Governor Laura Kelly today announced that public access to state office buildings will remain closed until April 19, 2020. This restriction matches the stay-home order that Governor Kelly signed on March 28.

 

Following the two-week suspension of state government operations on March 23, state government operations and the delivery of services will resume on Monday, April 6. However, Governor Kelly made it clear that to reduce the risk of infection to state employees, all employees who are able will begin working remotely.

 

“Our public employees perform critical functions that the people of Kansas depend on,” Kelly said. “Their work must continue despite this ongoing crisis.

 

“This crisis has been unprecedented, but the state will deliver critical state services, even though the delivery of those services may look different than they have in the past.”

 

Public facing offices, such as the Division of Motor Vehicles or the Office of Vital Statistics, will remain closed to the public until April 19 to limit the number of individuals gathering in small spaces.

 

State Treasurer Jake LaTurner receives 1000 entries in the first day of $50,000 Surprise a Senior Scholarships Giveaway

Topeka— Over 1000 nominations for the Surprise a Senior scholarship giveaway have flooded in following Wednesday morning’s announcement that Kansas State Treasurer Jake LaTurner will be awarding 20 scholarships of $2500 each to Kansas high school seniors from across the state.

“We are thrilled at the response we are seeing as teachers, parents, grandparents, and friends have been filling our inboxes with nominations to surprise their favorite high school senior with one these scholarships,” said  Treasurer LaTurner. “It is heartwarming to know that even though the senior class of 2020 won’t be finishing up the school year the way they had hoped, there is no question that the people of Kansas care about their success after graduation.”

Contest entries will continue to be accepted through midnight April 30, 2020. The student must be nominated by someone who is 18 years or older. A student can receive multiple nominations; however, they will only be entered into the contest one time for the drawing.

Twenty scholarships of $2,500 each will be awarded to high school seniors obtaining their diploma in the 2019-2020 school year. Five scholarships will be given out in each of the four Kansas congressional districts. The winner will be selected via random drawing and the $2500 will be deposited into a new or existing LearningQuest® 529 Education Savings account for the student to use for qualified educational expenses. Entry rules can be found on the Kansas State Treasurer’s website at www.kansasstatetreasurer.com/sas.html. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited.

All completed entries will be considered and winners will be notified by May 6, 2020.

For more information: www.kdheks.gov/coronavirus
2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Kansas Test Results
Updated 4/1/20 at 10 a.m.

Total Positive Cases
482
Private Labs
361
Kansas Health and Environmental Lab (KHEL)
121
Deaths (included in above numbers)
KDHE does not release locations of deaths.

10
Out-of-State Resident Positive Cases* (not counted in KS #s)
2

Total Negative Cases for Kansans
Note: Update on 3/29 should have read 4,194 negative
5,411

Positive Case Information
County Number

Atchison
1
Finney
1
Lyon
12
Reno
8
Barton
2
Franklin
7
McPherson
5
Riley
4
Bourbon
3
Gove
1
Mitchell
2
Saline
1
Butler
5
Harvey
2
Montgomery
6
Sedgwick
64
Chautauqua
1
Jackson
1
Morris
2
Shawnee
18
Cherokee
3
Jefferson
1
Neosho
1
Stafford
1
Clay
1
Johnson
143
Osage
3
Stevens
1
Coffey
16
Labette
1
Ottawa
1
Sumner
1
Crawford
5**
Leavenworth
25
Pottawatomie
2
Woodson
3
Doniphan
1
Linn
5
Pratt
1
Wyandotte
93
Douglas
31**
*Ford and Miami Counties reported positive cases in out-of-state residents.
**1 case in Douglas and 2 cases in Crawford are presumptive positive at a reference lab, but were not confirmed through the KDHE lab, so are included in the county numbers, but not in the overall state total or demographics at this time.

Demographics
Gender

Female
242

Male
240

Age Range
Age range on patients is 0 to 95 years of age, with a median age of 55.

Hospitalized
114 hospitalizations to date reported*
* this is a cumulative number, based on 354 cases where information is available.

 

 

TOPEKA – The State of Kansas closed March with total tax collections at $523.4 million; 1.6% or $8.6 million below the estimate. That is 0.3% or $1.4 million more than March of Fiscal Year 2019.

 

Individual income tax collections were $247.3 million; $4.3 million more than the estimate and 7.1% more than last March. Corporate income tax collections were $18.4 million; $8.6 million below estimate and 24.5% below March FY 2019.

 

Retail sales tax collections were $179.4 million; $3.4 million more than the estimate. That’s an increase of $2.9 million compared to the same month last fiscal year. Compensating use tax collections were $34.7 million; 8.5% or $2.7 million more than the estimate and 8.7% more than last March.

 

“We expect the uncertain business and employment landscape to negatively affect withholding and estimated income taxes,” Secretary Mark Burghart said.

 

“As consumer spending patterns change, retail sales tax and compensating use tax collections could experience a major decline in the months to come.”

 

“While seeing a slight increase in total tax collection revenues compared to last fiscal year, we must continue to be cautious as we evaluate the financial impact of COVID-19,” Governor Laura Kelly said.

 

“Later this month, we should see a clearer picture moving forward as the Consensus Revenue Estimating group evaluates fall projections.”

 

The Consensus Revenue Estimating Group, comprised of the Department of Revenue, Division of Budget, Legislative Research Department, and economists from the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, and Wichita State University, will meet on April 20.  The group will review the fall estimate and make any revisions it may consider necessary.

 

State Treasurer Jake LaTurner to Give Away $50,000 in Scholarships to 20 High School Seniors

Topeka—In response to the disappointing loss for Kansas high school seniors of the concluding quarter of their senior year, Kansas State Treasurer Jake LaTurner today announced the Surprise a Senior scholarship contest, which will award scholarships of $2,500 each to 20 lucky high school seniors.

“It’s impossible to look around and find many aspects of life that have not been altered by the disruptions from COVID-19. While we can’t bring back the end of their senior year for our Kansas high schoolers, we wanted to find a way to ease the disappointment a bit and surprise a few of our hard-working seniors with a little extra money to help them get going toward their educational goals after graduation,” said Treasurer LaTurner.

Twenty scholarships of $2,500 each will be awarded to high school seniors obtaining their diploma in the 2019-2020 school year. Five scholarships will be given out in each of the four Kansas congressional districts. The winner will be selected via random drawing and the $2500 will be deposited into a new or existing LearningQuest® 529 Education Savings account for the student to use for qualified educational expenses. Entry rules can be found on the Kansas State Treasurer’s website at www.kansasstatetreasurer.com/sas.html. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited.

Entries will be accepted online through midnight April 30, 2020. All completed entries will be considered and winners will be notified by May 6, 2020.

Governor Kelly issues Executive Order to help meet surging demand for unemployment benefits for workers affected by COVID-19
Executive Order 20-17 will draw down millions in federal stimulus dollars to cope with record demand

 

Today Governor Laura Kelly signed Executive Order 20-17 to ensure Kansas can draw down millions in federal dollars under the federal CARES Act.

 

The federal stimulus will expand unemployment insurance to include self-employed, 1099-independent contractors, gig and low-wage workers who can no longer work because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The agreement also increases weekly benefits for all unemployed workers by $600 a week for up to four months.

 

“Certain provisions of Kansas employment security law will impede Kansas’ ability to draw down millions in federal funds for unemployment insurance programs,” Kelly said. “This order will allow flexibility to ensure Kansas workers and small business owners can secure the safety and protection that unemployment insurance is designed to provide at times of crisis.”

Executive Order 20-17 makes three, temporary changes to Kansas employment security law:

 

• The waiting week requirement for unemployment benefits is temporarily waived for all claimants;
• The requirement that Kansans receiving unemployment benefits actively seek work each week is temporarily waived for all claimants to allow Kansans to continue the necessary social distancing practices;
• All Kansas employers, as required by the federal Department of Labor, must notify separated employees if they qualify for unemployment insurance.

“This flexibility will ensure that our Department of Labor can keep up with the surge of unemployment claims our state is experiencing and that Kansas workers and small business owners can secure the safety and protection that unemployment insurance is designed to provide at times of crisis,” Kelly said.

 

Kelly also addressed the unprecedented volume of calls coming into the Kansas Department of Labor. Just yesterday, the agency received over 877,000 calls to their unemployment line. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the agency received an average of 1,100 calls per week.

 

“Labor Secretary Delia Garcia and her team are working quickly to expand capacity at the call centers,” Kelly said. “They have added phone lines, hired additional employees and are working with employers to speed up the benefit process. The website remains the fastest and most efficient way to file for benefits, but if you must call in, please be patient. This is an incredibly stressful time for everybody, and the Department of Labor is working hard to get applications processed and benefits distributed.”

The executive order can be viewed here: https://governor.kansas.gov/newsroom/executive-orders/

Please visit kdheks.gov/coronavirus for additional virus-related information. Due to the high call volume, Kansans seeking to file for Unemployment Insurance benefits are encouraged to file online at getkansasbenefits.gov.

 

 

TOPEKA – People who attended the Kansas East Jurisdiction’s 2020 Ministers and Workers Conference at the Miracle Temple Church of God in Christ located at 2106 Quindaro Blvd, Kansas City, KS, 66104 from March 16-22, may have been exposed to the novel coronavirus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This event has been identified as a place of exposure for multiple people in Kansas who have since become ill and tested positive for COVID-19.

 

Symptoms for COVID-19 appear 2-14 days after exposure and include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Other rarer symptoms that may develop include malaise, sore throat and diarrhea.

 

If you develop any of these symptoms, but are not ill enough to seek medical care, you must stay home for at least 7 days after symptom started or for 72 hours after fever is gone (without the use of fever-reducing medication) and with a significant improvement in symptoms, whichever is longer. If you develop these symptoms and need to seek medical care, call your healthcare provider beforehand to inform them that you may have been exposed to COVID-19 and require medical attention.

 

If you attended this event and develop symptoms consistent with COVID-19 between 2 and 14 days later, please call your local health department as they will conduct a confidential investigation to prevent further transmission of COVID-19.

 

For more information about COVID-19 in Kansas, please visit www.kdheks.gov/coronavirus. For questions regarding isolation and quarantine for COVID-19, please contact your local health department or KDHE’s Epidemiology Hotline at 877-427-7317.

For more information: www.kdheks.gov/coronavirus
2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Kansas Test Results
Updated 3/31/20 at 10 a.m.

Total Positive Cases
428
Private Labs
324
Kansas Health and Environmental Lab (KHEL)
104

Deaths (included in above numbers)
KDHE does not release locations of deaths.
9

Out-of-State Resident Positive Cases* (not counted in KS #s)
2

Total Negative Cases for Kansans
Note: Update on 3/29 should have read 4,194 negative
4,996

Positive Case Information
County Number

Atchison
1
Finney
1
Lyon
10
Riley
2
Barton
1
Franklin
7
McPherson
3
Saline
1
Bourbon
3
Gove
1
Mitchell
2
Sedgwick
58
Butler
3
Harvey
1
Montgomery
5
Shawnee
17
Chautauqua
1
Jackson
1
Morris
2
Stafford
1
Cherokee
3
Jefferson
1
Neosho
1
Stevens
2
Coffey
14
Johnson
134
Osage
3
Sumner
1
Crawford
5**
Labette
1
Ottawa
1
Woodson
2
Doniphan
1
Leavenworth
24
Pottawatomie
2
Wyandotte
79
Douglas
24**
Linn
5
Reno
7
*Ford and Miami Counties reported positive cases in out-of-state residents.
**1 case in Douglas and 2 cases in Crawford are presumptive positive at a reference lab, but were not confirmed through the KDHE lab, so are included in the county numbers, but not in the overall state total or demographics at this time.

Demographics
Gender

Female
219

Male
209

Age Range
Age range on patients is 0 to 95 years of age, with a median age of 56.

Hospitalized
79 hospitalizations to date reported*

* this is a cumulative number, based on 255 cases where information is available.

USDA Announces More Than 3.4 Million Acres Selected

for General Signup Conservation Reserve Program

Manhattan, Kansas, March 26, 2020 – Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the acceptance of more than 3.4 million acres in the general Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) signup recently completed, the first general signup enrollments since 2016. County offices will begin notifying producers with accepted offers no later than April 3.

Through CRP, farmers and ranchers receive an annual rental payment for establishing long-term, resource-conserving plant species, such as approved grasses or trees, to control soil erosion, improve water quality and enhance wildlife habitat on cropland. Farmers and ranchers who participate in CRP help provide numerous benefits to the nation’s environment and economy.

“The Conservation Reserve Program is one of our nation’s largest conservation endeavors and is critical in helping producers better manage their operations while conserving valuable natural resources. CRP is a part of the heritage that producers use to help our next generation continue the legacy of great stewardship,” State Executive Director David Schemm said. “The program marked its 35^th anniversary this year, and we were quite pleased to see one of our largest signups in many years.” Information about acres accepted by state and more can be found at https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/conservation-programs/reports-and-statistics/conservation-reserve-program-statistics/index.

Over these 35 years, CRP has addressed multiple concerns while ensuring the most competitive offers are selected by protecting fragile and environmentally sensitive lands, improving water quality, enhancing wildlife populations, providing pollinator forage habitat, sequestering carbon in soil and enhancing soil productivity. Seventy percent of the nation’s land is owned and tended privately, and America’s farmers, ranchers and landowners have willingly stepped up to protect the environment and natural resources.

This general signup included offers for State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE), which allows producers to install practices that benefit high-priority, locally developed wildlife conservation objectives using targeted restoration of vital habitat. Over 95 percent of SAFE offers submitted were accepted under this general signup representing more than 487,500 acres. This acceptance level highlights the commitment to SAFE as an important part of CRP.

The 2018 Farm Bill established a nationwide acreage limit for CRP, with the total number of acres that may be enrolled capped at 24.5 million acres in 2020 and growing to 27 million by 2023.

While the deadline for general CRP signup was February 28, 2020, signups for continuous CRP, Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, CRP Grasslands and the Soil Health and Income Protection Program (SHIPP) are ongoing. The CRP Grasslands deadline is May 15, and the SHIPP signup begins March 30, 2020, and ends August 21, 2020. 

Continuous and Grasslands enrollments are available nationwide.  All counties located within the Prairie Pothole region states of Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota are eligible for SHIPP.   

This spring, FSA will roll out a new pilot conservation program, the Clean Lakes, Estuaries, and Rivers 30 (CLEAR 30).

USDA Service Centers are open for business by phone appointment only and field work will continue with appropriate social distancing. While our program delivery staff will continue to come into the office, they will be working with our producers by phone, and using online tools whenever possible. All Service Center visitors wishing to conduct business with the FSA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or any other Service Center agency are required to call their Service Center to schedule a phone appointment. More information can be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus. 

For state-by-state information on general signup results, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/crp.

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