Month: July 2018

T-Bones fizzle in front of impressive crowd

The Kansas City T-Bones (26-16) fizzled Tuesday evening as they faced off in the second game of the series against the Sioux Falls Canaries (17-25), in a significant loss, 14-1.

Sioux Falls took an early lead. Maxx Garrett hit a home run sending him and Chris Grayson home, making the score 2-0.

In the bottom of the second, an error by Canaries’ shortstop Blake Schmit allowed T-Bones’ Keith Curcio a chance to get on third. However, a putout by Adrian Nieto left him stranded.

Kansas City showed signs of life their half of the fourth, with a solo home run by Taylor Featherston. This was the only run the T-Bones put up in the game.

The Canaries struck again, decisively this time, in the eighth. A solo home run and then a deep hit into left field gave Dan Motl a double RBI, increasing the lead to 12-1.

The T-Bones’ right-handed, starting pitcher, Barrett Astin (5-2), who is credited with the loss, pitched eight out of nine innings giving up nine runs. Relief came from Sam Street, Zach Walters and Keith Curcio.

The Canaries’ RHP, Jake Esch (1-0), who is credited with the win, only allowed one run in his six innings. Relief was given by Trevor Jaunich and Bo Hellquist.

The T-Bones face off again against the Canaries Wednesday in the final game of the series (1-1). The game will be held at T-Bones Stadium at 7:05 p.m., followed by a Fourth of July celebratory professional fireworks display.

Individual tickets, season, group, mini-plans and nightly party suites are on sale and can be purchased by visiting the box office at T-Bones Stadium or www.tbonesbaseball.com. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

The T-Bones games are airing on the T-Bones Broadcast Network, http://mixlr.com/t-bones-baseball/.
– Story from T-Bones

Police investigating homicide at North 1st and Richmond

Kansas City, Kansas, police officers are investigating a homicide in the 1st and Richmond Avenue area.

Police officers responded about 8:30 p.m. July 3 to a shooting call in the area.

Police found that a man in his early 20s had been shot. He was taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries, a police spokesman stated.

The identity of the victim is being withheld until positive identification and family notification, police said.

The Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division is investigating. Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS hotline at 816-474-TIPS.

Colyer: Kansas will pursue Medicaid work rules despite court ruling

by Jim McLean, Kansas News Service

Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer says he will continue to push for a Medicaid work requirement despite a recent court order blocking a similar policy in Kentucky.

Last week, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, an Obama appointee in the District of Columbia, questioned whether the Trump administration had adequately considered the consequences of Kentucky’s work requirement before reversing longstanding federal policy to approve it.

Despite the setback, Colyer said his administration will continue discussions with federal officials about requiring some of the more than 420,000 Kansans enrolled in KanCare, the state’s privatized Medicaid program, to work or pursue job training.

“I remain strongly committed to incentivizing self-reliance through work,” Colyer said in an email to the Kansas News Service.

Noting that the requirement would apply to only non-disabled adults, Colyer said, “These sort of initiatives have been incredibly successful in transitioning people from public assistance to independence.”

Sheldon Weisgrau, the leader of a broad-based coalition pushing to make more people eligible for KanCare, said the court ruling “confirms that work requirements do nothing to enhance access to health care.”

“Instead, such mandates are costly and punitive, wasting millions of dollars to create bureaucratic obstacles and ultimately covering fewer people,” Weisgrau said.

A recent study by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning nonpartisan research organization based in Washington, D.C., found that Medicaid work requirements could be counter-productive.

Forcing Medicaid recipients into low-wage jobs, the report said, would leave many ineligible for Medicaid but unable to afford private coverage.

In the final weeks of the 2018 legislative session, Kansas lawmakers approved a budget proviso that allows the Colyer administration to continue negotiating with federal officials. But it prohibits state officials from implementing a work requirement with legislative approval.

Jim McLean is managing director of the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio covering health, education and politics. You can reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks.
Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to the original post.

See more at http://kcur.org/post/colyer-kansas-will-pursue-medicaid-work-rules-despite-court-ruling.