In 2016 John B. King, Jr.-served as U.S. Education Secretary-courtesy photo
WASHINGTON (AP) — Members of Congress are criticizing the Education Department over $6 billion in improper payments made as part of the federal student aid programs.
Government data shows the improper payments were made in 2016. They include payments made to wrong recipients or for incorrect amounts.
Jay Hurt — chief financial officer of Federal Student Aid — tells a House hearing that a zero-percent rate of improper payments isn’t feasible.
But GOP Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina says she thinks the Education Department should strive for no mistakes.
The official in charge of managing federal student aid resigned abruptly Tuesday night and didn’t testify.
John B. King, Jr. served the Obama administration as Education Secretary in 2016.
Harris-photo Sedgwick CountyBrown-photo Sedgwick County
SEDGWICK COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Wichita reported the arrest of 38-year-old Steven Harris. He is wanted in connection with a shooting death in Manhattan.
On Thursday, Wichita Police Department (WPD) received information that a vehicle matching the description in connection with the crime was at a Motel 6 on E. Kellogg Dr. in Wichita, according to a media release.
WPD responded to the scene and were able to determine the vehicle was a match. WPD officers then made contact with Steven Harris. Harris and Cora Brown, who was also at the Motel 6, were arrested without incident.
Police on the scene of Thursday night’s arrest-photo courtesy KWCH
Harris was arrested on a Riley County District Court warrant for 1st degree murder and attempted 1stdegree murder. Harris’ bond was set at $2,000,000.00. Harris remains confined in Wichita at this time.
WPD also arrested Cora Brown on a Riley County District Court warrant for possession of methamphetamine. Brown’s bond was set at $20,000.00. Brown also remains confined in Wichita at this time.
Both Harris and Brown will be transferred to the Riley County Jail.
There are no indications at this point in the investigation that Brown was in danger.
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SEDGWICK COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Wichita reported the arrest of 38-year-old Steven Harris. He is wanted in connection with a shooting death in Manhattan.
Police took Harris and his girlfriend Cora Brown into custody Thursday evening at a motel in Wichita.
Just before 6p.m. on Sunday May 21, police received several 911 calls stating there had been a shooting on Nelson’s Landing in Manhattan, according to a media release.
When officers arrived on scene to the 2800 block of Nelson’s Landing, they found one male, identified as German Gonzalez-Garcia, 39, of Manhattan, dead from gunshot wounds.
A second man was found on scene, also suffering from gunshot wounds. He was lifeflighted to Stormont Vail in Topeka in critical condition.
On Monday, police issued a warrant for Harris in connection with the shooting.
Kansas is operating its Medicaid program under a five-year “waiver” that allows three private insurance companies to administer the program. The state’s waiver ends Dec. 31, and officials have asked for a one-year extension. FILE PHOTO / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
Federal officials this week approved a corrective plan for Kansas’ privately managed Medicaid program, easing pressure on the state before a year-end deadline.
As part of the plan, state officials agreed to keep track of the number of grievances and appeals they receive from Kansans in Medicaid who say they were denied appropriate services. That and other elements of the plan were outlined in a letter the state received Monday from James Scott, associate regional administrator for Medicaid and children’s health operations at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
In Kansas, the privatized Medicaid program known as KanCare provides health insurance to about 425,000 Kansans, mostly children in low-income families, people with disabilities and low-income elderly Kansans who need nursing home care.
Kansas is operating its Medicaid program under a five-year “waiver” that allows three private insurance companies to administer the program. Through waivers, states can make changes to Medicaid as long as they cover required services and don’t increase federal costs.
The state’s waiver ends Dec. 31, and officials have asked for a one-year extension after then to allow KanCare to continue while the Kansas Department of Health and Environment prepares an application for a new program. CMS has yet to approve the extension, but the corrective plan removes one barrier.
CMS officials denied the extension request in January, however, because of concerns the state wasn’t adequately overseeing the three insurance companies that administer the program. Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer attributed the denial to a “parting shot” from the outgoing administration of President Barack Obama and said the state expected more cooperation under new President Donald Trump.
If CMS doesn’t approve an extension before the waiver expires, Kansas theoretically could be forced to return to traditional Medicaid, though records don’t show any precedent for that. So far, CMS has only disapproved two waiver applications, according to its database. Both were for new waivers.
Mike Oxford, executive director of the Topeka Independent Living Resource Center, said Wednesday that he hopes better tracking will improve services for people with disabilities. Until now, the state has only looked at health outcomes, not whether people are satisfied with their services or able to participate in their communities, he said.
“From where I sit today, it looks like the state is getting it,” he said.
If the state acts on the information it collects, it could reduce KanCare recipients’ distrust in the system, Oxford said. Some people in KanCare who were denied services told state officials during public meetings that they felt they were being mistreated to increase the profits of the insurance companies that administer KanCare, he said.
Meanwhile, state officials are moving forward with plans for the next phase of KanCare.
State officials have kept quiet about what a new KanCare program might include, citing uncertainty in Washington, D.C. Angela de Rocha, spokeswoman for the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, said she expects changes would be “fairly extensive.”
“It is too soon right now to say exactly how or in what ways,” she said in an email. “One of the reasons we have applied for an extension is to wait for clarity on what the federal government is going to do.”
Meg Wingerter is a reporter for the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of kcur.org, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics. You can reach her on Twitter @MegWingerter.
DOUGLAS COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect in a May 15, armed robbery and have suspect in custody.
On Thursday, police in Kansas City arrested Mark X. Young, 25, on a warrant in connection with the robbery, according to a media release.
Just after 8:30 p.m. May 15, police responded to a restaurant at 1501 West 23rd Street after report of a robbery.
Based on investigation it was determined that a black male wearing a red sweatshirt entered the business brandishing an edged weapon and demanded money.
The suspect fled the business with an undetermined amount of cash.
An employee reported that during the incident he was struck by the suspect, not with the weapon, causing minor injuries that did not require medical attention. No other injuries were reported.
RENO COUNTY–A Kansas woman accused in a fatal, January DUI accident waived her right to a preliminary hearing in Reno County District Court Thursday.
Jane E. Hart, 65, Hutchinson, is charged with involuntary manslaughter while under the influence.
Just after 2p.m. on January 21, an Audi passenger vehicle driven by Hart was eastbound on 30th Street in Hutchinson, according to Reno County Sheriff’s Department.
The driver made a left turn onto Prairie Dunes Drive and the car struck a westbound motorcycle driven by Charles Caselton, 62, Burrton.
He died at the scene. Arraignment in the case is set for June 5.
SUMNER COUNTY – Another small earthquake hit Kansas late Thursday. The quake just before midnight and measured a magnitude 2.6 and was centered approximately ten miles west of Belle Plaine in Sumner County, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
This is the seventh quake in Kansas this month.
A 2.8 magnitude quake hit near Mankato in Jewell County on Tuesday. A 3.4 quake was reported in the same area on Saturday, May 20.
A pair of small earthquakes were reported in Harper County early Friday, May 19. A 2.7 magnitude quake hit 10 miles northwest of Conway Springs on May 10.
The agency reported a 3.5 magnitude quake in Harper County on May 5.
The USGS recorded nearly a dozen Kansas earthquakes in April, seven in March and six in February. They measured from 2.5. to 3.3.
There are no reports of damage or injury from Thursday’s quake, according to the Sumner County Sheriff’s Department.
Travelers waiting under the overpass on I-70 at Kanorado during Thursday hail storm. The NWS advised this could cause an accident- photo Kevin Mahoney
SHERMAN COUNTY -Thursday evenings storm brought strong winds, hail and heavy rain to across western Kansas.
Wind gusts of 50 to 70 miles-per-hour were reported across the region including in Ellis, Ness and Trego County, according to the National Weather Service.
Severe thunderstorms in Ellis and NE Rush continues to produce strong damaging winds. At 856 pm Hays airport reported 69 mph wind gust.#kswx
The agency also reported hail from .88 to 1.75 inches fell in many areas.
Just after 3p.m. Mountain Daylight Time Thursday, the National Weather Service in Goodland issued the first of many watches and warnings for northwest Kansas. The storm moved out of eastern Colorado and down Interstate 70 throughout the evening.
Severe t-storms possible late this afternoon/evening. Main threat up to baseball hail and damaging winds. Isolated tornadoes also possible. pic.twitter.com/RqXS5xecGV
There are no reports of serious damage from Thursday’s storm. Another round of possible severe weather is in the forecast for the Memorial Day Weekend.
WICHITA- A Kansas man was sentenced Thursday to 46 months in federal prison for turning stolen mail into 14 false identities, according to U.S. Attorney Tom Beall.
Jeremy Peterson, 43, Wichita, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to produce false identification documents. In his plea, he admitted that other conspirators provided him with stolen mail he used to produce counterfeit documents including driver’s licenses and state identification cards. He produced documents for 14 stolen identities that conspirators used to buy cars. Local auto dealers suffered an actual loss of more than $218,000 as a result.
Peterson was one of 13 defendants charged last year in USA v Below, an indictment alleging they took part in a $3.5 million fraud scheme.
He has previous drug convictions in Sedgwick County, according to the KDOC.
WASHINGTON, Kan. (AP) — A northern Kansas woman is fighting a decision by state fair officials to strip her champion lamb title and winnings because of alleged performance enhancement.
The Hutchinson News reports Kansas State University student Gabryelle Gilliam had the grand champion market lamb at the 2016 Kansas State Fair, but she was disqualified in January for “unethical fitting.”
The Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Dr. Paul Grosdidier says he concluded after a carcass exam that a natural substance was injected into the animal “within a few days” of inspection. State fair rules prohibit treating animals with a substance to alter its body in any way.
Gilliam alleges in Reno County District Court documents that the fair’s actions weren’t supported by substantial evidence. She wants the disqualification overturned.
The Kansas Attorney General’s office is seeking more time to respond to her complaint.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas woman accused of driving into a group of teenagers, killing one of them, has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
A jury in Kansas’ Wyandotte County also convicted 41-year-old Tamika Pledger on Thursday of three counts of aggravated battery.
Authorities alleged Pledger drove into Tierra Smith and three other high school students in January 2015. Smith died about a week after the crash.
James Spies, a prosecutor, told jurors Tuesday that Pledger was driving at least 55 mph in a 20-mph zone when she crested a hill and hit the victims.
Pledger’s attorney, Michael Gunter, countered that his client was on her way to stop a fight from happening and couldn’t see anyone in the street when she got to the hilltop.
