HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Kansas State Fair General Manager Bryan Schulz is ready to talk about the project to renovate the Bison Arena, now that the governor has signed the bill for the state's half.

"With House Bill 2510 going through, that allocated about $14.6 million towards the fair," Schulz said. "$10 million of that was earmarked for the Bison Arena. The remainder, the $2.5 million was going to go towards asphalt repairs on the grounds, a million that would go towards a PA system, $500,000 towards air conditioning in the Oz Gallery and Centennial Hall and then about $460,000 to finish the upgrades down at Expocenter."

The state's money is allocated in FY 2023, which starts July 1. The total cost is estimated around $20 million.

"We're going to need to hire an architect," Schulz said. "We do have our contract with Schaefer Johnson Cox Frey. With a bid this big, I think it has to go out on state bid. We'll see what happens with that. Once we have an architect in place, then we'll probably look at structural, making sure that is what we need to do and then start moving forward to actually get a better cost of what the building is going to be."

The concern is that any estimate given even months ago is likely not accurate. The fair has seen this problem with the Capper project as its price tag went up and completion date went back due to supply chain issues, particularly with steel, so Schulz really wants to be sure fairgoers are patient with the process.

"It's going to take at least a year to get everything into place," Schulz said. "That would be a rough timeline. Starting a year, to get everything into place how we want it, getting everything going. Then, it's probably going to be another year or so after that. I'm thinking it's going to be two plus years before it would be open, for sure."

The goal is to make sure all of the timeline is firm before getting specific bids as the project progresses, so that costs can be controlled as much as possible.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1653060590462.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>NICK GOSNELL Hutch PostHUTCHINSON, Kan. — Kansas State Fair General Manager Bryan Schulz is ready to talk about the project to renovate the Bison Arena, now that the governor has signed the bill for the state's half."With House Bill 2510 going through, that allocated about $14.6 million towards the fair," Schulz said. "$10 million of that was earmarked for the Bison Arena. The remainder, the $2.5 million was going to go towards asphalt repairs on the grounds, a million that would go towards a PA system, $500,000 towards air conditioning in the Oz Gallery and Centennial Hall and then about $460,000 to finish the upgrades down at Expocenter."The state's money is allocated in FY 2023, which starts July 1. The total cost is estimated around $20 million."We're going to need to hire an architect," Schulz said. "We do have our contract with Schaefer Johnson Cox Frey. With a bid this big, I think it has to go out on state bid. We'll see what happens with that. Once we have an architect in place, then we'll probably look at structural, making sure that is what we need to do and then start moving forward to actually get a better cost of what the building is going to be."The concern is that any estimate given even months ago is likely not accurate. The fair has seen this problem with the Capper project as its price tag went up and completion date went back due to supply chain issues, particularly with steel, so Schulz really wants to be sure fairgoers are patient with the process."It's going to take at least a year to get everything into place," Schulz said. "That would be a rough timeline. Starting a year, to get everything into place how we want it, getting everything going. Then, it's probably going to be another year or so after that. I'm thinking it's going to be two plus years before it would be open, for sure."The goal is to make sure all of the timeline is firm before getting specific bids as the project progresses, so that costs can be controlled as much as possible.

$10M for renovation of Bison Arena at Kan. State Fairgrounds

By PHIL GALEWITZ, LAUREN WEBER and SAM WHITEHEAD <a href="https://khn.org/news/article/covid-health-disparities-federal-funding-state-spending/">Kaiser Health News</a>

The Biden administration in March 2021 announced it was investing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/p0317-COVID-19-Health-Disparities.html">$2.25 billion</a>
 to address COVID health disparities, the largest federal funding 
initiative designed specifically to help underserved communities hardest
 hit by the virus.

Two months later, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/publichealthgateway/partnerships/COVID-19-Health-Disparities-OT21-2103.html">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a>
 awarded grants to every state health department and 58 large city and 
county health agencies. The money is intended to help limit the spread 
of COVID-19 among those most at risk in rural areas and within racial 
and ethnic minority groups, as well as improve their health. The CDC 
initially said the grant had to be spent by May 2023 but earlier this 
year told states they could apply to extend that time.

A year later — with COVID having killed 1 million people in the U.S. 
since the start of the pandemic and hospitalizing millions more — little
 of the money has been used, according to a KHN review of about a dozen 
state and county agencies’ grants. While some states and localities have
 allocated large portions of the CDC money for projects, they still have
 spent only a small proportion.

Missouri’s health department has not spent any of its $35.6 million. 
Wisconsin, Illinois, and Idaho — whose state health departments each 
received between $27 million and $31 million — have used less than 5% of
 their grant money.

Pennsylvania’s health department has used about 6% of its nearly $27.7 million grant.

California’s health department has spent just over 10% of its $32.5 million funding.

The public health agencies give a litany of reasons for that: They 
need time to hire people. They blame their state’s long budget process. 
They say it takes time to work with nonprofit organizations to set up 
programs or for them to put the money to use. They’re already tapping 
other federal dollars to fight COVID disparities.

Mounting unspent COVID relief dollars is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.npr.org/2022/03/03/1084162255/biden-wants-more-covid-relief-funds-the-gop-wants-to-know-where-previous-relief-">one of the key reasons</a> Republicans in Congress oppose Democrats’ efforts to appropriate billions more federal dollars for managing the pandemic.

The slow disbursement also highlights the ripple effects of years of neglect for public health systems and the <a target="_blank" href="https://khn.org/news/article/public-health-experts-worry-about-boom-bust-cycle-of-support/">boom-bust cycle of legislative funding</a>. “They are investments that overwhelm a system that has been starved for so long,” said Dr. <a target="_blank" href="https://drexel.edu/dornsife/academics/faculty/Usama-Bilal/">Usama Bilal</a>, an assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

Dr. <a target="_blank" href="https://epibiostat.ucsf.edu/news/kirsten-bibbins-domingo-phd-md-mas-join-jama-and-jama-network-editor-chief">Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo</a>,
 chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the 
University of California-San Francisco, added that it is difficult for 
public health systems <a target="_blank" href="https://khn.org/news/us-public-health-system-underfunded-under-threat-faces-more-cuts-amid-covid-pandemic/">lacking resources</a> and fighting a pandemic to establish ties to local nonprofits so quickly.

“The pandemic shone a light on these big health disparities, but they
 also shone a light on the fact that [public health systems] don’t have 
the structures in place to partner directly with communities,” she said.

The funding is meant to reduce the pandemic’s disproportionate effect
 on minorities. When adjusting for the age differences across racial and
 ethnic groups, Black, Hispanic, and Native American communities 
experienced <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/covid-19-cases-and-deaths-by-race-ethnicity-current-data-and-changes-over-time/">higher rates</a>
 of COVID hospitalizations and deaths compared with white people. Such 
adjustments are necessary, researchers say, as communities of color <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/covid-19-cases-and-deaths-by-race-ethnicity-current-data-and-changes-over-time/">tend to be younger</a>.

Despite the need to address these issues, the Riverside County health
 department in California has spent about $700,000 of its $23.4 million 
grant, which is separate from the state health department’s funds.

“Public health has been historically underfunded, and all of a sudden this is way more money than we ever get,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://phasocal.org/wendy-hetherington/">Wendy Hetherington</a>,
 public health program chief with the agency. “It’s great that we got 
this funding because it’s necessary, but we are struggling in trying to 
spend it.”

Part of the problem was that county health officials had to wait six 
months for local government approval to spend it. Then, she said, she 
faced delays negotiating contracts with area nonprofits.

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.aei.org/profile/stan-veuger/">Stan Veuger</a>,
 a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, 
echoed Republican lawmakers’ concerns, saying the slow rollout of these 
grants shows that Congress sent more pandemic relief than state and 
local governments needed since their tax revenue <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2022/03/10/tax-revenue-in-21-states-outperformed-pre-pandemic-growth">rebounded much quicker</a> than many expected.

“It raises questions about why this separate grant program was set up,” he said.

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.heritage.org/staff/rachel-greszler">Rachel Greszler</a>, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation who has argued against Congress funding <a target="_blank" href="https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/commentary/9-reasons-not-pass-yet-another-federal-covid-19-relief-spending">new COVID relief</a>,
 said the slow spending also shows how states need time to absorb an 
influx in revenue and develop programs, especially when governments are 
facing labor shortages and supply chain issues.

The CDC has said the money could be used to aid in preventing the 
spread of the COVID virus, improve data collection, expand health 
services related to COVID, and address social and economic issues that 
have hampered many minority communities from receiving appropriate care 
during the pandemic.

CDC officials are working with groups on the implementation of the grant, said spokesperson Jade Fulce.

Because the term “health disparities” encompasses challenges facing 
all types of population groups, the money can be applied to almost 
anything that affects health.

The Illinois Department of Public Health received $28.9 million and 
has spent $138,000, according to spokesperson Mike Claffey. The state 
plans to spend some of the money on American Sign Language translation 
for COVID materials, outreach to those in jail, mobile health units for 
rural areas, and the hiring of community health workers.

“The goal was to design programs that build up the health care 
infrastructure and address these historic inequities in a significant 
way and meaningful way,” Claffey said.

Florida’s Health Department plans to use $236,000 of its nearly $35 
million grant on newborn hearing screenings after COVID-related closures
 led to a decline in timely checks, said spokesperson Jeremy Redfern.

The Miami-Dade County Health Department has spent $4 million of its 
$28 million CDC grant. It’s giving money to local nonprofit groups to 
deal with food insecurity and language barriers. Like other 
jurisdictions, the county noted it has awarded funding that groups 
haven’t spent yet, including $100,000 to improve literacy among its 
large Haitian community. Saradjine Batrony said she hopes to help 
between 60 and 100 people starting in May with that grant.

“The language barrier is what prevented people from getting 
vaccinated,” said Batrony, who was a researcher at the University of 
Miami before starting her own company last year focused on translating 
health documents into Haitian Creole.

Almost $4.6 million of Pennsylvania’s CDC grant went to the state 
Office of Rural Health, which last fall was planning to give money to 20
 counties. As of May 5, it hadn’t funded any of them.

“In the last couple months, we have encountered issues with county 
leaders losing momentum and interest in COVID-19 work,” said Rachel 
Foster, rural COVID-19 program manager for the agency based at Penn 
State University. “In rural Pennsylvania, cases are low, interest in 
vaccines has waned, and rural residents largely feel the pandemic is 
over.”

Some counties and states say they were addressing health inequity issues before the CDC disparity money.

Philadelphia’s $8.3 million grant followed several CDC awards that 
also dealt with issues affecting underserved communities, said 
spokesperson Matthew Rankin. Philadelphia has spent about $147,000 of 
the disparities grant.

The University of Florida health system in Jacksonville was <a target="_blank" href="https://ufhealthjax.org/news/story.aspx?id=2774">awarded $1.25 million</a>
 last July from Duval County to expand services to communities 
disproportionately affected by COVID. But as of early May, the 
university had not yet received the money, said spokesperson Dan 
Leveton. “We’re not concerned because we have other COVID funding we’re 
using for now and will use the CDC’s funding when it comes through,” he 
said.

Mississippi received $48.4 million, the single-largest award to any 
state health agency from the grant. So far, the agency has spent $8.2 
million, said spokesperson Liz Sharlot, although it has already used 
other federal relief dollars to address COVID health disparities.

While states figure out how to spend the money, health experts worry 
about the consequences politically and to the communities that need 
help.

“The money is terribly needed, but we need to consider that these 
health departments have long been overburdened and they don’t really 
have enough people to handle it,” said Drexel’s Bilal.

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.khn.org/about-us">KHN</a> 
(Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth 
journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and 
Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kff.org/about-us">KFF</a> (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652797741530.png" alt="The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded grants to every state health department and 58 large city and county health agencies last summer to focus on COVID health disparities (Adam Schultz/official White House photo)." />
 <figcaption>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded grants to every state health department and 58 large city and county health agencies last summer to focus on COVID health disparities (Adam Schultz/official White House photo).</figcaption>
 </figure>By PHIL GALEWITZ, LAUREN WEBER and SAM WHITEHEAD <a href="https://khn.org/news/article/covid-health-disparities-federal-funding-state-spending/">Kaiser Health News</a>The Biden administration in March 2021 announced it was investing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/p0317-COVID-19-Health-Disparities.html">$2.25 billion</a>
 to address COVID health disparities, the largest federal funding 
initiative designed specifically to help underserved communities hardest
 hit by the virus.Two months later, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/publichealthgateway/partnerships/COVID-19-Health-Disparities-OT21-2103.html">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a>
 awarded grants to every state health department and 58 large city and 
county health agencies. The money is intended to help limit the spread 
of COVID-19 among those most at risk in rural areas and within racial 
and ethnic minority groups, as well as improve their health. The CDC 
initially said the grant had to be spent by May 2023 but earlier this 
year told states they could apply to extend that time.A year later — with COVID having killed 1 million people in the U.S. 
since the start of the pandemic and hospitalizing millions more — little
 of the money has been used, according to a KHN review of about a dozen 
state and county agencies’ grants. While some states and localities have
 allocated large portions of the CDC money for projects, they still have
 spent only a small proportion.Missouri’s health department has not spent any of its $35.6 million. 
Wisconsin, Illinois, and Idaho — whose state health departments each 
received between $27 million and $31 million — have used less than 5% of
 their grant money.Pennsylvania’s health department has used about 6% of its nearly $27.7 million grant.California’s health department has spent just over 10% of its $32.5 million funding.The public health agencies give a litany of reasons for that: They 
need time to hire people. They blame their state’s long budget process. 
They say it takes time to work with nonprofit organizations to set up 
programs or for them to put the money to use. They’re already tapping 
other federal dollars to fight COVID disparities.Mounting unspent COVID relief dollars is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.npr.org/2022/03/03/1084162255/biden-wants-more-covid-relief-funds-the-gop-wants-to-know-where-previous-relief-">one of the key reasons</a> Republicans in Congress oppose Democrats’ efforts to appropriate billions more federal dollars for managing the pandemic.The slow disbursement also highlights the ripple effects of years of neglect for public health systems and the <a target="_blank" href="https://khn.org/news/article/public-health-experts-worry-about-boom-bust-cycle-of-support/">boom-bust cycle of legislative funding</a>. “They are investments that overwhelm a system that has been starved for so long,” said Dr. <a target="_blank" href="https://drexel.edu/dornsife/academics/faculty/Usama-Bilal/">Usama Bilal</a>, an assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at Drexel University in Philadelphia.Dr. <a target="_blank" href="https://epibiostat.ucsf.edu/news/kirsten-bibbins-domingo-phd-md-mas-join-jama-and-jama-network-editor-chief">Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo</a>,
 chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the 
University of California-San Francisco, added that it is difficult for 
public health systems <a target="_blank" href="https://khn.org/news/us-public-health-system-underfunded-under-threat-faces-more-cuts-amid-covid-pandemic/">lacking resources</a> and fighting a pandemic to establish ties to local nonprofits so quickly.“The pandemic shone a light on these big health disparities, but they
 also shone a light on the fact that [public health systems] don’t have 
the structures in place to partner directly with communities,” she said.The funding is meant to reduce the pandemic’s disproportionate effect
 on minorities. When adjusting for the age differences across racial and
 ethnic groups, Black, Hispanic, and Native American communities 
experienced <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/covid-19-cases-and-deaths-by-race-ethnicity-current-data-and-changes-over-time/">higher rates</a>
 of COVID hospitalizations and deaths compared with white people. Such 
adjustments are necessary, researchers say, as communities of color <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/covid-19-cases-and-deaths-by-race-ethnicity-current-data-and-changes-over-time/">tend to be younger</a>.Despite the need to address these issues, the Riverside County health
 department in California has spent about $700,000 of its $23.4 million 
grant, which is separate from the state health department’s funds.“Public health has been historically underfunded, and all of a sudden this is way more money than we ever get,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://phasocal.org/wendy-hetherington/">Wendy Hetherington</a>,
 public health program chief with the agency. “It’s great that we got 
this funding because it’s necessary, but we are struggling in trying to 
spend it.”Part of the problem was that county health officials had to wait six 
months for local government approval to spend it. Then, she said, she 
faced delays negotiating contracts with area nonprofits.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.aei.org/profile/stan-veuger/">Stan Veuger</a>,
 a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, 
echoed Republican lawmakers’ concerns, saying the slow rollout of these 
grants shows that Congress sent more pandemic relief than state and 
local governments needed since their tax revenue <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2022/03/10/tax-revenue-in-21-states-outperformed-pre-pandemic-growth">rebounded much quicker</a> than many expected.“It raises questions about why this separate grant program was set up,” he said.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.heritage.org/staff/rachel-greszler">Rachel Greszler</a>, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation who has argued against Congress funding <a target="_blank" href="https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/commentary/9-reasons-not-pass-yet-another-federal-covid-19-relief-spending">new COVID relief</a>,
 said the slow spending also shows how states need time to absorb an 
influx in revenue and develop programs, especially when governments are 
facing labor shortages and supply chain issues.The CDC has said the money could be used to aid in preventing the 
spread of the COVID virus, improve data collection, expand health 
services related to COVID, and address social and economic issues that 
have hampered many minority communities from receiving appropriate care 
during the pandemic.CDC officials are working with groups on the implementation of the grant, said spokesperson Jade Fulce.Because the term “health disparities” encompasses challenges facing 
all types of population groups, the money can be applied to almost 
anything that affects health.The Illinois Department of Public Health received $28.9 million and 
has spent $138,000, according to spokesperson Mike Claffey. The state 
plans to spend some of the money on American Sign Language translation 
for COVID materials, outreach to those in jail, mobile health units for 
rural areas, and the hiring of community health workers.“The goal was to design programs that build up the health care 
infrastructure and address these historic inequities in a significant 
way and meaningful way,” Claffey said.Florida’s Health Department plans to use $236,000 of its nearly $35 
million grant on newborn hearing screenings after COVID-related closures
 led to a decline in timely checks, said spokesperson Jeremy Redfern.The Miami-Dade County Health Department has spent $4 million of its 
$28 million CDC grant. It’s giving money to local nonprofit groups to 
deal with food insecurity and language barriers. Like other 
jurisdictions, the county noted it has awarded funding that groups 
haven’t spent yet, including $100,000 to improve literacy among its 
large Haitian community. Saradjine Batrony said she hopes to help 
between 60 and 100 people starting in May with that grant.“The language barrier is what prevented people from getting 
vaccinated,” said Batrony, who was a researcher at the University of 
Miami before starting her own company last year focused on translating 
health documents into Haitian Creole.Almost $4.6 million of Pennsylvania’s CDC grant went to the state 
Office of Rural Health, which last fall was planning to give money to 20
 counties. As of May 5, it hadn’t funded any of them.“In the last couple months, we have encountered issues with county 
leaders losing momentum and interest in COVID-19 work,” said Rachel 
Foster, rural COVID-19 program manager for the agency based at Penn 
State University. “In rural Pennsylvania, cases are low, interest in 
vaccines has waned, and rural residents largely feel the pandemic is 
over.”Some counties and states say they were addressing health inequity issues before the CDC disparity money.Philadelphia’s $8.3 million grant followed several CDC awards that 
also dealt with issues affecting underserved communities, said 
spokesperson Matthew Rankin. Philadelphia has spent about $147,000 of 
the disparities grant.The University of Florida health system in Jacksonville was <a target="_blank" href="https://ufhealthjax.org/news/story.aspx?id=2774">awarded $1.25 million</a>
 last July from Duval County to expand services to communities 
disproportionately affected by COVID. But as of early May, the 
university had not yet received the money, said spokesperson Dan 
Leveton. “We’re not concerned because we have other COVID funding we’re 
using for now and will use the CDC’s funding when it comes through,” he 
said.Mississippi received $48.4 million, the single-largest award to any 
state health agency from the grant. So far, the agency has spent $8.2 
million, said spokesperson Liz Sharlot, although it has already used 
other federal relief dollars to address COVID health disparities.While states figure out how to spend the money, health experts worry 
about the consequences politically and to the communities that need 
help.“The money is terribly needed, but we need to consider that these 
health departments have long been overburdened and they don’t really 
have enough people to handle it,” said Drexel’s Bilal.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.khn.org/about-us">KHN</a> 
(Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth 
journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and 
Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kff.org/about-us">KFF</a> (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.<figure>
 <img src="https://ssl.google-analytics.com/collect?v=1&amp;t=event&amp;ec=Republish&amp;tid=UA-53070700-2&amp;z=1652729708072&amp;cid=9d006ef1-1f01-4f21-9997-65c508d29f70&amp;ea=https%3A%2F%2Fkhn.org%2Fnews%2Farticle%2Fcovid-health-disparities-federal-funding-state-spending%2F&amp;el=States%20Have%20Yet%20to%20Spend%20Hundreds%20of%20Millions%20of%20Federal%20Dollars%20to%20Tackle%20Covid%20Health%20Disparities" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>

Millions of federal COVID dollars to help underserved left unspent

SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged child sex crimes.

Just before 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, police responded to a check welfare call at a local elementary school in Wichita, according to Officer Trevor Macy. 

Investigators interviewed a child who had reported being sexually assaulted by a man who is known to her.

Officers located the man identified 30-year-old Christopher Moore. They transported him to the Exploited and Missing Child Unit where detectives interviewed him and<a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=20026149"> later booked him </a>on requested charges that include two counts of rape involving a child under the age of 13. He is being held on a $500,000 bond, according to online jail records.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652991775024.png" alt="Moore-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Moore-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged child sex crimes.Just before 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, police responded to a check welfare call at a local elementary school in Wichita, according to Officer Trevor Macy. Investigators interviewed a child who had reported being sexually assaulted by a man who is known to her.Officers located the man identified 30-year-old Christopher Moore. They transported him to the Exploited and Missing Child Unit where detectives interviewed him and<a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=20026149"> later booked him </a>on requested charges that include two counts of rape involving a child under the age of 13. He is being held on a $500,000 bond, according to online jail records.&nbsp;

Kansas sex crime arrest after child alerted someone at school

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris, embracing her role as one of the administration’s most outspoken defenders of abortion rights, spoke Thursday with abortion providers in Kansas, Missouri and other states with some of the country’s strictest restrictions, saying they are “on the front lines of this war on women’s rights.”

The virtual conversation, which Harris hosted from the White House complex, came weeks after the leak of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-abortion-draft-opinion-07439f9fc4542f1500ab78dfd34036b1">draft Supreme Court opinion</a>&nbsp;suggesting that justices are on the brink of overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.

Justices are expected to issue their final ruling in the next six weeks, but some states with Republican leaders are already laying the groundwork to ban abortion outright if the court allows individual states to set their own rules for the procedure.

Shortly before Harris began her meeting,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-politics-texas-legislature-a43f7f21c1b8e07a383b120d1bdbc695">Oklahoma lawmakers passed</a>&nbsp;what might be the most restrictive abortion ban in the country, preventing the procedure in all cases except to save the life of a pregnant woman or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest that has been reported to law enforcement.

“It’s outrageous, and it’s just the latest in a series of extreme laws from around the country,” Harris said. She said the rules were designed to “punish and control women.”

In addition to Kansas and Missouri the abortion providers who participated in the meeting were from Texas and Montana. Other states with less restrictive laws are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-health-travel-132127dcb999cc350408e391dcbf8f3b">preparing for a potential influx of patients</a>&nbsp;if more bans going into effect.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-biden-us-supreme-court-health-religion-32fbfb858d7d3314427e5cdd88308b8b">Much as President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;has done, Harris said other court rulings that allowed access to contraception and legalized same sex marriage could also be at risk.

“It would be a direct assault on the fundamental right of self determination, to live and love without interference from the government,” she said.

The Biden administration has few options available to protect abortion, especially since legislation to safeguard access&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-biden-us-supreme-court-filibusters-congress-759beeba80ac56aa95271711a8e915da">failed in the Senate last week.</a>

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris, embracing her role as one of the administration’s most outspoken defenders of abortion rights, spoke Thursday with abortion providers in Kansas, Missouri and other states with some of the country’s strictest restrictions, saying they are “on the front lines of this war on women’s rights.”<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FVicePresident%2Fvideos%2F745715176447480%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=1" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>The virtual conversation, which Harris hosted from the White House complex, came weeks after the leak of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-abortion-draft-opinion-07439f9fc4542f1500ab78dfd34036b1">draft Supreme Court opinion</a>&nbsp;suggesting that justices are on the brink of overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.Justices are expected to issue their final ruling in the next six weeks, but some states with Republican leaders are already laying the groundwork to ban abortion outright if the court allows individual states to set their own rules for the procedure.Shortly before Harris began her meeting,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-politics-texas-legislature-a43f7f21c1b8e07a383b120d1bdbc695">Oklahoma lawmakers passed</a>&nbsp;what might be the most restrictive abortion ban in the country, preventing the procedure in all cases except to save the life of a pregnant woman or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest that has been reported to law enforcement.“It’s outrageous, and it’s just the latest in a series of extreme laws from around the country,” Harris said. She said the rules were designed to “punish and control women.”In addition to Kansas and Missouri the abortion providers who participated in the meeting were from Texas and Montana. Other states with less restrictive laws are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-health-travel-132127dcb999cc350408e391dcbf8f3b">preparing for a potential influx of patients</a>&nbsp;if more bans going into effect.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-biden-us-supreme-court-health-religion-32fbfb858d7d3314427e5cdd88308b8b">Much as President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;has done, Harris said other court rulings that allowed access to contraception and legalized same sex marriage could also be at risk.“It would be a direct assault on the fundamental right of self determination, to live and love without interference from the government,” she said.The Biden administration has few options available to protect abortion, especially since legislation to safeguard access&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-biden-us-supreme-court-filibusters-congress-759beeba80ac56aa95271711a8e915da">failed in the Senate last week.</a>

🎥What VP Harris told abortion providers in Kansas

ATCHISON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a wanted Kansas man on multiple charges in Missouri.

On Wednesday, police arrested 25-year-old Alexzander S. Green of Atchison, on a Boone County Missouri warrant, according to Police Chief Mike Wilson.

He is being held without bond for alleged terroristic threat, felony harassment and endangering the welfare of a child.

Police arrested Green on May 4 for failure to appear, according to online jail records. Police released no additional details.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652971947190.png" alt="Green-photo Atchison County" />
 <figcaption>Green-photo Atchison County</figcaption>
 </figure>ATCHISON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a wanted Kansas man on multiple charges in Missouri.On Wednesday, police arrested 25-year-old Alexzander S. Green of Atchison, on a Boone County Missouri warrant, according to Police Chief Mike Wilson.He is being held without bond for alleged terroristic threat, felony harassment and endangering the welfare of a child.Police arrested Green on May 4 for failure to appear, according to online jail records. Police released no additional details.

Kan. man accused of terroristic threat in Missouri

WASHINGTON (AP) —Kids ages 5 to 11 should get a booster dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, advisers to the U.S. government said Thursday.

If the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agrees, as expected, it would open a third COVID-19 shot to healthy elementary-age kids -- just like it is already recommended for everybody 12 and older.

The hope is that an extra shot will shore up protection for kids ages 5 to 11 as infections once again are on the rise.

Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration authorized Pfizer’s kid-sized booster, to be offered at least five months after the youngsters’ last shot.

But the CDC takes the next step of recommending who actually needs vaccinations. Its advisers debated if all otherwise healthy 5- to 11-year-olds need an extra dose, especially since so many children were infected during the huge winter surge of the omicron variant.

Ultimately, the committee pointed to growing evidence from older kids and adults that two primary vaccinations plus a booster are providing the best protection against the newest coronavirus variants.

“This always perhaps should have been a three-dose vaccine,” said Dr. Grace Lee of Stanford University, who chairs the CDC’s advisory panel.

The booster question isn’t the hottest vaccine topic: Parents still are anxiously awaiting a chance to vaccinate even younger tots, those under 5 -- the only group not yet eligible in the U.S. Both Pfizer and rival Moderna hope to offer vaccines for those youngest children soon; the FDA is expected to evaluate data from one or both companies sometime next month.

But for the 5- to 11-year-olds, it’s not clear how much booster demand there will be. Only about 30% of that age group have had the initial two Pfizer doses since vaccinations opened to them in November.

CDC adviser Dr. Helen Keipp Talbot of Vanderbilt University said health authorities must put more effort into getting more of those youngsters their initial shots

“That needs to be a priority,” she said.

Pfizer and its partner BioNTech make the only COVID-19 vaccine available for children of any age in the U.S. Those ages 5 to 11 receive a kid-sized dose that’s one-third the amount given to everyone 12 and older.

In a small study, Pfizer found a booster revved up those kids’ levels of virus-fighting antibodies -- including those able to fight the super-contagious omicron variant -- the same kind of jump adults get from an extra shot.

Vaccines may not always prevent milder infections -- and omicron especially proved able to slip past their defenses. But CDC cited data during the omicron surge that showed unvaccinated 5- to 11-year-olds had twice the rate of hospitalization as youngsters who got their first two doses.

Health authorities say for all ages, the vaccines are still offering strong protection against COVID-19′s worst outcomes, especially after a third dose.

But some especially high-risk people, including those 50 and older, have been offered the choice of a second booster, or fourth shot. And still to be decided is whether everyone will need additional shots in the fall, possibly reformulated to offer better protection against newer coronavirus variants.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/10/1635537216378.png" alt="COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11-photo courtesy Pfizer" />
 <figcaption>COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11-photo courtesy Pfizer</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) —Kids ages 5 to 11 should get a booster dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, advisers to the U.S. government said Thursday.If the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agrees, as expected, it would open a third COVID-19 shot to healthy elementary-age kids -- just like it is already recommended for everybody 12 and older.The hope is that an extra shot will shore up protection for kids ages 5 to 11 as infections once again are on the rise.Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration authorized Pfizer’s kid-sized booster, to be offered at least five months after the youngsters’ last shot.But the CDC takes the next step of recommending who actually needs vaccinations. Its advisers debated if all otherwise healthy 5- to 11-year-olds need an extra dose, especially since so many children were infected during the huge winter surge of the omicron variant.Ultimately, the committee pointed to growing evidence from older kids and adults that two primary vaccinations plus a booster are providing the best protection against the newest coronavirus variants.“This always perhaps should have been a three-dose vaccine,” said Dr. Grace Lee of Stanford University, who chairs the CDC’s advisory panel.The booster question isn’t the hottest vaccine topic: Parents still are anxiously awaiting a chance to vaccinate even younger tots, those under 5 -- the only group not yet eligible in the U.S. Both Pfizer and rival Moderna hope to offer vaccines for those youngest children soon; the FDA is expected to evaluate data from one or both companies sometime next month.But for the 5- to 11-year-olds, it’s not clear how much booster demand there will be. Only about 30% of that age group have had the initial two Pfizer doses since vaccinations opened to them in November.CDC adviser Dr. Helen Keipp Talbot of Vanderbilt University said health authorities must put more effort into getting more of those youngsters their initial shots“That needs to be a priority,” she said.Pfizer and its partner BioNTech make the only COVID-19 vaccine available for children of any age in the U.S. Those ages 5 to 11 receive a kid-sized dose that’s one-third the amount given to everyone 12 and older.In a small study, Pfizer found a booster revved up those kids’ levels of virus-fighting antibodies -- including those able to fight the super-contagious omicron variant -- the same kind of jump adults get from an extra shot.Vaccines may not always prevent milder infections -- and omicron especially proved able to slip past their defenses. But CDC cited data during the omicron surge that showed unvaccinated 5- to 11-year-olds had twice the rate of hospitalization as youngsters who got their first two doses.Health authorities say for all ages, the vaccines are still offering strong protection against COVID-19′s worst outcomes, especially after a third dose.But some especially high-risk people, including those 50 and older, have been offered the choice of a second booster, or fourth shot. And still to be decided is whether everyone will need additional shots in the fall, possibly reformulated to offer better protection against newer coronavirus variants.___

CDC advisers urge Pfizer booster for children ages 5 to 11

By CALLIE FREITAG and HEATHER D. HILL <a href="https://theconversation.com/1-in-6-us-kids-are-in-families-below-the-poverty-line-183323">The Conversation</a>

In the United States, <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2021/demo/p60-273.html">children are more likely to experience poverty</a> than people over 18.

In 2020, about 1 in 6 kids, <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2021/demo/p60-273.html">16% of all children</a>,
 were living in families with incomes below the official poverty line – 
an income threshold the government set that year at about <a href="https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-poverty-thresholds.html">US$26,500 for a family of four</a>.
 Only 10% of Americans ages 18 to 64 and 9% of those 65 and up were 
experiencing poverty, according to the most recent data available.

The official child poverty rate <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.21963">ticks down when the economy grows and up during downturns</a>. It stood at 17% in 1967 – just about the same as in 2020. In many recent years the rate hovered even higher – around 20%.

Researchers <a href="https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/poverty/guidance/poverty-measures.html">calculate the official poverty rate</a> by adding up a household’s income and comparing it with a threshold of what is needed to survive.

The government has calculated this rate the same way <a href="https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/poverty/about/history-of-the-poverty-measure.html">since the 1960s</a>.

One of its shortcomings is that it <a href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2021/09/difference-between-supplemental-and-official-poverty-measures.html">excludes several sources of income</a>, including tax credits and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/snap-benefits-are-rising-for-millions-of-americans-thanks-to-a-long-overdue-thrifty-food-plan-update-167876">Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program</a>, which are intended to reduce poverty.

In 2011, the government began to calculate an alternative metric: <a href="https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/supplemental-poverty-measure.html">the supplemental poverty measure</a>.
 It includes SNAP and tax credits. It also uses thresholds based on the 
cost of living in different areas of the country. For a family of four, <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2021/demo/p60-275.html">this threshold</a> currently ranges from $24,000 to $35,000, depending on where a family lives and whether they own or rent housing.

According to this alternative measure, 10% of children were living in poverty in 2020, the lowest rate ever recorded. 

Depending on <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v75n3/v75n3p55.html">which measure you use</a>, either 7 million or 11.7 million U.S. children lived in poverty in 2020.

By both metrics, poverty is <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2021/demo/p60-273.html">higher for children of color</a>. The <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2021/demo/p60-273.html">official poverty rate</a> for Black children stood at 26%, and 23% for Hispanic children, while for white, non-Hispanic children it was 10%.

Both child poverty rates had been declining before the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2021/demo/p60-273.html">official rate dipped to 14%</a>
 in 2019 from 21% five years earlier. It shot back up to 16% in 2020, 
when the pandemic compounded economic hardships for many families.

The supplemental measure of child poverty tells a more complete story.

Steps the government took during the pandemic, including its series of <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2021/demo/p60-275.html">economic impact payments</a>, the <a href="https://ideas.repec.org/p/aji/briefs/20412.html">child tax credit expansion</a> and a <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/gallery/chart-detail/?chartId=102273">boost in SNAP benefits</a>, led the supplemental child poverty rate to keep declining even during the economic crisis.

The government will release its child poverty data for 2022 in <a href="https://cps.ipums.org/cps/release_dates.shtml">September 2023</a>. But some researchers at Columbia University have monthly data suggesting that <a href="https://www.povertycenter.columbia.edu/forecasting-monthly-poverty-data">child poverty rose steeply</a> after the expiration of the pandemic-era programs. They estimate that <a href="https://www.povertycenter.columbia.edu/news-internal/monthly-poverty-january-2022">3.7 million more children were living in poverty</a> in January 2022 than in December 2021 because of the <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/millions-kids-thrust-back-poverty-child-tax-credit-expired-s-rcna13450">expiration of the child tax credit expansion</a>.

Callie Freitag is a Ph.D. Candidate in Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington. Heather D. Hill is a Professor of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1653072676294.jpg" alt="Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>By CALLIE FREITAG and HEATHER D. HILL <a href="https://theconversation.com/1-in-6-us-kids-are-in-families-below-the-poverty-line-183323">The Conversation</a>In the United States, <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2021/demo/p60-273.html">children are more likely to experience poverty</a> than people over 18.In 2020, about 1 in 6 kids, <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2021/demo/p60-273.html">16% of all children</a>,
 were living in families with incomes below the official poverty line – 
an income threshold the government set that year at about <a href="https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-poverty-thresholds.html">US$26,500 for a family of four</a>.
 Only 10% of Americans ages 18 to 64 and 9% of those 65 and up were 
experiencing poverty, according to the most recent data available. The official child poverty rate <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.21963">ticks down when the economy grows and up during downturns</a>. It stood at 17% in 1967 – just about the same as in 2020. In many recent years the rate hovered even higher – around 20%. <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1653072712446.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Another way to measure poverty</h2>Researchers <a href="https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/poverty/guidance/poverty-measures.html">calculate the official poverty rate</a> by adding up a household’s income and comparing it with a threshold of what is needed to survive.The government has calculated this rate the same way <a href="https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/poverty/about/history-of-the-poverty-measure.html">since the 1960s</a>. One of its shortcomings is that it <a href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2021/09/difference-between-supplemental-and-official-poverty-measures.html">excludes several sources of income</a>, including tax credits and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/snap-benefits-are-rising-for-millions-of-americans-thanks-to-a-long-overdue-thrifty-food-plan-update-167876">Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program</a>, which are intended to reduce poverty. In 2011, the government began to calculate an alternative metric: <a href="https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/supplemental-poverty-measure.html">the supplemental poverty measure</a>.
 It includes SNAP and tax credits. It also uses thresholds based on the 
cost of living in different areas of the country. For a family of four, <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2021/demo/p60-275.html">this threshold</a> currently ranges from $24,000 to $35,000, depending on where a family lives and whether they own or rent housing.According to this alternative measure, 10% of children were living in poverty in 2020, the lowest rate ever recorded. Depending on <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v75n3/v75n3p55.html">which measure you use</a>, either 7 million or 11.7 million U.S. children lived in poverty in 2020.By both metrics, poverty is <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2021/demo/p60-273.html">higher for children of color</a>. The <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2021/demo/p60-273.html">official poverty rate</a> for Black children stood at 26%, and 23% for Hispanic children, while for white, non-Hispanic children it was 10%. <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1653072747336.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Before and after 2020</h2>Both child poverty rates had been declining before the COVID-19 pandemic. The <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2021/demo/p60-273.html">official rate dipped to 14%</a>
 in 2019 from 21% five years earlier. It shot back up to 16% in 2020, 
when the pandemic compounded economic hardships for many families.The supplemental measure of child poverty tells a more complete story.Steps the government took during the pandemic, including its series of <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2021/demo/p60-275.html">economic impact payments</a>, the <a href="https://ideas.repec.org/p/aji/briefs/20412.html">child tax credit expansion</a> and a <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/gallery/chart-detail/?chartId=102273">boost in SNAP benefits</a>, led the supplemental child poverty rate to keep declining even during the economic crisis.The government will release its child poverty data for 2022 in <a href="https://cps.ipums.org/cps/release_dates.shtml">September 2023</a>. But some researchers at Columbia University have monthly data suggesting that <a href="https://www.povertycenter.columbia.edu/forecasting-monthly-poverty-data">child poverty rose steeply</a> after the expiration of the pandemic-era programs. They estimate that <a href="https://www.povertycenter.columbia.edu/news-internal/monthly-poverty-january-2022">3.7 million more children were living in poverty</a> in January 2022 than in December 2021 because of the <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/millions-kids-thrust-back-poverty-child-tax-credit-expired-s-rcna13450">expiration of the child tax credit expansion</a>.Callie Freitag is a Ph.D. Candidate in Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington. Heather D. Hill is a Professor of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington.<div><iframe src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183323/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" width="1" height="1"></iframe></div>

1 in 6 US kids are in families below the poverty line

According to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the suspects have been arrested and the child recovered by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. 5-year-old Brixton Sisk is safe.

The public's assistance in this matter was outstanding. Several of the tips provided led investigators to the location.&nbsp;

Authorities released no additional details.

BUTLER COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities have issued an Amber Alert for a missing&nbsp; 5-year-old boy.

At 2:40p.m. Thursday, a woman entered a school day care in Rose Hill, Kansas posing as a Social Worker. The woman gained access to 5-year-old Brixton Sisk, exited the school, entered a black Suburban with a paper-30 day tag and departed the location.

The woman was identified as Brixton's mother, Danielle Banzet, who had her parental rights severed by the court. Actions taken by Banzet prior to the abduction, including threats of violence, indicate that Brixton is in imminent danger.

KBI reported just after 6:45p.m. Banzet, a male counterpart and child have switched vehicles to a 2010 Volkswagen Jetta, Kansas license 461NWF and may be fleeing the immediate area.&nbsp; The KBI reported just before 9:30p.m. authorities found the Jetta abandoned in rural Cowley County.

Call 911 immediately if you have seen a missing child, suspect, or suspect’s vehicle. If you have other information on a missing child, call the Butler County Sheriff's Office at 316-320-1294 if you have information about Brixton or Banzet.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1653001318069.png" alt=" Brixton-photo KBI" />
 <figcaption> Brixton-photo KBI</figcaption>
 </figure>According to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the suspects have been arrested and the child recovered by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. 5-year-old Brixton Sisk is safe.The public's assistance in this matter was outstanding. Several of the tips provided led investigators to the location.&nbsp;Authorities released no additional details.--------BUTLER COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities have issued an Amber Alert for a missing&nbsp; 5-year-old boy.At 2:40p.m. Thursday, a woman entered a school day care in Rose Hill, Kansas posing as a Social Worker. The woman gained access to 5-year-old Brixton Sisk, exited the school, entered a black Suburban with a paper-30 day tag and departed the location.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1653001181087.png" alt="Danielle Banzet-photo KBI" />
 <figcaption>Danielle Banzet-photo KBI</figcaption>
 </figure>The woman was identified as Brixton's mother, Danielle Banzet, who had her parental rights severed by the court. Actions taken by Banzet prior to the abduction, including threats of violence, indicate that Brixton is in imminent danger.KBI reported just after 6:45p.m. Banzet, a male counterpart and child have switched vehicles to a 2010 Volkswagen Jetta, Kansas license 461NWF and may be fleeing the immediate area.&nbsp; The KBI reported just before 9:30p.m. authorities found the Jetta abandoned in rural Cowley County.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1653005713044.png" alt="photo KBI" />
 <figcaption>photo KBI</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1653001488867.png" alt="Vehicle originally involved -photo KBI" />
 <figcaption>Vehicle originally involved -photo KBI</figcaption>
 </figure>Call 911 immediately if you have seen a missing child, suspect, or suspect’s vehicle. If you have other information on a missing child, call the Butler County Sheriff's Office at 316-320-1294 if you have information about Brixton or Banzet.

KBI: Suspects in Amber Alert captured in Okla.; boy found safe

KANSAS CITY (AP) —In the five months that Jennifer Anne Hall was a respiratory therapist at Hedrick Medical Center, the rural Missouri hospital experienced 18 “code blue” incidents — an alarming increase in sudden cardiac arrest events for a hospital that historically averaged one of them a year, according to a police investigator.

Nine of those patients died, and nine recovered. Twenty years later, Hall was charged this month with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-franco-missouri-e1b5b5d9b9341349bc921776c169c1ab">first-degree murder</a>&nbsp;in one of the deaths — that of 75-year-old Fern Franco.

Livingston County Prosecuting Attorney Adam Warren, who launched an investigation 10 years ago, said Franco died of lethal doses of succinylcholine — a relaxant that paralyzes the respiratory muscles — and the pain reliever morphine. The prosecutor did not disclose a possible motive or say why the investigation took a decade.

Hall's attorney, Matt O’Connor, said she is innocent and that as a respiratory therapist, she didn’t have access to succinylcholine, morphine or any other drugs. He said Hall became a scapegoat for the deaths at Hedrick because of an arson conviction that she was cleared of in 2005.

It’s unclear if Hall will face additional murder charges in the 2002 deaths at Hedrick. Warren declined interview requests, and Livingston County Sheriff Steve Cox did not respond to phone and email messages seeking comment.

Franco's granddaughter, Aprille Franco hopes investigators get to the bottom of the other deaths.

“Just for the other families’ sake," Franco, 44, of Kansas City, Missouri, said. "They’ve been waiting 20 years for answers. It’s up to my grandma’s case to find answers for them."

Hall, 41, is jailed without bond. O'Connor said he will seek bond so Hall can get chemotherapy treatment for leukemia.

She began working at Hedrick in December 2001. The small hospital is in Chillicothe, a town of 9,100 residents 90 miles northeast of Kansas City.

A probable cause statement from Chillicothe Officer Brian Schmidt said that during Hall’s brief time at Hedrick, sudden cardiac collapse incidents — code blues — “rose alarmingly.”

Hospital officials were alerted to the concerns about Hall but “did everything in the world to cover it up” to avoid bad publicity, said Scott Lindley, the county coroner. No criminal investigation was launched at the time.

A wrongful-death lawsuit naming the hospital and the company that now operates it, St. Luke's Health System, was filed in 2010 on behalf of relatives of five patients who died. The Missouri Supreme Court tossed the lawsuit in 2019, ruling it was filed after the statute of limitations had run out.

St. Luke's Health System noted in a statement that it took over operation of Hedrick more than a year after the deaths.

“We, too, are only interested in the truth, and look forward to a final resolution of the investigation,” the statement read.

Warren, who was elected prosecutor in 2010,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lawsuits-missouri-eb1f83b41c6749218dc02ecad99a295a">opened the investigation in 2012</a>, saying he didn’t believe that a “thorough investigation has ever been completed.”

The deaths involved people of varying ages and levels of health.

World War II veteran Charles O'Hara, 88, was admitted for evaluation of a high temperatures, vomiting and agitation on Feb. 2, 2002, and died two days later. Retired conservation agent Coval Gann was 82.

But David Harper was just 37. He had been hospitalized with pneumonia, but the lawsuit said he was so much better that he was about to be discharged. He died on March 20, 2002.

Similarly, 49-year-old Shirley Eller was a day away from going home after being treated for pneumonia when she collapsed and died on March 9, 2002.

The lawsuit said Eller's death was attributed to “natural causes,” the same as the others who died. Eller's sister, Helen Pittman, found that puzzling. Eller smoked but was otherwise healthy and active.

“It was a shock,” Pittman said. “It just seems really suspicious. Shirley was doing good.”

Franco also had been hospitalized with pneumonia. Hall and another staff member identified only as “J.A.” in the probable cause statement found her dead on May 18, 2002.

“Hall’s vicim was a sick, defenseless, elderly woman who was depending on Hall to care for physical ailment within a medical facility,” Schmidt wrote. He said the succinylcholine caused a “ghastly death from suffocation” while Franco was fully conscious.

Hall was placed on administrative leave three days after Franco's death and the code blue incidents “returned to historical frequency,” Schmidt's report stated.

Hall was fired months later, but not because of the patient deaths. O'Connor said she was fired after hospital officials learned she had been convicted of an arson fire at another small Missouri hospital, Cass Regional Medical Center in Harrisonville, where she previously worked. She was free on appeal when she took the job in Chillicothe and later spent a year behind bars before being acquitted at a retrial.

O’Connor called it unfathomable that Hall would again be singled out for a crime she didn’t commit.

“To go through it once is terrible,” O’Connor said. “To go through it twice is a recurring nightmare.”

He said Hall’s proximity to the patients shouldn’t be unexpected since it’s a small hospital with a small staff.

Twenty years after the death of her younger sister, Pittman, 79, wasn't ready to pass judgment, but she does want investigators to keep looking into Shirley Eller's death.

“It’s hard for me to believe people can be that mean," Pittman said. "But I guess they can.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652449498878.png" alt="Authorities arrested Hall last week in Kansas-Photo Livingston Co. Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Authorities arrested Hall last week in Kansas-Photo Livingston Co. Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) —In the five months that Jennifer Anne Hall was a respiratory therapist at Hedrick Medical Center, the rural Missouri hospital experienced 18 “code blue” incidents — an alarming increase in sudden cardiac arrest events for a hospital that historically averaged one of them a year, according to a police investigator.Nine of those patients died, and nine recovered. Twenty years later, Hall was charged this month with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-franco-missouri-e1b5b5d9b9341349bc921776c169c1ab">first-degree murder</a>&nbsp;in one of the deaths — that of 75-year-old Fern Franco.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1653007502545.png" alt="Hall is being held in Livingston County" />
 <figcaption>Hall is being held in Livingston County</figcaption>
 </figure>Livingston County Prosecuting Attorney Adam Warren, who launched an investigation 10 years ago, said Franco died of lethal doses of succinylcholine — a relaxant that paralyzes the respiratory muscles — and the pain reliever morphine. The prosecutor did not disclose a possible motive or say why the investigation took a decade.Hall's attorney, Matt O’Connor, said she is innocent and that as a respiratory therapist, she didn’t have access to succinylcholine, morphine or any other drugs. He said Hall became a scapegoat for the deaths at Hedrick because of an arson conviction that she was cleared of in 2005.It’s unclear if Hall will face additional murder charges in the 2002 deaths at Hedrick. Warren declined interview requests, and Livingston County Sheriff Steve Cox did not respond to phone and email messages seeking comment.Franco's granddaughter, Aprille Franco hopes investigators get to the bottom of the other deaths.“Just for the other families’ sake," Franco, 44, of Kansas City, Missouri, said. "They’ve been waiting 20 years for answers. It’s up to my grandma’s case to find answers for them."Hall, 41, is jailed without bond. O'Connor said he will seek bond so Hall can get chemotherapy treatment for leukemia.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652204964045.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>She began working at Hedrick in December 2001. The small hospital is in Chillicothe, a town of 9,100 residents 90 miles northeast of Kansas City.A probable cause statement from Chillicothe Officer Brian Schmidt said that during Hall’s brief time at Hedrick, sudden cardiac collapse incidents — code blues — “rose alarmingly.”Hospital officials were alerted to the concerns about Hall but “did everything in the world to cover it up” to avoid bad publicity, said Scott Lindley, the county coroner. No criminal investigation was launched at the time.A wrongful-death lawsuit naming the hospital and the company that now operates it, St. Luke's Health System, was filed in 2010 on behalf of relatives of five patients who died. The Missouri Supreme Court tossed the lawsuit in 2019, ruling it was filed after the statute of limitations had run out.St. Luke's Health System noted in a statement that it took over operation of Hedrick more than a year after the deaths.“We, too, are only interested in the truth, and look forward to a final resolution of the investigation,” the statement read.Warren, who was elected prosecutor in 2010,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lawsuits-missouri-eb1f83b41c6749218dc02ecad99a295a">opened the investigation in 2012</a>, saying he didn’t believe that a “thorough investigation has ever been completed.”The deaths involved people of varying ages and levels of health.World War II veteran Charles O'Hara, 88, was admitted for evaluation of a high temperatures, vomiting and agitation on Feb. 2, 2002, and died two days later. Retired conservation agent Coval Gann was 82.But David Harper was just 37. He had been hospitalized with pneumonia, but the lawsuit said he was so much better that he was about to be discharged. He died on March 20, 2002.Similarly, 49-year-old Shirley Eller was a day away from going home after being treated for pneumonia when she collapsed and died on March 9, 2002.The lawsuit said Eller's death was attributed to “natural causes,” the same as the others who died. Eller's sister, Helen Pittman, found that puzzling. Eller smoked but was otherwise healthy and active.“It was a shock,” Pittman said. “It just seems really suspicious. Shirley was doing good.”Franco also had been hospitalized with pneumonia. Hall and another staff member identified only as “J.A.” in the probable cause statement found her dead on May 18, 2002.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652474493585.png" alt="U.S. Marshals arrested Hall in Kansas on May 12 -photo Johnson Co. Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>U.S. Marshals arrested Hall in Kansas on May 12 -photo Johnson Co. Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>“Hall’s vicim was a sick, defenseless, elderly woman who was depending on Hall to care for physical ailment within a medical facility,” Schmidt wrote. He said the succinylcholine caused a “ghastly death from suffocation” while Franco was fully conscious.Hall was placed on administrative leave three days after Franco's death and the code blue incidents “returned to historical frequency,” Schmidt's report stated.Hall was fired months later, but not because of the patient deaths. O'Connor said she was fired after hospital officials learned she had been convicted of an arson fire at another small Missouri hospital, Cass Regional Medical Center in Harrisonville, where she previously worked. She was free on appeal when she took the job in Chillicothe and later spent a year behind bars before being acquitted at a retrial.O’Connor called it unfathomable that Hall would again be singled out for a crime she didn’t commit.“To go through it once is terrible,” O’Connor said. “To go through it twice is a recurring nightmare.”He said Hall’s proximity to the patients shouldn’t be unexpected since it’s a small hospital with a small staff.Twenty years after the death of her younger sister, Pittman, 79, wasn't ready to pass judgment, but she does want investigators to keep looking into Shirley Eller's death.“It’s hard for me to believe people can be that mean," Pittman said. "But I guess they can.”

20 years after hospital deaths, ex-worker accused

By IMTIAZ RANGWALA <a href="https://theconversation.com/grim-2022-drought-outlook-for-western-us-offers-warnings-for-the-future-as-climate-change-brings-a-hotter-thirstier-atmosphere-182640">The Conversation</a>

Much of the western U.S. has been in the grip of an <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/event-tracker/noaa-led-drought-task-force-concludes-current-southwest-drought-preview">unrelenting drought</a> since early 2020. The dryness has coincided with record-breaking <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/01/us-new-mexico-drought-wildfire-southwest">wildfires</a>, intense and long-lasting <a href="https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/western-north-american-extreme-heat-virtually-impossible-without-human-caused-climate-change/">heat waves</a>, <a href="https://phys.org/news/2022-04-drought-western-scrambling.html">low stream flows</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/03/climate/lake-powell-mead-water-drought.html">dwindling water supplies in reservoirs</a> that millions of people across the region rely on.

Heading into summer, the <a href="https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/expert_assessment/sdo_summary.php">outlook</a> is pretty grim. The National Weather Service’s <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464284/original/file-20220519-11-igtk3o.png">latest seasonal outlook</a>, issued May 19, 2022, described drought persisting across most of the West and parts of the Great Plains.

One driver of the Western drought has been <a href="https://www.pe.com/2021/09/24/la-nina-is-about-to-take-the-southwest-drought-from-bad-to-worse/">persistent La Niña conditions</a> in the tropical Pacific since the <a href="https://psl.noaa.gov/enso/mei/">summer of 2020</a>. During La Niña, cooler tropical Pacific waters help nudge the jet stream northward. That tends to bring <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/el-ni%C3%B1o-and-la-ni%C3%B1a-frequently-asked-questions">fewer storms to the southern tier of the U.S.</a> and produce pronounced drought impacts in the Southwest.

The <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/the-drought-in-the-western-us-could-last-until-2030">other</a> and perhaps more important part of the story is the <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/warming-is-making-the-west-thirstier-researchers-say-and-its-stressing-water-supplies-%EF%BF%BC">hotter and thirstier atmosphere, caused by a rapidly warming climate</a>.

As a <a href="https://cires.colorado.edu/researcher/imtiaz-rangwala">climate scientist</a>,
 I’ve watched how climate change is making drought conditions 
increasingly worse – particularly in the western and central U.S. The 
last two years have been more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 Celsius) 
warmer than normal in these regions. Large swaths of the Southwest have 
been even hotter, with temperatures more than 3 F (1.7 C) higher. <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/western-megadrought-is-the-worst-in-1-200-years/">Studies suggest the Southwest’s ongoing 20-year drought</a> is the most severe in at least 1,200 years, based on how dry the soils are.

A hotter atmosphere sucks more moisture from the soil

A thristier atmosphere tends to extract more water out of the land. It exacerbates <a href="https://www.drought.gov/data-maps-tools/evaporative-stress-index-esi">evaporative stress</a>
 on the land, particularly when a region is experiencing below-normal 
precipitation. High evaporative stress can rapidly deplete soil moisture
 and lead to hotter temperatures, as the <a href="https://coolcalifornia.arb.ca.gov/how-cool-vegetation-works">evaporative cooling effect</a> is diminished. All this creates hydroclimatic stress for plants, causing restricted growth, drying and even death.

As a consequence of a warming climate, the U.S. Southwest has seen an
 8% increase in this evaporative demand since the 1980s. This trend is 
generally <a href="https://cpo.noaa.gov/News/ArtMID/7875/ArticleID/2523/NIDIS-Funded-Project-Finds-That-Evaporative-Demand-Increase-Across-Lower-48-Means-Less-Water-Supplies-Drier-Vegetation-and-Higher-Fire-Risk">happening across other parts of the country</a>.

The <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/feed/evaporative-demand-increase-across-lower-48-means-less-water-supplies-drier">thistier atmosphere</a>
 is turning what would otherwise be near-normal or moderately dry 
conditions into droughts that are more severe or extreme. As the climate
 heats up further, the increasing atmospheric thirst will continue to 
intensify drought stress, with consequences for water availability, 
long-lasting and intense heat stress, and large-scale ecosystem 
transformation.

Climate models project ominous prospects of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2006323117">a more arid climate and more severe droughts</a> in the Southwest and southern Great Plains in the coming decades.

In addition to direct impacts of increasing temperatures on future droughts, these regions are also expected to see <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-017-0001-8">fewer storms</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM-D-21-0017.1">more days without precipitation</a>. Climate models consistently project a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-017-0001-8">poleward shift in the midlatitude storm tracks</a> during this century as the planet heats up, which is expected to result in fewer storms in the southern tier of the country.

Expect flash droughts even in wetter areas

The changing nature of droughts is a concern <a href="https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/">even in parts of the U.S. that are expected to have a net increase</a>
 in annual precipitation during the 21st century. In a hotter future, 
because of the high evaporative demand on the land, prolonged periods 
with weeks to months of below normal precipitation in these areas can 
lead to significant drought, even if the overall trend is for more 
precipitation.

Large parts of the northern Plains, for example, have seen precipitation <a href="https://toolkit.climate.gov/regions/northern-great-plains">increase by 10% or more</a> in the last three decades. However, the region is not immune to severe drought conditions in a hotter climate.

At the tail end of what was the <a href="https://www.drought.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/NorthernPlains_2017DroughtEvolution.pdf">wettest decade</a> on record in the region, the northern Plains experienced <a href="https://www.drought.gov/news/flash-drought-new-reports-examine-2017-northern-plains-drought">an intense flash drought in the summer of 2017</a> that resulted in agricultural losses in excess of $2.6 billion and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/07/flash-drought-north-dakota-montana-wildfires">wildfires</a> across millions of acres. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-815998-9.00025-7">Record evaporative demand</a>
 contributed to the severity of the flash drought, in addition to a 
severe short-term precipitation deficit. A flash drought is a drought 
that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-17-0149.1">intensifies rapidly over a period of a few weeks</a> and often catches forecasters by surprise. The likelihood of flash droughts that can <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26692-z/07/flash-drought-north-dakota-montana-wildfires">cause severe impacts to agriculture and ecosystems and promote large wildfires</a> is expected to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28752-4">increase</a> with a warmer and thirstier atmosphere.

Flash droughts are also emerging as a growing concern in the Northeast. In 2020, much of New England experienced an <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2020/1148/ofr20201148.pdf">extreme hydrologic drought</a>,
 with low stream flows and groundwater levels and widespread crop losses
 between May and September. Aided by very warm and dry atmospheric 
conditions, the drought developed very rapidly over that period from 
what had been above-normal wet conditions.

As humanity enters a hotter future, prolonged periods of weeks to 
months of below-normal precipitation are going to be of a greater 
concern almost everywhere. 

Other forms of droughts are also emerging.

Atmospheric heating is causing <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/snow-droughts-coming-to-winters-western-us-california-water">snow droughts</a>
 as more precipitation falls as rain rather than snow and snow melts 
earlier. Shorter snow seasons and longer growing seasons because of 
warmer temperatures are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13727">changing the timing of ecological responses</a>.

Land is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13224">greening up earlier</a> and causing an earlier loss of water from the land surface through <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/evapotranspiration-and-water-cycle">evapotranspiration</a>
 – the loss of water from plants and soil. This could result in drier 
soils in the latter half of the growing season. As a result, parts of 
the central and western U.S. could see <a href="https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-17-0213.1">both increased greening and drying in the future</a> that are seasonally separated across the growing season.

With a rapidly changing climate, we are entering <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2020.08.019">unfamiliar territory</a>. The world will need new ways <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2020.08.019">to better anticipate future droughts</a> that could transform <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abj6777">natural</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/transformational-change-is-coming-to-how-people-live-on-earth-un-climate-adaptation-report-warns-which-path-will-humanity-choose-177604">human</a> systems.

Imtiaz Rangwala is a Research Scientist in Climate at the Cooperative Institute for Research 
in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder.

<div><iframe src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182640/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" width="1" height="1"></iframe></div>By IMTIAZ RANGWALA <a href="https://theconversation.com/grim-2022-drought-outlook-for-western-us-offers-warnings-for-the-future-as-climate-change-brings-a-hotter-thirstier-atmosphere-182640">The Conversation</a>Much of the western U.S. has been in the grip of an <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/event-tracker/noaa-led-drought-task-force-concludes-current-southwest-drought-preview">unrelenting drought</a> since early 2020. The dryness has coincided with record-breaking <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/01/us-new-mexico-drought-wildfire-southwest">wildfires</a>, intense and long-lasting <a href="https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/western-north-american-extreme-heat-virtually-impossible-without-human-caused-climate-change/">heat waves</a>, <a href="https://phys.org/news/2022-04-drought-western-scrambling.html">low stream flows</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/03/climate/lake-powell-mead-water-drought.html">dwindling water supplies in reservoirs</a> that millions of people across the region rely on. Heading into summer, the <a href="https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/expert_assessment/sdo_summary.php">outlook</a> is pretty grim. The National Weather Service’s <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464284/original/file-20220519-11-igtk3o.png">latest seasonal outlook</a>, issued May 19, 2022, described drought persisting across most of the West and parts of the Great Plains. One driver of the Western drought has been <a href="https://www.pe.com/2021/09/24/la-nina-is-about-to-take-the-southwest-drought-from-bad-to-worse/">persistent La Niña conditions</a> in the tropical Pacific since the <a href="https://psl.noaa.gov/enso/mei/">summer of 2020</a>. During La Niña, cooler tropical Pacific waters help nudge the jet stream northward. That tends to bring <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/el-ni%C3%B1o-and-la-ni%C3%B1a-frequently-asked-questions">fewer storms to the southern tier of the U.S.</a> and produce pronounced drought impacts in the Southwest.The <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/the-drought-in-the-western-us-could-last-until-2030">other</a> and perhaps more important part of the story is the <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/warming-is-making-the-west-thirstier-researchers-say-and-its-stressing-water-supplies-%EF%BF%BC">hotter and thirstier atmosphere, caused by a rapidly warming climate</a>.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652996192218.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>As a <a href="https://cires.colorado.edu/researcher/imtiaz-rangwala">climate scientist</a>,
 I’ve watched how climate change is making drought conditions 
increasingly worse – particularly in the western and central U.S. The 
last two years have been more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 Celsius) 
warmer than normal in these regions. Large swaths of the Southwest have 
been even hotter, with temperatures more than 3 F (1.7 C) higher. <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/western-megadrought-is-the-worst-in-1-200-years/">Studies suggest the Southwest’s ongoing 20-year drought</a> is the most severe in at least 1,200 years, based on how dry the soils are.<h2>A hotter atmosphere sucks more moisture from the soil</h2>A thristier atmosphere tends to extract more water out of the land. It exacerbates <a href="https://www.drought.gov/data-maps-tools/evaporative-stress-index-esi">evaporative stress</a>
 on the land, particularly when a region is experiencing below-normal 
precipitation. High evaporative stress can rapidly deplete soil moisture
 and lead to hotter temperatures, as the <a href="https://coolcalifornia.arb.ca.gov/how-cool-vegetation-works">evaporative cooling effect</a> is diminished. All this creates hydroclimatic stress for plants, causing restricted growth, drying and even death.As a consequence of a warming climate, the U.S. Southwest has seen an
 8% increase in this evaporative demand since the 1980s. This trend is 
generally <a href="https://cpo.noaa.gov/News/ArtMID/7875/ArticleID/2523/NIDIS-Funded-Project-Finds-That-Evaporative-Demand-Increase-Across-Lower-48-Means-Less-Water-Supplies-Drier-Vegetation-and-Higher-Fire-Risk">happening across other parts of the country</a>.The <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/feed/evaporative-demand-increase-across-lower-48-means-less-water-supplies-drier">thistier atmosphere</a>
 is turning what would otherwise be near-normal or moderately dry 
conditions into droughts that are more severe or extreme. As the climate
 heats up further, the increasing atmospheric thirst will continue to 
intensify drought stress, with consequences for water availability, 
long-lasting and intense heat stress, and large-scale ecosystem 
transformation.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652996232299.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Climate models project ominous prospects of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2006323117">a more arid climate and more severe droughts</a> in the Southwest and southern Great Plains in the coming decades.In addition to direct impacts of increasing temperatures on future droughts, these regions are also expected to see <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-017-0001-8">fewer storms</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM-D-21-0017.1">more days without precipitation</a>. Climate models consistently project a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-017-0001-8">poleward shift in the midlatitude storm tracks</a> during this century as the planet heats up, which is expected to result in fewer storms in the southern tier of the country.<h2>Expect flash droughts even in wetter areas</h2>The changing nature of droughts is a concern <a href="https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/">even in parts of the U.S. that are expected to have a net increase</a>
 in annual precipitation during the 21st century. In a hotter future, 
because of the high evaporative demand on the land, prolonged periods 
with weeks to months of below normal precipitation in these areas can 
lead to significant drought, even if the overall trend is for more 
precipitation.Large parts of the northern Plains, for example, have seen precipitation <a href="https://toolkit.climate.gov/regions/northern-great-plains">increase by 10% or more</a> in the last three decades. However, the region is not immune to severe drought conditions in a hotter climate.At the tail end of what was the <a href="https://www.drought.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/NorthernPlains_2017DroughtEvolution.pdf">wettest decade</a> on record in the region, the northern Plains experienced <a href="https://www.drought.gov/news/flash-drought-new-reports-examine-2017-northern-plains-drought">an intense flash drought in the summer of 2017</a> that resulted in agricultural losses in excess of $2.6 billion and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/07/flash-drought-north-dakota-montana-wildfires">wildfires</a> across millions of acres. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-815998-9.00025-7">Record evaporative demand</a>
 contributed to the severity of the flash drought, in addition to a 
severe short-term precipitation deficit. A flash drought is a drought 
that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-17-0149.1">intensifies rapidly over a period of a few weeks</a> and often catches forecasters by surprise. The likelihood of flash droughts that can <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26692-z/07/flash-drought-north-dakota-montana-wildfires">cause severe impacts to agriculture and ecosystems and promote large wildfires</a> is expected to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28752-4">increase</a> with a warmer and thirstier atmosphere.Flash droughts are also emerging as a growing concern in the Northeast. In 2020, much of New England experienced an <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2020/1148/ofr20201148.pdf">extreme hydrologic drought</a>,
 with low stream flows and groundwater levels and widespread crop losses
 between May and September. Aided by very warm and dry atmospheric 
conditions, the drought developed very rapidly over that period from 
what had been above-normal wet conditions.As humanity enters a hotter future, prolonged periods of weeks to 
months of below-normal precipitation are going to be of a greater 
concern almost everywhere. <h2>Heading into unfamiliar territory</h2>Other forms of droughts are also emerging.Atmospheric heating is causing <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/snow-droughts-coming-to-winters-western-us-california-water">snow droughts</a>
 as more precipitation falls as rain rather than snow and snow melts 
earlier. Shorter snow seasons and longer growing seasons because of 
warmer temperatures are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13727">changing the timing of ecological responses</a>.Land is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13224">greening up earlier</a> and causing an earlier loss of water from the land surface through <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/evapotranspiration-and-water-cycle">evapotranspiration</a>
 – the loss of water from plants and soil. This could result in drier 
soils in the latter half of the growing season. As a result, parts of 
the central and western U.S. could see <a href="https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-17-0213.1">both increased greening and drying in the future</a> that are seasonally separated across the growing season.With a rapidly changing climate, we are entering <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2020.08.019">unfamiliar territory</a>. The world will need new ways <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2020.08.019">to better anticipate future droughts</a> that could transform <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abj6777">natural</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/transformational-change-is-coming-to-how-people-live-on-earth-un-climate-adaptation-report-warns-which-path-will-humanity-choose-177604">human</a> systems.Imtiaz Rangwala is a Research Scientist in Climate at the Cooperative Institute for Research 
in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder.

Grim drought outlook for Western US offers warnings

By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/05/19/kansas-prepares-to-distribute-69-million-in-federal-small-business-economic-aid/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Kansas is in line to 
receive as much as $69 million in additional federal support for small 
business development and entrepreneurship through a U.S. Treasury 
Department program used to support companies through the pandemic.

The American Rescue Plan expanded the State Small Business Credit 
Initiative, or SSBCI, established in 2010 to assist businesses following
 the Great Recession from 2007 to 2009. The goal is to improve access to
 capital in rural and other traditionally underserved communities.

States participating in SSBCI operate under the expectation each 
would generate business lending at least 10 times the amount of federal 
aid.

“Treasury will continue working with Kansas to help make sure that 
this funding is having the maximum impact across the state to promote 
economic growth,” said Wally Adeyemo, deputy secretary of the federal 
agency.

The federal legislation provided about $10 billion to states, the 
District of Columbia, tribal governments and U.S. territories in support
 of businesses emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic. Treasury officials 
said Thursday that Kansas was among five states in the latest round of 
allocations.

Under the federal legislation, Kansas’ neighboring states would 
receive from $64 million to $104 million to support small businesses. 
The amounts: Colorado, $104 million; Missouri, $94 million; Oklahoma, 
$81 million; and Nebraska, $64 million.

The American Rescue Plan narrowly passed the House and Senate in 
2021. Kansas House Republicans Tracey Mann, Ron Estes and Jake LaTurner 
voted against the bill, while House Democrat Sharice Davids support it. 
In the Senate, Republicans Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall voted “no” on 
the bill.

Treasury department officials recommended states support industries 
important to the U.S. economy, including companies involved with 
manufacturing, supply chains and renewable energy. In addition, the 
federal agency urged recipients to support businesses providing 
living-wage jobs.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652968724073.png" alt="Kansas is set to receive $69 million in small business investment aid through the federal American Rescue Plan. Republican U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, left, and U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, right, voted against the bill. Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, center, voted for it. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Kansas is set to receive $69 million in small business investment aid through the federal American Rescue Plan. Republican U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, left, and U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, right, voted against the bill. Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, center, voted for it. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/05/19/kansas-prepares-to-distribute-69-million-in-federal-small-business-economic-aid/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Kansas is in line to 
receive as much as $69 million in additional federal support for small 
business development and entrepreneurship through a U.S. Treasury 
Department program used to support companies through the pandemic.The American Rescue Plan expanded the State Small Business Credit 
Initiative, or SSBCI, established in 2010 to assist businesses following
 the Great Recession from 2007 to 2009. The goal is to improve access to
 capital in rural and other traditionally underserved communities.States participating in SSBCI operate under the expectation each 
would generate business lending at least 10 times the amount of federal 
aid.“Treasury will continue working with Kansas to help make sure that 
this funding is having the maximum impact across the state to promote 
economic growth,” said Wally Adeyemo, deputy secretary of the federal 
agency.The federal legislation provided about $10 billion to states, the 
District of Columbia, tribal governments and U.S. territories in support
 of businesses emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic. Treasury officials 
said Thursday that Kansas was among five states in the latest round of 
allocations.Under the federal legislation, Kansas’ neighboring states would 
receive from $64 million to $104 million to support small businesses. 
The amounts: Colorado, $104 million; Missouri, $94 million; Oklahoma, 
$81 million; and Nebraska, $64 million.The American Rescue Plan narrowly passed the House and Senate in 
2021. Kansas House Republicans Tracey Mann, Ron Estes and Jake LaTurner 
voted against the bill, while House Democrat Sharice Davids support it. 
In the Senate, Republicans Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall voted “no” on 
the bill.Treasury department officials recommended states support industries 
important to the U.S. economy, including companies involved with 
manufacturing, supply chains and renewable energy. In addition, the 
federal agency urged recipients to support businesses providing 
living-wage jobs.

Kansas set to distribute $69M in federal small business economic aid

RILEY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a woman's stabbing and asking the public for help to find him have made an arrest. Just after 3:30p.m. Thursday the Riley County Police Department reported they had 44-year-old Jarman Morgan in custody.

Police want to speak to Morgan after a 27-year-old woman was stabbed in the neck in the 1000 block of Moro Street just after midnight on Wednesday night.&nbsp;

RILEY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating an alleged violent attack on a woman in Manhattan are asking the public for help to locate 44-year-old Jarman Morgan, according to a social media report from the Riley County Police Department.

Police want to speak to Morgan after a 27-year-old woman was stabbed in the neck in the 1000 block of Moro Street just after midnight on Wednesday night.&nbsp; Police warned the public not to approach or attempt to apprehend Morgan.

RILEY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating an alleged violent attack on a woman in Manhattan.

Just after 12:30a.m. Wednesday, officers filed a report for aggravated battery in the 1000 block of Moro Street in Manhattan, according to the Riley County Police Department activity report.

A 27-year-old woman reported a known 44-year-old man stabbed her with a knife.&nbsp;

Police have not reported an arrest or additional details.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652988351619.png" alt="Morgan-photo RCPD" />
 <figcaption>Morgan-photo RCPD</figcaption>
 </figure>RILEY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a woman's stabbing and asking the public for help to find him have made an arrest. Just after 3:30p.m. Thursday the Riley County Police Department reported they had 44-year-old Jarman Morgan in custody.Police want to speak to Morgan after a 27-year-old woman was stabbed in the neck in the 1000 block of Moro Street just after midnight on Wednesday night.&nbsp;------------RILEY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating an alleged violent attack on a woman in Manhattan are asking the public for help to locate 44-year-old Jarman Morgan, according to a social media report from the Riley County Police Department.Police want to speak to Morgan after a 27-year-old woman was stabbed in the neck in the 1000 block of Moro Street just after midnight on Wednesday night.&nbsp; Police warned the public not to approach or attempt to apprehend Morgan.-------RILEY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating an alleged violent attack on a woman in Manhattan.Just after 12:30a.m. Wednesday, officers filed a report for aggravated battery in the 1000 block of Moro Street in Manhattan, according to the Riley County Police Department activity report.A 27-year-old woman reported a known 44-year-old man stabbed her with a knife.&nbsp;Police have not reported an arrest or additional details.

Update: Suspect in Kan. woman's stabbing is in custody

ELLSWORTH COUNTY—A Kansas man died in an accident just before 10p.m. Wednesday in Ellsworth County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2002 Chevy Silverado driven by Richard Albert Saunders, 62, Marquette, was northbound on Kansas 141 just north of Avenue Q.

The vehicle struck the east guardrail and the driver overcorrected. The pickup struck the eastguard rail again, overturned, struck the east guard rail a third time, traveled over the guardrail and rolled down the embankment.

Saunders was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Parsons Funeral Home. He was properly restrained, according to the KHP.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/6/1592389654778.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>ELLSWORTH COUNTY—A Kansas man died in an accident just before 10p.m. Wednesday in Ellsworth County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2002 Chevy Silverado driven by Richard Albert Saunders, 62, Marquette, was northbound on Kansas 141 just north of Avenue Q.The vehicle struck the east guardrail and the driver overcorrected. The pickup struck the eastguard rail again, overturned, struck the east guard rail a third time, traveled over the guardrail and rolled down the embankment.Saunders was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Parsons Funeral Home. He was properly restrained, according to the KHP.