October 10 2024

1. Gov. Laura Kelly Signals No Property Tax Cuts Next Year
2. Wichita Concierge Health Clinic Trials New Business Model
3. USDA Prepares Subpoenas in Meatpacking Investigation, Targets Consolidation’s Impact on Prices
4. 3.5 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Dickinson County, Minor Shaking in Central Kansas
5. KU Lecturer Placed on Leave After Violent Anti-Trump Comment
INFO
Central KS Restaurants / PJ’s Bar and Grill: Classic Grill Fare with Small-Town Charm in Little River
Sports

1. Gov. Laura Kelly Signals No Property Tax Cuts Next Year

With about a month until Election Day, as politicians run for office with promises from legislative leadership to cut property taxes next year, Gov. Laura Kelly is indicating she won't support further tax cuts until 2026. "I'm asking legislators to hold off on making any more tax cut proposals until we experience the full impact of what we did last year and full impact of the total elimination of food sales tax," Kelly told the K-State Collegian, "so I think maybe legislative session of '26 we can look and see how the numbers are and whether or not we can address some of the leftover issues."

Article Source: Topeka Capitol-Journal

2. Wichita Concierge Health Clinic Trials New Business Model

The new Premonition Health is the result of internal medicine physician Matthew Bezzant’s desire to see health care work a new way. “I think that primary care is fairly broken,” he said. “It’s pretty rough out there.” Bezzant said he wants health care to be functional for both patients and providers. “My current practice is a test bed.” He said he’s experimenting with two direct-care models — one with insurance and one without. Bezzant said there are a number of direct-care practices in town that are based on cash, not insurance. They’re also known as concierge clinics. Premonition has a hybrid model that charges patients with insurance $50 a month or patients without insurance $65 a month instead of using a traditional fee-for-service system. This helps the clinic offset the uncertainty of when it gets paid. “We have a consistent monthly income,” Bezzant said. He said that uncertainty is a major issue for physicians. They may bill for a certain procedure, and insurance then pays them back 60% to 70% of what they’ve billed about two or three months later, “which makes it very, very hard to stay in business.” Also, he said time-based codes for reimbursement mean lower pay for doctors who are forced to keep visits shorter because of that billing. Premonition has monthly plans that cost between 15% and 30% of what businesses normally would have to pay for insurance. “This offers a really good opportunity, particularly for small businesses that are having trouble providing benefits.”

Article Source: Wichita Eagle

3. USDA Prepares Subpoenas in Meatpacking Investigation, Targets Consolidation’s Impact on Prices

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is preparing to issue subpoenas to grocery stores, major beef producers and other food industry players as federal officials study the impact of meatpacking consolidation on consumer prices and look to “more vigorously enforce” competition rules. Subpoenas will be focused on potentially unfair or deceptive fees and pricing practices “that may tilt the playing field in favor of those with market power,” the department said. As USDA continues to study the effects of market concentration, it also intends to further adjust “market surveillance and investigative actions” in response to changing practices within the meat industry.

Article Source: Agriculture Dive

4. 3.5 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Dickinson County, Minor Shaking in Central Kansas

DICKINSON COUNTY, Kan. (KSNT) – The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reports an earthquake was detected in central Kansas Thursday morning. According to USGS data, the earthquake occurred about four miles west of Woodbine in Dickinson County. Its magnitude was 3.5 magnitude on the Richter scale, making it a minor earthquake. According to the Kansas Geological Survey, Kansas occasionally experiences earthquakes, some of which are attributed to the Humboldt fault zone.

Article Source: KSN

5. KU Lecturer Placed on Leave After Violent Anti-Trump Comment

The University of Kansas placed a lecturer on administrative leave Wednesday after a video surfaced of him suggesting men who refuse to vote for a woman president solely because she is a woman should be shot. A KU spokeswoman identified the lecturer as Phillip Lowcock who is a faculty member in KU’s department of health, sport and exercise sciences. His comments during a lecture earlier this semester were posted on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Wednesday morning, and garnered more than 2 million views by afternoon. In it, Lowcock says the following: “There are going to be some males in our society that will refuse to vote for a potential female president because they don’t think females are smart enough to be president. We could line all those guys up and shoot ‘em. They clearly don’t understand the way the world works.”

Article Source: KS Reflector

INFO

On Friday, the American flag will be flown from sunup to sundown at half-staff in KS to honor the former Kansas Speaker of the House, Marvin William Barkis, who died at 81.

Article Source: KSN

Central KS Restaurants / PJ’s: Classic Bar and Grill with Small-Town Charm in Little River

Editor’s Note: One of my toughest duties as the editor of Ad Astra is conducting local restaurant reviews. Over the past several weeks, I’ve visited various restaurants around central Kansas, sampling their entrees — and always dessert. This first review focuses on PJ’s Bar and Grill in Little River, Kansas, and in the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing more reviews from my culinary journeys.  

We headed west from McPherson on US-56, passing various petrochemical facilities along a well-maintained highway leading toward Great Bend. About 20 miles in, we came to the town of Little River on the right. Little River features a charming Main Street and a large grain silo. In the early-20th century, it served as a major grain export hub on the Santa Fe Railroad. PJ’s Bar and Grill is nestled in an unassuming storefront on Main Street. As we parked, we could hear the PA system for the Little River high school football game in the distance. Inside, the restaurant is wood-paneled, and Leonard Skynyrd is playing. You get a distinct vibe of blue-collar rock and roll. My dad ordered a Liberty Rose Ale from Three Rings Brewery, located in McPherson. The menu offers standard American grill fare, specializing in various cow and chicken derivatives. My mom, despite a lifetime of experience, ordered the fish, a questionable decision in central Kansas. My dad and I both opted for the much safer KC strip, cooked medium, which was the special of the night. As sides, I chose mashed potatoes and broccoli. The meal was preceded by an excellent iceberg lettuce salad. The dinner was delicious, and the steak was well seasoned. We decided to skip dessert since we were already full, and the total for the three of us came to $96. I will definitely be back.  

Sports

Chiefs 26 vs. NOLA 13

Royals 4 vs. Yankees 2, Game 2 ALDS 

Royals 2 vs. Yankees 3, Game 3 ALDS 

OKC continue preseason    

Kansas City Royals Fall 3-2 to Yankees, Face Elimination in ALDS Game 4 at 7:08 CST  

Kansas City Royals fans waited nearly a decade for this moment. It had been years since the Royals played a postseason game in Kansas City. Iconic images of Salvador Perez holding the World Series trophy were fading with each passing season. Postseason October baseball returned to Kauffman Stadium at long last on Wednesday evening, but the outcome wasn’t what the Royals — or their fans — had hoped for: The Yankees won 3-2 to take a 2-1 lead in the American League Division Series. Game 4 of the best-of-five ALDS is Thursday at Kauffman Stadium, with the Royals needing to win to stave off elimination.

Article Source: KC Star

Sources

1. https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/politics/government/2024/10/08/kansas-gov-laura-kelly-indicates-no-more-property-tax-cuts-next-year/75555583007/

2. https://www.kansas.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/carrie-rengers/article293423059.html

3. https://www.agriculturedive.com/news/beef-prices-grocery-consolidation-investigation-food-consumer-inflation/729496/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202024-10-10%20Agriculture%20Dive%20%5Bissue:66719%5D&utm_term=Agriculture%20Dive

4. https://www.ksn.com/news/state-regional/3-5-magnitude-earthquake-reported-in-central-kansas/

5. https://kansasreflector.com/2024/10/09/kansas-lecturer-on-leave-after-inappropriate-reference-to-violence-during-class/

6. https://www.ksn.com/news/state-regional/why-flags-will-be-at-half-staff-on-friday-in-kansas/

8. https://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article293541934.html