Billed as, “Nearly everything an agribusiness professional would need or want,” this year’s 53rd edition of the Western Farm Show lived up to its slogan. More than 20,000 farmers, ranchers, school children, FFA youngsters and urbanites attended the three-day event at the American Royal Complex in Kansas City.

Farmers and ranchers spent hours walking around the 400,000 square feet of displays of machinery, buildings, livestock equipment, tools, feed and seed among the more than 500 exhibits.

Veteran Douglas County farmer Rex Slankard has been coming to this farm show since it started in 1961. Like so many of his peers, he attends the annual event to walk around and see what’s new.

Slankard likes to compare the equipment and machinery to what he farms with. He’s seen plenty of changes in agriculture and farm machinery during the last 50 years.

“Everything is getting to be so much about computer technology in farming today,” Slankard says. “I’m getting too old for it. I’ve got to bring my grandson along to figure the computers out.”

All kidding aside, the veteran producer believes farming is better with the new technology. Today’s equipment lasts longer and is more dependable.

With technology like GPS a farmer can use the same tracks in his field every year and that cuts down on compaction, the Douglas County producer says. Planting and putting on herbicides and insecticides is more accurate and saves on production costs.

Coffey County stockman and hay producer, Jim McNabb traveled 200 miles round trip to attend this year’s event. His son, Lee, accompanied him as well as his grandson, Max.

For the McNabbs and many other farmers and ranchers within a 300 mile radius, the Western Farm Show is a family tradition.

“It’s enjoyable to take the family on a road trip off the farm and look at the latest equipment,” McNabb says.

The biggest differences he sees during the 30 years of attending the show is the cost of the tractors, balers, buildings and other farm machinery.

McNabb is all business when checking out the new haying equipment. He puts up between 500 and 1,000 bales each year to feed his hungry herd during the winter months so idle chit chat is out of the question.

“There are just too many people here,” McNabb says. “Every once in a while you run into someone you know, but you can talk to them at home.”

While most of the farm show-goers include farmers and ranchers from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska, more than 3,400 high school students affiliated with FFA attend the three-day event, says Jeff Flora. He works for the SouthWestern Association and produces and manages the Western Farm Show.

Many people in the Kansas City area grew up on a farm or still have parents farming, Flora says. They drop by to look at the farm equipment and show their children what’s happening in agriculture.

“This show provides a great opportunity to talk to manufacturers and suppliers without experiencing the pressure of buying such equipment,” he says. “It kind of blows some of us away seeing what’s going on in this industry today. It’s like Star Wars kind of stuff in some cases.”

John Schlageck, a Hoxie native, is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas. Born and raised on a diversified farm in northwestern Kansas, his writing reflects a lifetime of experience, knowledge and passion.       

Dear Dave,
I know you hate payday loan companies. Do you feel the same way about check-cashing companies?
Brian

Dear Brian,
Check-cashing companies are not a good deal, but they’re nowhere near as bad as payday lenders. All check-cashing businesses do is charge a fee to cash a check.

Honestly, it’s kind of silly to me that places like this can make money when all you have to do is walk into a bank and open an account. But there’s a percentage of our population that people in financial circles call “unbanked.” This means they avoid banks for whatever reason, but in the process they leave themselves susceptible to bad deals like this.

So I don’t feel the same way about check-cashing companies as I do about payday lenders. It’s still not a financially smart move to pay a storefront operation a fee just to cash a check, but these businesses aren’t nearly as abusive as payday lenders.
—Dave

Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business. He’s authored four New York Times best-selling books: Financial Peace, More Than Enough, The Total Money Makeover and EntreLeadership. His newest book, written with his daughter Rachel Cruze, is titled Smart Money Smart Kids. It will be released April 22nd. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 6 million listeners each week on more than 500 radio stations. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com.

The Kansas Legislature might just learn a lesson from the Kansas Medical Society.

While the Legislature is still waiting on the Supreme Court ruling on the school finance case — a decision that could cost the state more than $440 million — it’s interesting to see how the “real world” deals with the court.

Remember just two years ago when the court, in a split decision, held that the then-20-year-old cap on noneconomic damages in a medical malpractice case was constitutional, but very practically low in the real world?

Well, the Kansas Medical Society apparently read the decision closely and decided rather than just celebrate, to try to make the court a little happier, with a bill that raises — just a dab — that current $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages. Noneconomic damages are, well, the ones that are hard to put a price tag on. Like inability to have a child, or…presumably…putt.

The key is that the medical society knows that at some time another medical malpractice case is going to go to the Supreme Court, and it can only be helpful for the court to know that the KMS has listened to the court.

The noneconomic damages cap moves up a bit under the KMS bill, to $350,000 over the next seven years, actually not much, but it’s a recognition of the court’s subtle suggestion.

Worth mentioning, the cap bill passed the Senate 32-8, with the opponents saying that the bill doesn’t remove the cap; it just gives juries a little more room for a decision before the court puts a lid on the damages at the $350,000 level some find unconscionably low.

The bill now heads to the House for consideration.

The two branches of government awaiting the judicial branch’s school finance decision?

Not much in the way of trying to win the case or curry favor for future cases. The governor proposed bumping K-12 spending by $20 million, but the Legislature doesn’t seem eager to agree to it. The Legislature is still bridling at the presumption of the Supreme Court to even consider ordering more money be spent.

Hmmm… Real world of doctors and their insurance companies? Let’s show a little deference to the apparent leaning of the court and see if we can put this issue to rest, for at least a while.

The Legislature? Nope. Keep your hands off the constitutionally protected right of the Legislature to make appropriations, and talk about it a lot while the court is still apparently negotiating among its members whether the state — through the Legislature — needs to spend more money on schools.

Yes, maybe the Legislature could learn something from doctors in the way of social skills in dealing with the court.

Syndicated by Hawver News Co. of Topeka, Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report. To learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit www.hawvernews.com.

You cannot be online for more than a few minutes before college ads will pop-up on your screen. Click on them and you may find that they reduce or even disappear when you enter your ZIP code.

There are a few states that have partially held back the flood of “cheap” online college courses.  Kansas has been one of those states.

But House Bill No. 2544, approved this last month, will now move to the Kansas Senate Ways and Means Committee. This bill opens the floodgates to every online course and program that is “accredited” in other states that have also joined the “State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement” or SARA.

Just as the National Governors Association and the CCSSO have worked to give away state curricular oversight and jurisdiction of K-12 education to a uniform nation-wide common core, this act supported by the Kansas Board of Regents abdicates state decision-making and will automatically admit online programs.

SARA is touted as offering “…a process to make state authorization more efficient, more uniform in regard to necessary and reasonable standards of practice that could span states, and more effective in dealing with quality and integrity issues that have arisen in online/distance education offerings. It also aims to be less costly and less complex than the current system for both states and institutions.”

The Kansas Board of Regents has been approving out-of-state online courses and programs at a steady clip for the past decade—about as fast as they flow in. The KBOR operates under the illusion that they have little choice but to approve online programs if they are approved in some other state. But the paperwork and monthly procedures kept this flow limited to a steady stream—a half-hearted “finger in the dike.”  But passage of this bill will automate the process. It opens the floodgates to online operations across the United States.

What about the alleged advantages of being “more efficient, more uniform”? That is precisely why every rust bucket that sails the seas is registered in Panama. It provides the lowest common denominator in inspection for the high seas. It has the lowest tax rate too.

What about the claim that SARA establishes  “necessary and reasonable standards of practice” to deal with “quality and integrity issues”?

Where is the evidence that accreditation can detect the superior programs from the diploma mills? Most K-12 superintendents know that student teachers vary widely in competency from different Kansas colleges. Yet every Kansas teacher college is NCATE-accredited. That accreditation is useless.

Just a few years ago, the Inspector General’s Office of the U.S.D.E. issued an alert and criticized the Higher Learning Commission, an accreditor of over 1000 U.S. institutions for its decision to accredit the for-profit American InterContinental University. That alert “calls into question” this major accreditor’s ability to verify quality education, in specific, a five-week course for nine credit hours.

Most online operations are for-profit. In the May 3, 2013 Chronicle of Higher Education, a doctoral study at the University of Washington used data from the national Longitudinal Survey of Youth that tracks nearly 9,000 teenagers each year since 1997 and controlled for background traits. The wages of graduates of for-profit colleges “were more than 20 percent lower than the wages of those who attended two-year programs at public colleges….” An additional survey commissioned by the Chronicle of Higher Education of employers who hire graduates with baccalaureate degrees found that “employers were least likely to hire graduates of online colleges. For-profit colleges scored the next lowest….”

The workplace has good reasons to question the quality of many online courses and programs. A growing number of graduate programs are no longer accepting transfer credit from so-called online science “labs” and performance arts.

In Kansas, the gatekeeper on course and program quality is the Board of Regents.

House Bill No. 2544 allows them to abdicate that responsibility. And out-of-state online courses and programs will not be subject to the rigorous program review of regent’s schools.

That leaves the Kansas Senate as our last line of defense to preserve the value of a bonafide degree, and defeat this bill.

“Non-Stop” is a surprisingly good amalgamation of “Air Force One,” “Taken,” and bits and pieces of generic hostage/ransom movies. Usually, a line like that indicates an unimaginative attempt that is very obviously less than the sum of its stolen parts. “Non-Stop” easily bypasses that barrier with a solid setting, strong initial set-up and acceptable execution.

This part, and dare I say this movie, were written specifically for Liam Neeson. Sure, other actors could have handled this part, but I doubt a single casting director in Hollywood would have made a different choice. Neeson’s combination of great acting, strong on-screen presence and a hypnotizing voice are a terrific foundation to build on.

Aside from some poorly done visual effects work, the film’s biggest structural problem is its penchant for misdirection. It’s a very fine line to walk — a thriller is supposed to thrill. “Non-Stop” does an admirable job at keeping its secrets and eventually resolving them. That said, “Non-Stop” put too much focus on intentionally leading the audience down one path or another.

The best mysteries put a limited amount of information on the table and let the viewer form their own theory. “Non-Stop” kind of felt like watching someone shop at a designer clothing store; the type where the sales person provides an overabundance of options and then compliments you on every single one. They want you to buy them all, but the over saturation of information makes picking one harder and, honestly, less fun.

That feeling is an odd sensation that nags at me; but nevertheless, “Non-Stop” was significantly better than what I feared and was marginally better than what I hoped. While “Non-Stop” is no “Air Force One” or “Taken,” I can say with confidence that it is my third favorite movie of 2014 thus far, behind “The Lego Movie” and “Lone Survivor.”

5 of 6 stars

James Gerstner works at Fort Hays State University Foundation.

It’s coming soon. K-State Research and Extension’s fitness challenge — Walk Kansas — is scheduled to begin March 16 through May 10. Now is a great time to begin forming teams in order to meet the registration deadline of March 10.

The low-cost fitness program attracted over 18,000 participants across the state last year.  It has also become a popular worksite wellness program in Kansas with many employers encouraging– or sponsoring– employees to participate. Last year, more than 225 people participated in Ellis County and logged enough miles to circle the globe!

A kick-off rally and mall walk will be offered March 8 from noon to 2 p.m. at the Mall in Hays to bring attention to Walk Kansas. Shoppers may learn more about the 8-week program, enjoy a self-paced walk in the mall and earn chances to win prizes. Team registration materials will also be available.

Walk Kansas encourages teams of six friends, family members, co-workers or church-mates to log enough exercise to compile 423 miles in eight weeks– equal to the distance across the state. If that seems too easy, teams may select from other more ambitious challenges– to log enough exercise to reach across the state and back (846 miles) or around the perimeter of Kansas. That’s 1200 miles!

Although introduced a decade ago to encourage walking, Walk Kansas has expanded to also count 15-minute intervals of moderate physical activity such as hiking, biking, swimming, water aerobics or other individual and team sports as one mile toward a Walk Kansas team goal.

The team approach helps make this fitness program flexible and fun. A little friendly peer pressure from teammates may be all that it takes to encourage some of us to get moving.  Being able to exercise alone or with others, on your own schedule and using your favorite activities also is a plus.

An additional feature of the Walk Kansas program is an emphasis on good nutrition along with exercise. Most Americans could be healthier simply by eating more fruits and vegetables each day. To encourage participants to include a diet rich in these healthful foods, cups of fruits and vegetables will be recorded along with minutes of exercise. The goal for each individual is to consume 4 to 5 cups of fruits and vegetables daily.

Most teams who enroll in Walk Kansas meet their goal. And, people who have participated in the program in recent years often will say they look better, feel better, have more energy, improved sleep habits, lower blood pressure, and notice a difference in how their clothes feel.

Regular moderate physical activity also is known to reduce the risks of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.

The cost to participate is affordable. A $18-per-team registration fee covers program materials, weekly email newsletters, and local activities. An optional T-shirt — this year’s color choices include turquoise, purple and gray — also can be purchased for an additional $7 for standard sizes, $8.50 for 2X and 3X sizes.

New this year, a student leadership team from Fort Hays State University will offer extra activities to enhance the Ellis County Walk Kansas experience. A dinner and training meeting is planned for team captains and all participants may attend a noon program on easy exercises and a group walk to the KSU Ag Research Center. Full details about these extra activities are included in the Walk Kansas materials.

Registration packets are available at the Ellis County Extension, 601 Main, Ste. A. Teams might pick up a registration packet anytime to be returned with completed registration forms and fees by March 10. For more information, call (785) 628-9430.

More information about Walk Kansas is available on the Ellis County Extension website at www.ellis.ksu.edu. You can also follow Walk Kansas on Facebook at “K-State Research and Extension-Ellis County” and “Kansas State University Walk Kansas.”

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

The First Amendment establishes our right to a press free from intrusion, regulation or intimidation by the government.

As to a right to be free from questions by a national “news nanny,” it’s all in how you view the ultimate intent.

A few weeks ago, a Republican appointee to the Federal Communications Commission kicked up a fuss — particularly among conservative groups — about a planned FCC study of how journalists make news decisions.

Commissioner Ajit Pai wrote an op-ed column Feb. 10 in The Wall Street Journal saying the commission’s “Multi-Market Study of Critical Information Needs,” or CIN, meant “the agency plans to send researchers to grill reporters, editors and station owners about how they decide which stories to run,” starting with a pilot program in Columbia, S.C.

“The purpose of the CIN,” Pai wrote, “ … is to ferret out information from television and radio broadcasters about ‘the process by which stories are selected’ and how often stations cover ‘critical information needs,’ along with ‘perceived station bias’ and ‘perceived responsiveness to underserved populations.’”

Noting that the FCC has the power to renew or deny broadcast licenses, Pai wrote that the voluntary study was anything but that. He wondered why the study also included newspapers, over which the FCC historically has had no authority.

As happens in today’s polarized political environment, liberal observers took a different tack, saying the study was prepared with the help of USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and was simply part of an ongoing FCC obligation to periodically report to Congress on how well the public gets information it needs, and what hurdles may exist to improving that process.

On Feb. 21, the FCC backed away from its plan. “Any suggestion the Commission intends to regulate the speech of news media is false,” FCC spokeswoman Shannon Gilson said. A revised study will be conducted, but journalists and news media owners will not be asked to participate.

So: An outright assault on a free press — with, as the more florid claims said, official “news monitors” in every newsroom? Or a benign bureaucratic survey that began more than two years ago, created in cooperation with the very journalists it was intended to examine?

Lest we forget, there’s nothing in the First Amendment that protects the press from questions, criticism and review, by anybody. But when government does so, it merits extra caution and concern — if not claims that that “media sky is falling.” The government“s record on good intentions and the news media can provide enough cause to worry.

Just seven years after the Bill of Rights, with its First Amendment, was adopted, Congress approved and President John Adams signed a law that provided for prosecution of editors critical of either one. Within a few years the law was allowed to expire, having lost public support after more than a dozen journalists were jailed under the pretense of inciting war with France, which some saw as a mere excuse to eliminate political opponents.

Attempts by the government to restrain the press prior to publication have, through the years, ultimately have been ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court, notably in the so-called “Pentagon Papers” case in 1971 when the Nixon administration tried to prevent publication of a secret report on U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

And the FCC itself created a prime example of good intentions-gone-wrong with the history of its Fairness Doctrine, enacted in 1949. The commission was concerned then about the concentration of news outlets in a few hands, and the doctrine required broadcasters to provide information and varied views on matters of public interest.

Several decades later, it was evident virtually all electronic news outlets chose the safest path to avoid violating the doctrine: Providing no opinion. Once common “broadcast editorials” disappeared. Discarded by the FCC in 1987, the doctrine was made further obsolete by the proliferation of cable TV stations, and by the diversity of outlets and information available on the Internet — which some says makes the entire commission an anachronism and unneeded.

Still, surveys show that broadcast TV remains the largest single medium by which the public gets news — and both liberals and conservatives find reason to regularly criticize all or part of that news media. Newspapers clearly face financial hurdles — and tens of thousands of jobs in journalism have been lost in the past 20 years.

Yes, how well the news media are meeting their obligation to readers, viewers, listeners and users is a worthy subject of study — and is regularly, by non-profit organizations, private media monitoring groups and an ever-vocal host of individual critics.

Regulators doing that very studying should raise caution, if not the panic voiced by some commentators. Might not a “study of the studies” and reviews of oft-expressed criticism be more efficient and just as informative for that portion of the FCC’s examination of the news media today?

In addition to providing its critics with an easy target, the pilot FCC study also provided its own benediction: “Go forth and CIN no more.”

Gene Policinski is chief operating officer of the Washington-based Newseum Institute and senior vice president of the Institute’s First Amendment Center. [email protected]

By Kansas Wheat

MANHATTAN — Giving a home-baked gift is a great way to show someone you care, but it can be even better when you could win a prize for doing so. This March, the Kansas Wheat Commission is teaming up with the Home Baking Association to promote Bake and Take Month. For more than 40 years, Bake and Take Month has been an opportunity to celebrate relationships with friends and family by baking and sharing treats.

“The purpose of Bake and Take Month is to encourage participants to bake a product made from wheat and take it to a neighbor, friend or relative,” said Cindy Falk, nutrition educator of Kansas Wheat and coordinator of Bake and Take Month.

Participants who share their stories of the Bake and Take experience with the Kansas Wheat Commission by April 15, will be entered into a drawing for a “book bundle” prize including the Home Baking Associations’ popular “Baking with Friends” cookbook by Kansas authors Charlene Patton and Sharon Davis. The prize will also include “Kansas Gold,” a 50-year history of the Kansas Wheat Commission complete with historical recipes and a $100 King Arthur Flour gift card donated by the Kansas Wheat Commission.

“Bake and Take Month has a long tradition in Kansas as a promotion designed to educate consumers in the importance of home baking and wheat foods consumption,” Falk said. “The personal visit to members of the community is as rewarding and important as the baked goods you take them.”

Falk recommends trying Brown and Serve Rolls to share with friends and family for Bake and Take Month. For this recipe and more ideas for Bake and Take Month visit www.americasbreadbasket.com or like America’s Breadbasket on Facebook.

Bake and Take Day began in 1970 as a community service project of the Kansas Wheathearts in Sumner County. The Kansas Wheathearts, an auxiliary organization of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, set out to share baked goods with family members, friends, neighbors, and those in need, generating goodwill in the community. The idea of a community member sharing a favorite recipe with someone special became so successful that the Kansas Wheathearts created a national Bake and Take Day celebration in 1973. Although the Kansas Wheathearts disbanded in 2001, the tradition continues to be supported by KWC and KAWG.

To be eligible for the “book bundle” prize pack, participants of Bake and Take month should visit www.kswheat.com and under the “Consumers” section, click on Bake and Take Month. For a hard copy of the entry form, write to Kansas Wheat, 1990 Kimball Ave., Manhattan, KS 66502.

Contest participants should include the following information: name, organization (4-H club, FCE, church group, etc.), phone number, mailing address, and a note describing the Bake and Take activity. Entries must be postmarked by April 15.

Most school districts in Kansas currently provide all-day kindergarten for our youngest students. Why then did I include funding for all-day kindergarten in my proposed budget, and why is it so important — not just to me, but to all of us?

Quite simply, this is a strategic investment to help our youngest Kansans be better prepared for success, in school and in life. There is considerable data to show that students who participate in all-day K are ready to read at grade-appropriate levels and are more involved and productive in school.

In the past few weeks, I have visited several schools to meet with teachers and principals to discuss the importance of all-day K. These hard working educators are dedicated to their students’ success.

I have been asked if we can afford all-day K. I would say we can’t afford not to make this critical investment. Some schools use funds intended for at-risk students to provide all-day K, or charge fees to parents. We can ensure that at-risk funds are used to help struggling students achieve and prosper and still fund all-day K for Kansas children.

In kindergarten classes, I have watched young boys and girls work together in groups, helping each other with projects and learning critical thinking skills.

Funding all-day K is an investment in our future; one that will require an increase of $16 million per year for the next five years.

In addition to benefitting our kindergarten students, it will put hundreds if not thousands of dollars back in the pockets of parents who currently defray the costs of all-day K in their school districts.

Unemployment in Kansas is at a record low. We have had back-to-back years of creating more than 10,000 new jobs. Through tough decisions and sound fiscal management, we ended fiscal year 2013 with $709 million in the bank and a projected ending balance of 8 percent for the current fiscal year.

This is a strategic, targeted investment, and the time to do it is now. It is important to remember also that
kindergarten in Kansas, whether half- or all-day, is and will remain, completely voluntary.

Sam Brownback is governor of Kansas.

Unfortunately, there’s very little reality in today’s liberal government. I can make a good case to prove my point with examples in this letter and others to come.

What was it former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said back in 2010 when ObamaCare was being legislated? “We have to pass this bill so we can find out what’s in it.”  Turns out OC has become the biggest legislative train wreck in modern history. She also claimed unemployment benefits would be the biggest stimulus to creating jobs and growing the economy. Really?

Liberals claim our economy is getting better since unemployment numbers are dropping. We have 92 million Americans out of work, the jobs being created nationally are part time, not full time.  Millions have given up looking for work because there are so few jobs, however, they’re not even counted as unemployed. Cooking the numbers with fuzzy math and leaving out important data does not add up to the truth!

When I think of liberalism I think of “feel good, surreal, no facts.”

How many liberals do you know that think our $17 trillion national debt is no problem even though Barack Obama has added to that debt all by his lonesome, so to speak, more than all other presidents combined? Just counting to a trillion would take over 9,000 years. Try that many years times 17, yet liberals think it’s no problem to continue spending even more. The word “insanity” comes to mind.

Other words that come to mind as I think of liberalism are “artificial, ambiguous, nuance, utopia, wishful thinking, abstract.”  And, that’s just off the top of my head.

How about Democrat Bill Clinton, when he was our first black president, forcing lending institutions to give poor people, especially minorities, home mortgages? How does a poor person, obviously with little or no money, pay a monthly mortgage on a $150,000 home?  We are still trying to get out from under the housing crisis that negatively affected our economy big time. The idea of home ownership for every warm body is totally unmitigated unrealistic liberal thinking.

Why the obsession by liberals over global warming when there were periods of time prior to the industrial revolution that the earth’s surface was warmer than today and there hasn’t been significant warming for the past 16 years?  Many liberals actually believe in this myth, but there are many who know this is another way to control all of us with mandates and regulations; an excuse for more big government.

I am trying to figure out why our liberal controlled government is so gung ho on redistribution of wealth, big government socialism, equality, and the like, when historically facts prove it has never worked before in other countries? Why do liberals insist on going down the same road that has yet to succeed?

How realistic is it to continue with the same agendas of the past five years to reduce income inequality (according to Obama’s State of the Union message) when it was those same programs causing greater income inequality? When is this guy going to get real and all the other likeminded people that support him?

Too many Americans voted in 2008 on feelings and emotion. In 2010, there were some using their heads but then ignoring facts again in 2012. I hate to think what this country will be like if a majority vote again with unrealistic expectations in November’s congressional elections and the one involving a new president in 2016.

Les Knoll lives in Victoria and Gilbert, Ariz.