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2017 1867
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THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
www.iolaregister.com
Monday, July 10, 2017
STILL OPEN FOR BUSINESS Iola water slides remain in operation amid new state law By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Fear not, Iola sliders. Despite a new state law that has prompted several communities to close down water slides for their respective water parks, the two slides at the Iola Municipal Pool will remain open. City Administrator Sid Fleming said he has visited at length with officials about the new law and feels secure Iola’s slides are safe. The law, which took effect July 1, imposes new inspection and permit requirements on amusement rides. The law was passed this year after a state lawmaker’s son, Caleb Schwab, died last summer on the Verruckt water slide at Schlitterbahn waterpark in Kansas City, Kan. A portion of the law that imposes criminal penalties for operating a ride without a license was delayed until Jan. 1 to give ride
A pair of water slides at the Iola Municipal Pool will remain open, even after other communities are closing theirs in response to a new state law tightening regulations of similar slides. REGISTER/
RICHARD LUKEN
operators time to comply with the new regulations. “The legislation was not real clear” in defining what types of slides should be sub-
S&P report: Budget imbalance issues persist By JOHN HANNA The Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A major financial rating agency says a structural imbalance in Kansas’ budget is “likely to persist” even after the state increased income taxes to help close projected shortfalls. The report this week from S&P Global Ratings highlighted the state’s plans to continue diverting highway funds to other spending and to keep shorting contributions to public pensions. Those moves were crucial
to balancing the state budget through June 2019, even with the tax increase expected to raise $1.2 billion in new revenue over two years. “While the state has boosted ongoing revenues through income tax increases, appropriations also have increased, leading to the persistence of structural imbalance in the biennium,” S&P said in the See S&P | Page A4
ject to the permit process, Fleming noted. The law defines a water slide as an amusement ride if it’s at least 15 feet in height
and uses water as a propellant, Fleming said. “With our slides, the water See SLIDES | Page A4
EMS pact on city’s agenda Iola City Council members will discuss tonight changes in the city’s contract to provide ambulance services throughout Allen County. The terms would not change in the updated agreement, according to comments prepared by City Administrator Sid Fleming. Rather, the changes would better reflect language used by the state in dealing with emergency medical services. The ambulances are manned by Iola firefighters, with stations in Iola, Humboldt and Moran. The pact expires in 2020. Also on tonight’s agenda is further discussion about a proposed pedestrian bridge spanning Elm Creek along South Washington Avenue. The project has been spearheaded by Thrive Allen County on the city’s behalf. However, the city learned earlier this year that engineer’s estimates for the span did not include installation costs, leaving a projected $80,000 budget gap. The 6 o’clock meeting at Iola’s New Community Building at Riverside Park is open to the public.
U.S. birthrate hits record lows By KAREN KAPLAN Los Angeles Times (TNS)
Hey stork, you’ve been slacking off — and U.S. health officials know it. For the second year in a row, the number of babies delivered in the U.S. fell in 2016, according to a new report from the National Center for Health Statistics. For some groups of women, the birth rate reached record lows. The provisional figures released Friday include 99.96 percent of all births in the United States last year. Here’s what they show: — OVERALL BIRTHS
Westar, Great Plains Energy pursue merger TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Westar Energy and Great Plains Energy have announced a revamped plan to merge after Kansas regulators scuttled an earlier deal. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the deal announced Monday morning would form a utility with a combined equity value of about $14 billion. The move comes after the Kansas Corporation Commission denied the $12.2 billion sale of Topeka-based Westar to Kansas City, Missouribased Great Plains Energy in late April. Regulators
cited concerns about a high price, the capital structure, merger savings and Kansas job retention, among other issues. Under the new deal, each share of Westar Energy could be exchanged for a share in the new company. Great Plains shares would be worth about 60 percent of a share in the new company. No transaction debt would be incurred.
Quote of the day Vol. 119, No. 177
The total number of babies born in the U.S. last year was 3,941,109. That’s 37,388 fewer babies than were born in the U.S. in 2015, which represents a 1 percent decline. The number of births tends to rise as the population rises, so statisticians like to make historical comparisons by calculating the general fertility rate. This is the number of births per 1,000 women considered to be of childbearing age (between 15 and 44). In 2016, the U.S. general fertility rate hit a record low of 62.0 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44. In 2015, the general fertility rate was 62.5. Another useful statistic is the total fertility rate. This is an estimate of the total number of babies that 1,000 women would have over their lifetimes, based on the actual birth rates for women in different age groups.
For the second year in a row, the number of babies delivered in the U.S. fell in 2016, according to a new report from the National Center for Health Statistics. DREAMTIME/TNS In 2016, the total fertility rate for American women was 1,818 births per 1,000 women. That’s the lowest it has been since 1984. In order for a generation to exactly replace itself, the total fertility rate needs to be 2,100 births per 1,000 women. The U.S. has been missing that mark since 1971 (though the country’s population has grown due to immigration). — MORE OLDER MOTHERS
The ages of women giving birth in the U.S. has been skewing older for several years, and that trend continued in 2016. Birth rates for women 30 and older hit their highest
“A good marriage would be between a blind wife and a deaf husband.” — Michael de Montaigne, French philosopher (1533-1592) 75 Cents
levels since the 1960s, and women in their early 30s had the highest birthrate of any age group. In 2016, there were 102.6 births per 1,000 women between the ages of 30 and 34. The last time it was that high was 1964. There were also 52.6 births per 1,000 women ages 35 to 39, the highest that figure has been since 1962. The birthrate continued to taper off for women in their 40s, with 11.4 births per 1,000 women between the ages of 40 and 44 and 0.9 births per 1,000 women ages 45 and up. Those were the highest birthrates for those age groups See BIRTHRATE | Page A4
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