Update: All lanes of I-70 were reopened from Salina to the Colorado border, as of 7 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation.
Also reopened were U.S. 40 from Sharon Springs to the Colorado border, U.S. 83 from Oakley to Scott City, and K-27 from Goodland to Sharon Springs.
Westbound I-70 is closed at the Hedville interchange (244) just west of the I-70-I-135-U.S.-81 interchange because of a lack of accommodations caused by the winter storm.
Motels and truck stops are full west of Salina, Kan., making it necessary to close the interstate, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation. Accommodations are available in Salina.
I-70 westbound is closed until further notice, according to a KDOT spokesman.
House Democratic Leader Tom Burroughs
Kansas reported collecting $5.8 million less than estimates from all tax sources in the month of January, according to the Kansas Department of Revenue.
Total tax receipts for January, reflecting money collected by the KDOR and other agencies totaled $535 million, which is $6.8 million less than estimates, according to the KDOR news release.
Total tax receipts for the fiscal year through January were $26 million below estimates, according to KDOR.
House Minority Leader Tom Burroughs, D-33rd Dist., in a statement, called on the governor and Republicans in the Legislature to change course. He pointed out that in November, revenue estimates were reduced by $180 million, yet Kansas is still down an additional $26 million.
“It’s time for Governor Brownback and Republicans in the Legislature to admit that what we’re doing isn’t working,” Rep. Burroughs said in the statement. “We can take our state in a new direction, but only if and when they are willing to do so.
“And if Gov. Brownback and his conservative allies refuse, I call on voters to hold their local representatives accountable for the fiscal free fall Kansas is experiencing right now,” Rep. Burroughs said.
Kansas officials, in a news release, pointed to a positive trend in January receipts, as Kansas collected $8.2 million more than what was expected in individual income tax receipts in January, a spokesman said. It was $18.7 million more than what was collected during January 2014, the KDOR stated.
“We are pleased to see individual income tax receipts continuing to grow compared to last year,” said Revenue Secretary Nick Jordan in the news release. “Corporate income taxes – which have not had a rate change – and sales tax receipts continue to struggle in part because of weaker aviation, oil and agriculture sectors.”
