SEDGWICK COUNTY—A Kansas felon found guilty in a fatal shooting that occurred just days after his release from prison is going back to prison for the rest of his life.

&nbsp;This week, Judge Jeffrey Goering sentenced 38-year-old Jeremy Miles of Wichita to life without parole eligibility for 586 months for first-degree murder and 19 months for criminal possession of a weapon by a convicted felon,&nbsp;according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office. In October, a jury found Miles guilty of the killing that occurred in August of 2023.

Just before 11a.m. Aug. 30, 2023, police were dispatched to a reported shooting at an apartment complex in the 2000 block of S. Seneca in Wichita, according to Officer Kris Gupilan.&nbsp;

First responders&nbsp; located&nbsp;69-year-old James Gibson of Wichita with gunshot wounds inside an apartment. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Police&nbsp; arrested&nbsp;Miles for the crime. He has three previous convictions for aggravated robbery and one for criminal possession of a weapon by a felon and had been placed on In-State Post Release just a week before the murder, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1693488696173.png" alt="Miles-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Miles-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY—A Kansas felon found guilty in a fatal shooting that occurred just days after his release from prison is going back to prison for the rest of his life.&nbsp;This week, Judge Jeffrey Goering sentenced 38-year-old Jeremy Miles of Wichita to life without parole eligibility for 586 months for first-degree murder and 19 months for criminal possession of a weapon by a convicted felon,&nbsp;according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office. In October, a jury found Miles guilty of the killing that occurred in August of 2023.Just before 11a.m. Aug. 30, 2023, police were dispatched to a reported shooting at an apartment complex in the 2000 block of S. Seneca in Wichita, according to Officer Kris Gupilan.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740065155471.png" alt="Miles photo Kansas Dept. of Correction" />
 <figcaption>Miles photo Kansas Dept. of Correction</figcaption>
 </figure>First responders&nbsp; located&nbsp;69-year-old James Gibson of Wichita with gunshot wounds inside an apartment. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.&nbsp;&nbsp;Police&nbsp; arrested&nbsp;Miles for the crime. He has three previous convictions for aggravated robbery and one for criminal possession of a weapon by a felon and had been placed on In-State Post Release just a week before the murder, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.

Kansas felon killed man a week after release from prison

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A former Kansas City, Mo., police officer who ran an anti-crime charity has been convicted in federal court of a scheme in which he spent more than $200,000 in donations for his own personal expenses.

Aaron Wayne McKie, 47, was found guilty on Thursday, Feb. 20, of nine counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. McKie worked as a police officer for the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department for 24 years, assigned as a police officer to the Crime Free Multi-Housing section from 2002 through 2023.

McKie served from 2009 to 2023 as president of Mid-America Crime Free, Inc. (MACF), a non-profit organization that claimed to provide training to persons in the rental housing industry and promote anti-crime programs. He was an officer of the charity for three years prior, from 2006 to 2009.

Evidence produced during the trial indicated that McKie devised a scheme to defraud MACF and its donors that began in July 2009 and lasted until October 2023. Individuals and businesses contributed $387,620 to MACF, not including in-kind donations. McKie spent at least $200,060 for his own personal purposes.

The biggest source of MACF funds was an annual golf tournament, “Fairways 4 Fuzz Golf Tournament.” Individuals and businesses donated both money and in-kind donations, such as food and beverages, to MACF via the golf tournament. At least 121 donors have been identified.

From 2009 to 2023, the flyers soliciting donations and players for the tournament claimed the funds raised would enable MACF to provide free seminars to owners of rental properties and train police officers. In reality, those claims were false. The Kansas City Police Department paid the salaries and expenses of Crime Free Multi-Housing unit officers who may have provided training to landlords; McKie used the majority of MACF funds for personal spending; and the IRS had revoked the organization’s tax-exempt status in 2010.

Under federal statutes, McKie is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole on each of the 10 counts on which he was convicted. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for nine hours before returning guilty verdicts to U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips, ending a trial that began Monday, Feb. 10.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen D. Mahoney and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Hanson. It was investigated by the FBI and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714219569463.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A former Kansas City, Mo., police officer who ran an anti-crime charity has been convicted in federal court of a scheme in which he spent more than $200,000 in donations for his own personal expenses.Aaron Wayne McKie, 47, was found guilty on Thursday, Feb. 20, of nine counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. McKie worked as a police officer for the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department for 24 years, assigned as a police officer to the Crime Free Multi-Housing section from 2002 through 2023.McKie served from 2009 to 2023 as president of Mid-America Crime Free, Inc. (MACF), a non-profit organization that claimed to provide training to persons in the rental housing industry and promote anti-crime programs. He was an officer of the charity for three years prior, from 2006 to 2009.Evidence produced during the trial indicated that McKie devised a scheme to defraud MACF and its donors that began in July 2009 and lasted until October 2023. Individuals and businesses contributed $387,620 to MACF, not including in-kind donations. McKie spent at least $200,060 for his own personal purposes.The biggest source of MACF funds was an annual golf tournament, “Fairways 4 Fuzz Golf Tournament.” Individuals and businesses donated both money and in-kind donations, such as food and beverages, to MACF via the golf tournament. At least 121 donors have been identified.From 2009 to 2023, the flyers soliciting donations and players for the tournament claimed the funds raised would enable MACF to provide free seminars to owners of rental properties and train police officers. In reality, those claims were false. The Kansas City Police Department paid the salaries and expenses of Crime Free Multi-Housing unit officers who may have provided training to landlords; McKie used the majority of MACF funds for personal spending; and the IRS had revoked the organization’s tax-exempt status in 2010.Under federal statutes, McKie is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole on each of the 10 counts on which he was convicted. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for nine hours before returning guilty verdicts to U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips, ending a trial that began Monday, Feb. 10.This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen D. Mahoney and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Hanson. It was investigated by the FBI and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.

Jury: Former KCPD officer guilty in $200K charity fraud scheme

Sharon Sue McLaughlin, 69, of Zurich, Kansas, passed away
on February 15, 2025, at HaysMed in Hays, Kansas. She was born on July 13,
1955, to Delwin and Velma (Meitler) Mendenhall at Plainville Rural Hospital in
Plainville, Kansas. She married Rick McLaughlin on October 21, 1978, at the
United Methodist Church in Plainville.

Sharon grew up in Zurich and graduated from Palco High
School in 1973. She dedicated 26 years of her life as a bookkeeper at Mr. K's
and spent another 14 years as a secretary at World Pest Control, where she was
a valued colleague and friend to many.

Sharon had a deep passion for life and always put others
first. She loved to cook, and her world-famous macaroni and cheese will be
remembered by all who had the privilege of enjoying it. Sharon also had a love
for music, particularly classic rock, and as a talented pianist, she generously
shared her musical gifts with family and friends. 

Playing cards with her loved ones was one of Sharon’s
favorite pastimes, and there was nothing she cherished more than spending quality
time with her family. She took great pride in her sons and grandchildren and could
always be found cheering them on at their sporting events, exuding her
trademark enthusiasm. 

Sharon’s playful spirit was one of her most defining
qualities - she was a prankster with a great sense of humor who brought
laughter to all who knew her. In addition to her mischievous side, Sharon was
also the ultimate organizer, ensuring that everything ran smoothly, and
everyone was taken care of.

Sharon’s presence will be deeply missed, but her legacy of
laughter, love, and joy will remain in the hearts of all who knew her.

Sharon is survived by her husband, Rick of Zurich, KS;
sons, Chad (Aimee) McLaughlin of Zurich, J.T. (June) McLaughlin of Abilene, KS;
sister, Jeanie (Mark) Cameron of Abilene, KS; brothers, Randy (Sonja)
Mendenhall of Liberal, KS, Rocky (Deb) Mendenhall of Salina, KS, Rick (Rita)
Mendenhall of Garden City, KS, and Reggie (Cheryl) Mendenhall of Pratt, KS; eight
grandchildren: Zack, Alex, Vincent, Allissa, Jesseca, Courtney, Seirra,
Cameron; and five great-grandchildren: Lynlee, Leah, Derrick, Dawson and Miri. 

She was preceded in death by her parents, Delwin and Velma;
and granddaughter, Tesla. 

A Celebration of life service will be held on Saturday,
February 22, 2025, at 10:30 AM, at the First Christian Church in Plainville.
Inurnment will be held at a later date in the Zurich Cemetery. 

Memorials are suggested to Rooks County Health Center and
may be sent to Plumer-Overlease Funeral Home, 320 SW 2nd,
Plainville, Kansas 67663. 

Online condolences may be left for the family at <a href="http://www.plumeroverlease.com">www.plumeroverlease.com</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1739900075548.jpeg" alt="Sharon Sue McLaughlin" />
 <figcaption>Sharon Sue McLaughlin</figcaption>
 </figure>Sharon Sue McLaughlin, 69, of Zurich, Kansas, passed away
on February 15, 2025, at HaysMed in Hays, Kansas. She was born on July 13,
1955, to Delwin and Velma (Meitler) Mendenhall at Plainville Rural Hospital in
Plainville, Kansas. She married Rick McLaughlin on October 21, 1978, at the
United Methodist Church in Plainville.Sharon grew up in Zurich and graduated from Palco High
School in 1973. She dedicated 26 years of her life as a bookkeeper at Mr. K's
and spent another 14 years as a secretary at World Pest Control, where she was
a valued colleague and friend to many.Sharon had a deep passion for life and always put others
first. She loved to cook, and her world-famous macaroni and cheese will be
remembered by all who had the privilege of enjoying it. Sharon also had a love
for music, particularly classic rock, and as a talented pianist, she generously
shared her musical gifts with family and friends. Playing cards with her loved ones was one of Sharon’s
favorite pastimes, and there was nothing she cherished more than spending quality
time with her family. She took great pride in her sons and grandchildren and could
always be found cheering them on at their sporting events, exuding her
trademark enthusiasm. Sharon’s playful spirit was one of her most defining
qualities - she was a prankster with a great sense of humor who brought
laughter to all who knew her. In addition to her mischievous side, Sharon was
also the ultimate organizer, ensuring that everything ran smoothly, and
everyone was taken care of.Sharon’s presence will be deeply missed, but her legacy of
laughter, love, and joy will remain in the hearts of all who knew her.Sharon is survived by her husband, Rick of Zurich, KS;
sons, Chad (Aimee) McLaughlin of Zurich, J.T. (June) McLaughlin of Abilene, KS;
sister, Jeanie (Mark) Cameron of Abilene, KS; brothers, Randy (Sonja)
Mendenhall of Liberal, KS, Rocky (Deb) Mendenhall of Salina, KS, Rick (Rita)
Mendenhall of Garden City, KS, and Reggie (Cheryl) Mendenhall of Pratt, KS; eight
grandchildren: Zack, Alex, Vincent, Allissa, Jesseca, Courtney, Seirra,
Cameron; and five great-grandchildren: Lynlee, Leah, Derrick, Dawson and Miri. She was preceded in death by her parents, Delwin and Velma;
and granddaughter, Tesla. A Celebration of life service will be held on Saturday,
February 22, 2025, at 10:30 AM, at the First Christian Church in Plainville.
Inurnment will be held at a later date in the Zurich Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to Rooks County Health Center and
may be sent to Plumer-Overlease Funeral Home, 320 SW 2nd,
Plainville, Kansas 67663. Online condolences may be left for the family at <a href="http://www.plumeroverlease.com">www.plumeroverlease.com</a>

Sharon Sue McLaughlin

By JOHN P. TRETBAR Eagle Media

U.S. crude production last week reached the top ten.&nbsp; 

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported average output of 13,494,000 barrels per day, an increase of 16,000 daily barrels from a week earlier. That's the biggest weekly tally since December, and the ninth biggest ever. Four-week average output and cumulative annual production both top 13.4 million barrels a day. Each is up about three percent from a year ago.

EIA reported commercial crude stockpiles rose 4.1 million barrels from a week ago and are four percent below the five-year seasonal average at just under 428 million barrels.

Crude prices are hovering in a tight trading range, with the benchmarks dropping a few cents on Friday heading toward a weekly loss of a few pennies a barrel.&nbsp; New York crude offers dipped below $71 per barrel.&nbsp; Brent crude dropped under $75 in London.

The government continues to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserves, and continues to amass huge savings for the U.S. Treasury. The Energy Department took delivery of 200,000 barrels last week at prices $15 cheaper than what we sold it for two years ago. That's a three million dollar profit this week and $468 million since refill operations resumed last April.

Weekly exploration data in Kansas points to another down year on the production side.&nbsp; Independent Oil and Gas Service notes 25 new well-completion reports last week, with 15 in western Kansas including one in Barton County, two in Ellis County and two in Russell County.&nbsp; That's 168 new well-completions so far this year, compared to 250 at this time last year. 

Overall, drilling activity in Kansas is down about 32% from same period last year. Kansas regulators okayed 15 new drilling permits, with five in western Kansas. That's 81 new permits so far this year, which is less than half the tally a year ago.

The Kansas Rig Count from Independent Oil and Gas Service shows a total of 15 active drilling rigs in Kansas. There are eight in the western half of the state, which is up one from a week ago, and seven in eastern Kansas, which is down one. Operators were moving in rotary tools to spud a new well in Barton County.

The Rotary Rig Count from Baker Hughes is up one oil rig and one gas rig for a total of 588 active rigs. The count in Texas is up two rigs. Utah is up one. The tallies in North Dakota and Louisiana are each down one rig.

The number-three crude oil producing state in the country reports some mixed results. North Dakota's crude output increased slightly in December, on the heels of a spike of 11% the month before. The Department of Mineral Resources reported a daily average just under 1.2 million barrels a day, which is down slightly from the shorter month in November. 

Natural gas production was down nearly three percent, and the state's closely watched gas-capture rate dropped to 94%. Rig counts dropped four rigs in the last three months to 33 active rigs by February 13. DMR reports on ongoing decline in well-completions, but drilling permits are up in January.

The U.S. imports more crude oil that we export by more than 2.5 million barrels a day, according to the Energy Information Administration.&nbsp; Petroleum product imports trail exports by nearly five million.

EIA said U.S. crude oil imports averaged 6.3 million barrels per day last week, down 606,000 barrels per day from the previous week. Over the past four weeks, crude imports averaged about 6.6 million barrels per day, 7.6% more than the same four-week period last year.

Crude exports averaged 3.9 million barrels a day, down nearly half a million from a week earlier, according to the government. Exports over the last four weeks are up 100,000 daily barrels compared to the same period last year.

An oil tanker carrying crude from a sanctioned Russian producer has been floating off the coast of India for nearly a week, and it's not clear if authorities will allow the vessel to deliver its cargo. Bloomberg reports the Cordelia Moon was headed to western India with about a million barrels of Russian crude.&nbsp;The owner of the cargo was one of the two Russian producers sanctioned by the U.S. last month. This is the same Russian "shadow tanker" that made headlines in October when it came under fire near the Suez Canal, disrupting global trade.

Another 6.3 million barrels of Russian deliveries are being held on sanctioned vessels along Russia's Pacific coast. Those ships have been stationary for about a week near Russia's Sakhalin Island facility.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1684775008059.jpeg" alt="Photo by Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Photo by Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>By JOHN P. TRETBAR Eagle MediaFeb. 17, 2025 U.S. crude production last week reached the top ten.&nbsp; The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported average output of 13,494,000 barrels per day, an increase of 16,000 daily barrels from a week earlier. That's the biggest weekly tally since December, and the ninth biggest ever. Four-week average output and cumulative annual production both top 13.4 million barrels a day. Each is up about three percent from a year ago.EIA reported commercial crude stockpiles rose 4.1 million barrels from a week ago and are four percent below the five-year seasonal average at just under 428 million barrels.Crude prices are hovering in a tight trading range, with the benchmarks dropping a few cents on Friday heading toward a weekly loss of a few pennies a barrel.&nbsp; New York crude offers dipped below $71 per barrel.&nbsp; Brent crude dropped under $75 in London.The government continues to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserves, and continues to amass huge savings for the U.S. Treasury. The Energy Department took delivery of 200,000 barrels last week at prices $15 cheaper than what we sold it for two years ago. That's a three million dollar profit this week and $468 million since refill operations resumed last April.Weekly exploration data in Kansas points to another down year on the production side.&nbsp; Independent Oil and Gas Service notes 25 new well-completion reports last week, with 15 in western Kansas including one in Barton County, two in Ellis County and two in Russell County.&nbsp; That's 168 new well-completions so far this year, compared to 250 at this time last year. Overall, drilling activity in Kansas is down about 32% from same period last year. Kansas regulators okayed 15 new drilling permits, with five in western Kansas. That's 81 new permits so far this year, which is less than half the tally a year ago.The Kansas Rig Count from Independent Oil and Gas Service shows a total of 15 active drilling rigs in Kansas. There are eight in the western half of the state, which is up one from a week ago, and seven in eastern Kansas, which is down one. Operators were moving in rotary tools to spud a new well in Barton County.The Rotary Rig Count from Baker Hughes is up one oil rig and one gas rig for a total of 588 active rigs. The count in Texas is up two rigs. Utah is up one. The tallies in North Dakota and Louisiana are each down one rig.The number-three crude oil producing state in the country reports some mixed results. North Dakota's crude output increased slightly in December, on the heels of a spike of 11% the month before. The Department of Mineral Resources reported a daily average just under 1.2 million barrels a day, which is down slightly from the shorter month in November. Natural gas production was down nearly three percent, and the state's closely watched gas-capture rate dropped to 94%. Rig counts dropped four rigs in the last three months to 33 active rigs by February 13. DMR reports on ongoing decline in well-completions, but drilling permits are up in January.The U.S. imports more crude oil that we export by more than 2.5 million barrels a day, according to the Energy Information Administration.&nbsp; Petroleum product imports trail exports by nearly five million.EIA said U.S. crude oil imports averaged 6.3 million barrels per day last week, down 606,000 barrels per day from the previous week. Over the past four weeks, crude imports averaged about 6.6 million barrels per day, 7.6% more than the same four-week period last year.Crude exports averaged 3.9 million barrels a day, down nearly half a million from a week earlier, according to the government. Exports over the last four weeks are up 100,000 daily barrels compared to the same period last year.An oil tanker carrying crude from a sanctioned Russian producer has been floating off the coast of India for nearly a week, and it's not clear if authorities will allow the vessel to deliver its cargo. Bloomberg reports the Cordelia Moon was headed to western India with about a million barrels of Russian crude.&nbsp;The owner of the cargo was one of the two Russian producers sanctioned by the U.S. last month. This is the same Russian "shadow tanker" that made headlines in October when it came under fire near the Suez Canal, disrupting global trade.Another 6.3 million barrels of Russian deliveries are being held on sanctioned vessels along Russia's Pacific coast. Those ships have been stationary for about a week near Russia's Sakhalin Island facility.&nbsp;&nbsp;

News from the Oil Patch: Sanctioned crude at sea; shadow tankers at risk

Lavila Elizabeth Meyer,&nbsp;age 79,
former Flasher, North Dakota resident passed away peacefully Friday, February
14, 2025, at Via Christi Village Care Center, Hays, Kansas.

She was born October 27, 1945, in Mandan, ND to Anton &amp; Isabel (Brilz)
Unser.&nbsp; She married Herman E. Meyer at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Mandan
on April 24, 1964.&nbsp; He preceded her in death on March 30, 2022.

&nbsp;Lavila and her husband were ranchers outside of Flasher, North Dakota, on the
Diamond Lazy M Ranch raising sheep and cattle until their move to Via Christi
Village in 2020.

She attended schools in Mandan, ND and graduated from Mandan Senior High School
in 1963.

Lavila was active with the North Dakota Cattlewomen's Association, North Dakota
Cow Belles,&nbsp;Rodeo Secretary, and the American Legion Auxiliary.&nbsp; Plus
many numerous groups and activities.&nbsp; She was an avid bowler, and was
always there for her children's games and activities. She was also known to
always have food for anyone who stopped by.&nbsp; Lavila was a wonderful
cook.

Lavila is survived by her Children, Shelly Lippert and husband Tom, Hays,
KS; Christie Scholl and husband, Ken. Peyton, CO; six grandchildren, Briony
(Justin) Janisse; Tyler (Brittney) Patzner; Karna (Brandon) Prime; Trina (Matt)
Nipe; Travis (Kayla) Patzner; Taylor Patzner; &nbsp;nine great grandchildren,
Landon Janisse; Brynn Janisse; Kennedy Patzner; Lillian Prime; Corbin Prime;
Kendric Nipe; Hazel Nipe; Abigail Nipe; Oliver Patzner; her four bonus
grandchildren, Michelle Lippert; Chelsea (John) Moore; Cameron (Kelly) Lippert;
her eight bonus great grandchildren, her sister, Darlene Fleck; her
sister-in-law, Maryn Unser; numerous sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law on the
Meyer side; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Anton and Isabel Unser; her husband,
Herman E. Meyer; her son,&nbsp;Ross William Meyer; her parents, her brothers
Lloyd Unser and Dean Unser; and her two grandsons, Austin Patzner and Tanner
Patzner.

&nbsp;A Celebration of Life and visitation will be from 5:30 to 7:30 P.M. Monday,
February 17, 2025, at Cline’s-Keithley Mortuary of Hays with Pastor Jim
Winterstein, officiating.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp;The family suggests memorials made payable to: Living Savior Lutheran Church in
care of&nbsp;Cline’s-Keithley
Mortuary of Hays, 1919 East 22nd Street, Hays, Kansas
67601. 

Condolences can be
emailed to <a href="mailto:clineschapels@gmail.com">clineschapels@gmail.com</a> or left by guestbook at <a href="http://www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com">www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1739638139579.jpeg" alt="Lavila Elizabeth Meyer" />
 <figcaption>Lavila Elizabeth Meyer</figcaption>
 </figure>Lavila Elizabeth Meyer,&nbsp;age 79,
former Flasher, North Dakota resident passed away peacefully Friday, February
14, 2025, at Via Christi Village Care Center, Hays, Kansas.She was born October 27, 1945, in Mandan, ND to Anton &amp; Isabel (Brilz)
Unser.&nbsp; She married Herman E. Meyer at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Mandan
on April 24, 1964.&nbsp; He preceded her in death on March 30, 2022.&nbsp;Lavila and her husband were ranchers outside of Flasher, North Dakota, on the
Diamond Lazy M Ranch raising sheep and cattle until their move to Via Christi
Village in 2020.She attended schools in Mandan, ND and graduated from Mandan Senior High School
in 1963.Lavila was active with the North Dakota Cattlewomen's Association, North Dakota
Cow Belles,&nbsp;Rodeo Secretary, and the American Legion Auxiliary.&nbsp; Plus
many numerous groups and activities.&nbsp; She was an avid bowler, and was
always there for her children's games and activities. She was also known to
always have food for anyone who stopped by.&nbsp; Lavila was a wonderful
cook.Lavila is survived by her Children, Shelly Lippert and husband Tom, Hays,
KS; Christie Scholl and husband, Ken. Peyton, CO; six grandchildren, Briony
(Justin) Janisse; Tyler (Brittney) Patzner; Karna (Brandon) Prime; Trina (Matt)
Nipe; Travis (Kayla) Patzner; Taylor Patzner; &nbsp;nine great grandchildren,
Landon Janisse; Brynn Janisse; Kennedy Patzner; Lillian Prime; Corbin Prime;
Kendric Nipe; Hazel Nipe; Abigail Nipe; Oliver Patzner; her four bonus
grandchildren, Michelle Lippert; Chelsea (John) Moore; Cameron (Kelly) Lippert;
her eight bonus great grandchildren, her sister, Darlene Fleck; her
sister-in-law, Maryn Unser; numerous sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law on the
Meyer side; and many nieces and nephews.She was preceded in death by her parents, Anton and Isabel Unser; her husband,
Herman E. Meyer; her son,&nbsp;Ross William Meyer; her parents, her brothers
Lloyd Unser and Dean Unser; and her two grandsons, Austin Patzner and Tanner
Patzner.&nbsp;A Celebration of Life and visitation will be from 5:30 to 7:30 P.M. Monday,
February 17, 2025, at Cline’s-Keithley Mortuary of Hays with Pastor Jim
Winterstein, officiating.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The family suggests memorials made payable to: Living Savior Lutheran Church in
care of&nbsp;Cline’s-Keithley
Mortuary of Hays, 1919 East 22nd Street, Hays, Kansas
67601. Condolences can be
emailed to <a href="mailto:clineschapels@gmail.com">clineschapels@gmail.com</a> or left by guestbook at <a href="http://www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com">www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com</a>

Lavila Elizabeth Meyer

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/bramsablesmith/">BRAM SABLE-SMITH</a>&nbsp;AND&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/peggylowe/">PEGGY LOWE</a>&nbsp;

Emily Tavis was on a first date in December when she looked up and realized they were driving past the downtown Kansas City, Missouri, intersection where a bullet ripped through her leg at last year’s Super Bowl victory parade.

“Oh f—,” Tavis said, bewildering her date.

She lives 35 miles away in Leavenworth, Kansas, and hadn’t yet returned to Union Station, where the mass shooting happened. She felt like crying. Or maybe it was a panic attack. She held up a finger signaling to her date that she needed a moment. That’s when it hit him, too.

“Oh crap, I didn’t even realize,” he said, and kept driving in silence.

Tavis sucked in her tears until the station was out of view.

“So anyway,” she said aloud, while thinking to herself, “way to go. Panic attack, first date.”

A year after the Feb. 14 shooting that killed one and injured at least 24 people, the survivors and their families are still reeling. Relationships have strained. Parents are anxious about their children. The generous financial support and well wishes that poured through in early days have now dried up. And they’re ambivalent about the team they all root for; as the Chiefs moved on to another Super Bowl, many wondered why their beloved team hasn’t acknowledged what they have all been going through.

“I can’t believe the Chiefs didn’t do anything for us,” said Jacob Gooch Sr., who was shot in the foot. The team, the owner family’s foundation, and the National Football League gave a combined $200,000 to a fund for survivors, but Gooch said no one from the organization reached out to his family, three members of whom were shot.

What’s happening to these families is far from unusual. Many survivors emotionally freeze as a coping mechanism to avoid fully feeling the trauma they suffered. But with time, survivors experience what therapists call “thawing,” and the intensity of what happened can suddenly overpower them like it did Tavis.

“Trauma pulls us into the past,” said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-behrman-20322b7/" target="_blank">Gary Behrman</a>, a therapist who published a&nbsp;<a href="https://cretscmhd.psych.ucla.edu/nola/volunteer/EmpiricalStudies/Post-trauma%20intervention%20-%20basic%20tasks.pdf" target="_blank">model of crisis intervention</a>&nbsp;based on his work with witnesses of the 9/11 attacks in New York.

Sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and touches can all trigger flashbacks that shut down the brain like an overloaded circuit breaker. It’s a survival response, Behrman said; the brain is a friend.

The key to recovery is to help survivors find healthy ways to manage those triggers — when they are ready.

Survivors thaw at their own pace. Regaining control after a life-threatening event is a process that can take weeks, months, or years.

It can be hard not to feel forgotten when life carries on around them. As fans rallied around the Chiefs this season, survivors found it hard to watch the games. The Chiefs lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in Sunday’s Super Bowl. Philadelphia will hold its own parade on Friday, exactly one year after the shooting.

“It sucks because everybody else went on,” Jason Barton said. He performed CPR on a man he now thinks was one of the alleged shooters, his wife found a bullet slug in her backpack, and his stepdaughter was burned by sparks from a ricocheted bullet.

“If we were on the other side of that place, we would too,” he said. “It wouldn’t have affected us.”

Tavis isn’t the only survivor to have found herself unintentionally back at Union Station in the year since the shooting. Kids had field trips to Science City, located inside the station. Follow-up doctor visits were often on nearby Hospital Hill. An October dinner organized for survivors by a local faith-based group was less than a mile away, prompting one young survivor to decline the invitation.

Tavis had planned to return to Union Station as part of her healing process. She thought she would go on the one-year mark to have a moment alone to feel whatever emotions swept over her there.

Maybe God was showing her she was ready by placing her back there unexpectedly, her therapist told her. Maybe. But she didn’t feel ready in that moment.

Tavis wanted to see a therapist right after the shooting. But she didn’t seek one out until July, after the local United Way&nbsp;<a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/kcstrong-fund-gunshot-victims-2-million-dollars/" target="_blank">distributed financial assistance</a>&nbsp;to survivors and relieved the months-long financial strain of lost work and medical bills incurred by many. Tavis and her partner at the time had&nbsp;<a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/super-bowl-parade-shooting-survivors-donations-bills-wait-kansas-city/" target="_blank">taken out</a>&nbsp;an extra credit card to cover expenses while they waited for the promised help.

After two months of visits, her therapist started prepping Tavis for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, a technique to help trauma survivors. She now spends every other session making her way through a spreadsheet of memories from the parade, visualizing and reprocessing them one by one.

She’s nervous as the one-year mark approaches. It’s on Valentine’s Day, and she worries it’ll be depressing.

She decided to invite Gooch, her former partner, to come to Union Station with her that day. Despite everything, he’s the one who understands. They were at the parade together with their son and Jacob’s two older kids. Both Gooch Sr. and his older son, Jacob Gooch Jr., were also shot.

Gooch Sr. hasn’t worked since the parade. His job required standing for 10-hour shifts four days a week, but he couldn’t walk for months after a bullet shattered a bone in his foot and it slowly fused back together. He hoped to go back to work in July. But his foot didn’t heal correctly and he had surgery in August, followed by weeks of recovery.

His short-term disability ran out, as did his health insurance through work. His employer held his job for a while before releasing him in August. He’s applied for other jobs in and around Leavenworth: production, staffing agencies, auto repair. Nothing’s come through.

“We’ve all gone through problems, not just me,” Gooch Sr. said. “I got shot in my foot and haven’t worked for a year. There are people that have been through much worse stuff over the past year.”

He feels good walking now and can run short distances without pain. But he doesn’t know if he’ll ever play football again, a mainstay of his life since he can remember. He played safety for the semiprofessional&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcreapersfootball.com/" target="_blank">Kansas City Reapers</a>&nbsp;and, before the parade, the 38-year-old was considering making the 2024 season his last as a player.

“A lot more than football has been stolen from me in this last year. Like my whole life has been stolen from me,” Gooch Sr. said. “I really hate that part of it.”

And those emotions are painfully real. Trauma threatens our beliefs about ourselves, said Behrman, the therapist. Every person brings their own history to a traumatic event, a different identity that risks being shattered. The healing work that comes later often involves letting go and building something new.

Recently Gooch Sr. started going to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.faithwalkersoutreach.com/" target="_blank">new church</a>, led by the husband of someone he sang with in a children’s choir growing up. At a Sunday service this month, the pastor spoke about finding a path when you’re lost.

“I’m looking for the path. I’m in the grass right now,” Gooch Sr. said at his home later that evening.

“I’m obviously on a path, but I don’t know where I’m headed.”

Every day before Jason Barton goes to work, he asks his wife, Bridget, if he should stay home with her.

She’s said yes enough that he’s out of paid time off. Jason, who’s survived cancer and a heart attack, had to take unpaid leave in January when a bad case of the flu put him in the hospital. That’s real love, Bridget said with tearful eyes, sitting with Jason and her 14-year-old daughter, Gabriella, in their home in Osawatomie, Kansas.

Bridget has connected with the mother of another girl injured in the shooting. They’ve exchanged texts and voicemails throughout the year. It’s nice to have someone to talk to who gets it, Bridget said. They’re hoping to get the girls together to build a connection as well.

Except for a trip to therapy once a week, Bridget doesn’t leave the house much anymore. It can feel like a prison, she said, but she’s too scared to leave. “It’s my own internal hell,” she said. She keeps thinking about that bullet slug that lodged in her backpack. What if she’d been standing differently? What if they’d left 10 seconds earlier? Would things be different?

A Post-it note in her kitchen reminds her: “I’m safe. Gabriella is safe. I did the best I could.”

She carries a lot of guilt. About Jason staying home. About not leaving the house, even to see her grandkids. About wanting the family to go to the parade in the first place. At the same time, she knows she kind of thrived in the chaos after the shooting, taking charge of her daughter, talking to the police. It’s confusing.

The family has carried the trauma differently. In the six months after the parade, Jason watched reality TV shows that kept him out of his head — 23 seasons of “Deadliest Catch” and 21 seasons of “Gold Rush,” including spinoffs, he estimated. Lately he’s kept his mind occupied with a new hobby: building model cars and planes. He just finished a black 1968 Shelby Mustang, and next is an F4U-4 Corsair plane that Bridget got him.

Gabriella was unfazed about returning to Union Station for a class field trip to Science City, but she was startled when she saw a group of police officers inside the station. Her mom watched her location on her phone and texted her all day.

Gabriella took up boxing after the parade, then switched to wrestling. It had been going well, even felt empowering. But she’s stopped going, and Bridget thinks it’s partly due to the emotion of the anniversary — the first is always the hardest, her therapist said. Gabriella insisted that wrestling was just exhausting her.

Because they weren’t shot, the family didn’t benefit from resources available to other survivors. They understand that other families are recovering from bullet wounds or even mourning a death.

Still, it would be nice to have some acknowledgment of their emotional trauma. Their names have been in the news. You’d think the Chiefs would have at least sent a letter saying, “We’re sorry this happened to you,” Jason said.

Jason proposed to Bridget at a Chiefs game. Now watching games on TV triggers flashbacks.

“I want to be a part of Chiefs Kingdom again,” Bridget said, “but I just can’t. And that is a huge, really lonely feeling.”

‘There is a word called “resilience”’

One evening last October, survivors gathered with their families at a Mexican restaurant in downtown Kansas City.

Some came dressed in their Sunday best, some in red football jerseys. All ages, toddlers to 70-somethings, some from Missouri, some from Kansas. Some spoke only Spanish, some only English. Most of the two dozen people had never met before. But as they talked, they discovered the shooting that binds them also gave them a common language.

Two young boys realized they’d tossed a football during the jubilation before the violence erupted. A woman in her early 70s named Sarai Holguin remembered watching them play on that warm February day. After a blessing and dinner, Holguin, who was shot in the knee and has had four surgeries, stood to address the room.

“I was the first victim taken to the medical tent,” she said in Spanish, her words translated by a relative of another survivor. She saw everything, she explained, as, one by one, more survivors were brought to the tent for treatment, including Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a 43-year-old mother who was killed that day.

Yet in that tragedy, Holguin saw the beauty of people helping one another.

“This showed us that humanity is still alive, that love is still alive. There is a word called ‘resilience,’” Holguin said, the translator stumbling to understand the last word, as people in the audience caught it and shouted it out. “Resilience.”

“This word helps us overcome the problems we face,” Holguin said. “To try to put the tragic moment we all lived behind us and move on, we must remember the beautiful moments.”

This&nbsp;<a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/the-injured-kansas-city-chiefs-parade-shooting-survivors-one-year-anniversary-trauma/" target="_blank">article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/" target="_blank">KFF Health News</a>&nbsp;and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

<a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us" target="_blank">KFF Health News</a>&nbsp;is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/about-us" target="_blank">KFF</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1739298705005.png" alt="Emily Tavis in Leavenworth, Kansas, on Feb. 2. Tavis has been rebuilding her sense of safety and stability in the year since she was shot in the leg at last year’s Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl celebration (Christopher Smith for KFF Health News)." />
 <figcaption>Emily Tavis in Leavenworth, Kansas, on Feb. 2. Tavis has been rebuilding her sense of safety and stability in the year since she was shot in the leg at last year’s Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl celebration (Christopher Smith for KFF Health News).</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/bramsablesmith/">BRAM SABLE-SMITH</a>&nbsp;AND&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/peggylowe/">PEGGY LOWE</a>&nbsp;Emily Tavis was on a first date in December when she looked up and realized they were driving past the downtown Kansas City, Missouri, intersection where a bullet ripped through her leg at last year’s Super Bowl victory parade.“Oh f—,” Tavis said, bewildering her date.She lives 35 miles away in Leavenworth, Kansas, and hadn’t yet returned to Union Station, where the mass shooting happened. She felt like crying. Or maybe it was a panic attack. She held up a finger signaling to her date that she needed a moment. That’s when it hit him, too.“Oh crap, I didn’t even realize,” he said, and kept driving in silence.Tavis sucked in her tears until the station was out of view.“So anyway,” she said aloud, while thinking to herself, “way to go. Panic attack, first date.”A year after the Feb. 14 shooting that killed one and injured at least 24 people, the survivors and their families are still reeling. Relationships have strained. Parents are anxious about their children. The generous financial support and well wishes that poured through in early days have now dried up. And they’re ambivalent about the team they all root for; as the Chiefs moved on to another Super Bowl, many wondered why their beloved team hasn’t acknowledged what they have all been going through.“I can’t believe the Chiefs didn’t do anything for us,” said Jacob Gooch Sr., who was shot in the foot. The team, the owner family’s foundation, and the National Football League gave a combined $200,000 to a fund for survivors, but Gooch said no one from the organization reached out to his family, three members of whom were shot.What’s happening to these families is far from unusual. Many survivors emotionally freeze as a coping mechanism to avoid fully feeling the trauma they suffered. But with time, survivors experience what therapists call “thawing,” and the intensity of what happened can suddenly overpower them like it did Tavis.“Trauma pulls us into the past,” said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-behrman-20322b7/" target="_blank">Gary Behrman</a>, a therapist who published a&nbsp;<a href="https://cretscmhd.psych.ucla.edu/nola/volunteer/EmpiricalStudies/Post-trauma%20intervention%20-%20basic%20tasks.pdf" target="_blank">model of crisis intervention</a>&nbsp;based on his work with witnesses of the 9/11 attacks in New York.Sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and touches can all trigger flashbacks that shut down the brain like an overloaded circuit breaker. It’s a survival response, Behrman said; the brain is a friend.The key to recovery is to help survivors find healthy ways to manage those triggers — when they are ready.Survivors thaw at their own pace. Regaining control after a life-threatening event is a process that can take weeks, months, or years.It can be hard not to feel forgotten when life carries on around them. As fans rallied around the Chiefs this season, survivors found it hard to watch the games. The Chiefs lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in Sunday’s Super Bowl. Philadelphia will hold its own parade on Friday, exactly one year after the shooting.“It sucks because everybody else went on,” Jason Barton said. He performed CPR on a man he now thinks was one of the alleged shooters, his wife found a bullet slug in her backpack, and his stepdaughter was burned by sparks from a ricocheted bullet.“If we were on the other side of that place, we would too,” he said. “It wouldn’t have affected us.”<h2>A trip back to Union Station</h2>Tavis isn’t the only survivor to have found herself unintentionally back at Union Station in the year since the shooting. Kids had field trips to Science City, located inside the station. Follow-up doctor visits were often on nearby Hospital Hill. An October dinner organized for survivors by a local faith-based group was less than a mile away, prompting one young survivor to decline the invitation.Tavis had planned to return to Union Station as part of her healing process. She thought she would go on the one-year mark to have a moment alone to feel whatever emotions swept over her there.Maybe God was showing her she was ready by placing her back there unexpectedly, her therapist told her. Maybe. But she didn’t feel ready in that moment.Tavis wanted to see a therapist right after the shooting. But she didn’t seek one out until July, after the local United Way&nbsp;<a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/kcstrong-fund-gunshot-victims-2-million-dollars/" target="_blank">distributed financial assistance</a>&nbsp;to survivors and relieved the months-long financial strain of lost work and medical bills incurred by many. Tavis and her partner at the time had&nbsp;<a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/super-bowl-parade-shooting-survivors-donations-bills-wait-kansas-city/" target="_blank">taken out</a>&nbsp;an extra credit card to cover expenses while they waited for the promised help.After two months of visits, her therapist started prepping Tavis for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, a technique to help trauma survivors. She now spends every other session making her way through a spreadsheet of memories from the parade, visualizing and reprocessing them one by one.She’s nervous as the one-year mark approaches. It’s on Valentine’s Day, and she worries it’ll be depressing.She decided to invite Gooch, her former partner, to come to Union Station with her that day. Despite everything, he’s the one who understands. They were at the parade together with their son and Jacob’s two older kids. Both Gooch Sr. and his older son, Jacob Gooch Jr., were also shot.<h2>Trauma changes who we are</h2>Gooch Sr. hasn’t worked since the parade. His job required standing for 10-hour shifts four days a week, but he couldn’t walk for months after a bullet shattered a bone in his foot and it slowly fused back together. He hoped to go back to work in July. But his foot didn’t heal correctly and he had surgery in August, followed by weeks of recovery.His short-term disability ran out, as did his health insurance through work. His employer held his job for a while before releasing him in August. He’s applied for other jobs in and around Leavenworth: production, staffing agencies, auto repair. Nothing’s come through.“We’ve all gone through problems, not just me,” Gooch Sr. said. “I got shot in my foot and haven’t worked for a year. There are people that have been through much worse stuff over the past year.”He feels good walking now and can run short distances without pain. But he doesn’t know if he’ll ever play football again, a mainstay of his life since he can remember. He played safety for the semiprofessional&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcreapersfootball.com/" target="_blank">Kansas City Reapers</a>&nbsp;and, before the parade, the 38-year-old was considering making the 2024 season his last as a player.“A lot more than football has been stolen from me in this last year. Like my whole life has been stolen from me,” Gooch Sr. said. “I really hate that part of it.”And those emotions are painfully real. Trauma threatens our beliefs about ourselves, said Behrman, the therapist. Every person brings their own history to a traumatic event, a different identity that risks being shattered. The healing work that comes later often involves letting go and building something new.Recently Gooch Sr. started going to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.faithwalkersoutreach.com/" target="_blank">new church</a>, led by the husband of someone he sang with in a children’s choir growing up. At a Sunday service this month, the pastor spoke about finding a path when you’re lost.“I’m looking for the path. I’m in the grass right now,” Gooch Sr. said at his home later that evening.“I’m obviously on a path, but I don’t know where I’m headed.”<h2>‘I did the best I could’</h2>Every day before Jason Barton goes to work, he asks his wife, Bridget, if he should stay home with her.She’s said yes enough that he’s out of paid time off. Jason, who’s survived cancer and a heart attack, had to take unpaid leave in January when a bad case of the flu put him in the hospital. That’s real love, Bridget said with tearful eyes, sitting with Jason and her 14-year-old daughter, Gabriella, in their home in Osawatomie, Kansas.Bridget has connected with the mother of another girl injured in the shooting. They’ve exchanged texts and voicemails throughout the year. It’s nice to have someone to talk to who gets it, Bridget said. They’re hoping to get the girls together to build a connection as well.Except for a trip to therapy once a week, Bridget doesn’t leave the house much anymore. It can feel like a prison, she said, but she’s too scared to leave. “It’s my own internal hell,” she said. She keeps thinking about that bullet slug that lodged in her backpack. What if she’d been standing differently? What if they’d left 10 seconds earlier? Would things be different?A Post-it note in her kitchen reminds her: “I’m safe. Gabriella is safe. I did the best I could.”She carries a lot of guilt. About Jason staying home. About not leaving the house, even to see her grandkids. About wanting the family to go to the parade in the first place. At the same time, she knows she kind of thrived in the chaos after the shooting, taking charge of her daughter, talking to the police. It’s confusing.The family has carried the trauma differently. In the six months after the parade, Jason watched reality TV shows that kept him out of his head — 23 seasons of “Deadliest Catch” and 21 seasons of “Gold Rush,” including spinoffs, he estimated. Lately he’s kept his mind occupied with a new hobby: building model cars and planes. He just finished a black 1968 Shelby Mustang, and next is an F4U-4 Corsair plane that Bridget got him.Gabriella was unfazed about returning to Union Station for a class field trip to Science City, but she was startled when she saw a group of police officers inside the station. Her mom watched her location on her phone and texted her all day.Gabriella took up boxing after the parade, then switched to wrestling. It had been going well, even felt empowering. But she’s stopped going, and Bridget thinks it’s partly due to the emotion of the anniversary — the first is always the hardest, her therapist said. Gabriella insisted that wrestling was just exhausting her.Because they weren’t shot, the family didn’t benefit from resources available to other survivors. They understand that other families are recovering from bullet wounds or even mourning a death.Still, it would be nice to have some acknowledgment of their emotional trauma. Their names have been in the news. You’d think the Chiefs would have at least sent a letter saying, “We’re sorry this happened to you,” Jason said.Jason proposed to Bridget at a Chiefs game. Now watching games on TV triggers flashbacks.“I want to be a part of Chiefs Kingdom again,” Bridget said, “but I just can’t. And that is a huge, really lonely feeling.”<h2>‘There is a word called “resilience”’</h2>One evening last October, survivors gathered with their families at a Mexican restaurant in downtown Kansas City.Some came dressed in their Sunday best, some in red football jerseys. All ages, toddlers to 70-somethings, some from Missouri, some from Kansas. Some spoke only Spanish, some only English. Most of the two dozen people had never met before. But as they talked, they discovered the shooting that binds them also gave them a common language.Two young boys realized they’d tossed a football during the jubilation before the violence erupted. A woman in her early 70s named Sarai Holguin remembered watching them play on that warm February day. After a blessing and dinner, Holguin, who was shot in the knee and has had four surgeries, stood to address the room.“I was the first victim taken to the medical tent,” she said in Spanish, her words translated by a relative of another survivor. She saw everything, she explained, as, one by one, more survivors were brought to the tent for treatment, including Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a 43-year-old mother who was killed that day.Yet in that tragedy, Holguin saw the beauty of people helping one another.“This showed us that humanity is still alive, that love is still alive. There is a word called ‘resilience,’” Holguin said, the translator stumbling to understand the last word, as people in the audience caught it and shouted it out. “Resilience.”“This word helps us overcome the problems we face,” Holguin said. “To try to put the tragic moment we all lived behind us and move on, we must remember the beautiful moments.”This&nbsp;<a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/the-injured-kansas-city-chiefs-parade-shooting-survivors-one-year-anniversary-trauma/" target="_blank">article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/" target="_blank">KFF Health News</a>&nbsp;and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us" target="_blank">KFF Health News</a>&nbsp;is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/about-us" target="_blank">KFF</a>.

A year after KC Super Bowl parade shooting, trauma freeze gives way to turmoil for survivors

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Cooper DeJean, Josh Sweat and the Philadelphia Eagles’ ferocious defense denied Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs a Super Bowl three-peat.

<a href="https://x.com/NFL/status/1888750819786256472">DeJean got a pick-6</a>&nbsp;on his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/super-bowl-birthday-cooper-dejean-barkley-697c91e35802293f29cf0aed95e15436">22nd birthday</a>, Sweat tormented Mahomes and the Eagles routed the Chiefs 40-22 on Sunday to secure the franchise’s second Super Bowl championship.

Jalen Hurts threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score on a tush push, and Vic Fangio's defense was so dominant that the Eagles didn't need much from Saquon Barkley.

The game-changing running back finished with 57 yards,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/super-bowl-eagles-barkley-5e28abc26e50169e124fa99c2ef4058e">breaking Terrell Davis’ record</a>&nbsp;for yards rushing in a season, playoffs included. Hurts threw for 221 yards.

With Donald Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-nfl-super-bowl-first-president-766c628f4ea3faf38d100e4f33f2ac8c">becoming the first president in office to attend a Super Bowl</a>, the Eagles outplayed Kansas City in every facet, delighting a raucous pro-Philly crowd that celebrated each score with a familiar rendition of “Fly! Eagles! Fly!”

Even&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/super-bowl-taylor-swift-travis-kelce-35c7b3b896c226566e4afa0baa7b69c5">Taylor Swift’s presence</a>&nbsp;couldn’t help the Chiefs. They lost for the first time in 10 games this season with the pop superstar in a suite watching boyfriend Travis Kelce, who didn’t catch a pass until late in the third quarter.

Not in Kansas City’s worst nightmares could its fans have imagined such a lackluster performance. The Chiefs had won three of the previous five Super Bowls, losing 31-9 to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers four years ago.

Mahomes was 8-0 against Fangio’s defenses before the longtime coordinator and former Broncos head coach outcoached Andy Reid, capping his first season with his hometown team. Reid fell to 3-3 in Super Bowls, including a loss with the Eagles.

The Eagles sacked Mahomes six times, the most of his career, including 2 1/2 by Sweat. And they did it without Fangio calling a single blitz.

Barkley, the 2024 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year, only had 31 yards rushing in the first half when Philly built a 24-0 lead.

The Chiefs were aiming to become the third team in NFL history to win three straight championships and the first to three-peat in the Super Bowl era.

Hurts nearly led the Eagles to victory against the Chiefs two years ago in Arizona, but Mahomes led a comeback and Harrison Butker kicked the game-winning field goal in the final minute for a 38-35 victory. Mahomes rallied Kansas City to an overtime victory over San Francisco last year for the Chiefs' second straight title.

This time, a revamped Philly defense featuring eight new starters from the 2022 team made sure Mahomes had no chance to pull off his magic.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/eagles-analysis-sirianni-sideline-antics-125b677b3a4d8cca37d89ead27b5fe1e">who mocked fans chanting “Fire Nick!”</a>&nbsp;during a victory over Cleveland in October and was called a “clown” on national television, should finally silence critics by adding a championship ring to a resume that includes the fifth-best winning percentage in league history.

Sirianni was showered with Gatorade with nearly three minutes left in the game while backup QB Kenny Pickett took snaps in mop-up duty.

Barkley helped push Hurts into the end zone from the 1 to give Philadelphia a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

Up 10-0 after Jake Elliott’s 48-yard field goal, Sweat and Jalyx Hunt sacked Mahomes on consecutive plays. Mahomes then rolled out and made an errant throw that was picked by DeJean, who returned it 38 yards for a 17-0 lead.

It was Mahomes’ first pick-6 in 21 career playoff games and ended a streak of 297 straight passes without an interception.

All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun picked Mahomes again late in the second quarter, and Hurts connected with A.J. Brown on a 12-yard TD pass for a 24-0 lead.

<a href="https://x.com/NFL/status/1888774848114983241">Hurts threw a perfect 46-yard TD pass to DeVonta Smith</a>&nbsp;to make it 34-0 late in the third.

Mahomes fired a 24-yard TD pass to Xavier Worthy to avoid the shutout, but the 2-point conversion failed. He threw two late, mostly meaningless TD passes, one to DeAndre Hopkins and another to Worthy.

After two weeks of discussions about questionable calls that led to public perception that officials favor the Chiefs — a theory NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell called “ridiculous” — the first penalty of the game only fueled critics.

A 32-yard pass from Hurts to Brown to the Chiefs 18 on fourth-and-2 was negated by a penalty for offensive pass interference. Brady, now a Fox analyst, and officiating analyst Mike Pereira both disagreed with the call, although Brown shoved Trent McDuffie’s facemask.

On the next possession, the Eagles benefited from an unnecessary roughness penalty on McDuffie against Dallas Goedert following an incomplete pass on third-and-5.

Hurts then connected with Jahan Dotson on a 27-yard pass to the 1 and scored on the next play.

Hurts’ streak of 217 passes without a pick ended in the first half when he was intercepted deep in Kansas City territory, but the Chiefs didn’t capitalize.

The Green Bay Packers are the only NFL team to win three championships in a row, doing it from 1929-31 and 1965-67.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1739157518917.png" alt="Photo Philadelphia Eagles" />
 <figcaption>Photo Philadelphia Eagles</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Cooper DeJean, Josh Sweat and the Philadelphia Eagles’ ferocious defense denied Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs a Super Bowl three-peat.It wasn’t even close.<a href="https://x.com/NFL/status/1888750819786256472">DeJean got a pick-6</a>&nbsp;on his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/super-bowl-birthday-cooper-dejean-barkley-697c91e35802293f29cf0aed95e15436">22nd birthday</a>, Sweat tormented Mahomes and the Eagles routed the Chiefs 40-22 on Sunday to secure the franchise’s second Super Bowl championship.Jalen Hurts threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score on a tush push, and Vic Fangio's defense was so dominant that the Eagles didn't need much from Saquon Barkley.The game-changing running back finished with 57 yards,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/super-bowl-eagles-barkley-5e28abc26e50169e124fa99c2ef4058e">breaking Terrell Davis’ record</a>&nbsp;for yards rushing in a season, playoffs included. Hurts threw for 221 yards.With Donald Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-nfl-super-bowl-first-president-766c628f4ea3faf38d100e4f33f2ac8c">becoming the first president in office to attend a Super Bowl</a>, the Eagles outplayed Kansas City in every facet, delighting a raucous pro-Philly crowd that celebrated each score with a familiar rendition of “Fly! Eagles! Fly!”Even&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/super-bowl-taylor-swift-travis-kelce-35c7b3b896c226566e4afa0baa7b69c5">Taylor Swift’s presence</a>&nbsp;couldn’t help the Chiefs. They lost for the first time in 10 games this season with the pop superstar in a suite watching boyfriend Travis Kelce, who didn’t catch a pass until late in the third quarter.Not in Kansas City’s worst nightmares could its fans have imagined such a lackluster performance. The Chiefs had won three of the previous five Super Bowls, losing 31-9 to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers four years ago.Mahomes was 8-0 against Fangio’s defenses before the longtime coordinator and former Broncos head coach outcoached Andy Reid, capping his first season with his hometown team. Reid fell to 3-3 in Super Bowls, including a loss with the Eagles.The Eagles sacked Mahomes six times, the most of his career, including 2 1/2 by Sweat. And they did it without Fangio calling a single blitz.Barkley, the 2024 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year, only had 31 yards rushing in the first half when Philly built a 24-0 lead.The Chiefs were aiming to become the third team in NFL history to win three straight championships and the first to three-peat in the Super Bowl era.Hurts nearly led the Eagles to victory against the Chiefs two years ago in Arizona, but Mahomes led a comeback and Harrison Butker kicked the game-winning field goal in the final minute for a 38-35 victory. Mahomes rallied Kansas City to an overtime victory over San Francisco last year for the Chiefs' second straight title.This time, a revamped Philly defense featuring eight new starters from the 2022 team made sure Mahomes had no chance to pull off his magic.Eagles coach Nick Sirianni,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/eagles-analysis-sirianni-sideline-antics-125b677b3a4d8cca37d89ead27b5fe1e">who mocked fans chanting “Fire Nick!”</a>&nbsp;during a victory over Cleveland in October and was called a “clown” on national television, should finally silence critics by adding a championship ring to a resume that includes the fifth-best winning percentage in league history.Sirianni was showered with Gatorade with nearly three minutes left in the game while backup QB Kenny Pickett took snaps in mop-up duty.Barkley helped push Hurts into the end zone from the 1 to give Philadelphia a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.Up 10-0 after Jake Elliott’s 48-yard field goal, Sweat and Jalyx Hunt sacked Mahomes on consecutive plays. Mahomes then rolled out and made an errant throw that was picked by DeJean, who returned it 38 yards for a 17-0 lead.It was Mahomes’ first pick-6 in 21 career playoff games and ended a streak of 297 straight passes without an interception.All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun picked Mahomes again late in the second quarter, and Hurts connected with A.J. Brown on a 12-yard TD pass for a 24-0 lead.<a href="https://x.com/NFL/status/1888774848114983241">Hurts threw a perfect 46-yard TD pass to DeVonta Smith</a>&nbsp;to make it 34-0 late in the third.Mahomes fired a 24-yard TD pass to Xavier Worthy to avoid the shutout, but the 2-point conversion failed. He threw two late, mostly meaningless TD passes, one to DeAndre Hopkins and another to Worthy.After two weeks of discussions about questionable calls that led to public perception that officials favor the Chiefs — a theory NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell called “ridiculous” — the first penalty of the game only fueled critics.A 32-yard pass from Hurts to Brown to the Chiefs 18 on fourth-and-2 was negated by a penalty for offensive pass interference. Brady, now a Fox analyst, and officiating analyst Mike Pereira both disagreed with the call, although Brown shoved Trent McDuffie’s facemask.On the next possession, the Eagles benefited from an unnecessary roughness penalty on McDuffie against Dallas Goedert following an incomplete pass on third-and-5.Hurts then connected with Jahan Dotson on a 27-yard pass to the 1 and scored on the next play.Hurts’ streak of 217 passes without a pick ended in the first half when he was intercepted deep in Kansas City territory, but the Chiefs didn’t capitalize.The Green Bay Packers are the only NFL team to win three championships in a row, doing it from 1929-31 and 1965-67.

🏈 Eagles spoil Chiefs' three-peat bid, win the Super Bowl 

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/akaminski/">ANNA KAMINSKI</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly announced Thursday her seventh attempt to expand Medicaid, which has continuously faced staunch opposition from Republican leadership.

The Healthcare Access for Working Kansans, or HAWK, Act, would expand the option of Medicaid coverage to roughly 150,000 Kansans. Kelly has proposed expansion every year she has been in office touting its benefits for rural hospitals, health care workers and the state economy.

“In fact, by waiting to expand Medicaid, we have wasted over $280 million and left $7.6 billion on the table in Washington, D.C.,” Kelly said. “I encourage the Legislature to advance Medicaid expansion this session so we can bring Kansas taxpayer dollars back home to support our health care system.”

During the 2024 legislative session, Republican leadership allowed hearings on a Medicaid expansion bill for the first time in four years after pressure from Kelly and advocates.&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/10/28/survey-reveals-potential-tapering-of-kansas-gap-between-gop-democratic-presidential-candidates/">In October</a>, an annual statewide&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fhsu.edu/docking/Kansas-Speaks/2024-kansas-speaks-report-finalv3-corrections-10.28.24-execsum-final-bullet-and-10.31.24-appendix-c-crosstabs-table-17-title.pdf" target="_blank">survey from Fort Hays State University</a>&nbsp;found that more than 70% of respondents support expansion.

Rep. Barbara Ballard, D-Lawrence, and Sen. Pat Pettey, D-Kansas City, Kansas, introduced the bills in the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Ways and Means Committee.&nbsp;

The governor claims Medicaid expansion would create 23,000 new jobs and add $1.2 billion in funding to the Kansas economy while reducing health care costs and safeguarding struggling rural hospitals. About 62 rural hospitals in Kansas are&nbsp;<a href="https://ruralhospitals.chqpr.org/downloads/Rural_Hospitals_at_Risk_of_Closing.pdf" target="_blank">at risk of closing</a>.

Kansas is one of nine states in the U.S. that have declined to expand Medicaid after the option to do so became available in 2010 under the Affordable Care Act. Expansion extends eligibility to people who earn up to 138% of the federal poverty level. Without expansion, an estimated 39,000 adults in Kansas are caught in a coverage&nbsp;<a href="https://files.kff.org/attachment/fact-sheet-medicaid-state-KS" target="_blank">gap</a>, making too much to be eligible for Medicaid but too little to enroll in private health insurance.&nbsp;

“Studies show 63% of our state’s rural hospitals are at risk of closing,” said David Jordan, president and CEO of the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, a Hutchinson-based nonprofit focused on rural health care.

“A sustainable health system is crucial to the future of rural Kansas communities, who rely on their local hospitals to receive timely and necessary care,” Jordan said.

Medicaid, in covering those who wouldn’t otherwise have health insurance, is the backbone of that system, Jordan said.&nbsp;

“Our hospitals already face high levels of uncompensated care, and they rely on Medicaid reimbursements to help keep their doors open — especially in our rural communities,” he said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1736987706731.png" alt="Kansas Governor Laura Kelly during the State of the State address last month" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Governor Laura Kelly during the State of the State address last month</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/akaminski/">ANNA KAMINSKI</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly announced Thursday her seventh attempt to expand Medicaid, which has continuously faced staunch opposition from Republican leadership.The Healthcare Access for Working Kansans, or HAWK, Act, would expand the option of Medicaid coverage to roughly 150,000 Kansans. Kelly has proposed expansion every year she has been in office touting its benefits for rural hospitals, health care workers and the state economy.“In fact, by waiting to expand Medicaid, we have wasted over $280 million and left $7.6 billion on the table in Washington, D.C.,” Kelly said. “I encourage the Legislature to advance Medicaid expansion this session so we can bring Kansas taxpayer dollars back home to support our health care system.”During the 2024 legislative session, Republican leadership allowed hearings on a Medicaid expansion bill for the first time in four years after pressure from Kelly and advocates.&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/10/28/survey-reveals-potential-tapering-of-kansas-gap-between-gop-democratic-presidential-candidates/">In October</a>, an annual statewide&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fhsu.edu/docking/Kansas-Speaks/2024-kansas-speaks-report-finalv3-corrections-10.28.24-execsum-final-bullet-and-10.31.24-appendix-c-crosstabs-table-17-title.pdf" target="_blank">survey from Fort Hays State University</a>&nbsp;found that more than 70% of respondents support expansion.Rep. Barbara Ballard, D-Lawrence, and Sen. Pat Pettey, D-Kansas City, Kansas, introduced the bills in the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Ways and Means Committee.&nbsp;The governor claims Medicaid expansion would create 23,000 new jobs and add $1.2 billion in funding to the Kansas economy while reducing health care costs and safeguarding struggling rural hospitals. About 62 rural hospitals in Kansas are&nbsp;<a href="https://ruralhospitals.chqpr.org/downloads/Rural_Hospitals_at_Risk_of_Closing.pdf" target="_blank">at risk of closing</a>.Kansas is one of nine states in the U.S. that have declined to expand Medicaid after the option to do so became available in 2010 under the Affordable Care Act. Expansion extends eligibility to people who earn up to 138% of the federal poverty level. Without expansion, an estimated 39,000 adults in Kansas are caught in a coverage&nbsp;<a href="https://files.kff.org/attachment/fact-sheet-medicaid-state-KS" target="_blank">gap</a>, making too much to be eligible for Medicaid but too little to enroll in private health insurance.&nbsp;“Studies show 63% of our state’s rural hospitals are at risk of closing,” said David Jordan, president and CEO of the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, a Hutchinson-based nonprofit focused on rural health care.“A sustainable health system is crucial to the future of rural Kansas communities, who rely on their local hospitals to receive timely and necessary care,” Jordan said.Medicaid, in covering those who wouldn’t otherwise have health insurance, is the backbone of that system, Jordan said.&nbsp;“Our hospitals already face high levels of uncompensated care, and they rely on Medicaid reimbursements to help keep their doors open — especially in our rural communities,” he said.

Kansas governor takes another swing at joining 41 states that have expanded Medicaid

By JULIE DEBES Kansas Wheat

MANHATTAN — Winter is a “watch and see” season for Kansas wheat producers as their fall-planted stands wait in dormancy. Thanks to a combination of good stand establishment and moisture events, the coffee shop chatter remains optimistic thus far that this harvest will be better than the last, even as recent freezing temperatures threatened the crop with winterkill damage.&nbsp;

Richard Cott, who farms in north central Kansas, shared during the recent Kansas Wheat board meetings, that there is lots of hope, thanks to good stands established in the fall and more than a foot of snow that lay evenly on fields.&nbsp;

Still, it’s no secret to anyone who wandered outside, it got cold in Kansas from January 18 through January 21, with temperatures dropping as low as -15 degrees Fahrenheit. According to an eUpdate from K-State Agronomy issued on January 23, air temperatures were low enough to cause leaf burn but soil temperatures at two inches down never dropped below 20 degrees Fahrenheit.&nbsp;

The crop was further protected from snow cover following winter storms on January 6. According to the eUpdate, just two to three inches of snow should be sufficient to insulate the wheat crop from the coldest temperatures.&nbsp;

John Hildebrand, near Stafford, reported receiving nearly a foot of snow that stuck around for days and had rain come on top. Stands look good in his area in central Kansas.&nbsp;

But even the crops left without a blanket of snow still had good stand establishment from moisture this fall, especially for fields planted early. In fact, some of these early-planted fields were considered “too big” going into dormancy. Armed with a large number of tillers and good root development, the crop was and is set up to withstand a Kansas winter.&nbsp;

Jason Ochs from Syracuse and Mike McClellan from Rooks County both shared that their early planted wheat, planted as early as September 15, might fall into that “too big” for winter category, but the stands are up across the board and look loads better than the past couple of years.&nbsp;

According to the eUpdate, “A well-developed crop with three to five tillers can handle air temperatures in the single digits fairly well. Over 60 percent of the Kansas wheat crop emerged by mid-October and likely falls in this category. However, soil temperatures in the single digits can cause significant damage and winterkill, especially to less developed crops, such as the fields that emerged after November (about 25 percent of the Kansas crop), which will be more sensitive to winterkill with higher temperature thresholds for damage.”

Late-planted fields without snow cover are the most susceptible to winterkill damage, and there are parts of the state that will need more moisture than anything else as the crop emerges from dormancy. 

Kyler Millershaski, who farms near Lakin in southwest Kansas, reported he had to redrill some wheat, but it doesn’t look “too terribly bad.” While the top layer of soil is still dry and rain totals are still counted in hundredths, the crop still looks better than the past couple of years.

In the monthly winter crop progress and condition report, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service reported winter wheat conditions with slight improvements from the month prior at 50 percent good to excellent, 36 percent fair and 14 percent poor to very poor, as of the week ending February 2.&nbsp;

The true impact of the combined winter weather will not be seen until the crop comes out of dormancy, which K-State estimates will be in another 50 to 60 days. Until then, producers will continue to monitor fields and count the drops or flakes that fall into the rain gauge.&nbsp;

Learn more about the potential for winterkill to the Kansas wheat crop and track the crop as it emerges at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://sfdzp7cab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001va2roFR0ZiTa6IWIBNcKzTMbnr5lUhu6tPVm-Ja5jkeul7Mdn7hOT_BmecZLtMEHS9nb1ogmyPTB0S15Gw1_4dH8VA0iZX9f9fYd7kHTGibbYv0IXPUDYAICKAPDyzAFJHFK0fE9bk2VMdMNAHv8CDJE3RlyyF7E&amp;c=DmI5Q1nqEzJ9BVQkh02l_PL0EM3PluxumLVyIeWO6GCSIuvB45Cotg==&amp;ch=OU9azYjna8Yt5bVNMB6ZlaYKUbNgXUBwe_GTEdM41i-wjZ1aSt6_kg==">https://eupdate.agronomy.ksu.edu/</a>.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1738923858425.png" alt="Kansas Wheat" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Wheat</figcaption>
 </figure>By JULIE DEBES Kansas WheatMANHATTAN — Winter is a “watch and see” season for Kansas wheat producers as their fall-planted stands wait in dormancy. Thanks to a combination of good stand establishment and moisture events, the coffee shop chatter remains optimistic thus far that this harvest will be better than the last, even as recent freezing temperatures threatened the crop with winterkill damage.&nbsp;Richard Cott, who farms in north central Kansas, shared during the recent Kansas Wheat board meetings, that there is lots of hope, thanks to good stands established in the fall and more than a foot of snow that lay evenly on fields.&nbsp;Still, it’s no secret to anyone who wandered outside, it got cold in Kansas from January 18 through January 21, with temperatures dropping as low as -15 degrees Fahrenheit. According to an eUpdate from K-State Agronomy issued on January 23, air temperatures were low enough to cause leaf burn but soil temperatures at two inches down never dropped below 20 degrees Fahrenheit.&nbsp;The crop was further protected from snow cover following winter storms on January 6. According to the eUpdate, just two to three inches of snow should be sufficient to insulate the wheat crop from the coldest temperatures.&nbsp;John Hildebrand, near Stafford, reported receiving nearly a foot of snow that stuck around for days and had rain come on top. Stands look good in his area in central Kansas.&nbsp;But even the crops left without a blanket of snow still had good stand establishment from moisture this fall, especially for fields planted early. In fact, some of these early-planted fields were considered “too big” going into dormancy. Armed with a large number of tillers and good root development, the crop was and is set up to withstand a Kansas winter.&nbsp;Jason Ochs from Syracuse and Mike McClellan from Rooks County both shared that their early planted wheat, planted as early as September 15, might fall into that “too big” for winter category, but the stands are up across the board and look loads better than the past couple of years.&nbsp;According to the eUpdate, “A well-developed crop with three to five tillers can handle air temperatures in the single digits fairly well. Over 60 percent of the Kansas wheat crop emerged by mid-October and likely falls in this category. However, soil temperatures in the single digits can cause significant damage and winterkill, especially to less developed crops, such as the fields that emerged after November (about 25 percent of the Kansas crop), which will be more sensitive to winterkill with higher temperature thresholds for damage.”Late-planted fields without snow cover are the most susceptible to winterkill damage, and there are parts of the state that will need more moisture than anything else as the crop emerges from dormancy. Kyler Millershaski, who farms near Lakin in southwest Kansas, reported he had to redrill some wheat, but it doesn’t look “too terribly bad.” While the top layer of soil is still dry and rain totals are still counted in hundredths, the crop still looks better than the past couple of years.In the monthly winter crop progress and condition report, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service reported winter wheat conditions with slight improvements from the month prior at 50 percent good to excellent, 36 percent fair and 14 percent poor to very poor, as of the week ending February 2.&nbsp;The true impact of the combined winter weather will not be seen until the crop comes out of dormancy, which K-State estimates will be in another 50 to 60 days. Until then, producers will continue to monitor fields and count the drops or flakes that fall into the rain gauge.&nbsp;Learn more about the potential for winterkill to the Kansas wheat crop and track the crop as it emerges at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://sfdzp7cab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001va2roFR0ZiTa6IWIBNcKzTMbnr5lUhu6tPVm-Ja5jkeul7Mdn7hOT_BmecZLtMEHS9nb1ogmyPTB0S15Gw1_4dH8VA0iZX9f9fYd7kHTGibbYv0IXPUDYAICKAPDyzAFJHFK0fE9bk2VMdMNAHv8CDJE3RlyyF7E&amp;c=DmI5Q1nqEzJ9BVQkh02l_PL0EM3PluxumLVyIeWO6GCSIuvB45Cotg==&amp;ch=OU9azYjna8Yt5bVNMB6ZlaYKUbNgXUBwe_GTEdM41i-wjZ1aSt6_kg==">https://eupdate.agronomy.ksu.edu/</a>.&nbsp;

January's freezing temps affect Kansas wheat

In 2023, a politically-connected trade group donated $24,000 to a nonprofit that paid for the mayor, an aide and security personnel to travel to Phoenix for the game

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/allison-kite/">ALLISON KITE</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/09/21/missouri-judge-once-again-delays-decision-on-closing-agape-boarding-school/">Missouri Independent</a>

The Chiefs will make their third consecutive Super Bowl appearance on Sunday, and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas will be in New Orleans to cheer them on.&nbsp;

Exactly who is funding the organization picking up the tab for this year’s trip, however, is not clear.&nbsp;

Two years ago, the mayor attended the Super Bowl in Phoenix with a top aide and security personnel. A nonprofit called the Mayors Corps of Progress for a Greater Kansas City footed the $23,518 bill for the trip. A day after the game, the organization took in a $24,000 donation from a politically connected trade group.

Lucas told reporters Thursday that the Mayors Corps would once again finance his trip, but he referred questions about the organization’s donors to its board of directors or attorneys.&nbsp;

“We’ve worked with lawyers, advisors and others to make sure that everything is on the up and up in connection with it,” Lucas said, adding that he would have official meetings with individuals in business and government during the trip.&nbsp;

While Lucas has been open that the nonprofit paid for his travel, the $24,000 donation — given by the Heavy Constructors Association — was&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/12/05/kansas-city-mayor-accused-of-skirting-city-gift-ban-by-using-nonprofit-to-pay-for-travel/">first revealed in December by The Independent</a>. Critics contend the arrangement could violate the city’s gift rules, which require elected officials to disclose any gifts they receive worth more than $200 and bans gifts worth more than $1,000.

As a 501c4 nonprofit, the Mayors Corps is not legally required to disclose its donors.&nbsp;

The donation only became public when a whistleblower who did compliance for the mayor’s nonprofit provided documents to The Independent showing the transaction.&nbsp;

Lucas has also not disclosed how the Mayors Corps paid for his trip to last year’s Super Bowl in Las Vegas. A law firm representing the nonprofit did not return requests for comment on Thursday.&nbsp;

According to the organization’s bylaws, the Mayors Corps was created “to hold, attract, develop and encourage the economic development of the Kansas City community and to further the common good and general welfare of the citizens of Kansas City.”

The bylaws say: “The corporation shall not be used for either business or political purposes or for the pecuniary gain or profit of its organizers, board of directors, officers, members or any other person.”

Documents obtained by The Independent late last year show that, over the course of Lucas’ first term in office, the Mayors Corps spent more than $35,000 on&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/tag/kansas-city-chiefs/">Kansas City Chiefs</a>&nbsp;tickets, hotel stays, flights and dinners for Lucas and staff.&nbsp;

The 2023 Super Bowl trip accounted for the bulk of that spending.&nbsp;

In an interview with The Independent last year, Lucas defended the spending, saying the Mayors Corps allows him to promote the city at conferences and sporting events and on international trips.

“I see nothing inconsistent with that, and it’s really not even my opinion,” Lucas said. “It’s the opinion of our counsel.”

Jon Berkon, an attorney for Mayors Corps, said in an email to The Independent in December that Lucas’ office’s use of the nonprofit helped attract film industry investments to Kansas City and contributed to Kansas City becoming a host for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The organization, Berkon said, helped Lucas be able to serve in national organizations and build relationships with members of Congress and governors.&nbsp;

Lucas also told The Independent in December that the Mayor’s Corps has a board of directors that can review expenses to ensure they are legitimate. He referred a question about the organization’s recent donors to the board on Thursday.&nbsp;

Lucas was on the board in 2020, shortly after taking office, according to meeting minutes provided to The Independent. Filings with the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office show that the Mayors Corps was administratively dissolved from October 2022 April 2023, meaning it could not carry on any business at the time it paid for his February 2023 Super Bowl trip.&nbsp;

When the Mayors Corps&nbsp; was reconstituted in April 2023, the three-member board included the mayor, the aide who went to the Super Bowl with him and an attorney who told The Independent he was not sure he was ever an officer.&nbsp;

The most recent registration report for the nonprofit —&nbsp;from June 2023 —&nbsp;still names the three as board members, but the mayor’s general counsel said in a letter to The Independent in December that the mayor and staffer relinquished their roles as voting members of the board in October 2023.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1738948069595.png" alt="Mayor Quinton Lucas&nbsp; photo from his social. media page at KCI as the Chiefs boarded their flight to the Super Bowl" />
 <figcaption>Mayor Quinton Lucas&nbsp; photo from his social. media page at KCI as the Chiefs boarded their flight to the Super Bowl</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>In 2023, a politically-connected trade group donated $24,000 to a nonprofit that paid for the mayor, an aide and security personnel to travel to Phoenix for the game</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/allison-kite/">ALLISON KITE</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/09/21/missouri-judge-once-again-delays-decision-on-closing-agape-boarding-school/">Missouri Independent</a>The Chiefs will make their third consecutive Super Bowl appearance on Sunday, and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas will be in New Orleans to cheer them on.&nbsp;Exactly who is funding the organization picking up the tab for this year’s trip, however, is not clear.&nbsp;Two years ago, the mayor attended the Super Bowl in Phoenix with a top aide and security personnel. A nonprofit called the Mayors Corps of Progress for a Greater Kansas City footed the $23,518 bill for the trip. A day after the game, the organization took in a $24,000 donation from a politically connected trade group.Lucas told reporters Thursday that the Mayors Corps would once again finance his trip, but he referred questions about the organization’s donors to its board of directors or attorneys.&nbsp;“We’ve worked with lawyers, advisors and others to make sure that everything is on the up and up in connection with it,” Lucas said, adding that he would have official meetings with individuals in business and government during the trip.&nbsp;While Lucas has been open that the nonprofit paid for his travel, the $24,000 donation — given by the Heavy Constructors Association — was&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/12/05/kansas-city-mayor-accused-of-skirting-city-gift-ban-by-using-nonprofit-to-pay-for-travel/">first revealed in December by The Independent</a>. Critics contend the arrangement could violate the city’s gift rules, which require elected officials to disclose any gifts they receive worth more than $200 and bans gifts worth more than $1,000.As a 501c4 nonprofit, the Mayors Corps is not legally required to disclose its donors.&nbsp;The donation only became public when a whistleblower who did compliance for the mayor’s nonprofit provided documents to The Independent showing the transaction.&nbsp;Lucas has also not disclosed how the Mayors Corps paid for his trip to last year’s Super Bowl in Las Vegas. A law firm representing the nonprofit did not return requests for comment on Thursday.&nbsp;According to the organization’s bylaws, the Mayors Corps was created “to hold, attract, develop and encourage the economic development of the Kansas City community and to further the common good and general welfare of the citizens of Kansas City.”The bylaws say: “The corporation shall not be used for either business or political purposes or for the pecuniary gain or profit of its organizers, board of directors, officers, members or any other person.”Documents obtained by The Independent late last year show that, over the course of Lucas’ first term in office, the Mayors Corps spent more than $35,000 on&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/tag/kansas-city-chiefs/">Kansas City Chiefs</a>&nbsp;tickets, hotel stays, flights and dinners for Lucas and staff.&nbsp;The 2023 Super Bowl trip accounted for the bulk of that spending.&nbsp;In an interview with The Independent last year, Lucas defended the spending, saying the Mayors Corps allows him to promote the city at conferences and sporting events and on international trips.“I see nothing inconsistent with that, and it’s really not even my opinion,” Lucas said. “It’s the opinion of our counsel.”Jon Berkon, an attorney for Mayors Corps, said in an email to The Independent in December that Lucas’ office’s use of the nonprofit helped attract film industry investments to Kansas City and contributed to Kansas City becoming a host for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The organization, Berkon said, helped Lucas be able to serve in national organizations and build relationships with members of Congress and governors.&nbsp;Lucas also told The Independent in December that the Mayor’s Corps has a board of directors that can review expenses to ensure they are legitimate. He referred a question about the organization’s recent donors to the board on Thursday.&nbsp;Lucas was on the board in 2020, shortly after taking office, according to meeting minutes provided to The Independent. Filings with the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office show that the Mayors Corps was administratively dissolved from October 2022 April 2023, meaning it could not carry on any business at the time it paid for his February 2023 Super Bowl trip.&nbsp;When the Mayors Corps&nbsp; was reconstituted in April 2023, the three-member board included the mayor, the aide who went to the Super Bowl with him and an attorney who told The Independent he was not sure he was ever an officer.&nbsp;The most recent registration report for the nonprofit —&nbsp;from June 2023 —&nbsp;still names the three as board members, but the mayor’s general counsel said in a letter to The Independent in December that the mayor and staffer relinquished their roles as voting members of the board in October 2023.&nbsp;