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Wichita State is trying out a new testing method to identify people with COVID-19 who are not showing symptoms. The Voluntary Asymptomatic Surveillance Testing Program will involve a sampling of 5% of the on-campus student population. Participating students are chosen at random, with testing taking place every two weeks. The program is set to begin Tuesday, October 13. While supplies last, participating students will get a Shocker Hall meal pass if they choose to take part. Students who have been selected for testing will be notified through their campus email. Source: Country 101.3 KFDI

Wichita city council members have approved some changes and updates to the city’s policy to promote and encourage economic growth and development. The policy covers incentives, tax abatements, financing districts and other programs offered by the city.   Council member Bryan Frye said the policy will make incentives more available to small businesses, and he feels the city will see its greatest growth with small businesses.   Frye said the policy will also allow the city to leverage state and federal incentives to encourage more investment in Wichita.    He said another feature of the policy will encourage more development of office space. [...]

Spirit Aerosystems has announced it will be closing its plant in McAlester, Oklahoma. The closing is due to the downturn in the commercial aviation market caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX jetliner. The company said it now has an excess of production capacity. Spirit plans to consolidate some operations over the next few months and the work in McAlester will be moved to facilities in Wichita and Tulsa, Oklahoma.  The McAlester plant has had around 175 workers. Source: Country 101.3 KFDI

Kansas governor Laura Kelly says she supports new federal guidelines detailing how nursing homes can begin allowing visits to patients. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services last week said nursing homes should continue to follow COVID-19 related protocols, such as social distancing and temperature screening. But it said indoor visitations can be allowed at facilities that take Medicare and Medicaid if they have not had any new COVID-19 cases for 14 days and are not conducting active outbreak testing. State officials said Tuesday that it will take some time to implement the new guidance because each facility will have to [...]

The Department of Homeland Security awarded the Wichita Fire Department with over $63,000 in grant money. The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program – COVID 19 Supplemental provides reimbursement for money spent to supply local firefighters with PPE during the pandemic, and will also provide funding for the future purchase PPE such as gloves, respirators, safety glasses, and more. Source: Country 101.3 KFDI

Kansas governor Laura Kelly said Monday she is concerned about the state’s ability to slow the spread of the coronavirus, and she’s concerned about the rise in cases and deaths over the past few weeks. The governor held her weekly news briefing after the state reported an increase of over 1,600 cases from the weekend, bringing the state’s total to almost 54,000 cases with 600 deaths.   She said the virus continues to spread at an alarming rate. Kelly said because of certain legislative leaders, Kansas has been left with a patchwork of local mask mandates, instead of a statewide policy like [...]

Because of several positive COVID-19 cases, the Buhler Grade School is closing to in-person classes and will remain closed through September 29th. Reno County health officials said five cases were identified within the school and there are classrooms that need to quarantine.  It was decided to close in-person classes through the 29th if no further cases are confirmed.   All Buhler Grade School students will be going to a Flex Learning program during the closure.  Source: Country 101.3 KFDI

Kansas governor Laura Kelly has issued a statement of congratulations to Bell Textron for its new facility in Wichita. The new facility opened Thursday at One Cessna Boulevard as part of the Textron Aviation complex in southwest Wichita.  The facility will support a number of Bell helicopter programs and business areas.   Bell was chosen this year as a finalist to pursue two critical U.S. Army modernization programs, and that led to the selection of Wichita as a location to support Bell’s future plans. (Read more: Country 101.3 KFDI)

The Whataburger restaurant chain has announced plans to expand into Kansas and Missouri. No specific cities have been announced yet, other than Kansas City. The Corpus Christi, Texas-based company is celebrating its 70th anniversary and it plans to open 35 restaurants in 2021. The company already has 837 locations in ten states, including Texas and Oklahoma, with around 46,000 employees. The company also announced plans to open locations in Tennessee, but no specific cities have been named. The company also revealed concept designs for more modern restaurants on its website. (Read more: Country 101.3 KFDI)