By Rocky Robinson

SALINE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating a suspect on forgery and a number of additional charges after a high-speed chase.

On Sunday afternoon, Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Greg Arnold said he attempted to pull over a 2000’s model Ford Expedition near the Target parking lot at Ninth and Schilling in Salina.

The vehicle sped down Schilling and turned north on Ohio. Trooper Arnold said he briefly pursued the suspect through the outskirts of town, reaching speeds of 70 miles-per-hour. When the vehicle turned towards more residential areas, Arnold said he called off the chase for safety reasons.

“I was trying to keep my speed lower and safer for everyone else and he just kept getting faster,” Trooper Arnold said. “In the interest of public safety I disregarded the pursuit.”

The same vehicle was spotted by a different trooper near Harley-Davidson of Salina, 2200 N Ohio, about 10 minutes after the initial chase. The second trooper pursued the suspect down I-70 and into Dickinson County.

The driver ditched the vehicle after going off-road on 3100 Avenue near Fair Road. The trooper apprehended the suspect following a foot pursuit.

Cunningham was taken into custody and booked into the Saline County Jail.

SALINA -Union Pacific is boosting safety and efficiency with an approximately $57 million infrastructure investment in Kansas this year.

In a media release they indicated the projects funded by Union Pacific benefit Kansas’s overall transportation infrastructure without taxpayer funds.

Union Pacific’s investment plan funds a range of initiatives: $43 million to maintain railroad track and $12 million to maintain bridges in the state. Key projects planned this year include:

• $13 million investment in the rail line between Topeka and Herington to replace 102,740 railroad ties and install 53,137 tons of rock ballast.
• $4.8 million investment in the rail line between Junction City and Salina to replace 33,828 railroad ties and install 327 tons of rock ballast.

“Union Pacific’s targeted investments fund projects that strengthen our railroad tracks, increase safety and minimize delays as trains travel through communities across Kansas,” said Donna Kush, Union Pacific vice president – Public Affairs, Northern Region. “Maintaining a healthy railroad is the foundation of our ability to serve customers and communities across the state.”

This year’s planned $57 million capital expenditure in Kansas is part of an ongoing investment strategy. From 2012 to 2016, Union Pacific invested more than $425 million strengthening Kansas’s transportation infrastructure.

Union Pacific plans to spend $3.1 billion across its network this year. The company has invested $51 billion since 2000, contributing to a 40 percent decrease in derailments during the same time frame.

SEWARD COUNTY – A Kansas junior college football player died of natural causes as determined by an autopsy, according to a media release from the Seward County Sheriff’s Department.

Sean Callahan, 19, was found unresponsive Sunday afternoon at a home in Kismet, Kansas. He was taken to a Southwest Medical Center in Liberal where he was pronounced dead.

Callahan was a sophomore offensive lineman at Garden City Community College. He received an associate degree during spring commencement ceremonies on Friday.

The 6-foot 4inch, 295-pound offensive lineman is originally from Gardner, Kansas

“I’m very sad for Sean’s family, friends, teammates, our college, myself and anyone that had contact with Sean,” Broncbuster Coach Jeff Sims said in a statement.

“He truly was growing and developing into a man with a bright future.”

In December, Garden City won their first national championship with a 25-22 victory over No. 2 Arizona Western in the El Toro Bowl.

BY MEG WINGERTER

Another poll has found strong majorities of Kansans support expanding Medicaid, but some political experts say it isn’t likely to make a difference this legislative session.

The latest Medicaid expansion poll found about 68 percent of Kansans surveyed said they supported expanding the program to non-disabled adults who earn up to 138 percent of the federal poverty line, or annual income of about $16,600 for an individual and $33,400 for a family of four. About 60 percent of Republicans polled said they also supported expansion.

The American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network and the American Heart Association commissioned the poll, which was released Monday.

Download the new Kansas poll on Medicaid expansion.

Both legislative houses passed a Medicaid expansion bill earlier this year, but Gov. Sam Brownback vetoed the bill, saying it would prioritize non-disabled people. Disability rights groups objected to that line of argument, but the House failed to override the governor’s veto.

Talk about another attempt has simmered since, but it isn’t clear if supporters can muster the votes.

Despite the polling numbers and supporters’ determination to push Medicaid expansion again, a change isn’t likely to happen this year, said Burdett Loomis, a professor of political science at the University of Kansas. Lawmakers have too much on their plates as they try to balance the budget and find more money to fund schools, he said.

“Now it’s a question of, ‘Do you have time and energy at the end of this difficult session?’” he said. “My guess is the answer is no.”

But Hilary Gee, Kansas government relations director for the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network, said the latest poll is “more evidence” that voters support expansion. It also shows voters are engaged in the issue and think it has momentum, she said.

“Several legislators who voted against expansion previously stated they wanted to find a solution,” she said. “Now we definitively know that voters would like to see an expansion solution as well.”

Previous polls released in January, March 2016, February 2014  and February 2013 all found more Kansans supported expanding Medicaid than opposed it, but this session was the first time the issue made it to a vote in the Legislature.

During the 2010, 2012 and 2014 elections, candidates who opposed anything associated with Obamacare — as the Affordable Care Act is commonly called — typically were among the winners, said Bob Beatty, a political science professor at Washburn University.

It was an unusual situation where the public appeared to support an idea but consistently voted for representatives who opposed it, he said.

But last fall Kansans elected more moderate Republicans and Democrats to the Legislature, which sent a message about support for expansion, Beatty said.

However, conservative Republicans who kept their seats generally came from districts where being associated with Obamacare would be politically perilous, he said, giving them little incentive to change their votes.

“They survived 2016, so their districts are probably OK,” he said. “Some conservatives and Republicans have been very successful at linking Medicaid expansion up to Obamacare.”

Opposition to former President Barack Obama may become less politically compelling under the administration of President Donald Trump, Beatty said, so voting against expansion may no longer be a winning position in 2018. It isn’t likely that Medicaid expansion will move forward this year in Kansas, however.

“Right now, reading the tea leaves, it doesn’t look like the votes are there” to override a Brownback veto, he said.

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. 

GEARY COUNTY – A Kansas man was injured in an accident just after 10a.m. Tuesday in Geary County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2006 Harley Davidson FLHRI Road King driven by Zachary E. Anderson, 28, Dwight, was northbound on Kansas 57 eight miles north of Junction City.

The motorcycle hit a turkey in the road, entered the east ditch and the driver was ejected.

Anderson was transported to a hospital in Topeka.

He was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

SEDGWICK COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal accident just after 6a.m. Tuesday in Sedgwick County.

An unidentified man in a pickup was southbound in the 600 Block of north Rock Road in Wichita, according to Sgt. Nikki Woodrow during Tuesday’s police briefing.

The vehicle crossed over to the opposite lanes of traffic, left the road and hit a tree.

The driver was the only occupant of the pickup. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Woodrow.

Name of the victim was not released.

 

MCPHERSON COUNTY – Family and friends of a Kansas boy who died in a tragic farm accident have established a fund-raising site to help pay for funeral expenses.

Nine-year-old Cayden Avery was riding on a tractor with his father Friday as they did some mowing near Inman, according to Captain Doug Anderson with the McPherson County Sheriff’s Department.

Cayden fell and was hit by the mower.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Anderson.

Cayden attended school in Buhler.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas medical equipment supplier has agreed to pay $1 million to settle allegations that it submitted false claims to Medicare for vacuum erection devices that are known informally as penis pumps.

The U.S. attorney’s office announced the settlement with Pos-T-Vac Inc. on Monday. Allegations against the Dodge City company include that it submitted claims for vacuum erection supplies that weren’t medically necessary, lacked documentation of medical necessity and weren’t properly ordered by a physician. The issues are alleged to have occurred from 2009 through 2012.

Medicare has since stopped covering such devices.

During the investigation, Medicare suspended payments to Pos-T-Vac. Under the terms of the settlement, the government will retain those funds, and Pos-T-Vac will make additional payments to the government.

GEARY COUNTY –Fire investigators say the April 8th fire at the Bluffs apartment complex in Junction City was accidental.

It was classified as accidental associated with the improper disposal of smoking materials, according to Deaun Bailey of the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

The cause of the fire was released by Junction City Fire Chief Terry Johnson, who noted the cause was improper disposal of smoking materials. “We believe cigarettes, inappropriate use of what we call a butt can, somewhere to put the cigarette butts. What they used was more of a plastic material than a metal material, no sand, that type of thing. ” Johnson added authorities believe that’s where it started and the material ignited. “Melted the plastic and it went from there.”

The fire destroyed the 28-unit  Building B in the Bluffs complex. The damage estimate was later placed at near the insured value of $3.8 million. No one was injured.
Johnson confirmed the fire originated on the third floor of the apartment complex.

MOUND VALLEY, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a man wounded over the weekend as southeast Kansas sheriff’s deputies responded to an earlier shooting remains in serious condition.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation identified the man as 40-year-old David Whinery, of Mound Valley. The KBI says Whinery was standing in a driveway with a gun Saturday when two Labette County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a 911 call about the initial shooting at a Mound Valley home. The KBI says it appears that both deputies fired at Whinery. Neither deputy was hurt.

The victim of the first shooting, 77-year-old James Bullock Sr. of Mound Valley, has been treated at a hospital and released. It’s unclear what led up to Bullock being shot.

The KBI says the investigation is ongoing.