LIBERAL FIRST
Liberal's leading source for news and views
During the 2024 play year open enrollment period that ended Jan. 16, a record 171,376 Kansans selected or were automatically re-enrolled in a health insurance plan through the federally facilitated health insurance marketplace.
That number marks an increase of 37.7 percent compared to last year’s record high enrollment, and this marks the third consecutive year of record high enrollment.
The importance of maternal health cannot be understated, and recently, some money was awarded to help with just that.
Near the end of August, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced more than $558 million in funding to improve maternal health, building on the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to reducing the nation's high maternal mortality rate through the White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis, according to a release from the Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC). The Kansas Department of Health and Environment will be receiving $5,936,916 of these funds.
Before Tuesday’s public hearing to hear from constituents about the intent to exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate for the upcoming fiscal year, Seward County Administrator April Warden explained the RNR to taxpayers and how the hearing process works.
“The Revenue Neutral Rate is the tax rate in mills that would generate the same property tax revenue in dollars as levied in the previous year using the current tax year’s total assessed valuation,” she said. “During the 2021 legislative session, the tax lid was removed, and the legislature enacted Senate Bill 13 and House Bill 2104.”
Aspen Jaramillo was 2 years old when the events now etched in minds across America took place Sept. 11, 2001, and she said much of what she has learned about the tragic day comes from her early days in school.
“Growing up and going through elementary school, my teachers would always take about 30 minutes on the anniversary day to discuss the events of 9/11,” she said. “They would always answer any questions we had and helped us to remember the importance of why we remember the fallen.”
Jaramillo, who is now a music teacher at Liberal’s Cottonwood Elementary, said because of this, her interest and knowledge of 9/11 has grown, and she can now pass that knowledge on to her students as part of the school’s annual Patriot Day observance.
Water conservation continues to be a hot topic throughout the state and soon, people will be able to make their thoughts known about just that.
Wednesday, Gov. Laura Kelly announced the dates for the second round of local consult meetings to gather input on strategies for implementing the 2022 Kansas Water Plan. The September meetings will build on the first round of local consult and Regional Advisory Committee meetings held earlier this summer. Kansans can RSVP for the second round of meetings at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WaterLC2.
“Preserving the quality and quantity of our water is an existential issue for our state,” Gov. Kelly noted in a release from the State of Kansas. “These meetings will help build a program that provides the collective, coordinated action on water conservation and quality that communities across Kansas need, in both the short and long term.”
