October 21 2024

1. Spirit to Furlough 700 Workers Amid Boeing Backlog
2. Textron Union Ends Strike with New 5-Year Contract
3. Kansas Leads Nation in Rural Hospitals at Risk of Closure
4. Kansas Sees 5% Growth in Clean Energy Jobs in 2023
5. Evergy to Build Two New Natural Gas Plants by 2030
Sports

1. Spirit to Furlough 700 Workers Amid Boeing Backlog

A. On Friday morning, Spirit Aerosystems confirmed to 12 News it will furlough 700 workers later this month. The 21-day furloughs begin on Oct. 28 for employees who work on the Boeing 767 and 777 projects. Spirit said Boeing has a backlog of planes due to the ongoing strike in Washington state, and the company does not have room to store new planes.  

B. Boeing and the leaders of its machinists union have reached a tentative deal that could end a damaging strike that has halted most of its production. The company is offering a 35% wage increase over four years in its latest proposal. That is up from its original offer of 25% that was overwhelmingly rejected by a union local representing machinists in the Pacific Northwest who build most of Boeing’s jets.

Article Source: KWCH, WSJ

2. Textron Union Ends Strike with New 5-Year Contract

Machinists union members voted to accept Textron Aviation’s latest contract offer Sunday afternoon, effectively ending a four-week strike. Beginning Wednesday, they will return to work. The contract will remain in effect until September 2029. Textron Aviation’s latest offer, presented Friday, includes a wage increase of 31% during the five-year contract term and A guaranteed $3,000 lump sum payment each year of the contract. There’s new longevity pay and caps on increases to annual health insurance premiums.

Article Source: KWCH

3. Kansas Leads Nation in Rural Hospitals at Risk of Closure

Kansas has more rural hospitals at immediate risk of closure than any other state in the nation, with 31 of Kansas’s 98 rural inpatient hospitals at risk. Since 2010, eight Kansas hospitals have closed, leaving patients with less access to health care in their communities. The added barriers can add more difficulty on a population that already experiences health disparities compared to urban and suburban populations. The University of Kansas’s Center for Rural Health reports that rural death rates are higher, that accidents are more likely to result in death and that suicide is significantly higher. The health care system responding to these trends has significantly fewer physicians, specialists and mental health services than non-rural areas, and is more likely to use volunteers for emergency services.

Article Source: Topeka Capitol-Journal

4. Kansas Sees 5% Growth in Clean Energy Jobs in 2023

Kansas saw a 5% increase in clean energy jobs in 2023, adding jobs almost six times faster than the overall Kansas economy, according to Clean Jobs Midwest’s report on 2023. The number of Kansas employees working in the sector reached record highs in 2023 with 26,058 people working in clean energy, breaking the record set in 2019 when 24,812 worked in the field. “The big top line is that there are more than 760,000 clean energy jobs in the Midwest. The industry grew by 4% in 2023, more than 28,000 jobs,” Adams said. But Kansas had the fewest share of the total workforce working in clean energy compared to every other state measured at 1.8% of the workforce. Michigan, the state with the highest share of clean energy jobs, had 2.9% of its workforce in the field.

Article Source: Topeka Capitol-Journal

5. Evergy to Build Two New Natural Gas Plants by 2030

Kansas’ largest electric utility will add two natural gas plants by the end of 2030, the company announced Monday. Evergy, which serves 1.6 million customers in Kansas and Missouri, plans to build combined-cycle natural gas plants — each with a 705-megawatt capacity — in Sumner and Reno counties in 2029 and 2030, respectively. Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, lauded the announcement at the Hutchinson news conference, saying the construction of the plants would create 500 construction jobs and 165 permanent jobs. She said the plants would ensure reliable energy, including in emergencies or periods of high demand, like hot summer days.

Article Source: KS Reflector

Sports

KU 42-HOU 14 

KSU 45-WVU 18 

Sporting KC 1-Dallas 2 

Chiefs 28 (6-0)-SF 18  

Kansas snaps 5-game losing streak with rout of Houston, 42-14  

By Clark Goble  

KU football finally secured a win against an FBS opponent in 2024, taking down Houston 42-14 at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday. The offense hummed and Cobee Bryant had three interceptions. Devin Neal scampered for two touchdowns. The Jayhawks will look to ride the momentum into Saturday night’s Sunflower Showdown against Kansas State in Manhattan.  

KSU rises to 16 in AP top 25 college football poll  

Hunter Dickinson makes AP preseason college basketball All-American team 

Great video on history of Allen Fieldhouse 

Article Source: AP, NYT

Sources

1. A https://www.kwch.com/2024/10/18/spirit-aerosystems-furlough-700-workers-21-days/
B https://www.wsj.com/business/airlines/boeing-union-reach-wage-deal-to-end-strike-b9804268

2. https://www.kwch.com/2024/10/20/machinists-accept-textron-aviations-latest-contract-offer/

3. https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/politics/state/2024/10/21/will-rural-emergency-hospitals-help-kansas-out-of-health-care-crisis/75684229007/

4. https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/politics/state/2024/10/21/clean-jobs-midwest-said-kansas-has-record-number-of-clean-energy-jobs/75720670007/

5. https://kansasreflector.com/2024/10/21/evergy-plans-to-build-two-new-natural-gas-plans-in-kansas-by-2030/

6. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5857295/2024/10/20/ap-top-25-rankings-oregon-georgia-alabama/?source=user_shared_article
https://apnews.com/article/5714be67b757473934399b100cc723b6