TOPEKA, Kan.  -  Gov. Sam Brownback has asked for federal disaster declarations for 37 more counties hit by drought, heat, high winds and wildfires.  The governor's office said Friday he's asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to declare 37 more counties disasters, making farmers there eligible for USDA disaster assistance programs.
     The request includes Atchison, Brown, Chase, Cherokee, Clay, Cloud, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Ellis, Ellsworth, Franklin, Geary, Jackson, Jefferson, Jewell, Johnson, Leavenworth, Lincoln, Marion, Miami, Mitchell, Morris, Nemaha, Osage, Osborne, Ottawa, Pottawatomie, Republic, Riley, Rush, Russell, Saline, Shawnee, Smith, Wabaunsee and Wyandotte.
     If the 37 are approved, that would mean 103 of the state's 105 counties are primary federal disaster areas. The two that are not, Marshall and Washington, border primary counties and would receive disaster declarations as contiguous counties.