Kansas Leads Nation in Rural Hospitals at Closure Risk

Evergy Restores Most Customers as New Storms Hit Kansas

Senate Confirms KBI Director Tony Mattivi as Federal Judge

Kansas Wheat Yields Mixed as USDA Cuts Production Forecast

Wichita Fans Pack Naftzger Park for World Cup Kickoff

Kansas Leads Nation in Rural Hospitals at Closure Risk

TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas has more rural hospitals at immediate risk of closing than any other state, according to a report from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform covered June 11 by the Kansas News Service. Of roughly 100 rural Kansas hospitals analyzed, 69 are at risk of closure and 28 are at immediate risk, out of 294 rural hospitals at immediate risk nationwide. The report attributes the strain to rising staffing, pharmaceutical and supply costs combined with low reimbursement rates from Medicaid, Medicare and private insurers. When rural hospitals close, residents must drive long distances for primary care, imaging and lab services.

KCUR · Kansas News Service

Evergy Restores Most Customers as New Storms Hit Kansas

SALINA, Kan. — Evergy said more than 95% of the roughly 130,000 customers who lost power in the June 8 storms have been restored, with 1,334 customers still offline Friday morning, concentrated in the Salina area. The utility said winds reaching 115 mph uprooted trees and snapped or severely damaged more than 500 power poles across central and northeast Kansas, including about 200 poles needing replacement in Salina, where the entire city lost power at one point. Main lines torn down in Salina returned to service Thursday, and crews performing that reconstruction are shifting to repairs in neighborhoods and at individual homes and businesses. A new storm system carrying hail, high winds and tornado warnings moved through Kansas and into the Kansas City metro Wednesday evening, bringing fresh damage and outages, some in areas already hit Monday. Evergy said outages remaining from Monday's storms will be prioritized.

WIBW · Evergy

Senate Confirms KBI Director Tony Mattivi as Federal Judge

TOPEKA, Kan. — The U.S. Senate voted 51-46 to confirm Kansas Bureau of Investigation Director Tony Mattivi to a seat on the federal bench. President Donald Trump nominated Mattivi earlier this year to serve as U.S. district judge for Kansas, and he is the second of Trump's three Kansas nominees to be confirmed, following Great Bend attorney Jeffrey Kuhlman. The confirmation ends Mattivi's three-year term as KBI director. Mattivi previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney for Kansas from 1998 to 2020 and ran for Kansas attorney general in 2022, a race won by former Secretary of State Kris Kobach. Kobach, as attorney general-elect, announced Mattivi's nomination to lead the KBI in December 2022.

KWCH

Kansas Wheat Yields Mixed as USDA Cuts Production Forecast

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Kansas Wheat's Day 4 harvest report, issued June 11, showed yields ranging from about 40 bushels per acre on continuous wheat to 65 bushels per acre on fallow ground, with averages of 50 to 60 bushels per acre in better areas. Test weights came in strong at roughly 62 to 64 pounds per bushel, and protein ranged from 9% to 13%, averaging near 10%. USDA's latest crop progress report pegged the Kansas harvest at 5% complete as of June 8, ahead of the average pace, though rain in the forecast threatened to slow combines. The same day, USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report lowered projected U.S. wheat production by 18 million bushels to 1.543 billion bushels, a cut that lands as combines roll in Kansas, the nation's top winter wheat state. The agency forecast U.S. wheat ending stocks at 744 million bushels, down 18 million from the prior month and 20% below the previous year, and dropped the projected season-average farm price 50 cents to $6 per bushel. The corn outlook was mostly unchanged, with the season-average farm price held at $4.40 per bushel.

Kansas Wheat · High Plains Journal

Wichita Fans Pack Naftzger Park for World Cup Kickoff

WICHITA, Kan. — Wichita soccer fans headed to Naftzger Park on June 11 and 12 as local nonprofit Empower hosted the Wichita Global Fan Zone to mark the opening of the FIFA World Cup, with free watch parties running 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. both days. Thursday's slate included Mexico vs. South Africa and South Korea vs. Czechia, while Friday's matches feature Canada vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United States vs. Paraguay. The event also offers food vendors, live music and giveaways of more than 1,000 pieces of official FIFA gear. Kansas City hosts World Cup matches this summer, and defending champion Argentina is based in the metro and plays there June 16.

KMUW

Sources

1. KCUR
2. WIBW / Evergy
3. KWCH
4. Kansas Wheat / High Plains Journal
5. KMUW

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