FINNEY COUNTY- Law enforcement authorities are asking the public for help to locate missing attempted kidnapping suspect 30-year-old Oscar Bosquez Hernandez.

He is wanted for Non-Appearance for attempted kidnapping, criminal threat, domestic battery, and intimidation of a victim or witness, according to a media release from Garden City Police.

Hernandez is described as five-foot-11 and approximately 230 pounds. His last known address was 1160 E. Lakeview Drive, Garden City.

Anyone with information about Hernandez and his location, please contact the Finney County Sheriff’s Office at 620-272-3700 and ask for someone in the warrants division, or contact CrimeStoppers at 620-275-7807.

 

TOPEKA – The Kansas Health Institute (KHI) has released its Annual Insurance Update 2018: Health Insurance in Kansas. This publication reports the latest-available data describing insurance coverage in Kansas.

Key points from the report include:

• In 2016, there were 239,578 Kansans who were uninsured, including 36,752 children age 0-18. This translates to an uninsured rate of 8.4 percent, ranking Kansas below 30 other states, and similar to the U.S. average of 8.5 percent.
• ​​The uninsured rate in both Kansas and the U.S. dropped by about one-third between 2009 and 2016.
• People living in states that expanded Medicaid had an uninsured rate almost half that of people living in non-expansion states (6.5 percent compared to 11.6 percent).
• Racial and ethnic minorities in Kansas were much more likely to lack insurance than non-Hispanic Whites. For instance, Kansans who are Hispanic, Any Race, were three times more likely, and non-Hispanic Blacks were two-and-a-half times more likely,
  to be uninsured than non-Hispanic Whites (19.8 percent, 16.1 percent, and 6.0 percent, respectively).
• Four out of ten (43.1 percent) uninsured adult Kansans had family income at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL), and may qualify for Medicaid if expanded.
• Two-thirds (67.8 percent) of uninsured children in Kansas were in families with income below 243 percent FPL, and may have already been eligible for Medicaid or CHIP.
• Three-fourths (75.3 percent) of uninsured adult Kansans were working. Those working part-time were more than twice as likely to be uninsured as those working full-time, year-round (18.1 percent compared to 7.4 percent).

Check out the infographic, Health Insurance in Kansas 2016, for a visual depiction of how many Kansans had insurance coverage or remained uninsured.

The Annual Insurance Update 2018 uses data from the 2009 through 2016 U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS) as the primary data source. To view reports from previous years, visit this page.

The Kansas Health Institute (KHI) delivers objective information, conducts credible research, and supports civil dialogue enabling policy leaders to make informed health policy decisions that enhance their effectiveness as champions for a healthier Kansas. Established in 1995 with a multiyear grant from the Kansas Health Foundation, KHI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization based in Topeka.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Top leaders updated the Kansas Legislature’s policy against sexual harassment on Friday without requiring an outside review of complaints or altering their longstanding approach of having them handled as privately as possible.

The revised policy approved by the top seven legislative leaders is more specific about how allegations of misconduct will be handled, particularly from legislative interns. It specifically says lawmakers identified in “well-founded” complaints could face formal — and public — discipline in the House and Senate, such as censure.

But the revised policy stops short of mandating annual sexual harassment training for legislators and their staff, and complaints still will be handled by legislative leaders or the Legislature’s director of administrative services. It still says complaints will be “handled as discreetly as possible.”

Leaders from both parties said they will keep working with the Women’s Foundation, a Kansas City, Missouri-based nonprofit that promotes gender equity and that further updates are possible. They said they wanted to make some improvements quickly; the previous policy had not been updated since 1994.

“It’s not the final product, but this a step in the right direction,” said Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican.

Legislative leaders initiated their review of the policy after the ex-chief of staff for a former Democratic legislative leader said publicly in October that an unnamed lawmaker once asked her for sex in 2015 and described harassment as “rampant.” She said female college interns regularly served as after-hours designated drivers for intoxicated lawmakers in 2016.

Her statements came amid a national wave of misconduct allegations against prominent figures in multiple industries. Legislators in at least nine other states have been forced to step down during the past seven months.

Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer issued an executive order Monday mandating annual sexual harassment training for roughly 20,000 executive branch employees under his control. He sent a letter Friday to the state’s elected attorney general, secretary of state, state treasurer and insurance commissioner, urging them to adopt similar policies.

But Kansas House Minority Leader Jim Ward, a Wichita Democrat, said the Legislature’s new policy is not strong enough, partly because it lacks an outside review of complaints.

“We need independent folks that are trained in this area,” Ward said.

Other legislative leaders said setting up an independent review — and figuring out how to pay for it — will take time.

Also, legislative leaders view their director of administrative services as nonpartisan and independent, even though they hire him. Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat, said in the past, the director has acted as a “disciplinarian” to enforce leaders’ administrative policies.

The Legislature’s new policy requires sexual harassment training for legislative employees at least once every two years. Top lawmakers have said they can’t mandate training for legislators because they are elected, but the policy calls for it to be made available. The old policy did not require training.

“It’s far better than what we’ve had,” Hensley said.

SHAWNEE COUNTY— Law enforcement are investigating a robbery and have made an arrest.

Just before 9p.m. Tuesday, deputies received a call of a robbery at the Viking BP, 4700 NW Hunters Ridge in Topek

a, according to Sgt. Todd Staulbaumer.

Upon arrival deputies were told a white male, approximately 6-foot1, thin build, early 20’s, dressed in black with his face covered, entered the store and demanded money.

No weapon was displayed. The subject left the store and fled to the northeast.   A K-9 officer checked the area but lost the trail in the Hunters Ridge Apartment Complex parking lot.

Shawnee County detectives were able to develop a suspect through the course of the investigation.  On Friday, deputies booked Mason J. Wages, 21, Topeka, into the Shawnee County Dept. of Corrections for Robbery.

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SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement are investigating a robbery and asking for help to identify a suspect.

Just before 9p.m. Tuesday, deputies received a call of a robbery at the Viking BP, 4700 NW Hunters Ridge in Topeka, according to Sgt. Todd Staulbaumer.

Upon arrival deputies were told a white male, approximately 6-foot1, thin build, early 20’s, dressed in black with his face covered, entered the store and demanded money.

No weapon was displayed. The subject left the store and fled to the northeast.   A K-9 officer checked the area but lost the trail in the Hunters Ridge Apartment Complex parking lot.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 785-234-0007 or Detective Kevin Kasl 785-251-2248

LINWOOD, Kan. (AP) — A summer camp for children with muscular dystrophy is moving from Kansas to Missouri, causing confusion for families on both sides of the state line.

The Muscular Dystrophy Association announced Feb. 1 it’s merging its annual camps in Linwood, Kansas, and its camp in Springfield, Missouri. The new regional camp will now be held at Camp Barnabas, a Christian ministry at Teas Trail near Purdy, Missouri.

Families, campers and camp counselors in both states have expressed sadness and confusion about the decision. Those in the Kansas City area are now faced with extra fees, longer travel distances, uncertainty about long-term camper-counselor relationships and questions about the new venue’s religious mission.

The association says it’s looking to improve the camping experience for its families nationwide.

NEWTON, Kan. (AP) — A homeless man who murdered a Kansas woman and her 4-year-old daughter has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Keith Hawkins was sentenced Friday for capital murder in the August 2017 deaths of 24-year-old Alyssa Runyon and her daughter, Zaylynn Paz.

The victims’ bodies were found at their duplex in Newton, Kansas. Police said the girl was stabbed and her mother was strangled.

Hawkins was arrested in Texas. Authorities said he was homeless and was visiting Runyon.

The victims’ families agreed to a plea deal that dropped two counts of first-degree murder in exchange for his guilty plea to capital murder.

Authorities said Hawkins was a sex offender but his prior conviction was not placed on the public offender registry.