Month: January 2020

Big finish lets No. 11 Labette end 14-game KCKCC win streak

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

Kansas City Kansas Community College’s defending national champions started off the 2020 Jayhawk Conference season exactly the way they started last season – with a loss.

For the second straight year. Labette foiled the Lady Blue Devils’ conference debut, pulling away in the final minutes for a 79-63 win.

The loss ended KCKCC’s 14-game winning streak and dropped the No. 2 ranked Blue Devils to 18-2 heading into their conference home opener Saturday against Hesston (2 and 4 p.m.) Ranked No. 11 in the latest NJCAA Division II national poll, Labette won for the 13th time in a row and improved to 15-3,

“The final score isn’t really reflective of how competitive the game was,” KCKCC coach Joe McKinstry said. “I thought our girls fought hard and were in a good position all night. We just ran out of gas the final four or five minutes.”

Indeed, KCKCC closed to 64-58 midway through the fourth quarter on back-to-back 3-pointers and a layup by Caroline Hoppock only to have the hot-shooting Lady Cardinals run off 13 straight points to break the game open.

Labette was a torrid 20-of-30 for 66.7 percent shooting in out-scoring the Blue Devils 48-35 in the second half.

“We stopped shooting threes in the second half,” Labette coach Mitch Rolls said. “We were settling in the first half. Everybody started getting to the rim (in the second half) and good things started to happen.”

Angel Williams, a 6-0 sophomore center, led Labette with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

“Every time there’s a big matchup – Kamryn Estell is one of the best bigs in the country – she shows that she’ll rise above,” Rolls said. Diamond Jones added 11 points and Jessica Martino 10 for the Cardinals.

Hoppock led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-11 shots (4-of-7 from 3-point) while Estell added 14 points (5-of-6 shooting), Aliyah Myers 11 and Mercer Roberts 7. Hoppock, Roberts and Brodi Byrd had four rebounds and Estell, Myers, Tiaira Earnest and Adoreya Williams three each for KCKCC, which was out-rebounded 38-31.

Rebounding and turnovers were pivotal in the contest. Labette was able to get off 19 more shots than the Blue Devils (68-49), partially because of 21 KCKCC turnovers and by allowing the Blue Devils only three offensive rebounds. The Cardinals, on the other hand, had 11 offensive boards, several of which were converted into field goals.

“Once again, turnovers and missed opportunities around the rim (22-of-49 for 44.9 percent) really put us in a tough spot and those things are hard to overcome against good teams,” McKinstry said. “Hopefully, now we have an idea of what our effort and consistency levels need to be in order to put ourselves in a better position to win these games.”

In other Jayhawk openers Wednesday, unbeaten and No. 6 ranked Highland took the early lead with a 63-55 home-court win over No. 4 Johnson County while Hesston won a 55-53 thriller at Fort Scott. In other games Saturday, Highland goes to Labette while JCCC plays host to Fort Scott.

Customers searching for ‘golden ticket’ at NFM

In a store promotion, Nebraska Furniture Mart is hiding a golden ticket at its showroom floor, with clues on each of four days, starting today.

According to NFM, the clues will lead customers to the golden ticket somewhere on its showroom floor. It’s an idea reminiscent of the “golden ticket” promotion in the “Willy Wonka” story.

The prize for finding the golden ticket is a new living room package from Ashley Furniture, valued at more than $1,500.

Clues are being posted on social media at 10 a.m. starting today, Jan. 23, and continuing at 10 a.m. for four days, at https://www.facebook.com/events/457246334953424/.

The first clue, posted this morning, was “Your Living Room is not complete without me.”

“We’re always looking to have excitement and fun things to do. So we try to provide a wide range of events,” said Andy Shefsky, public relations and community manager for Nebraska Furniture Mart.

“Our staff is aware that people are going to be looking and seeking for it, so we’re ready to provide a fun environment where they can start searching,” Shefsky said.

Four ways Medicaid expansion opponents in Kansas might still sink the deal

by Jim McLean, Kansas News Service

Topeka, Kansas — Medicaid expansion is a done deal, right?

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and Jim Denning, the second most powerful Republican in the Kansas Senate, have compromised on a plan. Together, they bring a majority of lawmakers with them. So, game over.

Sure, the deal still needs to clear the Legislature and get the blessing of federal regulators. But the hard part — breaking an almost decade-long stalemate on the issue — looks done.

Expansion supporters finally have reason to believe that an estimated 130,000 to 150,000 more low-income Kansans will soon have taxpayer-funded health coverage.

Probably. But not necessarily.

A relatively small but committed group of lawmakers could still slow — theoretically, even kill — the deal. Simply amending the Medicaid expansion legislation to pick apart the terms of the compromise could do the trick.

Their first chance comes this Thursday when the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee starts hearings on the compromise bill.

Republican Sen. Gene Suellentrop chairs the committee, where expansion opponents hold a numbers advantage they don’t have in the full Senate. Suellentrop expects them to tack on several amendments. It’s their chance to weigh in on that Kelly-Denning bargain, or what he calls a “kind of a side-negotiated deal.”

Here are four things that opponents could add to upset the carefully balanced compromise:

• A work requirement: Conservatives say requiring non-disabled adults to get a job or prove they’re looking for one promotes accountability. Kelly says studies show that work requirements cost too much to run and mistakenly deny coverage to some. Federal regulators and the courts have blocked work requirements in some states.

• Higher premiums: Under the compromise, people earning between 100 percent and 138 percent of the federal poverty level ($25,750 to $35,535 for a family of four) would need to pay monthly premiums. Up to $25 for individuals, no more than $100 for a family. Increasing those premiums could jeopardize federal approval and land the state in court.

• Non-payment penalties: Previous expansion plans would have penalized people for not their premiums by “locking them out” of coverage. Lockout periods in those proposals ranged from several months to a lifetime. Kelly and expansion supporters oppose such penalties and say they could also jeopardize federal approval.

• Partial coverage: The position Denning started with would have expanded Medicaid only to those at or below the poverty line. He proposed subsidies for those making up to the eligibility threshold to help them purchase regular health insurance on the federal (Obamacare) exchange. Arguing that federal regulators would reject the two-tier approach, Kelly persuaded Denning to abandon the idea.

Expansion supporters say they’re prepared to strip such deal-changers out during debate on the Senate floor. With 22 of the Senate’s 40 members signed on as cosponsors of the bill, they’re confident they have the votes to clean it up.

Even so, Denning is concerned about efforts to undo the compromise. In a lengthy statement this week, he criticized conservative Republicans for leveling “relentless attacks” at the plan.

“Anyone can count the votes and see that Medicaid expansion is going to happen,” Denning said. “Compromise is a part of leadership and I am proud of the plan that Governor Kelly and I have agreed upon.”

If the expansion deal clears the Senate relatively intact, it could still face hurdles in the House.

Most House members support expansion, but Republican leaders don’t. Those leaders are threatening to hold the expansion bill hostage for leverage over another hot-button issue: abortion. That’s a potential fifth way to derail the Medicaid compromise.

Jim McLean is the senior correspondent for the Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy. You can reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks or email jim (at) kcur (dot) org.
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/4-ways-medicaid-expansion-opponents-kansas-might-still-sink-deal.