Month: November 2019

Free flu shots, turkeys and coats to be given away Saturday

U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-3rd Dist., joined Geofrey Kigenyi, executive director of Mercy and Truth Clinic at 721 N. 31st St.,on a tour of the clinic on Thursday. They are encouraging people to get a free flu shot on Saturday, Nov. 9, at the clinic. (Photo by Mary Rupert)

by Mary Rupert

Only about 43 percent of Wyandotte County residents got their flu shots last year, which is why officials are trying to get residents out to a free flu shot clinic on Saturday in Kansas City, Kansas.

U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-3rd Dist., visited the Mercy and Truth Clinic on Thursday to encourage residents to attend the Saturday event.

She said not many people realize how many individuals are trying to access affordable health care.

“When we think about how important preventative care is, the flu shot is one of the best ways we can help folks, especially coming into flu season,” Rep. Davids said.

The Warm Up Wyandotte event will be from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 9, at the clinic at 721 N. 31st St., Kansas City, Kansas.

Besides 200 free flu shots, the clinic will give away 200 turkeys and coats, until they run out. Last year, they ran out after about 45 minutes.

This year, a second flu shot clinic will be held at Mercy and Truth from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, at 11644 W. 75th St., Shawnee, Kansas. Another 200 free flu shots, turkeys and coats will be given away at the second clinic, until they run out.

Geofrey Kigneyi, executive director of Mercy and Truth Clinic, said that since 2016, the clinic has seen significant growth. It saw more than 6,000 patients in 2016, and grew to 7,700 in 2018. Through July 2019, there have been more than 6,000, he said, with 10,000 patients projected by the end of the year.

Half of the patients are uninsured and the rest are on Medicaid or other insurance, he said.

There are an estimated 63,570 uninsured individuals in Wyandotte and Johnson counties.


Many times people look at Johnson County as wealthy, but the staff of the clinic almost daily see patients in Johnson County who struggle to pay the $40 clinic fee, he said.

The clinic does a lot of preventative care, he said, and vaccinations are a part of that.

Wyandotte County’s flu shot percentage last year was lower than Johnson County, which had 55 percent, he said.

The Warm Up Wyandotte program is sponsored by Mercy and Truth Medical Missions, Advent Health and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City. Advent Health donated many of the coats that will be distributed, and most of them are gently used.

Also attending the announcement about the free flu shots were Unified Government Commissioners Melissa Bynum and Harold Johnson.

Rep. Sharice Davids spoke about the importance of preventative health on Thursday at the Mercy and Truth Clinic in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Mary Rupert)
Hundreds of coats will be given away on Saturday at the Warm Up Wyandotte event. (Photo by Mary Rupert)
Rep. Sharice Davids tried on one of the coats for a photo on Thursday. (Photo by Mary Rupert)
Many different sizes and styles of coats will be available at the coat giveaway on Saturday at Mercy and Truth Clinic. (Photo by Mary Rupert)
U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, second from right, met with Mercy and Truth clinic officials on Thursday and took a tour of the clinic. (Photo by Mary Rupert)
Commissioners Melissa Bynum and Harold Johnson were among those posing for a photo with Rep. Sharice Davids after the clinic announcement. (Photo by Mary Rupert)

Kansas voters shift some political clout to college towns

by Stephen Koranda, Kansas News Service

Topeka, Kansas — Kansas will now have a streamlined census that counts people only where they’re living after voters decided Tuesday to end the practice of adjusting the numbers before state legislative districts are drawn up.

Voters approved a constitutional amendment, about 60 percent to 40 percent, according to the state’s unofficial count. The change does away with the state contacting college students and members of the military to ask them if they want to be counted where they are living or somewhere else.

Kansas first used the adjusted census count in the 1990s, with the idea that it could bolster representation for rural areas.

Republican Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab pushed for ending the adjustment, arguing it didn’t have a significant impact on rural populations and ultimately ended up benefitting urban counties the most.

“It really became costly, cumbersome and it didn’t have any result people wanted,” Schwab said in an interview last month.

The adjusted population numbers were used only for state legislative offices and the State Board of Education. Congressional districts are drawn using the federal census numbers.

The 2011 adjustment ended up reducing the total state population by 0.48 percent, as the process deemed some people residents of other states.

The biggest beneficiaries of the change will likely be communities with higher concentrations of students, like the Lawrence and Manhattan areas. Douglas County, home of the University of Kansas, lost nearly 11 percent of its population under the last adjustment of the census.

Riley County, home to Kansas State University, lost more than 15 percent of its population under the last adjustment.

The proposal faced little opposition in the Legislature, passing the Senate unanimously. Only seven of the 125 members of the House voted against the bill. Of those opposed, there were concerns that eliminating the adjustment would hurt rural areas.

Schwab said skipping the count will give Kansas lawmakers a leg up in the potentially contentious 2022 redistricting, because they’ll have population data earlier. Last time, in 2012, lawmakers deadlocked and federal judges eventually drew the districts.

“I got a feeling with a Democrat governor, a Republican Legislature, redistricting’s going to get a little bit bloody,” Schwab said. “The sooner we can get those numbers to the Legislature … that’s better for the state.”

Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for Kansas Public Radio and the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio covering health, education and politics. Follow him on Twitter @kprkoranda or email skoranda (at) ku (dot) edu.
Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished by news media at no cost with proper attribution and a link to ksnewsservice.org.
See more at https://www.kcur.org/post/kansas-voters-just-shifted-some-political-clout-college-towns