By RACHEL MIPRO <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/27/they-call-us-gay-for-a-reason-kansas-lgbtq-activists-talk-about-embracing-a-policy-of-love/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA
 — Melissa Stiehler remembers her experience as the first girl to come 
out at her high school, back in 2006, at the height of “don’t ask, don’t
 tell.”

She remembers seeing anti-gay 
marriage signs scattered across her neighborhood, and hearing homophobic
 rhetoric in the bathrooms and locker rooms.

“It was incredibly lonely,” Stiehler 
said. “I started LGBT activism at that point in time, basically, to make
 other gay friends, so I knew I wasn’t alone.”

Today, as an advocacy director with 
Loud Light, Stiehler is one of several activists embracing a policy of 
love amid a slew of anti-LGBTQ legislation. She and Jae Moyer, 
engagement coordinator with Mainstream Coalition, spoke about the 
current political climate during a Feb. 21 recording of the Kansas 
Reflector podcast.

Moyer’s journey followed a similar 
trajectory as Stiehler’s. Moyer was the first person in their high 
school to come out, as well — in the eighth grade, during former Gov. 
Sam Brownback’s administration.&nbsp;

By the time Moyer was a senior at 
their Overland Park high school, they were the president of their high 
school’s equality club and campaigning against anti-transgender bills. 
Years later, they are still making trips to the Statehouse to fight 
similar legislation.

Last week, the House <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/23/kansas-house-and-senate-both-pass-legislation-targeting-transgender-youth/">passed a transgender student athlete</a>
 ban and the Senate passed a bill banning doctors from providing 
gender-affirming care to minors. Some lawmakers described 
gender-affirming care as a form of mutilation.

One week in February was <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/13/kansas-democrats-describe-attempt-to-ban-transgender-student-athletes-as-crushing-weight/">referred to as “hate week,”</a>
 because of the amount of anti-LGBTQ legislation debated. During the 
week, Republican lawmakers argued for the removal of local 
anti-discrimination protections, as well as a bill that would ban 
transgender and intersex women from female-designated public spaces.

“It really does feel alienating,” 
Moyer said. “Especially when I remember what it was like to be an LGBTQ 
student, and to see now that our lawmakers are attacking our students in
 Kansas like this, it fills me with rage.”&nbsp;

The two said it can be emotionally 
draining to continually fight against harmful rhetoric, but are 
encouraged by their faith in Kansas communities. Stiehler said her 
activism was about love and acceptance in working to strengthen 
communities across Kansas.

“They call us gay for a reason,” 
Stiehler said. “We have so much joy and love in our heart and for each 
other, and taking the time to celebrate that and to affirm each other 
and really build that kind of authentic community.”

Stiehler referenced Pride 
celebrations in Dodge City and Garden City, along with the growing 
prevalence of gay-straight alliances in school as evidence of a shift in
 ideology.

“We’re seeing just joyful movement 
work happening in some of the places that never in my little baby gay 
hopes and dreams I could have imagined,” Stiehler said.

Moyer agreed with her about the 
importance of community. While they are worried about the Legislature’s 
plans to pass laws regulating transgender Kansans’ lives, Moyer said 
they are comforted by the thought of their community ties.

“At the end of the day, we don’t know
 if it’s all going to go away and all of our rights are going to be 
stripped away, and that is the scariest thought on Earth,” Moyer said. 
“But we at least know that there are other people in this space that 
understand what we’re going through, and it helps a lot to know that 
those people are there for us.

“They can’t legislate away our joy. 
They can’t legislate away our love. They can’t legislate away the kind 
of chosen families that we build with each other.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1677511854739.png" alt="Jae Moyer and Melissa Stiehler, LGBTQ activists, discuss the state’s political climate during a Feb. 21, 2023 podcast. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Jae Moyer and Melissa Stiehler, LGBTQ activists, discuss the state’s political climate during a Feb. 21, 2023 podcast. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>'They can’t legislate away our joy'</h2>By RACHEL MIPRO <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/27/they-call-us-gay-for-a-reason-kansas-lgbtq-activists-talk-about-embracing-a-policy-of-love/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA
 — Melissa Stiehler remembers her experience as the first girl to come 
out at her high school, back in 2006, at the height of “don’t ask, don’t
 tell.”She remembers seeing anti-gay 
marriage signs scattered across her neighborhood, and hearing homophobic
 rhetoric in the bathrooms and locker rooms.“It was incredibly lonely,” Stiehler 
said. “I started LGBT activism at that point in time, basically, to make
 other gay friends, so I knew I wasn’t alone.”Today, as an advocacy director with 
Loud Light, Stiehler is one of several activists embracing a policy of 
love amid a slew of anti-LGBTQ legislation. She and Jae Moyer, 
engagement coordinator with Mainstream Coalition, spoke about the 
current political climate during a Feb. 21 recording of the Kansas 
Reflector podcast.<div><iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1453608433&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe><div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/kansas-reflector-podcast" title="Reflector Podcast" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Reflector Podcast</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/kansas-reflector-podcast/2023-02-27-podcast" title="LGBTQ activists in Kansas embrace love to fight hate" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">LGBTQ activists in Kansas embrace love to fight hate</a></div></div>Moyer’s journey followed a similar 
trajectory as Stiehler’s. Moyer was the first person in their high 
school to come out, as well — in the eighth grade, during former Gov. 
Sam Brownback’s administration.&nbsp;By the time Moyer was a senior at 
their Overland Park high school, they were the president of their high 
school’s equality club and campaigning against anti-transgender bills. 
Years later, they are still making trips to the Statehouse to fight 
similar legislation.Last week, the House <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/23/kansas-house-and-senate-both-pass-legislation-targeting-transgender-youth/">passed a transgender student athlete</a>
 ban and the Senate passed a bill banning doctors from providing 
gender-affirming care to minors. Some lawmakers described 
gender-affirming care as a form of mutilation.One week in February was <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/13/kansas-democrats-describe-attempt-to-ban-transgender-student-athletes-as-crushing-weight/">referred to as “hate week,”</a>
 because of the amount of anti-LGBTQ legislation debated. During the 
week, Republican lawmakers argued for the removal of local 
anti-discrimination protections, as well as a bill that would ban 
transgender and intersex women from female-designated public spaces.“It really does feel alienating,” 
Moyer said. “Especially when I remember what it was like to be an LGBTQ 
student, and to see now that our lawmakers are attacking our students in
 Kansas like this, it fills me with rage.”&nbsp;The two said it can be emotionally 
draining to continually fight against harmful rhetoric, but are 
encouraged by their faith in Kansas communities. Stiehler said her 
activism was about love and acceptance in working to strengthen 
communities across Kansas.“They call us gay for a reason,” 
Stiehler said. “We have so much joy and love in our heart and for each 
other, and taking the time to celebrate that and to affirm each other 
and really build that kind of authentic community.”Stiehler referenced Pride 
celebrations in Dodge City and Garden City, along with the growing 
prevalence of gay-straight alliances in school as evidence of a shift in
 ideology.“We’re seeing just joyful movement 
work happening in some of the places that never in my little baby gay 
hopes and dreams I could have imagined,” Stiehler said.Moyer agreed with her about the 
importance of community. While they are worried about the Legislature’s 
plans to pass laws regulating transgender Kansans’ lives, Moyer said 
they are comforted by the thought of their community ties.“At the end of the day, we don’t know
 if it’s all going to go away and all of our rights are going to be 
stripped away, and that is the scariest thought on Earth,” Moyer said. 
“But we at least know that there are other people in this space that 
understand what we’re going through, and it helps a lot to know that 
those people are there for us.“They can’t legislate away our joy. 
They can’t legislate away our love. They can’t legislate away the kind 
of chosen families that we build with each other.”

Kansas LGBTQ activists talk about embracing a policy of love

WASHINGTON (AP) — The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;won't have far to look if it wants a personal take on the “crushing weight” of student debt that underlies the Biden administration’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/student-loan-forgiveness-biden-plan-d9c8e18774a744187c9af634bf4eb728">college loan forgiveness plan</a>.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-gun-politics-gay-rights-marriage-b9062feb4f80c49de088c36b0f17aa7c">Justice Clarence Thomas</a>&nbsp;was in his mid-40s and in his third year on the nation's highest court when he paid off the last of his debt from his time at Yale Law School.

Thomas, the court's longest-serving justice and staunchest conservative, has been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/21a240_d18e.pdf">skeptical of other Biden administration initiatives</a>. And when the Supreme Court hears arguments Tuesday involving&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/student-loans">President Joe Biden's debt relief plan</a>&nbsp;that would wipe away up to $20,000 in outstanding student loans, Thomas is not likely to be a vote in the administration's favor.

But the justices' own experiences can be relevant in how they approach a case, and alone among them, Thomas has written about the role student loans played in his financial struggles.

A fellow law school student even suggested Thomas declare bankruptcy after graduating “to get out from under the crushing weight of all my student loans," the justice wrote in his best-selling 2007 memoir, “My Grandfather’s Son." He rejected the idea.

It’s not clear that any of the other justices borrowed money to attend college or law school or have done so for their children’s educations. Some justices grew up in relative wealth. Others reported they had scholarships to pay their way to some of the country's most expensive private institutions.

Of the seven justices on the court who are parents, four have signaled through their investments that they don't want their own children to be saddled with onerous college debt, and have piled money into tax-free college savings accounts that might limit any need for loans.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Neil Gorsuch have the most on hand, at least $600,000 and at least $300,000, respectively, according to annual disclosure reports the justices filed in 2022. Each has two children.

Justices Amy Coney Barrett, who has seven children, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, who has two, also have invested money in college-savings accounts, in which any earnings or growth is tax free if spent on education.

None of the justices would comment for this story, a court spokeswoman said.

Thomas wrote vividly about his past money woes in his up-from-poverty story, recounting how a bank once foreclosed on one of his loans because repayment and delinquency notices were sent to his grandparents’ house in Savannah, Georgia, instead of Thomas’ home at the time in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Thomas was able to take out another loan to repay the bank only because his mentor, John Danforth, then-Missouri attorney general and later a U.S. senator, vouched for him.

Thomas noted that he signed up for a tuition postponement program at Yale in which a group of students jointly paid for their outstanding loans according to their financial ability, with those earning the most paying the most.

At the time, Thomas' first wife, Kathy, was pregnant. “I didn't know what else to do, so I signed on the dotted line, and spent the next two decades paying off the money I borrowed during my last two years at Yale,” Thomas wrote.

When he was first nominated to be a federal judge in 1989, Thomas reported $10,000 in outstanding student loans, according to a news report at the time. The Biden administration has picked the same number as the amount of debt relief most borrowers would get under its plan.

Personal experience can shape the justices' questions in the courtroom and affect their private conversations about a case, even if it doesn't figure in the outcome.

“It is helpful to have people with life experiences that are varied just because it enriches the conversation,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?322339-1/ceremony-honor-supreme-court-justices&amp;start=5657&amp;transcriptQuery=experience">Justice Sonia Sotomayor has said</a>. Sotomayor, like Thomas, also grew up poor. She got a full scholarship to Princeton as an undergraduate, she has said, and went on to Yale for law school, as Thomas did.

Keeping people from avoiding the kinds of difficult choices Thomas faced is a key part of the administration's argument for loan forgiveness.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22-506/251435/20230104222942852_22-506tsUnitedStates.pdf">The administration says</a>&nbsp;that without additional help, many borrowers will fall behind on their payments once a hold in place since the start of the coronavirus pandemic three years ago is lifted, no later than this summer.

Under a plan announced in August but so far blocked by federal courts, $10,000 in federal loans would be canceled for people making less than $125,000 or for households with less than $250,000 in income. Recipients of&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/grants/pell">Pell Grants</a>, who tend to have fewer financial resources, would get an additional $10,000 in debt forgiven.

The White House says 26 million people already have applied and 16 million have been approved for relief. The program is estimated to cost $400 billion over the next three decades.

The legal fight could turn on any of several elements, including whether the Republican-led states and individuals suing over the plan have legal standing to go to court and whether Biden has the authority under federal law for so extensive a loan forgiveness program.

Nebraska and other states challenging the program argue that far from falling behind, 20 million borrowers would get a "windfall” because their entire student debt would be erased, Nebraska Attorney General Michael Hilgers wrote in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22-506/253353/20230127155912043_2023.01.27%20-%20Respondents%20Brief%20FINAL.pdf">states' main Supreme Court brief</a>.

Which of those arguments resonate with the court may become clear on Tuesday.

When she was dean of Harvard Law School, Justice Elena Kagan showed her own concern about the high cost of law school, especially for students who were considering lower-paying jobs.

<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/18/us/18law.html">Kagan established a program</a>&nbsp;that would allow students to attend their final year tuition-free if they agreed to a five-year commitment to work in the public sector. While that program no longer exists, Harvard offers grants to students for public service work.

At the time the program was created,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.law.com/nationallawjournal/almID/1206040364238/">Kagan said she wanted students</a>&nbsp;to be able to go to work where they “can make the biggest difference, but that isn’t the case now.” Instead, she said: “They often go to work where they don’t want to work because of the debt burden.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673377040107.png" alt="Under a plan announced in August but so far blocked by federal courts, $10,000 in federal loans would be canceled for people making less than $125,000 or for households with less than $250,000 in income." />
 <figcaption>Under a plan announced in August but so far blocked by federal courts, $10,000 in federal loans would be canceled for people making less than $125,000 or for households with less than $250,000 in income.</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;won't have far to look if it wants a personal take on the “crushing weight” of student debt that underlies the Biden administration’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/student-loan-forgiveness-biden-plan-d9c8e18774a744187c9af634bf4eb728">college loan forgiveness plan</a>.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-gun-politics-gay-rights-marriage-b9062feb4f80c49de088c36b0f17aa7c">Justice Clarence Thomas</a>&nbsp;was in his mid-40s and in his third year on the nation's highest court when he paid off the last of his debt from his time at Yale Law School.Thomas, the court's longest-serving justice and staunchest conservative, has been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/21a240_d18e.pdf">skeptical of other Biden administration initiatives</a>. And when the Supreme Court hears arguments Tuesday involving&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/student-loans">President Joe Biden's debt relief plan</a>&nbsp;that would wipe away up to $20,000 in outstanding student loans, Thomas is not likely to be a vote in the administration's favor.But the justices' own experiences can be relevant in how they approach a case, and alone among them, Thomas has written about the role student loans played in his financial struggles.A fellow law school student even suggested Thomas declare bankruptcy after graduating “to get out from under the crushing weight of all my student loans," the justice wrote in his best-selling 2007 memoir, “My Grandfather’s Son." He rejected the idea.It’s not clear that any of the other justices borrowed money to attend college or law school or have done so for their children’s educations. Some justices grew up in relative wealth. Others reported they had scholarships to pay their way to some of the country's most expensive private institutions.Of the seven justices on the court who are parents, four have signaled through their investments that they don't want their own children to be saddled with onerous college debt, and have piled money into tax-free college savings accounts that might limit any need for loans.Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Neil Gorsuch have the most on hand, at least $600,000 and at least $300,000, respectively, according to annual disclosure reports the justices filed in 2022. Each has two children.Justices Amy Coney Barrett, who has seven children, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, who has two, also have invested money in college-savings accounts, in which any earnings or growth is tax free if spent on education.None of the justices would comment for this story, a court spokeswoman said.Thomas wrote vividly about his past money woes in his up-from-poverty story, recounting how a bank once foreclosed on one of his loans because repayment and delinquency notices were sent to his grandparents’ house in Savannah, Georgia, instead of Thomas’ home at the time in Jefferson City, Missouri.Thomas was able to take out another loan to repay the bank only because his mentor, John Danforth, then-Missouri attorney general and later a U.S. senator, vouched for him.Thomas noted that he signed up for a tuition postponement program at Yale in which a group of students jointly paid for their outstanding loans according to their financial ability, with those earning the most paying the most.At the time, Thomas' first wife, Kathy, was pregnant. “I didn't know what else to do, so I signed on the dotted line, and spent the next two decades paying off the money I borrowed during my last two years at Yale,” Thomas wrote.When he was first nominated to be a federal judge in 1989, Thomas reported $10,000 in outstanding student loans, according to a news report at the time. The Biden administration has picked the same number as the amount of debt relief most borrowers would get under its plan.Personal experience can shape the justices' questions in the courtroom and affect their private conversations about a case, even if it doesn't figure in the outcome.“It is helpful to have people with life experiences that are varied just because it enriches the conversation,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?322339-1/ceremony-honor-supreme-court-justices&amp;start=5657&amp;transcriptQuery=experience">Justice Sonia Sotomayor has said</a>. Sotomayor, like Thomas, also grew up poor. She got a full scholarship to Princeton as an undergraduate, she has said, and went on to Yale for law school, as Thomas did.Keeping people from avoiding the kinds of difficult choices Thomas faced is a key part of the administration's argument for loan forgiveness.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22-506/251435/20230104222942852_22-506tsUnitedStates.pdf">The administration says</a>&nbsp;that without additional help, many borrowers will fall behind on their payments once a hold in place since the start of the coronavirus pandemic three years ago is lifted, no later than this summer.Under a plan announced in August but so far blocked by federal courts, $10,000 in federal loans would be canceled for people making less than $125,000 or for households with less than $250,000 in income. Recipients of&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/grants/pell">Pell Grants</a>, who tend to have fewer financial resources, would get an additional $10,000 in debt forgiven.The White House says 26 million people already have applied and 16 million have been approved for relief. The program is estimated to cost $400 billion over the next three decades.The legal fight could turn on any of several elements, including whether the Republican-led states and individuals suing over the plan have legal standing to go to court and whether Biden has the authority under federal law for so extensive a loan forgiveness program.Nebraska and other states challenging the program argue that far from falling behind, 20 million borrowers would get a "windfall” because their entire student debt would be erased, Nebraska Attorney General Michael Hilgers wrote in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22-506/253353/20230127155912043_2023.01.27%20-%20Respondents%20Brief%20FINAL.pdf">states' main Supreme Court brief</a>.Which of those arguments resonate with the court may become clear on Tuesday.When she was dean of Harvard Law School, Justice Elena Kagan showed her own concern about the high cost of law school, especially for students who were considering lower-paying jobs.<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/18/us/18law.html">Kagan established a program</a>&nbsp;that would allow students to attend their final year tuition-free if they agreed to a five-year commitment to work in the public sector. While that program no longer exists, Harvard offers grants to students for public service work.At the time the program was created,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.law.com/nationallawjournal/almID/1206040364238/">Kagan said she wanted students</a>&nbsp;to be able to go to work where they “can make the biggest difference, but that isn’t the case now.” Instead, she said: “They often go to work where they don’t want to work because of the debt burden.”

Supreme Court set to hear case on student loan debt relief

SEWARD COUNTY —Parts of southwest Kansas, Oklahoma and northwest Texas counted the injured and surveyed the damage Monday after tornadoes and other powerful winds swept through.

Police in Norman, Oklahoma, responded Sunday night to storm damage in parts of the city, about 20 miles south of Oklahoma City. Officials said there were 12 confirmed weather-related injuries there, none considered critical.

Crews canvassed the damaged area looking for others who might be injured. Possible tornadoes and wind gusts as high as 90 mph&nbsp; were reported in Oklahoma, with downed trees and power lines, road closures and damage to homes around Norman and Shawnee.

Frances Tabler, of Norman,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-norman-storm-damage-tornado-police/43088223">told KOCO-TV</a>&nbsp;that she suffered a small cut on her head when a storm hit her home, tearing off much of its roof and sending debris flying. She said it was a miracle her children weren't hurt, although her daughter was trapped for awhile in a bedroom.

“I could hear the wind coming. All of a sudden all the back windows, where the kids bedrooms are, I could hear them just crashing, busting out. And I got up, and then the wind just threw me back, and I’m screaming," Tabler told KOCO. “It was just like a blizzard in the house with all the debris flying. I was screaming for my kids.”

Tornadoes touched down Sunday near Liberal, Kansas and near Ingalls in Gray County Kansas according to the National Weather Service. More than a dozen homes were reported damaged.

There were reports of nine tornadoes in Kansas, Oklahoma and northwestern Texas, said Bob Oravec, a lead forecaster for the weather service. Weather service teams planned to survey storm damage Monday to determine the strength of the tornadoes.

SEWARD COUNTY— Severe weather rolled across Kansas Sunday night with tornadoes, damaging winds and heavy rain.

The National Weather Service confirmed tornadoes in Seward and Gray County. In Liberal, several homes, trailer houses, highway signs and sheds were damaged, according to Sgt. Efrain Chavez with the Seward County Sheriff's office.&nbsp; Portions of the county also had a brief power outage.&nbsp;

Some buildings were damaged and power poles down in Gray County, according to Emergency Management Preparedness Coordinator Sean Wendel.

In Finney County,&nbsp;U.S. 50 from Holcomb to Anderson Road in both directions is closed the next two days as crews repair downed power lines from Sunday's storm. Tyson employees, other motorists are advised they cannot take the highway to the plant.

Wind gusts of over 80 miles per hour in Sublette downed power poles and damaged a bowling alley at&nbsp;1103 West La Lande Avenue, according to the Haskell County Sheriff's office. There are no reports of injuries from the storm.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1677521233983.png" alt="&nbsp;A 345-kv transmission line belonging to Sunflower Electric, the&nbsp; power supplier for Wheatland Electric that was damaged in Sunday's storms-photo courtesy Wheatland Electric" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;A 345-kv transmission line belonging to Sunflower Electric, the&nbsp; power supplier for Wheatland Electric that was damaged in Sunday's storms-photo courtesy Wheatland Electric</figcaption>
 </figure>SEWARD COUNTY —Parts of southwest Kansas, Oklahoma and northwest Texas counted the injured and surveyed the damage Monday after tornadoes and other powerful winds swept through.Police in Norman, Oklahoma, responded Sunday night to storm damage in parts of the city, about 20 miles south of Oklahoma City. Officials said there were 12 confirmed weather-related injuries there, none considered critical.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1677497478715.png" alt="80 mph winds in Haskell County in southwest Kansas caused damage Sunday night.-photo courtesy Thunder Strike Bowling in Sublette" />
 <figcaption>80 mph winds in Haskell County in southwest Kansas caused damage Sunday night.-photo courtesy Thunder Strike Bowling in Sublette</figcaption>
 </figure>Crews canvassed the damaged area looking for others who might be injured. Possible tornadoes and wind gusts as high as 90 mph&nbsp; were reported in Oklahoma, with downed trees and power lines, road closures and damage to homes around Norman and Shawnee.Frances Tabler, of Norman,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-norman-storm-damage-tornado-police/43088223">told KOCO-TV</a>&nbsp;that she suffered a small cut on her head when a storm hit her home, tearing off much of its roof and sending debris flying. She said it was a miracle her children weren't hurt, although her daughter was trapped for awhile in a bedroom.“I could hear the wind coming. All of a sudden all the back windows, where the kids bedrooms are, I could hear them just crashing, busting out. And I got up, and then the wind just threw me back, and I’m screaming," Tabler told KOCO. “It was just like a blizzard in the house with all the debris flying. I was screaming for my kids.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">GARDEN CITY: U.S. 50 from Holcomb to Garden City both directions is CLOSED due to downed power lines from high winds. Traffic is being routed on Old U.S. 50 to Anderson RD. At this time there is no estimated time on when the highway will reopen. <a href="https://t.co/B6CB8H6ouQ">pic.twitter.com/B6CB8H6ouQ</a>&mdash; SWKansasKDOT (@SWKansasKDOT) <a href="https://twitter.com/SWKansasKDOT/status/1630000850360754181?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Tornadoes touched down Sunday near Liberal, Kansas and near Ingalls in Gray County Kansas according to the National Weather Service. More than a dozen homes were reported damaged.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1677517599030.png" alt="NWS Dodge City" />
 <figcaption>NWS Dodge City</figcaption>
 </figure>There were reports of nine tornadoes in Kansas, Oklahoma and northwestern Texas, said Bob Oravec, a lead forecaster for the weather service. Weather service teams planned to survey storm damage Monday to determine the strength of the tornadoes.----------------SEWARD COUNTY— Severe weather rolled across Kansas Sunday night with tornadoes, damaging winds and heavy rain.The National Weather Service confirmed tornadoes in Seward and Gray County. In Liberal, several homes, trailer houses, highway signs and sheds were damaged, according to Sgt. Efrain Chavez with the Seward County Sheriff's office.&nbsp; Portions of the county also had a brief power outage.&nbsp;Some buildings were damaged and power poles down in Gray County, according to Emergency Management Preparedness Coordinator Sean Wendel.In Finney County,&nbsp;U.S. 50 from Holcomb to Anderson Road in both directions is closed the next two days as crews repair downed power lines from Sunday's storm. Tyson employees, other motorists are advised they cannot take the highway to the plant.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">GARDEN CITY: U.S. 50 from Holcomb to Garden City both directions is CLOSED due to downed power lines from high winds. Traffic is being routed on Old U.S. 50 to Anderson RD. At this time there is no estimated time on when the highway will reopen. <a href="https://t.co/B6CB8H6ouQ">pic.twitter.com/B6CB8H6ouQ</a>&mdash; SWKansasKDOT (@SWKansasKDOT) <a href="https://twitter.com/SWKansasKDOT/status/1630000850360754181?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Wind gusts of over 80 miles per hour in Sublette downed power poles and damaged a bowling alley at&nbsp;1103 West La Lande Avenue, according to the Haskell County Sheriff's office. There are no reports of injuries from the storm.

9 tornadoes Sunday in Kansas, Oklahoma and NW Texas

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the first combination test for flu and C<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic">OVID-19</a>&nbsp;that can be used at home, giving consumers an easy way to determine if a runny nose is caused by either disease.

The Lucira COVID-19 &amp; Flu Home test, which can be purchased without a prescription, uses self-collected nasal swab samples and delivers results in about 30 minutes, the agency said.

While at-home COVID tests are readily available, this is the first home test for influenza A and B, commonly known as the flu. The test was granted an emergency use authorization, which facilitates the availability of “medical countermeasures” during public health emergencies.

Jeff Shuren, director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, called the authorization “a major milestone in bringing greater consumer access to diagnostic tests that can be performed entirely at home.”

The agency said the test is for individuals “with signs and symptoms consistent with a respiratory tract infection” and said it can be used on children as young as 2, with adults collecting the samples.

It recommends that tests be reported to healthcare providers and cautions that there is a risk of false positive and negative results. “Individuals who test negative and continue to experience symptoms of fever, cough and-or shortness of breath may still have a respiratory infection and should seek follow-up care with their healthcare provider,” the agency said.

Citing the impact of COVID and RSV, another respiratory infection, the FDA said it “recognizes the benefits that home testing can provide” and would work to increase the number of tests available.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1677419539318.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the first combination test for flu and C<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic">OVID-19</a>&nbsp;that can be used at home, giving consumers an easy way to determine if a runny nose is caused by either disease.The Lucira COVID-19 &amp; Flu Home test, which can be purchased without a prescription, uses self-collected nasal swab samples and delivers results in about 30 minutes, the agency said.While at-home COVID tests are readily available, this is the first home test for influenza A and B, commonly known as the flu. The test was granted an emergency use authorization, which facilitates the availability of “medical countermeasures” during public health emergencies.Jeff Shuren, director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, called the authorization “a major milestone in bringing greater consumer access to diagnostic tests that can be performed entirely at home.”The agency said the test is for individuals “with signs and symptoms consistent with a respiratory tract infection” and said it can be used on children as young as 2, with adults collecting the samples.It recommends that tests be reported to healthcare providers and cautions that there is a risk of false positive and negative results. “Individuals who test negative and continue to experience symptoms of fever, cough and-or shortness of breath may still have a respiratory infection and should seek follow-up care with their healthcare provider,” the agency said.Citing the impact of COVID and RSV, another respiratory infection, the FDA said it “recognizes the benefits that home testing can provide” and would work to increase the number of tests available.

First at-home test for COVID and flu authorized by FDA

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect in connection with a shooting.

Early Sunday, police were dispatched to the 3200 block of SE Topeka Blvd. on multiple reports of gunfire in the area, according to LT. John Trimble.

Police located one person suffering from non-life threatening gunshot wounds. A short time later two more victims arrived at local hospital with non-life threatening gunshot wounds.&nbsp;

Later Sunday morning, police investigators identified and arrested a suspect Michael E. Moten II, 27, of Topeka on requested charges of Criminal Discharge of a Firearm at a vehicle.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1677452871962.png" alt="Moten-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Moten-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect in connection with a shooting.Early Sunday, police were dispatched to the 3200 block of SE Topeka Blvd. on multiple reports of gunfire in the area, according to LT. John Trimble.Police located one person suffering from non-life threatening gunshot wounds. A short time later two more victims arrived at local hospital with non-life threatening gunshot wounds.&nbsp;Later Sunday morning, police investigators identified and arrested a suspect Michael E. Moten II, 27, of Topeka on requested charges of Criminal Discharge of a Firearm at a vehicle.

Police: 3 hospitalized, Kan. man accused of shooting at vehicle

KANSAS CITY —U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will visit the Kansas City area again Monday, according to Mayor Quinton Lucas.&nbsp; 

Buttigieg, who has visited the region several times since he joined the Biden administration, will participate in the celebration for the completion of the new <a href="https://flykc.com/">Kansas City International Airport terminal.</a>&nbsp;The terminal officially opens Tuesday.&nbsp;

He is also scheduled to visit the future site of the multibillion-dollar Panasonic electric vehicle battery plant&nbsp; in De Soto, Kansas, 30 miles southwest of Kansas City.

In January of 2022, Buttigieg stopped in Kansas City to promote the President's&nbsp; infrastructure legislation with a visit to the Rock Island railroad bridge and the Cesar Chavez Bridge that carries vehicles over the Kansas River.

In October 0f 2022, Buttigieg  addressed a rally for Democrat candidates in Kansas City, Kansas. Senate candidate Mark Holland, Kansas State Treasurer Lynn Rogers and KCMO Mayor Quinton Lucas attended. Governor Laura Kelly did not attend the event. She was on a tour of Quest Diagnostics in nearby Lenexa that afternoon.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1677461584778.png" alt="Buttigieg and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas-courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Buttigieg and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas-courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will visit the Kansas City area again Monday, according to Mayor Quinton Lucas.&nbsp; Buttigieg, who has visited the region several times since he joined the Biden administration, will participate in the celebration for the completion of the new <a href="https://flykc.com/">Kansas City International Airport terminal.</a>&nbsp;The terminal officially opens Tuesday.&nbsp;He is also scheduled to visit the future site of the multibillion-dollar Panasonic electric vehicle battery plant&nbsp; in De Soto, Kansas, 30 miles southwest of Kansas City.In January of 2022, Buttigieg stopped in Kansas City to promote the President's&nbsp; infrastructure legislation with a visit to the Rock Island railroad bridge and the Cesar Chavez Bridge that carries vehicles over the Kansas River.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1666233119638.png" alt="Buttigieg and U.S. Senate candidate Mark Holland during an October 2022 campaign stop in Kansas." />
 <figcaption>Buttigieg and U.S. Senate candidate Mark Holland during an October 2022 campaign stop in Kansas.</figcaption>
 </figure>In October 0f 2022, Buttigieg addressed a rally for Democrat candidates in Kansas City, Kansas. Senate candidate Mark Holland, Kansas State Treasurer Lynn Rogers and KCMO Mayor Quinton Lucas attended. Governor Laura Kelly did not attend the event. She was on a tour of Quest Diagnostics in nearby Lenexa that afternoon.&nbsp;

Transportation Sec. Buttigieg to visit Kansas again Monday

Wilmington, Del. (AP) — Republican lawmakers on Sunday criticized the Biden administration for not sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, as tensions simmer about whether China could send weapons to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">help Russia in the year-long war</a>.

But White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said they're providing Ukraine with the military aid needed to retake territory seized by Russia and that China has yet to supply military equipment. The domestic politics of support for Ukraine are also complicated by some Republican lawmakers who say the administration should pull back and focus more on domestic needs.

Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, told ABC's “This Week” that planes and long-range artillery could help end the war on a faster timeline.

“This whole thing is taking too long,” McCaul said. “And it really didn't have to happen this way.”

Ukraine won support last month from Baltic nations and Poland in its quest to obtain Western fighter jets, but there have been no signs that larger nations like the U.S. and Britain will change their stance of refusing to provide warplanes to Kyiv. Biden said in an ABC News interview on Friday that he’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-us-department-of-the-treasury-government-janet-yellen-business-f85483ad976990a056c9bfc6b504a07d">“ruling it out for now,"</a>&nbsp;saying that they are not the weaponry that Ukrainians need in the near term.

McCaul described the relationship between Russia and China as an “unholy alliance” and stressed the risks that could come from an upcoming meeting between&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/xi-jinping">Chinese President Xi Jinping</a>&nbsp;and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On NBC's “Meet the Press,” Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said the White House has been slow in providing the military equipment that Ukraine seeks, including jets. “That has been a pattern with this administration from the beginning, where they have slow-rolled critical military weapons systems," he said.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the U.S. is already providing parts to keep Ukraine's fleet of Soviet-era jets flying, but supplying F-16s “is really a question for another day, for another phase” of the war, he told NBC.

Sullivan also played down tensions about possible Chinese support for Russia's military.

“We have not seen China yet provide military equipment to Russia for purposes of fighting the war in Ukraine,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan said he does not think it is in China's interest to provide weapons to Russia, saying it would “alienate them from a number of countries in the world, including our European allies.” He also noted that providing those weapons would put China in a place of “responsibility” for “the kinds of war crimes and bombardment of civilians and atrocities that the Russians are committing in Ukraine,” though he said the choice ultimately belongs to China.

China has submitted the outlines of a peace plan between Russia and Ukraine. But Sullivan said that Xi has not spoken with Ukrainian President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/volodymyr-zelenskyy">Volodymyr Zelenskyy</a>&nbsp;since the war began. The Ukrainian leader said he would like to speak with his Chinese counterpart.

“It's very difficult to advance any kind of peace initiative when there's that kind of one-sided diplomacy going on," Sullivan said.

On Monday, Biden made a surprise visit to Ukraine where he re-affirmed the U.S. commitment. Some Republican lawmakers criticized him for not going instead to East Palestine, Ohio, where&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-pete-buttigieg-evacuations-ohio-explosions-64908a6416662b5866809387f210aee5">a Feb. 3 train derailment</a>&nbsp;has led to concerns about the release of toxic chemicals.

Wilmington, Del. (AP) — Republican lawmakers on Sunday criticized the Biden administration for not sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, as tensions simmer about whether China could send weapons to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">help Russia in the year-long war</a>.But White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said they're providing Ukraine with the military aid needed to retake territory seized by Russia and that China has yet to supply military equipment. The domestic politics of support for Ukraine are also complicated by some Republican lawmakers who say the administration should pull back and focus more on domestic needs.Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, told ABC's “This Week” that planes and long-range artillery could help end the war on a faster timeline.“This whole thing is taking too long,” McCaul said. “And it really didn't have to happen this way.”Ukraine won support last month from Baltic nations and Poland in its quest to obtain Western fighter jets, but there have been no signs that larger nations like the U.S. and Britain will change their stance of refusing to provide warplanes to Kyiv. Biden said in an ABC News interview on Friday that he’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-us-department-of-the-treasury-government-janet-yellen-business-f85483ad976990a056c9bfc6b504a07d">“ruling it out for now,"</a>&nbsp;saying that they are not the weaponry that Ukrainians need in the near term.McCaul described the relationship between Russia and China as an “unholy alliance” and stressed the risks that could come from an upcoming meeting between&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/xi-jinping">Chinese President Xi Jinping</a>&nbsp;and Russian President Vladimir Putin.On NBC's “Meet the Press,” Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said the White House has been slow in providing the military equipment that Ukraine seeks, including jets. “That has been a pattern with this administration from the beginning, where they have slow-rolled critical military weapons systems," he said.White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the U.S. is already providing parts to keep Ukraine's fleet of Soviet-era jets flying, but supplying F-16s “is really a question for another day, for another phase” of the war, he told NBC.Sullivan also played down tensions about possible Chinese support for Russia's military.“We have not seen China yet provide military equipment to Russia for purposes of fighting the war in Ukraine,” Sullivan said.Sullivan said he does not think it is in China's interest to provide weapons to Russia, saying it would “alienate them from a number of countries in the world, including our European allies.” He also noted that providing those weapons would put China in a place of “responsibility” for “the kinds of war crimes and bombardment of civilians and atrocities that the Russians are committing in Ukraine,” though he said the choice ultimately belongs to China.China has submitted the outlines of a peace plan between Russia and Ukraine. But Sullivan said that Xi has not spoken with Ukrainian President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/volodymyr-zelenskyy">Volodymyr Zelenskyy</a>&nbsp;since the war began. The Ukrainian leader said he would like to speak with his Chinese counterpart.“It's very difficult to advance any kind of peace initiative when there's that kind of one-sided diplomacy going on," Sullivan said.On Monday, Biden made a surprise visit to Ukraine where he re-affirmed the U.S. commitment. Some Republican lawmakers criticized him for not going instead to East Palestine, Ohio, where&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-pete-buttigieg-evacuations-ohio-explosions-64908a6416662b5866809387f210aee5">a Feb. 3 train derailment</a>&nbsp;has led to concerns about the release of toxic chemicals.

GOP lawmakers assail Biden for not sending F-16s to Ukraine

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting and have identified a suspect identified as 43-year-old Larry Powell. He is described 5-foot 4, 217 pounds and is believed to be driving a dark colored van with 60-day tags.

Just after 5p.m. Tuesday, police were dispatched to a shooting at a motel in the 5700 block of West Kellogg Drive in Wichita, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.

First responders located a 50-year-old man unconscious and not breathing with a gunshot wound to his upper body. Officers began providing life-saving efforts until EMS arrived. 

The victim, from Santa Cruz, California, was transported to a local hospital where he was later pronounced deceased.&nbsp;

The investigation revealed that the victim had a verbal altercation with Powell. That argument turned physical at which point the Powell allegedly started shooting and striking the victim once.

Investigators are still working to determine the circumstances leading up to the shooting and the relationship between the victim and the Powell.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1677097918663.png" alt="Powell photo Wichita Police" />
 <figcaption>Powell photo Wichita Police</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting and have identified a suspect identified as 43-year-old Larry Powell. He is described 5-foot 4, 217 pounds and is believed to be driving a dark colored van with 60-day tags.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1677098093011.png" alt="Photo Wichita Police" />
 <figcaption>Photo Wichita Police</figcaption>
 </figure>Just after 5p.m. Tuesday, police were dispatched to a shooting at a motel in the 5700 block of West Kellogg Drive in Wichita, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.First responders located a 50-year-old man unconscious and not breathing with a gunshot wound to his upper body. Officers began providing life-saving efforts until EMS arrived. <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1677085113323.png" alt="Police on the scene of the investigation -photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of the investigation -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>The victim, from Santa Cruz, California, was transported to a local hospital where he was later pronounced deceased.&nbsp;The investigation revealed that the victim had a verbal altercation with Powell. That argument turned physical at which point the Powell allegedly started shooting and striking the victim once.Investigators are still working to determine the circumstances leading up to the shooting and the relationship between the victim and the Powell.

Search continues for suspect in Kansas motel killing

COWLEY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities continue working to identify the driver in a fatal accident that occurred just after 11p.m. Saturday Feb. 18, in Cowley County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1995 Chevy Camaro was eastbound on 33rd Avenue at Meadowlark in Winfield. The car crossed the centerline, left the roadway, rolled and struck a telephone pole.

A passenger in the car identified as Nicholas R. Morris, 27, Arkansas City, was pronounced dead at the scene and transported Miles Mortuary. The driver of the vehicle fled the scene of the accident.&nbsp; 

Authorities are waiting for additional evidence to confirm the identity of the driver, according to the KHP.&nbsp;&nbsp;

COWLEY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities continue working to identify the driver in a fatal accident that occurred just after 11p.m. Saturday Feb. 18, in Cowley County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1995 Chevy Camaro was eastbound on 33rd Avenue at Meadowlark in Winfield. The car crossed the centerline, left the roadway, rolled and struck a telephone pole.A passenger in the car identified as Nicholas R. Morris, 27, Arkansas City, was pronounced dead at the scene and transported Miles Mortuary. The driver of the vehicle fled the scene of the accident.&nbsp; Authorities are waiting for additional evidence to confirm the identity of the driver, according to the KHP.&nbsp;&nbsp;------------

KHP continues work to ID driver in fatal Kansas crash

KANSAS CITY– A former Kansas City man who moved to Mexico and lived under another name, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to producing child pornography.

Wyatt Christopher Maxwell, also known as “Louis Whitaker,” 23, was charged in a five-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City on Feb. 7, 2023, according to the United State's Attorney.

 That indictment has been unsealed and made public upon Maxwell’s arrest in Mexico on Feb. 14, 2023, and initial court appearance in the Central District of California (in Los Angeles, Calif.) on Feb. 16, 2023.

Maxwell lived in Kansas City at the time of the alleged offenses, but afterward moved to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where he went by the name “Louis Whitaker” as a cabaret singer.

The federal indictment alleges that Maxwell used a minor victim to produce child pornography between July 31, 2020, and Feb. 1, 2021. The indictment also alleges that Maxwell transported the minor victim across state lines from Kansas to Missouri to engage in illegal sexual activity.

Maxwell is also charged with two counts of distributing child pornography over the internet and one count of possessing child pornography.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1677451252783.png" alt="Maxwell "Louis Whitaker" photo courtesy Out and About Puerto Vallarta" />
 <figcaption>Maxwell "Louis Whitaker" photo courtesy Out and About Puerto Vallarta</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY– A former Kansas City man who moved to Mexico and lived under another name, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to producing child pornography.Wyatt Christopher Maxwell, also known as “Louis Whitaker,” 23, was charged in a five-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City on Feb. 7, 2023, according to the United State's Attorney. That indictment has been unsealed and made public upon Maxwell’s arrest in Mexico on Feb. 14, 2023, and initial court appearance in the Central District of California (in Los Angeles, Calif.) on Feb. 16, 2023.Maxwell lived in Kansas City at the time of the alleged offenses, but afterward moved to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where he went by the name “Louis Whitaker” as a cabaret singer.The federal indictment alleges that Maxwell used a minor victim to produce child pornography between July 31, 2020, and Feb. 1, 2021. The indictment also alleges that Maxwell transported the minor victim across state lines from Kansas to Missouri to engage in illegal sexual activity.Maxwell is also charged with two counts of distributing child pornography over the internet and one count of possessing child pornography.

Indictment: KC child porn suspect moved to Mexico, changed name

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on multiple charges after an overnight arrest.

Just before 12:30a.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to the 1900 block of SE Washington in Topeka for an alleged aggravated assault, according to Police Sgt. Jake Cobbler. 

Upon officers arriving in the area a subject wanted in connection to the assault was located and stopped in a traffic stop. Officers made contact with 38-year-old Julian Everett who initiated several short low speed vehicle pursuits and eventually stopped in the 1200 block of SE Washington in Topeka. Everett told officers he had a firearm.

TPD’s Response Team and Crisis Negotiators responded to the scene and attempted to make contact with Everett.

Just after 3a.m. police took Everett into custody without incident and

transported him to the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of Aggravated Assault, Felony Flee and attempt to Elude Law Enforcement Officer, Interference with Law Enforcement Officer and Multiple Traffic Offenses.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1677452360157.png" alt="Everett-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Everett-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on multiple charges after an overnight arrest.Just before 12:30a.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to the 1900 block of SE Washington in Topeka for an alleged aggravated assault, according to Police Sgt. Jake Cobbler. Upon officers arriving in the area a subject wanted in connection to the assault was located and stopped in a traffic stop. Officers made contact with 38-year-old Julian Everett who initiated several short low speed vehicle pursuits and eventually stopped in the 1200 block of SE Washington in Topeka. Everett told officers he had a firearm.TPD’s Response Team and Crisis Negotiators responded to the scene and attempted to make contact with Everett.Just after 3a.m. police took Everett into custody without incident andtransported him to the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of Aggravated Assault, Felony Flee and attempt to Elude Law Enforcement Officer, Interference with Law Enforcement Officer and Multiple Traffic Offenses.

Police arrest Kansas assault suspect after standoff

By SAMANTHA HORTON <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2023-02-22/despite-a-federal-rule-its-still-hard-to-comparison-shop-hospital-care-in-kansas">Kansas News Service</a>

Two years after federal rules first required hospitals to tell you 
what they’re charging for different services, one report suggests only 
15% of Kansas hospitals hit the mark.

The consumer group Patient Rights Advocate’s <a href="https://www.patientrightsadvocate.org/february-semi-annual-compliance-report-2023" target="_blank">February report </a>found
 three of the 20 hospital systems that it reviews in the state — the 
organization focused on the largest hospital systems — fully comply with
 the federal price transparency rule. The group said several on the list
 were partially complying.

“We can count on what milk is going to 
be charged, or even eggs. We know eggs have gone up because of supply 
and demand. But we will know what those prices are,” Patient Rights 
Advocate founder Cynthia Fisher said. “It’s not like you find out what 
the dozen eggs costs, weeks or months later, and it’s 100 times more 
than you would have ever expected.”

The group’s report reviewed 2,000 hospitals nationwide and focused on
 the larger health systems in the country. The national rate of 25% of 
hospitals in compliance, by the group’s accounting, is almost double 
what it found in Kansas.

“We applaud those hospitals that are 
fully posting all of their prices,” Fisher said. “However, that shows 
you that the other largest hospitals in Kansas are flouting the law.”

The
 report strongly conflicts with a more limited sampling conducted by the
 federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The government 
agency released a <a href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/hospital-price-transparency-progress-and-commitment-achieving-its-potential" target="_blank">report this month</a>
 that said 70% of the 600 hospitals it reviewed met the website 
assessment criteria. They include machine-readable files and 
consumer-friendly displays such as a price estimate tool. That marked a 
27% improvement from what CMS found a year ago.

The Patients Right
 Advocate report shows that Centura Health, which runs two St. Catherine
 hospital locations in western Kansas, did not live up to the federal 
rules. That hospital group challenged the findings.

“We encourage 
our patients to request a patient-specific price estimate to help them 
determine their costs,” the organization said in a statement. 
“Additionally, Centura Health and our 19 hospitals are compliant with 
federal law regarding price transparency.”

Mercy Hospital in 
Columbus, Kansas, was also listed as non-compliant. But officials there 
say they have met all the CMS requirements.

“CMS determines 
hospitals’ compliance with these regulations, and while political groups
 continue to ask for new rules and regulation, they don't set the 
requirements,” a hospital spokesperson said in a statement. “We stand by
 our transparency efforts, which are supported by the fact we acted 
quickly to correct a single request raised by CMS in 2021. We would do 
the same if CMS had other concerns.”

Turquoise Health collects 
data from hospitals and grades them on price transparency. It scores 
Centura’s St. Catherine-Garden City hospital five out of five stars and 
Mercy Hospital in Columbus two out of five stars on compliance. 
Centura’s St. Catherine-Dodge City does not have a scorecard.

Even when hospitals make the numbers available, they often do so in confusing ways. A <a href="https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/ongoing-challenges-with-hospital-price-transparency/" target="_blank">recent analysis</a>
 by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that hospitals are inconsistent 
with where the price transparency data is located on the website and how
 the files are organized.

“Even if there was a specific condition 
that the patient’s trying to price shop on, there’s a lot of times key 
information missing in the data,” co-author Krutika Amin said. “And when
 the data is available for the patient, it might be difficult to figure 
out what all different pieces go into the service that they’re seeking.”

Amin
 said to get a true estimate one might have to combine different costs 
that would be bundled in a medical bill but are listed individually 
online.

“It might take some maneuvering for even an expert to cobble together the pieces that make up the costs for care,” she said.

Missing codes also can make it difficult to know the difference in charges between inpatient and outpatient settings, Amin said.

Fisher,
 the Patient Rights Advocate founder, said CMS needs to enforce its 
rules more aggressively. The federal agency has sent warning letters to 
about 500 hospitals, but it has only fined two hospitals — both in 
Georgia in 2022. The two became compliant after they were fined.

Starting
 this year, the Biden Administration increased possible fines for 
failing to comply. They range from $300 to $5,500 per day.

Fisher said the first step in addressing high health care costs is making hospitals reveal prices easily readable by consumers.

“The
 only way we can get there is to be able to see the wide variety of 
prices that there are now and to comparatively see what's happening 
across the state of Kansas on pricing,” she said, “and how that compares
 to adjacent states.”

Samantha Horton covers health care for KCUR and the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/SamHorton5" target="_blank">@SamHorton5</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1677076250175.png" alt="St. Catherine Hospital located in Garden City was listed in a report about hospitals not fully complying with federal price transparency guidelines. David Condos / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>St. Catherine Hospital located in Garden City was listed in a report about hospitals not fully complying with federal price transparency guidelines. David Condos / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By SAMANTHA HORTON <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2023-02-22/despite-a-federal-rule-its-still-hard-to-comparison-shop-hospital-care-in-kansas">Kansas News Service</a>Two years after federal rules first required hospitals to tell you 
what they’re charging for different services, one report suggests only 
15% of Kansas hospitals hit the mark.The consumer group Patient Rights Advocate’s <a href="https://www.patientrightsadvocate.org/february-semi-annual-compliance-report-2023" target="_blank">February report </a>found
 three of the 20 hospital systems that it reviews in the state — the 
organization focused on the largest hospital systems — fully comply with
 the federal price transparency rule. The group said several on the list
 were partially complying.“We can count on what milk is going to 
be charged, or even eggs. We know eggs have gone up because of supply 
and demand. But we will know what those prices are,” Patient Rights 
Advocate founder Cynthia Fisher said. “It’s not like you find out what 
the dozen eggs costs, weeks or months later, and it’s 100 times more 
than you would have ever expected.”The group’s report reviewed 2,000 hospitals nationwide and focused on
 the larger health systems in the country. The national rate of 25% of 
hospitals in compliance, by the group’s accounting, is almost double 
what it found in Kansas.“We applaud those hospitals that are 
fully posting all of their prices,” Fisher said. “However, that shows 
you that the other largest hospitals in Kansas are flouting the law.”The
 report strongly conflicts with a more limited sampling conducted by the
 federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The government 
agency released a <a href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/hospital-price-transparency-progress-and-commitment-achieving-its-potential" target="_blank">report this month</a>
 that said 70% of the 600 hospitals it reviewed met the website 
assessment criteria. They include machine-readable files and 
consumer-friendly displays such as a price estimate tool. That marked a 
27% improvement from what CMS found a year ago.The Patients Right
 Advocate report shows that Centura Health, which runs two St. Catherine
 hospital locations in western Kansas, did not live up to the federal 
rules. That hospital group challenged the findings.“We encourage 
our patients to request a patient-specific price estimate to help them 
determine their costs,” the organization said in a statement. 
“Additionally, Centura Health and our 19 hospitals are compliant with 
federal law regarding price transparency.”Mercy Hospital in 
Columbus, Kansas, was also listed as non-compliant. But officials there 
say they have met all the CMS requirements.“CMS determines 
hospitals’ compliance with these regulations, and while political groups
 continue to ask for new rules and regulation, they don't set the 
requirements,” a hospital spokesperson said in a statement. “We stand by
 our transparency efforts, which are supported by the fact we acted 
quickly to correct a single request raised by CMS in 2021. We would do 
the same if CMS had other concerns.”Turquoise Health collects 
data from hospitals and grades them on price transparency. It scores 
Centura’s St. Catherine-Garden City hospital five out of five stars and 
Mercy Hospital in Columbus two out of five stars on compliance. 
Centura’s St. Catherine-Dodge City does not have a scorecard.Even when hospitals make the numbers available, they often do so in confusing ways. A <a href="https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/ongoing-challenges-with-hospital-price-transparency/" target="_blank">recent analysis</a>
 by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that hospitals are inconsistent 
with where the price transparency data is located on the website and how
 the files are organized.“Even if there was a specific condition 
that the patient’s trying to price shop on, there’s a lot of times key 
information missing in the data,” co-author Krutika Amin said. “And when
 the data is available for the patient, it might be difficult to figure 
out what all different pieces go into the service that they’re seeking.”Amin
 said to get a true estimate one might have to combine different costs 
that would be bundled in a medical bill but are listed individually 
online.“It might take some maneuvering for even an expert to cobble together the pieces that make up the costs for care,” she said.Missing codes also can make it difficult to know the difference in charges between inpatient and outpatient settings, Amin said.Fisher,
 the Patient Rights Advocate founder, said CMS needs to enforce its 
rules more aggressively. The federal agency has sent warning letters to 
about 500 hospitals, but it has only fined two hospitals — both in 
Georgia in 2022. The two became compliant after they were fined.Starting
 this year, the Biden Administration increased possible fines for 
failing to comply. They range from $300 to $5,500 per day.Fisher said the first step in addressing high health care costs is making hospitals reveal prices easily readable by consumers.“The
 only way we can get there is to be able to see the wide variety of 
prices that there are now and to comparatively see what's happening 
across the state of Kansas on pricing,” she said, “and how that compares
 to adjacent states.”Samantha Horton covers health care for KCUR and the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/SamHorton5" target="_blank">@SamHorton5</a>.

Despite rule, still hard to comparison shop hospital care in Kansas

By DAVID CONDOS <a href="https://www.hppr.org/hppr-news/2023-02-21/how-tiny-saddles-and-youth-rodeo-might-help-keep-another-generation-in-rural-kansas">Kansas News Service</a>

DODGE CITY — How do you turn kindergartners into wranglers?

“Little bitty saddles,” Melissa Vander Hamm said, “for little bitty kids.”

There’s
 a bit more to youth rodeo than that. You need your own horse. Plus a 
trailer to haul the horse and a truck to tow it all. To ride, you’ll 
need one of those little saddles and a bunch of other tack, which could 
put you back thousands of dollars.

In all, a youth rodeo family is an extensive, expensive commitment to living the rural Western lifestyle.

But
 Vander Hamm knows all that. She’s been competing in rodeo since she was
 nine years old. Her two sons started at age five. Now, she helps run 
the <a href="http://younggunsdc.com/" target="_blank">Young Guns Extravaganza</a>, a youth rodeo series in Dodge City.

“It’s
 not a cheap hobby,” Vander Hamm said. “Drive through our parking lot on
 rodeo weekend and the amount of money just in pickups and trailers … 
it’s crazy.”

For rodeo families — most of whom, she said, come from agricultural 
backgrounds — the cost of competing is worth every penny as they look 
for ways to sustain their traditional way of life and their town’s 
population of young folks.

In a place where farms and ranches go 
back generations, rodeo is sewn deep into the cultural fabric of rural 
Kansas. But the number of people living in the region’s small towns has 
been shrinking for decades as young adults leave the rural life for 
bigger cities. Most counties in western Kansas have been <a href="https://ipsr.ku.edu/ksdata/ksah/population/popmax.pdf" target="_blank">steadily emptying</a> since the Dust Bowl.

And
 parents like Vander Hamm, who lives in the neighboring town of Ingalls 
(population 288), hope that introducing more kids to the rodeo world 
might spur them to fall in love with their hometowns’ cowboy culture. 
Then maybe when those kids grow up, they’ll want to get back in the 
saddle again.

“The ones that do love it,” Vander Hamm said, “are inclined to come back and be part of the family farm.”

Despite any financial barriers to getting started, youth rodeo is growing.

Vander
 Hamm founded Young Guns in 2014 with a few other parents who wanted 
their kids to get more practice during the winter, when other 
competitions shut down.

The first year, she expected around 50 kids to show up. She got 120.

This
 season, Young Guns has welcomed nearly 400 little cowpokes into the 
arena, as they dummy rope, pole bend or barrel race their way to glory. 
And it’s just one of several <a href="https://www.kjra.com/" target="_blank">youth</a> <a href="http://www.ckyra.com/" target="_blank">rodeo</a> <a href="https://www.heartlandyouthrodeo.com/" target="_blank">associations</a> across the state.

“I do think it’s a trend,” Vander Hamm said. “It’s a time when it’s cool to be a cowboy.”

On rodeo day, 
hundreds of horses trot through an expo center on the south edge of 
Dodge City. They kick up fine brown dust from the arena floor into 
clouds that hang in the air.

The morning starts with a prayer from
 the rodeo chaplain. Then comes the national anthem as the Miss Santa Fe
 Trail Queen gallops in with a flag.

Mesa Hedland stands near the 
arena entrance decked out in a brown Western shirt with leather tassels 
dangling from leopard print shoulder patches.

She’s waiting for 
her favorite event, which involves chasing down a goat and untying a 
ribbon from its tail, with help from her trusty steed named Ott.

“He’s addicted to me,” Hedland, who’s from Anthony, Kansas, said. “We can’t spend a day without hanging out with each other.”

Hedland is only five years old, but this is far from her first rodeo. She’s been chasing those goats since she was three.

In
 the horse warm-up area, nine-year-old friends Paisley Davis and Braylin
 Barratt offer a tour of the bridles and stirrups strapped to their 
four-hoofed friends. The pair live a few hours apart in southern 
Colorado, so they’re making up for lost time here.

Listening to them as they inspect their saddles and laugh about the 
odd things one particularly ravenous horse has eaten, it’s not hard to 
spot what rodeo families see as the upside of all this and what they 
hope kids take away from the experience.

The hard work it takes to
 care for an animal 10 times their size. The hours of practice required 
to master skills that most adults can’t pull off. The grit they need to 
ride into the arena — where every kid but one ends up leaving a loser.

“Be grateful that even though you didn’t win, someone else won,” Barratt said. “Always be grateful.”

And the bonds they form — with people and animals — along the way.

Davis
 walks up to her horse Thunder until the two stand eye-to-eye. She rests
 her hand on his neck near the black mane that she’s carefully woven 
into braids.

“When you do have a bad day,” Davis said, “you can just talk to your horse about it.”

Gene Theodori, a 
sociology professor at Sam Houston State University in Texas, isn’t 
surprised to see events like Young Guns growing. Rodeo’s enduring 
appeal, he said, comes back to the idea that rural America is the last 
remnant of a bygone, simpler lifestyle.

He calls it <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ruso.12227" target="_blank">the rural mystique</a>. And rodeo is a picture of that in its purest form.

“Whether
 it’s real or not,” Theodori said, “in our minds, it represents that 
wholesome rural way of life. … And we, as a society, we yearn for that.”

What we’re seeing now, he said, is just the latest of many waves of 
interest in old-time Western culture that have washed over American 
society, especially as the country’s become more suburban and urban.

In
 the 1950s and 1960s, there was a surge of interest captured by the 
popularity of cowboy songs from Marty Robbins and Roy Rogers and 
big-screen Westerns starring John Wayne and Clint Eastwood.

Now, 
the Old West has come back again in a big way. Theodori describes the 
current wave as the “Yellowstone” effect, in reference to the TV show 
about a powerful Montana ranching family that’s become the <a href="https://deadline.com/2022/11/yellowstone-premiere-was-most-watched-show-across-all-of-tv-this-year-1235176427/" target="_blank">most-watched drama</a> on television.

And
 he predicts that the “Yellowstone” effect could drive a spike in people
 from all walks of life wearing more cowboy hats, boots and 
Western-style dresses in the coming years.

“It’s perpetuating. It’s continuing,” Theodori said. “And truthfully, I don’t think it’s going to stop anytime soon.”

The sport of rodeo was born from genuine cowboy work. After long 
cattle drives, men from competing ranches would get together to one-up 
each other and see who’s the best. It would have been common, Theodori 
said, to see folks compete to rope a steer or ride a bronco after 
driving livestock up the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Western_Cattle_Trail" target="_blank">Great Western Cattle Trail</a> that passed through Dodge City in the late 1800s.

But what started out as a pastime for tough guys on the range has <a href="https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/handle/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-1996-THESIS-T464" target="_blank">become big business</a> all over the country.

A nationwide youth rodeo organization called the <a href="https://www.nlbra.com/" target="_blank">National Little Britches Rodeo Association</a> fielded more than <a href="https://cdn.saffire.com/files.ashx?t=fg&amp;rid=NLBRA&amp;f=Update_from_National_Office_Dec_2022(1).pdf" target="_blank">1,400 competitors</a> in 2022 and paid out nearly $275,000 in prizes.

There are now adult rodeo associations that cater specifically to <a href="https://www.wpra.com/" target="_blank">women</a>, <a href="https://bpcca.com/" target="_blank">Black Americans</a>, <a href="https://www.aircarodeo.com/" target="_blank">Native Americans</a> and <a href="https://www.igra.com/" target="_blank">LGBTQ</a> folks, too.

“The
 idea (is) that this is one way we can preserve our Western heritage,” 
Theodori, who competed in high school and college rodeo, said. “To me, 
that ties directly back to the rural mystique.”

The number of fifth-grade to 12th-grade kids competing in the <a href="https://www.khsra.net/" target="_blank">Kansas High School and Junior High School Rodeo Association</a> has jumped more than 15% in the past few years.

Suzan
 Adams, the association’s secretary, said she hears similar stories of 
growth when she talks with her counterparts across the country.

“It’s not just a Kansas thing,” Adams said. “It’s all over.”

Particularly
 since the COVID-19 pandemic began, she said, rodeo numbers have surged.
 She attributes it to people seeking a sense of normalcy in old-time 
activities and looking for a way to spend more time together as a 
family. Unlike other traveling sports, such as baseball or soccer, the 
rodeo family represents the athlete, the team and the coach all rolled 
into one.

It’s not only small-town kids who are saddling up, either. The 
competitions, Adams said, bring in folks from all over the state, 
including the Kansas City and Wichita metros. Some families even choose 
to tow their horse trailers in from parts of Colorado, Nebraska and 
Oklahoma to compete in the Kansas association’s season, which runs for 
11 weekends.

“It’s a huge investment,” Adams said. “I can’t think of anything that would be more expensive to do.”