BUTLER COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities in Butler County are working to help a family find a lost pet bird.

An Indian Ring Neck Parakeet who has lived with a family in the Andover community for 15 years has been missing since Sunday, according to a social media report from Andover police.

The pet bird was lost in the neighborhood just south of the YMCA, 1115 East U.S. Highway 54.

The bird has not flown since an accident involving a wheel chair many years ago. If you see the parakeet please call the Andover Police Department at (316) 733-5177.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661444755528.png" alt="photo courtesy Andover Police" />
 <figcaption>photo courtesy Andover Police</figcaption>
 </figure>BUTLER COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities in Butler County are working to help a family find a lost pet bird.An Indian Ring Neck Parakeet who has lived with a family in the Andover community for 15 years has been missing since Sunday, according to a social media report from Andover police.The pet bird was lost in the neighborhood just south of the YMCA, 1115 East U.S. Highway 54.The bird has not flown since an accident involving a wheel chair many years ago. If you see the parakeet please call the Andover Police Department at (316) 733-5177.

Police hope someone in Kansas finds this pet parakeet

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says U.S. military airstrikes in eastern Syria this week were a message to Iran and Tehran-backed militias that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/islamic-state-group-middle-east-iran-syria-324b3753c01dc8f6056ecbf7570fffa4">targeted American troops this month</a>&nbsp;and several other times over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-syria-c750e496b72f7453514573cccb6ae482">the past year</a>.

Colin Kahl, the undersecretary of defense for policy, told reporters on Wednesday that the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/islamic-state-group-biden-middle-east-iran-syria-ff7814073d1372d375974fbf4d19d2e1">U.S. airstrikes overnight</a>&nbsp;on facilities used by militias backed by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard demonstrated that “the United States will not hesitate to defend itself against Iranian and Iran-backed aggression when it occurs.”

He said the U.S. decision to launch the strikes was based on both the nature of the militia attacks on Aug. 15 at the al-Tanf Garrison, where U.S. troops are based in the south, and the fact that, based on recovered drone parts, “we believe we have Iran dead to rights on attribution.”

Hours after the U.S. strikes, two U.S. military locations in northeastern Syria near large oil and gas fields were hit with rocket fire.

According to U.S. Central Command, the rockets hit near Green Village and the Conoco gas field in Deir el-Zour province. One U.S. service member was treated for a minor injury and has been returned to duty, and two others were under evaluation for minor injuries. CENTCOM said U.S. forces responded by destroying three vehicles and equipment used to launch some of the rockets, killing “two or three suspected Iran-backed militants.”

A statement from CENTCOM on Thursday said the U.S. airstrikes killed four militants and destroyed seven rocket launchers.

The developments show Iran-backed militias and the U.S. military have escalated tit-for-tat attacks, targeting military outposts and warehouses in the strategic Deir el-Zour province.

“We will respond appropriately and proportionally to attacks on our servicemembers,” CENTCOM commander Gen. Michael Kurilla said in a statement. “No group will strike at our troops with impunity. We will take all necessary measures to defend our people.”

The opposition war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Deir Ezzor 24 media outlet said the U.S. airstrikes targeted the Ayash Camp, run by the Fatimiyoun group made up of Shiite fighters from Afghanistan. The war monitor reported that at least six Syrian and foreign militants were killed in the airstrikes, while Deir Ezzor 24 reported 10 deaths.

Deir el-Zour is a strategic province that borders Iraq and contains oil fields. Iran-backed militia groups and Syrian forces control the area and have often been the target of Israeli war planes in previous strikes.

In Iran, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani issued a statement condemning the American strike “against the people and infrastructure of Syria.” He denied Iran had any link to those targeted.

Iran routinely denies arming militia groups that target U.S. forces in the region, despite weaponry linking back to them.

Kahl said the U.S. strikes underscore that while the U.S. continues to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/salman-rushdie-iran-donald-trump-middle-east-united-nations-23ba6915ef4b33d30248e3bbfff47f52">pursue negotiations with Iran to resume its compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal</a>, those talks are not connected at all to America's willingness to take action when attacked.

“The threats that they engage in against our people in the region or elsewhere, are not linked to wherever we end up on the nuclear deal,” said Kahl. “It actually has nothing to do with our willingness and resolve to defend ourselves.”

CENTCOM said the U.S. strikes “took proportionate, deliberate action intended to limit the risk of escalation and minimize the risk of casualties.” It did not identify the targets or offer any casualty figures from the strikes, which the military said came at the orders of President Joe Biden.

“Today’s strikes were necessary to protect and defend U.S. personnel,” CENTCOM spokesman Col. Joe Buccino said in a statement.

Kahl said the militia's coordinated attack on two U.S. facilities at al-Tanf at the same time this month fueled concerns that “Iran intends to do more of this and we wanted to disabuse them of any sense that that was a good idea.”

He said the U.S. initially identified 11 bunker targets at the site and ended up striking nine because there was evidence there may be people near two of the locations and the goal was not to cause casualties.

The U.S. Treasury said the Fatimiyoun group has fought numerous battles in Syria, and is led by Iran’s elite Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard.

“The Ayash warehouse is a very important one for Iran’s militias,” Deir Ezzor 24 CEO Omar Abu Layla told The Associated Press. “We expect that Iran will respond, either in al-Tanf or possibly in Iraq.”

In the Aug. 15 attack, drones allegedly launched by Iranian-backed militias targeted the al-Tanf Garrison used by American forces. Central Command described the assault as causing “zero casualties and no damage” at the time.

There was no immediate acknowledgment by Syria’s state-run media of the strikes hitting Deir el-Zour.

U.S. forces entered Syria in 2015, backing allied forces in their fight against the Islamic State group.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661443345356.png" alt="Colin Kahl, the undersecretary of defense for policy, told reporters on Wednesday that the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/islamic-state-group-biden-middle-east-iran-syria-ff7814073d1372d375974fbf4d19d2e1">U.S. airstrikes overnight</a>&nbsp;on facilities used by militias backed by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard demonstrated that “the United States will not hesitate to defend itself against Iranian and Iran-backed aggression when it occurs.”-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Colin Kahl, the undersecretary of defense for policy, told reporters on Wednesday that the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/islamic-state-group-biden-middle-east-iran-syria-ff7814073d1372d375974fbf4d19d2e1">U.S. airstrikes overnight</a>&nbsp;on facilities used by militias backed by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard demonstrated that “the United States will not hesitate to defend itself against Iranian and Iran-backed aggression when it occurs.”-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says U.S. military airstrikes in eastern Syria this week were a message to Iran and Tehran-backed militias that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/islamic-state-group-middle-east-iran-syria-324b3753c01dc8f6056ecbf7570fffa4">targeted American troops this month</a>&nbsp;and several other times over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-syria-c750e496b72f7453514573cccb6ae482">the past year</a>.Colin Kahl, the undersecretary of defense for policy, told reporters on Wednesday that the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/islamic-state-group-biden-middle-east-iran-syria-ff7814073d1372d375974fbf4d19d2e1">U.S. airstrikes overnight</a>&nbsp;on facilities used by militias backed by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard demonstrated that “the United States will not hesitate to defend itself against Iranian and Iran-backed aggression when it occurs.”He said the U.S. decision to launch the strikes was based on both the nature of the militia attacks on Aug. 15 at the al-Tanf Garrison, where U.S. troops are based in the south, and the fact that, based on recovered drone parts, “we believe we have Iran dead to rights on attribution.”Hours after the U.S. strikes, two U.S. military locations in northeastern Syria near large oil and gas fields were hit with rocket fire.According to U.S. Central Command, the rockets hit near Green Village and the Conoco gas field in Deir el-Zour province. One U.S. service member was treated for a minor injury and has been returned to duty, and two others were under evaluation for minor injuries. CENTCOM said U.S. forces responded by destroying three vehicles and equipment used to launch some of the rockets, killing “two or three suspected Iran-backed militants.”A statement from CENTCOM on Thursday said the U.S. airstrikes killed four militants and destroyed seven rocket launchers.The developments show Iran-backed militias and the U.S. military have escalated tit-for-tat attacks, targeting military outposts and warehouses in the strategic Deir el-Zour province.“We will respond appropriately and proportionally to attacks on our servicemembers,” CENTCOM commander Gen. Michael Kurilla said in a statement. “No group will strike at our troops with impunity. We will take all necessary measures to defend our people.”The opposition war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Deir Ezzor 24 media outlet said the U.S. airstrikes targeted the Ayash Camp, run by the Fatimiyoun group made up of Shiite fighters from Afghanistan. The war monitor reported that at least six Syrian and foreign militants were killed in the airstrikes, while Deir Ezzor 24 reported 10 deaths.Deir el-Zour is a strategic province that borders Iraq and contains oil fields. Iran-backed militia groups and Syrian forces control the area and have often been the target of Israeli war planes in previous strikes.In Iran, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani issued a statement condemning the American strike “against the people and infrastructure of Syria.” He denied Iran had any link to those targeted.Iran routinely denies arming militia groups that target U.S. forces in the region, despite weaponry linking back to them.Kahl said the U.S. strikes underscore that while the U.S. continues to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/salman-rushdie-iran-donald-trump-middle-east-united-nations-23ba6915ef4b33d30248e3bbfff47f52">pursue negotiations with Iran to resume its compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal</a>, those talks are not connected at all to America's willingness to take action when attacked.“The threats that they engage in against our people in the region or elsewhere, are not linked to wherever we end up on the nuclear deal,” said Kahl. “It actually has nothing to do with our willingness and resolve to defend ourselves.”CENTCOM said the U.S. strikes “took proportionate, deliberate action intended to limit the risk of escalation and minimize the risk of casualties.” It did not identify the targets or offer any casualty figures from the strikes, which the military said came at the orders of President Joe Biden.“Today’s strikes were necessary to protect and defend U.S. personnel,” CENTCOM spokesman Col. Joe Buccino said in a statement.Kahl said the militia's coordinated attack on two U.S. facilities at al-Tanf at the same time this month fueled concerns that “Iran intends to do more of this and we wanted to disabuse them of any sense that that was a good idea.”He said the U.S. initially identified 11 bunker targets at the site and ended up striking nine because there was evidence there may be people near two of the locations and the goal was not to cause casualties.The U.S. Treasury said the Fatimiyoun group has fought numerous battles in Syria, and is led by Iran’s elite Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard.“The Ayash warehouse is a very important one for Iran’s militias,” Deir Ezzor 24 CEO Omar Abu Layla told The Associated Press. “We expect that Iran will respond, either in al-Tanf or possibly in Iraq.”In the Aug. 15 attack, drones allegedly launched by Iranian-backed militias targeted the al-Tanf Garrison used by American forces. Central Command described the assault as causing “zero casualties and no damage” at the time.There was no immediate acknowledgment by Syria’s state-run media of the strikes hitting Deir el-Zour.U.S. forces entered Syria in 2015, backing allied forces in their fight against the Islamic State group.

Biden orders airstrikes against Iranian-backed groups in Syria 

SALINE COUNTY —The Kansas Highway Patrol is urging drivers to use caution southbound on Interstate 135 near Water Well Road, exit 88.

The Kansas Department of Transportation and first responders are on the scene of a cement truck that rolled, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.

There are no initial report of injuries. Check the Post for additional details as they become available.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661435208762.png" alt="Photo courtesy KHP" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy KHP</figcaption>
 </figure>SALINE COUNTY —The Kansas Highway Patrol is urging drivers to use caution southbound on Interstate 135 near Water Well Road, exit 88.The Kansas Department of Transportation and first responders are on the scene of a cement truck that rolled, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.There are no initial report of injuries. Check the Post for additional details as they become available.

KHP: Cement truck overturns south of Salina

A recent article <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/fa91d092-6cdb-4d0f-a2ac-99514ef69f8c">published by the Kansas Reflector on August 12, 2022, and reprinted in multiple
newspapers,</a> detailed the Federal forfeiture and civil lawsuit involving Saint Francis Ministries
and a few of its former leaders. The article contained inaccurate statements about Saint Francis
Ministries, which could have been avoided had the news outlet taken the time to contact us for
comment.

The article suggests that millions of dollars were not properly accounted for; these statements
are false. The comments in the article lead the reader to an inaccurate understanding of the
situation. Over the past twenty-two months, the Saint Francis Ministries team has cooperated
with investigators, auditors, and state partners to ensure accurate accounting and complete
transparency. In summary, there are no unaccounted dollars as we continue to openly assist
and support government organizations with their inquiries.


The article also claims that Nebraska severed ties with Saint Francis over performance
concerns. This is also inaccurate. Both parties agreed to mutually terminate the contract.
Nebraska ended privatization in the state, and did not replace Saint Francis with another
contractor. Nebraska and Saint Francis continue a strong working relationship in providing
services for Nebraska children and families.


Thankfully, Saint Francis Ministries is financially sound. Our fiscal operations are healthy and
our systems are strong. This outcome is due to hard work, sacrifice, and dedication of the entire
Saint Francis Ministries team. What has transpired in the past will not define our legacy. Saint
Francis Ministries has faithfully transformed lives for over 75 years and remains committed to
our mission of providing healing and hope to children and families. We serve more than 11,000
children and families, across six states, employing over 1,550 dedicated individuals. We are
proud of our work, and we will continue to rebuild trust with those we serve and the partners
who support our mission.


Alison Kossover
 Chief Administration Officer
Marketing &amp; Human Resources
 Saint Francis Ministries

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/2/1582642737344.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>A recent article <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/fa91d092-6cdb-4d0f-a2ac-99514ef69f8c">published by the Kansas Reflector on August 12, 2022, and reprinted in multiple
newspapers,</a> detailed the Federal forfeiture and civil lawsuit involving Saint Francis Ministries
and a few of its former leaders. The article contained inaccurate statements about Saint Francis
Ministries, which could have been avoided had the news outlet taken the time to contact us for
comment.
The article suggests that millions of dollars were not properly accounted for; these statements
are false. The comments in the article lead the reader to an inaccurate understanding of the
situation. Over the past twenty-two months, the Saint Francis Ministries team has cooperated
with investigators, auditors, and state partners to ensure accurate accounting and complete
transparency. In summary, there are no unaccounted dollars as we continue to openly assist
and support government organizations with their inquiries.
The article also claims that Nebraska severed ties with Saint Francis over performance
concerns. This is also inaccurate. Both parties agreed to mutually terminate the contract.
Nebraska ended privatization in the state, and did not replace Saint Francis with another
contractor. Nebraska and Saint Francis continue a strong working relationship in providing
services for Nebraska children and families.
Thankfully, Saint Francis Ministries is financially sound. Our fiscal operations are healthy and
our systems are strong. This outcome is due to hard work, sacrifice, and dedication of the entire
Saint Francis Ministries team. What has transpired in the past will not define our legacy. Saint
Francis Ministries has faithfully transformed lives for over 75 years and remains committed to
our mission of providing healing and hope to children and families. We serve more than 11,000
children and families, across six states, employing over 1,550 dedicated individuals. We are
proud of our work, and we will continue to rebuild trust with those we serve and the partners
who support our mission.
Alison Kossover
 Chief Administration Officer
Marketing &amp; Human Resources
 Saint Francis Ministries

LETTER: Saint Francis Ministries misrepresented in recent story

By TIM CARPENTER and SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/08/23/governors-race-schmidt-denounces-kellys-approach-to-flaws-in-kansas-foster-care-system/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Republican governor 
candidate Derek Schmidt shared frustration Tuesday with pace of progress
 on longstanding challenges of caring for children brought into Kansas’ 
privatized foster care system due to abuse or neglect.

Schmidt, who serves as the state’s attorney general, said Democratic 
Gov. Laura Kelly hadn’t kept pledges made during her 2018 campaign to 
resolve the state’s foster care crisis. Schmidt noted Kelly declared it 
her “moral obligation” to resolve shortcomings. Schmidt’s objections 
have roots in service gaps that vexed the Kansas Legislature as well as 
GOP Govs. Sam Brownback and Jeff Colyer, who preceded Kelly as governor.

In a campaign statement, Schmidt and several of his GOP allies 
denounced Kelly because hard-to-place children were still sleeping in 
offices of organizations hired by the state to deliver foster care 
services. Housing was a point of emphasis for a task force as far back 
as 2017 that considered ailments of the foster system in Kansas. More 
recently, the Kansas Department for Children and Families, or DCF, 
reported 79 children spent nights in foster care contractors’ offices in
 the months from January 2021 to May 2022.

Schmidt said Kelly had yet to stop children in foster care from 
running away from residential placements. Three years ago, the state’s 
daily average of missing foster kids was 90. Colyer created a special 
response team to track runaways, while Kelly expanded that group to 12 
members. DCF says 60 to 75 foster children were missing on a typical day
 in Kansas. On Monday, DCF’s daily online report on runaways showed 66 
of approximately 6,200 foster care children were unaccounted for.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ inspector general 
also reported 7% of Kansas’ foster care children were absent without 
leave from July 1, 2018, to Dec. 31, 2020. Colyer was serving as 
governor for a portion of the 30-month inspection window, but the bulk 
of the period examined by HHS was on Kelly’s watch.

“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Schmidt said. “She hasn’t fixed the
 problems she promised to solve. Kansas children deserve better and with
 the right leadership we can and will do better.”

Schmidt also questioned Kelly’s use of an executive order in 2021 to 
launch the Division of Child Advocate to investigate the well-being of 
youth in foster care by compiling complaints, reviewing practices of 
child welfare agents, and educating parents and children of their 
rights.

Kelly relied on her authority as governor because the House and 
Senate was unwilling to compromise on an oversight bill. The Senate 
passed legislation in 2021 that would have assigned foster care 
supervision to Schmidt at the same time he prepared for a partisan 
showdown with Kelly. The House preferred a bipartisan approach that 
would have placed the Legislature at the helm.

“Establishment of a child advocate is a commonsense win for Kansas 
kids and families,” Kelly said. “For years, our state’s essential family
 services were neglected and underfunded, leaving our kids and families 
more vulnerable than ever before. Fixing those systematic problems has 
been a top priority of my administration, and the Division of Child 
Advocate is a significant step forward to ensure every Kansas child is 
protected from harm.”

Schmidt criticized Kelly for settling a class-action lawsuit, 
including a payment of $2.3 million for plaintiffs’ legal fees, that had
 been filed by Kansas Appleseed, which succeeded in demonstrating the 
state inadequately cared for foster children. The suit was launched 
before Kelly took office in 2019, but resolved in 2021.

He further objected to the Kelly administration’s failure to complete
 annual reports on child sexual abuse reported by abortion clinics. DCF 
pulled together the 2022 version of the report and worked backward to 
complete the other annual reports on child sexual abuse that weren’t 
timely filed by Kelly, Colyer and Brownback administrations in the 
previous six years.

DCF spokesman Mike Deines said the Brownback administration 
inexplicably ceased publishing that information in 2016 and no one at 
DCF resumed that work until questioned earlier this year.

“We have a governor right now that has badly overpromised and 
underdelivered when it comes to fixing our foster care system,” said 
Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican supporting 
Schmidt’s campaign.

Rep. Patrick Penn, a Wichita Republican also backing the GOP nominee,
 said he was once in the foster care system and Kelly’s rhetoric didn’t 
register with wards of the state.

“I know these kids need a governor more focused on setting them up 
for success, not sweeping her own failures under the rug,” Penn said.

The number of Kansas children in foster care has diminished every 
year of Kelly’s administration, falling from 7,558 in 2019 to 6,985 in 
2020, to 6,737 in 2021 and 6,261 in 2022.

The number mushroomed from 5,200 in 2011 when Brownback took office 
to more than 7,100 before he resigned in 2018. The figure climbed as 
Brownback worked with the GOP-led Legislature in 2015 and 2016 to shrink
 federal food and cash assistance to low-income families. Tens of 
millions of dollars in aid to Kansas families was blocked under 
Brownback’s leadership. In the lone year of Colyer’s tenure as governor,
 the foster care system bulged to nearly 7,700.

In 2022, researchers at the University of Kansas linked a 5% increase
 in enrollment in federal nutrition assistance programs to a 7.6% to 
14.3% reduction in the number of children a state placed in foster care 
or protective services. The 50-state study of food stamps, or the 
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, showed states with more 
generous SNAP policies had fewer children in state care.

“Having access to the social safety net has an effect on child 
abuse,” KU economics professor Donna Ginther said. “With so many 
children in low-income households, poverty is what typically gets people
 more engaged with child protective services.”

Rep. Jarrod Ousley, a Merriam Democrat, said Republicans were 
“absolutely desperate” to criticize Kelly’s handling of foster care.

“This administration has made leaps and bounds in improving our child welfare system,” Ousley said. “Are we perfect? No.”

Ousley, the ranking Democrat on the House Children and Seniors 
Committee, said Kelly had maneuvered the system so fewer children were 
entering foster care, fewer were sleeping in offices and fewer were 
missing. She also requested the Legislature make investments in 
preventative programs and roll back state restrictions on access to 
important safety net programs.

The governor’s decision to independently create an office of the 
child advocate appears to be working, Ousley said, because he gets fewer
 phone calls about problems within the foster care system, and he now 
has a place to direct people who have concerns.

“Governor Kelly took the football away from the Legislature when they
 were fighting over where to put the office of the child advocate, and 
when and what responsibilities,” Ousley said. “Derek Schmidt was a 
proponent of a terrible idea in the Senate, and even in his testimony he
 said, ‘If you’re going to do this, you ought to change this, you ought 
to change that.’ "

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661349644152.png" alt="Attorney General Derek Schmidt, the Republican nominee for governor, said Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly had fallen short in reforming the state’s fostere care system. (Photos by Sherman Smith and Thad Allton/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Attorney General Derek Schmidt, the Republican nominee for governor, said Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly had fallen short in reforming the state’s fostere care system. (Photos by Sherman Smith and Thad Allton/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By TIM CARPENTER and SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/08/23/governors-race-schmidt-denounces-kellys-approach-to-flaws-in-kansas-foster-care-system/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Republican governor 
candidate Derek Schmidt shared frustration Tuesday with pace of progress
 on longstanding challenges of caring for children brought into Kansas’ 
privatized foster care system due to abuse or neglect.Schmidt, who serves as the state’s attorney general, said Democratic 
Gov. Laura Kelly hadn’t kept pledges made during her 2018 campaign to 
resolve the state’s foster care crisis. Schmidt noted Kelly declared it 
her “moral obligation” to resolve shortcomings. Schmidt’s objections 
have roots in service gaps that vexed the Kansas Legislature as well as 
GOP Govs. Sam Brownback and Jeff Colyer, who preceded Kelly as governor.In a campaign statement, Schmidt and several of his GOP allies 
denounced Kelly because hard-to-place children were still sleeping in 
offices of organizations hired by the state to deliver foster care 
services. Housing was a point of emphasis for a task force as far back 
as 2017 that considered ailments of the foster system in Kansas. More 
recently, the Kansas Department for Children and Families, or DCF, 
reported 79 children spent nights in foster care contractors’ offices in
 the months from January 2021 to May 2022.Schmidt said Kelly had yet to stop children in foster care from 
running away from residential placements. Three years ago, the state’s 
daily average of missing foster kids was 90. Colyer created a special 
response team to track runaways, while Kelly expanded that group to 12 
members. DCF says 60 to 75 foster children were missing on a typical day
 in Kansas. On Monday, DCF’s daily online report on runaways showed 66 
of approximately 6,200 foster care children were unaccounted for.The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ inspector general 
also reported 7% of Kansas’ foster care children were absent without 
leave from July 1, 2018, to Dec. 31, 2020. Colyer was serving as 
governor for a portion of the 30-month inspection window, but the bulk 
of the period examined by HHS was on Kelly’s watch.“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Schmidt said. “She hasn’t fixed the
 problems she promised to solve. Kansas children deserve better and with
 the right leadership we can and will do better.”<h2>‘Commonsense win’</h2>Schmidt also questioned Kelly’s use of an executive order in 2021 to 
launch the Division of Child Advocate to investigate the well-being of 
youth in foster care by compiling complaints, reviewing practices of 
child welfare agents, and educating parents and children of their 
rights.Kelly relied on her authority as governor because the House and 
Senate was unwilling to compromise on an oversight bill. The Senate 
passed legislation in 2021 that would have assigned foster care 
supervision to Schmidt at the same time he prepared for a partisan 
showdown with Kelly. The House preferred a bipartisan approach that 
would have placed the Legislature at the helm.“Establishment of a child advocate is a commonsense win for Kansas 
kids and families,” Kelly said. “For years, our state’s essential family
 services were neglected and underfunded, leaving our kids and families 
more vulnerable than ever before. Fixing those systematic problems has 
been a top priority of my administration, and the Division of Child 
Advocate is a significant step forward to ensure every Kansas child is 
protected from harm.”Schmidt criticized Kelly for settling a class-action lawsuit, 
including a payment of $2.3 million for plaintiffs’ legal fees, that had
 been filed by Kansas Appleseed, which succeeded in demonstrating the 
state inadequately cared for foster children. The suit was launched 
before Kelly took office in 2019, but resolved in 2021.He further objected to the Kelly administration’s failure to complete
 annual reports on child sexual abuse reported by abortion clinics. DCF 
pulled together the 2022 version of the report and worked backward to 
complete the other annual reports on child sexual abuse that weren’t 
timely filed by Kelly, Colyer and Brownback administrations in the 
previous six years.DCF spokesman Mike Deines said the Brownback administration 
inexplicably ceased publishing that information in 2016 and no one at 
DCF resumed that work until questioned earlier this year.“We have a governor right now that has badly overpromised and 
underdelivered when it comes to fixing our foster care system,” said 
Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican supporting 
Schmidt’s campaign.<h2>Sweeping under rug</h2>Rep. Patrick Penn, a Wichita Republican also backing the GOP nominee,
 said he was once in the foster care system and Kelly’s rhetoric didn’t 
register with wards of the state.“I know these kids need a governor more focused on setting them up 
for success, not sweeping her own failures under the rug,” Penn said.The number of Kansas children in foster care has diminished every 
year of Kelly’s administration, falling from 7,558 in 2019 to 6,985 in 
2020, to 6,737 in 2021 and 6,261 in 2022.The number mushroomed from 5,200 in 2011 when Brownback took office 
to more than 7,100 before he resigned in 2018. The figure climbed as 
Brownback worked with the GOP-led Legislature in 2015 and 2016 to shrink
 federal food and cash assistance to low-income families. Tens of 
millions of dollars in aid to Kansas families was blocked under 
Brownback’s leadership. In the lone year of Colyer’s tenure as governor,
 the foster care system bulged to nearly 7,700.In 2022, researchers at the University of Kansas linked a 5% increase
 in enrollment in federal nutrition assistance programs to a 7.6% to 
14.3% reduction in the number of children a state placed in foster care 
or protective services. The 50-state study of food stamps, or the 
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, showed states with more 
generous SNAP policies had fewer children in state care.“Having access to the social safety net has an effect on child 
abuse,” KU economics professor Donna Ginther said. “With so many 
children in low-income households, poverty is what typically gets people
 more engaged with child protective services.”Rep. Jarrod Ousley, a Merriam Democrat, said Republicans were 
“absolutely desperate” to criticize Kelly’s handling of foster care.“This administration has made leaps and bounds in improving our child welfare system,” Ousley said. “Are we perfect? No.”Ousley, the ranking Democrat on the House Children and Seniors 
Committee, said Kelly had maneuvered the system so fewer children were 
entering foster care, fewer were sleeping in offices and fewer were 
missing. She also requested the Legislature make investments in 
preventative programs and roll back state restrictions on access to 
important safety net programs.The governor’s decision to independently create an office of the 
child advocate appears to be working, Ousley said, because he gets fewer
 phone calls about problems within the foster care system, and he now 
has a place to direct people who have concerns.“Governor Kelly took the football away from the Legislature when they
 were fighting over where to put the office of the child advocate, and 
when and what responsibilities,” Ousley said. “Derek Schmidt was a 
proponent of a terrible idea in the Senate, and even in his testimony he
 said, ‘If you’re going to do this, you ought to change this, you ought 
to change that.’ "

Schmidt denounces Kelly’s approach to Kansas’ foster care system

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities and animal control officials are investigating a dog attack that sent a woman and a juvenile to the hospital.

Just before 5 p.m. Wednesday, police were dispatched to the 1800 block of E 52nd Street South in Wichita for an animal bite call, according to Officer Juan&nbsp;Rebolledo.

At the scene, officers located a 10-year-old victim with bites to her face and head and a 54-year-old victim with bites to her hands.

EMS transported the victims&nbsp; to an area hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

Late Wednesday, the girl was in surgery and is expected to make a full recovery, according to Robolledo. The woman was treated, discharged and will make a follow up visit with a surgeon.

This is not a random incident. The dogs belong to the 54-year-old victim, according to Robolledo. The girl was her granddaughter. There was no history of aggressive behavior from the dogs.

The 10-year-old victim was familiar with the dogs. It is unknown what caused the attack. Police did not release details on the breed of dog or the names of the victims.

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities and animal control officials are investigating a dog attack that sent a woman and a juvenile to the hospital.Just before 5 p.m. Wednesday, police were dispatched to the 1800 block of E 52nd Street South in Wichita for an animal bite call, according to Officer Juan&nbsp;Rebolledo.At the scene, officers located a 10-year-old victim with bites to her face and head and a 54-year-old victim with bites to her hands.EMS transported the victims&nbsp; to an area hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.Late Wednesday, the girl was in surgery and is expected to make a full recovery, according to Robolledo. The woman was treated, discharged and will make a follow up visit with a surgeon.This is not a random incident. The dogs belong to the 54-year-old victim, according to Robolledo. The girl was her granddaughter. There was no history of aggressive behavior from the dogs.The 10-year-old victim was familiar with the dogs. It is unknown what caused the attack. Police did not release details on the breed of dog or the names of the victims.

Police: Family dog attack injures Kan. woman, 10-year-old

WASHINGTON — More than 40 million Americans could see their&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/student-loans">student loan debt reduced</a>&nbsp;— and in many cases eliminated — under the long-awaited forgiveness plan President Joe Biden announced Wednesday, a historic but politically divisive move in the run-up to the midterm elections.

Kansas Senator Jerry Moran and other Republicans quickly denounced the plan as an insult to Americans who have repaid their debt and to those who didn’t attend college.&nbsp;

Critics across the political spectrum also questioned whether Biden has authority for the move, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-education-0fea030a0875c0e4e1a39b0c098bd48a">legal challenges are virtually certain.</a>

Roger Marshall, the junior senator from Kansas,&nbsp; also criticized the plan. On Twitter he wrote, "This is an unfair decision that will award certain borrowers and punish many hardworking Americans. It will exacerbate inflation and drive our nation further into debt."

&nbsp;Biden is erasing $10,000 in federal student loan debt for those with incomes below $125,000 a year, or households that earn less than $250,000. He’s canceling an additional $10,000 for those who received federal Pell Grants to attend college.

Biden also extended a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-congress-miguel-cardona-lifestyle-education-2fad4da6c3fee980b5dacc65561ffa81">pause on federal student loan payments</a>&nbsp;for what he called the “final time.” The pause is now set to run through the end of the year, with repayments to restart in January.

“Both of these targeted actions are for families who need it the most: working and middle class people hit especially hard during the pandemic,” Biden said at the White House Wednesday afternoon.

The cancellation applies to federal student loans used to attend undergraduate and graduate school, along with Parent Plus loans. Current college students qualify if their loans were issued before July 1. For dependent students, their parents’ household income must be below $250,000.

WASHINGTON — More than 40 million Americans could see their&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/student-loans">student loan debt reduced</a>&nbsp;— and in many cases eliminated — under the long-awaited forgiveness plan President Joe Biden announced Wednesday, a historic but politically divisive move in the run-up to the midterm elections.Kansas Senator Jerry Moran and other Republicans quickly denounced the plan as an insult to Americans who have repaid their debt and to those who didn’t attend college.&nbsp;<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President Biden’s $300 billion student loan handout will fuel inflation and do nothing to actually lower the cost of higher education. My full statement below. <a href="https://t.co/NYRuDheaCL">pic.twitter.com/NYRuDheaCL</a>&mdash; Senator Jerry Moran (@JerryMoran) <a href="https://twitter.com/JerryMoran/status/1562547995228266496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Critics across the political spectrum also questioned whether Biden has authority for the move, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-education-0fea030a0875c0e4e1a39b0c098bd48a">legal challenges are virtually certain.</a>Roger Marshall, the junior senator from Kansas,&nbsp; also criticized the plan. On Twitter he wrote, "This is an unfair decision that will award certain borrowers and punish many hardworking Americans. It will exacerbate inflation and drive our nation further into debt."&nbsp;Biden is erasing $10,000 in federal student loan debt for those with incomes below $125,000 a year, or households that earn less than $250,000. He’s canceling an additional $10,000 for those who received federal Pell Grants to attend college.Biden also extended a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-congress-miguel-cardona-lifestyle-education-2fad4da6c3fee980b5dacc65561ffa81">pause on federal student loan payments</a>&nbsp;for what he called the “final time.” The pause is now set to run through the end of the year, with repayments to restart in January.“Both of these targeted actions are for families who need it the most: working and middle class people hit especially hard during the pandemic,” Biden said at the White House Wednesday afternoon.The cancellation applies to federal student loans used to attend undergraduate and graduate school, along with Parent Plus loans. Current college students qualify if their loans were issued before July 1. For dependent students, their parents’ household income must be below $250,000.

Moran: Biden's student loan handout is unfair to millions of Americans

SEDGWICK COUNTY—Authorities are investigating the death of an inmate in Wichita.

Just before 1p.m. Wednesday, staff at the Sedgwick County Detention facility found a 38-year-old male inmate unresponsive in a housing unit, according to Lt. Benjamin Blick.

Detention staff immediately started cardiopulmonary resuscitation (C.P.R.). Medical Staff responded to the housing until and continued C.P.R. on the inmate.

Emergency Medical Services (E.M.S.) was called. E.M.S. declared the inmate deceased and C.P.R. was ceased at approximately 1:15 p.m. The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office Investigation’s Unit and the Kansas Bureau of Investigations (K.B.I.) were notified of the in-custody death.

The Investigation’s Unit and K.B.I. processed the scene. A preliminary investigation indicates the death appears to be from natural causes. An autopsy is pending at the Forensic Science Center. The inmate’s immediate family members were notified. This is the fourth in-custody death in 2022.

The inmate was a pretrial detainee on a municipal misdemeanor charge of violating a protection order. He was in custody since August 11, 2022. the sheriff's office has not released the inmate's name.

SEDGWICK COUNTY—Authorities are investigating the death of an inmate in Wichita.Just before 1p.m. Wednesday, staff at the Sedgwick County Detention facility found a 38-year-old male inmate unresponsive in a housing unit, according to Lt. Benjamin Blick.Detention staff immediately started cardiopulmonary resuscitation (C.P.R.). Medical Staff responded to the housing until and continued C.P.R. on the inmate.Emergency Medical Services (E.M.S.) was called. E.M.S. declared the inmate deceased and C.P.R. was ceased at approximately 1:15 p.m. The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office Investigation’s Unit and the Kansas Bureau of Investigations (K.B.I.) were notified of the in-custody death.The Investigation’s Unit and K.B.I. processed the scene. A preliminary investigation indicates the death appears to be from natural causes. An autopsy is pending at the Forensic Science Center. The inmate’s immediate family members were notified. This is the fourth in-custody death in 2022.The inmate was a pretrial detainee on a municipal misdemeanor charge of violating a protection order. He was in custody since August 11, 2022. the sheriff's office has not released the inmate's name.

Kansas county reports 4th inmate death  this year

WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Jill Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 again in an apparent&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-2e843a971be751e8b8b25575c8bfc60a">“rebound” case</a>, after she&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-jill-delaware-1a8a501c93c6bee31457144239878c3f">tested negative for the virus over the weekend.</a>

President Joe Biden, who spent three days with his wife at their Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, vacation home, continues to test negative, the White House said.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-jill-delaware-f1a5a72ff5200848e7859ffd4d55b9ea">He also suffered a rebound case earlier this month</a>&nbsp;after an initial recovery from the coronavirus.

Jill Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jill-biden-tests-positive-covid-3cd86d0f2b5d807c32604cfe669f5904">first tested positive</a>&nbsp;for the virus on Aug. 15, when she and her husband were vacationing in Kiawah Island, South Carolina. She isolated in the beach town until she received two negative tests and was cleared to meet the president in Delaware on Sunday.

Biden's deputy communications director Kelsey Donohue said the first lady “has experienced no reemergence of symptoms, and will remain in Delaware where she has reinitiated isolation procedures.” Donohue said the White House Medical Unit has notified individuals who were in close contact with the first lady.

Jill Biden, 71, and her husband, 79, have been twice-vaccinated and twice-boosted with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. She had been prescribed the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-business-health-a0fabeb7a6134381cd497acfb45424a6">antiviral drug Paxlovid</a>, which has proven to be highly effective at preventing serious disease and death among those at highest risk from COVID-19, but a minority of those prescribed the drug have experienced a rebound case of the virus a few days after their initial recovery.

The first lady has been in Rehoboth Beach since Sunday and will remain there while she continues to isolate.

The White House said the president was considered a close contact, and would wear a mask “for 10 days when indoors and in close proximity to others” in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance. The White House will also increase the frequency of his COVID-19 testing.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1660657461650.png" alt="President and First lady Jill Biden in a photo released by the White House August 12." />
 <figcaption>President and First lady Jill Biden in a photo released by the White House August 12.</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Jill Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 again in an apparent&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-2e843a971be751e8b8b25575c8bfc60a">“rebound” case</a>, after she&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-jill-delaware-1a8a501c93c6bee31457144239878c3f">tested negative for the virus over the weekend.</a><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">She won’t leave my side! I’m grateful to have Willow with me as I recover from COVID-19. 💕 <a href="https://t.co/UxLVE8FQwf">pic.twitter.com/UxLVE8FQwf</a>&mdash; Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/FLOTUS/status/1562607595466428417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 25, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>President Joe Biden, who spent three days with his wife at their Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, vacation home, continues to test negative, the White House said.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-jill-delaware-f1a5a72ff5200848e7859ffd4d55b9ea">He also suffered a rebound case earlier this month</a>&nbsp;after an initial recovery from the coronavirus.Jill Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jill-biden-tests-positive-covid-3cd86d0f2b5d807c32604cfe669f5904">first tested positive</a>&nbsp;for the virus on Aug. 15, when she and her husband were vacationing in Kiawah Island, South Carolina. She isolated in the beach town until she received two negative tests and was cleared to meet the president in Delaware on Sunday.Biden's deputy communications director Kelsey Donohue said the first lady “has experienced no reemergence of symptoms, and will remain in Delaware where she has reinitiated isolation procedures.” Donohue said the White House Medical Unit has notified individuals who were in close contact with the first lady.Jill Biden, 71, and her husband, 79, have been twice-vaccinated and twice-boosted with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. She had been prescribed the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-business-health-a0fabeb7a6134381cd497acfb45424a6">antiviral drug Paxlovid</a>, which has proven to be highly effective at preventing serious disease and death among those at highest risk from COVID-19, but a minority of those prescribed the drug have experienced a rebound case of the virus a few days after their initial recovery.The first lady has been in Rehoboth Beach since Sunday and will remain there while she continues to isolate.The White House said the president was considered a close contact, and would wear a mask “for 10 days when indoors and in close proximity to others” in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance. The White House will also increase the frequency of his COVID-19 testing.—-

Jill Biden has 'rebound' COVID-19 case, president negative

MONTGOMERY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas woman on multiple charges after a traffic stop.

Just after 4p.m. August 19, Sheriff's deputies conducted a vehicle stop at  14th and Walnut in Independence on a 2001 GMC Yukon for displaying a tag that belonged to a different vehicle, according to Sheriff Ron Wade.

&nbsp;Deputies identified the driver as 25-year-old Jade T.M. Ramirez-Gonzalez of Coffeyville, Kansas and learned she had an active federal warrant from the US Marshalls, stemming from a narcotics case. 

Deputies took her into custody for the warrant.&nbsp; Deputies also searched the vehicle and located marijuana. 

 Jade was transported to the Montgomery County Department of Corrections and upon arrival and as she was being booked it was discovered that she had brought methamphetamine into DOC. 

She remains in custody without bond on requested charges of no vehicle registration, no liability insurance, possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana and trafficking contraband into a correction facility.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661336482275.png" alt="Ramirez-Gonzalez-photo Montgomery Co." />
 <figcaption>Ramirez-Gonzalez-photo Montgomery Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>MONTGOMERY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas woman on multiple charges after a traffic stop.Just after 4p.m. August 19, Sheriff's deputies conducted a vehicle stop at 14th and Walnut in Independence on a 2001 GMC Yukon for displaying a tag that belonged to a different vehicle, according to Sheriff Ron Wade.&nbsp;Deputies identified the driver as 25-year-old Jade T.M. Ramirez-Gonzalez of Coffeyville, Kansas and learned she had an active federal warrant from the US Marshalls, stemming from a narcotics case. Deputies took her into custody for the warrant.&nbsp; Deputies also searched the vehicle and located marijuana. Jade was transported to the Montgomery County Department of Corrections and upon arrival and as she was being booked it was discovered that she had brought methamphetamine into DOC. She remains in custody without bond on requested charges of no vehicle registration, no liability insurance, possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana and trafficking contraband into a correction facility.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Kan. woman wanted by U.S. Marshals captured during traffic stop

BROWN COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man for alleged child sex crimes.

Just after 11:30p.m. August 18, the Brown County Sheriff's office responded to 911 call involving a disturbance at a home in the 200 Block of Lodge Road in Hiawatha, according to Sheriff John Merchant.

Deputies arrested 23-year-old Dakota Wilhite of Fairview on a requested charges of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

After further investigation in conjunction with Hiawatha Police, officials&nbsp; Wilhite was accused of aggravated indecent solicitation of a child under the age of 14, use of a communication facility to commit a felony and sexual exploitation of a child. The case will be presented to the Brown County Attorney.

Wilhite posted bond and is no longer in custody, according to online jail records.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661285724764.png" alt="Wilhite-photo Brown County" />
 <figcaption>Wilhite-photo Brown County</figcaption>
 </figure>BROWN COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man for alleged child sex crimes.Just after 11:30p.m. August 18, the Brown County Sheriff's office responded to 911 call involving a disturbance at a home in the 200 Block of Lodge Road in Hiawatha, according to Sheriff John Merchant.Deputies arrested 23-year-old Dakota Wilhite of Fairview on a requested charges of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.After further investigation in conjunction with Hiawatha Police, officials&nbsp; Wilhite was accused of aggravated indecent solicitation of a child under the age of 14, use of a communication facility to commit a felony and sexual exploitation of a child. The case will be presented to the Brown County Attorney.Wilhite posted bond and is no longer in custody, according to online jail records.

Kansas man accused of child sex crimes, drug possession

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects on multiple charges after a drug&nbsp; bust.

On Monday, members of the Topeka Police Department Narcotics Unit and the Shawnee County Drug Task Force served a search warrant at a home in the 1700 Block SE Morrison Street, according to Lt. Ronnie Connell.

&nbsp;While conducting the search warrant, officers located methamphetamine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, stolen property and firearms.

As a result, officers arrested 43-year-old Jason T. Fisher and 36-year-old Kimberly M. Harris both of Topeka.

&nbsp;Harris is being held on an arrest warrant and requested charges of Possession of opiate, opium, narcotic or certain stimulant, Possession of marijuana, Possession of drug paraphernalia.

Fisher is in custody on requested charges that include Distribution of methamphetamine, Possession of drug paraphernalia, Possession of stolen property and Criminal possession of a weapon by a felon.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661258971202.png" alt="Fisher-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Fisher-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects on multiple charges after a drug&nbsp; bust.On Monday, members of the Topeka Police Department Narcotics Unit and the Shawnee County Drug Task Force served a search warrant at a home in the 1700 Block SE Morrison Street, according to Lt. Ronnie Connell.&nbsp;While conducting the search warrant, officers located methamphetamine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, stolen property and firearms.As a result, officers arrested 43-year-old Jason T. Fisher and 36-year-old Kimberly M. Harris both of Topeka.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661258907520.png" alt="Harris-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Harris-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;Harris is being held on an arrest warrant and requested charges of Possession of opiate, opium, narcotic or certain stimulant, Possession of marijuana, Possession of drug paraphernalia.Fisher is in custody on requested charges that include Distribution of methamphetamine, Possession of drug paraphernalia, Possession of stolen property and Criminal possession of a weapon by a felon.

Police find stolen property, firearms and drugs at Kan. home

BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. (AP) — A 28-year-old suburban Kansas City man was shot and killed by law enforcement officers who were trying to arrest him, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said.

Michael Saunders, of Blue Springs, died in the shooting Tuesday afternoon.

Blue Springs Police Chief Bob Muenz said Saunders had shot at a Cass County sheriff's deputy during a pursuit a few days previously.

Deputies investigating that shooting followed Saunders to a Walmart on Tuesday and asked Blue Springs officers for backup as he left the store.

Saunders ran from the officers and allegedly fired at them, Muenz said. He was shot by two officers about a block away from the store. Muenz said he didn't know how many times Saunders fired at the officers.

He died at the scene. No officers were injured. The other person with Saunders was taken into custody.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661335298904.png" alt="Investigators on the scene of the officer shooting -photo courtesy KCTV" />
 <figcaption>Investigators on the scene of the officer shooting -photo courtesy KCTV</figcaption>
 </figure>BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. (AP) — A 28-year-old suburban Kansas City man was shot and killed by law enforcement officers who were trying to arrest him, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said.Michael Saunders, of Blue Springs, died in the shooting Tuesday afternoon.Blue Springs Police Chief Bob Muenz said Saunders had shot at a Cass County sheriff's deputy during a pursuit a few days previously.Deputies investigating that shooting followed Saunders to a Walmart on Tuesday and asked Blue Springs officers for backup as he left the store.Saunders ran from the officers and allegedly fired at them, Muenz said. He was shot by two officers about a block away from the store. Muenz said he didn't know how many times Saunders fired at the officers.He died at the scene. No officers were injured. The other person with Saunders was taken into custody.

Police ID Kansas City-area man who died in officer shooting

WASHINGTON— President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced detailed plans to deliver on a campaign promise to provide $10,000 in student&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/student-loans">debt cancellation for millions of Americans</a>&nbsp;— and up to $10,000 more for those with the greatest financial need — along with measures to lower the burden of repayment for their remaining federal student debt.

(Click below to watch the President's comments)

The Biden Administration is following through and providing families breathing room as they prepare to start re-paying loans after the economic crisis brought on by the pandemic.

Since 1980, the total cost of both four-year public and four-year private college has&nbsp;<a href="https://research.collegeboard.org/trends/college-pricing">nearly tripled</a>, even after accounting for inflation. Federal support has not kept up: Pell Grants once covered&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/pell-grants-a-key-tool-for-expanding-college-access-and-economic">nearly 80 percent</a>&nbsp;of the cost of a four-year public college degree for students from working families, but now only cover a third. That has left many students from low- and middle-income families with no choice but to borrow if they want to get a degree. According to a Department of Education analysis, the typical undergraduate student with loans now graduates with nearly $25,000 in debt.&nbsp;

The skyrocketing cumulative federal student loan debt—$1.6 trillion and rising for more than 45 million borrowers—is a significant burden on America’s middle class. Middle-class borrowers struggle with high monthly payments and ballooning balances that make it harder for them to build wealth, like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/704609?mobileUi=0">buying homes</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://crr.bc.edu/working-papers/how-does-student-debt-affect-early-career-retirement-saving/">putting away money for retirement</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.philadelphiafed.org/the-economy/the-impact-of-student-loan-debt-on-small-business-formation">starting small&nbsp;</a><a href="https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/mnsc.2017.2995?journalCode=mnsc">businesses</a>. For the most vulnerable borrowers, the effects of debt are even more crushing. Nearly one-third of borrowers have debt but no degree, according to an analysis by the Department of Education of a recent cohort of undergraduates. Many of these students could not complete their degree because the&nbsp;<a href="https://educationdata.org/college-dropout-rates">cost of attendance</a>&nbsp;was too high. About&nbsp;<a href="https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2022-07-13/federal-student-aid-posts-quarterly-portfolio-reports-fsa-data-center#:~:text=Impact%20on%20Direct%20Loan%20Defaults&amp;text=In%20fact%2C%20the%20number%20of,3.4%20million%20in%20March%202022.">16%</a>&nbsp;of borrowers are in default – including nearly a third of senior citizens with student debt – which can result in the government garnishing a borrower’s wages or lowering a borrower’s credit score. The student debt burden also falls disproportionately on Black borrowers. Twenty years after first enrolling in school, the typical Black borrower who started college in the 1995-96 school year still owed&nbsp;<a href="https://heller.brandeis.edu/iere/pdfs/racial-wealth-equity/racial-wealth-gap/stallingdreams-how-student-debt-is-disrupting-lifechances.pdf">95%</a>&nbsp;of their original student debt. Today, President Biden is announcing a three-part plan to provide more breathing room to America’s working families as they continue to recover from the strains associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. This plan offers targeted debt relief as part of a comprehensive effort to address the burden of growing college costs and make the student loan system more manageable for working families. The President is announcing that the Department of Education will: &nbsp;&nbsp;

Provide Targeted Debt Relief, Fulfilling the President’s Campaign Commitment To address the financial harms of the pandemic for low- and middle-income borrowers and avoid defaults as loan repayment restarts next year, the Department of Education will provide up to $20,000 in loan relief to borrowers with loans held by the Department of Education whose individual income is less than $125,000 ($250,000 for married couples) and who received a Pell Grant.&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/data-center/student/title-iv">Nearly every Pell Grant recipient</a>&nbsp;came from a family that made less than $60,000 a year, and Pell Grant recipients typically experience more challenges repaying their debt than other borrowers. Borrowers who meet those income standards but did not receive a Pell Grant in college can receive up to $10,000 in loan relief.

The Pell Grant program is one of America’s most effective financial aid programs—but its value has been eroded over time. Pell Grant recipients are more than 60% of the borrower population. The Department of Education estimates that roughly 27 million borrowers will be eligible to receive up to $20,000 in relief, helping these borrowers meet their economic potential and avoid economic harm from the COVID-19 pandemic. Current students with loans are eligible for this debt relief. Borrowers who are dependent students will be eligible for relief based on parental income, rather than their own income. If all borrowers claim the relief they are entitled to, these actions will:

The Department of Education will work quickly and efficiently to set up a simple application process for borrowers to claim relief. The application will be available no later than when the pause on federal student loan repayments terminates at the end of the year. Nearly 8 million borrowers may be eligible to receive relief automatically because their relevant income data is already available to the Department. &nbsp; Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, this debt relief will not be treated as taxable income for the federal income tax purposes. To help ensure a smooth transition back to repayment, the Department of Education is extending the student loan pause a final time through December 31, 2022. No one with federally-held loans has had to pay a single dollar in loan payments since President Biden took office. Make the Student Loan System More Manageable for Current and Future Borrowers Fixing Existing Loan Repayment to Lower Monthly Payments The Administration is reforming student loan repayment plans so both current and future low- and middle-income borrowers will have smaller and more manageable monthly payments. The Department of Education has the authority to create income-driven repayment plans, which cap what borrowers pay each month based on a percentage of their discretionary income. Most of these plans cancel a borrower’s remaining debt once they make 20 years of monthly payments. But the existing versions of these plans are too complex and too limited. As a result, millions of borrowers who might benefit from them do not sign up, and the millions who do sign up are still often left with unmanageable monthly payments. To address these concerns and follow through on Congress’ original vision for income-driven repayment, the Department of Education is proposing a rule to do the following:

These reforms would simplify loan repayment and deliver significant savings to low- and middle-income borrowers. For example:

For each of these borrowers, their balances would not grow as long as they are making their monthly payments, and their remaining debt would be forgiven after they make the required number of qualifying payments. Further, the Department of Education will make it easier for borrowers who enroll in this new plan to stay enrolled. Starting in the summer of 2023, borrowers will be able to allow the Department of Education to automatically pull their income information year after year, avoiding the hassle of needing to recertify their income annually. Ensuring Public Servants Receive Credit Toward Loan Forgiveness Borrowers working in public service are entitled to earn credit toward debt relief under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. But because of complex eligibility restrictions, historic implementation failures, and poor counseling given to borrowers, many borrowers have not received the credit they deserve for their public service. The Department of Education has announced time-limited changes to PSLF that provide an easier path to forgiveness of all outstanding debt for eligible federal student loan borrowers who have served at a non-profit, in the military, or in federal, state, Tribal, or local government for at least 10 years, including non-consecutively. Those who have served less than 10 years may now more easily get credit for their service to date toward eventual forgiveness. These changes allow eligible borrowers to gain additional credit toward forgiveness, even if they had been told previously that they had the wrong loan type. The Department of Education also has proposed regulatory changes to ensure more effective implementation of the PSLF program moving forward. Specifically, the Department of Education has proposed allowing more payments to qualify for PSLF including partial, lump sum, and late payments, and allowing certain kinds of deferments and forbearances, such as those for Peace Corps and AmeriCorps service, National Guard duty, and military service, to count toward PSLF. The Department of Education also proposed to ensure the rules work better for non-tenured instructors whose colleges need to calculate their full-time employment. To ensure borrowers are aware of the temporary changes, the White House has launched four PSLF Days of Action dedicated to borrowers in specific sectors: government employees, educators, healthcare workers and first responders, and non-profit employees. You can find out other information about the temporary changes on PSLF.gov. You must apply to PSLF before the temporary changes end on October 31, 2022. Protecting Borrowers and Taxpayers from Steep Increases in College Costs While providing this relief to low- and middle-income borrowers, the President is focused on keeping college costs under control. Under this Administration, students have had more money in their pockets to pay for college. The President signed the largest increase to the maximum Pell Grant in over a decade and provided nearly $40 billion to colleges and universities through the American Rescue Plan, much of which was used for emergency student financial aid, allowing students to breathe a little easier. Additionally, the Department of Education has already taken significant steps to strengthen accountability, so that students are not left with mountains of debt with little payoff. The agency has re-established the enforcement unit in the Office of Federal Student Aid and it is holding accreditors’ feet to the fire. In fact, the Department just withdrew authorization for the accreditor that oversaw schools responsible for some of the worst for-profit scandals. The agency will also propose a rule to hold career programs accountable for leaving their graduates with mountains of debt they cannot repay, a rule the previous Administration repealed. Building off of these efforts, the Department of Education is announcing new actions to hold accountable colleges that have contributed to the student debt crisis. These include publishing an annual watch list of the programs with the worst debt levels in the country, so that students registering for the next academic year can steer clear of programs with poor outcomes. They also include requesting institutional improvement plans from the worst actors that outline how the colleges with the most concerning debt outcomes intend to bring down debt levels. &nbsp;

More information on claiming relief will be available to borrowers in the coming weeks. Borrowers can sign up to be notified when this information is available at StudentAid.gov/debtrelief.

🎥 Biden explains his student loan forgiveness plan

By WILLIAM MELHADO <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/23/uvalde-shooting-27-billion-lawsuit/">The Texas Tribune</a>

On behalf of Uvalde mass shooting victims and their families, the 
California-based law firm Bonner &amp; Bonner is seeking $27 billion 
from a litany of governmental entities over the May 24 Robb Elementary 
School massacre that left 19 children and two teachers dead.

Charles Bonner served the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School 
District with the multibillion-dollar claim Monday, requesting 
compensation for the victims. Bonner told The Texas Tribune he intended 
to serve Uvalde city leaders on Tuesday evening at a City Council 
meeting.

As evidence of the school district’s responsibility, the claim pointed to a <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/07/17/law-enforcement-failure-uvalde-shooting-investigation/" target="_blank">Texas House committee’s report</a>
 that investigated the shooting as well as law enforcement’s response. 
The report, which was published a month ago, found that “systemic 
failures and egregious poor decision making” contributed to the gunman’s
 ability to get inside a classroom and law enforcement’s delayed 
response in confronting him.

In addition to serving the school district and City Council, Bonner
 intends to seek damages from the list of law enforcement agencies 
present at Robb during the shooting and Daniel Defense, the manufacturer
 of the AR-15 the shooter used that day.

The claim, which could become a precursor to a class-action 
lawsuit, puts the would-be defendants of a potential suit on notice. 
Bonner said he hopes to reach a settlement ahead of the class-action 
suit, but if those parties don’t come to the negotiating table, he plans
 to file the federal lawsuit in September.

Bonner said the claim seeks to establish a medical monitoring fund 
to pay for counseling for those affected by the incident and further 
compensation for the victims of the shooting, their families and the 
other people in the school on the day of the tragedy.

As it stands, the class named in the prospective lawsuit covers 
nine families of shooting victims, but Bonner said he expects that more 
people impacted by the shooting will sign on moving forward.

“The theme of this invitation to negotiate is accountability, 
responsibility and justice, and that’s what we want for everyone in that
 class. We will leave no victim behind,” Bonner said.

Anne Marie Espinoza, a spokesperson for the school district, did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661359291611.png" alt="More than two weeks after 21 people died in the school shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, hundreds of flowers, toys and candles surround crosses standing in memorial for the victims. Credit: Evan L'Roy for the Texas Tribune " />
 <figcaption>More than two weeks after 21 people died in the school shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, hundreds of flowers, toys and candles surround crosses standing in memorial for the victims. Credit: Evan L'Roy for the Texas Tribune </figcaption>
 </figure>By WILLIAM MELHADO <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/23/uvalde-shooting-27-billion-lawsuit/">The Texas Tribune</a>On behalf of Uvalde mass shooting victims and their families, the 
California-based law firm Bonner &amp; Bonner is seeking $27 billion 
from a litany of governmental entities over the May 24 Robb Elementary 
School massacre that left 19 children and two teachers dead.Charles Bonner served the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School 
District with the multibillion-dollar claim Monday, requesting 
compensation for the victims. Bonner told The Texas Tribune he intended 
to serve Uvalde city leaders on Tuesday evening at a City Council 
meeting.As evidence of the school district’s responsibility, the claim pointed to a <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/07/17/law-enforcement-failure-uvalde-shooting-investigation/" target="_blank">Texas House committee’s report</a>
 that investigated the shooting as well as law enforcement’s response. 
The report, which was published a month ago, found that “systemic 
failures and egregious poor decision making” contributed to the gunman’s
 ability to get inside a classroom and law enforcement’s delayed 
response in confronting him.In addition to serving the school district and City Council, Bonner
 intends to seek damages from the list of law enforcement agencies 
present at Robb during the shooting and Daniel Defense, the manufacturer
 of the AR-15 the shooter used that day.The claim, which could become a precursor to a class-action 
lawsuit, puts the would-be defendants of a potential suit on notice. 
Bonner said he hopes to reach a settlement ahead of the class-action 
suit, but if those parties don’t come to the negotiating table, he plans
 to file the federal lawsuit in September.Bonner said the claim seeks to establish a medical monitoring fund 
to pay for counseling for those affected by the incident and further 
compensation for the victims of the shooting, their families and the 
other people in the school on the day of the tragedy.As it stands, the class named in the prospective lawsuit covers 
nine families of shooting victims, but Bonner said he expects that more 
people impacted by the shooting will sign on moving forward.“The theme of this invitation to negotiate is accountability, 
responsibility and justice, and that’s what we want for everyone in that
 class. We will leave no victim behind,” Bonner said.Anne Marie Espinoza, a spokesperson for the school district, did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Uvalde schools, law enforcement could face $27B class-action suit

By DYLAN LYSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-08-24/most-kansas-voters-want-abortion-access-but-their-legislators-may-further-restrict-it-anyway">Kansas News Service</a>

LAWRENCE — Voters made beyond clear that they didn’t want to give the Kansas Legislature more power to restrict abortion.

But
 the state’s lawmakers spent the last generation enacting ever-tighter 
restrictions. And their ranks are loaded with people who want to go even
 further.

Now, despite voters declaring <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-08-02/kansas-voters-rejected-an-amendment-that-would-have-stripped-away-abortion-rights" target="_blank">by a nearly 60-40 margin</a>
 that they didn’t want to change the Kansas Constitution in a way that 
would have opened the door to an outright ban, legislators could still 
test just how far they can restrict abortion.

“There is a right to
 abortion in Kansas, for now, (but) the anti-abortion movement is going 
to try to chip away at abortion rights as the anti-abortion movement has
 been doing for decades,” said Greer Donley, a Kansas native and 
abortion law expert at the University of Pittsburgh.

Certainly elections matter. But when voters choose who they want 
representing them in every Kansas House district in the state this fall,
 they’ll have relatively little choice.

Nearly half the people 
running for the House face no opponent. Some of those Republican seats 
even represent swing districts where Democrats have often won in the 
past. That will make it hard for any abortion rights wave to remake the 
Legislature.

So even districts that voted against a constitutional
 amendment to strip abortion rights from the Kansas Constitution will 
ultimately send conservatives to represent them in Topeka.

Nathaniel
 Birkhead, a political scientist at Kansas State University, said the 
Aug. 2 election shows a mismatch between Kansas voters and their 
representatives. While a majority of Kansans clearly support some level 
of abortion rights, they have elected lawmakers who don’t.

Gerrymandering that practically locks down a district for one party or the other, he said, could be a factor.

“As
 a consequence,” Birkhead said, “we will continue to see mismatches like
 these, where legislators are promoting ideas and issues that may not 
really align with … what the citizens want.”

Consider Crawford 
County, the home of Pittsburg State University in southeast Kansas. In 
recent years, the Democratic and Republican parties have traded off 
ownership of their seat in the Kansas House.

But this fall, 
Pittsburg’s Republican state Rep. Chuck Smith will cruise to reelection.
 Nobody ran against him. Smith’s county rejected the constitutional 
amendment by a 10% margin. But he wants tighter restrictions.

“No matter how I vote, I'm voting with (only) 50% of my constituents,” Smith said. “But you don't change your values.”

It
 also shows that a decisive election on one of the most contentious 
issues in the state over the last three decades is not going to bring 
the fight to an end. Kansans for Life, the largest anti-abortion group 
in the state, characterized the vote as only a temporary setback.

Kansas
 Republicans could pass more restrictive abortion laws, even if 
incumbent Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who supports abortion rights, 
wins reelection this fall over Republican challenger Derek Schmidt.

Republicans will likely keep their supermajority in the Kansas Legislature and the power override Kelly’s veto.

While every seat in the Kansas House was up for grabs, 55 of the 125 
seats only have a single candidate running. That vast majority of those 
candidates — 36 of them — are Republicans. That’s more than 40% of the 
seats the party would need to retain to keep its supermajority in the 
chamber.

Meanwhile, 22 of those unchallenged Republicans — more 
than half — are set to represent districts that include part of counties
 that rejected the amendment on abortion. Those seats alone make up the 
total difference between a simple majority and a supermajority in the 
Kansas House.

Birkhead said that leads to the mismatch, where 
lawmakers hold views that don’t align with most of their constituents. 
Without an opponent, those lawmakers won’t risk their seats by passing 
more abortion restrictions.

“If you fail to adhere to this sort of
 medium in your district,” he said, “there's no sanction because you're 
not going to lose your election.”

Smith is one of those lawmakers.
 Over the last 10 years, his district has routinely switched hands 
between Republicans and Democrats. But he faces no challenger from 
either party this year. That’s after he voted in 2021 to put the state 
constitutional amendment on the ballot that his constituency voted 
against.

Still, Smith said he still wants some more restrictions 
on abortions. But what restrictions lawmakers could pursue may need to 
be scaled back.

The
 election made one thing clear: abortion rights will continue in Kansas.
 What it doesn’t make clear is what exactly those rights are. Currently,
 state law bans abortion after 22 weeks.

Smith, for instance, said
 he “could live with” a 15-week ban. Some states, like Florida and 
Mississippi, have installed 15-week bans. The challenge to Mississippi’s
 ban was the catalyst for <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/06/24/1102305878/supreme-court-abortion-roe-v-wade-decision-overturn" target="_blank">overturning Roe v. Wade</a>.

Donley
 said Republican lawmakers could use a 15-week ban to test the Kansas 
Supreme Court’s ruling by passing such a law and trying to defend it in 
court. But with the way <a href="https://www.kcur.org/2019-04-26/kansas-supreme-court-rules-state-constitution-protects-right-to-abortion" target="_blank">the state’s high court ruled in 2019</a>, Donley said it’s unlikely it would then allow a 15-week ban to go into effect.

Yet, the court could allow a softer, 20-week law to go into effect, she said.

“I could imagine a court being more likely to entertain that law than a 15-week law,” Donley said.

Conservatives
 and anti-abortion activists still have another option to try to remove 
the right to an abortion from the state. They could push voters to 
remove Kansas Supreme Court justices through retention elections, 
allowing for Republican leaders to reshape the court with their ideology
 on abortion.

That would be similar to what happened at the 
federal level when former President Donald Trump nominated three 
conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court. It led to the 
overturning of the decades-old precedent, Roe v. Wade, that provided 
abortion rights nationwide.

That’s a fear that has already been expressed by abortion rights activists.

Ashley
 All of Kansas for Constitutional Freedom, the campaign that worked to 
reject the constitutional amendment, said the day after the election 
that she expected conservatives to <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-08-03/abortion-rights-forces-won-a-huge-victory-in-kansas-but-the-fight-in-the-state-rages-on" target="_blank">shift their focus to the state supreme court</a>.

Six
 of the court’s seven justices will be up for retention in the November 
general election. If some of the justices are removed, and a Republican 
governor is able to put more conservatives in the court, the right to an
 abortion could be challenged again.

“Even though the entire state
 voted and essentially said no,” Donley said, “if the court changes its 
structure, they could overrule that previous holding and Kansas would 
lose the right to abortion.”

Dylan Lysen reports on politics 
for the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanLysen 
or email him at dlysen@kcur.org.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661349805178.png" alt="Despite Kansans overwhelmingly rejecting a state constitutional amendment to remove the right to an abortion, conservative lawmakers may continue to restrict abortion access in Kansas. KNS" />
 <figcaption>Despite Kansans overwhelmingly rejecting a state constitutional amendment to remove the right to an abortion, conservative lawmakers may continue to restrict abortion access in Kansas. KNS</figcaption>
 </figure>By DYLAN LYSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-08-24/most-kansas-voters-want-abortion-access-but-their-legislators-may-further-restrict-it-anyway">Kansas News Service</a>LAWRENCE — Voters made beyond clear that they didn’t want to give the Kansas Legislature more power to restrict abortion.But
 the state’s lawmakers spent the last generation enacting ever-tighter 
restrictions. And their ranks are loaded with people who want to go even
 further.Now, despite voters declaring <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-08-02/kansas-voters-rejected-an-amendment-that-would-have-stripped-away-abortion-rights" target="_blank">by a nearly 60-40 margin</a>
 that they didn’t want to change the Kansas Constitution in a way that 
would have opened the door to an outright ban, legislators could still 
test just how far they can restrict abortion.“There is a right to
 abortion in Kansas, for now, (but) the anti-abortion movement is going 
to try to chip away at abortion rights as the anti-abortion movement has
 been doing for decades,” said Greer Donley, a Kansas native and 
abortion law expert at the University of Pittsburgh.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661349897983.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Certainly elections matter. But when voters choose who they want 
representing them in every Kansas House district in the state this fall,
 they’ll have relatively little choice.Nearly half the people 
running for the House face no opponent. Some of those Republican seats 
even represent swing districts where Democrats have often won in the 
past. That will make it hard for any abortion rights wave to remake the 
Legislature.So even districts that voted against a constitutional
 amendment to strip abortion rights from the Kansas Constitution will 
ultimately send conservatives to represent them in Topeka.Nathaniel
 Birkhead, a political scientist at Kansas State University, said the 
Aug. 2 election shows a mismatch between Kansas voters and their 
representatives. While a majority of Kansans clearly support some level 
of abortion rights, they have elected lawmakers who don’t.Gerrymandering that practically locks down a district for one party or the other, he said, could be a factor.“As
 a consequence,” Birkhead said, “we will continue to see mismatches like
 these, where legislators are promoting ideas and issues that may not 
really align with … what the citizens want.”Consider Crawford 
County, the home of Pittsburg State University in southeast Kansas. In 
recent years, the Democratic and Republican parties have traded off 
ownership of their seat in the Kansas House.But this fall, 
Pittsburg’s Republican state Rep. Chuck Smith will cruise to reelection.
 Nobody ran against him. Smith’s county rejected the constitutional 
amendment by a 10% margin. But he wants tighter restrictions.“No matter how I vote, I'm voting with (only) 50% of my constituents,” Smith said. “But you don't change your values.”It
 also shows that a decisive election on one of the most contentious 
issues in the state over the last three decades is not going to bring 
the fight to an end. Kansans for Life, the largest anti-abortion group 
in the state, characterized the vote as only a temporary setback.<h2>Political mismatch</h2>Kansas
 Republicans could pass more restrictive abortion laws, even if 
incumbent Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who supports abortion rights, 
wins reelection this fall over Republican challenger Derek Schmidt.Republicans will likely keep their supermajority in the Kansas Legislature and the power override Kelly’s veto.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661349956299.png" alt="While every seat in the Kansas House was up for grabs this fall, 55 of the 125 seats only have a single candidate running. That vast majority of those candidates — 36 of them — are Republicans. Additionally, 22 of those unchallenged Republicans are set to represent districts that include counties that rejected the amendment on abortion. Dylan Lysen / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>While every seat in the Kansas House was up for grabs this fall, 55 of the 125 seats only have a single candidate running. That vast majority of those candidates — 36 of them — are Republicans. Additionally, 22 of those unchallenged Republicans are set to represent districts that include counties that rejected the amendment on abortion. Dylan Lysen / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>While every seat in the Kansas House was up for grabs, 55 of the 125 
seats only have a single candidate running. That vast majority of those 
candidates — 36 of them — are Republicans. That’s more than 40% of the 
seats the party would need to retain to keep its supermajority in the 
chamber.Meanwhile, 22 of those unchallenged Republicans — more 
than half — are set to represent districts that include part of counties
 that rejected the amendment on abortion. Those seats alone make up the 
total difference between a simple majority and a supermajority in the 
Kansas House.Birkhead said that leads to the mismatch, where 
lawmakers hold views that don’t align with most of their constituents. 
Without an opponent, those lawmakers won’t risk their seats by passing 
more abortion restrictions.“If you fail to adhere to this sort of
 medium in your district,” he said, “there's no sanction because you're 
not going to lose your election.”Smith is one of those lawmakers.
 Over the last 10 years, his district has routinely switched hands 
between Republicans and Democrats. But he faces no challenger from 
either party this year. That’s after he voted in 2021 to put the state 
constitutional amendment on the ballot that his constituency voted 
against.Still, Smith said he still wants some more restrictions 
on abortions. But what restrictions lawmakers could pursue may need to 
be scaled back.<h2>New restrictions</h2>The
 election made one thing clear: abortion rights will continue in Kansas.
 What it doesn’t make clear is what exactly those rights are. Currently,
 state law bans abortion after 22 weeks.Smith, for instance, said
 he “could live with” a 15-week ban. Some states, like Florida and 
Mississippi, have installed 15-week bans. The challenge to Mississippi’s
 ban was the catalyst for <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/06/24/1102305878/supreme-court-abortion-roe-v-wade-decision-overturn" target="_blank">overturning Roe v. Wade</a>.Donley
 said Republican lawmakers could use a 15-week ban to test the Kansas 
Supreme Court’s ruling by passing such a law and trying to defend it in 
court. But with the way <a href="https://www.kcur.org/2019-04-26/kansas-supreme-court-rules-state-constitution-protects-right-to-abortion" target="_blank">the state’s high court ruled in 2019</a>, Donley said it’s unlikely it would then allow a 15-week ban to go into effect.Yet, the court could allow a softer, 20-week law to go into effect, she said.“I could imagine a court being more likely to entertain that law than a 15-week law,” Donley said.<h2>Reshaping the court</h2>Conservatives
 and anti-abortion activists still have another option to try to remove 
the right to an abortion from the state. They could push voters to 
remove Kansas Supreme Court justices through retention elections, 
allowing for Republican leaders to reshape the court with their ideology
 on abortion.That would be similar to what happened at the 
federal level when former President Donald Trump nominated three 
conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court. It led to the 
overturning of the decades-old precedent, Roe v. Wade, that provided 
abortion rights nationwide.That’s a fear that has already been expressed by abortion rights activists.Ashley
 All of Kansas for Constitutional Freedom, the campaign that worked to 
reject the constitutional amendment, said the day after the election 
that she expected conservatives to <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-08-03/abortion-rights-forces-won-a-huge-victory-in-kansas-but-the-fight-in-the-state-rages-on" target="_blank">shift their focus to the state supreme court</a>.Six
 of the court’s seven justices will be up for retention in the November 
general election. If some of the justices are removed, and a Republican 
governor is able to put more conservatives in the court, the right to an
 abortion could be challenged again.“Even though the entire state
 voted and essentially said no,” Donley said, “if the court changes its 
structure, they could overrule that previous holding and Kansas would 
lose the right to abortion.”Dylan Lysen reports on politics 
for the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanLysen 
or email him at dlysen@kcur.org.

Despite abortion vote, Kan. legislators could further restrict it anyway

TOPEKA — The Kansas Department of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Health reported&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;5,075 new coronavirus cases in Kansas from Wednesday August 17 to Wednesday August 12, for a total of&nbsp; 858,613 cases.&nbsp;&nbsp;

On Wednesday, th<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1529/June-15-Case-Summary-PDF?bidId=">e state reported&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;11 COVID-19 deaths for a total of 8,947. The large <a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">net negative </a>in COVID deaths is due to the death verification process, <a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">according to the KDHE.&nbsp;</a>

<a href="https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/158/Data">Click here for Data</a>&nbsp;about the COVID-19 vaccine.

TOPEKA — The Kansas Department of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Health reported&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;5,075 new coronavirus cases in Kansas from Wednesday August 17 to Wednesday August 12, for a total of&nbsp; 858,613 cases.&nbsp;&nbsp;On Wednesday, th<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1529/June-15-Case-Summary-PDF?bidId=">e state reported&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;11 COVID-19 deaths for a total of 8,947. The large <a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">net negative </a>in COVID deaths is due to the death verification process, <a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">according to the KDHE.&nbsp;</a><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661360143698.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/158/Data">Click here for Data</a>&nbsp;about the COVID-19 vaccine.<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Click here&nbsp;</a>for additional virus numbers from the KDHE.Kansas is providing fewer updates of its data about COVID-19 now that Gov. Laura Kelly formally declared that the state is moving toward treating COVID-19 as a disease like the flu that spreads regularly and isn't considered a pandemic.&nbsp;The health department plans to update data about cases and vaccinations each Wednesday.The state continues to support access to free COVID-19 testing, works to ensure that vulnerable populations can get vaccinated, see that providers serve a broad population and give “comprehensive guidance” about the virus. She called the new phase “endemic normalcy.”The health department plans to update data about cases and vaccinations each Wednesday.