By DAVID CONDOS <a href="https://www.hppr.org/hppr-news/2022-09-20/how-the-drought-killing-kansas-corn-crops-could-make-you-pay-more-for-gas-and-beef">Kansas News Service</a>

This dry, hot summer has claimed its share of victims in Marc Ramsey’s cornfields.

Fewer
 than seven inches of rain have fallen this year in the area he farms 
between Dighton and Scott City — nearly one foot below the historical 
average.

“This is a year unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” Ramsey 
said. “There are lots of times this year I’ve just kind of been at a 
loss for words.”

Across western Kansas, vast swaths of brown, 
shriveled corn plants succumbed to the oppressive weather before 
reaching more than a couple of feet tall. Others grew ears with no 
kernels or no ears at all. Some of Ramsey’s stalks that stretched to 
six-feet-tall on July rains withered down to nothing under the late 
summer sun.

The harvests from these western Kansas cornfields 
typically fuel billion-dollar industries, such as feeding cattle. But 
with so little corn to go around this year, those industrial customers 
are paying a premium to ship grain in from other states just to keep 
their operations running.

Even during the region’s last big drought a decade ago, Ramsey said, 
his cornfields still had a decent number of bushels to harvest. This 
year, he estimates roughly half of the corn he planted won’t yield a 
single piece of grain.

“Just saying ‘zero yield’ is a painful thing to say,” Ramsey said. “It’s hard not to be disappointed.”

The ripple effects of this year’s poor corn harvest in Kansas will extend well beyond stressing farmers and their livelihoods. 

As
 it becomes more difficult and expensive for cattle feedlots — where 
animals are fattened up for slaughter — and ethanol plants to get the 
corn they need, people across Kansas could face higher prices at the 
grocery store and the gas pump.

Historically, it’s been common to see corn sell in western Kansas for about $4 a bushel.

Dan
 O’Brien, a Kansas State University agricultural economist based in 
Colby, said that number has roughly doubled. Prices had already been 
creeping up since Russia invaded Ukraine — another major corn exporter —
 and now thanks to the drought-fueled shortage, the price in western 
Kansas is around $8 per bushel.

“The reason that we built those 
grain-using industries out here had to do with availability of grain, 
and now they’re crunched,” O’Brien said. “That sets off a whole series 
of responses … all of them not good.”

The lack of local corn 
supply is already pushing Kansas cattle and ethanol companies to bring 
in grain by rail from places like Iowa, Illinois and Ohio. That’ll 
inflate corn prices across the Midwest, as local corn-dependent 
industries in those states suddenly have to compete with more buyers 
from Kansas.

But it’ll especially hurt Kansas. O’Brien estimates 
it’ll cost Kansas industries an extra $1 per bushel to ship in corn from
 other states.

Each steer at a feedlot can eat up to <a href="https://www.iowabeefcenter.org/ResearchProjects/IBC4.pdf" target="_blank">60 bushels</a> of corn before it gets turned into beef. Kansas feedlots have <a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Kansas/Publications/Livestock_Releases/Cattle_on_Feed/2022/KS-cof2208.pdf" target="_blank">2.35 million</a> bovine mouths to feed. So paying an extra dollar to ship in those bushels could add up quickly.

In the short term, O’Brien expects the corn crunch to push meat and ethanol prices up. Beef prices had <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/08/30/1120023642/beef-prices-are-down-right-now-but-that-may-not-last" target="_blank">fallen recently</a> as the drought forced livestock owners to sell off more of their cattle.

But even those higher prices might not be enough to keep corn-dependent companies profitable in western Kansas.

“Is
 that enough to offset the major increase in the cost of corn?” O’Brien 
said. “Whether it’s livestock feeders or ethanol plants, they all 
operate on the margin.”

Feedlots that can’t afford to pay a 
premium for getting corn from out of state may have to send some animals
 to slaughter early. And if the drought continues and corn prices remain
 high for months, it could start to reshape the future of those 
industries in western Kansas.

There might not be enough corn in 
western Kansas to keep ethanol plants going here for the long term, 
O’Brien said, when they could shift operations to the other parts of the
 Corn Belt where the grain is more readily available. Likewise, some 
Kansas feedlots may buy less cattle next year because of the rising cost
 of grain.

Cattle ranching and feeding has the largest economic impact of any agricultural sector in Kansas, contributing roughly <a href="https://www.agriculture.ks.gov/docs/default-source/ag-marketing/county-ag-stats/2022-county-ag-stats/state-of-kansas-reports-8-12-2022.pdf?sfvrsn=553e9bc1_4" target="_blank">$9 billion</a> to the state economy. Ethanol production contributes another <a href="https://www.agriculture.ks.gov/docs/default-source/default-document-library/ag-contribution-2018-with-retail-ethanol-combined-update-final.pdf?sfvrsn=49078bc1_0" target="_blank">$850 million</a>.

“If
 things get rough enough out in the west,” O’Brien said, “it affects the
 economic livelihood of everybody in the whole state.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that Kansas farmers will harvest <a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/crop0922.pdf" target="_blank">628 million bushels</a> of corn this year. That would be 122 million bushels less than last year.

If
 you multiply those 122 million missing bushels by the elevated 
$8-per-bushel prices, it means the state’s agricultural economy is 
missing out on nearly $1 billion due to the drought.

“If you just 
look at the typical annual Kansas corn and sorghum production,” Kansas 
State University agronomist Lucas Haag said, “and then figure the 
reductions that are going to be due to drought, we’re talking huge sums 
of money.”

The USDA says <a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Kansas/Publications/Crop_Progress_and_Condition/2022/KS-weekly0912.pdf" target="_blank">more than half</a> of the state’s corn is in poor or very poor condition. That’s up from around 20% at this point <a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Kansas/Publications/Crop_Progress_and_Condition/2021/KS-weekly0913.pdf" target="_blank">last year</a>.

It’s
 a similar story for sorghum, which is typically considered a more 
drought-tolerant alternative to corn. More than half of Kansas sorghum 
is in poor or very poor condition — up from just 15% last year.

While
 irrigation has helped some farms avoid the worst, Haag said, many 
fields with center pivot sprinklers will still be abandoned because 
farmers just couldn’t pump enough water to save them.

“There's 
very few areas of the state where we actually have wells that have the 
capacity to match up for when we're this short of precipitation,” Haag 
said.

Water levels in the Ogallala aquifer — the primary water source for most of western Kansas — have been <a href="https://www.hppr.org/hppr-news/2022-03-31/how-kansas-could-lose-billions-in-land-values-as-its-underground-water-runs-dry" target="_blank">declining for decades</a> since the dawn of irrigated farmland. Estimates show that if pumping trends continue,<a href="https://www.k-state.edu/media/newsreleases/aug13/groundwater82613.html" target="_blank"> </a><a href="https://www.k-state.edu/media/newsreleases/aug13/groundwater82613.html" target="_blank">more than two-thirds</a> of the water under Kansas will be gone within 40 years.

And it’s unclear when farmers in western Kansas will feel some relief.

It’s the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/09/12/1122259523/triple-dip-la-nina-explained-weather" target="_blank">first time in decades</a>&nbsp;that a La Niña weather pattern, which fueled droughts across the West and Great Plains in 2022, will show up for a third consecutive winter.&nbsp;And the National Drought Mitigation Center expects drought to persist 
across Kansas through at least the end of this year.

To make 
matters worse, a poor crop this season will likely leave fields with 
less residue — the pieces of plant matter that remain on the ground to 
help soil store moisture. And with so much of western Kansas already in a
 deep precipitation deficit, Haag said, it’ll take more than a few rains
 here and there to get the region back on its feet.

“We can really
 end up in one of these death spirals,” Haag said, “until we get a 
really above-average year in terms of precipitation and crop yields that
 then kind of pulls us back out of it.”

Marc Ramsey has heard from other western Kansas farmers who consider 
him lucky for having anything to harvest at all. Lots of folks who 
planted dryland, or nonirrigated, corn this year won’t even bother 
taking a combine into their fields.

“I guess they get to relax a 
little bit more in the next couple of weeks,” Ramsey said. “But, you 
know, that's the kind of relaxation none of us want.”

Last year 
was dry too, Ramsey said, but his soil still had enough residual water 
to produce more than 50 bushels of corn per acre. This year, one of the <a href="https://www.hppr.org/hppr-news/2022-08-24/here-are-7-ways-this-dry-hot-year-stacks-up-against-the-worst-droughts-in-kansas-history" target="_blank">hottest, driest summers</a> on record has rung that dirt dry — the USDA reports that <a href="https://www.agriculture.com/weather/news/86-of-kansas-is-short-or-very-short-on-soil-moisture" target="_blank">86% of the soil</a> across Kansas doesn’t have enough moisture.

And
 just a couple of weeks from now, Ramsey and farmers across western 
Kansas will be planting their winter wheat crop into that same dry 
ground.

“Hopefully we've taken care of it, and it'll give us another shot.”

David Condos covers western Kansas for High Plains Public Radio and the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter<a href="http://twitter.com/davidcondos" target="_blank"> @davidcondos</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663680425377.png" alt="Many cornfields in western Kansas, like this one just outside of Garden City, have been parched by the drought. Estimates predict that Kansas corn farmers will harvest 122 million fewer bushels this year than they did last year. David Condos / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Many cornfields in western Kansas, like this one just outside of Garden City, have been parched by the drought. Estimates predict that Kansas corn farmers will harvest 122 million fewer bushels this year than they did last year. David Condos / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By DAVID CONDOS <a href="https://www.hppr.org/hppr-news/2022-09-20/how-the-drought-killing-kansas-corn-crops-could-make-you-pay-more-for-gas-and-beef">Kansas News Service</a>This dry, hot summer has claimed its share of victims in Marc Ramsey’s cornfields.Fewer
 than seven inches of rain have fallen this year in the area he farms 
between Dighton and Scott City — nearly one foot below the historical 
average.“This is a year unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” Ramsey 
said. “There are lots of times this year I’ve just kind of been at a 
loss for words.”Across western Kansas, vast swaths of brown, 
shriveled corn plants succumbed to the oppressive weather before 
reaching more than a couple of feet tall. Others grew ears with no 
kernels or no ears at all. Some of Ramsey’s stalks that stretched to 
six-feet-tall on July rains withered down to nothing under the late 
summer sun.The harvests from these western Kansas cornfields 
typically fuel billion-dollar industries, such as feeding cattle. But 
with so little corn to go around this year, those industrial customers 
are paying a premium to ship grain in from other states just to keep 
their operations running.Even during the region’s last big drought a decade ago, Ramsey said, 
his cornfields still had a decent number of bushels to harvest. This 
year, he estimates roughly half of the corn he planted won’t yield a 
single piece of grain.“Just saying ‘zero yield’ is a painful thing to say,” Ramsey said. “It’s hard not to be disappointed.”The ripple effects of this year’s poor corn harvest in Kansas will extend well beyond stressing farmers and their livelihoods. As
 it becomes more difficult and expensive for cattle feedlots — where 
animals are fattened up for slaughter — and ethanol plants to get the 
corn they need, people across Kansas could face higher prices at the 
grocery store and the gas pump.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663680497163.png" alt="This map from Kansas Mesonet shows how many inches below-average precipitation totals are for various places across Kansas. A higher number (and darker red coloring) means that a location is more dry this year compared with historical averages." />
 <figcaption>This map from Kansas Mesonet shows how many inches below-average precipitation totals are for various places across Kansas. A higher number (and darker red coloring) means that a location is more dry this year compared with historical averages.</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>The corn crunch</h2>Historically, it’s been common to see corn sell in western Kansas for about $4 a bushel.Dan
 O’Brien, a Kansas State University agricultural economist based in 
Colby, said that number has roughly doubled. Prices had already been 
creeping up since Russia invaded Ukraine — another major corn exporter —
 and now thanks to the drought-fueled shortage, the price in western 
Kansas is around $8 per bushel.“The reason that we built those 
grain-using industries out here had to do with availability of grain, 
and now they’re crunched,” O’Brien said. “That sets off a whole series 
of responses … all of them not good.”The lack of local corn 
supply is already pushing Kansas cattle and ethanol companies to bring 
in grain by rail from places like Iowa, Illinois and Ohio. That’ll 
inflate corn prices across the Midwest, as local corn-dependent 
industries in those states suddenly have to compete with more buyers 
from Kansas.But it’ll especially hurt Kansas. O’Brien estimates 
it’ll cost Kansas industries an extra $1 per bushel to ship in corn from
 other states.Each steer at a feedlot can eat up to <a href="https://www.iowabeefcenter.org/ResearchProjects/IBC4.pdf" target="_blank">60 bushels</a> of corn before it gets turned into beef. Kansas feedlots have <a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Kansas/Publications/Livestock_Releases/Cattle_on_Feed/2022/KS-cof2208.pdf" target="_blank">2.35 million</a> bovine mouths to feed. So paying an extra dollar to ship in those bushels could add up quickly.In the short term, O’Brien expects the corn crunch to push meat and ethanol prices up. Beef prices had <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/08/30/1120023642/beef-prices-are-down-right-now-but-that-may-not-last" target="_blank">fallen recently</a> as the drought forced livestock owners to sell off more of their cattle.But even those higher prices might not be enough to keep corn-dependent companies profitable in western Kansas.“Is
 that enough to offset the major increase in the cost of corn?” O’Brien 
said. “Whether it’s livestock feeders or ethanol plants, they all 
operate on the margin.”Feedlots that can’t afford to pay a 
premium for getting corn from out of state may have to send some animals
 to slaughter early. And if the drought continues and corn prices remain
 high for months, it could start to reshape the future of those 
industries in western Kansas.There might not be enough corn in 
western Kansas to keep ethanol plants going here for the long term, 
O’Brien said, when they could shift operations to the other parts of the
 Corn Belt where the grain is more readily available. Likewise, some 
Kansas feedlots may buy less cattle next year because of the rising cost
 of grain.Cattle ranching and feeding has the largest economic impact of any agricultural sector in Kansas, contributing roughly <a href="https://www.agriculture.ks.gov/docs/default-source/ag-marketing/county-ag-stats/2022-county-ag-stats/state-of-kansas-reports-8-12-2022.pdf?sfvrsn=553e9bc1_4" target="_blank">$9 billion</a> to the state economy. Ethanol production contributes another <a href="https://www.agriculture.ks.gov/docs/default-source/default-document-library/ag-contribution-2018-with-retail-ethanol-combined-update-final.pdf?sfvrsn=49078bc1_0" target="_blank">$850 million</a>.“If
 things get rough enough out in the west,” O’Brien said, “it affects the
 economic livelihood of everybody in the whole state.”<h2>Breaking the drought</h2>The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that Kansas farmers will harvest <a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/crop0922.pdf" target="_blank">628 million bushels</a> of corn this year. That would be 122 million bushels less than last year.If
 you multiply those 122 million missing bushels by the elevated 
$8-per-bushel prices, it means the state’s agricultural economy is 
missing out on nearly $1 billion due to the drought.“If you just 
look at the typical annual Kansas corn and sorghum production,” Kansas 
State University agronomist Lucas Haag said, “and then figure the 
reductions that are going to be due to drought, we’re talking huge sums 
of money.”The USDA says <a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Kansas/Publications/Crop_Progress_and_Condition/2022/KS-weekly0912.pdf" target="_blank">more than half</a> of the state’s corn is in poor or very poor condition. That’s up from around 20% at this point <a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Kansas/Publications/Crop_Progress_and_Condition/2021/KS-weekly0913.pdf" target="_blank">last year</a>.It’s
 a similar story for sorghum, which is typically considered a more 
drought-tolerant alternative to corn. More than half of Kansas sorghum 
is in poor or very poor condition — up from just 15% last year.While
 irrigation has helped some farms avoid the worst, Haag said, many 
fields with center pivot sprinklers will still be abandoned because 
farmers just couldn’t pump enough water to save them.“There's 
very few areas of the state where we actually have wells that have the 
capacity to match up for when we're this short of precipitation,” Haag 
said.Water levels in the Ogallala aquifer — the primary water source for most of western Kansas — have been <a href="https://www.hppr.org/hppr-news/2022-03-31/how-kansas-could-lose-billions-in-land-values-as-its-underground-water-runs-dry" target="_blank">declining for decades</a> since the dawn of irrigated farmland. Estimates show that if pumping trends continue,<a href="https://www.k-state.edu/media/newsreleases/aug13/groundwater82613.html" target="_blank"> </a><a href="https://www.k-state.edu/media/newsreleases/aug13/groundwater82613.html" target="_blank">more than two-thirds</a> of the water under Kansas will be gone within 40 years.And it’s unclear when farmers in western Kansas will feel some relief.It’s the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/09/12/1122259523/triple-dip-la-nina-explained-weather" target="_blank">first time in decades</a>&nbsp;that a La Niña weather pattern, which fueled droughts across the West and Great Plains in 2022, will show up for a third consecutive winter.&nbsp;And the National Drought Mitigation Center expects drought to persist 
across Kansas through at least the end of this year.Corrected 8 a.m. WednesdayTo make 
matters worse, a poor crop this season will likely leave fields with 
less residue — the pieces of plant matter that remain on the ground to 
help soil store moisture. And with so much of western Kansas already in a
 deep precipitation deficit, Haag said, it’ll take more than a few rains
 here and there to get the region back on its feet.“We can really
 end up in one of these death spirals,” Haag said, “until we get a 
really above-average year in terms of precipitation and crop yields that
 then kind of pulls us back out of it.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The Seasonal Drought Outlook for the rest of 2022 shows that drought may develop in and around the Central and Southern Plains. Drought may improve or be removed in the Northwest, Northeast and Hawaii<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Drought?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Drought</a> may persist in areas west of the Mississippi River and across the West <a href="https://t.co/LJTlJi5C6Z">pic.twitter.com/LJTlJi5C6Z</a>&mdash; Drought Center (@DroughtCenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/DroughtCenter/status/1571585975574462464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div>Marc Ramsey has heard from other western Kansas farmers who consider 
him lucky for having anything to harvest at all. Lots of folks who 
planted dryland, or nonirrigated, corn this year won’t even bother 
taking a combine into their fields.“I guess they get to relax a 
little bit more in the next couple of weeks,” Ramsey said. “But, you 
know, that's the kind of relaxation none of us want.”Last year 
was dry too, Ramsey said, but his soil still had enough residual water 
to produce more than 50 bushels of corn per acre. This year, one of the <a href="https://www.hppr.org/hppr-news/2022-08-24/here-are-7-ways-this-dry-hot-year-stacks-up-against-the-worst-droughts-in-kansas-history" target="_blank">hottest, driest summers</a> on record has rung that dirt dry — the USDA reports that <a href="https://www.agriculture.com/weather/news/86-of-kansas-is-short-or-very-short-on-soil-moisture" target="_blank">86% of the soil</a> across Kansas doesn’t have enough moisture.And
 just a couple of weeks from now, Ramsey and farmers across western 
Kansas will be planting their winter wheat crop into that same dry 
ground.“Hopefully we've taken care of it, and it'll give us another shot.”David Condos covers western Kansas for High Plains Public Radio and the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter<a href="http://twitter.com/davidcondos" target="_blank"> @davidcondos</a>.

How drought killing Kan. corn could make you pay more for gas, beef

&nbsp;WASHINGTON —U.S. Senator Roger Marshall led 11 of his Senate Republican colleagues on a letter to the CEOs of Visa, Mastercard, and American Express condemning them for removing gun sales from being categorized as “general merchandise” and instead placing gun sales into a separate category, according to a statement from the senator's office.

Click&nbsp;<a href="https://www.marshall.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/V-M-Amex-Letter-on-Gun-Merchant-Code.pdf" target="_blank">HERE</a>&nbsp;to read the full letter submitted by Senators

The CEOs decision came at the recommendation of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which has no authority over the affairs of American businesses. The Senators expressed deep concern that these credit card companies’ new policy would infringe upon the Second Amendment Rights of law-abiding American citizens in their letter, writing in part,

“This decision, which is already being hailed by radical anti-gun activists, is the first step towards backdoor gun control on law-abiding Americans…&nbsp;Creating a new merchant code for gun transactions is a choice being made by each of your companies. You are choosing the side of gun control advocates over the privacy and Second Amendment rights of millions of law-abiding Americans… Your companies are the facilitators of the vast majority of daily financial transactions in America, and that gives you incredible influence over everyday commerce, and thus every American’s very way of life. If you are intent on abusing that influence you will leave Congress no choice but to intercede on behalf of our constituents and all of the law abiding Americans who will not stand by as large banks and the payment networks that serve them do an end run around their constitutional Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms…”

The Senators concluded their letter by requesting answers from the CEOs related to what factors influenced each company to settled on this new policy, how the recategorization of gun sales backs up claims that the action would reduce gun violence, and if customers would be able to continue to use these companies’ services without discrimination, among other issues.

Senators Thom Tillis (NC), John Barrasso (WY), Cynthia Lummis (WY), Rick Scott (FL), Ben Sasse (NE), Marco Rubio (FL), Dan Sullivan (AK), Mike Crapo (ID), Bill Cassidy (LA), James Risch (ID), and Steve Daines (MT) cosigned Senator Marshall’s letter.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663617496645.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;WASHINGTON —U.S. Senator Roger Marshall led 11 of his Senate Republican colleagues on a letter to the CEOs of Visa, Mastercard, and American Express condemning them for removing gun sales from being categorized as “general merchandise” and instead placing gun sales into a separate category, according to a statement from the senator's office.Click&nbsp;<a href="https://www.marshall.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/V-M-Amex-Letter-on-Gun-Merchant-Code.pdf" target="_blank">HERE</a>&nbsp;to read the full letter submitted by SenatorsThe CEOs decision came at the recommendation of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which has no authority over the affairs of American businesses. The Senators expressed deep concern that these credit card companies’ new policy would infringe upon the Second Amendment Rights of law-abiding American citizens in their letter, writing in part,“This decision, which is already being hailed by radical anti-gun activists, is the first step towards backdoor gun control on law-abiding Americans…&nbsp;Creating a new merchant code for gun transactions is a choice being made by each of your companies. You are choosing the side of gun control advocates over the privacy and Second Amendment rights of millions of law-abiding Americans… Your companies are the facilitators of the vast majority of daily financial transactions in America, and that gives you incredible influence over everyday commerce, and thus every American’s very way of life. If you are intent on abusing that influence you will leave Congress no choice but to intercede on behalf of our constituents and all of the law abiding Americans who will not stand by as large banks and the payment networks that serve them do an end run around their constitutional Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms…”The Senators concluded their letter by requesting answers from the CEOs related to what factors influenced each company to settled on this new policy, how the recategorization of gun sales backs up claims that the action would reduce gun violence, and if customers would be able to continue to use these companies’ services without discrimination, among other issues.Senators Thom Tillis (NC), John Barrasso (WY), Cynthia Lummis (WY), Rick Scott (FL), Ben Sasse (NE), Marco Rubio (FL), Dan Sullivan (AK), Mike Crapo (ID), Bill Cassidy (LA), James Risch (ID), and Steve Daines (MT) cosigned Senator Marshall’s letter.

Marshall calls out credit card CEOs for infringing on 2nd amendment rights

By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-09-19/kansas-foster-kids-get-moved-around-less-often-but-some-still-have-to-sleep-in-offices">Kansas News Service</a>

Kansas foster care contractors had more than 50 children sleep in 
offices and other inappropriate places in 2021 — despite a court 
settlement that pushes the state to fix its ailing, privatized foster 
care system.

That’s according to a new, third-party report 
released Monday, which concludes the contractors weren’t facing 
extraordinary circumstances that would justify these arrangements.

Still, the Kansas foster care system has improved, the report found.

The
 state’s contractors hit targets for moving children among foster homes 
less often. During 2021, 86% of the state’s foster kids were in stable 
placements, which topped the goal of 80% set for that year.

The 
report gauges the state’s progress toward goals set out in a 2020 court 
settlement stemming from a 2018 class-action lawsuit.

Kansas was supposed to make sure that foster care providers stopped making <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-06-02/kansas-foster-children-are-still-sleeping-in-offices-years-after-promises-that-would-end" target="_blank">kids sleep in offices</a>, conference rooms and similar places by the end of 2021.

“We
 understand that it takes time for meaningful change,” said Teresa 
Woody, the litigation director for Kansas Appleseed, one of the groups 
that brought the lawsuit. “But there’s a lot that needs to be done to 
protect foster care children.”

Wood praised signs of progress. But she said Kansas will need to keep working on community <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-09-12/foster-kids-in-kansas-cant-get-the-mental-health-care-they-need-but-there-might-be-a-fix" target="_blank">mental health services</a>,
 contractor accountability, and supports that help families keep their 
children. She urged the Legislature to help with funding.

Most of 
the children who slept in offices and similarly inappropriate places in 
2021 were there for one night. A handful slept there longer, including 
one whose stay outside of foster homes lasted 54 days.

Kansas was 
also supposed to put a stop to night-to-night foster home placements by 
Dec. 31, 2021. Those are situations in which foster kids get moved 
within a day. About 800 children experienced night-to-night moves in 
2021.

More than 6,000 kids are in foster care in Kansas.

The
 Kansas agency that oversees foster care said in a press release that 
several initiatives will help give children more stability. The 
Department for Children and Families recently launched a network 
intended to offer stand-by service beds and added therapeutic foster 
homes for higher-needs children.

Gov. Laura Kelly highlighted these facts in a press release responding to the findings.

“My
 administration inherited a broken child welfare system,” Kelly said. 
“We have made substantial progress in making sure kids are in stable 
placements and experience fewer moves. There’s more work to be done, but
 this report shows we are headed in the right direction.”

Kansas 
agreed to a long list of improvements in the 2020 settlement, which 
includes a series of deadlines for reaching those goals.

The state has completed some of the changes already — such as tracking how many foster kids end up in correctional facilities.

But
 the third-party report found that the foster care system continues to 
subject children to delays in mental health care. And the state needs to
 improve its data, to allow for tracking caseworker workloads, for 
example.

The court settlement resulted from a 2018 class-action lawsuit against state officials.

Foster care contractors were shuffling children night after night from one home to the next, and having some sleep in offices.

The suit also accused Kansas of failing to ensure that foster kids get appropriate mental health care.

Children in foster care have high rates of trauma and mental health needs. By some estimates, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5421550/#:~:text=Between%2050%20and%2080%25%20of,et%20al.%2C%202005)." target="_blank">as many as 50-80%</a> need mental health services.

A team of lawyers from the <a href="https://youthlaw.org/" target="_blank">National Center for Youth Law</a>, <a href="https://www.childrensrights.org/" target="_blank">Children’s Rights</a>, <a href="https://www.kansasappleseed.org/" target="_blank">Kansas Appleseed</a> and private law firms represented the plaintiffs.

The
 lawsuit said some children had to switch their locations more than 100 
times while in foster care. It argued that the situation compounded 
children’s trauma and made them, in effect, homeless.

The class-action suit didn’t ask for money. Instead, it demanded Kansas fix its foster care system.

The 2020 settlement gave Kansas various deadlines to make a long list of improvements.

Under
 the settlement, the Center for the Study of Social Policy is 
determining whether Kansas reaches various benchmarks, in part by 
checking random samples of foster kids to see how often they get moved 
and whether they receive timely mental health care.

A separate court settlement from earlier this summer requires the foster care system to <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-06-30/kansas-foster-care-will-pay-1-25-million-after-a-child-was-sexually-assaulted-in-a-contractors-office/" target="_blank">pay $1.25 million</a> after a child was sexually assaulted while forced to sleep in an office.

The
 assault happened in 2018. The victim was 13 years old at that time and 
had been sleeping in a Johnson County office of foster care contractor 
KVC Kansas. KVC was also keeping an 18-year-old there who had a history 
of abusing others and attacked the girl when KVC staff weren’t around.

Celia Llopis-Jepsen is a reporter for the Kansas News Service. You 
can follow her on Twitter @celia_LJ or email her at celia@kcur.org.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663681037546.png" alt=" David Condos / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> David Condos / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-09-19/kansas-foster-kids-get-moved-around-less-often-but-some-still-have-to-sleep-in-offices">Kansas News Service</a>Kansas foster care contractors had more than 50 children sleep in 
offices and other inappropriate places in 2021 — despite a court 
settlement that pushes the state to fix its ailing, privatized foster 
care system.That’s according to a new, third-party report 
released Monday, which concludes the contractors weren’t facing 
extraordinary circumstances that would justify these arrangements.Still, the Kansas foster care system has improved, the report found.The
 state’s contractors hit targets for moving children among foster homes 
less often. During 2021, 86% of the state’s foster kids were in stable 
placements, which topped the goal of 80% set for that year.The 
report gauges the state’s progress toward goals set out in a 2020 court 
settlement stemming from a 2018 class-action lawsuit.Kansas was supposed to make sure that foster care providers stopped making <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-06-02/kansas-foster-children-are-still-sleeping-in-offices-years-after-promises-that-would-end" target="_blank">kids sleep in offices</a>, conference rooms and similar places by the end of 2021.“We
 understand that it takes time for meaningful change,” said Teresa 
Woody, the litigation director for Kansas Appleseed, one of the groups 
that brought the lawsuit. “But there’s a lot that needs to be done to 
protect foster care children.”Wood praised signs of progress. But she said Kansas will need to keep working on community <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-09-12/foster-kids-in-kansas-cant-get-the-mental-health-care-they-need-but-there-might-be-a-fix" target="_blank">mental health services</a>,
 contractor accountability, and supports that help families keep their 
children. She urged the Legislature to help with funding.Most of 
the children who slept in offices and similarly inappropriate places in 
2021 were there for one night. A handful slept there longer, including 
one whose stay outside of foster homes lasted 54 days.Kansas was 
also supposed to put a stop to night-to-night foster home placements by 
Dec. 31, 2021. Those are situations in which foster kids get moved 
within a day. About 800 children experienced night-to-night moves in 
2021.More than 6,000 kids are in foster care in Kansas.The
 Kansas agency that oversees foster care said in a press release that 
several initiatives will help give children more stability. The 
Department for Children and Families recently launched a network 
intended to offer stand-by service beds and added therapeutic foster 
homes for higher-needs children.Gov. Laura Kelly highlighted these facts in a press release responding to the findings.“My
 administration inherited a broken child welfare system,” Kelly said. 
“We have made substantial progress in making sure kids are in stable 
placements and experience fewer moves. There’s more work to be done, but
 this report shows we are headed in the right direction.”Kansas 
agreed to a long list of improvements in the 2020 settlement, which 
includes a series of deadlines for reaching those goals.The state has completed some of the changes already — such as tracking how many foster kids end up in correctional facilities.But
 the third-party report found that the foster care system continues to 
subject children to delays in mental health care. And the state needs to
 improve its data, to allow for tracking caseworker workloads, for 
example.The court settlement resulted from a 2018 class-action lawsuit against state officials.Foster care contractors were shuffling children night after night from one home to the next, and having some sleep in offices.The suit also accused Kansas of failing to ensure that foster kids get appropriate mental health care.Children in foster care have high rates of trauma and mental health needs. By some estimates, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5421550/#:~:text=Between%2050%20and%2080%25%20of,et%20al.%2C%202005)." target="_blank">as many as 50-80%</a> need mental health services.A team of lawyers from the <a href="https://youthlaw.org/" target="_blank">National Center for Youth Law</a>, <a href="https://www.childrensrights.org/" target="_blank">Children’s Rights</a>, <a href="https://www.kansasappleseed.org/" target="_blank">Kansas Appleseed</a> and private law firms represented the plaintiffs.The
 lawsuit said some children had to switch their locations more than 100 
times while in foster care. It argued that the situation compounded 
children’s trauma and made them, in effect, homeless.The class-action suit didn’t ask for money. Instead, it demanded Kansas fix its foster care system.The 2020 settlement gave Kansas various deadlines to make a long list of improvements.Under
 the settlement, the Center for the Study of Social Policy is 
determining whether Kansas reaches various benchmarks, in part by 
checking random samples of foster kids to see how often they get moved 
and whether they receive timely mental health care.A separate court settlement from earlier this summer requires the foster care system to <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-06-30/kansas-foster-care-will-pay-1-25-million-after-a-child-was-sexually-assaulted-in-a-contractors-office/" target="_blank">pay $1.25 million</a> after a child was sexually assaulted while forced to sleep in an office.The
 assault happened in 2018. The victim was 13 years old at that time and 
had been sleeping in a Johnson County office of foster care contractor 
KVC Kansas. KVC was also keeping an 18-year-old there who had a history 
of abusing others and attacked the girl when KVC staff weren’t around.Celia Llopis-Jepsen is a reporter for the Kansas News Service. You 
can follow her on Twitter @celia_LJ or email her at celia@kcur.org.

Report: Kansas foster care system improved — but still lacking

CLAY COUNTY—A Clay Center man died in an accident just after 6:30a.m. Tuesday in Clay Center.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2014 Blue Bird school bus driven by Brenda G. Peterson, 71, Clay Center, was eastbound on Lincoln Avenue approaching Sixth Street.

The driver failed to see a pedestrian identified as Harold R. Mugler, 69, Clay Center, who was walking southbound across Lincoln Avenue in the crosswalk.&nbsp; The bus hit Mugler.&nbsp; &nbsp;No students were on the bus when the accident occurred, according to USD 379.

Mugler was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported Neill Schwensen-Rook Funeral Home.

CLAY COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities and officials with USD 379 are investigating a fatal pedestrian accident involving a school bus in Clay Center.&nbsp;

Just after 7a.m. Tuesday, officials notified the Kansas Highway Patrol of the accident at 6th and Lincoln in Clay Center.&nbsp;No students were on the bus when the accident occurred, according to the school district.

The pedestrian crossing the road southbound at the time of being hit. This did not occur within a school zone, according to Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Ben Gardner.

Check the Post for additional details as they become available.

CLAY COUNTY—A Clay Center man died in an accident just after 6:30a.m. Tuesday in Clay Center.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2014 Blue Bird school bus driven by Brenda G. Peterson, 71, Clay Center, was eastbound on Lincoln Avenue approaching Sixth Street.The driver failed to see a pedestrian identified as Harold R. Mugler, 69, Clay Center, who was walking southbound across Lincoln Avenue in the crosswalk.&nbsp; The bus hit Mugler.&nbsp; &nbsp;No students were on the bus when the accident occurred, according to USD 379.Mugler was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported Neill Schwensen-Rook Funeral Home.---------------CLAY COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities and officials with USD 379 are investigating a fatal pedestrian accident involving a school bus in Clay Center.&nbsp;Just after 7a.m. Tuesday, officials notified the Kansas Highway Patrol of the accident at 6th and Lincoln in Clay Center.&nbsp;No students were on the bus when the accident occurred, according to the school district.The pedestrian crossing the road southbound at the time of being hit. This did not occur within a school zone, according to Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Ben Gardner.Check the Post for additional details as they become available.

KHP IDs man struck and killed by school bus in Clay Center

KINGMAN COUNTY—The Kingman Historic Theater announced two fundraisers to assist those displaced by fire at the Eagle Acres apartment complex, 501 N. Thompson Street in Kingman.

According to the Theater, they are doing a raffle to go with the Fundraising Events that include two concerts on Saturday, Sept. 24, by The Other Guys Band. The first concert will start at 7pm. Doors will open at 6pm.The second will start at 10pm. Doors will open at 9pm.

The theater will begin the raffle on the September 24, at The Other Guys Band Concert and will continue through the movie on September 25.

Drawing will be live on the<a href="https://www.facebook.com/kingmantheatre/"> theater Facebook page </a>after the movie on Sunday.

Both events are free will donation at the door. All donations will go 100 percent to the fund being set up at Citizen's bank.

Friends have also established a <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/eagle-acres-fire-victims-fundraiser?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=unknown&amp;utm_campaign=comms_34pk+eagle-acres-fire-victims-fundraiser">GoFundMe</a> to help the twelve families displaced by the fire.

&nbsp;If you would like to donate, call the theatre at 620-532-1253 and leave a message, or email at kingmancommunitytheatreassoc@gmail.com.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663668288156.png" alt="photo GoFundMe" />
 <figcaption>photo GoFundMe</figcaption>
 </figure>KINGMAN COUNTY—The Kingman Historic Theater announced two fundraisers to assist those displaced by fire at the Eagle Acres apartment complex, 501 N. Thompson Street in Kingman.According to the Theater, they are doing a raffle to go with the Fundraising Events that include two concerts on Saturday, Sept. 24, by The Other Guys Band. The first concert will start at 7pm. Doors will open at 6pm.The second will start at 10pm. Doors will open at 9pm.The theater will begin the raffle on the September 24, at The Other Guys Band Concert and will continue through the movie on September 25.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663668356120.png" alt="photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>Drawing will be live on the<a href="https://www.facebook.com/kingmantheatre/"> theater Facebook page </a>after the movie on Sunday.Both events are free will donation at the door. All donations will go 100 percent to the fund being set up at Citizen's bank.Friends have also established a <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/eagle-acres-fire-victims-fundraiser?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=unknown&amp;utm_campaign=comms_34pk+eagle-acres-fire-victims-fundraiser">GoFundMe</a> to help the twelve families displaced by the fire.&nbsp;If you would like to donate, call the theatre at 620-532-1253 and leave a message, or email at kingmancommunitytheatreassoc@gmail.com.

Kingman Historic Theatre: Fundraiser for victims of apartment fire

TOPEKA – A Kansas man was sentenced Monday to 69 months in prison for engaging in a wire fraud scheme, according to the United State's Attorney.

In May 2022, Shawn Lynn Parcells, 42, of Topeka pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.

According to court documents, in July 2016, Parcells, as owner of National Autopsy Services, LLC, convinced a client he was qualified to conduct an autopsy based on the false credentials. The client paid the defendant $5,000.00 and received an emailed copy of a final report from Parcells. 

The report included an opinion made within “a certain degree of medical certainty as a Forensic, Neuro, and Infectious Disease Epidemiology Fellow,” and appeared authored by the defendant. No pathologist participated in this examination or report.

According to court documents, between May 2016 and May 2019, the defendant used NAS to obtain fees from more than 350 clients for a total amount of $ $1,166.000. In many cases, the defendant failed to provide an authentic completed report.

“It’s troubling whenever criminals deceptively present themselves as professionals to commit fraud on unwitting victims, but the fact that Parcells’ schemes were predicated upon exploiting the grief and bereavement of others, makes his act a particularly predatory crime,” said U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard.

“During their most vulnerable state, Mr. Parcells willfully defrauded individuals while they were grieving the loss of a loved one. He used deception as a means to prey on those looking to find answers surrounding the death of their loved ones by claiming to be a pathologist and being able to provide those answers” said FBI Special Agent in Charges Charles Dayoub. “Mr. Parcells fraudulently collected fees and profited on their grief for his own personal gain. The sentencing sends a clear message - the FBI will hold those accountable who use deception and fraud to take advantage of others in our community.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1574875994992.png" alt="Shawn Parcells photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Shawn Parcells photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA – A Kansas man was sentenced Monday to 69 months in prison for engaging in a wire fraud scheme, according to the United State's Attorney.In May 2022, Shawn Lynn Parcells, 42, of Topeka pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.According to court documents, in July 2016, Parcells, as owner of National Autopsy Services, LLC, convinced a client he was qualified to conduct an autopsy based on the false credentials. The client paid the defendant $5,000.00 and received an emailed copy of a final report from Parcells. The report included an opinion made within “a certain degree of medical certainty as a Forensic, Neuro, and Infectious Disease Epidemiology Fellow,” and appeared authored by the defendant. No pathologist participated in this examination or report.According to court documents, between May 2016 and May 2019, the defendant used NAS to obtain fees from more than 350 clients for a total amount of $ $1,166.000. In many cases, the defendant failed to provide an authentic completed report.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/11/1605802099921.png" alt="From the Parcells indictment -courtesy U.S. Dept. of Justice" />
 <figcaption>From the Parcells indictment -courtesy U.S. Dept. of Justice</figcaption>
 </figure>“It’s troubling whenever criminals deceptively present themselves as professionals to commit fraud on unwitting victims, but the fact that Parcells’ schemes were predicated upon exploiting the grief and bereavement of others, makes his act a particularly predatory crime,” said U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard.“During their most vulnerable state, Mr. Parcells willfully defrauded individuals while they were grieving the loss of a loved one. He used deception as a means to prey on those looking to find answers surrounding the death of their loved ones by claiming to be a pathologist and being able to provide those answers” said FBI Special Agent in Charges Charles Dayoub. “Mr. Parcells fraudulently collected fees and profited on their grief for his own personal gain. The sentencing sends a clear message - the FBI will hold those accountable who use deception and fraud to take advantage of others in our community.”

Kan. man sentenced after performing autopsies using false credentials

FINNEY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a southwest Kansas woman in connection with a murder investigation in New Mexico.

On September 16, the Valencia County New Mexico Sheriff's Office contacted the Garden City Police Department regarding a homicide suspect believed to be in Garden City, according to a statement from the police department.

It was learned that 50-year-old Rosalio Aguilera Gamboa&nbsp; had an active felony warrant for Homicide after his wife,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dps.nm.gov/blog/2022/09/07/missing-endangered-advisory-valencia-county-sheriffs-office-karla-aguilera/">37-year-old Karla Aguilera</a>&nbsp;of Tome was reported missing by family members on Sept. 6.&nbsp;Torrance County officials said a body was found Sept. 14, near the Mountainair and Highway 60 area and an autopsy confirmed it was Aguilera.&nbsp;According to a criminal complaint, she was shot four times.

The warrant also accused Aguilera Gamboa of Abuse of a Child, and Tampering with Evidence from the state of New Mexico. 

Through further investigation, a search warrant was obtained for the residence of 324 N. 10th Street in Garden City to locate Aguilera Gamboa. Due to his violent tendencies, the Garden City/Finney County SWAT team responded to assist and serve the search warrant.

Just after 2:00 Saturday, police took Aguilera Gamboa and his cousin 49-year-old Maria Guadalupe Nevarez-Aguilera into custody without further incident. Detectives from the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office arrived to process the crime scene and collect evidence with the Garden City Police Department.

Aguilera Gamboa remains jailed in Finney County Jail for the active out-of-state felony warrant for Homicide, Abuse of a Child, and Tampering with Evidence. 

Nevarez-Aguilera is being held on a requested charge of Accessory to Homicide and Harboring or Aiding a Felon.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663601570422.png" alt="Aguilera Gamboa-photo Finney County" />
 <figcaption>Aguilera Gamboa-photo Finney County</figcaption>
 </figure>FINNEY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a southwest Kansas woman in connection with a murder investigation in New Mexico.On September 16, the Valencia County New Mexico Sheriff's Office contacted the Garden City Police Department regarding a homicide suspect believed to be in Garden City, according to a statement from the police department.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663516163568.png" alt="Karla Aguilera-photo New Mexico Department of Public Safety" />
 <figcaption>Karla Aguilera-photo New Mexico Department of Public Safety</figcaption>
 </figure>It was learned that 50-year-old Rosalio Aguilera Gamboa&nbsp; had an active felony warrant for Homicide after his wife,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dps.nm.gov/blog/2022/09/07/missing-endangered-advisory-valencia-county-sheriffs-office-karla-aguilera/">37-year-old Karla Aguilera</a>&nbsp;of Tome was reported missing by family members on Sept. 6.&nbsp;Torrance County officials said a body was found Sept. 14, near the Mountainair and Highway 60 area and an autopsy confirmed it was Aguilera.&nbsp;According to a criminal complaint, she was shot four times.The warrant also accused Aguilera Gamboa of Abuse of a Child, and Tampering with Evidence from the state of New Mexico. Through further investigation, a search warrant was obtained for the residence of 324 N. 10th Street in Garden City to locate Aguilera Gamboa. Due to his violent tendencies, the Garden City/Finney County SWAT team responded to assist and serve the search warrant.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663601504707.png" alt="Nevarez-Aguilera-photo Finney County" />
 <figcaption>Nevarez-Aguilera-photo Finney County</figcaption>
 </figure>Just after 2:00 Saturday, police took Aguilera Gamboa and his cousin 49-year-old Maria Guadalupe Nevarez-Aguilera into custody without further incident. Detectives from the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office arrived to process the crime scene and collect evidence with the Garden City Police Department.Aguilera Gamboa remains jailed in Finney County Jail for the active out-of-state felony warrant for Homicide, Abuse of a Child, and Tampering with Evidence. Nevarez-Aguilera is being held on a requested charge of Accessory to Homicide and Harboring or Aiding a Felon.

SW Kansas woman accused of hiding murder suspect

By DYLAN LYSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-09-19/kansas-voters-to-decide-on-a-republican-backed-limit-of-the-governors-political-power">Kansas News Service</a>

LAWRENCE, Kansas — Lawmakers have made a proposal to voters in Kansas: Give us more power. Take away clout from the governor.

A
 proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution would create a 
legislative veto — effectively giving the right to lawmakers to cancel 
regulations imposed by state agencies even when those rules put into 
practice the laws passed by the Legislature.

Regulatory powers 
historically have defined a key function of executive branches. If the 
measure on the Nov. 8 passes, state agencies would find themselves newly
 accountable — critics might say beholden — to lawmakers.

In 
Kansas, where the governor’s office has toggled between Republican and 
Democratic hands while control of the Legislature remains pretty much a 
GOP thing, it would deliver more power to one party to decide how much 
to regulate industries.

“This amendment is being driven, 
overwhelmingly, by one thing and one thing only,” said Russell Arben 
Fox, a political scientist at Friends University in Wichita. “To prove 
to Republican voters that the Republican supermajority in the 
Legislature will never allow a Democratic governor to use their powers 
in the way that Laura Kelly used her powers.”

Rather than creating
 a more diverse power structure in the state, Fox said, Kansas 
conservatives are making a political move to show Kansans which 
political party truly governs the state.

The amendment would <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-03-24/the-kansas-legislature-is-asking-voters-to-shift-regulation-powers-from-the-governor-to-lawmakers" target="_blank">allow the Legislature to take away policy-making capabilities</a> from one of the few statewide offices Democrats periodically control.

Republican
 lawmakers in the spring presented the proposal as a way to move 
decision-making away from what they see as career bureaucrats in state 
government and put more authority in the hands of lawmakers accountable 
to ordinary Kansans.

They also said it prevents the state’s 
executive branch — for now, controlled by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly — 
from setting rules and regulations that may go further than legislators 
intended in creating new laws.

But critics see the proposal as a 
mere power grab by the state’s dominant political party, spurred on by 
frustration with Kelly’s leadership of the state amid the COVID-19 
pandemic. She was the first governor in the country to<a href="https://www.kcur.org/2020-03-19/every-school-kid-in-kansas-was-just-told-to-stay-home-until-fall-because-of-coronavirus" target="_blank"> send students home for the remainder of a school year</a>
 and she was blistered by Republicans for shutdown actions they thought 
hurt businesses in ways that were out of proportion to the public health
 threat.

Kansans will be asked to authorize the change on the same ballots where <a href="https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2022-08-03/kansas-governor-laura-kelly-derek-schmidt-dennis-pyle" target="_blank">Kelly is running for reelection against Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt</a>. Their stances on the amendment fall along party lines, with Schmidt supporting the measure and Kelly opposing it.

The
 upcoming vote also comes on the heels of voters rejecting another 
proposed constitutional amendment that some considered to be overreach 
by Kansas Republicans. Voters <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-08-02/kansas-voters-rejected-an-amendment-that-would-have-stripped-away-abortion-rights" target="_blank">overwhelmingly defeated an amendment</a> that would have removed the right to an abortion.

The
 abortion measure drove record voter turnout. But the potentially 
far-reaching alteration to the governor’s role is receiving little 
attention from voters.

As the governor of Kansas, Laura Kelly oversees many administrative offices that provide important services across the state.

The
 governor and her administration must create rules and regulations for 
how those offices will operate and mark some of the most significant 
policy decisions a governor can make.

That is why Kansas 
Republicans want to make the change. Kelly has rubbed many conservative 
lawmakers the wrong way with decisions she made during the COVID-19 
pandemic. Kelly signed executive orders installing mask mandates in the 
state. Republican lawmakers later tried to ban mask mandates and other 
public health rules, before <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/05/13/kelly-uses-veto-authority-to-reject-infectious-disease-medicaid-and-election-bills/" target="_blank">Kelly vetoed it</a> this year.

Schmidt
 said bureaucrats that run state agencies and create regulations are an 
unelected fourth branch of government that needs legislative oversight. 
He said the amendment would make sure they do not create policies that 
go further than state law allows.

Meanwhile, Kelly campaign spokesperson Madison Andrus said the 
amendment would create more red tape and complicate the state’s 
regulatory processes, effectively throwing sand into the gears of 
government. Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, a Democrat, recently 
said the Legislature already has the power to create laws that the 
executive branch must follow.

But if the amendment is adopted, 
lawmakers could change a rule with a simple majority rather than face 
the prospect of having to override a governor’s veto.

The current 
system allows a governor to veto the Legislature when it tries to reel 
in the executive branch decisions. The amendment would allow the 
Legislature to flip the veto power. Schmidt said a few states — red and 
blue — have enacted legislative veto powers and Kansas should join them.

“It's the right thing to do for transparency and accountability in the administrative state,” Schmidt said.

The Kansas Chamber of Commerce, a powerful conservative political force for the state’s businesses, also endorsed the measure.

Alan
 Cobb, president and CEO for the chamber, said that the organization 
wants to ditch state regulations that hamper businesses and that a 
legislative veto would help stop regulations that go further than state 
law. But Cobb said the organization believes the change would be good 
for all Kansans because it goes further than just reeling in 
administrative policies that affect businesses.

He also said it’s not aimed at Democrats. The group supported regulatory reform during Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer’s tenure.

“Kansas goes back and forth between Republican and Democratic governors,” Cobb said. “So it's going to apply to both.”

But the change could chill efforts on the state’s ability to regulate business in Kansas.

While
 debating the amendment in the Kansas House, Democratic state Rep. John 
Carmichael said that lawmakers would use the new power to invalidate 
rules and regulations that protect Kansans — such as environmental rules
 that business groups oppose.

The change could threaten state 
environmental regulations for clean air and water. Carmichael said 
industry groups like hog farmers have opposed them as unnecessary and 
burdensome to business.

Along with the chamber, the Kansas 
Livestock Association, the Kansas Grain and Feed Association, and Renew 
Kansas Biofuels Association all supported the proposed amendment.

Unlike
 the the amendment on abortion rights, changes to which government 
entity gets the final say on rules and regulations hasn’t resonated with
 many people.

Despite her opposition to the amendment, Sykes said 
she doesn’t think the amendment is a major issue to voters. She said the
 proposal may be too far into the political weeds for many to care.

Several
 Kansans attending the state fair in Hutchinson recently said they were 
either unaware of the amendment or that they didn’t know much about what
 it would do to the state government.

Rachael Pankratz of rural Reno County said she had not seen any news on the amendment, but she wasn’t concerned.

“It
 makes me question what's going to happen to the checks and balances,” 
Pankratz said. “But I don’t think that it really worries me.”

Election day is Nov. 8. The <a href="https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2022-07-07/kansas-election-2022-abortion-voting-guide" target="_blank">last day to register to vote</a> is Oct. 18.

Dylan
 Lysen reports on politics for the Kansas News Service. You can follow 
him on Twitter @DylanLysen or email him at dlysen@kcur.org.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663599611328.png" alt="Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, speaks to a crowd during a debate at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson. A proposed amendment to the state constitution would create a legislative veto that Republican lawmakers could use to limit her political power. Dylan Lysen / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, speaks to a crowd during a debate at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson. A proposed amendment to the state constitution would create a legislative veto that Republican lawmakers could use to limit her political power. Dylan Lysen / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By DYLAN LYSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-09-19/kansas-voters-to-decide-on-a-republican-backed-limit-of-the-governors-political-power">Kansas News Service</a>LAWRENCE, Kansas — Lawmakers have made a proposal to voters in Kansas: Give us more power. Take away clout from the governor.A
 proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution would create a 
legislative veto — effectively giving the right to lawmakers to cancel 
regulations imposed by state agencies even when those rules put into 
practice the laws passed by the Legislature.Regulatory powers 
historically have defined a key function of executive branches. If the 
measure on the Nov. 8 passes, state agencies would find themselves newly
 accountable — critics might say beholden — to lawmakers.In 
Kansas, where the governor’s office has toggled between Republican and 
Democratic hands while control of the Legislature remains pretty much a 
GOP thing, it would deliver more power to one party to decide how much 
to regulate industries.“This amendment is being driven, 
overwhelmingly, by one thing and one thing only,” said Russell Arben 
Fox, a political scientist at Friends University in Wichita. “To prove 
to Republican voters that the Republican supermajority in the 
Legislature will never allow a Democratic governor to use their powers 
in the way that Laura Kelly used her powers.”Rather than creating
 a more diverse power structure in the state, Fox said, Kansas 
conservatives are making a political move to show Kansans which 
political party truly governs the state.The amendment would <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-03-24/the-kansas-legislature-is-asking-voters-to-shift-regulation-powers-from-the-governor-to-lawmakers" target="_blank">allow the Legislature to take away policy-making capabilities</a> from one of the few statewide offices Democrats periodically control.Republican
 lawmakers in the spring presented the proposal as a way to move 
decision-making away from what they see as career bureaucrats in state 
government and put more authority in the hands of lawmakers accountable 
to ordinary Kansans.They also said it prevents the state’s 
executive branch — for now, controlled by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly — 
from setting rules and regulations that may go further than legislators 
intended in creating new laws.But critics see the proposal as a 
mere power grab by the state’s dominant political party, spurred on by 
frustration with Kelly’s leadership of the state amid the COVID-19 
pandemic. She was the first governor in the country to<a href="https://www.kcur.org/2020-03-19/every-school-kid-in-kansas-was-just-told-to-stay-home-until-fall-because-of-coronavirus" target="_blank"> send students home for the remainder of a school year</a>
 and she was blistered by Republicans for shutdown actions they thought 
hurt businesses in ways that were out of proportion to the public health
 threat.Kansans will be asked to authorize the change on the same ballots where <a href="https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2022-08-03/kansas-governor-laura-kelly-derek-schmidt-dennis-pyle" target="_blank">Kelly is running for reelection against Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt</a>. Their stances on the amendment fall along party lines, with Schmidt supporting the measure and Kelly opposing it.The
 upcoming vote also comes on the heels of voters rejecting another 
proposed constitutional amendment that some considered to be overreach 
by Kansas Republicans. Voters <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-08-02/kansas-voters-rejected-an-amendment-that-would-have-stripped-away-abortion-rights" target="_blank">overwhelmingly defeated an amendment</a> that would have removed the right to an abortion.The
 abortion measure drove record voter turnout. But the potentially 
far-reaching alteration to the governor’s role is receiving little 
attention from voters.<h2>Power grab</h2>As the governor of Kansas, Laura Kelly oversees many administrative offices that provide important services across the state.The
 governor and her administration must create rules and regulations for 
how those offices will operate and mark some of the most significant 
policy decisions a governor can make.That is why Kansas 
Republicans want to make the change. Kelly has rubbed many conservative 
lawmakers the wrong way with decisions she made during the COVID-19 
pandemic. Kelly signed executive orders installing mask mandates in the 
state. Republican lawmakers later tried to ban mask mandates and other 
public health rules, before <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/05/13/kelly-uses-veto-authority-to-reject-infectious-disease-medicaid-and-election-bills/" target="_blank">Kelly vetoed it</a> this year.Schmidt
 said bureaucrats that run state agencies and create regulations are an 
unelected fourth branch of government that needs legislative oversight. 
He said the amendment would make sure they do not create policies that 
go further than state law allows.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663599717689.png" alt="Republican Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, right, told a a crowd at a Kansas Chamber of Commerce candidate forum that he supports a state constitutional amendment that would limit the power of the governor. Chamber President Alan Cobb, left, also supports the measure. Dylan Lysen / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Republican Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, right, told a a crowd at a Kansas Chamber of Commerce candidate forum that he supports a state constitutional amendment that would limit the power of the governor. Chamber President Alan Cobb, left, also supports the measure. Dylan Lysen / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>Meanwhile, Kelly campaign spokesperson Madison Andrus said the 
amendment would create more red tape and complicate the state’s 
regulatory processes, effectively throwing sand into the gears of 
government. Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, a Democrat, recently 
said the Legislature already has the power to create laws that the 
executive branch must follow.But if the amendment is adopted, 
lawmakers could change a rule with a simple majority rather than face 
the prospect of having to override a governor’s veto.The current 
system allows a governor to veto the Legislature when it tries to reel 
in the executive branch decisions. The amendment would allow the 
Legislature to flip the veto power. Schmidt said a few states — red and 
blue — have enacted legislative veto powers and Kansas should join them.“It's the right thing to do for transparency and accountability in the administrative state,” Schmidt said.<h2>Support from business groups</h2>The Kansas Chamber of Commerce, a powerful conservative political force for the state’s businesses, also endorsed the measure.Alan
 Cobb, president and CEO for the chamber, said that the organization 
wants to ditch state regulations that hamper businesses and that a 
legislative veto would help stop regulations that go further than state 
law. But Cobb said the organization believes the change would be good 
for all Kansans because it goes further than just reeling in 
administrative policies that affect businesses.He also said it’s not aimed at Democrats. The group supported regulatory reform during Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer’s tenure.“Kansas goes back and forth between Republican and Democratic governors,” Cobb said. “So it's going to apply to both.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663599776832.png" alt="Kansas Democrats fear allowing lawmakers to change state rules and regulations could lead to conservatives invalidating polices that protect Kansas, like clean air and water rules that hog farmers oppose. The Kansas Livestock Association supports the amendment. David Condos / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Democrats fear allowing lawmakers to change state rules and regulations could lead to conservatives invalidating polices that protect Kansas, like clean air and water rules that hog farmers oppose. The Kansas Livestock Association supports the amendment. David Condos / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>But the change could chill efforts on the state’s ability to regulate business in Kansas.While
 debating the amendment in the Kansas House, Democratic state Rep. John 
Carmichael said that lawmakers would use the new power to invalidate 
rules and regulations that protect Kansans — such as environmental rules
 that business groups oppose.The change could threaten state 
environmental regulations for clean air and water. Carmichael said 
industry groups like hog farmers have opposed them as unnecessary and 
burdensome to business.Along with the chamber, the Kansas 
Livestock Association, the Kansas Grain and Feed Association, and Renew 
Kansas Biofuels Association all supported the proposed amendment.<h2>Flying under the radar</h2>Unlike
 the the amendment on abortion rights, changes to which government 
entity gets the final say on rules and regulations hasn’t resonated with
 many people.Despite her opposition to the amendment, Sykes said 
she doesn’t think the amendment is a major issue to voters. She said the
 proposal may be too far into the political weeds for many to care.Several
 Kansans attending the state fair in Hutchinson recently said they were 
either unaware of the amendment or that they didn’t know much about what
 it would do to the state government.Rachael Pankratz of rural Reno County said she had not seen any news on the amendment, but she wasn’t concerned.“It
 makes me question what's going to happen to the checks and balances,” 
Pankratz said. “But I don’t think that it really worries me.”Election day is Nov. 8. The <a href="https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2022-07-07/kansas-election-2022-abortion-voting-guide" target="_blank">last day to register to vote</a> is Oct. 18.Dylan
 Lysen reports on politics for the Kansas News Service. You can follow 
him on Twitter @DylanLysen or email him at dlysen@kcur.org.

Kan. amendment to decide limit of governor's political power

ATCHISON COUNTY, Kan. —A Kansas teen was injured in an accident just after 10:30a.m. Monday in Atchison County.

According to Police Chief Mike Wilson, a&nbsp;15-year-old girl was in the highway median in the 1900 block South U.S.73.

She stepped from the median and ran into the side of a southbound Peterbilt service truck driven by a 24-year-old.

EMS transported the girl to a St. Joseph, Missouri hospital, according to Wilson.&nbsp; Authorities released no additional details early Tuesday

ATCHISON COUNTY, Kan. —A Kansas teen was injured in an accident just after 10:30a.m. Monday in Atchison County.According to Police Chief Mike Wilson, a&nbsp;15-year-old girl was in the highway median in the 1900 block South U.S.73.She stepped from the median and ran into the side of a southbound Peterbilt service truck driven by a 24-year-old.EMS transported the girl to a St. Joseph, Missouri hospital, according to Wilson.&nbsp; Authorities released no additional details early Tuesday

15-year-old Kan. girl hospitalized after pedestrian accident

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former Kansas police detective accused of preying on Black women and girls for decades will be released from jail pending his trial on charges involving two accusers who say he repeatedly sexually abused them, a federal judge ruled Monday.

U.S Magistrate Judge Rachel Schwartz acknowledged the allegations against Roger Golubski represented “reprehensible conduct” and the underlying facts were “shocking,” but said he is not as much of risk as he would have been when the alleged crimes occurred. Prosecutors had also argued that he might try to flee, but Schwartz said his serious medical issues tie him to the community.

Golubski, 69, was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/arrests-kansas-city-indictments-civil-rights-violations-c465a1483c9295eb465847fb8c3463eb">arrested and charged</a>&nbsp;Thursday on six counts of civil rights violations alleging that as an officer with the Kansas City, Kansas, police department, he sexually abused a Black woman and a teenager more than two decades ago. Five counts allege that Golubski kidnapped or tried to kidnap the victims.

Schwartz ordered Golubski to remain at home except for religious services and medical care, to be monitored around the clock, and to have no contact with possible victims or potential witnesses.

Prosecutors filed a motion Friday that included graphic details of his encounters with the two accusers and that added complaints from seven other females who say Golubski harassed and abused them.

Golubski has not been charged in those seven cases, but prosecutors argued they provided more evidence that he is dangerous and has shown “nothing but utter contempt for the law.”

Several women who say they or their relatives were victimized by Golubski attended Monday's hearing.

Golubski, who retired in 2010, has pleaded not guilty. He faces a possible life sentence on each of the six counts.

The case is being tried in federal court, rather than state court, because federal law does not have a statute of limitations for civil rights violations, former U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said.

At the time of the alleged crimes, Kansas had a five-year statute of limitations for rape and aggravated sodomy. Kansas no longer has a statute of limitations for rape, but that doesn't apply retroactively, McCallister said.

Golubski's attorney, Tom Lemon, said Golubski needs medical care for diabetes and to recover from quintuple bypass heart surgery. He also said it would be difficult to provide an adequate defense if Golubski remains jailed. The case requires “intensive” work because it appears prosecutors have no physical evidence, just victim statements, Lemon said.

“Now that he is sick and infirm, now the claim is that he is dangerous,” Lemon said. “I don’t see how he is a danger to anyone.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Hunting argued that Golubski's medical care could be worked out.

“Mr.Golubski has terrorized a community for a long, long time,” Hunting said.

The motion filed Friday alleges Golubski displayed his gun while demanding sex and told the victims he would have them or their relatives imprisoned or killed if they ever told anyone what he did, prosecutors said.

The charges accuse Golubski of sexually assaulting a girl more than 10 times over about three years. He repeatedly told the girl, who was 13 when the abuse allegedly began, that he would kill her or her grandmother. He told her he would throw her in a river and sang a version of childhood song with the phrase, "where they won’t find her until she stank,” according to the motion.

The other victim in the charged case, Ophelia Williams, was raped and sexually assaulted several times over two or three years, according to the motion. He initially abused Williams shortly after her two sons were arrested, prosecutors said.

The Associated Press generally does not name alleged victims of sexual assault, but Williams has told her story publicly.

The seven other victims were abused or threatened by Golubski between 1980s and 2004, prosecutors said.

One woman said she called the Kansas City, Kansas, police internal affairs department to report her encounter with Golubski but was told “there was nothing they could do because it was (her) word against the defendant’s,” prosecutors wrote.

The police department said Monday that Chief Karl Oakman would not have any comment on the motion. Mayor Tyrone Garner has said he is committed to pushing for improvements in police-community relations to restore trust.

Another victim said Golubski sexually assaulted and raped her periodically between the mid-1990s and 2004 while threatening to take away her children, prosecutors said. In 2016, the woman was in the hospital when Golubski showed up and said, “Long time no see,” according to the indictment, prompting her to change hospitals, according to the motion.

Civil rights groups for years sought an investigation into Golubski. The allegations gained attention after Lamonte McIntyre,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-us-news-ap-top-news-kansas-city-ks-state-wire-3e379716ed9e4dba83412311eaadfd08">who spent 23 years in prison</a>&nbsp;for a double murder he didn’t commit,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lawsuits-kansas-city-kansas-7b4c4af7410f67d20fd19cb2e9235aad">sued Golubski</a>&nbsp;and other Kansas City, Kansas, officers. McIntyre and his mother, Rose McIntyre, alleged that Golubski framed Lamont in 1994 because she refused the detective’s sexual demands.

The local government agreed in June to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lawsuits-kansas-city-96f163ee13c721c0ab53899dcad05897">settle the lawsuit</a>&nbsp;for $12.5 million.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663616484786.png" alt="Golubski was being held in Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Golubski was being held in Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former Kansas police detective accused of preying on Black women and girls for decades will be released from jail pending his trial on charges involving two accusers who say he repeatedly sexually abused them, a federal judge ruled Monday.U.S Magistrate Judge Rachel Schwartz acknowledged the allegations against Roger Golubski represented “reprehensible conduct” and the underlying facts were “shocking,” but said he is not as much of risk as he would have been when the alleged crimes occurred. Prosecutors had also argued that he might try to flee, but Schwartz said his serious medical issues tie him to the community.Golubski, 69, was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/arrests-kansas-city-indictments-civil-rights-violations-c465a1483c9295eb465847fb8c3463eb">arrested and charged</a>&nbsp;Thursday on six counts of civil rights violations alleging that as an officer with the Kansas City, Kansas, police department, he sexually abused a Black woman and a teenager more than two decades ago. Five counts allege that Golubski kidnapped or tried to kidnap the victims.<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8DxDTI784Uo" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>Schwartz ordered Golubski to remain at home except for religious services and medical care, to be monitored around the clock, and to have no contact with possible victims or potential witnesses.Prosecutors filed a motion Friday that included graphic details of his encounters with the two accusers and that added complaints from seven other females who say Golubski harassed and abused them.Golubski has not been charged in those seven cases, but prosecutors argued they provided more evidence that he is dangerous and has shown “nothing but utter contempt for the law.”Several women who say they or their relatives were victimized by Golubski attended Monday's hearing.Golubski, who retired in 2010, has pleaded not guilty. He faces a possible life sentence on each of the six counts.The case is being tried in federal court, rather than state court, because federal law does not have a statute of limitations for civil rights violations, former U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said.At the time of the alleged crimes, Kansas had a five-year statute of limitations for rape and aggravated sodomy. Kansas no longer has a statute of limitations for rape, but that doesn't apply retroactively, McCallister said.Golubski's attorney, Tom Lemon, said Golubski needs medical care for diabetes and to recover from quintuple bypass heart surgery. He also said it would be difficult to provide an adequate defense if Golubski remains jailed. The case requires “intensive” work because it appears prosecutors have no physical evidence, just victim statements, Lemon said.“Now that he is sick and infirm, now the claim is that he is dangerous,” Lemon said. “I don’t see how he is a danger to anyone.”Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Hunting argued that Golubski's medical care could be worked out.“Mr.Golubski has terrorized a community for a long, long time,” Hunting said.The motion filed Friday alleges Golubski displayed his gun while demanding sex and told the victims he would have them or their relatives imprisoned or killed if they ever told anyone what he did, prosecutors said.The charges accuse Golubski of sexually assaulting a girl more than 10 times over about three years. He repeatedly told the girl, who was 13 when the abuse allegedly began, that he would kill her or her grandmother. He told her he would throw her in a river and sang a version of childhood song with the phrase, "where they won’t find her until she stank,” according to the motion.The other victim in the charged case, Ophelia Williams, was raped and sexually assaulted several times over two or three years, according to the motion. He initially abused Williams shortly after her two sons were arrested, prosecutors said.The Associated Press generally does not name alleged victims of sexual assault, but Williams has told her story publicly.The seven other victims were abused or threatened by Golubski between 1980s and 2004, prosecutors said.One woman said she called the Kansas City, Kansas, police internal affairs department to report her encounter with Golubski but was told “there was nothing they could do because it was (her) word against the defendant’s,” prosecutors wrote.The police department said Monday that Chief Karl Oakman would not have any comment on the motion. Mayor Tyrone Garner has said he is committed to pushing for improvements in police-community relations to restore trust.Another victim said Golubski sexually assaulted and raped her periodically between the mid-1990s and 2004 while threatening to take away her children, prosecutors said. In 2016, the woman was in the hospital when Golubski showed up and said, “Long time no see,” according to the indictment, prompting her to change hospitals, according to the motion.Civil rights groups for years sought an investigation into Golubski. The allegations gained attention after Lamonte McIntyre,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-us-news-ap-top-news-kansas-city-ks-state-wire-3e379716ed9e4dba83412311eaadfd08">who spent 23 years in prison</a>&nbsp;for a double murder he didn’t commit,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lawsuits-kansas-city-kansas-7b4c4af7410f67d20fd19cb2e9235aad">sued Golubski</a>&nbsp;and other Kansas City, Kansas, officers. McIntyre and his mother, Rose McIntyre, alleged that Golubski framed Lamont in 1994 because she refused the detective’s sexual demands.The local government agreed in June to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lawsuits-kansas-city-96f163ee13c721c0ab53899dcad05897">settle the lawsuit</a>&nbsp;for $12.5 million.

Ex-Kansas cop released from jail pending sex crime trial

DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating human remains found in a wooded area south of Bob Billings Parkway just east of Kansas 10, according to a statement from Lawrence Police.

 The remains are skeletal and police are confident they are human, but don't suspect foul play. Forensic experts hope to determine an identify as the investigation continues.

DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating human remains found in a wooded area south of Bob Billings Parkway just east of Kansas 10, according to a statement from Lawrence Police. The remains are skeletal and police are confident they are human, but don't suspect foul play. Forensic experts hope to determine an identify as the investigation continues.

Police work to ID human remains found in NE Kansas

TOPEKA —Two Kansas men have been sentenced to prison for their roles in an August 2020 incident in Saline County that included shooting and injuring a Salina police officer, according to Kansas&nbsp;Attorney General Derek Schmidt.

Saline County District Court Judge Rene Young sentenced Shawn Patrick Humphrey, 39, of Salina, to 247 months in a Kansas Department of Corrections facility for one count of aggravated battery against a law enforcement officer, and&nbsp;38 months for two counts of aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer, to be served consecutively for a total of 285 months. He was also sentenced to 36 months of post release supervision and must register as a violent offender for 15 years.

Young also sentenced Adam Drew Humphrey, 38, of Salina, to 247 months in a Kansas Department of Corrections facility for one count of aggravated battery against a law enforcement officer. Young also sentenced Humphrey&nbsp;to 36 months of post release supervision and he must register as a violent offender for 15 years. Both defendants pleaded guilty to the charges on July 5.

Sean Humphrey has ten previous convictions from 2005 that include burglary, theft, forgery and criminal threat, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections. Adam Humphrey has 18 previous convictions from 2001 for theft, burglary, aggravated battery and many other crimes, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663629135795.png" alt="Sean Humphrey has ten previous convictions from 2005, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections" />
 <figcaption>Sean Humphrey has ten previous convictions from 2005, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA —Two Kansas men have been sentenced to prison for their roles in an August 2020 incident in Saline County that included shooting and injuring a Salina police officer, according to Kansas&nbsp;Attorney General Derek Schmidt.Saline County District Court Judge Rene Young sentenced Shawn Patrick Humphrey, 39, of Salina, to 247 months in a Kansas Department of Corrections facility for one count of aggravated battery against a law enforcement officer, and&nbsp;38 months for two counts of aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer, to be served consecutively for a total of 285 months. He was also sentenced to 36 months of post release supervision and must register as a violent offender for 15 years.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663629257743.png" alt="Adam Humphrey has over a dozens convictions, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections." />
 <figcaption>Adam Humphrey has over a dozens convictions, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.</figcaption>
 </figure>Young also sentenced Adam Drew Humphrey, 38, of Salina, to 247 months in a Kansas Department of Corrections facility for one count of aggravated battery against a law enforcement officer. Young also sentenced Humphrey&nbsp;to 36 months of post release supervision and he must register as a violent offender for 15 years. Both defendants pleaded guilty to the charges on July 5.Sean Humphrey has ten previous convictions from 2005 that include burglary, theft, forgery and criminal threat, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections. Adam Humphrey has 18 previous convictions from 2001 for theft, burglary, aggravated battery and many other crimes, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.