TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Top Republicans hope to revive a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution that would make it easier for the GOP-controlled Legislature to overturn state agencies’ regulations.

The House&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/vote_view/je_20220217124341_799495/" target="_blank">voted 80-33</a>&nbsp;this week to approve&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/documents/hcr5014_00_0000.pdf" target="_blank">the measure,</a>&nbsp;leaving supporters four votes short of the two-thirds majority needed for passage. The House can take a second vote, but it must occur Monday or the measure dies.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/legislature-constitutions-kansas-coronavirus-pandemic-topeka-c3fba19b3f5095c3bbe49efc8673f253">outlined the proposal</a>&nbsp;last year after fellow Republicans spent months criticizing Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Schmidt is the presumed GOP nominee for governor this year.

Under the proposal, lawmakers could repeal regulations with simple-majority votes in both chambers. Lawmakers now must pass a bill and obtain the governor’s approval or two-thirds legislative majorities to override a veto. If lawmakers approve the measure, it goes to a statewide vote in November.

“I’m sure there are many in this chamber today that would view this constitutional amendment very, very different if Derek Schmidt were the governor,” Democratic state Rep. John Carmichael, a Wichita attorney, said during House debate.

Republicans said they’re trying to prevent bureaucrats from imposing regulations undercutting or contradicting policies set by lawmakers.

“It has nothing to do with this governor,” said House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican. “It’s not a power grab.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/12/1607368575494.png" alt="House Speaker Ron Ryckman, left, and House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins&nbsp; photo by Nick Krug/Kansas Reflector" />
 <figcaption>House Speaker Ron Ryckman, left, and House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins&nbsp; photo by Nick Krug/Kansas Reflector</figcaption>
 </figure>By JOHN HANNATOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Top Republicans hope to revive a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution that would make it easier for the GOP-controlled Legislature to overturn state agencies’ regulations.The House&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/vote_view/je_20220217124341_799495/" target="_blank">voted 80-33</a>&nbsp;this week to approve&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/documents/hcr5014_00_0000.pdf" target="_blank">the measure,</a>&nbsp;leaving supporters four votes short of the two-thirds majority needed for passage. The House can take a second vote, but it must occur Monday or the measure dies.Attorney General Derek Schmidt&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/legislature-constitutions-kansas-coronavirus-pandemic-topeka-c3fba19b3f5095c3bbe49efc8673f253">outlined the proposal</a>&nbsp;last year after fellow Republicans spent months criticizing Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Schmidt is the presumed GOP nominee for governor this year.Under the proposal, lawmakers could repeal regulations with simple-majority votes in both chambers. Lawmakers now must pass a bill and obtain the governor’s approval or two-thirds legislative majorities to override a veto. If lawmakers approve the measure, it goes to a statewide vote in November.“I’m sure there are many in this chamber today that would view this constitutional amendment very, very different if Derek Schmidt were the governor,” Democratic state Rep. John Carmichael, a Wichita attorney, said during House debate.Republicans said they’re trying to prevent bureaucrats from imposing regulations undercutting or contradicting policies set by lawmakers.“It has nothing to do with this governor,” said House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican. “It’s not a power grab.”___

GOP hopes to save plan to limit Kansas agencies' regulations

<a href="https://greatbendpost.com">Great Bend Post</a>

Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir said&nbsp;the question came up on 
their Facebook page recently of “Can a person actually buy a drug tax 
stamp?” 

After 40 years in law enforcement, Bellendir admitted 
never seeing a drug tax stamp. He was always told they were available 
from the Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) but has never seen one in 
his career.

From KDOR..."The fact that dealing with and possessing
 marijuana and controlled substances is illegal does not exempt it from 
taxation. Therefore, drug dealers and people who possess marijuana and 
controlled substances are required by law to purchase drug tax stamps 
equal to the value of the illegal drugs in their possession."

Out 
of curiosity, Bellendir contacted KDOR. They told the sheriff that they 
actually sell quite a few drug tax stamps, although mostly to stamp 
collectors. The process is anonymous and by statute they are not allowed
 to notify law enforcement. 

"So, yes, you can actually buy a tax stamp for your dope," said Bellendir.

<a href="https://www.ksrevenue.gov/bustaxtypesdrug.html?fbclid=IwAR0s-UnFzLJ5_9S2k8QEV6pkGd-ytyOZxOLooVTsEWxhe_TdVJH5D3ZkShc" target="_blank">https://www.ksrevenue.gov/bustaxtypesdrug.html</a>

<a href="https://greatbendpost.com">Great Bend Post</a>Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir said&nbsp;the question came up on 
their Facebook page recently of “Can a person actually buy a drug tax 
stamp?” After 40 years in law enforcement, Bellendir admitted 
never seeing a drug tax stamp. He was always told they were available 
from the Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) but has never seen one in 
his career.From KDOR..."The fact that dealing with and possessing
 marijuana and controlled substances is illegal does not exempt it from 
taxation. Therefore, drug dealers and people who possess marijuana and 
controlled substances are required by law to purchase drug tax stamps 
equal to the value of the illegal drugs in their possession."Out 
of curiosity, Bellendir contacted KDOR. They told the sheriff that they 
actually sell quite a few drug tax stamps, although mostly to stamp 
collectors. The process is anonymous and by statute they are not allowed
 to notify law enforcement. "So, yes, you can actually buy a tax stamp for your dope," said Bellendir.<a href="https://www.ksrevenue.gov/bustaxtypesdrug.html?fbclid=IwAR0s-UnFzLJ5_9S2k8QEV6pkGd-ytyOZxOLooVTsEWxhe_TdVJH5D3ZkShc" target="_blank">https://www.ksrevenue.gov/bustaxtypesdrug.html</a>

Kansas sheriff: Yes, you can buy a tax stamp for your dope

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas woman after a wrong-way crash.

Just before&nbsp;2:30 a.m. Sunday, the Shawnee County Emergency Communication Center received a report of a wrong way driver, a 2008 Nissan Altima, traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 470 near the SW Gage Boulevard exit, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.

Deputies responded and located the suspect vehicle just after it struck&nbsp; a 2013 GMC Terrain near the Interstate 70 interchange.

One of the three occupants of the GMC was extricated and transported to a local hospital by American Medical Response (AMR) with non-life-threatening injuries.

The driver and sole occupant of the Nissan identified as 25-year-old Myisha D. Holford of Topeka, was arrested and booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of driving under the influence, driving the wrong direction on a one-way highway and no vehicle liability insurance. The accident is still under investigation, according to Christian.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1645446420549.png" alt="Holford-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Holford-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas woman after a wrong-way crash.Just before&nbsp;2:30 a.m. Sunday, the Shawnee County Emergency Communication Center received a report of a wrong way driver, a 2008 Nissan Altima, traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 470 near the SW Gage Boulevard exit, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.Deputies responded and located the suspect vehicle just after it struck&nbsp; a 2013 GMC Terrain near the Interstate 70 interchange.One of the three occupants of the GMC was extricated and transported to a local hospital by American Medical Response (AMR) with non-life-threatening injuries.The driver and sole occupant of the Nissan identified as 25-year-old Myisha D. Holford of Topeka, was arrested and booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of driving under the influence, driving the wrong direction on a one-way highway and no vehicle liability insurance. The accident is still under investigation, according to Christian.

Kansas woman accused of DUI after wrong-way crash

TOPEKA – Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt Friday filed an original action in the Kansas Supreme Court asking it to hold that legal challenges to the recently enacted congressional district map may not be brought in state courts and requesting that two district-court lawsuits filed earlier this week in Wyandotte County be dismissed.

“For the first time in Kansas history, lawsuits have been filed in state court asking a state district court judge to hold that redistricting legislation for federal congressional maps violates the Kansas Constitution,” Schmidt wrote in the petition filed on behalf of Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Wyandotte County Election Commissioner Michael Abbott. “There is a good reason these lawsuits find no support in precedent: Neither the federal nor the Kansas Constitution authorizes state courts to pass on the validity of federal congressional maps, and certainly not under the legal theories the Plaintiffs in the recently filed cases advance.”

Schmidt said bringing the suit directly in the Kansas Supreme Court would enable an expedited decision, which is needed because of election timelines. He said it also squarely presents the federal question, which the Wyandotte County plaintiffs carefully avoided, whether the U.S. Constitution prohibits Kansas state courts from entertaining state-law challenges to federal congressional district boundaries.

“The Elections Clause [of the U.S. Constitution] commits the redistricting power to state legislatures, and no Kansas law—either statutory or constitutional—gives the state courts any role in evaluating the validity of duly enacted redistricting plans,” Schmidt wrote.

Schmidt also asked the Kansas Supreme Court to rule that the Kansas Constitution does not prohibit the Legislature from considering political objectives when drawing congressional districts, just as the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled the U.S. Constitution does not.

“Plaintiffs’ political gerrymandering claim is not justiciable under the Kansas Constitution,” Schmidt wrote. “No judicially manageable standard for evaluating such claims exists, Kansas courts have not historically entertained such claims, and the Kansas Constitution has nothing at all to say about political gerrymandering.”

Finally, Schmidt asked the Kansas Supreme Court to hold that the plaintiffs in Wyandotte County district court have not alleged racial gerrymandering that is judicially actionable.

“[A] claim of unconstitutional vote dilution requires proof of discriminatory purpose, which Plaintiffs have failed to allege,” Schmidt wrote.

A copy of Schmidt’s petition is available at&nbsp;<a href="https://bit.ly/3s0RKEj">https://bit.ly/3s0RKEj</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1643147273216.png" alt="Map Kansas legislators approved this month." />
 <figcaption>Map Kansas legislators approved this month.</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA – Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt Friday filed an original action in the Kansas Supreme Court asking it to hold that legal challenges to the recently enacted congressional district map may not be brought in state courts and requesting that two district-court lawsuits filed earlier this week in Wyandotte County be dismissed.“For the first time in Kansas history, lawsuits have been filed in state court asking a state district court judge to hold that redistricting legislation for federal congressional maps violates the Kansas Constitution,” Schmidt wrote in the petition filed on behalf of Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Wyandotte County Election Commissioner Michael Abbott. “There is a good reason these lawsuits find no support in precedent: Neither the federal nor the Kansas Constitution authorizes state courts to pass on the validity of federal congressional maps, and certainly not under the legal theories the Plaintiffs in the recently filed cases advance.”Schmidt said bringing the suit directly in the Kansas Supreme Court would enable an expedited decision, which is needed because of election timelines. He said it also squarely presents the federal question, which the Wyandotte County plaintiffs carefully avoided, whether the U.S. Constitution prohibits Kansas state courts from entertaining state-law challenges to federal congressional district boundaries.“The Elections Clause [of the U.S. Constitution] commits the redistricting power to state legislatures, and no Kansas law—either statutory or constitutional—gives the state courts any role in evaluating the validity of duly enacted redistricting plans,” Schmidt wrote.Schmidt also asked the Kansas Supreme Court to rule that the Kansas Constitution does not prohibit the Legislature from considering political objectives when drawing congressional districts, just as the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled the U.S. Constitution does not.“Plaintiffs’ political gerrymandering claim is not justiciable under the Kansas Constitution,” Schmidt wrote. “No judicially manageable standard for evaluating such claims exists, Kansas courts have not historically entertained such claims, and the Kansas Constitution has nothing at all to say about political gerrymandering.”Finally, Schmidt asked the Kansas Supreme Court to hold that the plaintiffs in Wyandotte County district court have not alleged racial gerrymandering that is judicially actionable.“[A] claim of unconstitutional vote dilution requires proof of discriminatory purpose, which Plaintiffs have failed to allege,” Schmidt wrote.A copy of Schmidt’s petition is available at&nbsp;<a href="https://bit.ly/3s0RKEj">https://bit.ly/3s0RKEj</a>.

Kan. AG: Bring suit over congressional map directly to state Supreme Court

If you are looking for new ways to save money on daily 
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 (both BBB Accredited Businesses), shoppers can earn rewards, such as 
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 one or more of these apps, be sure to do your research.

Some cashback companies build relationships with stores and brands 
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consumer. Other companies offer payouts based on accumulated points, 
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Many such apps and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/select/browser-extensions-for-saving-money/" target="_blank">browser extensions</a> are legitimate, but, as always, exercise caution when any company promises big rewards for minimal effort.

To find and use cashback apps safely, BBB recommends the following tips:

Go to <a href="https://www.bbb.org/" target="_blank">BBB.org</a>&nbsp;to look up online marketplace business profiles, file a complaint, or write a customer review. &nbsp;Visit&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbb.org/scamtracker" target="_blank">BBB Scam Tracker</a>&nbsp;to research and report scams.

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<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/1/1579883951052.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>BBBIf you are looking for new ways to save money on daily 
purchases, latest trend isn’t clipping coupons; it’s cashback apps. By 
using apps such as <a href="https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/san-francisco/profile/online-shopping/rakuten-1116-20543" target="_blank">Rakuten</a> and <a href="https://www.bbb.org/us/co/denver/profile/mobile-apps/ibotta-inc-1296-90153015" target="_blank">Ibotta</a>
 (both BBB Accredited Businesses), shoppers can earn rewards, such as 
cash or gift cards, after making a purchase. &nbsp;But before you sign up for
 one or more of these apps, be sure to do your research.<h2>How do cashback apps work? </h2>Some cashback companies build relationships with stores and brands 
and receive a commission for purchases made through their apps and 
extensions. Then, they pass on a portion of the commission to the 
consumer. Other companies offer payouts based on accumulated points, 
which consumers can earn uploading receipts, purchasing specific 
products, or scanning products in store.Many such apps and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/select/browser-extensions-for-saving-money/" target="_blank">browser extensions</a> are legitimate, but, as always, exercise caution when any company promises big rewards for minimal effort.To find and use cashback apps safely, BBB recommends the following tips:<ul>
 <li>Get to know the company behind the app or browser extension. Before
 you install a cashback program on your phone or browser, find out more 
about the company that runs it. Look the company up on <a href="https://www.BBB.org" target="_blank">BBB.org</a> to see its business rating and read consumer reviews and complaints. </li><li>Choose an app that fits your shopping patterns. The way apps reward consumers can vary. Some offer coupons or price comparisons to help you find the best deal. <a href="https://www.techentice.com/how-cashback-apps-work/" target="_blank">Passive cashback apps</a>
 simply run in the background on your phone and track your purchases, 
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bank account to receive rebates and make purchases, keeping your data 
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company, FTC suggests <a href="https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0515-apps-help-you-shop-stores" target="_blank">reviewing the company’s privacy policy</a>. </li><li>Find out how payouts work. <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/finance/what-to-know-cash-back-shopping-sites/" target="_blank">NerdWallet</a>
 reminds consumers that payout methods can vary from company to company.
 Do a little research to find out what the company’s payout frequency 
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 advises, “Read the offer’s fine print. Make sure you’re purchasing the 
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product, for example, the offer may not be valid.</li>
 </ul><h2>For more infomation</h2>Go to <a href="https://www.bbb.org/" target="_blank">BBB.org</a>&nbsp;to look up online marketplace business profiles, file a complaint, or write a customer review. &nbsp;Visit&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbb.org/scamtracker" target="_blank">BBB Scam Tracker</a>&nbsp;to research and report scams.Read more about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbb.org/bbb-accreditation-standards" target="_blank">BBB Accreditation Standards</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbb.org/standards-for-trust" target="_blank">BBB Standards for Trust</a>.&nbsp;Learn how to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbb.org/become-accredited" target="_blank">become a BBB Accredited Business</a>.<a href="https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/san-francisco/profile/online-shopping/rakuten-1116-20543" target="_blank">Rakuten</a> and <a href="https://www.bbb.org/us/co/denver/profile/mobile-apps/ibotta-inc-1296-90153015" target="_blank">Ibotta</a> are BBB Accredited Businesses.&nbsp;

Tip: What to know before downloading a cashback app

PLATTE COUNTY—A Kansas man and a teen died in an accident just before 10a.m. Sunday in Platte County, Missouri.

According to the Platte County Sheriff, a 2003 Chrysler Town and Country driven by a 37-year-old man from Salina was westbound on 92 Highway near Highway B.

 The vehicle traveled off the shoulder and the driver overcorrected. The van crossed into the eastbound lanes and struck a 2021 Ford Edge driven by a 67-year-old woman from Platte City.

The driver of the van and a 14-year-old boy in the van were pronounced dead at the scene. EMS transported two other passengers in the van, a six-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl, to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the Ford was also hospitalized.

Preliminary investigation indicates that alcohol may be a factor in the crash. The deceased occupants of the Chrysler minivan were not restrained, according Sheriff Mark Owen.&nbsp;

The crash is being investigated by the Platte County Sheriff’s Office Crash Team. Authorities have not released names of the victims.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1645456287113.png" alt="Photo courtesy Platte Co. Missouri Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy Platte Co. Missouri Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>PLATTE COUNTY—A Kansas man and a teen died in an accident just before 10a.m. Sunday in Platte County, Missouri.According to the Platte County Sheriff, a 2003 Chrysler Town and Country driven by a 37-year-old man from Salina was westbound on 92 Highway near Highway B. The vehicle traveled off the shoulder and the driver overcorrected. The van crossed into the eastbound lanes and struck a 2021 Ford Edge driven by a 67-year-old woman from Platte City.The driver of the van and a 14-year-old boy in the van were pronounced dead at the scene. EMS transported two other passengers in the van, a six-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl, to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the Ford was also hospitalized.Preliminary investigation indicates that alcohol may be a factor in the crash. The deceased occupants of the Chrysler minivan were not restrained, according Sheriff Mark Owen.&nbsp;The crash is being investigated by the Platte County Sheriff’s Office Crash Team. Authorities have not released names of the victims.

Kansas man, 14-year-old dead after 2-vehicle crash

MOSCOW (AP) — The U.S. and Russian presidents have tentatively agreed to meet in a last-ditch diplomatic effort to stave off Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine as heavy shelling continued Monday in a conflict in eastern Ukraine that is feared will spark the Russian offensive.

French President Emmanuel Macron sought to broker a possible meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in a series of phone calls that dragged into the night.

Macron’s office said both leaders had “accepted the principle of such a summit,” to be followed by a broader summit meeting also involving other “relevant stakeholders to discuss security and strategic stability in Europe.” It added that the meetings “can only be held on the condition that Russia does not invade Ukraine.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki, said the administration has been clear that “we are committed to pursuing diplomacy until the moment an invasion begins.” She noted that “currently, Russia appears to be continuing preparations for a full-scale assault on Ukraine very soon.”

Macron’s office said that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are set to lay the groundwork for the summit when they meet Thursday.

It followed a flurry of calls by Macron to Putin, Biden and also British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Putin and Biden could meet if they consider it necessary, but emphasized that “it’s premature to talk about specific plans for a summit.”

“The meeting is possible if the leaders consider it feasible,” he said in a conference call with reporters.

The prospective meeting offers new hope of averting a Russian invasion that U.S. officials said could begin any moment with an estimated 150,000 Russian troops amassed near Ukraine.

Adding to fears of an imminent attack, Russia and its ally Belarus announced Sunday that they were extending massive war games on Belarusian territory that offers a convenient bridgehead for an attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, located just 75 kilometers (less than 50 miles) south of the border with Belarus.

Starting Thursday, shelling also spiked along the tense line of contact between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatist rebels in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, Donbas, where over 14,000 people have been killed since conflict erupted in 2014 shortly after Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.

Ukraine and the rebels have traded blame for massive cease-fire violations with hundreds of explosions recorded daily.

On Friday, separatist officials announced the evacuation of civilians and military mobilization in the face of what they described as an imminent Ukrainian offensive on the rebel regions. Ukrainian officials have strongly denied any plans to launch such an attack and described the evacuation order as part of Russian provocations intended to set the stage for an invasion.

The separatist authorities said Monday that at least four civilians were killed by Ukrainian shelling over the past 24 hours and several others were injured. Ukraine’s military said two Ukrainian soldiers were killed over the weekend, and another serviceman was wounded Monday.

Ukrainian military spokesman Pavlo Kovalchyuk said the Ukrainian positions were shelled 80 times Sunday and eight times early Monday, noting that the separatists were “cynically firing from residential areas using civilians as shields.” He insisted that Ukrainian forces weren’t returning fire.

In the village of Novognativka on the government-controlled side, 60-year-old Ekaterina Evseeva, said the shelling was worse than at the height of fighting early in the conflict.

“It’s worse than 2014,” she said, her voice trembling. “We are on the edge of nervous breakdowns. And there is nowhere to run.”

Evseeva said that residents were hunkering down in basements amid the renewed fighting: “Yesterday I saw my neighbor with her 2-month-old as she was running to the basement. It shouldn’t be like this.”

Amid the heightened invasion fears, the Kremlin reacted angrily to a New York Times report that the U.S. administration has sent a letter to the United Nations human rights chief claiming that Moscow has compiled a list of Ukrainians to be killed or sent to detention camps after the invasion. Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said the claim was a lie and no such list exists.

Moscow denies any plans to invade Ukraine, but wants Western guarantees that NATO won’t allow Ukraine and other former Soviet countries to join as members. It also urges the alliance to halt weapons deployments to Ukraine and roll back its forces from Eastern Europe — demands flatly rejected by the West.

Russian officials have shrugged off Western calls to deescalate by pulling back troops, arguing that Moscow is free to deploy troops and conduct drills wherever it likes on its territory. Last week, Western officials dismissed Russian statements about some of the troops returning to their bases, saying that Moscow was actually beefing up its forces around Ukraine.

Despite Biden’s assertion last week that Putin has made the decision to roll Russian forces into Ukraine, Ukrainian officials sought to project calm, saying that they aren’t seeing invasion as imminent.

Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Monday that Russia has amassed 147,000 troops around Ukraine, including 9,000 in Belarus, arguing that the number is clearly insufficient for an offensive on the Ukrainian capital from the north.

“The talk about an attack on Kyiv from the Belarusian side sounds ridiculous,” he said, charging that Russia is using the troops there as a scare.

Russia upped the ante Saturday with sweeping nuclear drills that included multiple practice launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles and cruise missiles that Putin personally oversaw.

The European Union’s top diplomat, foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, welcomed the prospect of a Biden-Putin summit but said that should diplomacy fail the 27-nation bloc has finalized its package of sanctions for use if Putin orders an invasion.

“The work is done. We are ready,” said Borrell, who is chairing a meeting of EU foreign ministers and was tasked with drawing up a list of people in Russia to be hit with asset freezes and travel bans. He provided no details about who might be targeted.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock welcomed Macron’s summit initiative and warned Russia against any false flag action to provoke hostilities. “I appeal urgently to the Russian government, to the Russian president: Don’t play with human lives,” she said as she arrived at the EU top diplomats’ meeting.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1645441664062.png" alt="On Sunday President Biden convened a meeting of the National Security Council to discuss the latest developments regarding Russia’s military buildup on the borders of Ukraine-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>On Sunday President Biden convened a meeting of the National Security Council to discuss the latest developments regarding Russia’s military buildup on the borders of Ukraine-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>MOSCOW (AP) — The U.S. and Russian presidents have tentatively agreed to meet in a last-ditch diplomatic effort to stave off Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine as heavy shelling continued Monday in a conflict in eastern Ukraine that is feared will spark the Russian offensive.French President Emmanuel Macron sought to broker a possible meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in a series of phone calls that dragged into the night.Macron’s office said both leaders had “accepted the principle of such a summit,” to be followed by a broader summit meeting also involving other “relevant stakeholders to discuss security and strategic stability in Europe.” It added that the meetings “can only be held on the condition that Russia does not invade Ukraine.”White House press secretary Jen Psaki, said the administration has been clear that “we are committed to pursuing diplomacy until the moment an invasion begins.” She noted that “currently, Russia appears to be continuing preparations for a full-scale assault on Ukraine very soon.”Macron’s office said that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are set to lay the groundwork for the summit when they meet Thursday.It followed a flurry of calls by Macron to Putin, Biden and also British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Putin and Biden could meet if they consider it necessary, but emphasized that “it’s premature to talk about specific plans for a summit.”“The meeting is possible if the leaders consider it feasible,” he said in a conference call with reporters.The prospective meeting offers new hope of averting a Russian invasion that U.S. officials said could begin any moment with an estimated 150,000 Russian troops amassed near Ukraine.Adding to fears of an imminent attack, Russia and its ally Belarus announced Sunday that they were extending massive war games on Belarusian territory that offers a convenient bridgehead for an attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, located just 75 kilometers (less than 50 miles) south of the border with Belarus.Starting Thursday, shelling also spiked along the tense line of contact between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatist rebels in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, Donbas, where over 14,000 people have been killed since conflict erupted in 2014 shortly after Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.Ukraine and the rebels have traded blame for massive cease-fire violations with hundreds of explosions recorded daily.On Friday, separatist officials announced the evacuation of civilians and military mobilization in the face of what they described as an imminent Ukrainian offensive on the rebel regions. Ukrainian officials have strongly denied any plans to launch such an attack and described the evacuation order as part of Russian provocations intended to set the stage for an invasion.The separatist authorities said Monday that at least four civilians were killed by Ukrainian shelling over the past 24 hours and several others were injured. Ukraine’s military said two Ukrainian soldiers were killed over the weekend, and another serviceman was wounded Monday.Ukrainian military spokesman Pavlo Kovalchyuk said the Ukrainian positions were shelled 80 times Sunday and eight times early Monday, noting that the separatists were “cynically firing from residential areas using civilians as shields.” He insisted that Ukrainian forces weren’t returning fire.In the village of Novognativka on the government-controlled side, 60-year-old Ekaterina Evseeva, said the shelling was worse than at the height of fighting early in the conflict.“It’s worse than 2014,” she said, her voice trembling. “We are on the edge of nervous breakdowns. And there is nowhere to run.”Evseeva said that residents were hunkering down in basements amid the renewed fighting: “Yesterday I saw my neighbor with her 2-month-old as she was running to the basement. It shouldn’t be like this.”Amid the heightened invasion fears, the Kremlin reacted angrily to a New York Times report that the U.S. administration has sent a letter to the United Nations human rights chief claiming that Moscow has compiled a list of Ukrainians to be killed or sent to detention camps after the invasion. Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said the claim was a lie and no such list exists.Moscow denies any plans to invade Ukraine, but wants Western guarantees that NATO won’t allow Ukraine and other former Soviet countries to join as members. It also urges the alliance to halt weapons deployments to Ukraine and roll back its forces from Eastern Europe — demands flatly rejected by the West.Russian officials have shrugged off Western calls to deescalate by pulling back troops, arguing that Moscow is free to deploy troops and conduct drills wherever it likes on its territory. Last week, Western officials dismissed Russian statements about some of the troops returning to their bases, saying that Moscow was actually beefing up its forces around Ukraine.Despite Biden’s assertion last week that Putin has made the decision to roll Russian forces into Ukraine, Ukrainian officials sought to project calm, saying that they aren’t seeing invasion as imminent.Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Monday that Russia has amassed 147,000 troops around Ukraine, including 9,000 in Belarus, arguing that the number is clearly insufficient for an offensive on the Ukrainian capital from the north.“The talk about an attack on Kyiv from the Belarusian side sounds ridiculous,” he said, charging that Russia is using the troops there as a scare.Russia upped the ante Saturday with sweeping nuclear drills that included multiple practice launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles and cruise missiles that Putin personally oversaw.The European Union’s top diplomat, foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, welcomed the prospect of a Biden-Putin summit but said that should diplomacy fail the 27-nation bloc has finalized its package of sanctions for use if Putin orders an invasion.“The work is done. We are ready,” said Borrell, who is chairing a meeting of EU foreign ministers and was tasked with drawing up a list of people in Russia to be hit with asset freezes and travel bans. He provided no details about who might be targeted.German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock welcomed Macron’s summit initiative and warned Russia against any false flag action to provoke hostilities. “I appeal urgently to the Russian government, to the Russian president: Don’t play with human lives,” she said as she arrived at the EU top diplomats’ meeting.___

Biden agrees to meet with Putin again as war fears loom

The
 IRS announced today that a new option in the agency’s authentication 
system is now available for taxpayers to sign up for IRS online accounts
 without the use of any biometric data, including facial recognition. 
This is consistent with the IRS’s commitment earlier this month to 
transition away from the requirement for taxpayers creating an IRS 
online account to provide a selfie to a third-party service to help 
authenticate their identity. Taxpayers will have the option of verifying
 their identity during a live, virtual interview with agents; no 
biometric data – including facial recognition – will be required if 
taxpayers choose to authenticate their identity through a virtual 
interview.

Taxpayers will still have the option to verify their identity 
automatically through the use of biometric verification through ID.me’s 
self-assistance tool if they choose. For taxpayers who select this 
option, new requirements are in place to ensure images provided by 
taxpayers are deleted for the account being created. Any existing 
biometric data from taxpayers who previously created an IRS Online 
Account that has already been collected will also be permanently deleted
 over the course of the next few weeks.

While this short-term solution is in place for this year’s filing 
season, the IRS will work closely with partners across government to 
roll out Login.Gov as an authentication tool. The General Services 
Administration is currently working with the IRS to achieve the security
 standards and scale required of Login.Gov, with the goal of moving 
toward introducing this option after the 2022 filing deadline.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599869632873.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>IRSThe
 IRS announced today that a new option in the agency’s authentication 
system is now available for taxpayers to sign up for IRS online accounts
 without the use of any biometric data, including facial recognition. 
This is consistent with the IRS’s commitment earlier this month to 
transition away from the requirement for taxpayers creating an IRS 
online account to provide a selfie to a third-party service to help 
authenticate their identity. Taxpayers will have the option of verifying
 their identity during a live, virtual interview with agents; no 
biometric data – including facial recognition – will be required if 
taxpayers choose to authenticate their identity through a virtual 
interview.Taxpayers will still have the option to verify their identity 
automatically through the use of biometric verification through ID.me’s 
self-assistance tool if they choose. For taxpayers who select this 
option, new requirements are in place to ensure images provided by 
taxpayers are deleted for the account being created. Any existing 
biometric data from taxpayers who previously created an IRS Online 
Account that has already been collected will also be permanently deleted
 over the course of the next few weeks.While this short-term solution is in place for this year’s filing 
season, the IRS will work closely with partners across government to 
roll out Login.Gov as an authentication tool. The General Services 
Administration is currently working with the IRS to achieve the security
 standards and scale required of Login.Gov, with the goal of moving 
toward introducing this option after the 2022 filing deadline.

IRS: Online account signups available without facial recognition

JACKSON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect following a multi-county pursuit in a stolen 1978 Chevy pickup.

Early Saturday, police in Topeka began pursuit of the vehicle in the city of Topeka, according to Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse. A short time later, The Kansas Highway Patrol and Shawnee County Sheriff's Deputies were involved in another pursuit with the same vehicle.

The chase traveled into Pottawatomie County, entered Jackson County on 110 Road around 1:15 a.m. Saturday morning. 

 The pursuit continued eastbound where Jackson County deputies and Hoyt Police deployed stop sticks which deflated three of the four tires. 

 The Chevy truck then struck a Capital Police patrol car head-on west of Hoyt.  A Shawnee County deputy and a Jackson County deputy each attempted to disable the vehicle through a tactical vehicle intervention technique. 

Just before 2a.m., the pickup came to a stop just west of the Jefferson County line on 114th Road.

The driver, Jeffery Eugene Peak, 36, of Topeka, was arrested by Troopers and transported to the Jackson County Jail. There were no injuries reported, according to Morse.&nbsp; He remains jailed on a $100,000.00 bond on requested charges of&nbsp;Flee or attempt to elude, Commission of any felony, Aggravated battery on LEO, Physical contact to state/county/city officer on duty and Possession of stolen property Value $1500 to $25000.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1645370447997.png" alt="Peak-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Peak-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>JACKSON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect following a multi-county pursuit in a stolen 1978 Chevy pickup.Early Saturday, police in Topeka began pursuit of the vehicle in the city of Topeka, according to Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse. A short time later, The Kansas Highway Patrol and Shawnee County Sheriff's Deputies were involved in another pursuit with the same vehicle.The chase traveled into Pottawatomie County, entered Jackson County on 110 Road around 1:15 a.m. Saturday morning. The pursuit continued eastbound where Jackson County deputies and Hoyt Police deployed stop sticks which deflated three of the four tires. The Chevy truck then struck a Capital Police patrol car head-on west of Hoyt. A Shawnee County deputy and a Jackson County deputy each attempted to disable the vehicle through a tactical vehicle intervention technique. Just before 2a.m., the pickup came to a stop just west of the Jefferson County line on 114th Road.The driver, Jeffery Eugene Peak, 36, of Topeka, was arrested by Troopers and transported to the Jackson County Jail. There were no injuries reported, according to Morse.&nbsp; He remains jailed on a $100,000.00 bond on requested charges of&nbsp;Flee or attempt to elude, Commission of any felony, Aggravated battery on LEO, Physical contact to state/county/city officer on duty and Possession of stolen property Value $1500 to $25000.&nbsp;

Kansas man jailed after chase, head-on crash with patrol car

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Gas prices are still well above $3 a gallon, with no real relief in sight.

"Kansas average today is $3.21 a gallon," said Shawn Steward with AAA Kansas. "That's up four cents from a week ago and up 22 cents in the last month. Reno County is even higher than the state average."

The Reno County average is $3.28 a gallon, with gas ranging from 3.09 in Arlington to 3.29 in Hutch.

"Anything over $3 gets your attention," Steward said. "We've continued to see those prices rise over the last month or two. Crude oil prices are the big concern right now. They make up 50 to 60% of the price we see at the pump. The big concern in everyone's minds in the oil market right now are the tensions between Ukraine and Russia."

Russia is a large oil producer and any economic sanctions or other supply changes that might come from a potential conflict would likely put further upward pressure on crude oil prices.

"More oil could enter the global market if the United States and Iran are able to complete a new nuclear agreement and sanctions are lifted," Steward said. "That's another potentially positive area that we can look at on the global horizon."

The national gas price average as of Monday is $3.53 a gallon.

By NICK GOSNELL Hutch PostHUTCHINSON, Kan. — Gas prices are still well above $3 a gallon, with no real relief in sight."Kansas average today is $3.21 a gallon," said Shawn Steward with AAA Kansas. "That's up four cents from a week ago and up 22 cents in the last month. Reno County is even higher than the state average."The Reno County average is $3.28 a gallon, with gas ranging from 3.09 in Arlington to 3.29 in Hutch."Anything over $3 gets your attention," Steward said. "We've continued to see those prices rise over the last month or two. Crude oil prices are the big concern right now. They make up 50 to 60% of the price we see at the pump. The big concern in everyone's minds in the oil market right now are the tensions between Ukraine and Russia."Russia is a large oil producer and any economic sanctions or other supply changes that might come from a potential conflict would likely put further upward pressure on crude oil prices."More oil could enter the global market if the United States and Iran are able to complete a new nuclear agreement and sanctions are lifted," Steward said. "That's another potentially positive area that we can look at on the global horizon."The national gas price average as of Monday is $3.53 a gallon.

AAA: Crude oil market still driving gas prices, mostly upward

KANSAS CITY(AP) — What appeared to be a deadly motorcycle crash turned into a homicide investigation after a medical examiner determined the driver had been shot before the crash.

The crash was reported shortly before 3 a.m. Sunday after the motorcycle driver went straight into a roundabout at the intersection of Benton Boulevard and St. John Avenue in Kansas City.

Police department spokesman Sgt. Jake Becchina said the motorcycle driver was thrown off his burnt orange Harley Davidson in the crash. The driver, who was identified as 50-year-old Jeffrey Nemitz of Omaha, Nebraska, was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The Jackson County Medical Examiner determined later that Nemitz had been shot.

KANSAS CITY(AP) — What appeared to be a deadly motorcycle crash turned into a homicide investigation after a medical examiner determined the driver had been shot before the crash.The crash was reported shortly before 3 a.m. Sunday after the motorcycle driver went straight into a roundabout at the intersection of Benton Boulevard and St. John Avenue in Kansas City.Police department spokesman Sgt. Jake Becchina said the motorcycle driver was thrown off his burnt orange Harley Davidson in the crash. The driver, who was identified as 50-year-old Jeffrey Nemitz of Omaha, Nebraska, was pronounced dead at a hospital.The Jackson County Medical Examiner determined later that Nemitz had been shot.

Medical Examiner: Motorcycle driver shot before Kansas City crash

MANHATTAN—Law enforcement authorities investigating a series of sex crimes over several years arrested 44-year-old Joshua Penabaz of Manhattan on Friday afternoon, according to a media release from the Riley County Police Department.

Joshua Penabaz had worked as a school nurse with USD 383-Manhattan/Ogden. On Sunday RCPD reported "this arrest is not associated with any of his previous employment."

Penabaz is currently being held at the Riley County Jail on a bond of $1 million on requested charges for rape, aggravated indecent liberties with a child, and aggravated criminal sodomy.

MANHATTAN—Law enforcement authorities investigating a series of sex crimes over several years arrested 44-year-old Joshua Penabaz of Manhattan on Friday afternoon, according to a media release from the Riley County Police Department.Joshua Penabaz had worked as a school nurse with USD 383-Manhattan/Ogden. On Sunday RCPD reported "this arrest is not associated with any of his previous employment."Penabaz is currently being held at the Riley County Jail on a bond of $1 million on requested charges for rape, aggravated indecent liberties with a child, and aggravated criminal sodomy.

Police: Kan. man's child sex crime arrest not associated with school work

KANSAS CITY(AP) — A Kansas City man has been charged with first-degree murder and 10 other counts after a shooting in the city's Westport entertainment district left one man dead and two other people injured.

The Jackson County Prosecutor's office announced Thursday that Kershmire Ralls, 21, was charged in the Dec. 6 death of Jabraughn James.

A probable cause affidavit says video shows Ralls following and chasing the three victims, who he saw earlier at a bar. He eventually used an alley, waited for the victims to walk toward him and opened fire, police said.

James fled in a vehicle driven by someone else and was not arrested until Feb. 3 in Raytown. One of the victims suffered life-threatening injuries and the third was shot in the leg.

The prosecutor's office said the victims did not appear to know they were in any danger. Ralls already has two felony convictions, including unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. Prosecutors have requested that Ralls be held without bond.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1645141035888.png" alt="Ralls-photo MODOC" />
 <figcaption>Ralls-photo MODOC</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY(AP) — A Kansas City man has been charged with first-degree murder and 10 other counts after a shooting in the city's Westport entertainment district left one man dead and two other people injured.The Jackson County Prosecutor's office announced Thursday that Kershmire Ralls, 21, was charged in the Dec. 6 death of Jabraughn James.A probable cause affidavit says video shows Ralls following and chasing the three victims, who he saw earlier at a bar. He eventually used an alley, waited for the victims to walk toward him and opened fire, police said.James fled in a vehicle driven by someone else and was not arrested until Feb. 3 in Raytown. One of the victims suffered life-threatening injuries and the third was shot in the leg.The prosecutor's office said the victims did not appear to know they were in any danger. Ralls already has two felony convictions, including unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. Prosecutors have requested that Ralls be held without bond.

Man charged in Kansas City Westport-area fatal shooting

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects on drug charges after an investigation.

 On Friday, members of the Topeka Police Department Narcotics Unit and the Shawnee County Drug Task Force served a search warrant in the 1300 Block of NE Jefferson in Topeka as part of an ongoing investigation, according to Lt. Ronnie Connell.

&nbsp;Officers located methamphetamine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia and firearms.

They arrested Robert Adams, 57 and Tammy Wampler, 46, and transported them to the Shawnee County Department of Corrections.

&nbsp;Adams is being held on requested charges of&nbsp;&nbsp;Distribution of methamphetamine within 1000’ of a school, Distribution of marijuana within 1000’ of a school, Possession of drug paraphernalia with intent of distribution, Aggravated Endangering a Child, Unlawful to acquire proceeds from drug transaction and Unlawful distribution of a controlled substance using a communication facility

Wampler was booking on requested charges of&nbsp; Possession of opiate, opium, narcotic or certain stimulant, Possession of drug paraphernalia and Aggravated Endangering a Child.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1645286261984.png" alt="Adams-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Adams-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects on drug charges after an investigation. On Friday, members of the Topeka Police Department Narcotics Unit and the Shawnee County Drug Task Force served a search warrant in the 1300 Block of NE Jefferson in Topeka as part of an ongoing investigation, according to Lt. Ronnie Connell.&nbsp;Officers located methamphetamine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia and firearms.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1645286183436.png" alt="Wampler-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Wampler-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>They arrested Robert Adams, 57 and Tammy Wampler, 46, and transported them to the Shawnee County Department of Corrections.&nbsp;Adams is being held on requested charges of&nbsp;&nbsp;Distribution of methamphetamine within 1000’ of a school, Distribution of marijuana within 1000’ of a school, Possession of drug paraphernalia with intent of distribution, Aggravated Endangering a Child, Unlawful to acquire proceeds from drug transaction and Unlawful distribution of a controlled substance using a communication facilityWampler was booking on requested charges of&nbsp; Possession of opiate, opium, narcotic or certain stimulant, Possession of drug paraphernalia and Aggravated Endangering a Child.

Couple jailed after drug bust at Kansas home with children

&nbsp;MCPHERSON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect after an overnight standoff in McPherson County.&nbsp;

Just after 1a.m. Sunday, sheriff's deputies responded on an ongoing domestic situation in the 1000 Block of 6th Avenue in rural McPherson County, according to Sheriff Jerry Montagne.

The suspect identified as 39-year-old Justin St John was armed with a rifle and had made threats of violence. Just after 2a.m. the McPherson County Special Response Team was asked to help resolve the situation. Negotiators reached St. John by phone and communicated with him for approximately 30 minutes.&nbsp;

At 4:30a.m., members of the Special Response team took St. John into custody and booked him on requested charges of aggravated assault and criminal threat, according to Montagne.&nbsp; Authorities will forward a report to the county attorney.&nbsp; St. John was no longer in custody Sunday afternoon, according to online jail records.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1645396530287.png" alt="St. John-photo McPherson Co." />
 <figcaption>St. John-photo McPherson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;MCPHERSON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect after an overnight standoff in McPherson County.&nbsp;Just after 1a.m. Sunday, sheriff's deputies responded on an ongoing domestic situation in the 1000 Block of 6th Avenue in rural McPherson County, according to Sheriff Jerry Montagne.The suspect identified as 39-year-old Justin St John was armed with a rifle and had made threats of violence. Just after 2a.m. the McPherson County Special Response Team was asked to help resolve the situation. Negotiators reached St. John by phone and communicated with him for approximately 30 minutes.&nbsp;At 4:30a.m., members of the Special Response team took St. John into custody and booked him on requested charges of aggravated assault and criminal threat, according to Montagne.&nbsp; Authorities will forward a report to the county attorney.&nbsp; St. John was no longer in custody Sunday afternoon, according to online jail records.

Man arrested after long standoff at rural Kansas home

By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-02-16/a-few-kansas-jails-are-finally-allowing-medical-care-for-opioid-addiction">Kansas News Service</a>

A recent decision to let people continue treatment for drug addiction
 while in the Sedgwick County Jail in Wichita reflects a significant 
shift in thinking at Kansas sheriffs’ offices that is gaining momentum.

Sedgwick officials no longer take people off of their prescriptions for <a href="https://www.samhsa.gov/medication-assisted-treatment" target="_blank">medications such as buprenorphine</a> when booked into jail.

No
 one keeps a tally of how many Kansas jails allow incarcerated people 
with opioid or alcohol addictions to receive the combination of 
medication and counseling that can help them.

But nationally, <a href="https://www.themarshallproject.org/2021/08/10/these-meds-prevent-overdoses-few-federal-prisoners-are-getting-them" target="_blank">only a fraction</a> of jails do so, researchers say.

Sedgwick’s joins at least a few other Kansas jails that do so, including Crawford County’s in southeast Kansas.

“I
 mean, something’s got to change,” Crawford County Sheriff Danny Smith 
said of the decision to allow addiction treatment. “Otherwise, it’s just
 a revolving door all the time.”

Studies suggest <a href="https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugfacts/criminal-justice" target="_blank">two-thirds of prison inmates</a>
 have substance use disorders. Allowing treatment for people in jails or
 prisons aims to break the cycle of incarceration — and to save lives.

Fatal overdoses have <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-01-10/dealers-are-spiking-drugs-with-fentanyl-and-killing-even-more-kansans-during-the-pandemic" target="_blank">rocketed during the pandemic</a>
 in Kansas and nationally, driven in large part by dealers selling drugs
 laced with fentanyl. Spiking methamphetamine, cocaine or oxycodone with
 this synthetic opioid makes those substances even more potent and 
addictive, but also easily lethal.

When someone who suffers drug addiction gets out of jail or prison, they face an <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28299971/" target="_blank">elevated risk</a> of overdosing soon after release.

A
 few years ago, Smith got a call from the Community Health Center of 
Southeast Kansas. The center had funding to launch a treatment program 
for the 108-bed jail, if Smith would allow it.

“Honestly,” Smith said, “our willingness to have our facility used for this is a no brainer.”

The
 program launched in August 2020. He hopes for “a ripple effect” that 
will help people heal, get jobs, repair family relationships and stay 
out of jail.

Since the program began in August 2020, 207 
incarcerated people have volunteered for it. The treatment isn’t 
court-ordered or part of probation deals. Most have continued their care
 after leaving jail.

Doctors <a href="https://www.samhsa.gov/medication-assisted-treatment/medications-counseling-related-conditions#opioid-dependency-medications" target="_blank">prescribe medications</a>
 to reduce cravings for opioids or alcohol, ease withdrawal symptoms and
 even block the brain from being able to get high off of drugs such as 
oxycodone and heroin.

Typically, treatment involves buprenorphine, methadone or naltrexone.

Tanner,
 a Wichita resident in recovery, said this played a critical role for 
him. (The Kansas News Service is not using his last name to protect his 
privacy.)

He first encountered opioids more than a decade ago, shortly after finishing high school.

A doctor sent his friend home from surgery with painkillers — a prescription so ample that the friend shared them with others.

Once the pills ran out, Tanner and his friends began looking for opioids elsewhere.

His use spiraled out of control, particularly after one friend 
overdosed on heroin and died. That spurred Tanner to get high more and 
more often.

“Depression and all that started setting in pretty heavy,” he said. “Wanting to mask the feelings of hurt, pain, guilt.”

Tanner stole from relatives and his workplace to buy drugs, and ultimately landed in jail.

After several years, he entered treatment in 2012 with a combination of counseling and medication, and felt relief.

He tried once to get high while taking his new prescription, but felt nothing.

“Why
 waste my money (on opioids), when I’m not going to be able to feel 
anything from it?” he said. “There’s no euphoria. There’s nothing. I 
mean, that’s the huge thing — if you take the medication right.”

Traditionally,
 though, many jails and prisons across the country haven’t allowed 
medications that combat drug and alcohol addiction.

That means people can’t connect with a physician to start treatment while they’re incarcerated.

It also means people who were already in treatment programs before being booked lose access to care while locked up.

Medical
 professionals and counselors who work with addiction have pushed for 
quality care based on decades of research. And civil rights lawyers have
 filed lawsuits that led to settlements or court orders.

In 2019, <a href="https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/federal-judge-rules-jail-must-allow-access-medication-assisted-treatment" target="_blank">a judge ordered</a> a Maine county jail to let a woman continue buprenorphine during her 40-day sentence.

The same year, the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas and the ACLU of Missouri <a href="https://www.aclukansas.org/en/press-releases/kansas-and-missouri-aclu-affiliates-reach-settlement-bureau-prisons-leavenworth" target="_blank">sued the federal prison system</a>
 for denying medication to a man sentenced to serve time at Leavenworth 
penitentiary. Two days later, the Federal Bureau of Prisons agreed to 
let him continue buprenorphine.

County jails in Kansas that allow such medications say they get phone calls from other sheriffs interested in following suit.

Recently,
 the Sedgwick County Jail began letting people continue methadone and 
similar medications after being booked. Previously, only pregnant women 
were allowed to do so.

“Our jails are full of people who are our 
families, friends and neighbors,” said Col. Jared Schechter, the jail 
administrator. “If they make a mistake and break a law or have a 
probation violation and end up back in jail for a short period of time, 
should they be removed from this medication that’s helping them with 
their addiction?”

“That’s probably not the best way to help them reintegrate into the community,” he said.

For now, the change only applies to people who began treatment before entering jail. But the Sheriff’s Office hopes to extend the care to anyone who wants to start treatment after entering jail and is exploring the cost.

Groups
 who help people in recovery see that as a positive step, but want to 
see more effort to treat people outside of jails and prisons, and to 
prevent addiction entirely.

“From an economic standpoint, there 
certainly is a strong case to be made here for MAT (medication-assisted 
treatment) within the prison system,” said Ngoc Vuong, a community 
mobilizer for Partners for Wichita. “But also I'd say, MAT as an 
alternative to incarceration in the first place.”

Partners for Wichita operates a Safe Streets program to combat addiction and overdoses.

Additionally,
 criminal justice researchers say jails and prisons that offer 
medication-assisted treatment often limit access in practice. Or they 
restrict inmates to naltrexone, for example, even when a different 
prescription might work better.

As of last year, <a href="https://www.themarshallproject.org/2021/08/10/these-meds-prevent-overdoses-few-federal-prisoners-are-getting-them" target="_blank">the Marshall Project</a> found that very few federal inmates who could benefit from it actually receive medication for their substance use disorders.

The
 Marshall Project also concluded that many state prison systems, 
including that of Kansas, limit medication options or access in one way 
or another.

A spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Corrections
 said inmates can continue medications for drug addiction after entering
 prison. And others can undergo medical assessment to potentially start 
treatment.

Daniel Warren, a physician who treats addiction, welcomes the Sedgwick County jail’s new approach to addiction treatment.

“That
 is a big development,” said Warren, a professor at the University of 
Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita. “Overdose after leaving incarceration
 is its own kind of public health epidemic … Maintaining people on 
buprenorphine during their incarceration period is something that is 
really important.”

And when people exit jail, they should leave with clear connections to long-term help.

“There are ways to link people to care afterwards that do not have to be phenomenally challenging,” Warren said.

Some
 treatment programs have grants to help people who can’t afford 
treatment, and staff who can meet with people before their release from 
jail to arrange access to care and medication.

That’s the case at 
Douglas County Jail, where people can start addiction treatment and work
 with a case manager who assists them for half a year or longer after 
leaving jail.

“Everybody 
enters recovery at different stages,” she said. “Sometimes it may take a
 person one time through inpatient treatment … Some people, it doesn’t 
happen like that.”

Most people do achieve long-term <a href="https://health.wusf.usf.edu/npr-health/2022-01-15/there-is-life-after-addiction-most-people-recover" target="_blank">recovery from addiction</a>, although the process often takes years and involves relapses.

“This
 is a huge need,” Neis said. “Folks coming in and out of our facility, 
if they’re ready and willing to work, then we’re here for them and can 
get them where they need to go.”

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

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1645113109595.png" alt="Carlos Moreno / KCUR 89.3" />
 <figcaption>Carlos Moreno / KCUR 89.3</figcaption>
 </figure>By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-02-16/a-few-kansas-jails-are-finally-allowing-medical-care-for-opioid-addiction">Kansas News Service</a>A recent decision to let people continue treatment for drug addiction
 while in the Sedgwick County Jail in Wichita reflects a significant 
shift in thinking at Kansas sheriffs’ offices that is gaining momentum.Sedgwick officials no longer take people off of their prescriptions for <a href="https://www.samhsa.gov/medication-assisted-treatment" target="_blank">medications such as buprenorphine</a> when booked into jail.No
 one keeps a tally of how many Kansas jails allow incarcerated people 
with opioid or alcohol addictions to receive the combination of 
medication and counseling that can help them.But nationally, <a href="https://www.themarshallproject.org/2021/08/10/these-meds-prevent-overdoses-few-federal-prisoners-are-getting-them" target="_blank">only a fraction</a> of jails do so, researchers say.Sedgwick’s joins at least a few other Kansas jails that do so, including Crawford County’s in southeast Kansas.“I
 mean, something’s got to change,” Crawford County Sheriff Danny Smith 
said of the decision to allow addiction treatment. “Otherwise, it’s just
 a revolving door all the time.”Studies suggest <a href="https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugfacts/criminal-justice" target="_blank">two-thirds of prison inmates</a>
 have substance use disorders. Allowing treatment for people in jails or
 prisons aims to break the cycle of incarceration — and to save lives.Fatal overdoses have <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-01-10/dealers-are-spiking-drugs-with-fentanyl-and-killing-even-more-kansans-during-the-pandemic" target="_blank">rocketed during the pandemic</a>
 in Kansas and nationally, driven in large part by dealers selling drugs
 laced with fentanyl. Spiking methamphetamine, cocaine or oxycodone with
 this synthetic opioid makes those substances even more potent and 
addictive, but also easily lethal.When someone who suffers drug addiction gets out of jail or prison, they face an <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28299971/" target="_blank">elevated risk</a> of overdosing soon after release.A
 few years ago, Smith got a call from the Community Health Center of 
Southeast Kansas. The center had funding to launch a treatment program 
for the 108-bed jail, if Smith would allow it.“Honestly,” Smith said, “our willingness to have our facility used for this is a no brainer.”The
 program launched in August 2020. He hopes for “a ripple effect” that 
will help people heal, get jobs, repair family relationships and stay 
out of jail.Since the program began in August 2020, 207 
incarcerated people have volunteered for it. The treatment isn’t 
court-ordered or part of probation deals. Most have continued their care
 after leaving jail.<h2>Tanner's story</h2>Doctors <a href="https://www.samhsa.gov/medication-assisted-treatment/medications-counseling-related-conditions#opioid-dependency-medications" target="_blank">prescribe medications</a>
 to reduce cravings for opioids or alcohol, ease withdrawal symptoms and
 even block the brain from being able to get high off of drugs such as 
oxycodone and heroin.Typically, treatment involves buprenorphine, methadone or naltrexone.Tanner,
 a Wichita resident in recovery, said this played a critical role for 
him. (The Kansas News Service is not using his last name to protect his 
privacy.)He first encountered opioids more than a decade ago, shortly after finishing high school.A doctor sent his friend home from surgery with painkillers — a prescription so ample that the friend shared them with others.Once the pills ran out, Tanner and his friends began looking for opioids elsewhere.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1645113174698.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>His use spiraled out of control, particularly after one friend 
overdosed on heroin and died. That spurred Tanner to get high more and 
more often.“Depression and all that started setting in pretty heavy,” he said. “Wanting to mask the feelings of hurt, pain, guilt.”Tanner stole from relatives and his workplace to buy drugs, and ultimately landed in jail.After several years, he entered treatment in 2012 with a combination of counseling and medication, and felt relief.He tried once to get high while taking his new prescription, but felt nothing.“Why
 waste my money (on opioids), when I’m not going to be able to feel 
anything from it?” he said. “There’s no euphoria. There’s nothing. I 
mean, that’s the huge thing — if you take the medication right.”<h2>Treatment in jails and prisons</h2>Traditionally,
 though, many jails and prisons across the country haven’t allowed 
medications that combat drug and alcohol addiction.That means people can’t connect with a physician to start treatment while they’re incarcerated.It also means people who were already in treatment programs before being booked lose access to care while locked up.Things are slowly changing.Medical
 professionals and counselors who work with addiction have pushed for 
quality care based on decades of research. And civil rights lawyers have
 filed lawsuits that led to settlements or court orders.In 2019, <a href="https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/federal-judge-rules-jail-must-allow-access-medication-assisted-treatment" target="_blank">a judge ordered</a> a Maine county jail to let a woman continue buprenorphine during her 40-day sentence.The same year, the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas and the ACLU of Missouri <a href="https://www.aclukansas.org/en/press-releases/kansas-and-missouri-aclu-affiliates-reach-settlement-bureau-prisons-leavenworth" target="_blank">sued the federal prison system</a>
 for denying medication to a man sentenced to serve time at Leavenworth 
penitentiary. Two days later, the Federal Bureau of Prisons agreed to 
let him continue buprenorphine.County jails in Kansas that allow such medications say they get phone calls from other sheriffs interested in following suit.Recently,
 the Sedgwick County Jail began letting people continue methadone and 
similar medications after being booked. Previously, only pregnant women 
were allowed to do so.“Our jails are full of people who are our 
families, friends and neighbors,” said Col. Jared Schechter, the jail 
administrator. “If they make a mistake and break a law or have a 
probation violation and end up back in jail for a short period of time, 
should they be removed from this medication that’s helping them with 
their addiction?”“That’s probably not the best way to help them reintegrate into the community,” he said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1645113218229.png" alt="Fake oxycodone pills often contain fentanyl. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration" />
 <figcaption>Fake oxycodone pills often contain fentanyl. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration</figcaption>
 </figure>For now, the change only applies to people who began treatment before entering jail. But the Sheriff’s Office hopes to extend the care to anyone who wants to start treatment after entering jail and is exploring the cost.Groups
 who help people in recovery see that as a positive step, but want to 
see more effort to treat people outside of jails and prisons, and to 
prevent addiction entirely.“From an economic standpoint, there 
certainly is a strong case to be made here for MAT (medication-assisted 
treatment) within the prison system,” said Ngoc Vuong, a community 
mobilizer for Partners for Wichita. “But also I'd say, MAT as an 
alternative to incarceration in the first place.”Partners for Wichita operates a Safe Streets program to combat addiction and overdoses.Additionally,
 criminal justice researchers say jails and prisons that offer 
medication-assisted treatment often limit access in practice. Or they 
restrict inmates to naltrexone, for example, even when a different 
prescription might work better.As of last year, <a href="https://www.themarshallproject.org/2021/08/10/these-meds-prevent-overdoses-few-federal-prisoners-are-getting-them" target="_blank">the Marshall Project</a> found that very few federal inmates who could benefit from it actually receive medication for their substance use disorders.The
 Marshall Project also concluded that many state prison systems, 
including that of Kansas, limit medication options or access in one way 
or another.A spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Corrections
 said inmates can continue medications for drug addiction after entering
 prison. And others can undergo medical assessment to potentially start 
treatment.<h2>Linking people to medical providers</h2>Daniel Warren, a physician who treats addiction, welcomes the Sedgwick County jail’s new approach to addiction treatment.“That
 is a big development,” said Warren, a professor at the University of 
Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita. “Overdose after leaving incarceration
 is its own kind of public health epidemic … Maintaining people on 
buprenorphine during their incarceration period is something that is 
really important.”And when people exit jail, they should leave with clear connections to long-term help.“There are ways to link people to care afterwards that do not have to be phenomenally challenging,” Warren said.Some
 treatment programs have grants to help people who can’t afford 
treatment, and staff who can meet with people before their release from 
jail to arrange access to care and medication.That’s the case at 
Douglas County Jail, where people can start addiction treatment and work
 with a case manager who assists them for half a year or longer after 
leaving jail.Carrie Neis directs those efforts.“Everybody 
enters recovery at different stages,” she said. “Sometimes it may take a
 person one time through inpatient treatment … Some people, it doesn’t 
happen like that.”Most people do achieve long-term <a href="https://health.wusf.usf.edu/npr-health/2022-01-15/there-is-life-after-addiction-most-people-recover" target="_blank">recovery from addiction</a>, although the process often takes years and involves relapses.“This
 is a huge need,” Neis said. “Folks coming in and out of our facility, 
if they’re ready and willing to work, then we’re here for them and can 
get them where they need to go.”Celia Llopis-Jepsen reports on
 consumer health for the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on 
Twitter @celia_LJ or email her at celia@kcur.org.

Some Kansas jails finally allowing medical care for opioid addiction

By SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/02/18/proposal-to-ban-cities-from-banning-plastic-bags-pits-sierra-club-against-kansas-chamber/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Sierra Club lobbyist Zach Pistora told lawmakers he could 
talk at length about the “big mess” plastic bags have created for 
aquatic ecosystems, landscape and infrastructure in Kansas.

But the real problem with <a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.com/li/b2021_22/measures/sb493/">Senate Bill 493</a>, he said, is an assault on democracy.

The Kansas Chamber, manufacturers of plastic bags, and service 
industry representatives asked the Senate Commerce Committee to adopt 
the legislation, which would ban cities and counties in Kansas from 
restricting the use of plastic bags and containers.

Pistora said the bill is “disingenuous” because it doesn’t provide a 
way for communities to reduce the accumulation of trash caused by these 
products. He asked lawmakers to embrace the popular saying: “Don’t tread
 on me.”

“It’s a very conservative ethic where we got to be responsible and 
respectful of one another and not interfere with our ability to enjoy 
the benefits of life and self governance,” Pistora said. “Well, the 
single-use plastic trash is treading on the people of Kansas. It’s 
treading on our properties. It’s trash in our communities, our natural 
ecosystems, and it adds up to a deterioration of our wonderful home we 
call Kansas, socialized to the taxpayer.”

Kent Eckles, who appeared at the Thursday hearing on behalf of the 
Kansas Chamber, said businesses hope to avoid navigating “a hodgepodge 
of conflicting regulations or bans from one city or county to the next.”
 He said 22 other states have passed legislation similar to SB493.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1645221305901.png" alt="Zach Pistora, of the Sierra Club of Kansas, appears by video during a hearing on legislation to ban plastic bag bans. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Kansas Legislature YouTube channel)" />
 <figcaption>Zach Pistora, of the Sierra Club of Kansas, appears by video during a hearing on legislation to ban plastic bag bans. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Kansas Legislature YouTube channel)</figcaption>
 </figure>By SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/02/18/proposal-to-ban-cities-from-banning-plastic-bags-pits-sierra-club-against-kansas-chamber/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Sierra Club lobbyist Zach Pistora told lawmakers he could 
talk at length about the “big mess” plastic bags have created for 
aquatic ecosystems, landscape and infrastructure in Kansas.But the real problem with <a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.com/li/b2021_22/measures/sb493/">Senate Bill 493</a>, he said, is an assault on democracy.The Kansas Chamber, manufacturers of plastic bags, and service 
industry representatives asked the Senate Commerce Committee to adopt 
the legislation, which would ban cities and counties in Kansas from 
restricting the use of plastic bags and containers.Pistora said the bill is “disingenuous” because it doesn’t provide a 
way for communities to reduce the accumulation of trash caused by these 
products. He asked lawmakers to embrace the popular saying: “Don’t tread
 on me.”“It’s a very conservative ethic where we got to be responsible and 
respectful of one another and not interfere with our ability to enjoy 
the benefits of life and self governance,” Pistora said. “Well, the 
single-use plastic trash is treading on the people of Kansas. It’s 
treading on our properties. It’s trash in our communities, our natural 
ecosystems, and it adds up to a deterioration of our wonderful home we 
call Kansas, socialized to the taxpayer.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1645221357974.png" alt="Kent Eckles appears by video on behalf of the Kansas Chamber in support of legislation that would prohibit cities and counties from restricting single-use plastics. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Kansas Legislature YouTube channel)" />
 <figcaption>Kent Eckles appears by video on behalf of the Kansas Chamber in support of legislation that would prohibit cities and counties from restricting single-use plastics. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Kansas Legislature YouTube channel)</figcaption>
 </figure>Kent Eckles, who appeared at the Thursday hearing on behalf of the 
Kansas Chamber, said businesses hope to avoid navigating “a hodgepodge 
of conflicting regulations or bans from one city or county to the next.”
 He said 22 other states have passed legislation similar to SB493.The legislation would prohibit prohibitions, restrictions and taxes 
on a bag, cup, package, container, bottle, device or other packaging 
made of cloth, paper, plastic, foamed plastic, expanded plastic, 
cardboard, corrugated material, aluminum, glass, postconsumer recycled 
material or similar coated or laminated material.The impetus for the bill, Eckles said, is the discussion in Wichita 
and other communities about banning single-use plastic bags, like the 
ones frequently used for groceries.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1645221400718.png" alt="Zachary Taylor appears by video on behalf of plastic bag manufacturers. He says local bans on plastic bags do little to help the environment. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Kansas Legislature YouTube channel)" />
 <figcaption>Zachary Taylor appears by video on behalf of plastic bag manufacturers. He says local bans on plastic bags do little to help the environment. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Kansas Legislature YouTube channel)</figcaption>
 </figure>Zachary Taylor, director of the American Recyclable Plastic Bag 
Alliance, said those policies “end up hurting businesses without doing a
 whole lot for the environment.”Sen. Tom Holland, D-Baldwin City, said citizens who have concerns 
about trash building in their communities should be able to put together
 solutions “independent of what the polluters want.”Holland told Eckles the Kansas Chamber also supported a deal in 2017 
to bring a Tyson Foods chicken processing plant to Tonganoxie. The deal 
fell apart over protest from local residents.“That was an ecological disaster that you were going to unleash on 
northeast Kansas and the Kansas River,” Holland said. “I kind of find it
 a little bit rich that you’re here talking today, once again, about 
basically advocating for polluters. At the end of the day, this to me 
looks like it smacks of regulation. It smacks of anti-consumerism. It’s 
anti-environment, obviously.”Holland asked Taylor who his alliance represents. Taylor said it consists of manufacturers of plastic bags.“So more polluters. OK,” Holland said.Lori Lawrence, of Bag Free Wichita, said it was important for cities 
to maintain local control of regulations. The speed limits in Wichita 
are different from Hays, for instance, she said.In Wichita, Lawrence said, the landfill is full, and the city has to pay to ship trash out of the county.“We are dealing with an incredible amount of trash being the largest 
city in Kansas, and we really need to be able to put some limits on 
that,” Lawrence said.<div><iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1206957082&color=%232b7fb4&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe><div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/kansas-reflector-podcast" title="Reflector Podcast" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Reflector Podcast</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/kansas-reflector-podcast/single-use-plastic-bags" title="Single-use plastic bags" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Single-use plastic bags</a></div></div>Pistora said a survey found Wichita residents were willing to pay a small price for the reduction of plastic bags.Pistora also questioned a claim by Taylor that plastic bags account for just 0.3% of landfill trash.“I always appreciate hearing from other Zachs, but I’d be curious to the sources of his studies on litter,” Pistora said.In Kansas, Pistora said, half of the litter is from plastic.“We got more plastic bags than tumbleweeds in the state of Kansas,” Pistora said.The last time he counted, Pistora said, he saw 39 plastic bags along 
the road between his house in Linwood and the Statehouse in Topeka.“I didn’t even get into the environmental consequences,” Pistora 
said. “I’d be happy to talk about how these bags get used in 12 seconds,
 but don’t break down for 1,000 years or more.”