Like a supernova, Donald Trump has illuminated the electoral universe in 2016. Win or lose, he is likely to explode, showering his light and heat upon thousands of other races across the country, from county commissioner to U.S. senator.

Like a red dwarf, Sam Brownback’s presence has shrunk, to the point that his abysmal levels of support are what define him within both national and – far more importantly – state politics.

Although the governor’s name is not on the ballot, both the August primaries and the November 8th general election constitute, in large part, referenda on his record of taxation, declining revenues, and threats to myriad programs throughout the state.

In short, Kansas Republican voters are faced with a Trump-Brownback ticket. It’s not that a lot of GOP candidates identify with Trump. Many are appalled, and most just stay silent. But the magnetic field of his candidacy continues to affect our entire galaxy of races.

Last week, I chatted up a long-time Republican Party official, as we compared notes on the election. He was apoplectic about Trump, seeing him as bombastic, narcissistic, and utterly unqualified. At the same time, he said he could not vote for Hillary Clinton, arguing that she was congenitally dishonest. Still, he noted, she is sane, and could be trusted far more than Trump.

At the state level, Sam Brownback stands as the governor with the lowest approval rating in the nation.

So every GOP state legislative candidate must contend with both Trump and his penchant for outrageous statements and the least popular governor in modern Kansas history.

Over the past thirty years, voters have increasingly cast straight-party ballots, as opposed to more traditionally splitting their tickets.

So what will be the impact of Trump and Brownback on turnout and the election results in November?

It’s highly unlikely that Trump will lose Kansas, nor that any congressional incumbent will be defeated, despite some wishful thinking that Rep. Kevin Yoder is in trouble. More significant, however, is how a lack of enthusiasm for Trump and the disdain of Brownback will affect the hotly contested state legislative and judicial retention races.

Neither presidential candidate prevailed in the Kansas caucuses, where Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders won convincing victories, so there has been little to build on. In deep-red Kansas, however, it’s the GOP enthusiasm that matters most for down-ballot races, especially in an era when straight-ticket voting has become the norm.

Although some political science research suggests that voters will “balance” their votes, with Trump defectors thus returning to the GOP fold down ballot, the Brownback factor may then kick in.

Kansas Democrats, who understand that their votes will not provide Hillary with the state’s electoral votes, also understand that they have the chance to defeat a number of far-right Republicans, thus amplifying the effects of the August primaries. And will moderate Republican voters really seek to “balance” their disdain for Trump by voting for conservative GOP legislative candidates?

In all likelihood, turnout will take a beating this fall, given the nature of the presidential contest. And most far-right Republicans will remain stalwart at the polls, although their enthusiasm is in doubt.

It may well be that those Kansas Republicans who are willing to reject Donald Trump and to react to the damaging policies of the Brownback administration will help diminish Trump’s margin and reject the governor’s legislative allies.

Trump-Brownback. Not quite the ticket that Sam Brownback had hoped for when he first ran for governor in 2010, but one that might just push Kansas a few more steps on the road back to thoughtful, moderate-conservative government.

Burdett Loomis is a political science professor at the University of Kansas.

By RON WILSON
Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development

The people stood on their front lawn, looked at their house, and they began to cry. Does that sound like a story about the devastation resulting from a flood or tornado? In this case, the story has a whole different focus, because these are tears of joy. Today we’ll learn about a rural Kansas entrepreneur who is using his painting skills to create happiness through improvement.

Todd Trzcinski is owner of SCR Professional Services which includes SCR Painting and SCR Tree Services. Todd grew up in Denver but he spent summers working with his grandfather back east. “He had a handyman service which included painting, and I gravitated to the painting part,” Todd said.

After a couple of years in corporate life, he went into painting professionally in Denver. “I painted all the way along the front range, mostly commercial painting,” Todd said.

Eventually, living in an urban area wore Todd down. “I got tired of the rat race,” Todd said. “I didn’t want to sit in traffic for 1-1/2 hours each day. Then one day two kids were shot on their way to school in my neighbourhood, and that was the last straw.”

Todd decided he would take a drive. He drove to a small town in eastern Colorado, picked up a local newspaper, and saw that there was a house for rent in Kanorado. Todd not only rented the house, he went to work for the farmer who was offering it.

This was truly a rural setting. The house was actually 14 miles north of the town of Kanorado, population 240 people. Now, that’s rural.

Then in 2011, life took a sudden turn. Todd was diagnosed with cancer. He went through treatment in Hays and ultimately the cancer was cured. “I’ve been in remission for six years,” Todd said. “It’s amazing. God is good.”

He moved to another place in the country. “Everybody told me, `This is your second chance,’” Todd said. “I started calling my place Second Chance Ranch.”

Meanwhile, Todd started a painting business again. He relocated to Goodland so as to be closer to his doctors. Using the initials from Second Chance Ranch, he called his new business SCR Painting.

While in the process of getting his business started, Todd got in touch with the regional business consultants from the Kansas Small Business Development Center. “That was one of the best things I ever did,” Todd said. “They helped me with bookkeeping, recordkeeping, and long-term planning.” The SBDC helped him develop his business plan which helped him get bank financing.
Today, SCR Painting is a full-service painting company, working on everything from commercial to industrial to residential and farm and ranch applications.

Todd is proud of his adopted hometown. “I’d like to give a great thanks to the city of Goodland,” Todd said. “They have welcomed me and my company with open arms.” Todd has done all kinds of projects around Goodland, including the challenging process of painting the interior dome of Max Jones Fieldhouse at the school. He’s especially proud of the work he did on the historic Ennis-Handy house in Goodland.

More recently, Todd has diversified his business. Because he had the hydraulic lifts which he uses for painting high places, he could use those for tree trimming as well. He took online classes to become a professional arborist and now offers SCR Tree Services.

Helping people is rewarding to Todd. Of his painting, he said, “My greatest satisfaction is how happy it makes people when they see the final product. I’ve worked on houses that had been in such bad shape that when the people saw how good it looked (when I was done), they stood on the front lawn and cried,” he said.

For more information, go to www.scrpainting.com.

The people stood on their front lawn, looked at their house, and cried. But they weren’t weeping after a tornado, they were rejoicing about the new look of their home. We commend Todd Trzcinski of SCR Professional Services, SCR Painting, and SCR Tree Services for making a difference with his hard work and skills. Thank goodness for second chances.

It is my opinion that none of us should support NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision to sit or kneel during the national anthem. I’m not saying he does not have that right.

I say he shouldn’t be supported or praised. And, here is the reason why, not mentioned anywhere that I have seen or heard by media. Everybody seems to be missing a very important point.

He claims minorities in this country are being oppressed, but my question is “who is he talking about that is doing the oppressing?”

It certainly isn’t America in general, but that’s what he insinuates.  America may not be perfect when it comes to civil rights for minorities, but the good far and away outweighs the bad. We have done more for minorities, by far, than other countries.

I don’t see busloads of minorities leaving this country, but they sure are coming in by the thousands legally or illegally.  The numbers are staggering.

Apparently, he is “calling out” our men in blue responsible for law and order in this country.  Stats prove that law enforcement is not disproportionately killing blacks or other minorities. Are arrests disproportionate and incarcerations?  Yes, but the crimes committed are greater.

Kaepernick is supporting the Black Lives Matter movement which is based on a false narrative that Michael Brown had his hands up before being shot by a police officer. Brown did not have his hands up and was shot legitimately when threatening an officer’s life.

The BLM movement has added to the oppression. Crime and murder has escalated since the verbal and physical attack on those protecting all of us.

If Kaepernick was calling out our black president for doing nothing in eight years to improve the lives of minorities, I would support the QB 100%, but he doesn’t. Maybe he should be calling out all the blacks that make up the Black Caucus in congress.  They do nothing for their people.

What about liberal Democrats in most major cities that govern those cities and have for over 50 years? They do nothing to help, in fact appear to suppress minorities on purpose knowing they will get their votes election after election. The corruption that occurs on city councils in those cities is appalling. Many on those councils are African American and  their governance keeps minorities poor and oppressed.

Unfortunately, disrespecting our flag has become fashionable due to Kappie and it’s become a big part of the NFL season. Kids in our public schools are doing the same thing. How does that help anything?

It is my opinion, which is not just opinion, the dissenters are “out of their league” so to speak, when it comes to racism in America.  How do you get a handle on this issue, if the blame is misplaced and the players, whether in uniform or not, are misguided?

To them, facts don’t matter. It does to me and should matter to all Americans.

Les Knoll live in Victoria and Gilbert, Ariz.

Without a doubt, livestock producers take care of their livestock. They continue to upgrade facilities, use the best animal feed and doctor their cattle, swine and sheep when the need arises.

Today, consumers are one, two, three and four generations removed from the farm and ranch where such animals are raised and cared for. If stockmen are able to continue to care for their animals and preserve their freedom to operate and maintain successful animal agriculture, they must understand how consumers think and feel. Get inside their heads, if you will.

Consumers consider farmers responsible for the humane treatment of farm animals. In recent consumer surveys, people rated animal well-being higher than the care and well-being of workers in the food system.

It is not science or ability that drives trust. Instead, it is whether consumers believe agriculture shares their ethics and values things like loving our families, caring for the environment or being a proud American.

We all know our industry is strong in science. Always has been.

Plenty of evidence demonstrates we’re doing the right thing, but we rely too much on that language. We need to reengage the public on a value’s basis.

Americans know very little about where their food comes from today. What they want is permission to believe that what we are doing is consistent with their values and ethics.

We applaud those industrious farmers and ranchers who invite non-farm people to their farms or share what’s happening via social media. When people are able to put a face to an industry and ask any question they might have – doors, minds and hearts open.

Too often we close the door and expect them to trust us. That is not today’s reality.

Livestock production or animal agriculture in the most affluent country in the world is faced with special challenges and opportunities. Among those challenges is that Americans spend such a small percentage of their income on food that they can demand food where they want it, when they want it and in the proportion they want it.

Many food stores and food retailers have announced implementation of third-party verification measures to ensure the animals from which food products are derived were treated humanely. In the near future, customers will demand third-party verification and if it doesn’t exist, the store providing the food is not going to be credible with the public.

Agriculture can win this battle for the hearts and minds of consumers. Farmers and ranchers must remember whom they are trying to influence. Customers and consumers need to hear from livestock producers.

It is not productive for the agriculture community to attack activist groups. Instead, agriculture must retake its rightful position as the people in charge of ensuring the humane treatment of animals.

Agriculture must inform people we share their concerns and we work hard every day to make sure our animals are treated fairly and humanely. Follow that by sharing with them how we meet our obligations to the humane treatment of the animals on our farms.

John Schlageck, a Hoxie native, is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.

All eyes focus this week on the Kansas Supreme Court, which hears arguments on the school finance case that will determine whether the Legislature has adequately funded Kansas public schools.

And the two possibilities are, of course, yes or no.

If the court determines the Legislature has spent enough money on K-12 education that children from border to border have equal access to education, it’s all over except for how to split up that money among 278 school districts with widely different sizes, number of pupils, readiness and abilities of pupils.

But there aren’t many inside the Statehouse who are looking for that result, and are bracing for a decision that orders the Legislature to appropriate more money for schools. That’s where it gets painful for the 40 Senate and 125 House members, many of whom will be new to the Legislature after this November’s elections and likely still will be learning their parking space number when they get the bill.

Most around the Statehouse are looking for a demand that more money be spent.

Who picks up that bigger bill? It will be taxpayers—that’s voters—of course.

That’s where the Legislature is likely to make decisions which will determine whether any of the new members actually vest in the pension system: Who pays.

Most Kansans and those who hang around the Statehouse for a living are figuring that if the state needs more money for that adequacy of funding for public schools, it’s not going to come from a boost in the sales tax. Lawmakers two sessions ago boosted sales tax to 6.5% on everything.

That sales tax boost, which probably most Kansans didn’t loudly question unless they were car-shopping, had its biggest effect on the poor, who saw the sales tax rise on food. That was the hot button in the sales tax debate—making people who can’t afford it pay more for their family’s food.

So, don’t look for sales taxes to rise again unless it can somehow be tied to reducing the sales tax on food. That means money lost to reducing the sales tax on food is money that can’t be spent to boost school funding.

That brings us to income taxes and property taxes levied at the state level, like the 20-mill property tax for schools that is now levied against all property in the state.

For lawmakers, this might be the politically easiest choice, but for illogical reasons. While property taxes are the most hated taxes of Kansans for a variety of reasons, most folks tend to associate property taxes with local government. Not sure why, but most think that it’s the city, county, the improvement district, the drainage district that levy most of their property taxes. And they do.

But an increase in statewide property taxes levied from Topeka—that changes the picture. It becomes the state controlling property taxes, and that little mill or two levy for the park or new parking spaces for city employees tends to diminish in controversy.

Income tax? The logical choice there for lawmakers is that 330,000-person pool of Kansans who own LLCs or other corporate forms that don’t pay state income tax now and haven’t for the past few years. A popular target, but just slapping taxes on those tax-exempt folks probably won’t raise enough money for a court order that demands more than about $250 million.

So, we’re watching what the court says is adequate, now that equity has been addressed, funding for schools. Legislators, and those who want to be, are wondering how welcome they’ll be on doorsteps two years from now. Doorsteps that cost the voters behind the screen door more tax money to live in if property taxes are raised.

Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report—to learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit the website at www.hawvernews.com.

Unless you have spent the last decade or so confined to the top floor of Trump Towers, you have probably heard something of the group named Pheasants Forever. But did you know there is also an organization called Quail Forever?

Quail Forever exists as a division of Pheasants Forever but is still an organization of its own. Sort of like whipped cream and pumpkin pie; you can use them separately, but why would you want to?

In 2005 Quail Forever was formed in response to passionate quail hunters and conservationists in areas where there were few pheasants but many quail. Its mission statement became “QF is dedicated to the conservation of quail, pheasants and other wildlife through habitat improvements, public awareness, education and land management policies & programs.”

At that time the organization Quail Unlimited still existed but was plagued by financial troubles and closed its doors in 2013 leaving Quail Forever (and Pheasants Forever) as the only and largest non-profit nationwide organization dedicated to upland bird conservation and habitat preservation.

I spoke with Marc Glades, Regional Representative and Eastern Kansas Regional Representative for Quail Forever and asked him what makes both PF and QF so successful. Marc told me “The success of these two organizations is unquestionably because of the Local Business Model used by both and because of the scores of dedicated volunteers that run them.”

Again, unless you just recently moved here from Uzbekistan or one of the other “stan” countries, you should be familiar with the ever-popular fund-raising banquets held by individual chapters of Pheasants and Quail Forever each spring. As an organization, Quail Forever’s priorities are getting youth off the couch and into the outdoors, and quail habitat creation & conservation. The Local Business Model that Marc mentioned allows each local chapter to decide entirely how 100% of the funds raised at their banquet are used as long as the projects are youth and habitat oriented.

Marc also pointed out to me the other aspect of the Local Business Model that assures all money raised by each chapter is literally used locally. Marc told me “After all, the wild pheasants and quail harvested by local hunters and local youth also hatch and grow up locally, some probably just outside of town.”

The first ever Quail Forever chapter began in Missouri, the first chapter in Kansas was in Hiawatha; Kansas now has 10 Quail Forever chapters and 36 Pheasants Forever chapters across the state, totaling over 7000 members. Those PF and QF chapters have spent more than 5.2 million to complete 9,379 habitat projects, improving over 270,000 acres for upland birds and other wildlife.  Check out their website, www.quailforever.org to find the chapter nearest you.
The 2016 Upland Bird forecast is posted on the KS Wildlife, Parks and Tourism website, www.ksoutdoors.com. Click on “Hunting,” then click on “Reports and Forecasts,” then click “view Upland Bird Forecast” in the middle of the screen. Overall statewide, both quail and pheasant populations appear to have increased.

Ample spring rains improved pheasant nesting conditions dramatically, and even though this year’s brood count survey was lower, thicker vegetation because of the rains made it difficult to detect birds so many probably escaped the count. Ironically the same drought that hurt pheasant habitat helped increase quail habitat as weedy brushy species that quail desire continued to grow resulting in increased quail populations now for three years running. This year’s roadside survey showed a statewide quail population increase of over 40%. So whether you take pleasure in seeing pheasants and quail in the grass, or whether your pleasure is pheasant and quail under glass, this report is good news to all, and is a testament to the hard work of those 7000 Quail Forever and Pheasant Forever volunteers.

Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors.

Steve Gillilan, Inman, can be contacted by email at [email protected].

Recently, Gov. Brownback held a press conference to invite Kansans to email him ideas for a new school finance formula.  That sounds nice.  Can anything be wrong with asking people for input?  Well, actually, quite a bit.

The big problem: A new school finance formula requires resources—money—and Kansas does not have any. The governor asks Kansans to think expansively, but offers no means to make those ideas real.

Tell someone to imagine their dream home.  Encourage them to draw plans, and do it up just right.  But if that home is financially out of reach, cheerleading has done little for them.  The exercise is just something fleeting, a dream, a temporary escape from reality.

The governor’s own policies created the grim education finance situation that Kansas now faces.   Income tax cuts and the LLC exemption caused a large block of general fund revenue to disappear.  Before the tax cuts, Kansas had a workable school finance formula, but one which logically boosted funding for schools when enrollments and operational costs went up.  With state finances spiraling downward, a formula requiring increased state aid could not stand.  The governor and his legislative allies summarily scrapped it for block grants, first cutting classroom aid and then freezing that lowered funding level in place.

The block grants have not worked well.  They immediately caused unequal funding between school districts, and further, they have failed to provide for the future as student counts rise and needs increase.

Beyond these problems though, the dirty little secret is that Kansas cannot even afford the block grants.  In the fiscal year that just ended June 30, the Kansas general fund spent $500 million more than it took in, even with block grants in place.  That happened despite the fact that $100 million in bills were deferred for payment in a future fiscal year.  The general fund only stayed afloat by grabbing huge amounts from the highway fund, and raiding the balances of other funds, including those set aside for kids.

In our current fiscal year, the same thing.  Higher education and Medicaid providers—doctors, hospitals, nursing homes—have already been hit hard with emergency budget cuts, but more reductions will have to be applied somewhere, just to keep the general fund solvent.

Yet, suddenly the governor wants citizens and schools to dream about a new education formula.  For now he instructs you to not even talk about what a new formula might cost.  That’s for later.  Just concentrate on the components you want.

This approach is nothing more than a big diversionary tactic that takes the voters’ focus off the real issue until the November elections pass.

Participate if you wish.  Email those ideas in, but don’t be deceived.  Until the governor faces up to the severe budget problems his policies have caused, until lawmakers close the LLC exemption, until Kansas rights its financial ship, any hope for an improved school funding formula remains completely unrealistic.  You—and the governor—are just dreaming.

Duane Goossen formerly served 12 years as Kansas Budget Director.

This fall’s HPPR’s Radio Readers has a Kansas-pertinent theme focusing on borders and migration. Recent ads posted in papers as well as on the internet and bulletin boards reveal that local communities joyously celebrate immigrant legacies. If you adopted our region, join the fun and learn our stories. Our area is home to many cultures, and folks rooted here reap the benefit of tradition.

Summer is over so if you missed Nicodemus’s annual gathering of descendants and guests, you’ll have to wait til next July to enjoy their remembrance of Juneteenth and what that meant to their ancestors. Consider attending the upcoming celebration where you can sit on a curb to enjoy a small town parade or treat your taste buds to amazing southern barbecue or fried catfish. If you hang around long enough, you’ll meet local legends and listen to Blues with riffs that make you ache to your toenails.

Add to your dose of local culture and head to Wilson the last weekend in July. The signature, gigantic Czech-inspired decorated egg will dazzle you. Downtown, you’ll find lovely lasses and handsome lads festooned in bright Bohemian clothing and discover fresh-baked kolaches to tempt your taste buds. Those who love stone buildings will enjoy roaming the streets to find one of the most interesting old jails in the region and the renovated Midland Hotel. Sit a spell in its lobby and listen to old-country tunes playing down the street while you pay homage to ancestors who sailed to America and worked hard to realize their dreams.

If you missed these earlier opportunities to celebrate western Kansas diversity, mark your calendar to attend upcoming Oktoberfests. You don’t have to love beer to have a great time. These festivities remind us of old European revels where neighbors gathered to rejoice in the harvest and to have one last hurrah before winter drove them inside their homes. While modern life may require less hard labor for most of us, our busy schedules often prevent us from connecting to our communities. Thank goodness, these local commemorations help us foster neighborly relationships.

Besides meeting, greeting, and sipping a brew, you’ll sample the best food in the new world. Local cooks have perfected bierocks, galuskies, spitzbuben, hertzen, noodles, and other delicacies to a degree that would make Guy Fieri of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives high-five the chefs constant knuckle bumps. If he spent October in Kansas savoring traditional foods, he’d need a bigger wardrobe before he could go home in November.

Did I mention local music? If you have toes, they’ll tap out polka tunes long after the last accordion squeezes out its final bit of air. Even folks who prefer rock and roll can’t resist jiggling a knee or bouncing a toddler to these vibrant melodies. Watching multiple generations enjoy the performers and the dancing is one of the best parts of the day.

These annual fests remind us that we descend from stout souls brave enough to begin life in a new land. They brought favorite foods and recipes, fashion, and music and passed them to their descendants. Joining these celebrations encourages us to maintain and share family customs. They link our past, present, and future.

Native Kansan Karen Madorin is a local writer and retired teacher who loves sharing stories about places, people, critters, plants, food, and history of the High Plains.

By Chief Justice Lawton Nuss
Kansas Supreme Court

Ask most Kansans what they know about our state Supreme Court, and you likely will hear something about the cases we decide. After all, making those decisions is one of our most important duties. But we have many other responsibilities that few Kansans outside of the legal community know about. The people’s Constitution grants us “general administrative authority over all courts in this state,” a responsibility that includes the entire judicial branch of government and its nearly 1,900 judges and court employees.

One of our other responsibilities is to establish rules for admitting persons to practice law as attorneys in Kansas courts, to supervise their conduct, and to discipline them. This week we announced a significant new rule about attorneys.

The new rule allows attorneys living in Kansas who are spouses of military service members stationed here to temporarily practice law without taking the state-administered uniform bar exam. Those attorneys must first be admitted to practice in other states. Before the court adopted this rule, attorneys who came to our state with their military spouses had to pass our bar exam in order to join the more than 11,000 attorneys licensed to practice law here, even though their stay was not permanent.

My fellow justices and I believe that a person married to a member of the military should not have to sacrifice a legal career to be with a spouse. Similarly, a member of the military should not have to leave such a spouse behind to continue his or her legal career. As a former Marine Corps combat engineer, I am especially proud of this show of support of the men and women — and their families — who pledge their lives in service to our country.

And as for deciding cases? More than 3,000 of them have been decided by the Supreme Court since I became a justice in 2002. Many Kansans know of only a few. But more Kansans are learning about these other cases by attending court sessions we have conducted in 12 Kansas communities since early 2011.
Our next session to familiarize Kansans with our work will be at Hutchinson Community College the evening of October 4. And someday, perhaps a lawyer spouse of a military member stationed in Kansas will be arguing one of those cases in front of us – and you.

A familiar sight in rural America — using the tailgate on the pickup as a serving table for meals in the farm field — is likely to be replicated in parking lots surrounding athletic fields across the country this fall.

Whether a harvest meal or pre-game feast, keeping food safe to eat need not be difficult, according to Karen Blakeslee, Kansas State University Research and Extension food scientist, who also happens to be an avid football fan and veteran tailgater. 

Since September has been designated as National Food Safety Education Month, here are Blakeslee’s timely tips to keep tailgate foods safe — and guests healthy:

* Purchase and prepare enough food to feed guests, but not so much as to have leftovers that will spoil during the game and need to be discarded.

* Prepare as much food as possible at home. For example, prepare chilled foods in advance; wrap and chill well before placing the chilled food in an ice chest or cooler shortly before leaving for the party and game.
* Ask out-of-town guests to bring non-perishable foods such as beverages, chips, fruit or disposable tableware to reduce opportunities for party foods to spoil during travel.

* Keep raw foods and cooked foods in separate coolers to prevent cross-contamination, and dedicate an additional cooler for easy access to beverages without jeopardizing other cooled foods due to repeated opening and closing of the cooler.

* Wash hands before and after handling raw and cooked foods, and before and after eating, playing catch, etc. If water is not readily available, pack a jug of water, bar of soap and paper towels, single-use packaged towelettes, hand sanitizer gel, or an old terry towel cut into squares, moistened and used with a bar of soap.

* Transport food coolers in the air-conditioned passenger area, rather than a trunk or truck bed; and once you arrive at the tailgating area, cover the cooler with a blanket and place in shade, out of direct sunlight.

* Keep hot foods hot, and check recommended internal done temperatures with a food thermometer. Do not judge meat doneness by color.  An internal temperature of 155 degrees F is generally considered safe for hamburgers; 165 degrees F is recommended for poultry, and all hot foods should be piping hot.

* If bringing carry-out foods such as premade hoagie sandwiches or fried chicken, keep them at appropriate temperatures for safety, as they, too, are susceptible to contamination that can cause foodborne illness.
* Use separate utensils and platters for raw and cooked foods to prevent cross contamination.

* Know the rules–  if the outside temperature is 90 degrees or above, perishable foods should be discarded after sitting out for one hour; in temperatures of less than 90 degrees, the food safety window extends to two hours, unless the food has been sitting in direct sunlight or otherwise looks or smells bad.

* Make plans for protecting leftovers (wrapping and storing in an ice chest out of the sun is an example) or discard them.

* If planning a post-game meal or snack, choose non-perishable foods and pack them separately. Examples include a snack mix, fruit, cookies or dessert.

“Discard suspect foods,” said Blakeslee, who explained that foodborne illness can begin within as little as 30 minutes after eating a contaminated food, but also may not become apparent for several days or weeks, depending on the microbes involved. Most common symptoms of foodborne illness, which are often mistaken for the flu, include an upset stomach, diarrhea, chills, fever or headache. If foodborne illness is suspected, seek medical advice.

Linda K. Beech is Ellis County Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences.

In the last month or so, we’ve seen a subtle but major change in the way a governor—who is not very popular with many Kansans in recent polls and is facing a Legislature for the last two years of his term that is going to be less conservative than he would like—makes policy for the state.

The way you do it isn’t by introducing bills that even Gov. Sam Brownback’s fellow Republicans might not want to or be able to pass into law.

You do it through rules and regulations that are little-known, don’t get much publicity and which can have the force of law without requiring Republican legislators to put their votes for it on public display.

Well, Brownback is well on the way to doing just that. The most noticeable example was last week’s proposal to take a shot at the already weakened civil service protection for employment of state workers.

And, like every governor, Brownback would like his supporters to have state jobs and those other folks, well, not so much.

Last week, the Department of Administration’s division of personnel services came up with a laundry list of new rules that will make it easier to get rid of state employees that administrators or the administration don’t care for and replace them with friendlier folks. That’s not hard to understand. It’s what you do when you can.

But personnel policy is such a tricky area that it has to be done carefully. Years ago, it was that good old Civil Service standard that offered equal treatment of state employees, new hires and those being fired, with the idea that their jobs, if done well, would be protected from new-administration firings and rehiring of the politically like-minded.

While that civil service protection was designed to insulate good workers for all the people of the state from political pressure, it also means that the governor and his appointees can’t really put those workers through a political sieve.

Last year, for example, the governor succeeded with a bill that makes civil service jobs almost optional for new employees, who can seek state jobs on an “at will” basis, where they don’t qualify for those civil service protections that assure state workers aren’t fired for political reasons unrelated to their ability to do their jobs. That makes them easier to hire, easier to fire.

While that was a strong step for conservatives, it means that job protections and worker rights are diluted considerably. A raft of new employment policies that would make it easier to fire workers that the bosses don’t like and easier for new hires to take their jobs met with largely Democrat, of course, objection in a rules and regulations hearing last week.

Taken as a whole, the changes mean that if state employee layoffs occur—and the state of the budget makes that a pretty good bet—those civil service protections, such as opportunities for hearings and for employees to defend their work records and keep their jobs, are diluted.

The right to challenge a job performance rating that makes an employee more fire-able is cut, and bosses can make new specialized skills a reason for bypassing a long-time employee for rehiring. Challenging a low job performance rating that could lead to loss of a job is restricted.

Now this rules and regulations gambit—and remember that the administration and Republicans generally oppose rules and regulations that they say hamper efficiency and cost everyone money—is likely starting to be put into use as the administration winds down.

Worth watching out for…

Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report—to learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit the website at www.hawvernews.com