Country 101.3 KFDI

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has named Commerce Secretary David Toland as the new Lieutenant Governor. Toland will take over in January after the current Lieutenant Governor, Lynn Rogers, moves into the State Treasurer’s office.  Rogers was appointed last week to fill a vacancy created when Treasurer Jake LaTurner was elected to the 2nd District Congressional seat. Source: Country 101.3 KFDI

Kansas health care workers have begun receiving the first of the state’s coronavirus vaccines amid an ongoing surge in cases that has left hospitals stressed. A spokeswoman says that five employees of the Via Christi Ascension health care system received shots Monday at its St. Francis hospital in Wichita, including a critical care nurse, a housekeeper for a COVID-19 unit and a respiratory therapist. Doses of a vaccine made by Pfizer began arriving in Kansas after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized its emergency use Friday. Kansas officials expect the state to receive the first of two doses for 23,750 [...]

Butler County has reopened its Historic Courthouse building after closing it to public access for two weeks. The building was closed November 23rd because of a number of COVID-19 illnesses and staff shortages resulting from close contact quarantines of employees. The building reopened Monday morning and visitors are asked to continue to wear masks and follow social distancing.  They are also urged to continue good hygiene practices with hand washing or the use of hand sanitizer. Butler County Commission meetings will now be open to the public, but the meetings are still available by livestream through the county’s web site. Source: [...]

Wichita city council members have approved increases for water and sewer rates for 2021. Public Works Director Alan King said the increases are needed for improvements in equipment and facilities, along with operating costs. King said the water and sewer system has some big challenges ahead and 80 percent of the revenue from the rate increases will go toward capital needs, with 20 percent for operating costs. King said a federal loan for a new water treatment plant in northwest Wichita will combine with engineering and savings programs to keep rate increases stable over the next ten years.  Source: Country 101.3 KFDI

Governor Kelly announced Monday that she sent a letter to President Trump, requesting that he approve an extension of Title 32–which allows the state to continue using the Kansas National Guard to help combat the spread of COVID-19. Title 32 allows governors to mobilize the national guard in their state so that it can respond to natural disasters and other emergencies. Kelly said that by authorizing utilization of the Kansas National Guard pending President Trump’s approval, the extension will enable Kansas to maintain community-based testing and continue to distribute critical medical supplies; which would ensure that Kansas can remain open. Source: [...]

Sedgwick County commissioners have approved a resolution that will allow the county to enforce a new health order that went into effect Wednesday. The health order puts a limit on mass gatherings of 100 people or 50 percent of the fire code capacity, whichever is less.   This will apply to restaurants, bars, nightclubs, fitness and health centers that have patrons not wearing masks for a longer period of time.   Bars and nightclubs will have to close at 11 p.m. but they can continue carryout and curbside services past midnight. Retail stores are not considered mass gatherings but they would be limited [...]

The Butler County Health Department said Tuesday that local resources are at capacity because of the number of COVID-19 cases in the area. The department is asking Butler County residents to take the following steps: If you have received notification that you tested positive for COVID-19, please isolate for ten (10)days from symptom onset or, if asymptomatic, your test date. A person who tested positive forCOVID-19 will need to be in isolation for at least ten (10)days. If you are a household contact(close contact)to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, your quarantine will continue for fourteen (14)days once the positive [...]

Sedgwick County’s chief health officer is calling for more interventions in the community to limit the spread of COVID-19, as the county and the state of Kansas continue to see more new cases. Dr. Garold Minns made the comments during a special meeting of the Sedgwick County Commission on Thursday.  Dr. Minns said there is no precise answer why cases are going up, but he suggested several factors.   He said the reopening of schools may have been a component, along with sports and activities that are leading to more human contact.  He said he is not criticizing the schools because they [...]

With Wichita’s middle and high school students having to option to return to class November 9, the district will change how school lunches are distributed. All students can get free meals for the rest of the school year, thanks to USDA’s expansion of the summer meals program. With a mix of online and in-person classes coming, meal pickups will switch over to a pre-order system. Yellow tickets for pickup will no longer be used, and families will need to complete an order form online to pickup meals. These orders will include an email confirmation that will be needed get curbside meals. [...]

One Wichita hospital is at capacity and another is at 90 percent this week, according to an update presented Wednesday to Sedgwick County commissioners. County Manager Tom Stolz said he received information from Ascension Via Christi that it was at capacity, while Wesley had reported 90 percent earlier in the week.   Stolz said the information came from the county’s health officer, Dr. Garold Minns, who had talked with hospital officials earlier in the day.   Stolz said hospitals will be talking to county officials about getting emergency funding to develop more capacity for patients. Commissioner Lacey Cruse said this news should not [...]