Country 101.3 KFDI

Sedgwick County commissioners and Wichita City Council members appeared at a news conference Tuesday to show unity and determination in working for changes in the juvenile justice system after the in-custody death of a teenager last fall. 17-year-old Cedric Lofton died last September after he was restrained in a struggle with staff members at the Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center. County Commission chairman David Dennis called the death of Lofton heartbreaking and tragic, and he said the city and county will work together “to do what it takes to support, drive, and dedicate the resources needed to make sure that something [...]

The Emergency Broadband Benefit, a federal program that helped almost 9 million low income Americans afford internet service in 2021, ended on December 31st. The Kansas Corporation Commission wants Kansans to know that a new $14.2 billion federal program, the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), is available to fill the gap. With higher income maximums, the ACP could help even more families afford internet access for work, school, and health care.  Current Emergency Broadband Benefit participants have until March 1 to contact their internet provider and switch over to the new plan with no interruption of service. Source: Country 101.3 KFDI

The City of Wichita announced the second round of the PROPEL (Providing Resources & Opportunities for Proprietors, Entrepreneurs & Lenders) Small Business Loan Fund today. The low-interest, short-term revolving loan program was developed to make access to capital more readily available to minority-owned and women-owned firms and businesses located in Wichita City Council District 1. Funding of $220,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) money has been allocated to the revolving loan fund, along with a generous contribution from INTRUST Bank, to enable the PROPEL fund to extend participation to business owners throughout Wichita on an ongoing basis. The next round [...]

Sedgwick County commissioners voted Wednesday to go along with a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers, as required by the federal government, but some commissioners voiced reservations over the decision. The mandate requires health care and COMCARE workers for the county to be vaccinated by February 28th.   The mandate does not apply to fire and EMS workers, and it would not apply to people working remotely. Commissioner Jim Howell said he is vaccinated and is not against the vaccine, but he doesn’t like the mandate and he doesn’t want to see a county employee terminated for not getting the vaccine.  [...]

New data released by Sedgwick County on Monday, Jan. 17th, shows 277 patients are currently hospitalized with the virus. Of that amount, 80 are patients with COVID-19 in the Intensive Care Unit. The number of hospitalized patients marks a new record since the pandemic began. In addition, the latest data shows a rolling 14-day average positive test rate of 22.1%–another record high, surpassing the previous percentage from November 2020. Source: Country 101.3 KFDI

Kansas House Democrats and Republicans formally introduced the #AxeTheFoodTax bill on Friday, Jan. 14th. The bill cuts the state sales tax on food purchased at Kansas grocery stores and farmers’ markets from 6.5% to 0%. It’s estimated that this would save the average Kansas family roughly $500 per year. Governor Kelly said that if passed, the new tax law could go into effect as soon as July 1, 2022. Source: Country 101.3 KFDI

The United States District Court for the District of Kansas denied significant portions of the City of Wichita’s motion to dismiss the class-action lawsuit challenging Wichita’s “Gang List.” The ruling allows plaintiffs to proceed with their central claims that the gang database itself, as well as WPD’s use of it, is unconstitutional. The case was filed in April of 2021. The City of Wichita and the police department’s motion to dismiss was filed on July 9, 2021. ... Attorneys bringing the suit are asking for injunctive and declaratory relief, challenging Kansas law and WPD policy and asking that the City of [...]

The Supreme Court has stopped the Biden administration from enforcing a requirement that employees at large businesses be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing and wear a mask on the job. At the same time, the court is allowing the administration to proceed with a vaccine mandate for most health care workers in the U.S. Source: Country 101.3 KFDI

Governor Laura Kelly is proposing that Kansas set aside $600 million of its surplus revenues in a rainy day fund and spend nearly $1.8 billion more in cash reserves on a host of one-time projects. The Democratic governor’s budget director on Wednesday outlined proposed spending blueprint for state government through June 2023 to the Republican-controlled Legislature’s budget committees. The projects Kelly proposed in her spending blueprint for state government through June 2023 included paying off bonds early and undoing financial maneuvers lawmakers did in previous years to deal with budget shortfalls. She’s also proposing a one-time rebate of $250 to all [...]

The Internal Revenue Service said on Monday that acute staffing shortages will likely delay tax refunds and other services this year as the agency prepares for the 2022 tax filing season, which will begin on January 24. IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig told reporters that this year’s window for filing tax returns for the year 2021 will run between Jan. 24 though April 18.  Rettig also said that “enormous challenges” faced by the IRS due to severe levels of understaffing will cause delays in many aspects of IRS operations, including sending out refund checks. Agency officials said they are entering the new [...]