ELLIS COUNTY — A small earthquake shook Ellis County Sunday morning. The quake just before 2:30a.m. measured a magnitude 3.0, according the U.S. Geological Survey. It was centered approximately 4 miles north of Victoria.
This is another in a series of quakes reported in Ellis, Russell and Rooks County since June 1.
There are no reports of damage or injury from Sunday’s quake.
WICHITA — Sarah Stephens stands over a brightly lit table in a detached garage-turned-grow shed as she trims away unnecessary leaves from a recently harvested hemp plant.
When she’s finished, only the floral material of the plant will be left. The flowers will eventually be processed into CBD oil.
Their outfit is one of the first growers in Kansas’ fledgling industrial hemp industry to begin harvesting.
While the harvest is a major milestone for the state’s hemp pilot program, the industry still faces many challenges before it’s deemed a profitable alternative to corn, wheat, soybeans and the other crops that dominate Kansas farming.
Most hemp growers who planted outside in fields won’t begin harvesting until early September. Sarah Stephens is harvesting so early because she grew a relatively small number of plants indoors.
Before she could begin her harvest, she had to contact the Kansas Department of Agriculture to schedule a pre-harvest inspection. It’s part of a mountain of red tape required to participate in the program including filing planting and harvest reports.
At the pre-harvest inspection, KDA officials take samples of the hemp plants to send to a state laboratory in Topeka. The lab tests the hemp for its THC levels. THC is a psychoactive chemical that gets you high. If a hemp plant has more than 0.3% THC it is by definition no longer hemp — instead it would be considered marijuana and would have to be destroyed.
Stephens had to wait a week for her results. It was the most nervous she’d been since she’d started growing hemp.
She ultimately got the news she was hoping for. Her sample came back with 0.19% THC.
As part of the industrial hemp research program, each licensee had to come up with some kind of research proposal. Stephens experimented with growing hemp hydroponically — or suspended in water — versus growing it in dirt.
“I did screw them up a little bit,” she said. “I had a whole ’nother container of the hydroponics and I killed them.”
It’s a relatively small operation. She’ll only end up harvesting around 50 plants. But she’s already got plans for growth next year.
Besides growing floral material, she’s also begun “cloning” her plants. That means trimming off stems to create new, genetically identical sprouts for other people interested in growing hemp.
Another challenge, and one that’s more immediate, will be finding a processor willing to purchase the hemp. She said she’d like to sell her hemp to a Kansas processor.
“We’re all kind of a part of this new little group of people trying to make it,” she said.
There are only 34 licensed processors in the program, many of which have never done it before and are learning as they go.
“It’s not a small undertaking at all,” KDA Industrial Hemp Specialist Braden Hoch said. “It takes quite a bit of planning to actually get one of these facilities up and running.”
Stephens said she thinks she’s got a processor lined up, but that it wasn’t quite ready to purchase her hemp just yet.
Another option would be to sell their hemp to processors in states such as Colorado and Kentucky, which have more mature programs.
Brian Grimmett reports on the environment, energy and natural resources for the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter @briangrimmett or email him at grimmett (at) kmuw (dot) org.
The annual Youth Outdoor Fest is scheduled for Aug. 17.
Cover photo courtesy KDWPT
TOPEKA — The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Emporia Community Foundation and Hedges family are delighted announced last week that Elsi Miller, an undergraduate student from Great Bend studying biology at Fort Hays State University, has been awarded the Lance Hedges Conservation Award. The scholarship, named in memory of the former Director of Conservation for The Nature Conservancy, is available only to interns and other student employees of TNC in Kansas who are studying wildlife biology, conservation management and other related fields.
“Lance was the driving force behind us establishing our intern program,” says TNC director Rob Manes. “He recognized that growing the next generation of conservation professionals was a task equal to our current on-the-ground conservation work.”
This was Miller’s third summer spent working at Cheyenne Bottoms, first as an AmeriCorps volunteer at the Kansas Wetlands Education Center and then two years as an intern for The Nature Conservancy. Her experience ran the gamut of conservation activities, from shorebird and grassland bird surveys and wetland restoration planning to hands on land management jobs like removing invasive species and cleaning water tanks.
“Elsi is hard working, punctual and never complains about anything. She might be the most level headed 20-year-old I have ever met,” said Robert Penner, Cheyenne Bottoms and avian programs manager for The Nature Conservancy.
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Plan your fall garden with the help of the Extension Master Gardeners -Cottonwood District.
KDWPT
PRATT – The Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KWPT) Commission will conduct its next public meeting on August 15, 2019 at the University of Kansas Edwards Campus, Best Conference Center, 12600 Quivira Rd. in Overland Park. All are welcome to attend the meeting, which begins at 1:30 p.m., followed by a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. Time will be set aside for public comment on non-agenda items at the beginning of both the afternoon and evening sessions.
During the afternoon session, attendees will hear a report on agency and state fiscal status, and a 2019 legislative session update. Staff will then present information for a general discussion on big game regulations and deer research, outdoor mentors, and microchemistry in fisheries. Then, a series of workshop topics – items that may be voted on at a future commission meeting – will be discussed. Workshop items include electronic licensing, threatened and endangered species regulations, fishing regulations, state park regulations, turkey regulations, and electric bicycles.
Commissioners will recess by 5 p.m. and reconvene at 6:30 p.m. to vote on the following items:
If necessary, the Commission will reconvene at 9 a.m. at the same location, August 16, 2019, to complete any unfinished business. Should this occur, time will again be set aside for public comment on non-agenda items.
Information about the Commission, including the August 15, 2019 meeting agenda and briefing book, can be downloaded at ksoutdoors.com/KDWPT-Info/Commission.
If notified in advance, the Commission will have an interpreter available for the hearing impaired. To request an interpreter, call the Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at 1-800-432-0698. Any individual with a disability may request other accommodations by contacting the Commission secretary at (620) 672-5911.
The next KWPT Commission meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 19, 2019 at the Kansas Wetlands Education Center in Great Bend.
SEDGWICK COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating an armed robbery and have three suspects in custody.
Just after 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, police responded to an armed robbery call at P&S Liquor, 2010 E. Pawnee in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.
Upon arrival, officers contacted three employees who stated three unknown suspects entered the business, and one was armed with a handgun. The suspects demanded money. The employees refused to give them money, and the suspects grabbed several bottles of liquor and fled on foot.
Through the investigation, investigators determined 18-year-old Bayleigh McMahon, 18-year-old Kaedon Greenin and two 17-year-old boys all of Wichita were involved.
Police located and arrested them.
Bayleigh McMahon and Kaedon Greening are being held on requested charges of aggravated robbery. The two 17-year-old were also sent to juvenile detention on requested charges of aggravated robbery.
FINNEY COUNTY — Tyson Foods spokesman Worth Sparkman said in a written statement Saturday that due to Friday evening’s fire, the plant west of Garden City will be down indefinitely.
Just after 8:30p.m. Friday, Garden City Communications Center received a 911 call from the operations manager at the Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc. 3105 I B P Road west of Garden City, according to police.
He reported there was a fire in the west side of the building where the process begins.
Fire crews, law enforcement and Finney County Emergency Management were also on scene until most of Saturday.
The approximately 1200 employees on scene at the time the fire started were evacuated. Authorities have reported no injuries.
Garden City Police department worked with USD 457 to send buses out to transport employees from Tyson Fresh Meats to Wiley Elementary in Holcomb.
Red Cross has been working with Wiley to assist those who have been displaced by the fire.
Cause of the fire and additional details have not been released.
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FINNEY COUNTY —As 6:00 a.m. Saturday firefighters were still fighting the fire inside the Tyson plant west of Garden City, according to the Holcomb Fire Department.
The fire was not under control. Firefighters were being hampered by a collapsed portion of the roof and near zero visibility.
Tyson has their Haz-Mat team deployed on site assisting firefighters.
All available firefighters from Garden City and Holcomb were on scene and most have been since the first alarm just after 8:00 pm Friday.
There are no injuries reported.
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FINNEY COUNTY —Just after 8:30p.m. Friday, Garden City Communications Center received a 911 call from the operations manager at the Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc. 3105 I B P Road west of Garden City, according to police.
He reported there was a fire in the west side of the building where the process begins.
Fire crews, law enforcement and Finney County Emergency Management is also on scene until early Saturday morning.
The approximately 1200 employees on scene at the time the fire started were evacuated. Authorities have reported no injuries.
Garden City Police department worked with USD 457 to send buses out to transport employees from Tyson Fresh Meats to Wiley Elementary in Holcomb.
Red Cross has been working with Wiley to assist those who have been displaced by the fire.
Tyson said there would be no “A” shift production for process and harvest on Saturday
Cause of the fire and additional details have not been released.
————
FINNEY COUNTY — Authorities are working a fire on the slaughter side of the Tyson plant, 3105 I B P Road west of Garden City, according to Finney County Sheriff Kevin Bascue.
Officials evacuated the area where the fire is located and everyone is accounted for, according to Bascue. No injuries are being reported.
Check the post for additional details as they become available.
KU NEWS SERVICE
LAWRENCE — Politicians pay close attention to the demands of gun owners. They also pay attention to women voters. But little of their focus is aimed at women who are gun owners.
Apparently, that is a big oversight by those seeking public office.
“I wanted to explore the ‘gun gap’ among women,” Alexandra Middlewood said.
“There’s research out there on the political effects of gun ownership, but the effect on women specifically really hasn’t been looked at — especially not in a quantitative way, using survey analysis and data.”
Middlewood, who earned her doctorate in political science at the University of Kansas in May, joins KU professors Mark Joslyn and Don Haider-Markel in crafting an article titled “Intersectionality in Action: Gun Ownership and Women’s Political Participation.” It will be published in a forthcoming issue of Social Science Quarterly (now available online).
The article contends that female gun owners display levels of political involvement in gun policy and a greater willingness to engage in discussions about gun control than those who don’t own weapons. Interestingly, the evidence also suggests greater political participation among gun-owning women in matters not related to policy.
Simply put: A woman who owns a gun is more likely to vote.
“A lot of people in politics right now are talking about gun control versus gun rights. If we know who is participating in politics and why they’re participating, and why guns are getting them to engage, it has pretty substantial effects on actual policymaking,” Middlewood said.
To determine these results, Middlewood and her associates accessed Pew Research Center data examining political participation pertaining to gun policy. They then launched their own national survey of nearly 900 gun owners. Integrating a 2016 American National Election Studies survey about behavioral and cognitive forms of political participation completed the process.
“There has been a strong movement among gun groups and businesses to attract more women, but the evidence seems to suggest those efforts have failed,” said Haider-Markel, professor and chair of political science at KU.
“However, if you examine gun ownership since the 1970s, you can see that male gun ownership has declined while female gun ownership has stayed about the same as a percentage of the adult population.”
Specifically, the ratio of women who possess guns has remained stable at 11 percent since 1980, even though ownership among men has dropped from 50 to 33 percent during that same span.
Middlewood cites several factors for this statistic.
“A lot of the reason women will say they own guns is fear of victimization. They also want to feel empowered. They want to feel like they can protect themselves if needed in certain circumstances,” she said.
“There is some significant research that shows when women feel like they’re going to be the victims of crime, or they live in areas where crime rates are increasing, the number of concealed carry permits that women apply for increases.”
Does Middlewood herself own a firearm?
“I do not,” she said. “However, some of the surveys about gun ownership ask, ‘Is there a gun in the house?’ I personally do not own a firearm. But my partner is a police officer, and he owns several. So in certain surveys, I would be considered a gun owner as well.”
A Michigan native, Middlewood spent the last three years at KU earning her doctorate, and she will relocate to Wichita State University this month as an assistant professor of American politics. Her area of expertise is public opinion and political behavior.
She’s already expanded on the politics of gun ownership and gender for her dissertation. She hopes to soon turn this topic into a book.
“The Me Too Movement is becoming stronger and stronger, and it’s what we think of as being a pretty liberal movement. And we think of gun ownership as being associated with conservatism,” Middlewood said. “But the research shows that when women feel victimized, they’re more likely to own a gun. So there may be some unexplored connection there.”
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Adult education programs offered by Kansas’ colleges and school districts are increasingly heading to workplaces to help employees with needed skills.
For example, Washburn University will soon offer conflict resolution to staffers at the Ramada Hotel in Topeka. Dodge City Community College will provide customer service lessons at Boot Hill Casino. And several schools are providing English classes, one of the most sought-after skills.
“There’s a major shift taking place in education,” said Karen Ulanski, the director for the Paola school district’s adult education center.
Supporters say the classes help schools, businesses and workers. Schools can offer classes without waiting for students to enroll; businesses attract and retain skilled workers; and workers get free classes without having to go to a new location, Kansas News Service reported .
The trend is partly in reaction to the passage of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act in 2014, which encouraged education programs to meet private-sector needs. Educators began providing more specialized training for specific industries, such as financial literacy skills for retail sales, leading more industries to welcome in those classes.
“There’s broader interest from employers in a range of industries then there used to be,” said Neil Ridley, the state initiative director at Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce.
Walmart recently announced a $460,000 grant for four Kansas adult education centers to offer more classes at retail and service sector workplaces. Six employers are part of the grant, working with centers that serve about a half-dozen employees. More are expected to be added. Several adult education centers are offering classes for the first time this fall.
But even before the grant, adult education centers across the state were offering similar programs: Paola’s school district now offers programs across three counties.
Tyson Foods, which has several meat processing plants in Kansas, has paired with adult education centers to bring in classes since 2016. Tyson expanded that project to Hutchinson last month and plans to add classes to Olathe, Emporia and Kansas City, Kansas, this year.
Employers like the programs because they help attract and retain employees in a tight job market.
“I’m kind of having to get creative in my hiring because everyone else has a position,” said Thea Parks, human research director for the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Topeka. The hotel’s staff will get training from Washburn Institute of Technology, paid for by the Walmart grant.
One drawback is that workers don’t earn credits for a college degree or credential, which makes it harder for workers trying to advance their careers. The Kansas Board of Regents, which oversees the Walmart-funded grant program, does require that the classes give employees skills applicable beyond their current job.
“These programs really should result in industry-recognized credentials that don’t just help them in their current role,” said Lul Tesfai, a senior policy analyst with New America, a left-leaning think tank that studies education.
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — Prosecutors say they have charged a 13-year-old Kansas boy with second-degree murder in the shooting death of a 14-year-old boy at a townhome in suburban Kansas City.
Johnson County District Attorney’s office said the Roeland Park teen who was charged Friday is the same boy that Olathe police had arrested a day earlier. Police initially had said he was 14 years old.
The suspect was arrested hours after the 2:15 a.m. shooting. His name has not been released.
Zavier Mendoza of Olathe has been identified as the shooting victim, and police have said the boys knew each other.
