Month: July 2022

Excessive heat warning continues today

An excessive heat warning is in effect for Wyandotte County through 11 p.m. Thursday. (National Weather Service graphic)
The heat index may reach the low 100s on Thursday and about 95 on Friday. (National Weather Service graphic)

An excessive heat warning is in effect through 11 p.m. Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

The heat index may reach as high as 102 in Wyandotte County, with a high temperature near 92 on Thursday, the weather service said.

Some areas of the region will see lingering cloud cover, keeping the temperature and heat index slightly cooler, according to the weather service.

Some parts of Wyandotte County received a little rain Thursday morning. Some storms were possible during the morning hours Thursday, the weather service said, and more rain and storms are possible after 5 p.m.

Storms could be strong to severe at times, with wind the main hazard, followed by small hail. Some flash flooding and area flooding is possible.

Storms also are possible Friday morning, with wind and hail the main hazards, according to the weather service. Friday’s forecast also shows a chance of showers and storms after 1 p.m. in Wyandotte County.

Temperatures will drop to a high of 88 on Friday, then are forecast to be near 86 on Saturday, the weather service said.

Sunday’s high will see an increase to 91, with Monday’s high near 96, according to the weather service.

Today, there is a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before noon, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 5 p.m., the weather service said. The high will be near 92 with a heat index as high as 102. An east wind of 5 to 8 mph will become south in the afternoon. Less than a tenth of an inch of rain is possible.

Tonight, there is a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 7 p.m., according to the weather service. The low will be around 75 with a south wind of 7 mph becoming west after midnight. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half-inch are possible.

Friday, there is a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1 p.m., the weather service said. The high will be near 88 with a heat index as high as 95. A northwest wind will be 5 to 9 mph. Less than a tenth of an inch of rain is anticipated.

Friday night, it will be partly cloudy, with a low of 70 and a north northeast wind of 5 to 7 mph, according to the weather service.

Saturday, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 86 and a northeast wind of 6 to 8 mph, the weather service said.

Saturday night, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 68, according to the weather service.

Sunday, it will be sunny, with a high near 91, the weather service said.

Sunday night, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 71, according to the weather service.

Monday, it will be sunny, with a high near 96, the weather service said.

Monday night, there is a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 a.m., with a low of 71, according to the weather service.

Tuesday, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 91, the weather service said.

Tuesday night, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 68, according to the weather service.

Wednesday, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 89, the weather service said.

Kelly, Schmidt clash over development of $969M Kansas state rainy day reserve fund

Kansas avoids borrowing to cover day-to-day expenses for first time since 1999

by Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — The state of Kansas had sufficient cash flow for the first time in more than 20 years to avoid borrowing to cover day-to-day operating expenses while simultaneously building a reserve fund in the just-completed fiscal year with a balance of nearly $1 billion.

The State Finance Council, comprised of the governor and legislative leaders, typically issues certificates of indebtedness for hundreds of millions of dollars to cover for inconsistencies in the flow of tax revenue to the state treasury. The certificates are an IOU the state writes to itself and must be repaid on an annual basis.

Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat seeking reelection, said the state closed out the 2022 fiscal year without making use of that borrowing mechanism. It was the first time since 1999 that Kansas lawmakers hadn’t done so, she said.

“When I first came into office, Kansas had no savings, and in fact, was going into debt every year,” said Kelly, who was elected in 2018. “My administration worked to put Kansas on a consistent path of fiscal stability and economic growth.”

As recently as 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the State Finance Council authorized borrowing $900 million from various state funds to cover expenses. In 2016, the State Finance Council approved an identical $900 million certificate of indebtedness when Republican Sam Brownback was governor.

Meanwhile, Kelly said, the 2022 Legislature and governor collaborated on authorization of deposits into the rainy-day fund that grew to $969 million by July 1. The governor signed budget bills that earmarked deposits of $500 million and $250 million into that savings reservoir. Tax revenue to the state continued to exceeded projections, resulting in an end-of-year deposit of $219 million.

The state’s rainy-day account was established in 2017, and the previous high balance was $81.9 million.

Kelly said the state government built strong cash reserves and avoided operational borrowing at the same time it maneuvered to reduce state taxes, invested in higher education and law enforcement, and fully financed public K-12 education.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt, a Republican and frontrunner for the GOP nomination for governor, said Kansas’ treasury was the beneficiary of an outpouring of federal aid. That funding was approved by Congress and Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden in response to COVID-19 and to spur economic growth.

“As I have said repeatedly, Kansas — like most other states — is riding a national wave of revenue caused by Joe Biden’s inflation, and that’s nothing to brag about,” Schmidt said.

He said Kansas’ financial condition was influenced by approval in the GOP-led Legislature of investments in the rainy-day fund and the deposit of $1.1 billion in the state’s public employee pension system. He was among politicians who advocated for those allocations of surplus revenue.

“These prudent measures will help stabilize state services for years to come and help make possible my plan to let Kansans retire tax free,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt also said Kansas lagged behind pre-pandemic economic growth projections.

“We need to grow our state, and as governor, I will continue to work closely with the Legislative to ensure a strong fiscal foundation to weather the inevitable storm that will come when the federal largesse wanes,” Schmidt said.

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2022/07/06/kelly-schmidt-clash-over-development-of-969-million-state-rainy-day-reserve-fund/

Winning streak at five for Monarchs

by Caleb Grizzle, Monarchs

On a hot Tuesday night in Texas, the Kansas City Monarchs (27-16) offense erupted early and derailed any comeback hopes of the Cleburne Railroaders (14-29).

Kansas City picked up its fifth win in as many nights with a strong showing from Darnell Sweeney at the plate and a team effort on the mound en route to a 16-8 victory.

The top of the first started off fast with a single from speedy Sweeney.

Following Sweeney’s single, Chad De La Guerra drove an RBI double to right field and Sweeney scored from first to put the Monarchs up 1-0.

Jan Hernandez set up more scoring for the Monarchs by moving De La Guerra to third base with a fly out to right field. Matt Adams singled to bring home De La Guerra, and it was followed by a two-out walk from Gaby Guerrero.

With two runners on Willie Abreu blasted a deep shot over the left field wall to push the Monarchs’ lead to 5-0.

The Railroaders responded with a two-out, solo shot, after a 10-plus pitch at-bat from Zach Nehrir to cut into the early deficit.

The Monarchs’ offense did not slow in the second inning with a leadoff double from J.C. Escarra followed by a two-run home run from Sweeney over the left-center field fence.

De La Guerra stayed hot at the plate and doubled again in the second frame, reaching third base following a wild pitch on the fourth ball during Hernandez’s at-bat. With runners on the corners, and following a Monarchs’ strikeout, David Thompson drew a walk to load the bases.

Guerrero singled to center to bring in one more run and the Monarchs picked up one last run in the inning via a hit by pitch at-bat for Pete Kozma. After two trips to the plate the Monarchs led 9-1.

The Monarchs began rolling on the mound with Lewis Thorpe, the starter for the Monarchs, picking up three strikeouts in the second inning to strike out the side.

Sweeney added to his consistent night at the plate with a line shot to right field for a double to start the third inning. The Monarchs appeared to be slowing down picking up two quick outs and potentially stranding Sweeney.

Following an Adams walk, the Monarchs strung together four consecutive singles. Thompson hit a sharp ground ball down the line to left field to bring home Sweeney. Then Guerrero and Abreu each picked up an RBI single. Kozma concluded the scoring with a looping hit to right field that skipped off the right fielder to bring home two runs. The Monarchs led 14-1 heading into the home half of the third inning.

In the bottom of the third Lewis Thorpe picked up two more strikeouts while the Railroaders picked up two runs via three singles and a sacrifice fly RBI from Chuck Taylor to cut the score to 14-3.

In the fourth inning, both offenses went quiet as Kevin Hilton, the Railroaders’ starter, was replaced by Josh Lucas. Lucas retired the Monarchs in order to hold the deficit at 11 runs. Thorpe followed suit with his own one, two, three inning on the mound, retiring Cleburne in order. Thorpe secured two more strikeouts on the night to bring his final total to seven.

Lucas replicated his work on the mound in the fourth inning by retiring the Monarchs in order in the fifth, striking out one along the way.

In the home half of the fifth, Thorpe’s night came to a close following a balk and an ejection with two outs in the inning. Before Thorpe’s abrupt exit, Edwin Arroyo and Chuck Taylor set up the Railroaders with runners on second and third base with no outs. Nehrir continued his quality performance at the plate on the night with an RBI double, scoring two runs and cutting the deficit to nine. Nehrir advanced to third via a fly out and scored on Thorpe’s balk. Brock Gilliam entered the game to replace Thorpe and recorded the final out to preserve the 14-6 Monarch lead.

In the sixth, Lucas retired three out of the four batters he faced picking up two more strikeouts on his way to a one hit, one run inning. The one hit came from a towering solo shot off of the right field foul pole from Escarra. This solo shot pushed the Monarchs’ total to 15 runs on the night. In the bottom of the frame, Gilliam flirted with danger putting runners on the corners with no outs.

Gilliam escaped the inning without allowing Cleburne to produce a run behind strong fielding and two fly outs.

In the seventh, Kevin McCarthy replaced Lucas and allowed two hits but settled down and prevented the Monarchs from pouring on any extra insurance runs.

In the home half of the seventh, the Railroaders’ Chase Simpson drove a deep solo home run with one out to cut into the lead. Kacy Clemens singled as well before Gilliam shut off the building momentum, retiring the side leaving the score at 15-8.

Michael Wong replaced McCarthy on the mound for Cleburne in the eighth, and much like Lucas’ outing in the fourth and fifth frames, retired the Monarchs in order.

Justin Donatella replaced Gilliam in the eighth. Donatella surrendered one run on three hits before ending the inning by striking out Eddie Hernandez swinging.

In the top of the ninth the Monarchs added one more run from an Adams sacrifice fly and led 16-8 heading into the final half inning of play. Brandon Koch entered on the mound to close the door on a decisive win for the Monarchs. Koch retired the Railroaders in order in the ninth, striking out two of the three batters he faced.

The Monarchs take on the Railroaders for the series finale at 7:06 p.m. Wednesday, July 6, for game three of the series. The away game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6:36 p.m. and the video stream airing on aabaseball.tv.

Tickets to Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com.