Federal money kept 1.5 million people on the payroll in Kansas and Missouri, but the types of businesses that received the loans varied widely.
by Aviva Okeson-Haberman, Kansas News Service
More than 140,000 companies in Missouri and Kansas received loans under the federal Paycheck Protection Loan program, ranging from restaurants and franchisees to car dealerships to nursing care facilities.
While most businesses received $150,000 in loans or less to alleviate the coronavirus’ economic fallout, about 2,300 companies got $1 million or more. Data released this week by the Small Business Administration shows restaurants, physician’s offices and car dealers got the highest number of large loans in Kansas, while in Missouri, religious organizations and nursing care facilities topped the list.
In total, the program supported 1.5 million jobs in Kansas and Missouri, and the low-interest loans can be forgiven fully if a company meets requirements — including using at least 60 percent of the money for payroll costs.
Below are the companies awarded between $5 million and $10 million; the new data doesn’t include businesses that have since returned the funding.
Kansas businesses in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th Congressional districts that received $5-10 million: • Kansas Medical Center LLC, Andover • Heritage Tractor, Inc., Baldwin City • Icm Holdings, Inc., Colwich • Vvf Intervest, LLC, Kansas City • Erik Holdings, Inc., Kansas City • Payless Shoesource, LLC – Lawrence • Inland Truck Parts Co., Leawood • Gill Studios, Inc., Lenexa • Xcellence, Inc., Mission • Labor Source, Olathe • Bickford Senior Living Group, LLC, Olathe • KVC Behavioral Healthcare, Inc., Olathe • EDP Enterprises, Inc., Overland Park • GMRG ACQ 1, LCC., Overland Park • Wireless Lifestyle, Overland Park • Anesthesia Associates Of Kansas City PC, Overland Park • Labette County Medical Center, Parsons • Americraft Carton, Inc., Prairie Village • Wenger Manufacturing, Inc., Sabetha • American Pizza Partners, L.P., Wichita • Legend Senior Living, LLC, Wichita • Sasnak Management Corp., Wichita • Infosync Services LLC, Wichita • LSI Corporation Temporary Services and Placement Agency, Wichita • Integra Holdings, Inc., Wichita • Midwest Drywall Co., Inc., Wichita • Professional Engineering Consultant, P.A., Wichita
Missouri businesses in the 4th and 5th Congressional districts that received $5-10 million (6th district had none): • Accent Controls, Inc., Kansas City • Fairbank Scales, Inc., Kansas City • Jack Cooper Investments, Inc., Kansas City • John Knox Village, Lee’s Summit • Kellan Restaurant Management Corp., Kansas City • Proenergy Acquisition Co., Sedalia • Rpcs Inc, Rogersville • Sioux Chief Manufacturing Co., Inc., Kansas City • The Durham Co., Lebanon • Srz Op Abc LLC, Harrisonville • Rockhurst University, Kansas City • Wagner Industries, Inc., North Kansas City • Gregory A Deline, Columbia • Cass Regional Medical Center, Harrisonville • John Fitzgibbon Memorial Hospital, Inc., Marshall • Flat Branch Mortgage, Inc., Columbia • MRIGlobal, Inc., Kansas City • Populous, Inc., Kansas City • Barkley Inc., Kansas City • Data Systems International, Inc., Kansas City • Apple Bus Co., Inc., Cleveland • Central Power Systems and Services, LLC, Liberty • Kissick Construction Co., Inc., Kansas City • Orizon Aerostructures, LLC, Kansas City • Spencer Fane LLP, Kansas City • Superior Bowen Asphalt Co., LLC, Kansas City • Vance Brothers, Inc., Kansas City
Aviva Okeson-Haberman is the Missouri government and politics reporter at KCUR 89.3. Email her at aviva@kcur.org.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.
Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished by news media at no cost with proper attribution and a link to ksnewsservice.org.
Wyandotte County reported 2,635 total cumulative COVID-19 cases at 1 p.m. Tuesday. It was an increase of 49 cases since Monday. The number of total deaths, 85, remained the same as Monday. (From UG COVID-19 website)
A recent increase in the COVID-19 case numbers in Greater Kansas City, including Wyandotte County, can be stemmed by adhering to some basic principles including social distancing, hand-washing and wearing masks, according to doctors at the University of Kansas Health System.
Numbers of COVID-19 patients at KU Health System have started to increase again, after being in the teens, then rising to 24. At an earlier peak the numbers were in the 30s and 40s.
On Tuesday, the number of COVID-19 patients at KU Health System was up to 22, including eight in the intensive care unit and two on ventilators, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control at KU Health System,
Dr. Hawkinson said he didn’t call it a surge, but an “expansion period” of the coronavirus. He said they are starting to see a younger age group now in the hospital. They don’t want to see the numbers increase to the point where hospitals are overwhelmed.
As cases are going up in the metro area, the state and the region, Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer of KU Health System, said, “We know what the playbook says for trying to maintain a healthy environment, which is shelter in place, wear your mask, wash your hands, don’t go out when you’re sick.”
He said it may come to a point where they have to discuss stopping elective surgeries again, if they have 40 to 60 COVID-19 patients, but at this time, he doesn’t think it is necessary, because the hospital has capacity.
Dr. Hawkinson said right now he is confident the hospital has enough supplies on hand, but that could change in a matter of a few days.
Doug Gaston, chief financial officer at the KU Health System, said the hospital is much better prepared than it was two or three months ago.
He said they thought they were over the hump and things were getting better, but now they just don’t know. It’s hard to plan financially for the uncertainty, he said. Most hospital CEOs are predicting it will take two to three years to get back to where they were financially, he said. He thinks KU Health System will recover sooner.
Gaston said KU Health System received $67 million in total federal grants during the COVID-19 crisis, and it helped, but the health system lost about $120 million in revenues from March to May.
“It didn’t even cover the revenue loss, but it did help,” he said. The funds were used on daily operating costs, testing and supplies, he said. The health system also made sure it kept its staff in place.
The health system also received a loan of about $165 million, an advance payment on Medicare funding, that it has to pay back starting in August.
He said there are plans in place for getting the health system back on track. They are looking at revenues and ways to control expenses, he said. They made a decision not to furlough staff, and that will help them get back to where they need to be, he said.
Gaston said he’s optimistic. He added that people do not need to be concerned, that people will return to seeking care at the hospital, and telemedicine also is a great tool for people to use at this time.
Dr. Stites said people in the community need to find activities where they can go out and be around others safely.
“You can do it safely,” he said.
Driveway dinners where people are far apart are great, he said. But sitting around a crowded table or at a crowded bar may not be the best choice right now, “unless you want to get coronavirus,” Dr. Stites said. “That’s how you get it.”
Dr. Hawkinson said there are new studies on the coronavirus in the air that have shown that particles may be able to stay in the air longer than originally thought.
The answer is to keep a mask on, he said, as it makes it safer in a room where other people also have masks on.
Dr. Stites said he was optimistic about getting to January, when it is possible that a vaccine might become available. “We’re halfway there,” he said. The way to get there is to continue good health practices, he said.
Wyandotte County reported 2,635 total cumulative COVID-19 cases at 1 p.m. Tuesday. It was an increase of 49 cases since Monday. The number of total deaths, 85, remained the same as Monday.
Kansas on Monday reported an increase of 892 cases between Friday and Monday morning, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment website.
COVID-19 cases have continued to increase nationwide, reported at 2.96 million cases in the United States and 130,902 deaths in the nation, according to the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 website.
Wyandotte County currently is under the governor’s mandatory mask order and also is in Phase 3 of the state’s Ad Astra reopening plan.
Wyandotte County now has posted an application for nonprofits, government agencies, school districts and businesses in Wyandotte County that want to apply for CARES Act funding. The web address is https://us.openforms.com/Form/6273fe80-8bba-4c18-b4e7-e551096d8a83.
Kansas COVID-19 cases have been spiking recently. (KDHE chart)Wyandotte County reported 2,586 cumulative positive COVID-19 cases at 1 p.m. on Monday, and 85 total deaths, according to the UG’s COVID-19 website. It was an increase of 15 cases from Sunday, and an increase of 137 cases since Friday. The number of deaths was the same as Sunday. (From UG COVID-19 webpage)
Gov. Laura Kelly today announced the Kansas Department of Health and Environment is recommending Kansas stay in Phase 3 of the state’s Ad Astra reopening plan, as COVID-19 cases went up by 982 since Friday.
There were about 3,500 new cases in the past week in Kansas, the steepest increase seen since the pandemic began, Gov. Kelly said at a news conference.
The state reported a cumulative total of 16,901 cases on Monday morning, with a total 280 deaths. There were three deaths since Friday.
The state’s Ad Astra plan is now voluntary guidance in most places. In Wyandotte County, the Unified Government has decided to continue with the state plan. The UG Health Department also has stated the county is under the governor’s statewide mandatory mask order, which began on Friday.
Gov. Kelly said the CDC is urging everyone to wear cloth masks in public, to socially distance and to practice good hand hygiene, “because these proactive steps work.” They are the best defense against COVID-19, she said.
Gov. Kelly also discussed an anti-Semitic cartoon that came out recently in the Anderson County Review, likening her mask order, designed to keep people safe, to the Holocaust. The cartoon showed the governor wearing a mask with the Star of David on it, while people were being put on a train. The cartoon’s caption stated, “Lockdown Laura says: Put on your mask … and step onto the cattle car.”
“The image was deeply offensive, and does not reflect the values of Anderson County, nor of Kansas,” Gov. Kelly said.
The Review’s publisher, Dane Hicks, apologized in a Facebook post to Jewish persons.
“I’m glad that Mr. Hicks recognized his significant lapse in judgment and apologized,” Gov. Kelly said. The cartoon is an example of how politicized common sense public health measures have become, she said.
Hicks, who also served as a GOP county official, posted an apology on Facebook recently: “After some heartfelt and educational conversations with Jewish leaders in the U.S. and abroad, I can acknowledge the imagery in my recent editorial cartoon describing state government overreach in Kansas with images of the Holocaust was deeply hurtful to members of a culture who’ve been dealt plenty of hurt throughout history – people to whom I never desired to be hurtful in the illustration of my point.”
He stated he was removing the cartoon, with his apologies. Hicks also posted on his blog that cartoons were “gross over-exaggerated caricatures designed to provoke debate and response.” Anderson County has about 8,000 people, and the largest city is Garnett. The county has reported only 5 COVID-19 cases.
Hicks stated on his blog that governmental overreach had been the hallmark of Gov. Kelly’s administration. He also stated that the Kelly administration’s authoritarian government reminded him of Nazi Germany. While Hicks apologized to Jewish persons in his written statement, he did not apologize to Gov. Kelly.
Gov Kelly said many elected leaders in this state and across the country have chosen to dismiss recommendations from public health experts in favor of short-term political points. Thanks to social media, anti-public health rhetoric and bogus science can be shared in homes all across the state, she said.
She said it had a corrosive impact on their ability to combat the spread of COVID-19.
“Until we have a vaccine, masks, social distancing and good hygiene are our best defenses against this virus,” Gov. Kelly said.
“Kansas is at a ‘make it or break it’ moment,” she said. “So let’s do the right and the smart thing.”
Gov. Kelly said there was an increase of 14 clusters in Kansas since last Wednesday. Seven active clusters are directly related to gatherings in bars and restaurants, she said. There are a total of 235 clusters, with 118 active ones, she said.
There are no clusters at this time connected to barbershops, hair salons, nail salons and close contact services, she added. It is no coincidence, she said. It is proof that masks and hygienic business practices work, she said.
“If we continue to ignore the experts, there is no question that Kansas will end up like other states that have not taken this threat seriously,” she said.
She cited Texas, where leaders resisted a mask order. Later, as cases skyrocketed, they had to close bars and reduce restaurants to half-capacity.
“I can’t stress the point enough,” Gov. Kelly said. “This is not about state and local control, and it is not a question of personal freedom. This is a matter of social responsibility while we’re dealing with the worst outbreak of a communicable virus in a century.”
Everyone has an opportunity to step up and keep their loved ones healthy and keep Kansas open for business, she said.
She said she knows there has been a lot of conflicting information, and that some officials would rather ignore the very real threat. Two-hundred eighty Kansans have died, she said.
“Public health experts in my administration and beyond continue to tell me we can save lives by wearing masks,“ she said.
Gov. Kelly said she knows that there are some who will be upset about the mask order or other actions she has taken, but her responsibility is to assess and confront the pandemic, regardless of the political consequences, she said.
“I will continue to do everything in my power to save lives and to keep our economy open, and I strongly encourage other elected leaders in Kansas to do the same,” Gov. Kelly said.
Positive COVID-19 cases in Wyandotte County
Wyandotte County reported 2,586 cumulative positive COVID-19 cases at 1 p.m. on Monday, and 85 total deaths, according to the UG’s COVID-19 website.
It was an increase of 15 cases from Sunday, and an increase of 137 cases since Friday. The number of deaths was the same as Sunday.
The University of Kansas Health System reported 18 COVID-19 patients on Monday morning, up from 17 on Thursday. There were eight patients in the intensive care unit and two on ventilators, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control at KU Health System. It was an increase of two in the ICU. Numbers were lower than the 24 patients in the hospital 10 days ago. Dr. Hawkinson said there have been new admissions and discharges each day.
Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer at the KU Health System, said at a news conference Monday morning that the goal is to keep the number of COVID-19 cases low, until a vaccine is ready, so it doesn’t become a burden to the health care system.
COVID-19 is spiking in many places because the “stay-at-home” orders have been lifted and society is reopening, Dr. Stites said.
The only way to keep the COVID-19 numbers down is to wear a mask everywhere that you can’t physically distance, including restaurants, stores and groups, he said.
On Monday morning, according to KDHE, Johnson County reported 2,349 cases, an increase of 283 cases since Friday, and Leavenworth County reported 1,194 cases, an increase of 11 cases since Friday.
COVID-19 numbers in other counties on Monday, according to KDHE, included: Sedgwick, 1750; Finney, 1,549; Seward, 1,002; Shawnee County, 825; Lyon, 501; Shawnee, 825; Douglas, 354; Riley, 286; Crawford, 278; Saline, 151; Jackson (Kansas), 116; Reno, 96; and Geary, 95.
Wyandotte County now has posted an application for nonprofits, government agencies, school districts and businesses in Wyandotte County that want to apply for CARES Act funding. The web address is https://us.openforms.com/Form/6273fe80-8bba-4c18-b4e7-e551096d8a83.
