May 2016 – Page 93 – Welcome to Wyandotte Daily!

After nice weather today, storms possible late Saturday

After a sunny day with a high near 82 today, storms may be moving into the area late Saturday night, according to the National Weather Service.

Several rounds of storms will be possible starting late Saturday through the middle of next week, according to the weather service.

Primary hazards with the storms will be moderate to locally heavy rainfall, hail, dangerous cloud-to-ground lightning and gusty winds.

Rainfall amounts will generally be in the inch to nearly 2-inch range through late Monday, adding to the already swollen reeks, river and streams.

A few strong to perhaps isolated severe storms will be possible late Saturday and again late Sunday into Monday.

Tonight’s low will be around 58, the weather service said, with a south southwest wind of 7 to 9 mph.

Saturday, it will be sunny with a high near 83. A southwest wind will be 10 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph, according to the weather service.

Saturday night, there will be a 30 percent chance of storms and showers, according to the weather service. The low will be around 60. A south southwest wind of 6 to 8 mph will become southeast after midnight. Less than a tenth of an inch of rain is expected, except for locally higher amounts.

One weather forecaster predicted that rain and storms would not start until after the Kansas Speedway Sprint Cup race is over in Kansas City, Kan. The rain could start at 1 a.m. or later on Sunday.

On Sunday, Mother’s Day, there is a 60 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, according to the weather service. It will be mostly cloudy with a high near 76, and a south wind of 7 to 13 mph.

Sunday night, there is a 70 percent chance of rain, the weather service said. The low will be around 61.

Monday, there is a 50 percent chance of storms and precipitation, according to the weather service. The high will be near 74.

Monday night, there is a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms with a low of 60.

For more weather information, visit www.weather.gov.

Planned Parenthood sues KDHE over termination of Medicaid funding

by Dan Margolies, Heartland Health Monitor

The two Planned Parenthood organizations in Kansas and Missouri wasted little time challenging Kansas’ termination of their Medicaid funding.

Just a day after the Kansas Department of Health and Environment notified them of its decision to cut off their Medicaid payments, Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri and Planned Parenthood of St. Louis Region sued the head of the agency, Susan Mosier.

The 31-page complaint filed Wednesday alleges the termination was unlawful and based on spurious grounds, such as undercover videos taken last summer by abortion opponents that purport to prove that Planned Parenthood affiliates across the country sold fetal tissue for profit, a crime. Earlier this year, a Houston grand jury cleared Planned Parenthood of wrongdoing and indicted the makers of the videos instead.

Other spurious grounds cited by KDHE, according to the complaint, included the supposed failure of Planned Parenthood’s Overland Park clinic to cooperate with a solid waste disposal inspection last December. In fact, the complaint says, the clinic did cooperate, although it refused to allow inspectors to take photographs out of privacy and safety concerns for patients and staff.

Another reason cited by KDHE, the complaint says, was that Oklahoma and Texas had identified potentially fraudulent Medicaid claims by the Planned Parenthood affiliates in those states. None of those affiliates, however, are related to the plaintiffs, the complaint states.

The Planned Parenthood plaintiffs contend KDHE’s action was “unlawful, unwarranted and (a) politically motivated decision” by KDHE “at the direction of Gov. Sam Brownback” to end the organization’s participation in the Kansas Medicaid program.

The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Topeka, seeks class action status on behalf of all Kansas Medicaid beneficiaries who use, or seek to use, the affiliates’ services. It estimates the size of the potential class at 500 patients.

In a statement Wednesday, Laura McQuade, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri, said the organization “won’t allow extremists like Governor Brownback to make baseless accusations without consequence.”

Eileen Hawley, a spokeswoman for Brownback, said the governor’s office won’t comment on pending litigation.

Kansas’ decision to end Medicaid funding for the affiliates came just weeks after he director of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Vikki Wachino, warned in a letter sent to all 50 state Medicaid agencies that they cannot cut funding to medical providers simply because they also offer abortion services.

“Providing the full range of women’s health services neither disqualifies a provider from participating in the Medicaid program, nor is the provision of such services inconsistent with the best interests of the beneficiary, and shall not be grounds for a state’s action against a provider in the Medicaid program,” she wrote.

Planned Parenthood of St. Louis joined the lawsuit because it operates a health center in Joplin, near the Kansas state line, and serves a small number of Kansas patients.

Also joining the action were three anonymous “Jane Doe” plaintiffs, representing Medicaid enrollees who are at risk of losing the services of the Planned Parenthood affiliates, and 11 former and current employees of the affiliates whom the complaint says also were terminated by KDHE.

The nonprofit KHI News Service is an editorially independent initiative of the Kansas Health Institute and a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor reporting collaboration. All stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to KHI.org when a story is reposted online.

– See more at http://www.khi.org/news/article/planned-parenthood-sues-kansas-over-termination-of-medicaid-funding#sthash.R3NG07in.dpuf

Six tourism awards presented at KCK CVB luncheon

The Kansas City Kansas Convention and Visitors Bureau, Inc. celebrated a successful year at its annual Tourism Celebration on Wednesday, May 4.

The luncheon was held at the Jack Reardon Event Center, 520 Minnesota Ave., in Kansas City, Kan.
Approximately 150 people were in attendance, including elected officials and tourism industry professionals.

Six awards were presented to the following tourism advocates and organizations.

A Special Mayor’s Recognition was presented in honor of Jesse Hope III, proclaiming Wednesday, May 4, as Jesse Hope III Day in Kansas City, Kan. Hope was the founder and curator of the Old Quindaro Museum and dedicated his life to preserving and honoring the legacy of the families of Quindaro. Hope died in 2015.
Unified Government Mayor Mark Holland recognized Hope’s contributions in preserving the history of the Underground Railroad in America and the significant transformation the town of Quindaro had on our community. Accepting the award will be Anthony Hope, Jesse’s brother.

The Excellence in Hospitality Award was awarded to Mendi Jones, director of sales at Country Inn and Suites Village West. The award, chosen by the KCK CVB staff, recognizes Jones for her support and partnership with the CVB, as well as her professionalism, hospitality and exceptional customer service to all visitors.

Jones came to Kansas City, Kan., after spending 24 years in the hotel business in Pensacola, Fla., where she also had the reputation for going above and beyond. Kerry Green, meetings, group and event manager of the KCK CVB, will present the award to Mendi Jones.

A special Tourism Partnership Award was presented to Linda Craghead, assistant secretary of parks and tourism for Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. Her primary responsibilities include the operation and promotion of the 26 state parks in Kansas and the overall tourism initiatives for the state.
Craghead was recognized for her commitment to each segment of the hospitality industry in Kansas and her collaborative efforts. Craghead is passionate about outdoor adventure and nature, but mostly, she is passionate about the people and the tourism industry in the state of Kansas. Bridgette Jobe, executive director of the KCK CVB, presented the award to Linda Craghead.

The Tourism Event of the Year Award was presented to the NCAA Division II Football Championship that was held on Dec. 19, 2015, at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan. Division II football came to Kansas City after it completed a 26-year-run in Florence, Ala.

The championship will be played at Children’s Mercy Park through 2017. The attendance at the 2015 championship game was a record-setting crowd of 16,181 fans and was televised on ESPN2. The game generated over 1,100 hotel room nights for the Kansas City region. The ability to be the host of the Division II championship game was the result of the efforts and partnership of several organizations. Presenting the award was Matt Lawrence, general manager of Schlitterbahn Waterpark KC and a current KCK CVB board member. Accepting the award was Amber Feldman of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Molly Cage of the Kansas City Sports Commission, and Chris Wyche from Sporting KC.

The Tourism Organization of the Year Award was presented to Strawberry Hill Ethnic Museum and Cultural Center. The museum is located at 720 N. 4th St. in Kansas City, Kan. The Queen Anne style house was built in 1887 as the home to John and Margaret Scroggs, and later became the St. John Orphanage.

The orphanage was originally founded after the 1918 influenza epidemic. During its existence, it was home to over 3,000 children. The museum was founded in 1988 and was dedicated to the promotion and preservation of the Slavic heritage prevalent in the Kansas City, Kan., area. Today the museum preserves the history and cultures of over 16 different nationalities. More than 175,000 people have visited the museum. Presenting the award was Unified Government Commissioner Brian McKiernan. Accepting the award was Adrienne Nastav, long time museum volunteer and board member.

The Tourism Advocate of the Year Award was presented to Chris Browne, vice president and general manager of Kansas City T-Bones, for his leadership and contributions to Kansas City, Kan., tourism. Browne started with the T-Bones in 2002 before the first game was ever played at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan. He was named vice president and general manager in 2008.

Browne served on the Kansas City Kansas Convention and Visitors Bureau board of directors from 2012 to 2015, serving two years as board chair. The Tourism Advocate award was presented to Chris Browne by Greg Jackson, general manager for Dave & Buster’s at The Legends and current KCK CVB board chair.