short course at the IGP Institute at Kansas State University.&nbsp;

The IGP Institute organizes this course annually as a deep dive into milling and baking processes. This year’s course, conducted December 11-13, 2023, was designed to give wheat growers and industry personnel training in the basic principles of flour milling and a greater understanding of the relationship between wheat quality and flour performance. Eighteen participants representing seven states participated in this year’s course. They got a firsthand look at the ins and outs of what it takes to take wheat from the kernel to the loaf or other wheat food product.&nbsp;

Chris Tanner, vice president of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers and a farmer from Norton, Eric Sperber, CEO of Cornerstone Ag in Colby, who serves as an industry representative on the KAWG board, and Kansas Wheat Vice President of Communications Marsha Boswell participated in the short course. Farmers from Idaho, Oregon, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Montana, representatives from national wheat organizations, as well as wheat breeders from South Dakota also attended the course, providing each other with a unique viewpoint of the quality needs throughout the wheat and flour supply chain.

“From a grower’s perspective, wheat is wheat. I took it for granted,” Tanner said. “I thought you just ground it into flour and made bread. That was definitely oversimplified. Most people have a mindset that you run it through the mill once, but I didn’t know it went through so many breaks.”

In addition to classroom lectures, the course included hands-on practical training in K-State’s milling and baking laboratories. The group members learned about the milling differences in the six classes of wheat, principles of wheat cleaning and conditioning, an explanation of major milling equipment and the process of wheat and flour blending, as well as the impact of grade, wheat quality characteristics and mill performance on flour extraction. At the milling laboratory in Shellenberger Hall on the K-State campus, the participants divided into groups to mill all six classes of U.S. wheat.&nbsp;

“There’s an intricate process to get every last piece of flour extracted to get a decent margin,” Tanner said. “The flour miller’s margin is thin, like the farmer’s. The things we do on the farm impact the mill’s bottom line.&nbsp;

“There are people every step along the way that care about getting the best product to the consumer. Everyone along the industry chain is trying to bring the highest quality product to market,” he said.

At the Hal Ross Flour Mill, attendees walked through the machinations and process of an actual flour mill and learned about the various products a mill can produce.&nbsp;They milled both hard red winter and soft white wheat in the mill.

“Having been in the wheat trading business for 30 years, I found the course to be enlightening,” Sperber said. “The milling side of the course really resonated with me. It was helpful to see the dynamics of the milling process. Milling wheat into flour is much more complex than just grinding the seed. My anticipation was that you ran the wheat through the mill once and you had bran, germ and flour. I had no concept of the streams it went through to maximize the endosperm.”

In the baking lab, attendees also learned about the different flour and dough testing methods that end-use customers use to evaluate the quality and functionality of each load of wheat. They also participated in baking tests to see the variation in products like bread, cakes and cookies when using different classes of wheat.&nbsp;

“The classroom instruction on the baking and flour qualities was interesting,” said Sperber. “I didn’t know about the care of trying to not damage the starch from the baking side of it.”

Tanner agreed, saying, “When you buy a bag of flour, you think it’s flour. I learned about the different flours made from the classes of wheat. In the baking lab, I didn’t get the flour I needed to make a loaf of bread, so instead I made a brick.”

Ultimately, the short course pulls back the curtain on the technical aspects of how differences in wheat class and qualities impact the final product on a consumer’s plate. The farmers and staff who attended the course left with valuable knowledge of how to better meet the needs of their customers.&nbsp;

Learn more about the technical, research-based training offered by K-State through the IGP Institute at&nbsp;<a href="https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001kAHRaBZvRAcAWhSwKA447VYoZAHdzIKpWtQnIDEw6_z6moOhh7cS4pm_wfC4R1C3InkKMXZGz842n7yZnAhePgqPU9zUfCOZQbzinNPZn8M41kPCVIsMfH2_u_IxhRWN9g6522bZzd674vUzeoWDin9idkIsIuGU&amp;c=NDjRI2srZWb9w8UUk_Zc8e6FNQ4WJjVRCw8zSqEd4_RCc6MsBSPnRA==&amp;ch=kfLe6-nSVc3tdrJ3w5T5VTwG7rnothwijPaVC9OnGL64OL0sBa-4GQ==">grains.k-state.edu/igp/</a>.

Julia Debes Kansas WheatMANHATTAN, Kan. – Wheat farmers, grain trade representatives and state and national wheat organization staff members got to walk a figurative mile in the shoes of their end-use customers this month during a flour milling short course at the IGP Institute at Kansas State University.&nbsp;The IGP Institute organizes this course annually as a deep dive into milling and baking processes. This year’s course, conducted December 11-13, 2023, was designed to give wheat growers and industry personnel training in the basic principles of flour milling and a greater understanding of the relationship between wheat quality and flour performance. Eighteen participants representing seven states participated in this year’s course. They got a firsthand look at the ins and outs of what it takes to take wheat from the kernel to the loaf or other wheat food product.&nbsp;Chris Tanner, vice president of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers and a farmer from Norton, Eric Sperber, CEO of Cornerstone Ag in Colby, who serves as an industry representative on the KAWG board, and Kansas Wheat Vice President of Communications Marsha Boswell participated in the short course. Farmers from Idaho, Oregon, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Montana, representatives from national wheat organizations, as well as wheat breeders from South Dakota also attended the course, providing each other with a unique viewpoint of the quality needs throughout the wheat and flour supply chain.“From a grower’s perspective, wheat is wheat. I took it for granted,” Tanner said. “I thought you just ground it into flour and made bread. That was definitely oversimplified. Most people have a mindset that you run it through the mill once, but I didn’t know it went through so many breaks.”In addition to classroom lectures, the course included hands-on practical training in K-State’s milling and baking laboratories. The group members learned about the milling differences in the six classes of wheat, principles of wheat cleaning and conditioning, an explanation of major milling equipment and the process of wheat and flour blending, as well as the impact of grade, wheat quality characteristics and mill performance on flour extraction. At the milling laboratory in Shellenberger Hall on the K-State campus, the participants divided into groups to mill all six classes of U.S. wheat.&nbsp;“There’s an intricate process to get every last piece of flour extracted to get a decent margin,” Tanner said. “The flour miller’s margin is thin, like the farmer’s. The things we do on the farm impact the mill’s bottom line.&nbsp;“There are people every step along the way that care about getting the best product to the consumer. Everyone along the industry chain is trying to bring the highest quality product to market,” he said.At the Hal Ross Flour Mill, attendees walked through the machinations and process of an actual flour mill and learned about the various products a mill can produce.&nbsp;They milled both hard red winter and soft white wheat in the mill.“Having been in the wheat trading business for 30 years, I found the course to be enlightening,” Sperber said. “The milling side of the course really resonated with me. It was helpful to see the dynamics of the milling process. Milling wheat into flour is much more complex than just grinding the seed. My anticipation was that you ran the wheat through the mill once and you had bran, germ and flour. I had no concept of the streams it went through to maximize the endosperm.”In the baking lab, attendees also learned about the different flour and dough testing methods that end-use customers use to evaluate the quality and functionality of each load of wheat. They also participated in baking tests to see the variation in products like bread, cakes and cookies when using different classes of wheat.&nbsp;“The classroom instruction on the baking and flour qualities was interesting,” said Sperber. “I didn’t know about the care of trying to not damage the starch from the baking side of it.”Tanner agreed, saying, “When you buy a bag of flour, you think it’s flour. I learned about the different flours made from the classes of wheat. In the baking lab, I didn’t get the flour I needed to make a loaf of bread, so instead I made a brick.”Ultimately, the short course pulls back the curtain on the technical aspects of how differences in wheat class and qualities impact the final product on a consumer’s plate. The farmers and staff who attended the course left with valuable knowledge of how to better meet the needs of their customers.&nbsp;Learn more about the technical, research-based training offered by K-State through the IGP Institute at&nbsp;<a href="https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001kAHRaBZvRAcAWhSwKA447VYoZAHdzIKpWtQnIDEw6_z6moOhh7cS4pm_wfC4R1C3InkKMXZGz842n7yZnAhePgqPU9zUfCOZQbzinNPZn8M41kPCVIsMfH2_u_IxhRWN9g6522bZzd674vUzeoWDin9idkIsIuGU&amp;c=NDjRI2srZWb9w8UUk_Zc8e6FNQ4WJjVRCw8zSqEd4_RCc6MsBSPnRA==&amp;ch=kfLe6-nSVc3tdrJ3w5T5VTwG7rnothwijPaVC9OnGL64OL0sBa-4GQ==">grains.k-state.edu/igp/</a>.

Wheat Scoop: Wheat leaders take a deep dive into milling and baking during K-State short course

This January will kick off K-State Extension’s Living Well Wednesday Series on January 10th from 12:10 to 1 pm. Family and Community Wellness Extension agents and specialists facilitate these educational webinars, and this series will focus on women's health.

The January 10th session is titled, ‘Sleep is a Superpower’ because a lot happens while you are sleeping. Inadequate sleep directly affects our relationships, life expectancy, libido, cardiovascular health, immune system, and it contributes to weight gain. Learn how to leverage this superpower for better health during the webinar. Michelle Lane, the Senior Director of Community Wellness and Corporate Health at North Kansas City Hospital, will be presenting on this topic.

On February 14th, we will learn about Women’s Health and Functional Medicine. Women often take care of everyone else before prioritizing their own health. This leads to sleep deprivation, poor eating habits, gut issues, and increased stress which in turn can cause a compromised immune system and other health issues. During this webinar, we’ll look at common root causes of illness in women including the impact that trauma and ACE’s have on well-being. Join us for this informative webinar presented by Joleen Zivnuska, Women's Health Nurse Practitioner in Wichita, KS.

The last session on March 13th, we will talk about Navigating Diets, Supplements, and Women’s Health. With so much information on health, it’s hard to know what is true. This session will cover keys to a healthy and balanced diet, discuss how/when to use supplements, and explore wellness tips for women. Learn if medications that facilitate weight loss work for long-term wellness during this informative webinar. Join us and bring your questions as Priscilla

Brenes, State Extension Specialist in the Department of Food, Nutrition, Dietetics, and Health shares her expertise.

Each webinar is the on the second Wednesday of the month from 12:10 to 1pm. All Living Well Wednesday webinars are recorded and posted on the K-State Extension Wellness Wednesday Website, but make sure to register online to attend live or to receive a link to the recording and information. https://bit.ly/47WAPoN

Karissa Winkel is the Family and Community Wellness Agent with K-State Research and Extension – Cottonwood District. You may reach her at: 620-793-1910 or krwinkel@ksu.edu. K-State Research &amp; Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/10/1697546908793.jpeg" alt="Karissa Winkel - Cottonwood Extension District" />
 <figcaption>Karissa Winkel - Cottonwood Extension District</figcaption>
 </figure>This January will kick off K-State Extension’s Living Well Wednesday Series on January 10th from 12:10 to 1 pm. Family and Community Wellness Extension agents and specialists facilitate these educational webinars, and this series will focus on women's health.The January 10th session is titled, ‘Sleep is a Superpower’ because a lot happens while you are sleeping. Inadequate sleep directly affects our relationships, life expectancy, libido, cardiovascular health, immune system, and it contributes to weight gain. Learn how to leverage this superpower for better health during the webinar. Michelle Lane, the Senior Director of Community Wellness and Corporate Health at North Kansas City Hospital, will be presenting on this topic.On February 14th, we will learn about Women’s Health and Functional Medicine. Women often take care of everyone else before prioritizing their own health. This leads to sleep deprivation, poor eating habits, gut issues, and increased stress which in turn can cause a compromised immune system and other health issues. During this webinar, we’ll look at common root causes of illness in women including the impact that trauma and ACE’s have on well-being. Join us for this informative webinar presented by Joleen Zivnuska, Women's Health Nurse Practitioner in Wichita, KS.The last session on March 13th, we will talk about Navigating Diets, Supplements, and Women’s Health. With so much information on health, it’s hard to know what is true. This session will cover keys to a healthy and balanced diet, discuss how/when to use supplements, and explore wellness tips for women. Learn if medications that facilitate weight loss work for long-term wellness during this informative webinar. Join us and bring your questions as PriscillaBrenes, State Extension Specialist in the Department of Food, Nutrition, Dietetics, and Health shares her expertise.Each webinar is the on the second Wednesday of the month from 12:10 to 1pm. All Living Well Wednesday webinars are recorded and posted on the K-State Extension Wellness Wednesday Website, but make sure to register online to attend live or to receive a link to the recording and information. https://bit.ly/47WAPoNKarissa Winkel is the Family and Community Wellness Agent with K-State Research and Extension – Cottonwood District. You may reach her at: 620-793-1910 or krwinkel@ksu.edu. K-State Research &amp; Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

WINKEL: Women's Health, Living Well Wednesday Series

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1703890428376.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://hayspost.com/pages/state-farm-weather-window">For a full look at the weather forecast, click here.</a>

Imagine Ellis County: Show us your Best of 2023

LANE COUNTY—Three people avoided injury after a small plane incident in western Kansas.

At 2:30p.m. Saturday, sheriff's deputies and Fire and EMS were dispatched to an aircraft emergency in the area of 96 highway and Jagger Road west of Dighton, according to a social media report from the Lane County Sheriff's office.

First responders determined that a twin engine Piper aircraft had lost both engines and was forced to land in a field.&nbsp; The pilot and two passengers were uninjured and the plane did not appear to have significant damage. 

The Kansas Highway Patrol responded to the incident. The Federal Aviation Administration and NTSB will be in charge of the investigation.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1704050689839.png" alt="Photo Lane Co. Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Photo Lane Co. Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>LANE COUNTY—Three people avoided injury after a small plane incident in western Kansas.At 2:30p.m. Saturday, sheriff's deputies and Fire and EMS were dispatched to an aircraft emergency in the area of 96 highway and Jagger Road west of Dighton, according to a social media report from the Lane County Sheriff's office.First responders determined that a twin engine Piper aircraft had lost both engines and was forced to land in a field.&nbsp; The pilot and two passengers were uninjured and the plane did not appear to have significant damage. The Kansas Highway Patrol responded to the incident. The Federal Aviation Administration and NTSB will be in charge of the investigation.

Small plane forced to land in western Kansas field

One of Groucho Marx’s more famous lines was “I once killed an elephant in my pajamas; what he was doing in my pajamas I’ll never know!

I haven’t trapped in a couple years because there is no local market for fur anymore, but each year about this time, I recall an encounter I had with a pet raccoon when I was young. For the purpose of this story, I’ll call him “Lucky” because he could just as easily have been the cuffs and collar on someone’s jacket. My brother and I trapped a lot, and we soon found that fur became more valuable after trapping season was over, because the prices were higher then. We skinned the furbearers we caught, and learned how to properly stretch and care for the pelts, so they could be kept and sold when the fur prices were the best.

There were a few places locally that bought and sold fur, some more reputable than others. One guy had set up shop in an old round grain bin and actually showed me the shotgun he rigged each night to shoot any “unsuspecting” thief who might open the door, but that’s another story in itself. One of the better known in our area was Mr. Squires near the little town of Chesterville. This particular winter day I had arrived at Squires place bearing my hard earned collection of pelts to sell. The day must have been chilly, because I wore the standard winter attire of all farm kids… insulated coveralls. I’ve always been warm-blooded, and I often wore my coveralls zipped open in front. That day as I watched him grade the fur, I stood with my hands in my unzipped coverall pockets, and leaned against the front of a long, tall work table, which caught me about waist high. Suddenly, from somewhere behind the counter but seemingly out of nowhere, came an immense living ball of fur, and dove headfirst into my open coveralls! I starred down in disbelief at the furry tail and wiggling derriere, and somehow identified it as that of a raccoon. Now raccoons are not all that large, but picture one coming at you form waist high and diving headfirst into your drawers! Believe you me, this one was immense!

Anyway, somehow, I composed myself enough to pluck the wriggling beast from my bloomers, and after I had “freshened up” in the men’s room, and ole’ Squires had stopped rolling on the floor, I got the story on the coon.’As I recall, Squires said that some kids had stopped in one evening after checking their traps, and told him they had a raccoon to sell. He told them to bring it in, and they replied that it was “still kinda’ warm.” Squires said he was not concerned because most kids just had a few traps to earn a little extra cash, so it was common for him to get carcasses that had been freshly killed and removed from a trap. However, the “carcass” they brought in was very warm, and very alive! They had stumbled onto a young raccoon, I believe while cutting fire wood, and didn’t want to kill it, so they decided they would just sell it to Squires and let him decide it’s fate. Its fate, whether good or bad, was to become a pet (or pest as the case may be) and to terrorize all who came to sell fur!

Though embarrassing to me (in more ways than one,) and hilarious to him, Squires said that my reaction to Lucky’s sudden appearance over the counter was one of the milder he’d seen. If you can get past the fact that raccoons are into everything, and that there are

very few doors or lids made that they cannot learn to open, they make fun pets, and Lucky seemed to be no exception. Squires said the rougher you played with ole’ Lucky, the better he liked it. Raccoons take sort of abbreviated hibernations, more like long siestas, off-and-on each winter. Evidently, Mother Nature still urges even pets to do this, and when he suddenly disappeared Squires figured he had somehow gotten out the door or had crawled off and died, so he kind of gave up on ever seeing the varmint again, even admitting that he missed the little beggar. Squires also had a metal roofing business, and one day, while in the end of his shop where all the big rolls of roofing were stored, he happened to glance down into one of the tall rolls, and lo and behold, there was ole’ Lucky, sound asleep, taking his wild raccoon nap!

Now, nearly sixty years later, ole’ Lucky has certainly left this world, and I’d say it’s a good bet Squires has too. I don’t claim to know how the “animals in heaven” thing is going to work, but I do know that when I first walk through the pearly gates, I’ll darn sure have my coveralls zipped up just in case! Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors!

Steve can be contacted by email at stevenrgilliland@gmail.com.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1574696211722.png" alt="Steve Gilliland" />
 <figcaption>Steve Gilliland</figcaption>
 </figure>One of Groucho Marx’s more famous lines was “I once killed an elephant in my pajamas; what he was doing in my pajamas I’ll never know!I haven’t trapped in a couple years because there is no local market for fur anymore, but each year about this time, I recall an encounter I had with a pet raccoon when I was young. For the purpose of this story, I’ll call him “Lucky” because he could just as easily have been the cuffs and collar on someone’s jacket. My brother and I trapped a lot, and we soon found that fur became more valuable after trapping season was over, because the prices were higher then. We skinned the furbearers we caught, and learned how to properly stretch and care for the pelts, so they could be kept and sold when the fur prices were the best.There were a few places locally that bought and sold fur, some more reputable than others. One guy had set up shop in an old round grain bin and actually showed me the shotgun he rigged each night to shoot any “unsuspecting” thief who might open the door, but that’s another story in itself. One of the better known in our area was Mr. Squires near the little town of Chesterville. This particular winter day I had arrived at Squires place bearing my hard earned collection of pelts to sell. The day must have been chilly, because I wore the standard winter attire of all farm kids… insulated coveralls. I’ve always been warm-blooded, and I often wore my coveralls zipped open in front. That day as I watched him grade the fur, I stood with my hands in my unzipped coverall pockets, and leaned against the front of a long, tall work table, which caught me about waist high. Suddenly, from somewhere behind the counter but seemingly out of nowhere, came an immense living ball of fur, and dove headfirst into my open coveralls! I starred down in disbelief at the furry tail and wiggling derriere, and somehow identified it as that of a raccoon. Now raccoons are not all that large, but picture one coming at you form waist high and diving headfirst into your drawers! Believe you me, this one was immense!Anyway, somehow, I composed myself enough to pluck the wriggling beast from my bloomers, and after I had “freshened up” in the men’s room, and ole’ Squires had stopped rolling on the floor, I got the story on the coon.’As I recall, Squires said that some kids had stopped in one evening after checking their traps, and told him they had a raccoon to sell. He told them to bring it in, and they replied that it was “still kinda’ warm.” Squires said he was not concerned because most kids just had a few traps to earn a little extra cash, so it was common for him to get carcasses that had been freshly killed and removed from a trap. However, the “carcass” they brought in was very warm, and very alive! They had stumbled onto a young raccoon, I believe while cutting fire wood, and didn’t want to kill it, so they decided they would just sell it to Squires and let him decide it’s fate. Its fate, whether good or bad, was to become a pet (or pest as the case may be) and to terrorize all who came to sell fur!Though embarrassing to me (in more ways than one,) and hilarious to him, Squires said that my reaction to Lucky’s sudden appearance over the counter was one of the milder he’d seen. If you can get past the fact that raccoons are into everything, and that there arevery few doors or lids made that they cannot learn to open, they make fun pets, and Lucky seemed to be no exception. Squires said the rougher you played with ole’ Lucky, the better he liked it. Raccoons take sort of abbreviated hibernations, more like long siestas, off-and-on each winter. Evidently, Mother Nature still urges even pets to do this, and when he suddenly disappeared Squires figured he had somehow gotten out the door or had crawled off and died, so he kind of gave up on ever seeing the varmint again, even admitting that he missed the little beggar. Squires also had a metal roofing business, and one day, while in the end of his shop where all the big rolls of roofing were stored, he happened to glance down into one of the tall rolls, and lo and behold, there was ole’ Lucky, sound asleep, taking his wild raccoon nap!Now, nearly sixty years later, ole’ Lucky has certainly left this world, and I’d say it’s a good bet Squires has too. I don’t claim to know how the “animals in heaven” thing is going to work, but I do know that when I first walk through the pearly gates, I’ll darn sure have my coveralls zipped up just in case! Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors!Steve can be contacted by email at stevenrgilliland@gmail.com.

Exploring Kansas Outdoors: A raccoon in my coveralls

Across 21 states, nearly 40 percent of those who lost Medicaid coverage are children

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/nadahassanein/">NADA HASSANEIN</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

Eight months&nbsp;after states started&nbsp;dropping millions of low-income families&nbsp;from&nbsp;Medicaid rolls, grassroots groups say they are leading the push to&nbsp;re-enroll people denied coverage for bureaucratic reasons.

Nationwide, more than&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/medicaid-enrollment-and-unwinding-tracker/#:~:text=At%20least-,11%2C967%2C000,-Medicaid%20enrollees%20have">12.5 million</a>&nbsp;people have lost coverage since April. That’s when the federal pandemic provision that had required states not to drop anyone from the rolls expired and states restarted income eligibility checks.

Federal officials over the summer allowed states to exercise&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2023/06/12/hhs-takes-additional-action-to-keep-people-covered-as-states-resume-medicaid-chip-renewals.html">flexibility</a>&nbsp;to avoid potentially unnecessary coverage losses, and mailed letters to governors warning that high numbers of removals for procedural reasons and long wait times could violate federal rules.

Still, as of Dec. 13,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/medicaid-enrollment-and-unwinding-tracker/#:~:text=with%20available%20data%2C-,71%25%20of%20all%20people,-disenrolled%20had%20their">71</a>&nbsp;percent&nbsp;of the people who were dropped lost their coverage through “procedural” disenrollments — that is, they were missing paperwork or otherwise didn’t complete the renewal process by a specified date — according to health policy research organization KFF.

Many of those people&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/medicaid-enrollment-and-unwinding-tracker/">may be eligible</a>&nbsp;for coverage, but struggle to get the paperwork through state bureaucracies.

Children, young adults, and&nbsp;Black and Hispanic people are overrepresented on the Medicaid rolls, compared with their share of the overall population. A federal Office of Health Policy&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/404a7572048090ec1259d216f3fd617e/aspe-end-mcaid-continuous-coverage_IB.pdf">brief</a>&nbsp;published in August 2022 ahead of the unwinding estimated&nbsp;that&nbsp;nearly one-third of those predicted to lose coverage would be Hispanic and another 15 percent Black — groups with health disparities that were magnified during the pandemic. About 60 percent of Medicaid enrollees are Black, Hispanic, Asian or multiracial.

More than 2.4 million children have lost coverage. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued another warning, mailing letters to governors of nine states — Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Dakota and Texas — with the highest&nbsp;rates of children dropped from the rolls.

Officials urged those states,&nbsp;which together have dropped&nbsp;60 percent of the children&nbsp;who have lost Medicaid coverage nationwide,&nbsp;to&nbsp;use flexibility provided by federal officials to “help prevent children and their families from losing coverage due to red tape,”&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2023/12/18/biden-harris-administration-releases-new-medicaid-chip-renewal-data-showing-role-statepolicychoices-play-keeping-kids-covered.html?preview=4hqrnHT295UmVM4R">noting</a>&nbsp;the efforts are “especially important for children and families of color.”

The department also noted that the 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid — Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming — “have disenrolled more children than those that have expanded combined.”

Federal officials also announced that relaxed rules that allowed automatic renewals will be continued through the end of 2024 to give states more time and keep more families covered.

States have released online tools to help local leaders and providers offer guidance on how to enroll. Texas, for example, created “<a target="_blank" href="https://www.hhs.texas.gov/providers/medicaid-business-resources/end-continuous-medicaid-coverage-ambassador-toolkit">ambassador</a>” toolkits in Spanish and English, with social media graphics and flyers geared toward families and older residents on how to set up an online account to re-enroll. Utah said it developed billboard and radio ads along with its own toolkits and flyers in 13 languages.

Still, grassroots groups say they are doing the heavy lifting.

These advocates’ outreach efforts go “beyond the walls of the capitol,” said Dr. Dena Hubbard, a neonatologist at Children’s Mercy hospital in Kansas City who chairs&nbsp;the public policy committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics’&nbsp;Kansas&nbsp;chapter.

“(They’re) going to people, meeting people where they are in their communities, knowing what they need, knowing where they are, and helping them get the services they need,” she said. “I strongly feel that grassroots is where it’s at.”

Karina Gonzalez’s 18-year-old son only has enough psychiatric medication to get him through the end of December.

The Kansas City, Kansas, mother of four is worried about what will happen next. Her family was dropped from Medicaid coverage in October, and the kids haven’t been able to go to any doctor’s appointments, she said.

Gonzalez’s household relies on the income of her husband, who works in construction.

“It has affected us,” Gonzalez said in Spanish as her 16-year-old daughter translated. She said she feels “frustrated and nervous,” especially amid flu season.

Gonzalez received a letter the first week of October saying the family was no longer covered. She said she didn’t know why they were dropped and struggled with the online KanCare system, which isn’t available in Spanish. That’s when she reached out to El Centro, a community health advocacy group that assists Kansas Latino families. Spanish-speaking patient navigators there have been helping her collect and submit documentation to get re-enrolled, she said.

Matt Lara, chief of staff of&nbsp;the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said aside from the online portal, applicants and families renewing whose first language isn’t English can call and be connected with a language assistance line.

“Kansas is not a Medicaid Expansion state, which means that our eligibility threshold for non-disabled, non-pregnant adults is incredibly low,” Lara said in an emailed statement on the rate of children losing coverage. “As a result, over&nbsp;2/3 of our enrollees are children, and that results in them being the largest cohort of members losing eligibility.”

In Utah, Oreta Tupola is the program coordinator for the Utah Community Health Workers Association. Her community health workers have been helping families in the Latino and Pacific Islander community reapply.

Families have been calling her from the emergency room after taking a relative there and finding out they no longer have coverage. Many clients of her community health workers suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, and take essential medications for the conditions.

“We started getting calls now from our clients saying, ‘I went to the doctor, or I’m at the ER, and I can’t get in. They won’t see me,’” Tupola said. “(They’d say) ‘I didn’t know I didn’t have coverage.’ Or one of the women that called me said, ‘Hey, I’m trying to go pick up my medicine and when I went to get my medication, that’s when I found out that I don’t have Medicaid anymore.’ Now we’re scrambling to get them back on and approved, which is another long process.”

Many of those who lost Medicaid coverage could qualify for it. Utah has the second-highest rate of people who lost coverage for administrative or paperwork reasons at 94%, following New Mexico at 95%.

New Mexico’s Health Services Department told Stateline in an email that it is using multilingual awareness campaigns along with some of the relaxed federal rules, such as a 30-day delay in procedural terminations, which extends the renewal deadline. As a result, the department asserts it is “seeing minimal eligibility closures.”

Last week, in two columns published in the monthly peer-reviewed health care journal Health Affairs, health policy experts addressed the unwinding.

“It should no longer be acceptable to maintain policies and practices that make it so difficult for people to enroll and retain their coverage,”&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/unwinding-should-call-action-fix-fragmented-system">wrote</a>&nbsp;experts from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a research and policy institute that advocates for left-leaning policies. They said the process has cast a light on the nation’s “fragmented” health care system.

Allison Orris, a co-author and senior fellow at the center, said in an interview the continuous enrollment period showed the benefits of minimizing red tape on a larger scale.

The churn “is magnifying some of the challenges that have always existed in systems,” she said. “The pandemic really laid bare a lot of fractures across many social services programs, and in Medicaid, we know that there have always been a high number of people who were eligible for Medicaid but not enrolled — and that is likely a sign that it was too hard to get enrolled and to stay enrolled in coverage.”

Craig Wilson, director of health policy at the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, co-authored the second&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/medicaid-unwound-disenrolled-deserve-epilogue">column</a>. Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://ccf.georgetown.edu/2023/08/17/medicaids-coverage-role-in-small-towns-and-rural-areas/">reports</a>&nbsp;Arkansas has the largest share of rural children covered by Medicaid. About&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/medicaid-enrollment-and-unwinding-tracker/">59</a>&nbsp;percent&nbsp;of Medicaid enrollees lost coverage in Arkansas.

Wilson is calling for a multistate assessment to compare states’ eligibility redeterminations, who was most affected geographically and demographically, and where and whether they found other coverage — or fell through coverage gaps.

“There are some opportunities to learn from what happened here that can be applied in future situations,” especially for at-risk communities, he told Stateline. “If there are states that did some things differently, and were more precise, in identifying people who were either eligible or ineligible, and having them go in the appropriate direction.”

In Arkansas, 77 percent of the people dropped from Medicaid lost their coverage for procedural reasons, while 23 percent were dropped because they were deemed ineligible, according to KFF. Children account for more than a third of those who lost coverage in Arkansas.

Meanwhile, about 71 percent of Arkansans whose coverage was renewed retained coverage via the federal rule that allows states to use previous income records.

Across 21 states reporting coverage losses by age brackets, 2.4 million, or 40 percent, of the people dropped from the rolls were children, according to KFF’s&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/medicaid-enrollment-and-unwinding-tracker/#:~:text=2023%2C%20at%20least-,2%2C376%2C000%20children,-had%20been%20disenrolled">analysis</a>.

After Texas at 61 percent, Gonzalez’s Kansas ranks second among those 21 states in the proportion of children losing coverage, (55 percent), followed by Idaho (48 percent), Missouri (47 percent), Alaska (43 percent) and Minnesota (42 percent).

Of the 21 states, Massachusetts had the lowest proportion of&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/medicaid-enrollment-and-unwinding-tracker/#:~:text=2023%2C%20at%20least-,2%2C376%2C000%20children,-had%20been%20disenrolled">children disenrolled</a>&nbsp;at 18 percent, followed by California at 21 percent. Some states, such as&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2023/12/13/nc-unwinding-medicaid-children/">North Carolina</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.wuky.org/local-regional-news/2023-11-16/as-pandemic-era-medicaid-extensions-expire-kentucky-is-the-first-state-to-offer-automatic-renewal-for-minors">Kentucky</a>, are keeping kids with pending renewals covered for another year while the states work on eligibility redeterminations.

But experts such as Wilson worry that lack of communication from state Medicaid offices for another year will cause further confusion around coverage.

“Many of those folks may not have had any communication with the Medicaid office in three or more years,” he said. “With a rather transient population, it’s going to become much more of an issue when the span of eligibility rate determination is much longer.”

For now, some grassroots groups are relying on general outreach, such as putting up flyers and setting up tables at community events.

Tupola, of the Utah Community Health Workers Association, said she wishes state Medicaid offices supported those on the ground like her organization, especially after national attention on the benefits of grassroots vaccination campaigns throughout the pandemic.

“I think we don’t ever get called to the table until … the numbers are high, people are dying, or people are losing coverage,” she said.

“You need to bring us in from the very beginning.”

<a target="_blank" href="https://stateline.org/2023/12/21/grassroots-groups-help-medicaid-recipients-regain-lost-coverage/">This story</a>&nbsp;was produced by Stateline, a States Newsroom affiliate.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1703786411770.jpeg" alt="&nbsp;Children’s Defense Fund program director Graciela Camarena assists Lucia Salazar with filling out Medicaid and SNAP application forms for her family in Pharr, Texas, in November. States began dropping millions of low-income families from Medicaid rolls in April, and grassroots groups say they are taking the lead on getting people re-enrolled. (Michael Gonzalez/The Associated Press)" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;Children’s Defense Fund program director Graciela Camarena assists Lucia Salazar with filling out Medicaid and SNAP application forms for her family in Pharr, Texas, in November. States began dropping millions of low-income families from Medicaid rolls in April, and grassroots groups say they are taking the lead on getting people re-enrolled. (Michael Gonzalez/The Associated Press)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Across 21 states, nearly 40 percent of those who lost Medicaid coverage are children</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/nadahassanein/">NADA HASSANEIN</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>Eight months&nbsp;after states started&nbsp;dropping millions of low-income families&nbsp;from&nbsp;Medicaid rolls, grassroots groups say they are leading the push to&nbsp;re-enroll people denied coverage for bureaucratic reasons.Nationwide, more than&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/medicaid-enrollment-and-unwinding-tracker/#:~:text=At%20least-,11%2C967%2C000,-Medicaid%20enrollees%20have">12.5 million</a>&nbsp;people have lost coverage since April. That’s when the federal pandemic provision that had required states not to drop anyone from the rolls expired and states restarted income eligibility checks.Federal officials over the summer allowed states to exercise&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2023/06/12/hhs-takes-additional-action-to-keep-people-covered-as-states-resume-medicaid-chip-renewals.html">flexibility</a>&nbsp;to avoid potentially unnecessary coverage losses, and mailed letters to governors warning that high numbers of removals for procedural reasons and long wait times could violate federal rules.Still, as of Dec. 13,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/medicaid-enrollment-and-unwinding-tracker/#:~:text=with%20available%20data%2C-,71%25%20of%20all%20people,-disenrolled%20had%20their">71</a>&nbsp;percent&nbsp;of the people who were dropped lost their coverage through “procedural” disenrollments — that is, they were missing paperwork or otherwise didn’t complete the renewal process by a specified date — according to health policy research organization KFF.Many of those people&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/medicaid-enrollment-and-unwinding-tracker/">may be eligible</a>&nbsp;for coverage, but struggle to get the paperwork through state bureaucracies.Children, young adults, and&nbsp;Black and Hispanic people are overrepresented on the Medicaid rolls, compared with their share of the overall population. A federal Office of Health Policy&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/404a7572048090ec1259d216f3fd617e/aspe-end-mcaid-continuous-coverage_IB.pdf">brief</a>&nbsp;published in August 2022 ahead of the unwinding estimated&nbsp;that&nbsp;nearly one-third of those predicted to lose coverage would be Hispanic and another 15 percent Black — groups with health disparities that were magnified during the pandemic. About 60 percent of Medicaid enrollees are Black, Hispanic, Asian or multiracial.More than 2.4 million children have lost coverage. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued another warning, mailing letters to governors of nine states — Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Dakota and Texas — with the highest&nbsp;rates of children dropped from the rolls.Officials urged those states,&nbsp;which together have dropped&nbsp;60 percent of the children&nbsp;who have lost Medicaid coverage nationwide,&nbsp;to&nbsp;use flexibility provided by federal officials to “help prevent children and their families from losing coverage due to red tape,”&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2023/12/18/biden-harris-administration-releases-new-medicaid-chip-renewal-data-showing-role-statepolicychoices-play-keeping-kids-covered.html?preview=4hqrnHT295UmVM4R">noting</a>&nbsp;the efforts are “especially important for children and families of color.”The department also noted that the 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid — Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming — “have disenrolled more children than those that have expanded combined.”Federal officials also announced that relaxed rules that allowed automatic renewals will be continued through the end of 2024 to give states more time and keep more families covered.States have released online tools to help local leaders and providers offer guidance on how to enroll. Texas, for example, created “<a target="_blank" href="https://www.hhs.texas.gov/providers/medicaid-business-resources/end-continuous-medicaid-coverage-ambassador-toolkit">ambassador</a>” toolkits in Spanish and English, with social media graphics and flyers geared toward families and older residents on how to set up an online account to re-enroll. Utah said it developed billboard and radio ads along with its own toolkits and flyers in 13 languages.Still, grassroots groups say they are doing the heavy lifting.These advocates’ outreach efforts go “beyond the walls of the capitol,” said Dr. Dena Hubbard, a neonatologist at Children’s Mercy hospital in Kansas City who chairs&nbsp;the public policy committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics’&nbsp;Kansas&nbsp;chapter.“(They’re) going to people, meeting people where they are in their communities, knowing what they need, knowing where they are, and helping them get the services they need,” she said. “I strongly feel that grassroots is where it’s at.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1703786487819.jpeg" alt="&nbsp;Gov. Laura Kelly unveils her new Medicaid expansion proposal during a Dec. 14, 2023, news conference at Holton Community Hospital. Kansas is one of 10 states that haven’t expanded Medicaid. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;Gov. Laura Kelly unveils her new Medicaid expansion proposal during a Dec. 14, 2023, news conference at Holton Community Hospital. Kansas is one of 10 states that haven’t expanded Medicaid. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>‘Frustrated and nervous’</h2>Karina Gonzalez’s 18-year-old son only has enough psychiatric medication to get him through the end of December.The Kansas City, Kansas, mother of four is worried about what will happen next. Her family was dropped from Medicaid coverage in October, and the kids haven’t been able to go to any doctor’s appointments, she said.Gonzalez’s household relies on the income of her husband, who works in construction.“It has affected us,” Gonzalez said in Spanish as her 16-year-old daughter translated. She said she feels “frustrated and nervous,” especially amid flu season.Gonzalez received a letter the first week of October saying the family was no longer covered. She said she didn’t know why they were dropped and struggled with the online KanCare system, which isn’t available in Spanish. That’s when she reached out to El Centro, a community health advocacy group that assists Kansas Latino families. Spanish-speaking patient navigators there have been helping her collect and submit documentation to get re-enrolled, she said.Matt Lara, chief of staff of&nbsp;the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said aside from the online portal, applicants and families renewing whose first language isn’t English can call and be connected with a language assistance line.“Kansas is not a Medicaid Expansion state, which means that our eligibility threshold for non-disabled, non-pregnant adults is incredibly low,” Lara said in an emailed statement on the rate of children losing coverage. “As a result, over&nbsp;2/3 of our enrollees are children, and that results in them being the largest cohort of members losing eligibility.”In Utah, Oreta Tupola is the program coordinator for the Utah Community Health Workers Association. Her community health workers have been helping families in the Latino and Pacific Islander community reapply.Families have been calling her from the emergency room after taking a relative there and finding out they no longer have coverage. Many clients of her community health workers suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, and take essential medications for the conditions.“We started getting calls now from our clients saying, ‘I went to the doctor, or I’m at the ER, and I can’t get in. They won’t see me,’” Tupola said. “(They’d say) ‘I didn’t know I didn’t have coverage.’ Or one of the women that called me said, ‘Hey, I’m trying to go pick up my medicine and when I went to get my medication, that’s when I found out that I don’t have Medicaid anymore.’ Now we’re scrambling to get them back on and approved, which is another long process.”Many of those who lost Medicaid coverage could qualify for it. Utah has the second-highest rate of people who lost coverage for administrative or paperwork reasons at 94%, following New Mexico at 95%.New Mexico’s Health Services Department told Stateline in an email that it is using multilingual awareness campaigns along with some of the relaxed federal rules, such as a 30-day delay in procedural terminations, which extends the renewal deadline. As a result, the department asserts it is “seeing minimal eligibility closures.”<h2>Assessing the changes</h2>Last week, in two columns published in the monthly peer-reviewed health care journal Health Affairs, health policy experts addressed the unwinding.“It should no longer be acceptable to maintain policies and practices that make it so difficult for people to enroll and retain their coverage,”&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/unwinding-should-call-action-fix-fragmented-system">wrote</a>&nbsp;experts from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a research and policy institute that advocates for left-leaning policies. They said the process has cast a light on the nation’s “fragmented” health care system.Allison Orris, a co-author and senior fellow at the center, said in an interview the continuous enrollment period showed the benefits of minimizing red tape on a larger scale.The churn “is magnifying some of the challenges that have always existed in systems,” she said. “The pandemic really laid bare a lot of fractures across many social services programs, and in Medicaid, we know that there have always been a high number of people who were eligible for Medicaid but not enrolled — and that is likely a sign that it was too hard to get enrolled and to stay enrolled in coverage.”Craig Wilson, director of health policy at the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, co-authored the second&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/medicaid-unwound-disenrolled-deserve-epilogue">column</a>. Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://ccf.georgetown.edu/2023/08/17/medicaids-coverage-role-in-small-towns-and-rural-areas/">reports</a>&nbsp;Arkansas has the largest share of rural children covered by Medicaid. About&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/medicaid-enrollment-and-unwinding-tracker/">59</a>&nbsp;percent&nbsp;of Medicaid enrollees lost coverage in Arkansas.Wilson is calling for a multistate assessment to compare states’ eligibility redeterminations, who was most affected geographically and demographically, and where and whether they found other coverage — or fell through coverage gaps.“There are some opportunities to learn from what happened here that can be applied in future situations,” especially for at-risk communities, he told Stateline. “If there are states that did some things differently, and were more precise, in identifying people who were either eligible or ineligible, and having them go in the appropriate direction.”In Arkansas, 77 percent of the people dropped from Medicaid lost their coverage for procedural reasons, while 23 percent were dropped because they were deemed ineligible, according to KFF. Children account for more than a third of those who lost coverage in Arkansas.Meanwhile, about 71 percent of Arkansans whose coverage was renewed retained coverage via the federal rule that allows states to use previous income records.<h2>Children without coverage</h2>Across 21 states reporting coverage losses by age brackets, 2.4 million, or 40 percent, of the people dropped from the rolls were children, according to KFF’s&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/medicaid-enrollment-and-unwinding-tracker/#:~:text=2023%2C%20at%20least-,2%2C376%2C000%20children,-had%20been%20disenrolled">analysis</a>.After Texas at 61 percent, Gonzalez’s Kansas ranks second among those 21 states in the proportion of children losing coverage, (55 percent), followed by Idaho (48 percent), Missouri (47 percent), Alaska (43 percent) and Minnesota (42 percent).Of the 21 states, Massachusetts had the lowest proportion of&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/medicaid-enrollment-and-unwinding-tracker/#:~:text=2023%2C%20at%20least-,2%2C376%2C000%20children,-had%20been%20disenrolled">children disenrolled</a>&nbsp;at 18 percent, followed by California at 21 percent. Some states, such as&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2023/12/13/nc-unwinding-medicaid-children/">North Carolina</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.wuky.org/local-regional-news/2023-11-16/as-pandemic-era-medicaid-extensions-expire-kentucky-is-the-first-state-to-offer-automatic-renewal-for-minors">Kentucky</a>, are keeping kids with pending renewals covered for another year while the states work on eligibility redeterminations.But experts such as Wilson worry that lack of communication from state Medicaid offices for another year will cause further confusion around coverage.“Many of those folks may not have had any communication with the Medicaid office in three or more years,” he said. “With a rather transient population, it’s going to become much more of an issue when the span of eligibility rate determination is much longer.”For now, some grassroots groups are relying on general outreach, such as putting up flyers and setting up tables at community events.Tupola, of the Utah Community Health Workers Association, said she wishes state Medicaid offices supported those on the ground like her organization, especially after national attention on the benefits of grassroots vaccination campaigns throughout the pandemic.“I think we don’t ever get called to the table until … the numbers are high, people are dying, or people are losing coverage,” she said.“You need to bring us in from the very beginning.”<a target="_blank" href="https://stateline.org/2023/12/21/grassroots-groups-help-medicaid-recipients-regain-lost-coverage/">This story</a>&nbsp;was produced by Stateline, a States Newsroom affiliate.

Grassroots groups help Medicaid recipients regain lost coverage

By Lesley Fair Federal Trade Commisssion

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1703793014609.jpg" alt="Photo courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>By Lesley Fair Federal Trade CommisssionIf you’ll be seeing college-age relatives over the holidays, warn them about a variation on the “job interview” scam that students looking for summer or permanent employment have reported to us.&nbsp;And warn your human resources staff that crooks may be misusing your company name as part of the scheme.&nbsp;<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2023/12/how-spot-latest-job-scams">Virtual job scams</a>&nbsp;are nothing new, but they’ve taken a personal – and persuasive – turn. College students report they’ve been contacted on social media platforms by people claiming to be recruiters for Wall Street firms, national retailers, tech companies, and other attractive places to land a job. The pitch is convincing. The “recruiter” may claim to have a connection at the college and say that the Dean or a professor has recommended the student as top-flight talent for the company’s prestigious management program. Or the person may say they’re a fellow alumni and pepper the conversation with faculty names, campus landmarks, and memories of their days back at good ol’ insert-school-here.&nbsp;Then comes a series of online interviews with&nbsp;“executives”&nbsp;calling from impressive-looking conference rooms. Next is the&nbsp;“job offer”&nbsp;on a formal-looking document with the corporate logo. After the jubilant candidate accepts, the usual “HR paperwork” arrives, requiring the student’s Social Security number, bank account or driver’s license information, or other personal data. In some cases, the recruiter may send a generous check as a “signing bonus,” but needs to have a portion of the cash sent to someone else, perhaps to cover the cost of a company phone or laptop.What’s really going on? It turns out the “recruiter” is an identity thief who has used a phony conference room background, a cut-and-pasted logo, and publicly available facts – the Dean’s name, well-known professors, school traditions, etc. – in an attempt to steal personal information or pull off a&nbsp;<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-spot-avoid-report-fake-check-scams">fake check scam</a>.What advice can you give a student to avoid a bogus employment offer?<ul>
 <li>Check the recruiter’s “references” first.&nbsp;If a recruiter uses the name of someone at the school, contact the faculty member directly before engaging further. If the story doesn’t check out, it’s a scam. Do your classmates a favor by alerting your college Career Services Office.</li><li>Scrutinize the recruiter’s email address.&nbsp;Corporate executives email from corporate accounts, not from @gmail.com or other personal addresses. Of course, imposters have been known to hack into companies’ email systems. A legit-looking address isn’t a guarantee it’s the real deal, but a message from a personal account is a strong sign it’s a scam.</li><li>Pump the brakes if you’re asked for personal information.&nbsp;If the talk turns to bank account data, driver’s license numbers, etc., stop the conversation. Contact the company at a phone number you know to be real – not one the recruiter gave you – and double-check to see if the job offer is genuine.</li><li>Report your experience to the FTC.&nbsp;If a student&nbsp;you know crosses paths with a scammer, tell us at&nbsp;<a href="https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/">reportfraud.ftc.gov</a>.</li>
 </ul>Also, make sure your HR professionals are aware of this scam and are prepared to respond to students’&nbsp;inquiries if your company name has been misused.&nbsp;