SALINA, Kan. (AP) — A new research center in Salina will help industry leaders figure out the best ways to handle bulk solids such as sugar, salt, chemicals and plastics.
The $4.7 million, 13,000-square-foot Kansas State Bulk Solids Innovation Center officially opened on Thursday. It includes five smaller laboratories and a full-scale lab, which includes a 60-foot silo with sensors and removable sections to study storing and moving solid bulk items.
The Salina Journal reports it is the only such research center in the Western Hemisphere, with similar centers in Scotland, England and Australia.
Supporters say the center has already attracted interest from industry leaders.
The center is expected to bring about 40 jobs to Salina and provide educational work opportunities for students.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators reached what had been set as the last day of their annual session without either chamber having passed a plan for raising taxes to close a budget shortfall.
The Republican-controlled Legislature’s debate over raising new revenues centers on two key issues.
One is how much to increase the state’s 6.15 percent sales tax.
The other whether the state should retain an income tax break enacted in 2012 for more than 330,000 farmers and business owners. The policy championed by GOP Gov. Sam Brownback as an economic stimulus.
Republican legislators acknowledge they’re deeply split over both issues.
Legislative leaders traditionally schedule 90 days for lawmakers’ annual session, and Saturday was the 90th this year. But legislators plan to return Monday to the Statehouse for a 92nd day.
OBERLIN — CHS Inc., a leading farmer-owned cooperative, officially assumed operation of elevators formerly run by Hansen-Mueller in Oberlin and Cedar Bluffs in early May 2015.
The CHS operation will be able to bring added value to its customers through a collaborative agreement with two other CHS businesses: CHS Agri Service, based out of Holdrege, Neb., and CHS United Plains Ag, based out of Sharon Springs. These groups will share equipment and materials, as well as the expertise of their staffs, for enhanced grain services and the potential for new programs.
“We’re proud to be part of an organization whose main focus is on helping its farmer-owners grow and succeed,” said Brandon Kuykendall. “Our team looks forward to continuing to work with our area producers, bringing them the services and programs they need and expect.”
These two facilities originate corn, winter wheat and milo, with the majority of production being shipped by truck to area cattle feed lots, ethanol plants and milling companies. More information about the services and programs at these locations can be found at www.chsoberlin.com.
CHS Inc. is a leading global agribusiness owned by farmers, ranchers and cooperatives across the United States. Diversified in energy, grains and foods, CHS is committed to helping its customers, farmer-owners and other stakeholders grow their businesses through its domestic and global operations. CHS, a Fortune 100 company, supplies energy, crop nutrients, grain marketing services, animal feed, food and food ingredients, along with business solutions including insurance, financial and risk management services. The company operates petroleum refineries/pipelines and manufactures, markets and distributes Cenex brand refined fuels, lubricants, propane and renewable energy products.
Courtesy of Brenda and Mark Linenberger, Holy Family Elementary School students received a surprise Monday when Cindy Washburn’s kindergarten-prep class participated in their annual event “Fun Day in the Sun.”
The students began the day at the bowling alley, then they were supposed to go to the park for lunch. However, due to the weather, they went back to their classroom. After lunch, the group was taken to play miniature golf.
The surprise was a monster truck ride to end the day.
“They were excited and they know we are into monster trucks heavily,” said truck owner Brenda Linenberger, whose son, Kobe, is in the class.
In 2010, Brenda’s husband, Mark was diagnosed with throat and neck cancer. Cancer-free for five years, they expressed their gratitude to the community for all of the help they received during that time — and would like to return the favor.
“We want to give back to the community,” Brenda said. “Glad he is still here and we have the opportunity to do this.”
The family has a long history of monster trucks. In the 1980s, Mark used to race in a monster truck called “Night Warrior.”
The family owns Warrior Motor Sports, which allows him to still be involved through selling parts and racing.
Their 5-year-old son, Kobe, wants to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“We call our son, ‘Son of a warrior.’ He said he is going to do what his daddy does when he gets big,” Brenda said.
Her husband just got back from doing a show in Mississippi for five days. The family has traveled all over country, but is still working on getting the truck ready for future fundraisers.
“Nothing is set in stone yet, but we are hoping to have one. No date has been set, so we can give back to Holy Elementary or another night gives back to Cancer Council here in Hays,” said Brenda. “They were big into our stuff with our help with my husband if we needed it.”
She is certain on one thing, kids come first and they are our future, she said.
“It’s kind of important to focus on things like this and they can achieve their dreams that if there is anything they want to do, to just work for it and they can achieve anything you want,” she said.
June Edith Ruff, age 88, passed away at Rhode Island Suites, Ransom, Kansas on May 15, 2015.
She was born June 20, 1926 in rural Brownell, the daughter of William and Nina Green Horlick.
She was a nurse’s aide at Grisell Memorial Hospital for many years. She was a member of the United Methodist Church, Brownell; Senior Companion, and Senior Citizens, Brownell. She also volunteered at daycares and preschools in Ness City, and volunteered at the Brownell Library.
On April 20, 1948, June married Gayle Ryan. He preceded her in death April 13, 1983. On August 10, 1991, she married Kenneth Ruff. He preceded her in death May 30, 2001.
She is survived by her son, Thomas (Carol) Ryan, Brownell; daughter, Julie (Ted) Nuttle, Brownell; grandchildren, Neila (Scott) Osborn, Jeremy (Kari) Ryan, Justin Ryan, Tyler Nuttle, Chad (Holly) Nuttle; 6 great-grandchildren; a sister, Arlene Brown, Bucklin; and two sisters-in-law.
She was preceded in death by her parents, spouses, and brothers, Billy, Eddie, and Jack.
Viewing will be Tuesday, May 19, 2015 9:00 A.M. – 9:00 P.M. at Fitzgerald Funeral Home.
Funeral service will be Wednesday, May 20, 2015 11:00 A.M. at Praise Fellowship Church, Ransom, Kansas.
Four Fort Hays State University professors and a professor from Sias International University contributed to the latest issue of the eJournal of Public Affairs published March 31.
Dr. Darrell Hamlin, assistant professor of justice studies, co-edited the issue and co-wrote the introductory essay for the special issue on educating globally competent citizens. His co-author was Dennis Falk, distinguished teaching professor in the Department of Social Work at the University of Minnesota Duluth.
Dr. Shala Mills, chair of the Department of Political Science, co-wrote “AASCU’s Global Challenges: Promise and Peril in the 21st Century Course,” with assistant professor of political science, Tina Zappile, Stockton University, New Jersey. In the article, Mills and Zappile discuss a course model for creating a curriculum to educate globally competent citizens. The model was created by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. The article also discusses several case studies where the model is used.
Dr. Brett Zollinger, chair of the Department of Sociology and Social Work; Fu Runfeng, Sias; and Dr. Keith Campbell, professor of sociology, co-wrote “Undergraduates’ Awareness and perceptions of Globalization: A Comparison of U.S. and Chinese Students.” This paper reports research about the knowledge and perceptions of globalization concepts and trends among U.S. and Chinese undergraduate students.
The journal can be found at ejournal.missouristate.edu.
A pipe juts out over a section of the Kansas river in North Lawrence where it empties water regulated for pollution. Along this stretch, deciduous foliage acts as a buffer helping to keep fertilizers from blowing into the water. By Amelia Arveson.
By Amelia Arvesen
KU Statehouse Wire Service
When Dawn Buehler cupped the Kansas River’s water in her hands 30 years ago, it was full of silt and mud. She said it’s clearer now, like water should be.
However, threats to clean water still exist often below the surface created by street runoff, fertilizers and illegally dumped liquids. Buehler wants to do something about it.
“Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there,” she said.
In March, she became the new Kansas Riverkeeper, a position through the nonprofit Friends of the Kaw dedicated to protecting the river’s health. The 173-mile river begins in Junction City and stretches to Kansas City where it empties into the Missouri River.
“The river provides 800,000 Kansans with drinking water,” Buehler said. “It’s a drinking water source for our families and we need to keep the water quality clean.”
Other agencies such as the Kansas Department of Health and Environment also monitor water supply and water quality standards. Buehler said there’s no harm in ensuring it’s even cleaner.
In 2012, Gov. Sam Brownback called for a long-term plan to improve the state’s future water supply with some parts addressing quality. In March, a team from the Kansas Water Office presented to communities a third draft of the Kansas Water Vision in order to establish regional goals.
Key phases of the plan include water management, educating the public on the importance of water conservation and dredging state lakes to increase water storage capacity.
Since it’s creation in 1991, Friends of the Kaw has also advocated for the removal of in-river sand dredging, or scooping sediment from the riverbeds used to make concrete and build roads. The organization pushes for dredges to be relocated to designated sites higher on the banks.
Removing sand from the river widens and deepens the channel, disrupting wildlife, causing erosion and increasing contamination and pollution by activating buried organic chemical compounds, according to the American Rivers nonprofit.
When sediment naturally fills in reservoirs, dredging is necessary to increase storage capacity. Tracy Streeter, Kansas Water Office director, said although it varies in different parts of the state, 85 percent of water on average is devoted to irrigating agriculture and 10 percent is devoted to municipal uses.
“We’ve been working on water quality for years,” Streeter said. “Fundamentally, we want to make sure we have enough water.”
Buehler said the turbulence from dredging, whether in a reservoir or a river, makes it more difficult for water filtration systems to work effectively. She said an increase in conservation measures would effectively decrease the rate at which reservoirs fill with sediment.
Earlier this year, the state began dredging the John Redmond Reservoir in southeast Kansas. The project is expected to cost approximately $25 million, according to the Kansas Legislature. A State Water Plan Fund utilizes revenue from sources like municipal water bill fees, but Streeter said it is inadequate to sustain the plan.
Brownback is establishing a Blue Ribbon Task force to evaluate finances, which includes seeking private and public partnerships.
The final draft of the Water Vision is slated for presentation to legislators at the end of the year. Buehler said she hopes the preservation of existing water isn’t overlooked.
“I don’t think we can create more water,” Buehler said. “I think we need to conserve the water we already have.”
In the meantime, she is dedicated to educating the public about simple ways to conserve and ways to prevent contaminating fresh bodies of water.
“If they learn young to turn the facet off, they’ll likely do it for the rest of their life,” Buehler said.
Amelia Arvesen is a University of Kansas senior from San Ramon, Calif., majoring in journalism.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer students say they are being bullied at school. Those who are bullied are more likely to be girls than boys and more likely to be white than minority students.
The Education Department says survey results find that 22 percent of students age 12 to 18 say they were bullied in 2013. That’s down 6 percentage points from two years earlier. It’s also the lowest level since the National Center for Education Statistics began surveying students on bullying in 2005.
Bullying has spread from school hallways and bathrooms to social media, raising awareness in recent years of what was once largely an underground issue. The focus has resulted in an aggressive effort to tackle bullying from local school officials on up to the federal government.
GOODLAND – A motorcycle rider was injured in an accident just before 3:30 p.m. on Saturday in Sherman County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2008 Harley Davidson motorcycle driven by Thomas Edward Holstein, 67, Wentzville, Mo., was eastbound on Interstate 70 fourteen miles east of the Kansas 27 interchange.
The motorcycle came up from behind and clipped the rear tire of a 2003 Honda motorcycle driven by Robert John Keymer, 72, Parrish, Florida.
Holstein was transported to Goodland Regional Medical Center.
Keymer was not injured.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback uses a private email address to communicate with staff, raising concerns about the availability of much of his communication under the state’s open records law.
The Wichita Eagle reports that email records show Brownback uses a private email address, while his staffers use official government emails. Brownback spokeswoman Eileen Hawley confirmed Brownback’s use of private email.
Attorney General Derek Schmidt, a Republican, says private emails from public officials fall outside the bounds of the Kansas Open Records Act.
Brownback’s emails to staff would be public records if the staff member were on a government account. But a media outlet or a person could obtain those records only by knowing which staffer Brownback had emailed and when.
Schmidt has recommended changes to fix the private email loophole.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A police chief says one person has been killed and another injured in a shooting near a water resort in eastern Kansas City, Missouri.
The shooting occurred Saturday evening near the CoCo Key Water Resort, which is connected to the Adams Mark Hotel. Police have been searching for at least two suspects who fled into nearby woods.
Chief of Police Darryl Forte said on Twitter that one person died and another person went to a hospital with an injury that wasn’t life-threatening. It was unclear how far from the water park and hotel the shooting occurred.
Officials with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimate that more than 1.3 million Kansans now have private health insurance that includes preventive services at no out-of-pocket cost. See the report here.
“Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, more Kansans have access to preventive services, including vaccinations, well-baby visits, and diabetes and blood pressure screenings,” HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell said.
“These services can substantially improve the health of families, and in some cases even save lives. We urge all individuals with health care coverage to take advantage of these services.” To meet the standards set by the Affordable Care Act, health insurance plans must offer a range of preventive services at no out-of-pocket cost to the patient. These services include things like annual wellness check-ups, cancer screenings and recommended immunizations.
The idea is to encourage people to stay on top of their health and catch serious health conditions like cancer or diabetes as early as possible. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas spokeswoman Mary Beth Chambers said she was somewhat startled by the HHS estimate of 1.3 million people for a state with a population of 2.9 million. “That number just seems high to me, to say that 1.3 million Kansans are in health plans that offer no-cost preventive services to them,” she said.
The preventive services coverage only applies to health plans that were new on or after Sept. 23, 2010, Chambers said. Plans that were in effect before that date are grandfathered and don’t have to offer those benefits, she said, and 80 percent of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas members are in those older plans.
Whether the estimate is accurate or not, Chambers agreed with Burwell about the importance of the preventive benefits. “The bottom line is that it is true that the ACA has created access to no-cost-sharing preventive services and that Kansans with these ACA-compliant plans should take advantage of these services as a way to improve their overall health,” she said. “Regardless of the numbers, that is the most important aspect of the story.”
Chambers advises anyone whose coverage includes preventive services with no out-of-pocket cost to mention that when scheduling appointments to ensure proper billing. If services are provided beyond what’s included in a preventive screening, patients can be responsible for some charges. For example, Chambers said a screening for colorectal cancer would be covered at no charge to the patient. However, if the screening results in a diagnosis of cancer, any services required to treat that cancer may not be considered part of the preventive services.
Bryan Thompson is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.
