TOPEKA —Kansas Governor Laura Kelly and KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman held their press conference Monday afternoon.

The governor reported the state has launched a new<a href="https://covid.ks.gov/"> coronavirus website</a>&nbsp;to assist Kansans with additional information beyond medical information. It is a centralized place for resources Kansans need as the state responds to and recovers from the damage done as a result of the pandemic.

 The site is ADA compliant, mobile optimized and available in Spanish.&nbsp; The site will also provide information on state resources to help Kansans from job openings and more.

Dr. Norman reported that a Lansing Correctional Facility inmate diagnosed with the virus died over the weekend. The man was over the age of 50 with a number of underlying health conditions, according to Norman.

He also shared that&nbsp; Kansas Poison control has seen approximately a 40 percent increase in cleaning chemical cases "including a man who drank a product over the weekend based on advice he'd received." 

"We're doing what we can to&nbsp; counter-message that kind of remedy," said Norman.

TOPEKA —Kansas Governor Laura Kelly and KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman held their press conference Monday afternoon.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FGovLauraKelly%2Fvideos%2F912623055864233%2F&show_text=0&width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>The governor reported the state has launched a new<a href="https://covid.ks.gov/"> coronavirus website</a>&nbsp;to assist Kansans with additional information beyond medical information. It is a centralized place for resources Kansans need as the state responds to and recovers from the damage done as a result of the pandemic. The site is ADA compliant, mobile optimized and available in Spanish.&nbsp; The site will also provide information on state resources to help Kansans from job openings and more.Dr. Norman reported that a Lansing Correctional Facility inmate diagnosed with the virus died over the weekend. The man was over the age of 50 with a number of underlying health conditions, according to Norman.He also shared that&nbsp; Kansas Poison control has seen approximately a 40 percent increase in cleaning chemical cases "including a man who drank a product over the weekend based on advice he'd received." "We're doing what we can to&nbsp; counter-message that kind of remedy," said Norman.

🎥  Gov., KDHE Secretary update battle against virus

TOPEKA, Kan. –&nbsp;A Lansing Correctional Facility resident who&nbsp;died&nbsp;Sunday, April 26, had tested positive for COVID-19.

The resident was a man over the age of 50 with underlying medical conditions who tested positive for the virus on April 19, according to a media release from the Kansas Department of Corrections.

&nbsp;He was transferred to the University of Kansas Medical Center on April 20.&nbsp;The official manner of death for all COVID-19 deaths is natural causes.&nbsp;

The individual was serving 25 years to life in prison for first degree murder and had been imprisoned with the Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC) since 2009. For the privacy of his family and due to confidentiality laws, the KDOC will not release his name nor his underlying medical conditions. His family has been notified.

The Lansing Correctional Facility, formerly the Kansas State Penitentiary, opened in 1867 during the presidency of Andrew Johnson and is the oldest and largest state correctional facility in Kansas. Serving only males, the facility capacity is 2,432 residents.

TOPEKA, Kan. –&nbsp;A Lansing Correctional Facility resident who&nbsp;died&nbsp;Sunday, April 26, had tested positive for COVID-19.The resident was a man over the age of 50 with underlying medical conditions who tested positive for the virus on April 19, according to a media release from the Kansas Department of Corrections.&nbsp;He was transferred to the University of Kansas Medical Center on April 20.&nbsp;The official manner of death for all COVID-19 deaths is natural causes.&nbsp;The individual was serving 25 years to life in prison for first degree murder and had been imprisoned with the Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC) since 2009. For the privacy of his family and due to confidentiality laws, the KDOC will not release his name nor his underlying medical conditions. His family has been notified.The Lansing Correctional Facility, formerly the Kansas State Penitentiary, opened in 1867 during the presidency of Andrew Johnson and is the oldest and largest state correctional facility in Kansas. Serving only males, the facility capacity is 2,432 residents.

Kan. inmate serving time for murder died from coronavirus

By BRIAN GRIMMETT <a href="https://www.kmuw.org/post/coronavirus-hasnt-stopped-cancer-surgeries-kansas-its-boosted-telemedicine">Kansas News Service</a>

WICHITA — Doctors diagnosed Courtney 
Buchmann’s breast cancer on March 6, three days before the first 
confirmed case of COVID-19 in Kansas.

Buchmann worried, as 
hospitals braced for an overflow of coronavirus patients, whether the 
potentially life-saving surgery she suddenly needed would be deemed 
elective.

Instead, a quick shift to online consultations with her doctors, the surgery went ahead without much change.

Yet the stress that comes with cancer remained. And a tough decision got rushed.

Right after her diagnosis, Buchmann quickly scheduled two appointments with doctors at the <a href="https://www.kucancercenter.org/about-us" target="_blank">University of Kansas Cancer Center</a>.

Her
 brother, a physician, went with her to her first appointment with her 
surgeon. She was hoping to bring her sister-in-law, an oncologist, to 
the next one a few days later. By that point, the doctor’s office wasn’t
 allowing any visitors to come to appointments.

“So as I had my appointments, COVID was really changing the landscape,” Buchmann said.

Those changes also altered a tough decision.

Rather
 than wait for the results of a genetic test that would help her decide 
on getting a double mastectomy, she went ahead and scheduled surgery to 
just remove the cancerous tissue.

“We wanted to go ahead and 
operate on the cancer I currently had while KU still had masks,” she 
said. “While they were still seeing cancer surgery as essential.”

About that same time, the<a href="https://www.facs.org/covid-19/clinical-guidance/triage" target="_blank"> American College of Surgeons began issuing guidance</a>
 to hospitals on how to best prepare for the surge of COVID-19 patients.
 And which surgeries were truly needed. The group offered guidance to 
help prepare U.S. hospitals for the same problems other countries faced.

“Many
 hospitals were literally overwhelmed with admissions,” said David Hoyt,
 executive director of the American College of Surgeons. “So, just to 
free up beds to be able to care for these patients, to preserve 
protective equipment, gowns, gloves, masks. All the things that you 
need.”

And it seemed to work. While many people had to delay knee or hip replacements, Kansas <a href="https://www.kmuw.org/post/kansas-hospitals-wont-say-how-full-theyre-getting-coronavirus-patients">hospitals</a> <a href="https://www.kmuw.org/post/kansas-hospitals-wont-say-how-full-theyre-getting-coronavirus-patients" target="_blank">have so far handled the influx of COVID-19 patients</a> without too many issues.

Some
 models project Kansas will soon reach its peak, and that it has 
capacity to spare. Meanwhile, cancer treatment has gone forward almost 
the same as it had before.

The one major difference is that most appointments before and after surgery now happen online.

“Today, I have eight patients who showed up on my schedule,” Dr. Shaker Dakhil, president of the <a href="https://cancercenterofkansas.com/" target="_blank">Cancer Center of Kansas</a> said. “And beside their appointment, it says virtual visit.”

He
 said the visits look very much like an in-person visit would. He has 
his computer in front of him. He asks them questions about their disease
 and listens to any of their concerns.

“We kept everything exactly the same,” he said, “and this has been working beautifully.”

Dakhil hopes that some of the changes made to deal with the coronavirus stick around after the pandemic.

And while it could be intimidating, health officials are encouraging people to not wait to get treated and try the new system.

“If
 there’s something that you think is important enough that you would 
call the doctor’s office, then consider a telemedicine appointment.” 
Lori Ranallo, nurse practitioner at the University of Kansas Health 
System Cancer Center and state ambassador for the <a href="https://www.cancer.org/about-us/local/kansas.html" target="_blank">American Cancer Society</a> said.

Buchmann,
 the breast cancer patient, said she would have thought you were crazy 
if you’d told her back in February she’d be having doctor’s appointments
 over Zoom, but she’s now had three of those video calls.

“It hasn’t sent me into an extraordinary panic,” Buchmann said. “I would say I’m at baseline you-have-cancer panic.”

Brian
 Grimmett reports on the environment, energy and natural resources for 
KMUW in Wichita and the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on 
Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/briangrimmett?lang=en" target="_blank">@briangrimmett</a> or email him at grimmett@kmuw.org.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1587993705414.png" alt=" Central Care Cancer Center in Wichita, Kansas. Brian Grimmett / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> Central Care Cancer Center in Wichita, Kansas. Brian Grimmett / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By BRIAN GRIMMETT <a href="https://www.kmuw.org/post/coronavirus-hasnt-stopped-cancer-surgeries-kansas-its-boosted-telemedicine">Kansas News Service</a>WICHITA — Doctors diagnosed Courtney 
Buchmann’s breast cancer on March 6, three days before the first 
confirmed case of COVID-19 in Kansas.Buchmann worried, as 
hospitals braced for an overflow of coronavirus patients, whether the 
potentially life-saving surgery she suddenly needed would be deemed 
elective.Instead, a quick shift to online consultations with her doctors, the surgery went ahead without much change.Yet the stress that comes with cancer remained. And a tough decision got rushed.Right after her diagnosis, Buchmann quickly scheduled two appointments with doctors at the <a href="https://www.kucancercenter.org/about-us" target="_blank">University of Kansas Cancer Center</a>.Her
 brother, a physician, went with her to her first appointment with her 
surgeon. She was hoping to bring her sister-in-law, an oncologist, to 
the next one a few days later. By that point, the doctor’s office wasn’t
 allowing any visitors to come to appointments.“So as I had my appointments, COVID was really changing the landscape,” Buchmann said.Those changes also altered a tough decision.Rather
 than wait for the results of a genetic test that would help her decide 
on getting a double mastectomy, she went ahead and scheduled surgery to 
just remove the cancerous tissue.“We wanted to go ahead and 
operate on the cancer I currently had while KU still had masks,” she 
said. “While they were still seeing cancer surgery as essential.”About that same time, the<a href="https://www.facs.org/covid-19/clinical-guidance/triage" target="_blank"> American College of Surgeons began issuing guidance</a>
 to hospitals on how to best prepare for the surge of COVID-19 patients.
 And which surgeries were truly needed. The group offered guidance to 
help prepare U.S. hospitals for the same problems other countries faced.“Many
 hospitals were literally overwhelmed with admissions,” said David Hoyt,
 executive director of the American College of Surgeons. “So, just to 
free up beds to be able to care for these patients, to preserve 
protective equipment, gowns, gloves, masks. All the things that you 
need.”And it seemed to work. While many people had to delay knee or hip replacements, Kansas <a href="https://www.kmuw.org/post/kansas-hospitals-wont-say-how-full-theyre-getting-coronavirus-patients">hospitals</a> <a href="https://www.kmuw.org/post/kansas-hospitals-wont-say-how-full-theyre-getting-coronavirus-patients" target="_blank">have so far handled the influx of COVID-19 patients</a> without too many issues.Some
 models project Kansas will soon reach its peak, and that it has 
capacity to spare. Meanwhile, cancer treatment has gone forward almost 
the same as it had before.The one major difference is that most appointments before and after surgery now happen online.“Today, I have eight patients who showed up on my schedule,” Dr. Shaker Dakhil, president of the <a href="https://cancercenterofkansas.com/" target="_blank">Cancer Center of Kansas</a> said. “And beside their appointment, it says virtual visit.”He
 said the visits look very much like an in-person visit would. He has 
his computer in front of him. He asks them questions about their disease
 and listens to any of their concerns.“We kept everything exactly the same,” he said, “and this has been working beautifully.”Dakhil hopes that some of the changes made to deal with the coronavirus stick around after the pandemic.And while it could be intimidating, health officials are encouraging people to not wait to get treated and try the new system.“If
 there’s something that you think is important enough that you would 
call the doctor’s office, then consider a telemedicine appointment.” 
Lori Ranallo, nurse practitioner at the University of Kansas Health 
System Cancer Center and state ambassador for the <a href="https://www.cancer.org/about-us/local/kansas.html" target="_blank">American Cancer Society</a> said.Buchmann,
 the breast cancer patient, said she would have thought you were crazy 
if you’d told her back in February she’d be having doctor’s appointments
 over Zoom, but she’s now had three of those video calls.“It hasn’t sent me into an extraordinary panic,” Buchmann said. “I would say I’m at baseline you-have-cancer panic.”Brian
 Grimmett reports on the environment, energy and natural resources for 
KMUW in Wichita and the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on 
Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/briangrimmett?lang=en" target="_blank">@briangrimmett</a> or email him at grimmett@kmuw.org.

Virus hasn't stopped Kan. cancer surgeries, but it's boosted telemedicine 

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 154 to a total of 3328, the state health department reported Monday afternoon.

<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Click here&nbsp;</a>for additional numbers from the KDHE

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 154 to a total of 3328, the state health department reported Monday afternoon.Coronavirus deaths were reported at 120<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Click here&nbsp;</a>for additional numbers from the KDHE<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1588015356457.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>

KDHE: Latest coronavirus numbers in Kansas

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Richard Bergen, the artist who built the 22-feet bronze statue of a Native American that sits atop the Kansas Statehouse dome, has died. He was 95. His daughter, Lori Bergen, said he died Wednesday at an assisted living facility in Salina of complications from a stroke.

Bergen created several other public art pieces through the state, including in Marysville, Salina, Junction City, Wichita and Manhattan.

He was named&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ksnativesonsanddaughters.org/previous-distinguished-kansans-">Distinguished Kansan of the Year in 2006</a>. But his most well-known work is the 4,420 pounds Capitol sculpture that depicts a loincloth-clad hunter with his bow drawn and arrow aimed at the North Star.&nbsp;

<a href="https://salinapost.com/posts/5ea4baf6eb7f17053603784b">Bergen's obituary can be found HERE.</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1588010143626.png" alt="Kansas State Historical Society photo" />
 <figcaption>Kansas State Historical Society photo</figcaption>
 </figure>MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Richard Bergen, the artist who built the 22-feet bronze statue of a Native American that sits atop the Kansas Statehouse dome, has died. He was 95. His daughter, Lori Bergen, said he died Wednesday at an assisted living facility in Salina of complications from a stroke.Bergen created several other public art pieces through the state, including in Marysville, Salina, Junction City, Wichita and Manhattan.He was named&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ksnativesonsanddaughters.org/previous-distinguished-kansans-">Distinguished Kansan of the Year in 2006</a>. But his most well-known work is the 4,420 pounds Capitol sculpture that depicts a loincloth-clad hunter with his bow drawn and arrow aimed at the North Star.&nbsp;<a href="https://salinapost.com/posts/5ea4baf6eb7f17053603784b">Bergen's obituary can be found HERE.</a><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1588015574382.png" alt="Dr. Richard D. Bergen" />
 <figcaption>Dr. Richard D. Bergen</figcaption>
 </figure>

Artist Richard Bergen, who built Statehouse statue, dies at 95

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Meat isn't going to disappear from supermarkets because of outbreaks of the coronavirus among workers at U.S. slaughterhouses. But as the meat plants struggle to remain open, consumers could face less selection and slightly higher prices.

Industry leaders acknowledge that the U.S. food chain has rarely been so stressed and that no one is sure about the future, even as they try to dispel concerns about shortages.

On Sunday, the meat processing giant Tyson Foods ran a full-page advertisement in the&nbsp;New York&nbsp;Times and other newspapers outlining the difficulty of producing meat while keeping more than 100,000 workers safe and shutting some plants.

“This means one thing — the food supply chain is vulnerable,” the statement said. “As pork, beef and chicken plants are being forced to close, even for short periods of time, millions of pounds of meat will disappear from the supply chain.”

Company spokesman Gary Mickelson said the Tyson family thought it was important to explain their perspective.

“The letter encourages government leaders to unite to address food supply chain challenges," Mickelson said. "We are taking a proactive approach to balance safety and production by moving aggressively with testing and plant closures when necessary."

COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, has infected hundreds of workers at meat-processing plants and forced some of the largest to close and others to slow production. While the output at beef and poultry plants has diminished, pork plants in the Midwest have been hit especially hard. The viral outbreaks have persisted despite efforts by the meat companies to keep workers at home with pay if they become sick.

The 15 largest pork-packing plants account for 60 percent of all pork processed, so when even one of those plants closes for days or weeks, the consequences ripple across the industry. That has become abundantly clear with two of the nation's biggest plants now closed: Tyson suspended operations at its plant in Waterloo,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/iowa">Iowa</a>. And Smithfield Foods halted production at its plant in Sioux Falls,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/south-dakota">South Dakota</a>. Each plant can butcher nearly 20,000 hogs a day. Some plants have reopened days after cleaning.

The result is that the nation's pork processing capacity had declined by about 25% as of last week, said Steve Meyer, an industry economist with Kerns and Associates in Ames, Iowa.

Sarah Little, a spokeswoman for the North American Meat Institute, an industry trade group, said: “It’s down across the board right now, so the next couple of weeks we should see how the system works. It’s never been tested like this before.”

A beef production plant in Green Bay,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/wisconsin">Wisconsin</a>, is the latest to shut down because of infections among employees. JBS USA said the JBS Packerland plant, which employs 1,200, would be closed temporarily. The Green Bay Press Gazette reported that at least 189 COVID-19 infections had been linked to JBS Packerland as of Friday.

Nationally, although the reduced meat supply is expected to cause consumer prices to rise, expectations are that the increases will be slight. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said late last week that it expects beef prices to climb 1% to 2% this year, poultry as much as 1.5% and pork between by from 2% and 3%.

The agency acknowledged that consumer buying patterns change weekly and that some products face supply-chain disruptions that could affect prices. But the USDA said its planned $3 billion purchase of fresh produce, dairy and meat should help stabilize prices. The government will work with food distributors to provide the purchased products to food banks, community and faith-based organizations and other nonprofits serving the needy.

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which represents 1.3 million food and retail workers, said last week that 10 U.S. food-processing and meatpacking union workers in the U.S. have died and that an estimated 5,000 are sick or have been exposed to the virus while working near someone who tested positive.

Marc Perrone, the union president, said 13 plants in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/indiana">Indiana</a>, Iowa,&nbsp;Minnesota,&nbsp;Missouri,&nbsp;Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Wisconsin and Alberta, Canada, have been closed at least temporarily because of the pandemic. Those union plants represent about 10 percent of beef production and 25 percent of pork production, the union said.

The union is urging state and federal officials to ensure that workers have access to protective equipment, mandate social distancing at work and halt federal waivers that allow faster line speeds.

Many employees of the meatpacking plants fear going to work, said Margarita Heredia, who has worked at the JBS pork processing plant in Marshalltown, Iowa, for 11 years. She joined a UFCW union call with reporters to discuss the pandemic's effects on workers.

Heredia credited the company with improving sanitation, including treating hallways and common areas with bleach and placing hand sanitizer stations around the plant. JBS also now takes workers' temperatures and encourages those who are sick to stay home. But she said the company increased pay by $4 an hour from April 20 through May as an incentive for healthy employees to go to work.

“Even then, we’re still shorthanded, but we are trying to do our best,” she said.

The national slowdown in meat processing has surfaced in federal statistics. The daily cattle slaughter for the week of April 13 fell nearly 24 percent from the same period a year ago. Pig slaughter was down 13 percent. And given the most recent plant closures, those figures have likely fallen further.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1587239834149.png" alt=" Meat on sale at a grocery store in Garden City, Kansas. Four large meatpacking plants employ thousands of workers in southwest Kansas. Corinne Boyer / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> Meat on sale at a grocery store in Garden City, Kansas. Four large meatpacking plants employ thousands of workers in southwest Kansas. Corinne Boyer / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Meat isn't going to disappear from supermarkets because of outbreaks of the coronavirus among workers at U.S. slaughterhouses. But as the meat plants struggle to remain open, consumers could face less selection and slightly higher prices.Industry leaders acknowledge that the U.S. food chain has rarely been so stressed and that no one is sure about the future, even as they try to dispel concerns about shortages.On Sunday, the meat processing giant Tyson Foods ran a full-page advertisement in the&nbsp;New York&nbsp;Times and other newspapers outlining the difficulty of producing meat while keeping more than 100,000 workers safe and shutting some plants.“This means one thing — the food supply chain is vulnerable,” the statement said. “As pork, beef and chicken plants are being forced to close, even for short periods of time, millions of pounds of meat will disappear from the supply chain.”Company spokesman Gary Mickelson said the Tyson family thought it was important to explain their perspective.“The letter encourages government leaders to unite to address food supply chain challenges," Mickelson said. "We are taking a proactive approach to balance safety and production by moving aggressively with testing and plant closures when necessary."COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, has infected hundreds of workers at meat-processing plants and forced some of the largest to close and others to slow production. While the output at beef and poultry plants has diminished, pork plants in the Midwest have been hit especially hard. The viral outbreaks have persisted despite efforts by the meat companies to keep workers at home with pay if they become sick.The 15 largest pork-packing plants account for 60 percent of all pork processed, so when even one of those plants closes for days or weeks, the consequences ripple across the industry. That has become abundantly clear with two of the nation's biggest plants now closed: Tyson suspended operations at its plant in Waterloo,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/iowa">Iowa</a>. And Smithfield Foods halted production at its plant in Sioux Falls,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/south-dakota">South Dakota</a>. Each plant can butcher nearly 20,000 hogs a day. Some plants have reopened days after cleaning.The result is that the nation's pork processing capacity had declined by about 25% as of last week, said Steve Meyer, an industry economist with Kerns and Associates in Ames, Iowa.Sarah Little, a spokeswoman for the North American Meat Institute, an industry trade group, said: “It’s down across the board right now, so the next couple of weeks we should see how the system works. It’s never been tested like this before.”A beef production plant in Green Bay,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/wisconsin">Wisconsin</a>, is the latest to shut down because of infections among employees. JBS USA said the JBS Packerland plant, which employs 1,200, would be closed temporarily. The Green Bay Press Gazette reported that at least 189 COVID-19 infections had been linked to JBS Packerland as of Friday.Nationally, although the reduced meat supply is expected to cause consumer prices to rise, expectations are that the increases will be slight. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said late last week that it expects beef prices to climb 1% to 2% this year, poultry as much as 1.5% and pork between by from 2% and 3%.The agency acknowledged that consumer buying patterns change weekly and that some products face supply-chain disruptions that could affect prices. But the USDA said its planned $3 billion purchase of fresh produce, dairy and meat should help stabilize prices. The government will work with food distributors to provide the purchased products to food banks, community and faith-based organizations and other nonprofits serving the needy.The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which represents 1.3 million food and retail workers, said last week that 10 U.S. food-processing and meatpacking union workers in the U.S. have died and that an estimated 5,000 are sick or have been exposed to the virus while working near someone who tested positive.Marc Perrone, the union president, said 13 plants in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/indiana">Indiana</a>, Iowa,&nbsp;Minnesota,&nbsp;Missouri,&nbsp;Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Wisconsin and Alberta, Canada, have been closed at least temporarily because of the pandemic. Those union plants represent about 10 percent of beef production and 25 percent of pork production, the union said.The union is urging state and federal officials to ensure that workers have access to protective equipment, mandate social distancing at work and halt federal waivers that allow faster line speeds.Many employees of the meatpacking plants fear going to work, said Margarita Heredia, who has worked at the JBS pork processing plant in Marshalltown, Iowa, for 11 years. She joined a UFCW union call with reporters to discuss the pandemic's effects on workers.Heredia credited the company with improving sanitation, including treating hallways and common areas with bleach and placing hand sanitizer stations around the plant. JBS also now takes workers' temperatures and encourages those who are sick to stay home. But she said the company increased pay by $4 an hour from April 20 through May as an incentive for healthy employees to go to work.“Even then, we’re still shorthanded, but we are trying to do our best,” she said.The national slowdown in meat processing has surfaced in federal statistics. The daily cattle slaughter for the week of April 13 fell nearly 24 percent from the same period a year ago. Pig slaughter was down 13 percent. And given the most recent plant closures, those figures have likely fallen further.

Virus is expected to reduce meat selection, raise prices

BARTON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities arrested a Kansas man for allegedly violating a quarantine order issued by the Barton County Health Department. 

&nbsp;On Friday, deputies arrested 32-year-old Tyler Witten in Great Bend after several attempts to get Witten to comply with the order, according to Sheriff Brian Bellendir.

“He was served last week and was uncooperative with the Health Department,” Bellendir says. 

“Thursday we had information that he was in violation of the quarantine order causing disturbances around town. On Friday I received a call from the Great Bend Police Department that he was causing a disturbance at another residence in the city. At that time the decision was made to place him (Witten) in jail.”

Bellendir informed Barton County Commissioners of the arrest on Monday. He says it was the last thing that he wanted to do since Witten's presence in the jail could compromise the health of other inmates in the facility.

“We were faced with an impossible decision,” Bellendir said. Do I allow this person to continually run around the community potentially exposing the community to Covid-19, or do I potentially expose my inmates in the jail. I chose to err on the side of the public.”

A quarantine area had already been set up at the jail in anticipation of a possible cases of coronavirus coming into the jail or a person who was considered probable. The Sheriff says the only person having contact with Witten is Health Director Karen Winkelman.

Bellendir says before the decision to jail Witten was made, he had phone conversations with the Health Director, County Attorney and the District Court.

As of Monday, the Sheriff's Office had assisted in delivering 99 isolation and quarantine orders in the county and for the most part he says individuals have been cooperating. As for Witten, the Sheriff indicated that he had been uncooperative throughout the entire process.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1588002784752.png" alt="Tyler Witten" />
 <figcaption>Tyler Witten</figcaption>
 </figure>BARTON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities arrested a Kansas man for allegedly violating a quarantine order issued by the Barton County Health Department. &nbsp;On Friday, deputies arrested 32-year-old Tyler Witten in Great Bend after several attempts to get Witten to comply with the order, according to Sheriff Brian Bellendir.“He was served last week and was uncooperative with the Health Department,” Bellendir says. “Thursday we had information that he was in violation of the quarantine order causing disturbances around town. On Friday I received a call from the Great Bend Police Department that he was causing a disturbance at another residence in the city. At that time the decision was made to place him (Witten) in jail.”Bellendir informed Barton County Commissioners of the arrest on Monday. He says it was the last thing that he wanted to do since Witten's presence in the jail could compromise the health of other inmates in the facility.“We were faced with an impossible decision,” Bellendir said. Do I allow this person to continually run around the community potentially exposing the community to Covid-19, or do I potentially expose my inmates in the jail. I chose to err on the side of the public.”A quarantine area had already been set up at the jail in anticipation of a possible cases of coronavirus coming into the jail or a person who was considered probable. The Sheriff says the only person having contact with Witten is Health Director Karen Winkelman.Bellendir says before the decision to jail Witten was made, he had phone conversations with the Health Director, County Attorney and the District Court.As of Monday, the Sheriff's Office had assisted in delivering 99 isolation and quarantine orders in the county and for the most part he says individuals have been cooperating. As for Witten, the Sheriff indicated that he had been uncooperative throughout the entire process.

Sheriff: Kansas man jailed for ignoring quarantine order 

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas is temporarily slashing the pay of high-ranking administrators and athletic staff in anticipation of the coronavirus causing tens of millions of dollars in financial losses. 

Chancellor Douglas Girod announced Monday that the school will save $853,000 by cutting the salaries of nearly 40 university leaders by 10% for six months. 

The salaries of men’s basketball coach Bill Self, football coach Les Miles, and Athletic Director Jeff Long also will also be slashed by the same percentage, generating $500,000.

In a statement from KU Athletics Self said,&nbsp;“KU has been home to us for 17 years, and been very good to our family. During our tenure we’ve had our ups and downs, but these turbulent times are unprecedented and the immediate future is unknown.

I, like others, will be returning 10 percent of my salary to help bridge the financial gap in our athletic department. These times are serious, but temporary, and it’s everyone’s hope that we can return to a safe and prosperous time soon. I have no doubt that Allen Fieldhouse is going to be the loudest it’s ever been when we all get together again, and I can’t wait. Let’s all stay positive. Rock Chalk.”

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas athletic director Jeff Long, football coach Les Miles and basketball coach Bill Self have taken a 10% salary reduction for the next six months in an effort to save the athletic department nearly $500,000.

In a statement from KU Athletics Self said,&nbsp;“KU has been home to us for 17 years, and been very good to our family. During our tenure we’ve had our ups and downs, but these turbulent times are unprecedented and the immediate future is unknown. 

The move comes as the COVID-19 pandemic is putting pressure on collegiate athletic departments nationwide to cut costs. Many schools have asked their highest-paid employees to take salary cuts during the pandemic.

According to coach Miles, “My family and I so enjoy being a part of KU, our athletic community and Lawrence. This is a great place and I enjoy giving to this University. Returning 10 percent of my salary is something we wanted to do to help a place we’ve quickly grown to love. We are all going through this pandemic together and I believe that our country will come through this stronger.”

A few have taken the more aggressive step of eliminating some sports entirely.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1574643193042.jpeg" alt="Photo courtesy University of Kansas Athletics" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy University of Kansas Athletics</figcaption>
 </figure>LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas is temporarily slashing the pay of high-ranking administrators and athletic staff in anticipation of the coronavirus causing tens of millions of dollars in financial losses. Chancellor Douglas Girod announced Monday that the school will save $853,000 by cutting the salaries of nearly 40 university leaders by 10% for six months. The salaries of men’s basketball coach Bill Self, football coach Les Miles, and Athletic Director Jeff Long also will also be slashed by the same percentage, generating $500,000.In a statement from KU Athletics Self said,&nbsp;“KU has been home to us for 17 years, and been very good to our family. During our tenure we’ve had our ups and downs, but these turbulent times are unprecedented and the immediate future is unknown.I, like others, will be returning 10 percent of my salary to help bridge the financial gap in our athletic department. These times are serious, but temporary, and it’s everyone’s hope that we can return to a safe and prosperous time soon. I have no doubt that Allen Fieldhouse is going to be the loudest it’s ever been when we all get together again, and I can’t wait. Let’s all stay positive. Rock Chalk.”----------LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas athletic director Jeff Long, football coach Les Miles and basketball coach Bill Self have taken a 10% salary reduction for the next six months in an effort to save the athletic department nearly $500,000.In a statement from KU Athletics Self said,&nbsp;“KU has been home to us for 17 years, and been very good to our family. During our tenure we’ve had our ups and downs, but these turbulent times are unprecedented and the immediate future is unknown. I, like others, will be returning 10 percent of my salary to help bridge the financial gap in our athletic department. These times are serious, but temporary, and it’s everyone’s hope that we can return to a safe and prosperous time soon. I have no doubt that Allen Fieldhouse is going to be the loudest it’s ever been when we all get together again, and I can’t wait. Let’s all stay positive. Rock Chalk.”The move comes as the COVID-19 pandemic is putting pressure on collegiate athletic departments nationwide to cut costs. Many schools have asked their highest-paid employees to take salary cuts during the pandemic.According to coach Miles, “My family and I so enjoy being a part of KU, our athletic community and Lawrence. This is a great place and I enjoy giving to this University. Returning 10 percent of my salary is something we wanted to do to help a place we’ve quickly grown to love. We are all going through this pandemic together and I believe that our country will come through this stronger.”A few have taken the more aggressive step of eliminating some sports entirely.

Update: KU announces pay cuts among top officials

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic does not appear to be delaying the quickly approaching May 10 deadline for Kansas property taxes.

Kansas believes delaying property tax deadlines is more of a local government decision, said Zach Fletcher, a spokesman for the Kansas Department of Revenue.

“Property taxes collected at the local and county level help fund critical functions like public safety and schools.&nbsp;

 “The governor cannot unilaterally change property tax structures or payments in general, and would not be inclined to cut critical funding sources during a prolonged public health emergency.”

Some property owners questioned why the state pushed back its state income tax deadline, but not for property taxes

Judy Paley, who owns several Lawrence buildings that she rents out to businesses, said the impending deadline is a “nightmare” that is piling up on other expenses.

But Kathy Johnson, executive director of finance for the Lawrence school district, said the district is relying on the incoming property taxes so it can finish paying its current budget and close out its fiscal year at the end of June.

“This would cause significant cash flow problems if delays were to occur,” Johnson told the newspaper.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic does not appear to be delaying the quickly approaching May 10 deadline for Kansas property taxes.Kansas believes delaying property tax deadlines is more of a local government decision, said Zach Fletcher, a spokesman for the Kansas Department of Revenue.“Property taxes collected at the local and county level help fund critical functions like public safety and schools.&nbsp; “The governor cannot unilaterally change property tax structures or payments in general, and would not be inclined to cut critical funding sources during a prolonged public health emergency.”Some property owners questioned why the state pushed back its state income tax deadline, but not for property taxesJudy Paley, who owns several Lawrence buildings that she rents out to businesses, said the impending deadline is a “nightmare” that is piling up on other expenses.But Kathy Johnson, executive director of finance for the Lawrence school district, said the district is relying on the incoming property taxes so it can finish paying its current budget and close out its fiscal year at the end of June.“This would cause significant cash flow problems if delays were to occur,” Johnson told the newspaper.

Pandemic not expected to delay Kan. property tax deadline

McPHERSON COUNTY&nbsp; — Authorities in central Kansas say a 7-year-old boy shot in a weekend hunting accident is improving. 

The shooting happened around 5 p.m. Saturday while the boy was turkey hunting with his parents south of Roxbury in McPherson County. 

Sheriff's Capt. Doug Anderson says another hunter shot the boy, believing he was shooting at a turkey, but was actually shooting at a turkey decoy next to the boy. 

The boy was shot in the head and flown to a Wichita hospital. Authorities say the boy was expected to be released from intensive care on Monday.

MCPHERSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a hunting accident that injured a 7-year-old boy.

Just before&nbsp; 5p.m. Saturday, the boy&nbsp;was on a hunting trip with his family three miles southeast of Roxbury, according to McPherson County Sheriff's Captain Dean Scott. 

Another hunter in the area shot at what he thought was a turkey and it struck the boy in the head.

&nbsp;The boy was airlifted to Wesley Medical Center.

All individuals are cooperating with the investigation, according to Scott.

McPHERSON COUNTY&nbsp; — Authorities in central Kansas say a 7-year-old boy shot in a weekend hunting accident is improving. The shooting happened around 5 p.m. Saturday while the boy was turkey hunting with his parents south of Roxbury in McPherson County. Sheriff's Capt. Doug Anderson says another hunter shot the boy, believing he was shooting at a turkey, but was actually shooting at a turkey decoy next to the boy. The boy was shot in the head and flown to a Wichita hospital. Authorities say the boy was expected to be released from intensive care on Monday.------MCPHERSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a hunting accident that injured a 7-year-old boy.Just before&nbsp; 5p.m. Saturday, the boy&nbsp;was on a hunting trip with his family three miles southeast of Roxbury, according to McPherson County Sheriff's Captain Dean Scott. Another hunter in the area shot at what he thought was a turkey and it struck the boy in the head.&nbsp;The boy was airlifted to Wesley Medical Center.All individuals are cooperating with the investigation, according to Scott.

Update: Kan. boy airlifted to hospital after hunting accident

WASHINGTON (AP) — Spend what it takes, Washington said as it confronted the coronavirus. Well over $2 trillion later, it’s unclear where that spending will end.

One of the lasting legacies of the coronavirus pandemic will be staggering debts and deficits on the U.S. balance sheet, with shortfalls hitting levels that would have been unthinkable just a few decades ago.

It’s a fiscal clamp that is likely to persist for a generation, or even into perpetuity, with debt levels having passed the point of easy return in a capital where lawmakers are increasingly incapable, or unwilling, to constrain them.

The latest, and dire, projection from the Congressional Budget Office, released Friday, states the U.S. deficits will mushroom to $3.7 trillion in 2020, fueled by the four coronavirus relief bills signed into law by President Donald Trump. A fifth bill is already in the works, and will be “expensive,” according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

The deficit for 2021 is estimated to tally $2.1 trillion, double previous CBO estimates.

The report predicts a devastating hit to the economy this quarter at an annualized rate of decline of 40% — probably the sharpest economic shock ever — accompanied by a 15% unemployment rate this spring and summer. For the entire year, the economy is predicted to shrink by 5.6%.

CBO Director Phillip Swagel cautioned that there is “enormous uncertainty” to the projections, given the unprecedented nature of the crisis, but it’s plain the economic shock is unlike anything seen since the Great Depression.

“Challenges in the economy and the labor market are expected to persist for some time,” Swagel wrote in a blog post. He said the economy is likely to begin rebounding in the third quarter, but the jobless rate will remain about 10% by the end of 2021.

On the government front, coronavirus-related figures point to red ink unparalleled since World War II. Economists generally say the most significant measure of debt and deficits is to compare it against the size of the economy, and by that measure the debt is soon to rival the record. CBO says publicly held debt will reach 101% of gross domestic product by the end of this year, just below the post-war high.

The deficit was entrenched long before the virus, with federal revenues shrinking to well below historic averages and the spending side of the ledger rising thanks to record Pentagon expenditures and the addition of baby boomers to Medicare and Social Security.

Even Washington’s few remaining spending hawks say red ink should not be a focus for now as the government faces unemployment levels not seen since the Great Depression and shutdown orders lasting well into next month or beyond.

“Right now, I think the wise move for Congress is to keep the economy afloat regardless of what it costs,” said Brian Riedl, an economic and budgetary policy analyst at the free market Manhattan Institute think tank. “That being said, the budgetary cost is enormous, cannot be ignored, and makes it even more important that lawmakers begin thinking about how to fix the federal budget after this is over.”

But when policymakers inevitably are forced to take on deficits, virtually none of them will have any experience in doing so. The era of successful action ended long ago, with a hard-won 1997 law that capped a decade’s worth of politically costly but ultimately effective reduction measures.

In the interim, a divisive brand of politics has taken hold. No one has even seriously tried tackling the debt since a failed effort by former GOP Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and President Barack Obama almost a decade ago.

Republicans are beginning to warn of the coronavirus costs now — GOP Sen. Ben Sasse on Friday called Washington’s spending habit “suicidal” — but the party passed deficit-financed tax cuts when controlling all of government in 2001 and 2017. Those twin tax bills mean that a steadily more liberal Democratic Party won’t endorse the kinds of deficit-cutting steps they endorsed in the 1990s.

There’s also no agreement on what levels of debt and deficits are sustainable, and the number of deficit doves has swelled over the past decade. Those skeptical of the fiscal warnings note that the government has run large deficits for well over a decade without the predicted increase in interest rates, economic stagnation or a European-style fiscal crisis.

“There’s zero reason to be concerned about the short-term macroeconomic impact of the deficit,” said Harvard University economist Jason Furman, a former economic policy adviser to Obama. “Interest rates are very low. The Fed has a lot of tools to ensure that they stay very low, and the bigger short-run macroeconomic concern is an insufficient response.”

The CBO has long said that lawmakers eventually will be forced to tackle the government’s chronic financial woes, if for no other reason than the looming insolvency of Social Security and Medicare. When Social Security runs out of reserves in the next decade, the system will be able to pay only 79% of benefits.

The problem is landing in the lap of whoever is elected in November in a race that’s been transformed by the crisis.

The presumptive Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, supported numerous deficit-reduction bills over his long career but has moved significantly to the left in hopes of uniting party progressives behind him.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1587763100698.png" alt="President Trump signed the latest relief bill Friday -image courtesy White House" />
 <figcaption>President Trump signed the latest relief bill Friday -image courtesy White House</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Spend what it takes, Washington said as it confronted the coronavirus. Well over $2 trillion later, it’s unclear where that spending will end.One of the lasting legacies of the coronavirus pandemic will be staggering debts and deficits on the U.S. balance sheet, with shortfalls hitting levels that would have been unthinkable just a few decades ago.It’s a fiscal clamp that is likely to persist for a generation, or even into perpetuity, with debt levels having passed the point of easy return in a capital where lawmakers are increasingly incapable, or unwilling, to constrain them.The latest, and dire, projection from the Congressional Budget Office, released Friday, states the U.S. deficits will mushroom to $3.7 trillion in 2020, fueled by the four coronavirus relief bills signed into law by President Donald Trump. A fifth bill is already in the works, and will be “expensive,” according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.The deficit for 2021 is estimated to tally $2.1 trillion, double previous CBO estimates.The report predicts a devastating hit to the economy this quarter at an annualized rate of decline of 40% — probably the sharpest economic shock ever — accompanied by a 15% unemployment rate this spring and summer. For the entire year, the economy is predicted to shrink by 5.6%.CBO Director Phillip Swagel cautioned that there is “enormous uncertainty” to the projections, given the unprecedented nature of the crisis, but it’s plain the economic shock is unlike anything seen since the Great Depression.“Challenges in the economy and the labor market are expected to persist for some time,” Swagel wrote in a blog post. He said the economy is likely to begin rebounding in the third quarter, but the jobless rate will remain about 10% by the end of 2021.On the government front, coronavirus-related figures point to red ink unparalleled since World War II. Economists generally say the most significant measure of debt and deficits is to compare it against the size of the economy, and by that measure the debt is soon to rival the record. CBO says publicly held debt will reach 101% of gross domestic product by the end of this year, just below the post-war high.The deficit was entrenched long before the virus, with federal revenues shrinking to well below historic averages and the spending side of the ledger rising thanks to record Pentagon expenditures and the addition of baby boomers to Medicare and Social Security.Even Washington’s few remaining spending hawks say red ink should not be a focus for now as the government faces unemployment levels not seen since the Great Depression and shutdown orders lasting well into next month or beyond.“Right now, I think the wise move for Congress is to keep the economy afloat regardless of what it costs,” said Brian Riedl, an economic and budgetary policy analyst at the free market Manhattan Institute think tank. “That being said, the budgetary cost is enormous, cannot be ignored, and makes it even more important that lawmakers begin thinking about how to fix the federal budget after this is over.”But when policymakers inevitably are forced to take on deficits, virtually none of them will have any experience in doing so. The era of successful action ended long ago, with a hard-won 1997 law that capped a decade’s worth of politically costly but ultimately effective reduction measures.In the interim, a divisive brand of politics has taken hold. No one has even seriously tried tackling the debt since a failed effort by former GOP Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and President Barack Obama almost a decade ago.Republicans are beginning to warn of the coronavirus costs now — GOP Sen. Ben Sasse on Friday called Washington’s spending habit “suicidal” — but the party passed deficit-financed tax cuts when controlling all of government in 2001 and 2017. Those twin tax bills mean that a steadily more liberal Democratic Party won’t endorse the kinds of deficit-cutting steps they endorsed in the 1990s.There’s also no agreement on what levels of debt and deficits are sustainable, and the number of deficit doves has swelled over the past decade. Those skeptical of the fiscal warnings note that the government has run large deficits for well over a decade without the predicted increase in interest rates, economic stagnation or a European-style fiscal crisis.“There’s zero reason to be concerned about the short-term macroeconomic impact of the deficit,” said Harvard University economist Jason Furman, a former economic policy adviser to Obama. “Interest rates are very low. The Fed has a lot of tools to ensure that they stay very low, and the bigger short-run macroeconomic concern is an insufficient response.”The CBO has long said that lawmakers eventually will be forced to tackle the government’s chronic financial woes, if for no other reason than the looming insolvency of Social Security and Medicare. When Social Security runs out of reserves in the next decade, the system will be able to pay only 79% of benefits.The problem is landing in the lap of whoever is elected in November in a race that’s been transformed by the crisis.The presumptive Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, supported numerous deficit-reduction bills over his long career but has moved significantly to the left in hopes of uniting party progressives behind him.

Coronavirus relief pushing US deficits to staggering heights

SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary and attempted burglary and have made an arrest.

Just after 1:30 a.m. Friday, officers were called to Lowes, 1621 SW Arvonia Place in Topeka in reference a subject that had smashed through the south door of the store attempting to gain entry, according to Lt. Manuel Munoz.

The subject left the scene prior to officers’ arrival without gaining entry into the store. A short time later, officers were called to Menards, 6401 SW 17th in Topeka on a similar report that a subject had broken through a door and was currently inside the store. 

Officers located the subject identified as 42-year-old Curtis E. Wright inside Menards and took him into custody.

&nbsp;Wright was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of Attempted Aggravated Burglary (Lowes, Burglary (Menards, Criminal damage to property and a Violation of Stay Home Order, according to Munoz.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1587849108355.png" alt="Wright photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Wright photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary and attempted burglary and have made an arrest.Just after 1:30 a.m. Friday, officers were called to Lowes, 1621 SW Arvonia Place in Topeka in reference a subject that had smashed through the south door of the store attempting to gain entry, according to Lt. Manuel Munoz.The subject left the scene prior to officers’ arrival without gaining entry into the store. A short time later, officers were called to Menards, 6401 SW 17th in Topeka on a similar report that a subject had broken through a door and was currently inside the store. Officers located the subject identified as 42-year-old Curtis E. Wright inside Menards and took him into custody.&nbsp;Wright was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of Attempted Aggravated Burglary (Lowes, Burglary (Menards, Criminal damage to property and a Violation of Stay Home Order, according to Munoz.

Police catch suspect during burglary of Kan. home improvement store

KANSAS CITY (AP) — A vehicle struck two pedestrians Saturday evening on the east side of Kansas City, Missouri, killing a man and seriously injuring a woman, police said.

Officers responding to the scene arrested the driver, the Kansas City Police Department said in a news release. The westbound Cadillac sedan hit the man before turning southbound and striking the woman at about 7:20 p.m. It then crashed into a yard.

A 68-year-old Kansas City man died at the scene, police said. The woman was taken to a hospital where she is listed in serious condition.

KANSAS CITY (AP) — A vehicle struck two pedestrians Saturday evening on the east side of Kansas City, Missouri, killing a man and seriously injuring a woman, police said.Officers responding to the scene arrested the driver, the Kansas City Police Department said in a news release. The westbound Cadillac sedan hit the man before turning southbound and striking the woman at about 7:20 p.m. It then crashed into a yard.A 68-year-old Kansas City man died at the scene, police said. The woman was taken to a hospital where she is listed in serious condition.

Driver arrested after man killed, woman hurt in KC crash

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo (AP) — Last autumn, when schools were in session, sports stadiums full and no one had even heard of the COVID-19 disease, the Missouri health department made an eerily foreshadowing request.

It asked the state for $300,000 to buy supplies and services in case of a large-scale disease outbreak. The goal was to fill a gap between local and federal sources.

Today, as states are spending billions of dollars buying supplies in the fight against the coronavirus, that October funding request appears woefully insufficient. Yet it highlights a stark fact: States were not stocked for a pandemic and have been scrambling to catch up.

An Associated Press review of more than 20 states found that before the coronavirus outbreak many had at least a modest supply of N95 masks, gowns, gloves and other medical equipment. But those were often well past their expiration dates — left over from the H1N1 influenza outbreak a decade ago.

The shortage of supplies stemmed from a variety of factors — a decline in public health funding, a cost-saving dependence on having inventory on hand only for immediate use and a belief that the federal government could come to the rescue with its Strategic National Stockpile.

In hindsight, the federal stockpile proved insufficient for a nationwide viral outbreak, and a worldwide competition for scarce supplies revealed the folly of counting on rapid deliveries.

“You could see it in almost every state, in every locality, and the federal government level: depleting the resources, depleting the inventory, and hoping when you need them they will be available,” said Gerard Anderson, a health policy professor at Johns Hopkins University, which has tracked coronarivus cases and deaths across the world.

The coronavirus crisis spawned a political blame game over the shortage of protective gear for medical workers and the hunt for ventilators. Some governors harangued the federal government for leaving them in the lurch. President Donald Trump faulted states, tweeting earlier this month: “The complainers should have been stocked up and ready long before this crisis hit.”

Before the World Health Organization issued a Jan. 9 advisory about the coronavirus emerging in China, Missouri had a supply of 663,920 N95 respirator masks, 253,800 surgical masks, 154,000 gloves, 17,424 face shields and 14,048 gowns. All were leftovers provided by the federal Centers for Disease Control after the H1N1 flu pandemic of 2009-2010, and well beyond their shelf life.

Other states also were relying on old supplies. Officials in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia all told the AP that their stashes included at least some leftovers from the H1N1 flu.

Some old N95 masks no longer sealed properly on people’s faces or had elastic bands that disintegrated. But a CDC study found that many expired masks still could work, and states distributed them to hospitals and medical clinics.

Missouri, like some other states, had spent nothing to replenish the expired equipment. And even when asking for $300,000 last October, the state Department of Health and Senior Services stressed that it wasn’t trying to build a big reserve.

“Since outbreaks and the resources needed are not predictable, purchasing a large stock of supplies that could expire or become obsolete is not a responsible use of state funds,” the health agency said in a budget document submitted to Gov. Mike Parson and state lawmakers.

That funding request for the fiscal year that starts in July still was pending in the state House when Missouri’s first coronavirus case was confirmed last month. Since then, Missouri has ordered about $40 million of protective medical supplies for health care workers and emergency responders.

Missouri Health Director Randall Williams told the AP that it didn’t make sense to load up on supplies ahead of time without knowing what was needed. For example, he said, bug spray would have been more useful than face masks during the 2015-2016 epidemic of the Zika virus, which is spread by mosquitoes.

“If you spend money on prevention and whatever comes your way isn’t that, then you have less money for response” when an emergency occurs, Williams said.

Federal public health funding for states has been on a downward slide since new programs were launched after the 2001 terrorist attacks and anthrax scare. The Public Health Emergency Preparedness program provided $675 million last year — down 28% since 2003, according to the nonprofit Trust for America’s Health. The Hospital Preparedness Program provided $265 million last year — down by almost half during that same period.

Colorado used to have two medical stockpiles. But the state received minimal federal funding for storing supplies left over from the H1N1 pandemic and none to buy new supplies. The stockpile in Denver was dissolved last fall and its remnants transferred to one in Grand Junction. Those supplies had all been distributed by the beginning of March, as the coranavirus was spreading.

Ohio, like many states, began storing some supplies after the 2001 terrorist attacks. But its financial commitment has waned after each crisis was averted, said Deborah Arms, president of the Ohio Nurses Association, who led the state health department’s prevention division from the late 1990s to 2008.

“It’s always difficult for public health in these kinds of disasters to be able to advocate for continual funding ... for something that might take 10 years to see a result,” she said.

Michigan, which has the third-highest coronavirus death toll among U.S. states, had 53,500 gloves left over from past epidemics, 5,120 N95 masks, 5,000 surgical masks and just 500 face shields among its pre-coronavirus supplies.

The state could not afford the cost of replacing expired items nor the warehouse fees for storing more, said Michigan Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Lynn Sutfin.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the state had counted on the federal government to be prepared for a pandemic.

“No one could have said that they would come in and build a state stockpile. That’s never been the role and the assumption,” she told the AP. “Yet if I could turn back the clock, that’s precisely what we would have started doing.”

Contrary to Trump’s assertion that states bore the primary responsibility for stockpiling medical supplies, many states had depended on the federal government to store provisions in case of emergencies.

New Hampshire’s emergency operations plans call for maintaining a small reserve of supplies, but then “very much relying on the national stockpile for anything more than, say a week,” said state Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette.

Virginia Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne said he had viewed stockpiling supplies as a federal responsibility.

“Are we probably going to start stockpiling stuff now?” Layne asked. “The answer is yes.”

Even before the latest crisis, some experts had urged stocking up on supplies as a way to lessen the disruption to supply chains and avoid having to compete with other governments as a crisis is unfolding. A&nbsp;<a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/15/6/08-1196_article" target="_blank">June 2009 report</a>&nbsp;published in the CDC’s journal Emerging Infectious Diseases recommended a “stratified purchase plan” — buying essential items periodically as money became available.

“Supplies need to be ordered far in advance of a pandemic to avoid major problems with back orders and supply shortfalls,” the report concluded.

Instead, public health offices, hospitals and medical clinics have largely been ordering supplies as they are needed. But just-in-time buying doesn’t work when supply chains collapse and every state and country competes in world markets for scarce equipment during a pandemic.

“We’ve short-shrifted our public health structure, because we don’t need it until it happens. But then it’s too late to build it when there’s a pandemic,” said California state Sen. Richard Pan, a pediatrician.

Sean Dunn, an Ohio lobbyist who has represented hospitals, product distributors and a health care services company, said government and health officials need to rethink their approach.

“The notion of having to keep stores of anything, until a couple of weeks ago, was an old-fashioned notion,” Dunn said. “This is going to change our mindset.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1587674507600.png" alt="Missouri Governor Mike Parson watches as PPE arrives at a state warehouse on March 26- photo office of Missouri governor" />
 <figcaption>Missouri Governor Mike Parson watches as PPE arrives at a state warehouse on March 26- photo office of Missouri governor</figcaption>
 </figure>JEFFERSON CITY, Mo (AP) — Last autumn, when schools were in session, sports stadiums full and no one had even heard of the COVID-19 disease, the Missouri health department made an eerily foreshadowing request.It asked the state for $300,000 to buy supplies and services in case of a large-scale disease outbreak. The goal was to fill a gap between local and federal sources.Today, as states are spending billions of dollars buying supplies in the fight against the coronavirus, that October funding request appears woefully insufficient. Yet it highlights a stark fact: States were not stocked for a pandemic and have been scrambling to catch up.An Associated Press review of more than 20 states found that before the coronavirus outbreak many had at least a modest supply of N95 masks, gowns, gloves and other medical equipment. But those were often well past their expiration dates — left over from the H1N1 influenza outbreak a decade ago.The shortage of supplies stemmed from a variety of factors — a decline in public health funding, a cost-saving dependence on having inventory on hand only for immediate use and a belief that the federal government could come to the rescue with its Strategic National Stockpile.In hindsight, the federal stockpile proved insufficient for a nationwide viral outbreak, and a worldwide competition for scarce supplies revealed the folly of counting on rapid deliveries.“You could see it in almost every state, in every locality, and the federal government level: depleting the resources, depleting the inventory, and hoping when you need them they will be available,” said Gerard Anderson, a health policy professor at Johns Hopkins University, which has tracked coronarivus cases and deaths across the world.The coronavirus crisis spawned a political blame game over the shortage of protective gear for medical workers and the hunt for ventilators. Some governors harangued the federal government for leaving them in the lurch. President Donald Trump faulted states, tweeting earlier this month: “The complainers should have been stocked up and ready long before this crisis hit.”Before the World Health Organization issued a Jan. 9 advisory about the coronavirus emerging in China, Missouri had a supply of 663,920 N95 respirator masks, 253,800 surgical masks, 154,000 gloves, 17,424 face shields and 14,048 gowns. All were leftovers provided by the federal Centers for Disease Control after the H1N1 flu pandemic of 2009-2010, and well beyond their shelf life.Other states also were relying on old supplies. Officials in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia all told the AP that their stashes included at least some leftovers from the H1N1 flu.Some old N95 masks no longer sealed properly on people’s faces or had elastic bands that disintegrated. But a CDC study found that many expired masks still could work, and states distributed them to hospitals and medical clinics.Missouri, like some other states, had spent nothing to replenish the expired equipment. And even when asking for $300,000 last October, the state Department of Health and Senior Services stressed that it wasn’t trying to build a big reserve.“Since outbreaks and the resources needed are not predictable, purchasing a large stock of supplies that could expire or become obsolete is not a responsible use of state funds,” the health agency said in a budget document submitted to Gov. Mike Parson and state lawmakers.That funding request for the fiscal year that starts in July still was pending in the state House when Missouri’s first coronavirus case was confirmed last month. Since then, Missouri has ordered about $40 million of protective medical supplies for health care workers and emergency responders.Missouri Health Director Randall Williams told the AP that it didn’t make sense to load up on supplies ahead of time without knowing what was needed. For example, he said, bug spray would have been more useful than face masks during the 2015-2016 epidemic of the Zika virus, which is spread by mosquitoes.“If you spend money on prevention and whatever comes your way isn’t that, then you have less money for response” when an emergency occurs, Williams said.Federal public health funding for states has been on a downward slide since new programs were launched after the 2001 terrorist attacks and anthrax scare. The Public Health Emergency Preparedness program provided $675 million last year — down 28% since 2003, according to the nonprofit Trust for America’s Health. The Hospital Preparedness Program provided $265 million last year — down by almost half during that same period.Colorado used to have two medical stockpiles. But the state received minimal federal funding for storing supplies left over from the H1N1 pandemic and none to buy new supplies. The stockpile in Denver was dissolved last fall and its remnants transferred to one in Grand Junction. Those supplies had all been distributed by the beginning of March, as the coranavirus was spreading.Ohio, like many states, began storing some supplies after the 2001 terrorist attacks. But its financial commitment has waned after each crisis was averted, said Deborah Arms, president of the Ohio Nurses Association, who led the state health department’s prevention division from the late 1990s to 2008.“It’s always difficult for public health in these kinds of disasters to be able to advocate for continual funding ... for something that might take 10 years to see a result,” she said.Michigan, which has the third-highest coronavirus death toll among U.S. states, had 53,500 gloves left over from past epidemics, 5,120 N95 masks, 5,000 surgical masks and just 500 face shields among its pre-coronavirus supplies.The state could not afford the cost of replacing expired items nor the warehouse fees for storing more, said Michigan Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Lynn Sutfin.Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the state had counted on the federal government to be prepared for a pandemic.“No one could have said that they would come in and build a state stockpile. That’s never been the role and the assumption,” she told the AP. “Yet if I could turn back the clock, that’s precisely what we would have started doing.”Contrary to Trump’s assertion that states bore the primary responsibility for stockpiling medical supplies, many states had depended on the federal government to store provisions in case of emergencies.New Hampshire’s emergency operations plans call for maintaining a small reserve of supplies, but then “very much relying on the national stockpile for anything more than, say a week,” said state Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette.Virginia Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne said he had viewed stockpiling supplies as a federal responsibility.“Are we probably going to start stockpiling stuff now?” Layne asked. “The answer is yes.”Even before the latest crisis, some experts had urged stocking up on supplies as a way to lessen the disruption to supply chains and avoid having to compete with other governments as a crisis is unfolding. A&nbsp;<a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/15/6/08-1196_article" target="_blank">June 2009 report</a>&nbsp;published in the CDC’s journal Emerging Infectious Diseases recommended a “stratified purchase plan” — buying essential items periodically as money became available.“Supplies need to be ordered far in advance of a pandemic to avoid major problems with back orders and supply shortfalls,” the report concluded.Instead, public health offices, hospitals and medical clinics have largely been ordering supplies as they are needed. But just-in-time buying doesn’t work when supply chains collapse and every state and country competes in world markets for scarce equipment during a pandemic.“We’ve short-shrifted our public health structure, because we don’t need it until it happens. But then it’s too late to build it when there’s a pandemic,” said California state Sen. Richard Pan, a pediatrician.Sean Dunn, an Ohio lobbyist who has represented hospitals, product distributors and a health care services company, said government and health officials need to rethink their approach.“The notion of having to keep stores of anything, until a couple of weeks ago, was an old-fashioned notion,” Dunn said. “This is going to change our mindset.”___

State supply stocks sparse and dated before virus

The small town has zero COVID-19 cases but is under the same stay-at-home orders as everywhere else.

By LAURA ZIEGLER, <a href="https://www.kcur.org/community/2020-04-22/distancing-diaries-residents-of-neodesha-kansas-miss-gathering-on-main-street">Kansas News Service</a>

Bill Goodwin teaches high school English in Neodesha, Kansas. Population: 2,300.

As of Tuesday, there was only <a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/DocumentCenter/View/921/4-21-20-update-numbers" target="_blank">one COVID-19 case in all of Wilson County</a>, where Neodesha is located in the southeast part of the state.

When
 Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly shut down all the schools on March 17, 
Goodwin’s students began taking his classes online from home.

Just like communities across the globe, Neodesha's residents are grieving the loss of their ability to gather.

“For
 Neodesha, that didn’t happen when the colleges and sports teams 
cancelled their professional seasons,” Goodwin says. “It didn’t happen 
when the movie theaters or bars and restaurants closed.”

Neodesha doesn’t have either a bar or a movie theater. It has a handful of fast-food places: a Subway, Sonic and Pizza Hut.

The sense of isolation set in when all the school activities got canceled.

“Gone
 then were the high school baseball and softball games, the track 
meets,” Goodwin says. “Gone were the middle and high school vocal and 
band concerts. Gone was high school graduation.”

While the density
 of city life creates exponentially higher infection rates, it also can 
ease the burden of social distancing. In a small town like Neodesha, 
young and old alike see one another at these school activities, 
sometimes more than once on the same day.

Not long after the <a href="https://www.kcur.org/health/2020-03-28/kansas-governor-issues-a-statewide-stay-at-home-order-which-starts-monday">Governor’s stay-at-home order</a> went into effect, some residents did what they thought was a logical thing to bring people together.

They organized a cruise down Main Street.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1587651480950.png" alt="Bill Goodwin teaches high school English in Neodesha. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Bill Goodwin teaches high school English in Neodesha. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>The small town has zero COVID-19 cases but is under the same stay-at-home orders as everywhere else.</h2>By LAURA ZIEGLER, <a href="https://www.kcur.org/community/2020-04-22/distancing-diaries-residents-of-neodesha-kansas-miss-gathering-on-main-street">Kansas News Service</a>Bill Goodwin teaches high school English in Neodesha, Kansas. Population: 2,300.As of Tuesday, there was only <a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/DocumentCenter/View/921/4-21-20-update-numbers" target="_blank">one COVID-19 case in all of Wilson County</a>, where Neodesha is located in the southeast part of the state.When
 Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly shut down all the schools on March 17, 
Goodwin’s students began taking his classes online from home.Just like communities across the globe, Neodesha's residents are grieving the loss of their ability to gather.“For
 Neodesha, that didn’t happen when the colleges and sports teams 
cancelled their professional seasons,” Goodwin says. “It didn’t happen 
when the movie theaters or bars and restaurants closed.”Neodesha doesn’t have either a bar or a movie theater. It has a handful of fast-food places: a Subway, Sonic and Pizza Hut.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1587651578364.png" alt="The few restaurants in Neodesha have started curbside service. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>The few restaurants in Neodesha have started curbside service. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>The sense of isolation set in when all the school activities got canceled.“Gone
 then were the high school baseball and softball games, the track 
meets,” Goodwin says. “Gone were the middle and high school vocal and 
band concerts. Gone was high school graduation.”While the density
 of city life creates exponentially higher infection rates, it also can 
ease the burden of social distancing. In a small town like Neodesha, 
young and old alike see one another at these school activities, 
sometimes more than once on the same day.Not long after the <a href="https://www.kcur.org/health/2020-03-28/kansas-governor-issues-a-statewide-stay-at-home-order-which-starts-monday">Governor’s stay-at-home order</a> went into effect, some residents did what they thought was a logical thing to bring people together.They organized a cruise down Main Street.Hundreds
 came out in their cars, grinning and honking, rolling down their 
windows to shout greetings to each other. Goodwin says people were giddy
 to be gathering again.“Some people just couldn’t resist the 
opportunity to socialize and they got out of their vehicles and gathered
 with others to do the same."The city has prohibited any more such events.Goodwin
 says like everywhere, you’ve got your defiant residents who don’t 
follow the rules, and no one knows if they’ll ruin it for others by 
either getting infected or infecting others.But he says there 
have been other natural and man-made disasters that required people to 
sacrifice and come together, and they did.“And the town became stronger than before.”Laura Ziegler has been a producer with NPR in Washington D.C. and national NPR reporter covering the Midwest. Currently she’s a community engagement reporter and producer at KCUR. Email her at lauraz@kcur.org or reach her on Twitter @laurazig.&nbsp;