CLEVELAND (AP) — The first debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden erupted in contentious exchanges Tuesday night over the coronavirus pandemic, job losses and how the Supreme Court will shape the future of the nation’s health care.

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/debates/">Click here to watch</a>&nbsp;the debate replay

Fitting for an edge in their bitter campaign, the two men frequently interrupted each other with angry interjections, with Biden eventually snapping at Trump “Will you shut up, man?” That was after the president badgered him over his refusal to comment on whether he would try to expand the Supreme Court in retaliation if Trump’s high court pick, Amy Coney Barrett, was confirmed to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader

CLEVELAND (AP) — President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden prepared to face off Tuesday in their crucial first debate of the 2020 campaign, the most pivotal opportunity yet for the candidates to outline starkly different visions for a country facing multiple crises.

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/debates/">Click here to watch</a>&nbsp;the debate LIVE&nbsp;

Trump and Biden arrived in Cleveland hoping the debate would energize their bases of support, even as they competed for the slim slice of undecided voters who could decide the election. It has been generations since two men asked to lead a nation facing such tumult, with Americans both fearful and impatient about the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 200,000 of their fellow citizens and cost millions of jobs.

With just 35 days until the election, and early voting already underway in some states, Biden steps onto the stage holding leads in the polls — significant in national surveys, close in some battleground states — and looking to expand his support among suburban voters, women and seniors. Surveys show&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-donald-trump-religion-virus-outbreak-race-and-ethnicity-4b9c9d7a7aa46c523047a3a0e932e2a8">the president has lost significant ground among those groups</a>&nbsp;since 2016, but Biden faces his own questions encouraged by Trump’s withering attacks.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-virus-outbreak-donald-trump-health-e1362f5448c8988b2deee177e1256592">Trump will have arguably his best chance to try to reframe the campaign as a choice</a>&nbsp;between candidates and not a referendum over his handling of the virus that has killed more people in America than any other nation. Americans, according to polling, have soured on his leadership in the crisis, and the president has struggled to land consistent attacks on Biden.

Leaving the White House for Cleveland, Trump pumped his fist for supporters gathered on the White House lawn but did not address reporters. He spent the morning in informal debate preparations while a more formal session was set for the afternoon once he arrived in Ohio. Biden held an umbrella to ward off the Delaware rain as he boarded a new, bigger campaign plane en route to Cleveland. He, too, did not address reporters.

Though some Trump aides involved in the preparations urged the president to adopt a measured tone while selling his own accomplishments, Trump had told advisers he was preparing an all-out assault on Biden, claiming that the former senator’s 47 years in Washington have left him out of touch and that his family, namely his son Hunter, has benefited from corruption.

Biden’s performances during the primary debates were uneven, and some Democrats have been nervous as to how he would fare in an unscripted setting. But his team also viewed the night as a chance to illuminate Trump’s failings with the pandemic and economy, with the former vice president acting as a “fact checker on the floor” while bracing himself for the onslaught that was coming.

The tumult of 2020 was difficult to overstate: COVID-19 has rewritten the rules of everyday life; racial justice protests have swept into cities after several highly publicized killings of Black people by police, and the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg allowed Trump to nominate a conservative jurist to replace a liberal voice and perhaps reshape the high court for generations.

But the impact of the debate — and the two to follow — remained unclear. Despite the upheaval, the presidential race has seemed largely unchanged since Biden seized control of the Democratic field in March and opened a steady lead over Trump.

Both sides looked to one-up each other in the hours before the debate.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-politics-donald-trump-kamala-harris-c60c184e7b1b25fc089909d9f6370686">Biden released his 2019 tax returns just days after the blockbuster revelations about Trump’s</a>&nbsp;long-hidden tax history, including that he paid only $750 a year in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017 and nothing in many other years. The Bidens paid nearly $300,000 in taxes in 2019.

Meanwhile, trying to hammer home a claim that Biden is not up to the job of president, Trump’s campaign pushed out a number of pre-debate accusations, including that the former vice president asked for numerous breaks during the 90-minute debate and had backed out of a search meant to rule out that either man was wearing an earpiece from which he could be fed answers.

The Biden campaign denied the accusations and, in a conference call Tuesday afternoon, chided reporters for biting on a Trump gambit.

“We’re in the middle of a global pandemic,” Biden senior campaign adviser Symone Sanders said. “Is this what you all would really like to spend your time on, these false, crazy, random, ridiculous assertions by the Trump campaign?”

The president’s handling of the coronavirus was likely to dominate much of the debate.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-virus-outbreak-health-campaigns-cleveland-e7b7c781ab07890df8901bffe45facda">The pandemic’s effects were in plain sight</a>, with the candidates’ lecterns spaced far apart, all of the guests in the small crowd tested and the traditional opening handshake scrapped.

The scene in Cleveland was notably understated compared to typical election years, with none of the pomp and pageantry. Instead of the usual auditorium, the debate was held in an atrium on Case Western University’s campus — one that had been temporarily converted into a COVID-19 hospital this spring — and signs were placed on two of every three three chairs reading, “Thank you for not sitting here in observance of social distancing.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601425740751.png" alt="Image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>CLEVELAND (AP) — The first debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden erupted in contentious exchanges Tuesday night over the coronavirus pandemic, job losses and how the Supreme Court will shape the future of the nation’s health care.<a href="https://www.c-span.org/debates/">Click here to watch</a>&nbsp;the debate replayFitting for an edge in their bitter campaign, the two men frequently interrupted each other with angry interjections, with Biden eventually snapping at Trump “Will you shut up, man?” That was after the president badgered him over his refusal to comment on whether he would try to expand the Supreme Court in retaliation if Trump’s high court pick, Amy Coney Barrett, was confirmed to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader--------CLEVELAND (AP) — President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden prepared to face off Tuesday in their crucial first debate of the 2020 campaign, the most pivotal opportunity yet for the candidates to outline starkly different visions for a country facing multiple crises.<a href="https://www.c-span.org/debates/">Click here to watch</a>&nbsp;the debate LIVE&nbsp;Trump and Biden arrived in Cleveland hoping the debate would energize their bases of support, even as they competed for the slim slice of undecided voters who could decide the election. It has been generations since two men asked to lead a nation facing such tumult, with Americans both fearful and impatient about the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 200,000 of their fellow citizens and cost millions of jobs.With just 35 days until the election, and early voting already underway in some states, Biden steps onto the stage holding leads in the polls — significant in national surveys, close in some battleground states — and looking to expand his support among suburban voters, women and seniors. Surveys show&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-donald-trump-religion-virus-outbreak-race-and-ethnicity-4b9c9d7a7aa46c523047a3a0e932e2a8">the president has lost significant ground among those groups</a>&nbsp;since 2016, but Biden faces his own questions encouraged by Trump’s withering attacks.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-virus-outbreak-donald-trump-health-e1362f5448c8988b2deee177e1256592">Trump will have arguably his best chance to try to reframe the campaign as a choice</a>&nbsp;between candidates and not a referendum over his handling of the virus that has killed more people in America than any other nation. Americans, according to polling, have soured on his leadership in the crisis, and the president has struggled to land consistent attacks on Biden.Leaving the White House for Cleveland, Trump pumped his fist for supporters gathered on the White House lawn but did not address reporters. He spent the morning in informal debate preparations while a more formal session was set for the afternoon once he arrived in Ohio. Biden held an umbrella to ward off the Delaware rain as he boarded a new, bigger campaign plane en route to Cleveland. He, too, did not address reporters.Though some Trump aides involved in the preparations urged the president to adopt a measured tone while selling his own accomplishments, Trump had told advisers he was preparing an all-out assault on Biden, claiming that the former senator’s 47 years in Washington have left him out of touch and that his family, namely his son Hunter, has benefited from corruption.Biden’s performances during the primary debates were uneven, and some Democrats have been nervous as to how he would fare in an unscripted setting. But his team also viewed the night as a chance to illuminate Trump’s failings with the pandemic and economy, with the former vice president acting as a “fact checker on the floor” while bracing himself for the onslaught that was coming.The tumult of 2020 was difficult to overstate: COVID-19 has rewritten the rules of everyday life; racial justice protests have swept into cities after several highly publicized killings of Black people by police, and the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg allowed Trump to nominate a conservative jurist to replace a liberal voice and perhaps reshape the high court for generations.But the impact of the debate — and the two to follow — remained unclear. Despite the upheaval, the presidential race has seemed largely unchanged since Biden seized control of the Democratic field in March and opened a steady lead over Trump.Both sides looked to one-up each other in the hours before the debate.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-politics-donald-trump-kamala-harris-c60c184e7b1b25fc089909d9f6370686">Biden released his 2019 tax returns just days after the blockbuster revelations about Trump’s</a>&nbsp;long-hidden tax history, including that he paid only $750 a year in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017 and nothing in many other years. The Bidens paid nearly $300,000 in taxes in 2019.Meanwhile, trying to hammer home a claim that Biden is not up to the job of president, Trump’s campaign pushed out a number of pre-debate accusations, including that the former vice president asked for numerous breaks during the 90-minute debate and had backed out of a search meant to rule out that either man was wearing an earpiece from which he could be fed answers.The Biden campaign denied the accusations and, in a conference call Tuesday afternoon, chided reporters for biting on a Trump gambit.“We’re in the middle of a global pandemic,” Biden senior campaign adviser Symone Sanders said. “Is this what you all would really like to spend your time on, these false, crazy, random, ridiculous assertions by the Trump campaign?”The president’s handling of the coronavirus was likely to dominate much of the debate.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-virus-outbreak-health-campaigns-cleveland-e7b7c781ab07890df8901bffe45facda">The pandemic’s effects were in plain sight</a>, with the candidates’ lecterns spaced far apart, all of the guests in the small crowd tested and the traditional opening handshake scrapped.The scene in Cleveland was notably understated compared to typical election years, with none of the pomp and pageantry. Instead of the usual auditorium, the debate was held in an atrium on Case Western University’s campus — one that had been temporarily converted into a COVID-19 hospital this spring — and signs were placed on two of every three three chairs reading, “Thank you for not sitting here in observance of social distancing.”

 🎥  Face-to-face anger: Trump, Biden lash, interrupt each other

COWLEY COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man for allegedly leaving the scene of an injury DUI accident.

Just before 10p.m. Sept. 26, police were dispatched to the 1500 block of North C Street for a report of a hit-and-run injury accident, according to Arkansas City police.

They made contact with an 18-year-old Arkansas City resident who reported that while he was southbound in his red Chevrolet Equinox, he saw a northbound truck crossing into his lane of travel.

The driver reported stopping, thinking the other driver would correct his course and avoid a collision.

Instead, the white truck hit the Chevrolet head-on and its driver, later identified as&nbsp;Marcos Martin-Marcos, 46, allegedly fled the scene. The driver of the Equinox was evaluated at the scene by the Arkansas City Fire-EMS Department, but declined to be transported to the hospital for treatment of his injuries.

Police made a social media post about the incident and soon received a tip about a possible match to the suspect’s vehicle. Police responded about 10:56 p.m. to the 100 block of East Windsor Road, where Martin-Marcos was contacted, identified and subsequently taken into custody.

He was booked into the Cowley County Jail on requested charges of misdemeanor driving under the influence (second offense). He also was cited for failure to report an injury accident, improper driving on a laned roadway, leaving the scene of an injury accident and no driver’s license.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601413411082.png" alt="Martin-Marcos-photo Cowley Co." />
 <figcaption>Martin-Marcos-photo Cowley Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>COWLEY COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man for allegedly leaving the scene of an injury DUI accident.Just before 10p.m. Sept. 26, police were dispatched to the 1500 block of North C Street for a report of a hit-and-run injury accident, according to Arkansas City police.They made contact with an 18-year-old Arkansas City resident who reported that while he was southbound in his red Chevrolet Equinox, he saw a northbound truck crossing into his lane of travel.The driver reported stopping, thinking the other driver would correct his course and avoid a collision.Instead, the white truck hit the Chevrolet head-on and its driver, later identified as&nbsp;Marcos Martin-Marcos, 46, allegedly fled the scene. The driver of the Equinox was evaluated at the scene by the Arkansas City Fire-EMS Department, but declined to be transported to the hospital for treatment of his injuries.Police made a social media post about the incident and soon received a tip about a possible match to the suspect’s vehicle. Police responded about 10:56 p.m. to the 100 block of East Windsor Road, where Martin-Marcos was contacted, identified and subsequently taken into custody.He was booked into the Cowley County Jail on requested charges of misdemeanor driving under the influence (second offense). He also was cited for failure to report an injury accident, improper driving on a laned roadway, leaving the scene of an injury accident and no driver’s license.

Police use social media to find Kan. man who fled head-on crash

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A former employee of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, has won a $125,000 settlement after her boss was convicted of grabbing her by the shirt and pushing her into a wall.

The Unified Government also apologized to Madeline Waldeck for the hostile work environment she faced while working for Dennis “Tib” Laughlin, the former director of general services.

Her lawsuit says she called police in May 2018 after Laughlin shoved her, leading to a misdemeanor battery conviction and Laughlin’s resignation. The suit said said she had complained previously about Laughlin’s conduct but that no action was taken.

“I hope that by me sharing my story things will change for the good and that I can help others,” Waldeck told The Star on Monday.

A message seeking comment from Laughlin, was not returned. The Unified Government did not respond to a message seeking comment, either.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601386117534.png" alt="Dennis Laughlin -photo courtesy Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Dennis Laughlin -photo courtesy Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A former employee of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, has won a $125,000 settlement after her boss was convicted of grabbing her by the shirt and pushing her into a wall.The Unified Government also apologized to Madeline Waldeck for the hostile work environment she faced while working for Dennis “Tib” Laughlin, the former director of general services.Her lawsuit says she called police in May 2018 after Laughlin shoved her, leading to a misdemeanor battery conviction and Laughlin’s resignation. The suit said said she had complained previously about Laughlin’s conduct but that no action was taken.“I hope that by me sharing my story things will change for the good and that I can help others,” Waldeck told The Star on Monday.A message seeking comment from Laughlin, was not returned. The Unified Government did not respond to a message seeking comment, either.

Unified Govt. apologizes to ex-employee battered by boss

SEDGWICK COUNTY—Following emotional statements from family members and a video honoring their loved one, Judge Bruce Brown sentenced 38-year-old Rachael Hilyard to life in prison with no chance for parol for 50-years for beheading 63-year-old Miki Davis in 2017. 

Hillyard apologized to the family and also said she often asks herself, "why did you do this?"

During the trial, prosecutors say Hilyard cut off&nbsp; Davis' head using two steak knives on April 9, 2017. Hilyard left the woman's head in the kitchen sink.

Prosecutor said the 38-year-old Hilyard attacked Davis without provocation then grabbed a knife “to finish what she started.”

Hilyard testified that she thought Davis was dead when she cut off her head. Her defense attorney says his client made bad decisions with horrible consequences.

SEDGWICK COUNTY — A Kansas woman convicted of first-degree murder in the decapitation death of her ex-boyfriend's mother is scheduled for sentencing Tuesday afternoon, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

The judge is allowing family members of the victim, Micki Davis, to be in the courtroom along with two prosecutors, the defense attorney, deputies, and the defendant. 

Prosecutors say Rachael Hilyard cut off 63-year-old Micki Davis' head using two steak knives on April 9, 2017. Hilyard left the woman's head in the kitchen sink.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601413947421.png" alt="A view of the court room as shown via Zoom prior to the sentencing Tuesday afternoon -courtesy Sedgwick County District Attorney's office" />
 <figcaption>A view of the court room as shown via Zoom prior to the sentencing Tuesday afternoon -courtesy Sedgwick County District Attorney's office</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY—Following emotional statements from family members and a video honoring their loved one, Judge Bruce Brown sentenced 38-year-old Rachael Hilyard to life in prison with no chance for parol for 50-years for beheading 63-year-old Miki Davis in 2017. Hillyard apologized to the family and also said she often asks herself, "why did you do this?"<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601326324188.png" alt="Hilyard-photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Hilyard-photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>During the trial, prosecutors say Hilyard cut off&nbsp; Davis' head using two steak knives on April 9, 2017. Hilyard left the woman's head in the kitchen sink.Prosecutor said the 38-year-old Hilyard attacked Davis without provocation then grabbed a knife “to finish what she started.”Hilyard testified that she thought Davis was dead when she cut off her head. Her defense attorney says his client made bad decisions with horrible consequences.SEDGWICK COUNTY — A Kansas woman convicted of first-degree murder in the decapitation death of her ex-boyfriend's mother is scheduled for sentencing Tuesday afternoon, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.The judge is allowing family members of the victim, Micki Davis, to be in the courtroom along with two prosecutors, the defense attorney, deputies, and the defendant. Prosecutors say Rachael Hilyard cut off 63-year-old Micki Davis' head using two steak knives on April 9, 2017. Hilyard left the woman's head in the kitchen sink.Prosecutor said the 38-year-old Hilyard attacked Davis without provocation then grabbed a knife “to finish what she started.”Hilyard testified that she thought Davis was dead when she cut off her head. Her defense attorney says his client made bad decisions with horrible consequences.-----

Update: Kan. woman sentenced for beheading ex-boyfriend's mother

By AJ DOME <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/09/29/deal-strikes-balance-between-quivira-wildlife-refuge-agriculture-producers/">Kansas Reflector</a>

Officials say a new 
agreement benefits both a national wildlife refuge and local agriculture
 producers in central Kansas, and it involves the extraction of several 
invasive plant species in the area along with water augmentation for a 
local creek.

Water usage at the 
22,135-acre Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in Stafford, Rice and Reno 
counties has been in discussion among interested parties for nearly a 
decade, beginning with a water impairment notice filed by the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service and the Kansas Department of Agriculture.

Meetings were held in St. 
John last year over the future of water in the area. Managers of the 
refuge met with local ag producers, as well as members of KDA and the 
Big Bend Groundwater Management District 5, over the course of several 
months. On July 25 of this year, the stakeholders signed a memorandum of
 agreement.

“It’s not the final 
agreement,” said Mike Oldham, manager of the Quivira refuge. “It is 
something which will lead to a much larger legal document, as the 
groundwater management district is in the process of doing more things 
for conservation.”

The state engineer 
oversees water right distribution and evaluation. The discussions over 
who was first in right to the water involved Oldham, as well as local 
stakeholders and political leanings from Sen. Jerry Moran.

Moran said he shared the 
water rights dispute with U.S. Fish and Wildlife director Aurelia 
Skipwith, explaining the need for farmers and ranchers to be able to 
utilize groundwater in the basin.

“The agreement reached 
works to meet the needs of both local agricultural producers and the 
wildlife refuge by augmenting the streamflow of Rattlesnake Creek, and 
encouraging voluntary conservation efforts,” Moran said.

Water augmentation makes 
up a good portion of the plan, as well as retiring water rights out of 
sensitive areas of the district and moving some of those water rights to
 less sensitive areas. Oldham said the removal of invasive tree species 
will also help. He said they are currently trying to control four 
specific species of tree.

“We don’t want them to creep in and basically invade the grassland habitat we have,” Oldham said.

Salt cedar, or tamarisk, 
is the biggest invasive offender. Oldham said he came from the Colorado 
River, where the plant grows into a full-size tree, whereas in Kansas it
 grows more like a problematic shrub.

“They grow a lot bigger in a warmer climate,” Oldham said. “The roots go fairly deep and can tap into more water reserves.”

Oldham said these tamarisk
 plants grow out and reaching for water where they can, and they can 
certainly out-compete Kansas’ native species of trees for water 
resources. Mitigation tactics for the salt cedar and other invasive 
trees will include excavation from the earth, roots and all. When that 
option is not available, workers will chop the tree off at the stump, 
then kill the stump with a federally-approved herbicide.

“You have to look at each 
tree, how it grows and when it grows,” Oldham said. “If you look at salt
 cedar, it’s got a root crown, which sits about 18 inches below root 
surface. Basically, you’re chopping down the top and it’ll root-sprout 
and clone itself. A lot of these species require multiple treatments.”

The biggest portion of the
 plan involves augmenting Rattlesnake Creek close to the refuge by 
pumping groundwater from a relatively untapped basin nearby. Jim Butler,
 senior geohydrology scientist at the Kansas Geological Survey, says the
 stream flow into the refuge would increase under that scenario, 
benefitting ag producers and the refuge, but there would not necessarily
 be any water savings or conservation.

“The water savings from 
vegetation removal are going to be short term and would be difficult to 
quantify or recognize using data,” Butler said. “The major reason for 
the low flows coming into the refuge is the pumping of groundwater. 
Water use by vegetation is vastly overwhelmed by that.”

Butler said there is a 
wide range of opinions on whether that plan can actually meet the needs 
of the refuge for the long term. Butler used an example of a project he 
worked on previously along the Cimarron River near Ashland, in which he 
said a large swath of salt cedar was removed. Scientists then looked at 
the impact on shallow groundwater.

“The impact was 
short-lived, as other plants moved in to fill the empty niche,” Butler 
said. “The most positive impact was rangeland restoration.”

Butler said it will take 
“constant vigilance” to keep the invasive species from moving back in. 
Oldham said, as far as the refuge goes, it is an ongoing thing.

“I don’t think you ever 
get to the point where you remove your last invasive tree and say, ‘I’m 
done,’ ” Oldham said. “You’re always continuing the control.”

Oldham said refuge management is going for a balanced approach.

“The thing we have to 
remember: There’s still value of that invasive tree species, whether to 
migratory birds or other wildlife,” Oldham said. “Maybe it’s not a good 
thing to remove 100% of those trees. Doing it little by little is a good
 thing, but it’s a balancing act. We don’t want to do too much at one 
time.”

AJ Dome is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster from southwest Kansas. When he’s not writing, he’s helping people receive pandemic unemployment benefits for the Kansas Department of Labor.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601414535613.png" alt="A spectacular sunset sets the waters of Quivira National Wildlife Refuge ablaze in November 2014. (Submitted by Mike Umscheid to Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>A spectacular sunset sets the waters of Quivira National Wildlife Refuge ablaze in November 2014. (Submitted by Mike Umscheid to Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By AJ DOME <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/09/29/deal-strikes-balance-between-quivira-wildlife-refuge-agriculture-producers/">Kansas Reflector</a>Officials say a new 
agreement benefits both a national wildlife refuge and local agriculture
 producers in central Kansas, and it involves the extraction of several 
invasive plant species in the area along with water augmentation for a 
local creek.Water usage at the 
22,135-acre Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in Stafford, Rice and Reno 
counties has been in discussion among interested parties for nearly a 
decade, beginning with a water impairment notice filed by the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service and the Kansas Department of Agriculture.Meetings were held in St. 
John last year over the future of water in the area. Managers of the 
refuge met with local ag producers, as well as members of KDA and the 
Big Bend Groundwater Management District 5, over the course of several 
months. On July 25 of this year, the stakeholders signed a memorandum of
 agreement.“It’s not the final 
agreement,” said Mike Oldham, manager of the Quivira refuge. “It is 
something which will lead to a much larger legal document, as the 
groundwater management district is in the process of doing more things 
for conservation.”The state engineer 
oversees water right distribution and evaluation. The discussions over 
who was first in right to the water involved Oldham, as well as local 
stakeholders and political leanings from Sen. Jerry Moran.Moran said he shared the 
water rights dispute with U.S. Fish and Wildlife director Aurelia 
Skipwith, explaining the need for farmers and ranchers to be able to 
utilize groundwater in the basin.“The agreement reached 
works to meet the needs of both local agricultural producers and the 
wildlife refuge by augmenting the streamflow of Rattlesnake Creek, and 
encouraging voluntary conservation efforts,” Moran said.Water augmentation makes 
up a good portion of the plan, as well as retiring water rights out of 
sensitive areas of the district and moving some of those water rights to
 less sensitive areas. Oldham said the removal of invasive tree species 
will also help. He said they are currently trying to control four 
specific species of tree.“We don’t want them to creep in and basically invade the grassland habitat we have,” Oldham said.Salt cedar, or tamarisk, 
is the biggest invasive offender. Oldham said he came from the Colorado 
River, where the plant grows into a full-size tree, whereas in Kansas it
 grows more like a problematic shrub.“They grow a lot bigger in a warmer climate,” Oldham said. “The roots go fairly deep and can tap into more water reserves.”Oldham said these tamarisk
 plants grow out and reaching for water where they can, and they can 
certainly out-compete Kansas’ native species of trees for water 
resources. Mitigation tactics for the salt cedar and other invasive 
trees will include excavation from the earth, roots and all. When that 
option is not available, workers will chop the tree off at the stump, 
then kill the stump with a federally-approved herbicide.“You have to look at each 
tree, how it grows and when it grows,” Oldham said. “If you look at salt
 cedar, it’s got a root crown, which sits about 18 inches below root 
surface. Basically, you’re chopping down the top and it’ll root-sprout 
and clone itself. A lot of these species require multiple treatments.”The biggest portion of the
 plan involves augmenting Rattlesnake Creek close to the refuge by 
pumping groundwater from a relatively untapped basin nearby. Jim Butler,
 senior geohydrology scientist at the Kansas Geological Survey, says the
 stream flow into the refuge would increase under that scenario, 
benefitting ag producers and the refuge, but there would not necessarily
 be any water savings or conservation.“The water savings from 
vegetation removal are going to be short term and would be difficult to 
quantify or recognize using data,” Butler said. “The major reason for 
the low flows coming into the refuge is the pumping of groundwater. 
Water use by vegetation is vastly overwhelmed by that.”Butler said there is a 
wide range of opinions on whether that plan can actually meet the needs 
of the refuge for the long term. Butler used an example of a project he 
worked on previously along the Cimarron River near Ashland, in which he 
said a large swath of salt cedar was removed. Scientists then looked at 
the impact on shallow groundwater.“The impact was 
short-lived, as other plants moved in to fill the empty niche,” Butler 
said. “The most positive impact was rangeland restoration.”Butler said it will take 
“constant vigilance” to keep the invasive species from moving back in. 
Oldham said, as far as the refuge goes, it is an ongoing thing.“I don’t think you ever 
get to the point where you remove your last invasive tree and say, ‘I’m 
done,’ ” Oldham said. “You’re always continuing the control.”Oldham said refuge management is going for a balanced approach.“The thing we have to 
remember: There’s still value of that invasive tree species, whether to 
migratory birds or other wildlife,” Oldham said. “Maybe it’s not a good 
thing to remove 100% of those trees. Doing it little by little is a good
 thing, but it’s a balancing act. We don’t want to do too much at one 
time.”AJ Dome is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster from southwest Kansas. When he’s not writing, he’s helping people receive pandemic unemployment benefits for the Kansas Department of Labor.

Deal strikes balance between Quivira refuge, ag producers

TOPEKA –&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly Tuesday toured the Meade State Park and Fish Hatchery in Meade, Kansas, and signed proclamations to celebrate both Hispanic Heritage Month and National Hunting and Fishing Day.

<a href="https://gcc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgovernor.kansas.gov%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F09%2FHispanic-Heritage-Month-English.pdf&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C0d4127ee681946e9dfca08d86497f3e3%7Cdcae8101c92d480cbc43c6761ccccc5a%7C0%7C0%7C637369951071624884&amp;sdata=FJO8tsRupuIF8ZDFxBfb%2F4sR0Xh07ZRX%2BbIKmorOz0E%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Read the Hispanic Heritage Month proclamation here.</a>

“I am a firm believer in the importance of outdoor recreation and our State Parks to the health and well-being of our citizens,”&nbsp;Governor Kelly said.&nbsp;“My National Hunting and Fishing Day proclamation is a celebration of Kansas’ many outdoor opportunities – and also recognition of the tremendous impact these activities have on our economy, particularly in rural parts of Kansas.”

Governor Kelly was joined by Brad Loveless, Secretary for the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism, and Audé Negrete, Executive Director of the Kansas Hispanic and Latino American Affairs Commission. Through a new partnership between their organizations, they announced during Tuesday’s visit a new language access program that will give Spanish-speaking Kansans access to KDWPT communications.

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that more than 85,000 Kansans identify Spanish as their preferred language.

“Our state’s abundant hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation opportunities are known nationwide – but we need to ensure that all Kansans can enjoy these opportunities equally,”&nbsp;Governor Kelly said.&nbsp;“This exciting new partnership is a significant first step toward making our services more accessible and inclusive.”

During the visit, Governor Kelly signed a proclamation recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month and highlighted the far-reaching contributions of Hispanic and Latino Kansans.

“Kansas is home to dedicated Latino farmworkers, doctors and nurses, business owners, educators, servicemembers, and many others who undoubtedly make our state a better place – many of whom have worked as frontline workers during the pandemic,”&nbsp;Governor Kelly said.&nbsp;“My Hispanic Heritage Month proclamation is not only a celebration but also a reminder that we must continue to advocate for equal representation and opportunity for all people.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601401197199.png" alt="Gov. Laura Kelly at Meade State Park Tuesday -photo courtesy office of Kan. Governor" />
 <figcaption>Gov. Laura Kelly at Meade State Park Tuesday -photo courtesy office of Kan. Governor</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA –&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly Tuesday toured the Meade State Park and Fish Hatchery in Meade, Kansas, and signed proclamations to celebrate both Hispanic Heritage Month and National Hunting and Fishing Day.<a href="https://gcc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgovernor.kansas.gov%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F09%2FHispanic-Heritage-Month-English.pdf&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C0d4127ee681946e9dfca08d86497f3e3%7Cdcae8101c92d480cbc43c6761ccccc5a%7C0%7C0%7C637369951071624884&amp;sdata=FJO8tsRupuIF8ZDFxBfb%2F4sR0Xh07ZRX%2BbIKmorOz0E%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Read the Hispanic Heritage Month proclamation here.</a>“I am a firm believer in the importance of outdoor recreation and our State Parks to the health and well-being of our citizens,”&nbsp;Governor Kelly said.&nbsp;“My National Hunting and Fishing Day proclamation is a celebration of Kansas’ many outdoor opportunities – and also recognition of the tremendous impact these activities have on our economy, particularly in rural parts of Kansas.”Governor Kelly was joined by Brad Loveless, Secretary for the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism, and Audé Negrete, Executive Director of the Kansas Hispanic and Latino American Affairs Commission. Through a new partnership between their organizations, they announced during Tuesday’s visit a new language access program that will give Spanish-speaking Kansans access to KDWPT communications.Data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that more than 85,000 Kansans identify Spanish as their preferred language.“Our state’s abundant hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation opportunities are known nationwide – but we need to ensure that all Kansans can enjoy these opportunities equally,”&nbsp;Governor Kelly said.&nbsp;“This exciting new partnership is a significant first step toward making our services more accessible and inclusive.”During the visit, Governor Kelly signed a proclamation recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month and highlighted the far-reaching contributions of Hispanic and Latino Kansans.“Kansas is home to dedicated Latino farmworkers, doctors and nurses, business owners, educators, servicemembers, and many others who undoubtedly make our state a better place – many of whom have worked as frontline workers during the pandemic,”&nbsp;Governor Kelly said.&nbsp;“My Hispanic Heritage Month proclamation is not only a celebration but also a reminder that we must continue to advocate for equal representation and opportunity for all people.”

Governor celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month, Hunting and Fishing Day 

By PATRICIA WEEMS GASTON <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/09/27/what-it-meant-for-one-young-kansan-to-be-in-the-room-with-gale-sayers/">For the Kansas Reflector</a>

I will never forget Gale 
Sayers sitting for an interview with us high school journalists in 1976 
during summer camp at the University of Kansas. I don’t recall his exact
 words, what current event we talked about, but I am sure we sat there 
with starry eyes as he discussed his storied Kansas and NFL careers. He 
was in the room.

That summer, there were a 
lot of people in the room at the Midwestern Music and Art Camp and the 
Urban Journalism Workshop. There was <a href="https://history.denverlibrary.org/news/george-l-brown-1926-2006-first-african-american-hold-statewide-office-us">Lt. Gov. George Brown of Colorado</a>
 (J’ 52, second black KU journalism graduate); Emory Greene, manager of 
Technological Operations with the Public Broadcasting System (PBS); <a href="https://www.nabj.org/news/142589/NABJ-Founding-Executive-Director-honored-by-the-National-Black-Public-Relations-Society-NBPRS.htm">Paul Brock</a>, vice president of the Mutual Black Network; Owen T. Wilkerson, news executive of Scouting, USA; <a href="https://news.stthomas.edu/dave-nimmer-honored-by-threesixty-urban-journalism-workshop/">David Nimmer</a>, managing editor of the Minneapolis Star; <a href="https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/jim-richardson/19750">Jim Richardson</a>, staff photographer for the Topeka Capital Journal.

“The Urban Journalism 
Workshop is intended to make minority students aware of career 
opportunities in journalism communication. It provides them with 
abilities to write that will help them in whatever career area they will
 go,” associate professor <a href="https://klcjournal.com/ku-journalism-professor-led-with-love-amid-hate/">Samuel L. Adams</a> told The Kamper Kansan at the time.

<a href="https://kuathletics.com/kansas-comet-gale-sayers-passes-away-at-77/">Sayers’s death last week</a>
 reminded me of that heady June day, but it also reminded me that access
 is key whatever age in school you are. Without it our eyes are closed 
to the beauty and possibilities that the world has for each of us.

As a 16-year-old, my eyes 
to another world were opened by Adams, and before him my high school 
journalism teacher, Maryanne Lyons. I got a chance to roam the Lawrence 
campus for two weeks, live in a dorm, make new friends (some of whom I 
am still friends with today), report on events, sit in hot, stuffy Flint
 Hall classrooms and get tips and tools from academics and see that 
there was a place in journalism for me.

I knew I was going to 
college and I always knew it would be KU. I come from a long line of 
thinkers, teachers, musicians, doctors and nurses. My aunt, Christine 
Weems Northern, was the first black graduate of KU’s School of Nursing 
in 1952. My great uncle, Bertram Caruthers Sr., studied zoology in the 
1930s on Mount Oread.

But the journalism space 
was foreign turf. In my house, we got every newspaper and magazine 
available. And my parents, Charles and Camille Weems, were very familiar
 with the <a href="https://historicmissourians.shsmo.org/historicmissourians/name/b/bluford/">Lucile Bluford</a>-run <a href="https://kccallnews.com/">Kansas City Call</a> and Helen Gray’s articles on religion in the Kansas City Star. But they didn’t see their little girl in the profession.

It was through my hard work and from the encouragement of Lyons, Adams, and associate dean <a href="http://archive.news.ku.edu/2008/august/6/shaw.shtml">Susanne Shaw</a>
 that my parents saw that I could make journalism mine and would be able
 to take care of myself. Shaw led me through the matriculation process 
and I got a copy editing job in Rochester, New York, the August after I 
graduated in 1981. Again, these people welcomed me into the room. And it
 was left up to me what I did with it. It was as simple as that.

In recent years, I learned
 of things they did to help me further my career: Putting in a good word
 for me at The Washington Post, helping me sort out work-family balance,
 providing a listening ear when things got tough in the newsroom, and 
now giving me encouraging words and ideas as <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/08/16/how-it-feels-to-come-home-to-kansas-after-decades-away/">I am still new in the classroom</a>. Before Adams died in 2019 at age 93, we chatted about my new role as the <a href="https://journalism.ku.edu/patricia-weems-gaston">Lacy C. Haynes professor</a>,
 how I could mentor students as he had done for me and countless others 
and more importantly, what I would mean to the students because I was in
 the room.

One of my students upon 
her graduation in May wrote that when she got to KU she had so wished 
she had a Black female professor to work with, that her dream came true 
and she was so grateful. She got a job and is now working as a reporter.

The day Sayers died, I 
sent students (past and present) announcements about internship and 
election fellowship opportunities. And I began mentoring a new faculty 
member who can teach me as much about teaching as I can about the 
journalism profession.

Every day is a good day because I am in the room and can bestow on my students what others have given me.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601318884001.png" alt="A detail of a photo in the June 25, 1976, edition of The Kamper Kansan. The caption read: "Gale Sayers in a news conference with high school Midwestern Journalism Camp and Urban Workshop students reaches out to express himself. (Photo by Dawn Price)."" />
 <figcaption>A detail of a photo in the June 25, 1976, edition of The Kamper Kansan. The caption read: "Gale Sayers in a news conference with high school Midwestern Journalism Camp and Urban Workshop students reaches out to express himself. (Photo by Dawn Price)."</figcaption>
 </figure>By PATRICIA WEEMS GASTON <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/09/27/what-it-meant-for-one-young-kansan-to-be-in-the-room-with-gale-sayers/">For the Kansas Reflector</a>I will never forget Gale 
Sayers sitting for an interview with us high school journalists in 1976 
during summer camp at the University of Kansas. I don’t recall his exact
 words, what current event we talked about, but I am sure we sat there 
with starry eyes as he discussed his storied Kansas and NFL careers. He 
was in the room.That summer, there were a 
lot of people in the room at the Midwestern Music and Art Camp and the 
Urban Journalism Workshop. There was <a href="https://history.denverlibrary.org/news/george-l-brown-1926-2006-first-african-american-hold-statewide-office-us">Lt. Gov. George Brown of Colorado</a>
 (J’ 52, second black KU journalism graduate); Emory Greene, manager of 
Technological Operations with the Public Broadcasting System (PBS); <a href="https://www.nabj.org/news/142589/NABJ-Founding-Executive-Director-honored-by-the-National-Black-Public-Relations-Society-NBPRS.htm">Paul Brock</a>, vice president of the Mutual Black Network; Owen T. Wilkerson, news executive of Scouting, USA; <a href="https://news.stthomas.edu/dave-nimmer-honored-by-threesixty-urban-journalism-workshop/">David Nimmer</a>, managing editor of the Minneapolis Star; <a href="https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/jim-richardson/19750">Jim Richardson</a>, staff photographer for the Topeka Capital Journal.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601318965531.png" alt="A page of stories produced by the high school journalism staff of the Kamper Kansan in June 1976." />
 <figcaption>A page of stories produced by the high school journalism staff of the Kamper Kansan in June 1976.</figcaption>
 </figure>“The Urban Journalism 
Workshop is intended to make minority students aware of career 
opportunities in journalism communication. It provides them with 
abilities to write that will help them in whatever career area they will
 go,” associate professor <a href="https://klcjournal.com/ku-journalism-professor-led-with-love-amid-hate/">Samuel L. Adams</a> told The Kamper Kansan at the time.<a href="https://kuathletics.com/kansas-comet-gale-sayers-passes-away-at-77/">Sayers’s death last week</a>
 reminded me of that heady June day, but it also reminded me that access
 is key whatever age in school you are. Without it our eyes are closed 
to the beauty and possibilities that the world has for each of us.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575913663048.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>As a 16-year-old, my eyes 
to another world were opened by Adams, and before him my high school 
journalism teacher, Maryanne Lyons. I got a chance to roam the Lawrence 
campus for two weeks, live in a dorm, make new friends (some of whom I 
am still friends with today), report on events, sit in hot, stuffy Flint
 Hall classrooms and get tips and tools from academics and see that 
there was a place in journalism for me.I knew I was going to 
college and I always knew it would be KU. I come from a long line of 
thinkers, teachers, musicians, doctors and nurses. My aunt, Christine 
Weems Northern, was the first black graduate of KU’s School of Nursing 
in 1952. My great uncle, Bertram Caruthers Sr., studied zoology in the 
1930s on Mount Oread.But the journalism space 
was foreign turf. In my house, we got every newspaper and magazine 
available. And my parents, Charles and Camille Weems, were very familiar
 with the <a href="https://historicmissourians.shsmo.org/historicmissourians/name/b/bluford/">Lucile Bluford</a>-run <a href="https://kccallnews.com/">Kansas City Call</a> and Helen Gray’s articles on religion in the Kansas City Star. But they didn’t see their little girl in the profession.It was through my hard work and from the encouragement of Lyons, Adams, and associate dean <a href="http://archive.news.ku.edu/2008/august/6/shaw.shtml">Susanne Shaw</a>
 that my parents saw that I could make journalism mine and would be able
 to take care of myself. Shaw led me through the matriculation process 
and I got a copy editing job in Rochester, New York, the August after I 
graduated in 1981. Again, these people welcomed me into the room. And it
 was left up to me what I did with it. It was as simple as that.In recent years, I learned
 of things they did to help me further my career: Putting in a good word
 for me at The Washington Post, helping me sort out work-family balance,
 providing a listening ear when things got tough in the newsroom, and 
now giving me encouraging words and ideas as <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/08/16/how-it-feels-to-come-home-to-kansas-after-decades-away/">I am still new in the classroom</a>. Before Adams died in 2019 at age 93, we chatted about my new role as the <a href="https://journalism.ku.edu/patricia-weems-gaston">Lacy C. Haynes professor</a>,
 how I could mentor students as he had done for me and countless others 
and more importantly, what I would mean to the students because I was in
 the room.One of my students upon 
her graduation in May wrote that when she got to KU she had so wished 
she had a Black female professor to work with, that her dream came true 
and she was so grateful. She got a job and is now working as a reporter.The day Sayers died, I 
sent students (past and present) announcements about internship and 
election fellowship opportunities. And I began mentoring a new faculty 
member who can teach me as much about teaching as I can about the 
journalism profession.Every day is a good day because I am in the room and can bestow on my students what others have given me.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601318993375.png" alt="Patricia E. Weems Gaston is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and the Lacy C. Haynes Professor at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Gaston graduated from KU in 1981; she has a master's degree in sports management from The George Washington University. Before joining The Washington Post in 1997, she worked at the Dallas Morning News, where she was an assistant foreign editor and was co-editor of the 1994 Pulitzer Prize-winning series on violence against women." />
 <figcaption>Patricia E. Weems Gaston is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and the Lacy C. Haynes Professor at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Gaston graduated from KU in 1981; she has a master's degree in sports management from The George Washington University. Before joining The Washington Post in 1997, she worked at the Dallas Morning News, where she was an assistant foreign editor and was co-editor of the 1994 Pulitzer Prize-winning series on violence against women.</figcaption>
 </figure>

OPINION: What it meant for one young Kansan to be ‘in the room’ with Sayers

KANSAS CITY – U.S. Attorney Tim Garrison, at a joint press conference with Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and Kansas City Police Chief Rick Smith, announced Monday that 518 arrests have been made by local and federal law enforcement officers in Operation LeGend.

“On behalf of the team of federal law enforcement agencies involved in this groundbreaking initiative, I made certain promises when Operation LeGend was launched,” Garrison said. “Those promises have been kept. The FBI, the ATF, the DEA, and the U.S. Marshals Service worked collaboratively and effectively with the Kansas City Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies to accomplish the objectives of Operation LeGend. We created a model for others to follow. Our success in Kansas City is now being duplicated in eight more cities across the nation.”

“We promised that Operation LeGend would be a short-term, high-impact strategy to freeze the escalation of violent crime and respond to the record number of homicides in Kansas City this year,” Garrison said. “That promise was kept. Operation LeGend has had a significant impact on violent crime in Kansas City, and those efforts will continue.”

During the 10 weeks from the announcement of Operation LeGend on July 8 through Sept. 16, homicides in Kansas City were down 22 percent, non-fatal shootings were down 24 percent, and aggravated assaults were down 44 percent, as compared to the 10 weeks before July 8.

“We promised that federal agents would work alongside local law enforcement, in a supportive role to provide additional support and assistance,” Garrison said. “That promise was kept, and in the process, valuable lessons were gained for how to confront violent crime.”

For example, the FBI has doubled the number of agents working violent crime cases and embedded agents with the Kansas City Police Department’s violent crime unit. The ATF has added a new unit that is permanently embedded with Kansas City’s assault squad. Intelligence has been gained and shared among law enforcement agencies to improve future investigations. “These strategies for collaborating with local law enforcement have been successful, and will continue,” Garrison said.

“We promised there would be no storm troopers patrolling the streets of Kansas City, no interference with the civil rights of protesters engaged in public demonstrations,” Garrison said. “Despite accusations of a federal occupation, we have worked cooperatively with both local law enforcement and local community leaders. None of those dire predictions from our critics came to pass.”

“I’ve also said, from the start of Operation LeGend, that law enforcement would not be the sole solution to violent crime,” Garrison added. “Violence is a community issue, and requires a community-wide response.”

“I hope that by keeping the promises we made, by doing what we said we would do, we’ve established a level of trust and credibility that will continue to bear fruit,” Garrison said.

Among those arrested since the launch of Operation LeGend, 126 are federal defendants in the Western District of Missouri (with additional federal cases referred to U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Kansas and Texas). Among the remaining arrests, 37 were homicide cases. In addition to the arrests, agents and officers have seized 176 firearms, large quantities of illegal drugs, and several stolen vehicles during Operation LeGend.

Among the homicide arrests made under Operation LeGend was the defendant charged in state court with murder of 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro, in whose memory the operation was named.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office does not track cases that are referred for prosecution in state court or in other districts. Defendants have been charged in the Western District of Missouri with the following federal crimes:&nbsp;-&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;70 defendants have been charged with firearms-related offenses;-&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;45 defendants have been charged with drug trafficking offenses;-&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;11 defendants have been charged with other violent crimes.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1595354920053.png" alt="4-year-old LeGend Taliferro, in whose memory the operation was named." />
 <figcaption>4-year-old LeGend Taliferro, in whose memory the operation was named.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY – U.S. Attorney Tim Garrison, at a joint press conference with Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and Kansas City Police Chief Rick Smith, announced Monday that 518 arrests have been made by local and federal law enforcement officers in Operation LeGend.“On behalf of the team of federal law enforcement agencies involved in this groundbreaking initiative, I made certain promises when Operation LeGend was launched,” Garrison said. “Those promises have been kept. The FBI, the ATF, the DEA, and the U.S. Marshals Service worked collaboratively and effectively with the Kansas City Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies to accomplish the objectives of Operation LeGend. We created a model for others to follow. Our success in Kansas City is now being duplicated in eight more cities across the nation.”Promises Made, Promises Kept“We promised that Operation LeGend would be a short-term, high-impact strategy to freeze the escalation of violent crime and respond to the record number of homicides in Kansas City this year,” Garrison said. “That promise was kept. Operation LeGend has had a significant impact on violent crime in Kansas City, and those efforts will continue.”During the 10 weeks from the announcement of Operation LeGend on July 8 through Sept. 16, homicides in Kansas City were down 22 percent, non-fatal shootings were down 24 percent, and aggravated assaults were down 44 percent, as compared to the 10 weeks before July 8.“We promised that federal agents would work alongside local law enforcement, in a supportive role to provide additional support and assistance,” Garrison said. “That promise was kept, and in the process, valuable lessons were gained for how to confront violent crime.”For example, the FBI has doubled the number of agents working violent crime cases and embedded agents with the Kansas City Police Department’s violent crime unit. The ATF has added a new unit that is permanently embedded with Kansas City’s assault squad. Intelligence has been gained and shared among law enforcement agencies to improve future investigations. “These strategies for collaborating with local law enforcement have been successful, and will continue,” Garrison said.“We promised there would be no storm troopers patrolling the streets of Kansas City, no interference with the civil rights of protesters engaged in public demonstrations,” Garrison said. “Despite accusations of a federal occupation, we have worked cooperatively with both local law enforcement and local community leaders. None of those dire predictions from our critics came to pass.”“I’ve also said, from the start of Operation LeGend, that law enforcement would not be the sole solution to violent crime,” Garrison added. “Violence is a community issue, and requires a community-wide response.”“I hope that by keeping the promises we made, by doing what we said we would do, we’ve established a level of trust and credibility that will continue to bear fruit,” Garrison said.Among those arrested since the launch of Operation LeGend, 126 are federal defendants in the Western District of Missouri (with additional federal cases referred to U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Kansas and Texas). Among the remaining arrests, 37 were homicide cases. In addition to the arrests, agents and officers have seized 176 firearms, large quantities of illegal drugs, and several stolen vehicles during Operation LeGend.Among the homicide arrests made under Operation LeGend was the defendant charged in state court with murder of 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro, in whose memory the operation was named.The U.S. Attorney’s Office does not track cases that are referred for prosecution in state court or in other districts. Defendants have been charged in the Western District of Missouri with the following federal crimes:&nbsp;-&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;70 defendants have been charged with firearms-related offenses;-&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;45 defendants have been charged with drug trafficking offenses;-&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;11 defendants have been charged with other violent crimes.

Operation LeGend results in over 500 arrests in Kansas City

SEDGWICK COUNTY–Authorities are investigating an incident at McConnell Air Force Base that prompted a lockdown.

Just after 6a.m. Tuesday, a juvenile in a stolen car led to the closure of entrances to the base in Wichita.

The underage driver had no affiliation to the base, according to a media release from the 22nd Air Refueling Wing.

Security measures in place stopped the vehicle. The driver fled on foot and he was apprehended a short time later.

Officials reopened gates to the base shortly after 8a.m.&nbsp; Authorities released no additional details late Tuesday morning.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601395219916.png" alt="photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY–Authorities are investigating an incident at McConnell Air Force Base that prompted a lockdown.Just after 6a.m. Tuesday, a juvenile in a stolen car led to the closure of entrances to the base in Wichita.The underage driver had no affiliation to the base, according to a media release from the 22nd Air Refueling Wing.Security measures in place stopped the vehicle. The driver fled on foot and he was apprehended a short time later.Officials reopened gates to the base shortly after 8a.m.&nbsp; Authorities released no additional details late Tuesday morning.

Juvenile in stolen car led to lockdown at Kan. Air Force base

WASHINGTON —President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett, started her tour on Capitol Hill Tuesday for meetings with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other pivotal Republican senators in preparation for her fast-track confirmation before the Nov. 3 election.

Members of the Kansas and Missouri congressional delegations immediately expressed support for Barrett.

Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, who was included on the President's list of possible nominees to the court warned democrats to steer clear of Catholic-based criticism of Barrett.

The Senior Senator from Kansas Pat Roberts said, "I look forward to meeting with Judge Amy Coney Barrett, and I congratulate her on this most prestigious nomination. As a U.S. Senator, I have a responsibility to ‘advice and consent’ that I take very seriously.&nbsp;I hope for a fair confirmation process as the Senate moves forward with Judge Barrett's nomination.

Kansas Senator Jerry Moran wrote on social media, "Judge Amy Coney Barrett is a well-qualified nominee, having served as a clerk for Justice Scalia and distinguishing herself as a law professor at Notre Dame before receiving bipartisan support during her confirmation to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. I will review Judge Barrett’s legal writings in the coming weeks, and I look forward to meeting with her to learn more about her views of the judicial branch and the Constitution."

Barrett, a former Notre Dame law professor and current judge on the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, says she is a firm supporter of the Constitution.  In 2016 she said in a speech to students: "we shouldn't be putting people on the court that share our policy preferences. We should be putting people on the court who want to apply the Constitution.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsey Graham says his panel will hold four days of confirmation hearings the week of Oct. 12.

Once the committee approves the nomination, it goes to the Senate floor for a final vote. This could all happen by Nov. 3 if the process goes smoothly. Graham said he hopes the committee can move the nomination to the Senate floor by the week of Oct. 26 for a confirmation vote.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601389390252.png" alt="Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett met with Vice President Pence in the Senate Majority Leader's office Tuesday morning. She is a committed Roman Catholic as well as a firm devotee of the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s favored interpretation of the Constitution known as originalism. -photo courtesy White House" />
 <figcaption>Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett met with Vice President Pence in the Senate Majority Leader's office Tuesday morning. She is a committed Roman Catholic as well as a firm devotee of the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s favored interpretation of the Constitution known as originalism. -photo courtesy White House</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON —President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett, started her tour on Capitol Hill Tuesday for meetings with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other pivotal Republican senators in preparation for her fast-track confirmation before the Nov. 3 election.Members of the Kansas and Missouri congressional delegations immediately expressed support for Barrett.Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, who was included on the President's list of possible nominees to the court warned democrats to steer clear of Catholic-based criticism of Barrett.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Now it’s time for the Democrats to swear off their religious bigotry. I call on every Senate Democrat to stop the anti-Catholic, anti-faith attacks on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AmyConeyBarrett?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AmyConeyBarrett</a>. There’s a long history of anti-Catholic bigotry - Dems shouldn’t be part of it any longer <a href="https://t.co/MmYLOv86Wg">pic.twitter.com/MmYLOv86Wg</a>&mdash; Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) <a href="https://twitter.com/HawleyMO/status/1309981234370695169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 26, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The Senior Senator from Kansas Pat Roberts said, "I look forward to meeting with Judge Amy Coney Barrett, and I congratulate her on this most prestigious nomination. As a U.S. Senator, I have a responsibility to ‘advice and consent’ that I take very seriously.&nbsp;I hope for a fair confirmation process as the Senate moves forward with Judge Barrett's nomination.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://t.co/oMCQrxpeNe">pic.twitter.com/oMCQrxpeNe</a>&mdash; Senator Roy Blunt (@RoyBlunt) <a href="https://twitter.com/RoyBlunt/status/1309967745455357954?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 26, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Kansas Senator Jerry Moran wrote on social media, "Judge Amy Coney Barrett is a well-qualified nominee, having served as a clerk for Justice Scalia and distinguishing herself as a law professor at Notre Dame before receiving bipartisan support during her confirmation to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. I will review Judge Barrett’s legal writings in the coming weeks, and I look forward to meeting with her to learn more about her views of the judicial branch and the Constitution."Barrett, a former Notre Dame law professor and current judge on the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, says she is a firm supporter of the Constitution. In 2016 she said in a speech to students: "we shouldn't be putting people on the court that share our policy preferences. We should be putting people on the court who want to apply the Constitution.”Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsey Graham says his panel will hold four days of confirmation hearings the week of Oct. 12.Once the committee approves the nomination, it goes to the Senate floor for a final vote. This could all happen by Nov. 3 if the process goes smoothly. Graham said he hopes the committee can move the nomination to the Senate floor by the week of Oct. 26 for a confirmation vote.

Senator warns dems to avoid Catholic criticism of court nominee

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced Monday that the federal government will begin distributing millions of rapid coronavirus tests to states this week and urged governors to use them to reopen schools for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

During her Monday news conference, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly said she did not know how many tests the state would receive.  She hoped the tests would be "more true and we don't get a lot of false positives like we saw with the original Abbott test."

The move to vastly expand U.S. testing comes as confirmed new COVID-19 cases remain elevated at more than 40,000 per day and experts warn of a likely surge in infections during the colder months ahead. It also comes just five weeks before the November election, with Trump facing continued criticism for his handling of the crisis.

The tests will go out to states based on their population and can be used as governors see fit, but the Trump administration is encouraging states to place a priority on schools. White House officials said at a Rose Garden event that 6.5 million tests will go out this week and that a total of 100 million tests will be distributed to governors over the next several weeks.

Officials said the administration is emphasizing testing in schools because it’s important to the physical, social and emotional development of students to be back in classrooms to the degree that’s possible. The Abbott Laboratories tests would allow parents to know whether their symptomatic child has COVID-19. In some cases, states could undertake some baseline surveillance, like testing a proportion of students per week or per month to make sure that the incidence of COVID-19 is low.

“You have too many states that are locked down right now,” Trump said. “The governors are ... nobody knows what the governors are doing actually.”

The tests will come from a previously announced supply of 150 million ordered from Abbott. The company’s rapid test, the size of a credit card, is the first that does not require specialty computer equipment to process. It delivers results in about 15 minutes.

Rapid, convenient testing is considered essential to reopening the U.S. economy. But the effort has been plagued by problems since the earliest days of the outbreak.

First, the government lost pivotal weeks distributing, then correcting a flawed test developed by U.S. scientists. Then, for months private labs and hospitals struggled to ramp up testing capacity due to shortages of key supplies, including testing chemicals.

The issue is politically sensitive for Trump as he grapples with the pandemic that has killed more than 200,000 Americans. For months, Trump has prodded state and local leaders to open schools this fall.

Only in the last two months has U.S. testing capacity generally exceeded demand. The government’s top testing official, Adm. Brett Giroir, told Congress last week that the nation will soon have the capacity to run 3 million tests per day, on average. The U.S. has been averaging about 900,000 tests per day, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project.

Giroir demonstrated the ease with which the test is given, self-administering the nasal swab then placing it on a piece of paper that contained six drops of liquid.

“This is a very sophisticated little piece of cardboard with lots of antibodies and incredible technology,” he said.

Abbott’s test is an important advance because of its low cost and easy-to-use format. Until now, the vast majority of coronavirus tests had to be sent to high-grade medical laboratories for processing that typically took several days. Backlogs led to repeated delays in reporting results, especially during a summer spike in cases.

But rapid, point-of-care tests like Abbott’s have their own downsides. They are less accurate, and positive results often need to be confirmed with higher-grade lab tests. Additionally, because the tests are often performed outside the health care system, state officials have warned that many tests are going unreported. That could lead to undercounts of new cases, skewing government data needed to track the virus.

"What we’re hearing from the states is that they don’t know where these tests are being done,” said Dr. Jeffrey Engel of theCouncil of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, in a recent interview. He warned that schools generally do not have the capacity or expertise to report mass testing results, which could artificially lower infection counts sent to state and federal officials.

Trump warned that with an increase in testing, there would “automatically” be an increase in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases.

“It’s important to remember that as younger and healthier people return to work and as we massively increase testing capacity, we will identify more cases in asymptomatic individuals in low-risk populations,” Trump said. “This should not cause undue alarm.”

The tests from Abbott are being made in two factories, one in Illinois and one in Maine. The company is in a ramping-up phase. The federal government bought the first 150 million, and it will take the rest of the year to completely fill that order. After that, the administration will decide whether the government should purchase more or whether the free market can determine adequate distribution.

The nonprofit Rockefeller Foundation says the U.S. will need roughly 200 million tests per month to safely reopen schools as part of a broader phased approach to easing restrictions, according to a paper issued earlier this month. The report authors noted that the U.S. is currently averaging fewer than 30 million tests per month.

Despite the gap, Rockefeller’s director, Dr. Jonathan Quick, called Monday’s announcement “an exciting and very significant step.” He added that states will need sustained funding and testing supplies “for the foreseeable future.”

The Trump administration announced earlier this month that the Abbott tests would also go to assisted-living facilities, moving to fill a testing gap for older adults who do not need the constant attention of a nursing home. Senior day care centers and home health agencies are getting the tests too.

Long-term care facilities, including nursing homes and assisted living, account for a sliver of the U.S. population but more than 40% of deaths from COVID-19.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1600118636963.png" alt="Kansas Governor Laura Kelly discussed the distribution of tests during Monday's news conference" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Governor Laura Kelly discussed the distribution of tests during Monday's news conference</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced Monday that the federal government will begin distributing millions of rapid coronavirus tests to states this week and urged governors to use them to reopen schools for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.During her Monday news conference, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly said she did not know how many tests the state would receive. She hoped the tests would be "more true and we don't get a lot of false positives like we saw with the original Abbott test."The move to vastly expand U.S. testing comes as confirmed new COVID-19 cases remain elevated at more than 40,000 per day and experts warn of a likely surge in infections during the colder months ahead. It also comes just five weeks before the November election, with Trump facing continued criticism for his handling of the crisis.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601313079636.png" alt="Monday Sept. 28, 2020 KDHE image" />
 <figcaption>Monday Sept. 28, 2020 KDHE image</figcaption>
 </figure>The tests will go out to states based on their population and can be used as governors see fit, but the Trump administration is encouraging states to place a priority on schools. White House officials said at a Rose Garden event that 6.5 million tests will go out this week and that a total of 100 million tests will be distributed to governors over the next several weeks.Officials said the administration is emphasizing testing in schools because it’s important to the physical, social and emotional development of students to be back in classrooms to the degree that’s possible. The Abbott Laboratories tests would allow parents to know whether their symptomatic child has COVID-19. In some cases, states could undertake some baseline surveillance, like testing a proportion of students per week or per month to make sure that the incidence of COVID-19 is low.“You have too many states that are locked down right now,” Trump said. “The governors are ... nobody knows what the governors are doing actually.”The tests will come from a previously announced supply of 150 million ordered from Abbott. The company’s rapid test, the size of a credit card, is the first that does not require specialty computer equipment to process. It delivers results in about 15 minutes.Rapid, convenient testing is considered essential to reopening the U.S. economy. But the effort has been plagued by problems since the earliest days of the outbreak.First, the government lost pivotal weeks distributing, then correcting a flawed test developed by U.S. scientists. Then, for months private labs and hospitals struggled to ramp up testing capacity due to shortages of key supplies, including testing chemicals.The issue is politically sensitive for Trump as he grapples with the pandemic that has killed more than 200,000 Americans. For months, Trump has prodded state and local leaders to open schools this fall.Only in the last two months has U.S. testing capacity generally exceeded demand. The government’s top testing official, Adm. Brett Giroir, told Congress last week that the nation will soon have the capacity to run 3 million tests per day, on average. The U.S. has been averaging about 900,000 tests per day, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project.Giroir demonstrated the ease with which the test is given, self-administering the nasal swab then placing it on a piece of paper that contained six drops of liquid.“This is a very sophisticated little piece of cardboard with lots of antibodies and incredible technology,” he said.Abbott’s test is an important advance because of its low cost and easy-to-use format. Until now, the vast majority of coronavirus tests had to be sent to high-grade medical laboratories for processing that typically took several days. Backlogs led to repeated delays in reporting results, especially during a summer spike in cases.But rapid, point-of-care tests like Abbott’s have their own downsides. They are less accurate, and positive results often need to be confirmed with higher-grade lab tests. Additionally, because the tests are often performed outside the health care system, state officials have warned that many tests are going unreported. That could lead to undercounts of new cases, skewing government data needed to track the virus."What we’re hearing from the states is that they don’t know where these tests are being done,” said Dr. Jeffrey Engel of theCouncil of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, in a recent interview. He warned that schools generally do not have the capacity or expertise to report mass testing results, which could artificially lower infection counts sent to state and federal officials.Trump warned that with an increase in testing, there would “automatically” be an increase in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases.“It’s important to remember that as younger and healthier people return to work and as we massively increase testing capacity, we will identify more cases in asymptomatic individuals in low-risk populations,” Trump said. “This should not cause undue alarm.”The tests from Abbott are being made in two factories, one in Illinois and one in Maine. The company is in a ramping-up phase. The federal government bought the first 150 million, and it will take the rest of the year to completely fill that order. After that, the administration will decide whether the government should purchase more or whether the free market can determine adequate distribution.The nonprofit Rockefeller Foundation says the U.S. will need roughly 200 million tests per month to safely reopen schools as part of a broader phased approach to easing restrictions, according to a paper issued earlier this month. The report authors noted that the U.S. is currently averaging fewer than 30 million tests per month.Despite the gap, Rockefeller’s director, Dr. Jonathan Quick, called Monday’s announcement “an exciting and very significant step.” He added that states will need sustained funding and testing supplies “for the foreseeable future.”The Trump administration announced earlier this month that the Abbott tests would also go to assisted-living facilities, moving to fill a testing gap for older adults who do not need the constant attention of a nursing home. Senior day care centers and home health agencies are getting the tests too.Long-term care facilities, including nursing homes and assisted living, account for a sliver of the U.S. population but more than 40% of deaths from COVID-19.

US to ship millions of tests in push to keep K-12 schools open

SEDGWICK COUNTY —A Kansas man arrested in connection with a violent attack on a teen made his first court appearance Friday.&nbsp;

Dominic Thomas is charged with&nbsp;2 counts of attempted 1st degree murder and criminal threat, according to the Sedgwick County Attorney's Office.

Just after 10 p.m. on Sept. 21, police responded to an assault report at a home in the 3900 block of North Litchfield in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson

Upon arrival, officers contacted a 17-year-old girl who was visibly shaken and wet. The investigation revealed 19-year-old Dominic Thomas and the victim were talking near a pond at 37th Street North and Sullivan when a disturbance occurred.

During the disturbance, Thomas battered the girl, drug her to a nearby pond and held her head under the water. Thomas then released her and fled.

Officers later located Thomas, and he was arrested without further incident.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1600793705943.png" alt="Thomas photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Thomas photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —A Kansas man arrested in connection with a violent attack on a teen made his first court appearance Friday.&nbsp;Dominic Thomas is charged with&nbsp;2 counts of attempted 1st degree murder and criminal threat, according to the Sedgwick County Attorney's Office.Just after 10 p.m. on Sept. 21, police responded to an assault report at a home in the 3900 block of North Litchfield in Wichita, according to officer Charley DavidsonUpon arrival, officers contacted a 17-year-old girl who was visibly shaken and wet. The investigation revealed 19-year-old Dominic Thomas and the victim were talking near a pond at 37th Street North and Sullivan when a disturbance occurred.During the disturbance, Thomas battered the girl, drug her to a nearby pond and held her head under the water. Thomas then released her and fled.Officers later located Thomas, and he was arrested without further incident.

Kansas man charged in attempted drowning of girl

By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2020-09-25/employers-compared-notes-on-secret-prices-at-kansas-hospitals-to-boost-their-leverage-on-costs">Kansas News Service</a>

The cost of getting an appendectomy with private health insurance has
 soared since the early 2000s. So has the bill for a knee replacement.

But the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/04/health/hospitals-trump-prices-transparency.html" target="_blank">secrecy of prices</a>
 negotiated between health care providers and insurance companies makes 
it hard for employers to understand what they pay for a knee replacement
 and whether it’s a good price.

Researchers broadly agree workers suffer for it.

“That’s
 a cost that comes directly out of how much your employer can pay you,” 
RAND Corporation policy researcher Christopher Whaley said. “In wages or
 other types of benefits.”

A new study from <a href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR3033.html" target="_blank">RAND</a>,
 a think tank specializing in defense and public policy, analyzes 
billions of dollars in medical claims pooled largely by employers 
desperate to know who’s paying what.

They crave transparency that 
would let them comparison shop among health plans and hospitals in an 
industry that can charge vastly <a href="https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/08/09/price-of-surgical-procedures-vary-widely-research-minnesota" target="_blank">different amounts</a> to different people for the same services.

In
 Kansas, private health plans paid more than twice the rate of Medicare 
for hospital care in 2018, RAND found. Prices at the University of 
Kansas Hospital and Overland Park Regional Medical Center were among the
 highest RAND saw. Not just in Kansas, but across the country.

The KU Health System disputes the think tank’s findings that show KU 
Hospital charged four times what Medicare would have paid for the 676 
insurance claims that RAND managed to get.

“It is not a fair 
representation of charges at KU Health System,” Vice President of 
Revenue Colette Lasack said, “compared to our annual volumes of 52,000 
inpatients, and nearly 2 million outpatients.”

But Whaley says the health care industry could set the record straight if it chose to.

“If
 hospitals were more transparent,” he said, “we wouldn’t have to rely on
 employer claims and could be 100% confident that our prices are 
correct.”

Hospitals are battling a new federal requirement in court that would make them reveal their prices. <a href="https://www.aha.org/system/files/media/file/2020/07/opening-appeals-brief-disclosure-negotiated-charges-7-17-20.pdf" target="_blank">They argue</a> doing so would be complex and burdensome because so many different prices exist.

The report is RAND’s third and most ambitious round yet in an ongoing project to pry the lid open on prices.

The
 undertaking began with Indiana employers banding together in 2017. RAND
 next gathered medical claims from two dozen states in 2019 and this 
year studied nearly $34 billion in charges from 49 states.

A fourth round is underway to pull together even more bills to analyze.

Nationally, the claims added up to about
 $20 billion more than Medicare would have paid for those $34 billion in
 claims. That’s a 247% difference. Kansas claims cost 234% of Medicare.

RAND
 doesn’t argue that doctors and hospitals should stick to the Medicare 
rates — an idea loathed by health care providers who say that would put 
them out of business. But it says Medicare is a way to compare the price
 for having surgery in places as different as, say, New York City and 
Topeka.

The federal government tweaks each hospital’s <a href="https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/comparing-private-payer-and-medicare-payment-rates-for-select-inpatient-hospital-services/" target="_blank">Medicare reimbursement</a>
 to reflect local labor costs, how sick patients are, whether the 
facility spends money on training medical students, and other factors.

So
 RAND analyzed each hospital’s medical claims — including facility and 
physician fees — as a percent of what Medicare would have paid it for 
those bills. Then it compared the hospitals.

The study found stark differences even within Kansas.

Claims 
from Overland Park Regional Medical Center and KU Hospital ranked among 
the 10% priciest among 1,600 hospitals where RAND compared both 
inpatient and outpatient services.

By contrast, prices were lower at Lawrence Memorial Hospital than across the state and nationally.

Chris
 Garmon, an economist at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, has 
worked on antitrust investigations at the Federal Trade Commission. He 
said even prices for common services, such as MRI scans, can be 
maddeningly difficult to compare.

“They’re all over the place,” he said. “I mean, even in the same area, sometimes in the same hospital for the same service.”

The
 medical bills in the RAND report came in large part from self-insured 
employers. Those are typically large private companies and public 
entities — think local governments and colleges — that directly shoulder
 the cost of care for their workers but use insurance companies to help 
run the plans.

Hospitals say RAND not only draws vast conclusions with too little data, but ignores what it costs to operate their facilities.

Stormont
 Vail Health in Topeka says it sets fair prices for the privately 
insured that make up for its underpaid care of patients on Medicare and 
Medicaid and keep its doors open around the clock.

“There is no 
other industry that is required to provide services to individuals 
regardless of their ability to pay,” Stormont Vail Health Chief 
Financial Officer Robert Langland said in an email. “Last year alone we 
provided $45 million dollars in uncompensated care.”

The KU Health System, meanwhile, says it spends $70 million a year on teaching future physicians and similar costs.

“We
 are an Academic Medical Center,” Vice President Lasack wrote in an 
email. “This Mission comes with significantly higher costs.”

Several
 hospitals contacted by the Kansas News Service pointed to the American 
Hospital Association’s critiques of RAND’s work, which it calls “beyond 
reckless.”

“It is unfortunate that RAND continues to make broad 
claims about pricing based on a cherry-picked and limited data set,” it 
said in a recent <a href="https://www.aha.org/press-releases/2020-09-18-statement-rand-study-hospital-prices" target="_blank">statement</a>
 lambasting the think tank for releasing its study amid “a global 
pandemic that represents the greatest financial threat in history for 
hospitals and health systems.”

RAND argues: “Employers and their workers also face uncertain financial futures.”

KU
 Health System says it strives to help patients understand what they 
will pay for care. Patients can call for pricing help, or use an online 
portal to get estimates for scores of common procedures, with more to 
come this fall.

But Garmon, the UMKC economist, says patients 
across the country still struggle to get information. When they do get 
it, the estimates sometimes turn out to exclude bills from some of the 
doctors or medical assistants who help with surgery or care.

“You may find some hospitals are doing a good job on this,” he said, “but a lot of them are not.”

The Trump administration wants to make hospitals disclose the prices private insurers pay. The American Hospital Association <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/04/health/hospitals-trump-prices-transparency.html" target="_blank">sued</a> to block that but the group <a href="https://khn.org/morning-breakout/judge-upholds-trumps-transparency-policy-that-would-force-hospitals-to-reveal-negotiated-prices/" target="_blank">lost</a> in federal court this summer. It is <a href="https://www.aha.org/system/files/media/file/2020/07/opening-appeals-brief-disclosure-negotiated-charges-7-17-20.pdf" target="_blank">appealing</a> the ruling.

About half of Americans get their <a href="https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/total-population/?currentTimeframe=0&amp;sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%7D" target="_blank">insurance through work</a>, and the cost of their health care has risen far faster than inflation.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601308332636.png" alt="A new report from the RAND Corporation tries to shed light on prices negotiated between hospitals and private insurance. Chris Neal / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>A new report from the RAND Corporation tries to shed light on prices negotiated between hospitals and private insurance. Chris Neal / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2020-09-25/employers-compared-notes-on-secret-prices-at-kansas-hospitals-to-boost-their-leverage-on-costs">Kansas News Service</a>The cost of getting an appendectomy with private health insurance has
 soared since the early 2000s. So has the bill for a knee replacement.But the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/04/health/hospitals-trump-prices-transparency.html" target="_blank">secrecy of prices</a>
 negotiated between health care providers and insurance companies makes 
it hard for employers to understand what they pay for a knee replacement
 and whether it’s a good price.Researchers broadly agree workers suffer for it.“That’s
 a cost that comes directly out of how much your employer can pay you,” 
RAND Corporation policy researcher Christopher Whaley said. “In wages or
 other types of benefits.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601308401778.png" alt="This story is part of the series, Bills of Health. Do you have a medical bill from Kansas that you want to share with a reporter? Email celia@kcur.org." />
 <figcaption>This story is part of the series, Bills of Health. Do you have a medical bill from Kansas that you want to share with a reporter? Email celia@kcur.org.</figcaption>
 </figure>A new study from <a href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR3033.html" target="_blank">RAND</a>,
 a think tank specializing in defense and public policy, analyzes 
billions of dollars in medical claims pooled largely by employers 
desperate to know who’s paying what.They crave transparency that 
would let them comparison shop among health plans and hospitals in an 
industry that can charge vastly <a href="https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/08/09/price-of-surgical-procedures-vary-widely-research-minnesota" target="_blank">different amounts</a> to different people for the same services.In
 Kansas, private health plans paid more than twice the rate of Medicare 
for hospital care in 2018, RAND found. Prices at the University of 
Kansas Hospital and Overland Park Regional Medical Center were among the
 highest RAND saw. Not just in Kansas, but across the country.The KU Health System disputes the think tank’s findings that show KU 
Hospital charged four times what Medicare would have paid for the 676 
insurance claims that RAND managed to get.“It is not a fair 
representation of charges at KU Health System,” Vice President of 
Revenue Colette Lasack said, “compared to our annual volumes of 52,000 
inpatients, and nearly 2 million outpatients.”But Whaley says the health care industry could set the record straight if it chose to.“If
 hospitals were more transparent,” he said, “we wouldn’t have to rely on
 employer claims and could be 100% confident that our prices are 
correct.”Hospitals are battling a new federal requirement in court that would make them reveal their prices. <a href="https://www.aha.org/system/files/media/file/2020/07/opening-appeals-brief-disclosure-negotiated-charges-7-17-20.pdf" target="_blank">They argue</a> doing so would be complex and burdensome because so many different prices exist.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601308437880.png" alt="Celia Llopis-Jepsen" />
 <figcaption>Celia Llopis-Jepsen</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>What RAND found</h2>The report is RAND’s third and most ambitious round yet in an ongoing project to pry the lid open on prices.The
 undertaking began with Indiana employers banding together in 2017. RAND
 next gathered medical claims from two dozen states in 2019 and this 
year studied nearly $34 billion in charges from 49 states.A fourth round is underway to pull together even more bills to analyze.Nationally, the claims added up to about
 $20 billion more than Medicare would have paid for those $34 billion in
 claims. That’s a 247% difference. Kansas claims cost 234% of Medicare.RAND
 doesn’t argue that doctors and hospitals should stick to the Medicare 
rates — an idea loathed by health care providers who say that would put 
them out of business. But it says Medicare is a way to compare the price
 for having surgery in places as different as, say, New York City and 
Topeka.The federal government tweaks each hospital’s <a href="https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/comparing-private-payer-and-medicare-payment-rates-for-select-inpatient-hospital-services/" target="_blank">Medicare reimbursement</a>
 to reflect local labor costs, how sick patients are, whether the 
facility spends money on training medical students, and other factors.So
 RAND analyzed each hospital’s medical claims — including facility and 
physician fees — as a percent of what Medicare would have paid it for 
those bills. Then it compared the hospitals.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601308505190.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The study found stark differences even within Kansas.Claims 
from Overland Park Regional Medical Center and KU Hospital ranked among 
the 10% priciest among 1,600 hospitals where RAND compared both 
inpatient and outpatient services.By contrast, prices were lower at Lawrence Memorial Hospital than across the state and nationally.Chris
 Garmon, an economist at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, has 
worked on antitrust investigations at the Federal Trade Commission. He 
said even prices for common services, such as MRI scans, can be 
maddeningly difficult to compare.“They’re all over the place,” he said. “I mean, even in the same area, sometimes in the same hospital for the same service.”The
 medical bills in the RAND report came in large part from self-insured 
employers. Those are typically large private companies and public 
entities — think local governments and colleges — that directly shoulder
 the cost of care for their workers but use insurance companies to help 
run the plans.RAND doesn’t identify them publicly.<h2>Ready 24-7</h2>Hospitals say RAND not only draws vast conclusions with too little data, but ignores what it costs to operate their facilities.Stormont
 Vail Health in Topeka says it sets fair prices for the privately 
insured that make up for its underpaid care of patients on Medicare and 
Medicaid and keep its doors open around the clock.“There is no 
other industry that is required to provide services to individuals 
regardless of their ability to pay,” Stormont Vail Health Chief 
Financial Officer Robert Langland said in an email. “Last year alone we 
provided $45 million dollars in uncompensated care.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601308573976.png" alt="Celia Llopis-Jepsen" />
 <figcaption>Celia Llopis-Jepsen</figcaption>
 </figure>The KU Health System, meanwhile, says it spends $70 million a year on teaching future physicians and similar costs.“We
 are an Academic Medical Center,” Vice President Lasack wrote in an 
email. “This Mission comes with significantly higher costs.”Several
 hospitals contacted by the Kansas News Service pointed to the American 
Hospital Association’s critiques of RAND’s work, which it calls “beyond 
reckless.”“It is unfortunate that RAND continues to make broad 
claims about pricing based on a cherry-picked and limited data set,” it 
said in a recent <a href="https://www.aha.org/press-releases/2020-09-18-statement-rand-study-hospital-prices" target="_blank">statement</a>
 lambasting the think tank for releasing its study amid “a global 
pandemic that represents the greatest financial threat in history for 
hospitals and health systems.”RAND argues: “Employers and their workers also face uncertain financial futures.”<h2>The fight over price transparency</h2>KU
 Health System says it strives to help patients understand what they 
will pay for care. Patients can call for pricing help, or use an online 
portal to get estimates for scores of common procedures, with more to 
come this fall.But Garmon, the UMKC economist, says patients 
across the country still struggle to get information. When they do get 
it, the estimates sometimes turn out to exclude bills from some of the 
doctors or medical assistants who help with surgery or care.“You may find some hospitals are doing a good job on this,” he said, “but a lot of them are not.”The Trump administration wants to make hospitals disclose the prices private insurers pay. The American Hospital Association <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/04/health/hospitals-trump-prices-transparency.html" target="_blank">sued</a> to block that but the group <a href="https://khn.org/morning-breakout/judge-upholds-trumps-transparency-policy-that-would-force-hospitals-to-reveal-negotiated-prices/" target="_blank">lost</a> in federal court this summer. It is <a href="https://www.aha.org/system/files/media/file/2020/07/opening-appeals-brief-disclosure-negotiated-charges-7-17-20.pdf" target="_blank">appealing</a> the ruling.About half of Americans get their <a href="https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/total-population/?currentTimeframe=0&amp;sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%7D" target="_blank">insurance through work</a>, and the cost of their health care has risen far faster than inflation.The <a href="https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collection/how-have-healthcare-prices-grown-in-the-u-s-over-time/#item-the-average-price-of-full-knee-replacements-varies-considerably-across-markets" target="_blank">Kaiser Family Foundation</a>
 says prices charged to large employer health plans for knee 
replacements rose 74% from 2003 to 2016. Appendectomies got 136% more 
expensive. Prices in the broader economy rose 28%.In the new RAND
 study, the gap between what Medicare and private insurance paid for 
hospital care widened by about 5% a year from 2016 to 2018.Its 
sample showed no correlation between prices and how many Medicare or 
Medicaid patients hospitals serve, a common argument among health care 
providers for making commercial insurance pay more.Gloria 
Sachdev, president of the Employers Forum of Indiana, first conceived of
 the RAND project and reached out to the think tank, asking if it could 
analyze claims from her state.National employers, she said, were 
baffled to rack up much higher hospital bills in Indiana than elsewhere.
 As she encouraged more and more employers across the country to pool 
their medical claims, she says, Indiana prices turned out to be 
unusually high.That gave employers leverage to push for better 
deals, she said. They leaned on insurers, and some bypassed them and 
negotiated with hospitals themselves.“Employers feel like they 
were operating in the dark, and now the light has been turned on,” 
Sachdev said. “Now they realize how messy their health care ‘house’ is.”Celia Llopis-Jepsen reports on consumer health and education for the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/Celia_LJ" target="_blank">@celia_LJ</a>
 or email her at celia@kcur.org. The Kansas News Service is a
 collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public
 Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their 
connection to public policy.