WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Trade 
Commission will sponsor a free webinar designed to help everyone 
recognize and combat tax scams and tax-related identity theft.

The webinar will also explain how any individual taxpayer can receive
 an added layer of identity protection by applying for an Identity 
Protection Personal Identification Number (IP PIN) from the IRS.

The one-hour webinar will take place on Wednesday, July 20, at 2 p.m. 
Eastern Time. Open to all, the webinar will cover the following topics:

The webinar will be closed captioned and feature a question-and-answer session. To register for the webinar, visit the <a href="https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/45915">Internal Revenue Service Webinar Registration</a> page on IRS.gov. For questions about the webinar, send an email to <a href="mailto:cl.sl.web.conference.team@irs.gov">cl.sl.web.conference.team@irs.gov</a>.

Whether attending the webinar or not, anyone can get more information about recognizing and combating tax-related ID theft at <a href="https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-central">IRS.gov/identitytheft</a>. To apply for an IP PIN or for more information about the Identity Protection Personal Identification Number program, visit <a href="https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-fraud-scams/get-an-identity-protection-pin">IRS.gov/ippin</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599869632873.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>IRSWASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Trade 
Commission will sponsor a free webinar designed to help everyone 
recognize and combat tax scams and tax-related identity theft.The webinar will also explain how any individual taxpayer can receive
 an added layer of identity protection by applying for an Identity 
Protection Personal Identification Number (IP PIN) from the IRS.The one-hour webinar will take place on Wednesday, July 20, at 2 p.m. 
Eastern Time. Open to all, the webinar will cover the following topics:<ul>
 <li>Common consumer and tax-related identity theft scams.</li><li>Methods for reporting and recovering from identity theft.</li><li>How identity thieves trick their victims into providing personally identifiable and financial information.</li><li>IRS's Identity Protection Personal Identification Number Program.</li><li>How to avoid unscrupulous tax return preparers.</li><li>Resources to protect against identity thieves.</li><li>How the Security Summit is working to protect taxpayers.</li>
 </ul>The webinar will be closed captioned and feature a question-and-answer session. To register for the webinar, visit the <a href="https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/45915">Internal Revenue Service Webinar Registration</a> page on IRS.gov. For questions about the webinar, send an email to <a href="mailto:cl.sl.web.conference.team@irs.gov">cl.sl.web.conference.team@irs.gov</a>.Whether attending the webinar or not, anyone can get more information about recognizing and combating tax-related ID theft at <a href="https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-central">IRS.gov/identitytheft</a>. To apply for an IP PIN or for more information about the Identity Protection Personal Identification Number program, visit <a href="https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-fraud-scams/get-an-identity-protection-pin">IRS.gov/ippin</a>.

Free IRS/FTC webinar to focus on scams, ID theft and IP PINs

By SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/07/14/big-ambitions-high-fives-and-the-ev-revolution-kansas-leaders-celebrate-panasonic-plant/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran was eager get back to Washington, 
D.C., after the announcement Wednesday night that Panasonic would 
partner with Kansas to “power the revolution” of electric vehicles.

He joined Gov. Laura Kelly and other officials who celebrated the 
announcement at the Townsite Tower ballroom in downtown Topeka, where 
they addressed a crowd of more than 200 politicians, lobbyists and 
business leaders.

“I’m anxious to return to Washington, D.C., because I’m going to 
experience a pat on the back, the handshake, the high five,” Moran said.
 “And it’s something I think our state has missed out on too often.”

With an $829.2 million incentive package and bipartisan enthusiasm, <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/07/13/kansas-wins-panasonic-competition-for-worlds-largest-vehicle-battery-manufacturing-plant/">Kansas persuaded Panasonic to build a $4 billion vehicle battery manufacturing plant in De Soto</a>.
 The facility will employ 4,000 workers with an average hourly wage of 
$30 and create an estimated 4,000 more jobs for suppliers and businesses
 in the region.

“Innovations happening right here in Kansas will accelerate the 
future of electric vehicles on a global scale,” Kelly said. “We will be 
the production epicenter for batteries that will power the increasing 
demand for EVs and a more sustainable world.”

Moran said one of the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic was the need
 for more manufacturing production in the United States. Panasonic’s 
investment is important for the country as well as Kansas, he said.

“This helps make us less dependent upon China,” Moran said. “It 
improves our job capabilities, and increases our national security. But 
to see my colleagues read in the Wall Street Journal, or see in the 
national news, that Kansas was selected, it highlights for me that 
places in this country that have been thought to be the most desirable 
have become a lot less so than Kansas, and we’ve been found.”

Kris Takamoto, the executive vice president of Panasonic’s North 
America division,&nbsp;said the facility in De Soto will expand battery 
production in the U.S. “at a time when the automotive industry is 
reinventing itself, and more batteries for EVs are desperately needed.”

Panasonic, Takamoto said, is “literally powering the revolution in the shift to electric vehicles.”

“With the people of Kansas, we will provide critical production 
capacity to one of the fastest-growing and most exciting industries in 
the world,” Takamoto said.

The investment is also part of the company’s strategy to reduce Co2 
emissions to net zero by 2030 and build products that are more energy 
efficient.

Takamoto said Panasonic emits 2.2 million tons of Co2 annually as a 
result of its business operations. Emissions from the company’s supply 
chain are estimated to be more than 110 million tons, or 1% of the total
 emissions from global electricity consumption, Takamoto said.

“We are proud of our innovations,” Takamoto said. “But those 
technologies will have little opportunity to improve people’s life if we
 don’t also protect our environment.”

Commerce secretary and Lt. Gov. David Toland said the governor 
outlined her vision for economic development when she took office three 
years ago.

“At the highest level, the governor’s directive meant that we would 
ground ourselves in the principle that economic development is about 
people — that young people shouldn’t have to leave our state after 
graduation for better economic opportunities in Dallas or Denver or 
Nashville, that people should know what incentives the state invested in
 the new company that’s coming to their town, that people should see 
real growth, not just companies moving a few blocks or a couple of 
miles.”

The administration’s framework for economic growth focused on quality
 of life, which led to historic investments in broadband and rural main 
streets.

Toland said he rebuilt his agency’s staff with “top-notch” 
professionals from the state and across the country, and reinvested in 
international recruitment.

“We shifted our focus from recruiting companies across a state line 
to recruiting companies across the international dateline,” Toland said.
 “And most importantly, the governor said that in the Kelly 
administration, we will not play small ball.”

The approach helped the state secure billions of dollars in new business investments in addition to the Panasonic deal.

“It’s clear Kansas is no longer an ‘aw shucks,’ humble sort of flyover state,” Toland said. “We can compete with anyone.”

Kelly, who grew up in a military family that moved around the world, 
told the crowd she wanted to share something that might surprise them.

She lived in Japan, she said, when she was very young, and her first language was actually Japanese.

The governor then stumbled through an attempt to deliver a message in
 Japanese — “I was saying this so well,” she said — before introducing 
Takamoto.

“You know, governor, your Japanese was perfect,” Takamoto said.

Kelly praised the cooperation between local governments, legislators,
 higher education institutions, utility partners, the congressional 
delegation and diplomatic teams that helped bring the deal together to 
build a facility big enough to transform	
    



	 the surrounding area, and even the entire state.

The state expects new jobs created as a result of this plant to 
generate $500 million in annual income, “helping more Kansas families 
create better lives for themselves and for their children,” Kelly said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1657822171769.png" alt="Kris Takamoto, the executive vice president of Panasonic’s North America division, says the company is proud of its innovations, “but those technologies will have little opportunity to improve people’s life if we don’t also protect our environment.” (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Kris Takamoto, the executive vice president of Panasonic’s North America division, says the company is proud of its innovations, “but those technologies will have little opportunity to improve people’s life if we don’t also protect our environment.” (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/07/14/big-ambitions-high-fives-and-the-ev-revolution-kansas-leaders-celebrate-panasonic-plant/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran was eager get back to Washington, 
D.C., after the announcement Wednesday night that Panasonic would 
partner with Kansas to “power the revolution” of electric vehicles.He joined Gov. Laura Kelly and other officials who celebrated the 
announcement at the Townsite Tower ballroom in downtown Topeka, where 
they addressed a crowd of more than 200 politicians, lobbyists and 
business leaders.“I’m anxious to return to Washington, D.C., because I’m going to 
experience a pat on the back, the handshake, the high five,” Moran said.
 “And it’s something I think our state has missed out on too often.”With an $829.2 million incentive package and bipartisan enthusiasm, <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/07/13/kansas-wins-panasonic-competition-for-worlds-largest-vehicle-battery-manufacturing-plant/">Kansas persuaded Panasonic to build a $4 billion vehicle battery manufacturing plant in De Soto</a>.
 The facility will employ 4,000 workers with an average hourly wage of 
$30 and create an estimated 4,000 more jobs for suppliers and businesses
 in the region.“Innovations happening right here in Kansas will accelerate the 
future of electric vehicles on a global scale,” Kelly said. “We will be 
the production epicenter for batteries that will power the increasing 
demand for EVs and a more sustainable world.”Moran said one of the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic was the need
 for more manufacturing production in the United States. Panasonic’s 
investment is important for the country as well as Kansas, he said.“This helps make us less dependent upon China,” Moran said. “It 
improves our job capabilities, and increases our national security. But 
to see my colleagues read in the Wall Street Journal, or see in the 
national news, that Kansas was selected, it highlights for me that 
places in this country that have been thought to be the most desirable 
have become a lot less so than Kansas, and we’ve been found.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1657822225790.png" alt="U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran addresses a crowd gathered in downtown Topeka for the announcement that Panasonic will build a $4 billion vehicle battery plant in De Soto. Moran said the news will bring recognition to Kansas. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran addresses a crowd gathered in downtown Topeka for the announcement that Panasonic will build a $4 billion vehicle battery plant in De Soto. Moran said the news will bring recognition to Kansas. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>‘Critical production capacity’</h2>Kris Takamoto, the executive vice president of Panasonic’s North 
America division,&nbsp;said the facility in De Soto will expand battery 
production in the U.S. “at a time when the automotive industry is 
reinventing itself, and more batteries for EVs are desperately needed.”Panasonic, Takamoto said, is “literally powering the revolution in the shift to electric vehicles.”“With the people of Kansas, we will provide critical production 
capacity to one of the fastest-growing and most exciting industries in 
the world,” Takamoto said.The investment is also part of the company’s strategy to reduce Co2 
emissions to net zero by 2030 and build products that are more energy 
efficient.Takamoto said Panasonic emits 2.2 million tons of Co2 annually as a 
result of its business operations. Emissions from the company’s supply 
chain are estimated to be more than 110 million tons, or 1% of the total
 emissions from global electricity consumption, Takamoto said.“We are proud of our innovations,” Takamoto said. “But those 
technologies will have little opportunity to improve people’s life if we
 don’t also protect our environment.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1657822263156.png" alt="Lt. Gov. David Toland, who also serves as commerce secretary, says the state has shifted its focus from recruiting companies across a state line to recruiting companies across the international dateline. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Lt. Gov. David Toland, who also serves as commerce secretary, says the state has shifted its focus from recruiting companies across a state line to recruiting companies across the international dateline. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>‘Compete with anyone’</h2>Commerce secretary and Lt. Gov. David Toland said the governor 
outlined her vision for economic development when she took office three 
years ago.“At the highest level, the governor’s directive meant that we would 
ground ourselves in the principle that economic development is about 
people — that young people shouldn’t have to leave our state after 
graduation for better economic opportunities in Dallas or Denver or 
Nashville, that people should know what incentives the state invested in
 the new company that’s coming to their town, that people should see 
real growth, not just companies moving a few blocks or a couple of 
miles.”The administration’s framework for economic growth focused on quality
 of life, which led to historic investments in broadband and rural main 
streets.Toland said he rebuilt his agency’s staff with “top-notch” 
professionals from the state and across the country, and reinvested in 
international recruitment.“We shifted our focus from recruiting companies across a state line 
to recruiting companies across the international dateline,” Toland said.
 “And most importantly, the governor said that in the Kelly 
administration, we will not play small ball.”The approach helped the state secure billions of dollars in new business investments in addition to the Panasonic deal.“It’s clear Kansas is no longer an ‘aw shucks,’ humble sort of flyover state,” Toland said. “We can compete with anyone.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1657822307366.png" alt="Gov. Laura Kelly answers reporters’ questions following her announcement of the Panasonic deal on July 13, 2022, at the Townsite Tower ballroom in downtown Topeka. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Gov. Laura Kelly answers reporters’ questions following her announcement of the Panasonic deal on July 13, 2022, at the Townsite Tower ballroom in downtown Topeka. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>‘Create better lives’</h2>Kelly, who grew up in a military family that moved around the world, 
told the crowd she wanted to share something that might surprise them.She lived in Japan, she said, when she was very young, and her first language was actually Japanese.The governor then stumbled through an attempt to deliver a message in
 Japanese — “I was saying this so well,” she said — before introducing 
Takamoto.“You know, governor, your Japanese was perfect,” Takamoto said.Kelly praised the cooperation between local governments, legislators,
 higher education institutions, utility partners, the congressional 
delegation and diplomatic teams that helped bring the deal together to 
build a facility big enough to transform	
 

	 the surrounding area, and even the entire state.The state expects new jobs created as a result of this plant to 
generate $500 million in annual income, “helping more Kansas families 
create better lives for themselves and for their children,” Kelly said.

Kansas leaders celebrate $4 billion Panasonic plant

By PAUL HAMMEL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/07/14/proposal-for-states-largest-feedlot-getting-bigger-seeking-new-site-in-southwest-nebraska/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN —
 A group of veterinarians seeking to build the state’s largest feedlot 
for cattle is now proposing an even larger facility in a new location in
 Dundy County.

Blackshirt Feeders, headed by Eric Behlke, a
 Canadian veterinarian who grew up in Benkelman, is now eyeing a 
location north of Haigler, Nebraska, near the Colorado border.

The proposed feedlot would eventually feed 
150,000 head of cattle at a time, which is 50,000 head larger than 
planned at a feedlot site 23 miles north of Benkelman that was <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/06/10/states-largest-feedlot-gets-countys-ok-despite-worries-about-whether-bigger-is-better/">approved by the county for Blackshirt Feeders in June.</a>

That location, which hugged the Dundy-Chase 
County line, had drawn complaints about being too close to a residence. 
Critics also said the plan &nbsp;threatened groundwater quality and quantity.
 Several contentious meetings of the Dundy County Planning Commission 
and County Board preceded the 3-0 vote in June to approve the facility.

The application for the relocation noted 
that the site north of Haigler “will address several of the concerns” 
raised about the initial location.

“It is critical to Blackshirt Feeders that we are good neighbors,” Behlke told the Benkelman Post newspaper this week.

One member of the Dundy County Board, 
Richard Bartholomew of Benkelman, told the Examiner on Wednesday that 
the new location is much more palatable to him because it impacts fewer 
neighbors.

All of the property tax benefits, Bartholomew added, will go to Dundy County schools via the new location.

Blackshirt’s application for a conditional 
use permit for the feedlot notes that the new location is farther away 
from nearby residences and cemeteries and requires&nbsp;only about 1/4 of a 
mile of county road, which Blackshirt Feeders will pay to pave.

The feedlot will also invest an additional 
$125 million, the application stated, to build a methane digester, to 
turn the manure produced by the cattle into fuel.

A hearing before the Dundy County Planning Board about the project is scheduled for July 25.

Behlke and the two other veterinarians who 
are the prime owners of Blackshirt Feeders, Kee Jim and Calvin Booker, 
have a combined 70 years experience in the cattle feeding business, 
according to the company’s application.

The vets are proposing to use a roller 
compacted concrete floor for all of the livestock pens, which they 
maintain will make it easier to clean, will reduce odors and flies and 
will improve livestock performance.

Some cattle producers question the need for 
such large feeding operations, contending that they push out smaller 
feedlots and make it harder for smaller producers to market their 
cattle.

Bartholomew said he’s not a fan of “bigger is better” but is resigned to the fact that agriculture is moving in that direction.

“I want it to be successful. I hope it’s a showplace,” he said, adding that a lot of experience went into the planning of the facility.

<h2>Group seeking new site in SW Nebraska</h2>By PAUL HAMMEL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/07/14/proposal-for-states-largest-feedlot-getting-bigger-seeking-new-site-in-southwest-nebraska/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN —
 A group of veterinarians seeking to build the state’s largest feedlot 
for cattle is now proposing an even larger facility in a new location in
 Dundy County.Blackshirt Feeders, headed by Eric Behlke, a
 Canadian veterinarian who grew up in Benkelman, is now eyeing a 
location north of Haigler, Nebraska, near the Colorado border.The proposed feedlot would eventually feed 
150,000 head of cattle at a time, which is 50,000 head larger than 
planned at a feedlot site 23 miles north of Benkelman that was <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/06/10/states-largest-feedlot-gets-countys-ok-despite-worries-about-whether-bigger-is-better/">approved by the county for Blackshirt Feeders in June.</a><h2>Old location drew complaints</h2>That location, which hugged the Dundy-Chase 
County line, had drawn complaints about being too close to a residence. 
Critics also said the plan &nbsp;threatened groundwater quality and quantity.
 Several contentious meetings of the Dundy County Planning Commission 
and County Board preceded the 3-0 vote in June to approve the facility.The application for the relocation noted 
that the site north of Haigler “will address several of the concerns” 
raised about the initial location.“It is critical to Blackshirt Feeders that we are good neighbors,” Behlke told the Benkelman Post newspaper this week.One member of the Dundy County Board, 
Richard Bartholomew of Benkelman, told the Examiner on Wednesday that 
the new location is much more palatable to him because it impacts fewer 
neighbors.<h2>Tax benefits to Dundy County</h2>All of the property tax benefits, Bartholomew added, will go to Dundy County schools via the new location.Blackshirt’s application for a conditional 
use permit for the feedlot notes that the new location is farther away 
from nearby residences and cemeteries and requires&nbsp;only about 1/4 of a 
mile of county road, which Blackshirt Feeders will pay to pave.The feedlot will also invest an additional 
$125 million, the application stated, to build a methane digester, to 
turn the manure produced by the cattle into fuel.A hearing before the Dundy County Planning Board about the project is scheduled for July 25.<h2>Concrete base for feedlot</h2>Behlke and the two other veterinarians who 
are the prime owners of Blackshirt Feeders, Kee Jim and Calvin Booker, 
have a combined 70 years experience in the cattle feeding business, 
according to the company’s application.The vets are proposing to use a roller 
compacted concrete floor for all of the livestock pens, which they 
maintain will make it easier to clean, will reduce odors and flies and 
will improve livestock performance.Some cattle producers question the need for 
such large feeding operations, contending that they push out smaller 
feedlots and make it harder for smaller producers to market their 
cattle.Bartholomew said he’s not a fan of “bigger is better” but is resigned to the fact that agriculture is moving in that direction.“I want it to be successful. I hope it’s a showplace,” he said, adding that a lot of experience went into the planning of the facility.

Proposal for Nebraska's largest feedlot getting bigger

LINCOLN, Neb.-One lucky player who bought a Nebraska Pick 5 ticket for the Wednesday, July 13 drawing is holding a ticket worth $150,000.

The Nebraska Lottery has confirmed that one ticket sold for Wednesday’s Nebraska Pick 5 draw matched all five winning numbers for the $150,000 jackpot. The ticket was sold at Russ's Market #07, 611 N Burlington St, in Hastings. The winning numbers from Wednesday’s Nebraska Pick 5 draw were 04, 11, 15, 27, 29. Players are encouraged to check their tickets at any Nebraska Lottery retailer, online at nelottery.com, or by calling the Lottery office at 402-471-6100.

Winning Nebraska Lottery Lotto tickets expire 180 days after the drawing. Prizes of $20,000 or more must be claimed in person at Lottery headquarters in Lincoln. Additional information about claiming prizes can be found at the Nebraska Lottery website, nelottery.com, or by calling 800-587-5200.

During the month of July, the Nebraska Pick 5 jackpot will increase by $10,000 each time it is not won, up from $4,000, so the jackpot will grow faster than before. See nelottery.com for details.

Nebraska Pick 5 is Nebraska's unique Lottery game: all the proceeds from Nebraska Pick 5 stay in Nebraska, and all the winning tickets are sold in Nebraska at Nebraska Lottery Lotto game retailers. The odds of winning the Nebraska Pick 5 jackpot, which starts at $50,000 and grows each drawing that it is not won, are 1 in 501,942. The overall odds of winning any Nebraska Pick 5 prize which has drawings seven nights a week, are 1 in 8.

The mission of the Nebraska Lottery is to generate proceeds for good causes while providing quality entertainment options to Nebraskans. Over $880 million has been raised for the Nebraska Lottery’s beneficiary funds since the Lottery began in 1993. All 93 counties in Nebraska have benefited from projects funded with these Nebraska Lottery proceeds.

<a href="https://northplattepost.com/posts/2ddcec21-000f-4ace-b19e-4250120d6629">&nbsp;&nbsp;Download The Post app for iOs or Android</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1657805306270.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>News Release Nebraska LotteryLINCOLN, Neb.-One lucky player who bought a Nebraska Pick 5 ticket for the Wednesday, July 13 drawing is holding a ticket worth $150,000.The Nebraska Lottery has confirmed that one ticket sold for Wednesday’s Nebraska Pick 5 draw matched all five winning numbers for the $150,000 jackpot. The ticket was sold at Russ's Market #07, 611 N Burlington St, in Hastings. The winning numbers from Wednesday’s Nebraska Pick 5 draw were 04, 11, 15, 27, 29. Players are encouraged to check their tickets at any Nebraska Lottery retailer, online at nelottery.com, or by calling the Lottery office at 402-471-6100.Winning Nebraska Lottery Lotto tickets expire 180 days after the drawing. Prizes of $20,000 or more must be claimed in person at Lottery headquarters in Lincoln. Additional information about claiming prizes can be found at the Nebraska Lottery website, nelottery.com, or by calling 800-587-5200.During the month of July, the Nebraska Pick 5 jackpot will increase by $10,000 each time it is not won, up from $4,000, so the jackpot will grow faster than before. See nelottery.com for details.Nebraska Pick 5 is Nebraska's unique Lottery game: all the proceeds from Nebraska Pick 5 stay in Nebraska, and all the winning tickets are sold in Nebraska at Nebraska Lottery Lotto game retailers. The odds of winning the Nebraska Pick 5 jackpot, which starts at $50,000 and grows each drawing that it is not won, are 1 in 501,942. The overall odds of winning any Nebraska Pick 5 prize which has drawings seven nights a week, are 1 in 8.The mission of the Nebraska Lottery is to generate proceeds for good causes while providing quality entertainment options to Nebraskans. Over $880 million has been raised for the Nebraska Lottery’s beneficiary funds since the Lottery began in 1993. All 93 counties in Nebraska have benefited from projects funded with these Nebraska Lottery proceeds.<a href="https://northplattepost.com/posts/2ddcec21-000f-4ace-b19e-4250120d6629">&nbsp;&nbsp;Download The Post app for iOs or Android</a><figure>
 <img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wNqBhbDjdQfiBw9ZsEupcsfxrfyLh9FL4Kgw9ywDgXNm0l8bAuha5N36fAHOhl8IKpAEM1_LB4eK7UEetK1tj4axOKYMM13WX43qwmUuqP5LNHnQHJ1yIPBr-49tSUinGgXDz1oTcPuZheaXZg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>

Winning $150K Nebraska Pick 5 ticket sold in Hastings

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals will be without 10 of the 26 players on their active roster for their upcoming trip to Toronto due to Canadian restrictions on travelers who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19.

Manager Mike Matheny said Wednesday the club will be without hitters Andrew Benintendi, Hunter Dozier, Cam Gallagher, Kyle Isbel, MJ Melendez, Whit Merrifield and Michael A. Taylor along with pitchers Dylan Coleman, Brad Keller and Brady Singer.

The team is set to play four games in Toronto. The 10 players will be placed on the restricted list and forfeit four days of pay and major league service time in accordance with the terms of MLB’s collective bargaining agreement.

“It’s an individual choice,” Matheny said. “The organization’s done a real good job bringing in professionals and experts to talk guys through tough conversations and then put it in their hands to make the decisions they believe is best for them and their families.”

Benintendi will lose $186,813, Merrifield $153,846, Keller $106,044 and Dozier and Taylor $98,901 each. Among the others, the lost pay for Gallagher will be $19,451, Singer $15,962, Isbel $15,426, Coleman $15,399 and Melendez $15,385.

The club will name their replacements Thursday, along with an announcement about other staff who won’t be traveling with the club.

“Now what it presents is an opportunity for some young guys to step in who wouldn’t normally be here,” Matheny said. “It will affect what we’re doing rotation-wise and that will be another question that we’ll have to answer later. I’m excited about some guys coming in and getting a chance.”

Players cited personal decisions for themselves and their families behind their reasoning to not be vaccinated.

“It was a choice I made talking with my family, talking with my wife,” Merrifield said. “I didn’t think that the risk was worth it, honestly.

“I don’t feel like COVID is a threat to me,” he added.

The unvaccinated players said they felt teammates supported their decisions.

“We’ve talked to these guys, they’re not judging us at all,” Dozier said. “They have our backs. I don’t think we’ve ever dealt with something like this, where we’re being forced to take a vaccine just to go play over in Toronto. It’s just a weird situation. It’s unfortunate.”

“(The) staff, owner, GM, everybody, it’s been really cool to see how they’re handling it,” Coleman said. “Not like forcing it. I feel like we all have our own opinion, so it’s been really good that the higher-ups respect that.”

Merrifield had the majors’ longest active games played streak at 553 before a foot injury kept him out of action Sunday. He said he might change his mind if a similar circumstance presented itself later in the year.

“That might change down the road,” he said. “If something happens and I happen to get on a team that has a chance to go play in Canada in the postseason, maybe that changes. As we sit here right now, I’m comfortable with my decision.”

John Schneider, the Blue Jays’ new manager, said his team won’t take Kansas City lightly.

“A little bit surprising, but the rules are the rules. We live by them and the rest of the league lives by them,” Schneider said in Toronto. “Definitely not a series you’re going to take lightly going into the break. You kind of see who they have, you game plan accordingly, and hopefully build off this two-game series (sweep) against the Phillies.”

Schneider was promoted from bench coach to interim manager for the remainder of the season when Toronto fired Charlie Montoyo on Wednesday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/5/1621778673766.png" alt="" />
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 </figure>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals will be without 10 of the 26 players on their active roster for their upcoming trip to Toronto due to Canadian restrictions on travelers who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19.Manager Mike Matheny said Wednesday the club will be without hitters Andrew Benintendi, Hunter Dozier, Cam Gallagher, Kyle Isbel, MJ Melendez, Whit Merrifield and Michael A. Taylor along with pitchers Dylan Coleman, Brad Keller and Brady Singer.The team is set to play four games in Toronto. The 10 players will be placed on the restricted list and forfeit four days of pay and major league service time in accordance with the terms of MLB’s collective bargaining agreement.“It’s an individual choice,” Matheny said. “The organization’s done a real good job bringing in professionals and experts to talk guys through tough conversations and then put it in their hands to make the decisions they believe is best for them and their families.”Benintendi will lose $186,813, Merrifield $153,846, Keller $106,044 and Dozier and Taylor $98,901 each. Among the others, the lost pay for Gallagher will be $19,451, Singer $15,962, Isbel $15,426, Coleman $15,399 and Melendez $15,385.The club will name their replacements Thursday, along with an announcement about other staff who won’t be traveling with the club.“Now what it presents is an opportunity for some young guys to step in who wouldn’t normally be here,” Matheny said. “It will affect what we’re doing rotation-wise and that will be another question that we’ll have to answer later. I’m excited about some guys coming in and getting a chance.”Players cited personal decisions for themselves and their families behind their reasoning to not be vaccinated.“It was a choice I made talking with my family, talking with my wife,” Merrifield said. “I didn’t think that the risk was worth it, honestly.“I don’t feel like COVID is a threat to me,” he added.The unvaccinated players said they felt teammates supported their decisions.“We’ve talked to these guys, they’re not judging us at all,” Dozier said. “They have our backs. I don’t think we’ve ever dealt with something like this, where we’re being forced to take a vaccine just to go play over in Toronto. It’s just a weird situation. It’s unfortunate.”“(The) staff, owner, GM, everybody, it’s been really cool to see how they’re handling it,” Coleman said. “Not like forcing it. I feel like we all have our own opinion, so it’s been really good that the higher-ups respect that.”Merrifield had the majors’ longest active games played streak at 553 before a foot injury kept him out of action Sunday. He said he might change his mind if a similar circumstance presented itself later in the year.“That might change down the road,” he said. “If something happens and I happen to get on a team that has a chance to go play in Canada in the postseason, maybe that changes. As we sit here right now, I’m comfortable with my decision.”John Schneider, the Blue Jays’ new manager, said his team won’t take Kansas City lightly.“A little bit surprising, but the rules are the rules. We live by them and the rest of the league lives by them,” Schneider said in Toronto. “Definitely not a series you’re going to take lightly going into the break. You kind of see who they have, you game plan accordingly, and hopefully build off this two-game series (sweep) against the Phillies.”Schneider was promoted from bench coach to interim manager for the remainder of the season when Toronto fired Charlie Montoyo on Wednesday.

No COVID vaccination; 10 Kansas City Royals can't play in Toronto 

JERUSALEM (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday opened his first visit to the Mideast since taking office by offering anxious Israeli leaders strong reassurances of his determination to stop&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-iran-nuclear-united-nations-51cb62796ace2c64ba9278197d9b5464">Iran’s growing nuclear program,</a>&nbsp;saying he’d be willing to use force as a "last resort."

The president's comments came in an interview with Israel's Channel 12 taped before he left Washington and broadcast Wednesday, hours after the country's political leaders welcomed him with a red-carpet arrival ceremony at the Tel Aviv airport.

“The only thing worse than the Iran that exists now is an Iran with nuclear weapons,” Biden said. Asked about using military force against Iran, Biden said, “If that was the last resort, yes.”

U.S. ally Israel considers Iran to be its greatest enemy, citing its nuclear program, its calls for Israel’s destruction and its support for hostile militant groups across the region.

The U.S. and Israel are expected Thursday to unveil a joint declaration cementing their close military ties and strengthening past calls to take military action to halt Iran’s nuclear program. A senior Israeli official said before Biden arrived that both countries would commit to “using all elements of their national power against the Iranian nuclear threat.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity pending the formal release of the statement.

Israeli leaders made clear as they marked Biden’s arrival that Iran's nuclear program was the top item on their agenda.

“We will discuss the need to renew a strong global coalition that will stop the Iranian nuclear program,” said Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, as he greeted the Democratic president at the airport ceremony in Tel Aviv.

Biden said he would not remove Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from the U.S. list of terrorist organizations, even if that kept Iran from rejoining the Iran nuclear deal.

Sanctions on the IRGC, which has carried out regional attacks, have been a sticking point in negotiations to bring Iran back into compliance with the agreement meant to keep it from having a nuclear weapon. Iran announced last week that it has enriched uranium to 60% purity, a technical step away from weapons-grade quality.

Iran insists its program is for peaceful purposes, though United Nations experts and Western intelligence agencies say Iran had an organized military nuclear program through 2003.

Biden's visit to Israel follows the collapse of a coalition-led government headed by Naftali Bennett. The president was greeted by Lapid, the caretaker prime minister who is hoping to hang on to power when Israelis hold their fifth election in three years this fall.

Lapid reminded Biden of when they first met roughly eight years earlier. Biden was vice president and Lapid was finance minister.

“You said to me, ‘If only I had hair like yours, I would be president' to which I answered, 'And if only I had your height, I would be Prime Minister,” Lapid said.

Biden made reviving the Iran nuclear deal, brokered by Barack Obama in 2015 and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-donald-trump-ap-top-news-politics-iran-cead755353a1455bbef08ef289448994">abandoned by Donald Trump in 2018</a>, a key priority as he entered office. Biden said Trump made a “gigantic mistake” by withdrawing the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal.

“There are those who thought with the last administration we sort of walked away from the Middle East, that we were going to create a vacuum that China and or Russia would fill, and we can’t let that happen," he said.

But indirect talks for the U.S. to reenter the deal&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-iran-dubai-nuclear-united-arab-emirates-cb297fc7bbe0f59acf5b20cdefe352a7">have stalled</a>&nbsp;as Iran has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-iran-nuclear-united-nations-51cb62796ace2c64ba9278197d9b5464">made rapid gains</a>&nbsp;in developing its nuclear program. That's left the Biden administration increasingly pessimistic about resurrecting the deal, which placed significant restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

At the airport, Israeli President Isaac Herzog thanked Biden for championing Israel during his more than 50 years in public office. He then reminded the U.S. president of the “security challenges emanating directly from Iran and its proxies, threatening Israel and its neighbors and endangering our region.”

Israelis seemed determined to underscore the imminent threat from Iran. Soon after he arrived, Biden was briefed on the country’s “Iron Dome” and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-naftali-bennett-israel-middle-east-946f3744cfb6afd59a6ce1b053999ae1">new “Iron Beam” missile defense systems.</a>

The president later visited the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-international-news-israel-ap-top-news-f9158489b5c24b0c80473e8f2fc329dc">Yad Vashem</a>&nbsp;memorial to Holocaust victims in Jerusalem.

Biden, wearing a skullcap, was invited to rekindle the eternal flame in the memorial's Hall of Remembrance. Two Marines placed a wreath on the stone crypt containing the ashes of Holocaust victims and Biden listened as a cantor recited the remembrance prayer.

He then greeted two Holocaust survivors, kissing the women on their cheeks. His eyes welled with tears as he chatted with them.

“My mother would say ’God love you, dear,'” Biden told the women.

One of the survivors, Rena Quint, 86, later said she told Biden how her mother and brothers were killed in a death camp. Quint, who was born in Poland, said she was reunited with her father in a male slave labor factory, where she pretended to be a boy. Her father also was murdered. She later was adopted by a childless Jewish couple after she arrived in the United States in 1946.

“Did you see the president hug me?” she asked “He asked permission to kiss me and he kept on holding my hand and we were told not to touch him.”

Biden is set to meet Thursday with Israeli officials, including Lapid, Herzog and opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He'll meet Friday Friday with Palestinian officials.

Biden said he will emphasize in talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders his continued support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but acknowledged that outcome likely wouldn't be feasible “in the near term.”

He maintained that a two-state solution is the best way to ensure a “future of equal measure of freedom, prosperity and democracy for Israelis and Palestinians alike.” His national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said Biden would not offer any proposals during the trip aimed at restarting talks.

The White House has also been frustrated with repeated Iran-sponsored&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-israel-middle-east-iraq-iran-5c6273b14cc07ef68c6a5f4b57645647">attacks on U.S. troops based in Iraq</a>, though the administration says the frequency of such attacks has dropped precipitously over the last two years. Tehran also backs the rebel Houthis in a bloody war with the Saudis in Yemen.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-nations-yemen-middle-east-35773313fc24f039977c670376818077">A U.N.-brokered cease-fire</a>&nbsp;has been in place for more than four months, a fragile peace in a war that began in 2015.

Sullivan said this week that the administration believes Russia is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-biden-iran-jake-sullivan-4a9f1b2749893d8f1ed9f039869cf119">turning to Iran</a>&nbsp;to provide it with hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles, including weapons-capable drones, for use in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">its ongoing war in Ukraine</a>. Sullivan said Wednesday that Iranians showing a willingness to assist Russia is something that should be of great concern to the Israelis, Saudis and other Gulf allies that Biden will be meeting with this week.

“We think that this is of interest, to put it mildly, to countries we will be visiting on this trip,” Sullivan said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1657763232824.png" alt="The U.S. and Israel are expected Thursday to unveil a joint declaration cementing their close military ties.-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>The U.S. and Israel are expected Thursday to unveil a joint declaration cementing their close military ties.-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>JERUSALEM (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday opened his first visit to the Mideast since taking office by offering anxious Israeli leaders strong reassurances of his determination to stop&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-iran-nuclear-united-nations-51cb62796ace2c64ba9278197d9b5464">Iran’s growing nuclear program,</a>&nbsp;saying he’d be willing to use force as a "last resort."The president's comments came in an interview with Israel's Channel 12 taped before he left Washington and broadcast Wednesday, hours after the country's political leaders welcomed him with a red-carpet arrival ceremony at the Tel Aviv airport.“The only thing worse than the Iran that exists now is an Iran with nuclear weapons,” Biden said. Asked about using military force against Iran, Biden said, “If that was the last resort, yes.”U.S. ally Israel considers Iran to be its greatest enemy, citing its nuclear program, its calls for Israel’s destruction and its support for hostile militant groups across the region.The U.S. and Israel are expected Thursday to unveil a joint declaration cementing their close military ties and strengthening past calls to take military action to halt Iran’s nuclear program. A senior Israeli official said before Biden arrived that both countries would commit to “using all elements of their national power against the Iranian nuclear threat.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity pending the formal release of the statement.Israeli leaders made clear as they marked Biden’s arrival that Iran's nuclear program was the top item on their agenda.“We will discuss the need to renew a strong global coalition that will stop the Iranian nuclear program,” said Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, as he greeted the Democratic president at the airport ceremony in Tel Aviv.Biden said he would not remove Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from the U.S. list of terrorist organizations, even if that kept Iran from rejoining the Iran nuclear deal.Sanctions on the IRGC, which has carried out regional attacks, have been a sticking point in negotiations to bring Iran back into compliance with the agreement meant to keep it from having a nuclear weapon. Iran announced last week that it has enriched uranium to 60% purity, a technical step away from weapons-grade quality.Iran insists its program is for peaceful purposes, though United Nations experts and Western intelligence agencies say Iran had an organized military nuclear program through 2003.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1657763210542.png" alt="Officials show President Biden where to walk as he arrives in Israel on Wednesday- White House&nbsp; photo" />
 <figcaption>Officials show President Biden where to walk as he arrives in Israel on Wednesday- White House&nbsp; photo</figcaption>
 </figure>Biden's visit to Israel follows the collapse of a coalition-led government headed by Naftali Bennett. The president was greeted by Lapid, the caretaker prime minister who is hoping to hang on to power when Israelis hold their fifth election in three years this fall.Lapid reminded Biden of when they first met roughly eight years earlier. Biden was vice president and Lapid was finance minister.“You said to me, ‘If only I had hair like yours, I would be president' to which I answered, 'And if only I had your height, I would be Prime Minister,” Lapid said.Biden made reviving the Iran nuclear deal, brokered by Barack Obama in 2015 and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-donald-trump-ap-top-news-politics-iran-cead755353a1455bbef08ef289448994">abandoned by Donald Trump in 2018</a>, a key priority as he entered office. Biden said Trump made a “gigantic mistake” by withdrawing the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal.“There are those who thought with the last administration we sort of walked away from the Middle East, that we were going to create a vacuum that China and or Russia would fill, and we can’t let that happen," he said.But indirect talks for the U.S. to reenter the deal&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-iran-dubai-nuclear-united-arab-emirates-cb297fc7bbe0f59acf5b20cdefe352a7">have stalled</a>&nbsp;as Iran has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-iran-nuclear-united-nations-51cb62796ace2c64ba9278197d9b5464">made rapid gains</a>&nbsp;in developing its nuclear program. That's left the Biden administration increasingly pessimistic about resurrecting the deal, which placed significant restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.At the airport, Israeli President Isaac Herzog thanked Biden for championing Israel during his more than 50 years in public office. He then reminded the U.S. president of the “security challenges emanating directly from Iran and its proxies, threatening Israel and its neighbors and endangering our region.”Israelis seemed determined to underscore the imminent threat from Iran. Soon after he arrived, Biden was briefed on the country’s “Iron Dome” and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-naftali-bennett-israel-middle-east-946f3744cfb6afd59a6ce1b053999ae1">new “Iron Beam” missile defense systems.</a>The president later visited the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-international-news-israel-ap-top-news-f9158489b5c24b0c80473e8f2fc329dc">Yad Vashem</a>&nbsp;memorial to Holocaust victims in Jerusalem.Biden, wearing a skullcap, was invited to rekindle the eternal flame in the memorial's Hall of Remembrance. Two Marines placed a wreath on the stone crypt containing the ashes of Holocaust victims and Biden listened as a cantor recited the remembrance prayer.He then greeted two Holocaust survivors, kissing the women on their cheeks. His eyes welled with tears as he chatted with them.“My mother would say ’God love you, dear,'” Biden told the women.One of the survivors, Rena Quint, 86, later said she told Biden how her mother and brothers were killed in a death camp. Quint, who was born in Poland, said she was reunited with her father in a male slave labor factory, where she pretended to be a boy. Her father also was murdered. She later was adopted by a childless Jewish couple after she arrived in the United States in 1946.“Did you see the president hug me?” she asked “He asked permission to kiss me and he kept on holding my hand and we were told not to touch him.”Biden is set to meet Thursday with Israeli officials, including Lapid, Herzog and opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He'll meet Friday Friday with Palestinian officials.Biden said he will emphasize in talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders his continued support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but acknowledged that outcome likely wouldn't be feasible “in the near term.”He maintained that a two-state solution is the best way to ensure a “future of equal measure of freedom, prosperity and democracy for Israelis and Palestinians alike.” His national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said Biden would not offer any proposals during the trip aimed at restarting talks.The White House has also been frustrated with repeated Iran-sponsored&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-israel-middle-east-iraq-iran-5c6273b14cc07ef68c6a5f4b57645647">attacks on U.S. troops based in Iraq</a>, though the administration says the frequency of such attacks has dropped precipitously over the last two years. Tehran also backs the rebel Houthis in a bloody war with the Saudis in Yemen.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-nations-yemen-middle-east-35773313fc24f039977c670376818077">A U.N.-brokered cease-fire</a>&nbsp;has been in place for more than four months, a fragile peace in a war that began in 2015.Sullivan said this week that the administration believes Russia is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-biden-iran-jake-sullivan-4a9f1b2749893d8f1ed9f039869cf119">turning to Iran</a>&nbsp;to provide it with hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles, including weapons-capable drones, for use in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">its ongoing war in Ukraine</a>. Sullivan said Wednesday that Iranians showing a willingness to assist Russia is something that should be of great concern to the Israelis, Saudis and other Gulf allies that Biden will be meeting with this week.“We think that this is of interest, to put it mildly, to countries we will be visiting on this trip,” Sullivan said.

Biden delivers tough talk on Iran as he opens Mideast visit

(AP)-<a href="https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/pharmacies-guidance.pdf">The Biden administration is warning pharmacies</a>&nbsp;not to discriminate against women who may seek reproductive health prescriptions, including some that might be involved in ending a pregnancy.

The Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday that pharmacies receiving federal money from programs such as Medicare and Medicaid cannot discriminate in how they supply medications or advise patients on prescriptions.

The agency noted that discrimination against people based on their pregnancy or related conditions would be a form of sex discrimination.

The announcement comes as the administration seeks to ensure reproductive health services for women following last month’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">Supreme Court decision</a>&nbsp;that ended a constitutional right to abortion.

On Monday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-government-and-politics-4221f9306a596904b9af2e0d1fad23b9">the administration told hospitals that they “must” provide abortion services</a>&nbsp;if the life of the mother is at risk. The government said federal law on emergency treatment guidelines preempts state laws in jurisdictions that now ban the procedure without any exceptions. Now, all states provide an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-abortion-ruling-states-a767801145ad01617100e57410a0a21d">exception for the life of the mother</a>.

President Joe Biden also has signed an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-biden-us-supreme-court-government-and-politics-0e6496122de46f1039cbb2b5145d6d60">executive order</a>&nbsp;to try to protect some access to the procedure, but he also has acknowledged that his administration is limited in what it can do. He noted earlier this month that an act of Congress would be required to restore nationwide access to abortion services, and he has urged Americans angered by the Supreme Court's ruling to vote in November.

Wednesday’s actions, like those outlined Monday, do not reflect new policy. They aim to remind care providers of their existing obligations under federal law.

“We are committed to ensuring that everyone can access health care, free of discrimination,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “This includes access to prescription medications for reproductive health and other types of care.”

The department's guidance to pharmacies outlined several hypothetical examples of potential discrimination. They include a pharmacy that refuses to fill a prescription of mifepristone followed by misoprostol to help manage complications from a miscarriage after a pregnancy loss.

That combination of drugs also is commonly used in medication abortions.

A pharmacy that refuses to fill a prescription of misoprostol prescribed to help deal with severe stomach ulcer complications may be discriminating based on disability, HHS said. The agency noted that the pharmacy also may be discriminating if it refuses to stock the drug based on its alternate use.

HHS also cited as another example of potential discrimination: a pharmacy that refuses to fill a prescription for methotrexate to halt an ectopic pregnancy, which grows outside the womb and is not viable.

The federal agency said people who believe their rights have been violated should visit an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hhs.gov/ocr/complaints/index.html">online portal</a>&nbsp;for the Office for Civil Rights to file a complaint.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1657750242184.jpg" alt="Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>By ASSOCIATED PRESS(AP)-<a href="https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/pharmacies-guidance.pdf">The Biden administration is warning pharmacies</a>&nbsp;not to discriminate against women who may seek reproductive health prescriptions, including some that might be involved in ending a pregnancy.The Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday that pharmacies receiving federal money from programs such as Medicare and Medicaid cannot discriminate in how they supply medications or advise patients on prescriptions.The agency noted that discrimination against people based on their pregnancy or related conditions would be a form of sex discrimination.The announcement comes as the administration seeks to ensure reproductive health services for women following last month’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">Supreme Court decision</a>&nbsp;that ended a constitutional right to abortion.On Monday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-government-and-politics-4221f9306a596904b9af2e0d1fad23b9">the administration told hospitals that they “must” provide abortion services</a>&nbsp;if the life of the mother is at risk. The government said federal law on emergency treatment guidelines preempts state laws in jurisdictions that now ban the procedure without any exceptions. Now, all states provide an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-abortion-ruling-states-a767801145ad01617100e57410a0a21d">exception for the life of the mother</a>.President Joe Biden also has signed an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-biden-us-supreme-court-government-and-politics-0e6496122de46f1039cbb2b5145d6d60">executive order</a>&nbsp;to try to protect some access to the procedure, but he also has acknowledged that his administration is limited in what it can do. He noted earlier this month that an act of Congress would be required to restore nationwide access to abortion services, and he has urged Americans angered by the Supreme Court's ruling to vote in November.Wednesday’s actions, like those outlined Monday, do not reflect new policy. They aim to remind care providers of their existing obligations under federal law.“We are committed to ensuring that everyone can access health care, free of discrimination,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “This includes access to prescription medications for reproductive health and other types of care.”The department's guidance to pharmacies outlined several hypothetical examples of potential discrimination. They include a pharmacy that refuses to fill a prescription of mifepristone followed by misoprostol to help manage complications from a miscarriage after a pregnancy loss.That combination of drugs also is commonly used in medication abortions.A pharmacy that refuses to fill a prescription of misoprostol prescribed to help deal with severe stomach ulcer complications may be discriminating based on disability, HHS said. The agency noted that the pharmacy also may be discriminating if it refuses to stock the drug based on its alternate use.HHS also cited as another example of potential discrimination: a pharmacy that refuses to fill a prescription for methotrexate to halt an ectopic pregnancy, which grows outside the womb and is not viable.The federal agency said people who believe their rights have been violated should visit an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hhs.gov/ocr/complaints/index.html">online portal</a>&nbsp;for the Office for Civil Rights to file a complaint.<a href="https://northplattepost.com/posts/2ddcec21-000f-4ace-b19e-4250120d6629">&nbsp;&nbsp;Download The Post app for iOs or Android</a><figure>
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Pharmacies can't discriminate on reproductive health scripts

DENVER (AP) — The former elections manager for a Colorado clerk indicted on charges of tampering with voting equipment has been arrested on allegations that she was part of the scheme, an official said Wednesday.

Sandra Brown, who worked for Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, turned herself in Monday in response to a warrant issued for her arrest on suspicion of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation and attempting to influence a public servant, said Lt. Henry Stoffel of the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office. The arrest was first reported by The Daily Sentinel newspaper.

Peters and her chief deputy, Belinda Knisley, are being prosecuted for allegedly allowing a copy of a hard drive to be made during an update of election equipment in May 2021. State election officials first became aware of a security breach last summer when a photo and video of confidential voting system passwords were posted on social media and a conservative website.

Peters, who has echoed former President Donald Trump’s false theories about the 2020 election and become a hero to election conspiracy theorists, lost her bid to become the GOP candidate for Colorado secretary of state last month. She first came to national attention when she spoke last year at a conference hosted by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, one of the most prominent election deniers in the country.

Peters is charged with three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, criminal impersonation, two counts of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, one count of identity theft, first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty and failing to comply with the secretary of state.

Knisley is charged with three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, one count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, violation of duty and failing to comply with the secretary of state.

Neither have entered a plea yet and both have dismissed the allegations, with Peters calling them politically motivated.

Mesa County, in western Colorado, is largely rural and heavily Republican. Trump won it in the 2020 presidential election with nearly 63% of the vote. President Joe Biden won Colorado overall with 55.4% of the state’s vote.

Brown was released the day after her arrest.

Efforts to reach for comment were unsuccessful via phone numbers that may be associated with her. Court records did not say whether Brown has an attorney who could speak on her behalf.

According to a court document, Knisley worked to get a security badge for a man Peters said she was hiring in the clerk's office. Peters then used it to allow another, unauthorized person inside the room to make a copy of the election equipment hard drive, it said. Brown was present when the copy was made and conspired to misrepresent who the person using the badge was, it said.

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 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1657747008658.jpg" alt="" />
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 </figure>By ASSOCIATED PRESSDENVER (AP) — The former elections manager for a Colorado clerk indicted on charges of tampering with voting equipment has been arrested on allegations that she was part of the scheme, an official said Wednesday.Sandra Brown, who worked for Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, turned herself in Monday in response to a warrant issued for her arrest on suspicion of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation and attempting to influence a public servant, said Lt. Henry Stoffel of the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office. The arrest was first reported by The Daily Sentinel newspaper.Peters and her chief deputy, Belinda Knisley, are being prosecuted for allegedly allowing a copy of a hard drive to be made during an update of election equipment in May 2021. State election officials first became aware of a security breach last summer when a photo and video of confidential voting system passwords were posted on social media and a conservative website.Peters, who has echoed former President Donald Trump’s false theories about the 2020 election and become a hero to election conspiracy theorists, lost her bid to become the GOP candidate for Colorado secretary of state last month. She first came to national attention when she spoke last year at a conference hosted by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, one of the most prominent election deniers in the country.Peters is charged with three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, criminal impersonation, two counts of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, one count of identity theft, first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty and failing to comply with the secretary of state.Knisley is charged with three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, one count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, violation of duty and failing to comply with the secretary of state.Neither have entered a plea yet and both have dismissed the allegations, with Peters calling them politically motivated.Mesa County, in western Colorado, is largely rural and heavily Republican. Trump won it in the 2020 presidential election with nearly 63% of the vote. President Joe Biden won Colorado overall with 55.4% of the state’s vote.Brown was released the day after her arrest.Efforts to reach for comment were unsuccessful via phone numbers that may be associated with her. Court records did not say whether Brown has an attorney who could speak on her behalf.According to a court document, Knisley worked to get a security badge for a man Peters said she was hiring in the clerk's office. Peters then used it to allow another, unauthorized person inside the room to make a copy of the election equipment hard drive, it said. Brown was present when the copy was made and conspired to misrepresent who the person using the badge was, it said.<a href="https://northplattepost.com/posts/2ddcec21-000f-4ace-b19e-4250120d6629">&nbsp;&nbsp;Download The Post app for iOs or Android</a><figure>
 <img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wNqBhbDjdQfiBw9ZsEupcsfxrfyLh9FL4Kgw9ywDgXNm0l8bAuha5N36fAHOhl8IKpAEM1_LB4eK7UEetK1tj4axOKYMM13WX43qwmUuqP5LNHnQHJ1yIPBr-49tSUinGgXDz1oTcPuZheaXZg" alt="" />
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3rd arrest made in alleged Colorado election security breach

DENVER (AP) — People have a right protected by the First Amendment to film police while they work, a Western U.S. appeals court ruled Monday in a decision that concurs with decisions made by six of the nation’s other 12 appeals court.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruling came in the case of a YouTube journalist and blogger who claimed that a suburban Denver officer blocked him from recording a 2019 traffic stop. Citing decisions from the other courts over about two decades as well as First Amendment principles, the 10th Circuit said the right to record police was clearly established at the time and reinstated the lawsuit of the blogger, Abade Irizarry.

A three-judge panel from the court said that “Mr. Irizarry’s right to film the police falls squarely within the First Amendment’s core purposes to protect free and robust discussion of public affairs, hold government officials accountable, and check abuse of power.”

While bystander video has played a vital role in uncovering examples of police misconduct in recent years, including in the killing of George Floyd, whether or not it is a right is still being determined in courts and debated by lawmakers.

The nation's five other appeals courts have not ruled yet on the right to record police and the U.S. Supreme Court would likely not get involved in the issue unless appeals courts were on opposite sides of the issue, said Alan Chen, a University of Denver law professor and one of the First Amendment experts also urged the appeals court to rule in favor of the right of people to record police.

Meanwhile, Arizona’s Republican governor last week signed a law that makes it illegal to knowingly video record police officers 8 feet (2.5 meters) or closer without an officer’s permission.

In the Colorado case, a lower court had said there was a right to record police but did not think it was clearly established in 2019 so it blocked the officer from being sued because of the controversial legal doctrine called “qualified immunity.” It shields police officers from misconduct lawsuits unless lawyers can show that the officers were on notice that their actions violated the law at the time.

U.S. government lawyers&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/government%20lawyers%20joined%20the%20case%20to%20support%20the%20public's%20right%20to%20record%20police.">intervened in Irizarry's appeal to support the public’s right to record police in the 10th Circuit,</a>&nbsp;which oversees four western and two midwestern states — Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Utah — as well as parts of Yellowstone National Park that lie in Idaho and Montana.

Irizarry's lawyer, Andrew Tutt, said the ruling will protect the right of every citizen under the court's jurisdiction to record police carrying out their duties.

“Today’s decision also adds to the consensus of authority on this important issue, bringing us a step closer to the day when this right is recognized and protected everywhere in the United States,” he said.

In his lawsuit, Irizarry said he was filming a police traffic stop in the city of Lakewood when he claimed Officer Ahmed Yehia stood in front of the camera to block Irizarry from recording. The officer shined a flashlight into Irizarry’s camera and the camera of another blogger. Then Yehia left the two, got into his cruiser and sped the cruiser toward the two bloggers, the lawsuit said. The cruiser swerved before reaching the bloggers and they were not hit, according to the lawsuit.

A telephone message left in the Lakewood city attorney’s office, which represented Yehia, was not returned.

Even though the court said the right to record police existed in 2019, the ruling will mostly have an impact going forward since lawsuits for police misconduct must be brought within two or three years in most states, Chen said.

DENVER (AP) — People have a right protected by the First Amendment to film police while they work, a Western U.S. appeals court ruled Monday in a decision that concurs with decisions made by six of the nation’s other 12 appeals court.The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruling came in the case of a YouTube journalist and blogger who claimed that a suburban Denver officer blocked him from recording a 2019 traffic stop. Citing decisions from the other courts over about two decades as well as First Amendment principles, the 10th Circuit said the right to record police was clearly established at the time and reinstated the lawsuit of the blogger, Abade Irizarry.A three-judge panel from the court said that “Mr. Irizarry’s right to film the police falls squarely within the First Amendment’s core purposes to protect free and robust discussion of public affairs, hold government officials accountable, and check abuse of power.”While bystander video has played a vital role in uncovering examples of police misconduct in recent years, including in the killing of George Floyd, whether or not it is a right is still being determined in courts and debated by lawmakers.The nation's five other appeals courts have not ruled yet on the right to record police and the U.S. Supreme Court would likely not get involved in the issue unless appeals courts were on opposite sides of the issue, said Alan Chen, a University of Denver law professor and one of the First Amendment experts also urged the appeals court to rule in favor of the right of people to record police.Meanwhile, Arizona’s Republican governor last week signed a law that makes it illegal to knowingly video record police officers 8 feet (2.5 meters) or closer without an officer’s permission.In the Colorado case, a lower court had said there was a right to record police but did not think it was clearly established in 2019 so it blocked the officer from being sued because of the controversial legal doctrine called “qualified immunity.” It shields police officers from misconduct lawsuits unless lawyers can show that the officers were on notice that their actions violated the law at the time.U.S. government lawyers&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/government%20lawyers%20joined%20the%20case%20to%20support%20the%20public's%20right%20to%20record%20police.">intervened in Irizarry's appeal to support the public’s right to record police in the 10th Circuit,</a>&nbsp;which oversees four western and two midwestern states — Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Utah — as well as parts of Yellowstone National Park that lie in Idaho and Montana.Irizarry's lawyer, Andrew Tutt, said the ruling will protect the right of every citizen under the court's jurisdiction to record police carrying out their duties.“Today’s decision also adds to the consensus of authority on this important issue, bringing us a step closer to the day when this right is recognized and protected everywhere in the United States,” he said.In his lawsuit, Irizarry said he was filming a police traffic stop in the city of Lakewood when he claimed Officer Ahmed Yehia stood in front of the camera to block Irizarry from recording. The officer shined a flashlight into Irizarry’s camera and the camera of another blogger. Then Yehia left the two, got into his cruiser and sped the cruiser toward the two bloggers, the lawsuit said. The cruiser swerved before reaching the bloggers and they were not hit, according to the lawsuit.A telephone message left in the Lakewood city attorney’s office, which represented Yehia, was not returned.Even though the court said the right to record police existed in 2019, the ruling will mostly have an impact going forward since lawsuits for police misconduct must be brought within two or three years in most states, Chen said.

Another US appeals court upholds right to record police

LE MARS, Iowa (AP) — An explosion destroyed two houses in the northwest Iowa city of Le Mars and injured three people. 

The explosion Wednesday morning demolished two adjacent houses and damaged a third house. 

Le Mars Fire-Rescue Chief Dave Schipper told the Sioux City Journal that the three people who were injured were inside or around one of the homes.

 Two of them were taken to a Le Mars hospital and one was taken to a Sioux City hospital and later transferred to a burn center in Lincoln, Nebraska. 

Schipper called it “very fortunate” that no one died in the explosion, which he thinks was caused by a gas leak.

By Associated PressLE MARS, Iowa (AP) — An explosion destroyed two houses in the northwest Iowa city of Le Mars and injured three people. The explosion Wednesday morning demolished two adjacent houses and damaged a third house. Le Mars Fire-Rescue Chief Dave Schipper told the Sioux City Journal that the three people who were injured were inside or around one of the homes. Two of them were taken to a Le Mars hospital and one was taken to a Sioux City hospital and later transferred to a burn center in Lincoln, Nebraska. Schipper called it “very fortunate” that no one died in the explosion, which he thinks was caused by a gas leak.

Le Mars explosion injures 3 people, destroys homes

The United State's Justice Department announced the establishment of the Reproductive Rights Task Force.

The Task Force formalizes an existing working group and efforts by the Department over the last several months to identify ways to protect access to reproductive health care in anticipation of the possibility of the Supreme Court overturning&nbsp;Roe v. Wade&nbsp;and&nbsp;Planned Parenthood v. Casey, according to the United State's Attorney's office.

Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta will chair the Task Force, which will consist of representatives from the Department’s Civil Division, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney community, Office of the Solicitor General, Office for Access to Justice, Office of Legal Counsel, Office of Legal Policy, Office of Legislative Affairs, Office of the Associate Attorney General, Office of the Deputy Attorney General and Office of the Attorney General and will be supported by dedicated staff.

“As Attorney General Garland has said, the Supreme Court’s&nbsp;Dobbs&nbsp;decision is a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-merrick-b-garland-statement-supreme-court-ruling-dobbs-v-jackson-women-s">devastating blow to reproductive freedom</a>&nbsp;in the United States,” said Associate Attorney General Gupta. “The Court abandoned 50 years of precedent and took away the constitutional right to abortion, preventing women all over the country from being able to make critical decisions about our bodies, our health, and our futures. The Justice Department is committed to protecting access to reproductive services.”

The Task Force will monitor and evaluate all state and local legislation and enforcement actions that threaten to:

The Task Force will identify such actions and coordinate appropriate federal government responses, including proactive and defensive legal action where appropriate. The Task Force will work with agencies across the federal government to support their work on issues relating to reproductive rights and access to reproductive healthcare.&nbsp;

The Justice Department is working with external stakeholders such as reproductive services providers, advocates and state attorneys general. The Task Force will continue this important effort. It will also work with the Office of Counsel to the President to convene a meeting of private pro bono attorneys, bar associations and public interest organizations in order to encourage lawyers to represent and assist patients, providers and third parties lawfully seeking reproductive health services throughout the country. In order to assist attorneys working to protect access to comprehensive reproductive health services, the Task Force will centralize online legal resources, such as filed Justice Department legal briefs and information about the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.

Recognizing that the best way to protect reproductive freedom is through congressional action, the Task Force will also coordinate providing technical assistance to Congress in connection with federal legislation to codify reproductive rights and ensure access to comprehensive reproductive services. It will also coordinate the provision of technical assistance concerning Federal constitutional protections to states seeking to afford legal protection to out-of-state patients and providers who offer legal reproductive healthcare.

The United State's Justice Department announced the establishment of the Reproductive Rights Task Force.<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5t7nnH5nfWs" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>The Task Force formalizes an existing working group and efforts by the Department over the last several months to identify ways to protect access to reproductive health care in anticipation of the possibility of the Supreme Court overturning&nbsp;Roe v. Wade&nbsp;and&nbsp;Planned Parenthood v. Casey, according to the United State's Attorney's office.Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta will chair the Task Force, which will consist of representatives from the Department’s Civil Division, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney community, Office of the Solicitor General, Office for Access to Justice, Office of Legal Counsel, Office of Legal Policy, Office of Legislative Affairs, Office of the Associate Attorney General, Office of the Deputy Attorney General and Office of the Attorney General and will be supported by dedicated staff.“As Attorney General Garland has said, the Supreme Court’s&nbsp;Dobbs&nbsp;decision is a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-merrick-b-garland-statement-supreme-court-ruling-dobbs-v-jackson-women-s">devastating blow to reproductive freedom</a>&nbsp;in the United States,” said Associate Attorney General Gupta. “The Court abandoned 50 years of precedent and took away the constitutional right to abortion, preventing women all over the country from being able to make critical decisions about our bodies, our health, and our futures. The Justice Department is committed to protecting access to reproductive services.”The Task Force will monitor and evaluate all state and local legislation and enforcement actions that threaten to:<ul>
 <li>Infringe on federal legal protections relating to the provision or pursuit of reproductive care;</li><li>Impair women’s ability to seek reproductive care in states where it is legal;</li><li>Impair individuals’ ability to inform and counsel each other about the reproductive care that is available in other states;</li><li>Ban Mifepristone based on disagreement with the FDA’s expert judgment about its safety and efficacy; or</li><li>Impose criminal or civil liability on federal employees who provide reproductive health services in a manner authorized by federal law.</li>
 </ul>The Task Force will identify such actions and coordinate appropriate federal government responses, including proactive and defensive legal action where appropriate. The Task Force will work with agencies across the federal government to support their work on issues relating to reproductive rights and access to reproductive healthcare.&nbsp;The Justice Department is working with external stakeholders such as reproductive services providers, advocates and state attorneys general. The Task Force will continue this important effort. It will also work with the Office of Counsel to the President to convene a meeting of private pro bono attorneys, bar associations and public interest organizations in order to encourage lawyers to represent and assist patients, providers and third parties lawfully seeking reproductive health services throughout the country. In order to assist attorneys working to protect access to comprehensive reproductive health services, the Task Force will centralize online legal resources, such as filed Justice Department legal briefs and information about the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.Recognizing that the best way to protect reproductive freedom is through congressional action, the Task Force will also coordinate providing technical assistance to Congress in connection with federal legislation to codify reproductive rights and ensure access to comprehensive reproductive services. It will also coordinate the provision of technical assistance concerning Federal constitutional protections to states seeking to afford legal protection to out-of-state patients and providers who offer legal reproductive healthcare.

🎥Justice Department launches Reproductive Rights Task Force

By DYLAN LYSEN and JIM MCLEAN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-07-13/kansas-reportedly-landing-4-billion-factory-that-will-make-batteries-for-tesla">Kansas News Service</a>

TOPEKA&nbsp;— A subsidiary of Japanese industrial giant 
Panasonic Corp. will build a $4 billion plant to make batteries for 
Tesla electric vehicles in Kansas, a Japanese news outlet is reporting.

<a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Automobiles/Panasonic-to-build-EV-battery-plant-for-Tesla-in-U.S.-state-of-Kansas" target="_blank">Neikki reported Wednesday</a>
 that Kansas had beat out Oklahoma for the Panasonic Holdings plant, 
which would supply batteries to a large electric vehicle plant in Texas.

That could mean some 4,000 jobs at the battery-making facility and more jobs for businesses supplying that plant.

“The
 Japanese company picked the site of the new facility based on factors 
including its proximity to Texas and favorable tax treatment,” Neikki 
reported. The news outlet covers markets and the economy.

The deal
 would come after Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly enlisted the help of the 
Republicans who control the Legislature to promise up to $1.3 billion in
 <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-02-01/kansas-gov-kelly-wants-to-spend-1-billion-to-land-a-big-mystery-manufacturer" target="_blank">tax breaks and other incentives</a> to land the massive economic development project.

The
 Kansas State Finance Council is scheduled to meet Wednesday afternoon 
and could potentially give official approval of the various taxpayer 
incentives that would seal the bargain.

In the spring, the Legislature <a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/sb347/" target="_blank">approved new rules</a> giving state officials the ability to promise larger giveaways to entice employers to Kansas.

Kelly’s
 administration and key Republican lawmakers were told what company the 
state was courting, but they signed non-disclosure agreements promising 
to keep the information confidential.

That meant Kansas 
dramatically increased the tax breaks it could offer a manufacturer even
 while keeping secret from the public the name of the company, where it 
wanted to build in the state and what it might produce. It wasn’t known 
publicly, for instance, that the record-setting tax breaks would go to a
 foreign company.

And Elon Musk, who runs the Tesla plant in Texas
 that will benefit from a huge battery maker in Kansas, has since become
 a figure of increasing controversy. Most recently, he's tried <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/07/12/1111032233/elon-musk-twitter-lawsuit-deal" target="_blank">to back out</a> of his $40-plus billion purchase of Twitter.

In
 promoting the effort to land the company in Kansas, state officials 
projected an additional 4,000 jobs working for suppliers to supply the 
factory in addition to those directly working at the manufacturing 
plant.

Kelly made David Toland, her lieutenant governor and 
commerce secretary, the point person on the campaign to bring the 
Japanese manufacturer to the state. He argued that whether Kansas landed
 this company or not, changing the rules on tax incentives could put 
Kansas in play to seduce other “megaprojects.”

The
 incentives included in the legislation can only be used to recruit 
companies willing to invest at least $1 billion. They include:

Companies
 must agree to repay benefits if the performance metrics aren’t met. In 
addition, the state can claw back a percentage of the benefits if a 
company relocates to another state within 15 years of entering its 
agreement.

“These incentives must be earned,” Toland said before 
the deal to land the battery plant came together. “The company gets the 
investment tax credit after they invest. The company gets the payroll 
rebate after they’ve hired and paid people.”

The
 new plant could conceivably help some everyday Kansans by purchasing 
significant amounts of electricity from its energy provider, Evergy.

Ashok
 Gupta, an energy economist with the Natural Resource Defense Council, 
said Evergy would sell electricity to the plant to produce the 
batteries. The more energy the plant purchases for its manufacturing, 
the less Kansas homeowners may need to pay to cover Evergy’s operating 
costs.

“That can in theory help all other customers lower their costs,” Gupta said. “This is a good economic development play.”

It
 could also be a boon to Evergy stockholders. Utilities prefer customers
 that demand large amounts of electricity at a steady rate because it 
makes it easier for them to build their capacity to match demand.

In
 April, Oklahoma lawmakers, at the urging of Republican Gov. Kevin 
Stitt, approved an incentive package aimed at keeping that state in the 
running for the plant. Targeted at projects of at least $3.6 billion, it
 authorized a rebate for 3.4% of a company’s investment in the year that
 it is made for up to five successive years. A summary of the bill put 
the value of the incentive at $700 million.

Stitt said the incentive package was aimed at making Oklahoma a destination for companies in the electric vehicle industry.

“Tens
 of billions of dollars are going to be invested over the next five to 
seven years in this space and we want Oklahoma to be the spot that these
 folks land,” Stitt said.

In March, Bloomberg News reported that <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-14/panasonic-is-scouting-u-s-sites-for-new-battery-factory-by-2024" target="_blank">Panasonic was in talks with both Kansas and Oklahoma officials</a> about a site to manufacture lithium-ion batteries for Tesla and other electric vehicle makers.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1657736625703.png" alt="Celia Llopis-Jepsen / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Celia Llopis-Jepsen / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By DYLAN LYSEN and JIM MCLEAN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-07-13/kansas-reportedly-landing-4-billion-factory-that-will-make-batteries-for-tesla">Kansas News Service</a>TOPEKA&nbsp;— A subsidiary of Japanese industrial giant 
Panasonic Corp. will build a $4 billion plant to make batteries for 
Tesla electric vehicles in Kansas, a Japanese news outlet is reporting.<a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Automobiles/Panasonic-to-build-EV-battery-plant-for-Tesla-in-U.S.-state-of-Kansas" target="_blank">Neikki reported Wednesday</a>
 that Kansas had beat out Oklahoma for the Panasonic Holdings plant, 
which would supply batteries to a large electric vehicle plant in Texas.That could mean some 4,000 jobs at the battery-making facility and more jobs for businesses supplying that plant.“The
 Japanese company picked the site of the new facility based on factors 
including its proximity to Texas and favorable tax treatment,” Neikki 
reported. The news outlet covers markets and the economy.The deal
 would come after Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly enlisted the help of the 
Republicans who control the Legislature to promise up to $1.3 billion in
 <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-02-01/kansas-gov-kelly-wants-to-spend-1-billion-to-land-a-big-mystery-manufacturer" target="_blank">tax breaks and other incentives</a> to land the massive economic development project.The
 Kansas State Finance Council is scheduled to meet Wednesday afternoon 
and could potentially give official approval of the various taxpayer 
incentives that would seal the bargain.In the spring, the Legislature <a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/sb347/" target="_blank">approved new rules</a> giving state officials the ability to promise larger giveaways to entice employers to Kansas.Kelly’s
 administration and key Republican lawmakers were told what company the 
state was courting, but they signed non-disclosure agreements promising 
to keep the information confidential.That meant Kansas 
dramatically increased the tax breaks it could offer a manufacturer even
 while keeping secret from the public the name of the company, where it 
wanted to build in the state and what it might produce. It wasn’t known 
publicly, for instance, that the record-setting tax breaks would go to a
 foreign company.And Elon Musk, who runs the Tesla plant in Texas
 that will benefit from a huge battery maker in Kansas, has since become
 a figure of increasing controversy. Most recently, he's tried <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/07/12/1111032233/elon-musk-twitter-lawsuit-deal" target="_blank">to back out</a> of his $40-plus billion purchase of Twitter.In
 promoting the effort to land the company in Kansas, state officials 
projected an additional 4,000 jobs working for suppliers to supply the 
factory in addition to those directly working at the manufacturing 
plant.Kelly made David Toland, her lieutenant governor and 
commerce secretary, the point person on the campaign to bring the 
Japanese manufacturer to the state. He argued that whether Kansas landed
 this company or not, changing the rules on tax incentives could put 
Kansas in play to seduce other “megaprojects.”<h2>Tax breaks</h2>The
 incentives included in the legislation can only be used to recruit 
companies willing to invest at least $1 billion. They include:<ul>
 <li>A refundable tax credit for up to 15% of a company’s investment paid out over 10 years.&nbsp;</li><li>A
 one-time 0.5% cut in the corporate income tax rate each time a 
qualifying project comes to Kansas. The bill limits the use of the 
enhanced incentives to one project per calendar year.&nbsp;</li><li>A payroll tax refund of 7.5 percent for 10 years, which the State Finance Council can increase to 10%.&nbsp;</li><li>Up to $5 million annually to offset workforce training costs.&nbsp;</li><li>$10 million to help relocate employees to Kansas paid out in $1 million increments for 10 years.&nbsp;</li><li>Suppliers
 of the primary company that establish facilities in Kansas would be 
eligible for a refundable tax credit of 5% on their initial investment 
of $50 million. They could then receive an additional percentage point 
for every $10 million invested up to $100 million. Suppliers would also 
be eligible for $250,000 a year for workforce training.&nbsp;</li>
 </ul>Companies
 must agree to repay benefits if the performance metrics aren’t met. In 
addition, the state can claw back a percentage of the benefits if a 
company relocates to another state within 15 years of entering its 
agreement.“These incentives must be earned,” Toland said before 
the deal to land the battery plant came together. “The company gets the 
investment tax credit after they invest. The company gets the payroll 
rebate after they’ve hired and paid people.”<h2>Charging up</h2>The
 new plant could conceivably help some everyday Kansans by purchasing 
significant amounts of electricity from its energy provider, Evergy.Ashok
 Gupta, an energy economist with the Natural Resource Defense Council, 
said Evergy would sell electricity to the plant to produce the 
batteries. The more energy the plant purchases for its manufacturing, 
the less Kansas homeowners may need to pay to cover Evergy’s operating 
costs.“That can in theory help all other customers lower their costs,” Gupta said. “This is a good economic development play.”It
 could also be a boon to Evergy stockholders. Utilities prefer customers
 that demand large amounts of electricity at a steady rate because it 
makes it easier for them to build their capacity to match demand.<h2>Competing for Panasonic</h2>In
 April, Oklahoma lawmakers, at the urging of Republican Gov. Kevin 
Stitt, approved an incentive package aimed at keeping that state in the 
running for the plant. Targeted at projects of at least $3.6 billion, it
 authorized a rebate for 3.4% of a company’s investment in the year that
 it is made for up to five successive years. A summary of the bill put 
the value of the incentive at $700 million.Stitt said the incentive package was aimed at making Oklahoma a destination for companies in the electric vehicle industry.“Tens
 of billions of dollars are going to be invested over the next five to 
seven years in this space and we want Oklahoma to be the spot that these
 folks land,” Stitt said.In March, Bloomberg News reported that <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-14/panasonic-is-scouting-u-s-sites-for-new-battery-factory-by-2024" target="_blank">Panasonic was in talks with both Kansas and Oklahoma officials</a> about a site to manufacture lithium-ion batteries for Tesla and other electric vehicle makers.The Bloomberg report cited unnamed sources saying the company had plans for bigger battery cells, what the company calls its <a href="https://www.autoblog.com/2022/02/28/tesla-panasonic-4680-cells/" target="_blank">4680 model</a>,
 to meet the demand to increase the range of electric vehicles. 
Bloomberg’s sources also said other kinds of batteries might be made at 
the plant. Panasonic is on pace to start making the 4680 batteries in 
Japan in the next year.Japanese broadcaster NHK also reported 
earlier this year that Panasonic was eyeing Oklahoma and Kansas as 
possible locations, partly because they sit relatively close to the new “<a href="https://www.tesla.com/gigafactory" target="_blank">gigafactory</a>” that Tesla is ramping up in Texas.Both
 Kansas and Oklahoma are so-called right-to-work states where it’s 
easier for employers to keep out unions. Kazuo Tadanobu, chief executive
 officer of Panasonic’s energy business, told Bloomberg News that any 
new plant locations would turn on existing partnerships with the company
 and the economics of a region.The world market for lithium-ion 
batteries is projected by the industry to grow from $30 billion in 2017 
to $100 billion in 2025.<h2>Debated incentives</h2>When
 Kansas legislators debated whether to OK the bigger tax breaks Kelly 
wanted, some lawmakers questioned the wisdom of clearing the way for a 
company that could already be profitable and that might bring 
environmental problems to the state. And some critics said the 
large-scale incentives put smaller businesses at a disadvantage.Sen.
 Caryn Tyson, a Parker Republican, said one small business owner who 
urged her to oppose the incentive package said the title of the bill 
should be changed to “crony capitalism kicks existing Kansas businesses 
in the face.”Dave Trabert, president of the Kansas Policy 
Institute, a conservative think-tank that lobbies for reduced government
 spending, said a better recruitment strategy would be to lower taxes 
for all companies operating in the state.“We could give one big 
lollipop to one company, or we could wipe out the income tax liability 
of all the corporations in Kansas,” Trabert said when testifying against
 the incentive legislation.But legislative leaders in both 
parties helped push the bill through after they signed non-disclosure 
agreements and learned the identity of what was then a mystery company.“A
 project of this magnitude is something that can change the state for 
generations,” Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, said
 in the spring.Mark Williams heads a South Carolina-based firm 
that negotiates deals for companies looking for locations to expand. He 
said states that don’t have competitive incentives stand little chance 
of success.“It’s a very important factor,” Williams said.Not only financially, he said, but psychologically.Companies
 looking to make big investments, Williams said, “like it when they feel
 a state is embracing them and taking some risk with them.”“From a decision-making perspective, that’s an important factor that I think is often overlooked,” he said.Dylan
 Lysen reports on politics for the Kansas News Service. Jim McLean is the senior correspondent for the Kansas News Service.&nbsp;