KANSAS CITY–The Kansas City Metropolitan Area was recently named the seventh best out of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the nation for women-owned business by WalletHub, an online financial planning site.
WalletHub analysts compared the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas across three key dimensions: Overall New Business Friendliness, Female Entrepreneurship, and Business Climate for Women. Then WalletHub compiled 10 relevant metrics across those three dimensions that would indicate support toward women-owned businesses. These metrics include:
· Overall New Business Friendliness
· Percentage of Women-Owned Businesses
· Average Percentage Growth of Women-Owned Businesses
· Percentage of Employees in Women-Owned Businesses
· Average Revenue of Women-Owned Businesses
· Average Revenue Growth of Women-Owned Businesses
· Industry Variety for Women-Owned Firms
· Presence of Small Business Administration’s Women’s Business Centers
· WalletHub “Working Moms”
· WalletHub “Gender Inequality”
“It is a true testament to our business climate in Kansas that Kansas City has been placed in such a prominent spot on this list,” said Kansas Commerce Secretary Antonio Soave. “In Kansas we support all types of businesses and look forward to bringing even more women-owned businesses to the rest of the state of Kansas as well.”
Kansas City, KS-MO also ranked 14th out of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the nation for ‘female entrepreneurs’.
LENEXA—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking grant proposals from eligible applicants for the 2016 round of funding from the agency’s Environmental Education Grants program. These grants will support local environmental education projects that promote environmental awareness and stewardship and help provide people with the skills to take responsible actions to protect the environment.
EPA’s Environmental Education Grants program provides financial support for projects that design, demonstrate, and/or disseminate environmental education practices, methods, or techniques. EPA expects to award up to three grants from each of the EPA’s 10 regional offices, for a total of approximately 30 grants nationwide. The award amount for each of these grants will be approximately, but no more than, $91,000. Since 1992, EPA has distributed between $2 and $3.5 million in grant funding per year through the EE Grants Program, supporting more than 3,600 grants.
Applicants must represent one of the following types of organizations to be eligible: a state education or environmental agency, a college or university, a non-profit organization as described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or a tribal education agency (which includes schools and community colleges controlled by an Indian tribe, band, or nation).
Applicant organizations must be located in the United States or territories and the majority of the educational activities must take place in the United States; or in the United States and Canada or Mexico; or in the U.S. Territories.
LENEXA–The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the availability of up to $1.5 million in funding for clean diesel projects in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska under the Diesel Emissions Reduction program (DERA). Nationally, $26 million in grant funding will be available to establish clean diesel projects aimed at reducing emissions from the nation’s existing fleet of diesel engines.
Region 7 – including Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska – will request proposals that include funding for at least $300,000 and not exceed $1.5 million. Past funding in the region has included clean diesel projects for school district buses, municipal vehicles and river push boats and tugs.
Diesel-powered engines move approximately 90 percent of the nation’s freight tonnage, and today nearly all highway freight trucks, locomotives, and commercial marine vessels are powered by diesel engines.
EPA is soliciting proposals nationwide for projects that significantly reduce diesel emissions and exposure, especially from fleets operating in areas designated as having poor air quality. Priority for funding will be given to projects that engage and benefit local communities and applicants that demonstrate their ability to promote and continue efforts to reduce emissions after the project has ended.
Eligible applicants include regional, state, local or tribal agencies, or port authorities with jurisdiction over transportation or air quality. Nonprofit organizations may apply if they provide pollution reduction or educational services to diesel fleet owners or have, as their principal purpose, the promotion of transportation or air quality. The applicants may apply until Tuesday, April 26, 2016. EPA Region 7’s contact for application questions is Greg Crable, (913) 551-739 or [email protected]
Under this competition, EPA anticipates awarding between 10 and 40 awards nationwide.
Tribes are welcome to apply under this Request for Proposals although EPA anticipates releasing a separate Request for Proposals for Tribal applicants during March.
Since the first year of the DERA program in 2008, EPA has awarded nearly 700 grants across the U.S. Many of these projects fund cleaner diesel engines that operate in economically disadvantaged communities whose residents suffer from higher-than-average instances of asthma, heart and lung disease.
PRATT-Just six hunting-related incidents were reported in Kansas in 2015, tying the record low set in 2013. Unfortunately, one hunter lost his life.
While six incidents is an amazingly low number considering hunters recorded more than 5 million hunter-days last year, it doesn’t lessen the impact on a family and community who lost one of their members.
Once again, most of incidents were the result of careless firearm handling. These types of incidents concern those involved in hunter education because they are preventable and stem from a violation of one of the four basic firearm safety rules: treat every firearm as if it loaded; always point the muzzle in a safe direction; keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to fire; and never climb a fence or other obstacle with a loaded gun. All hunters must remember to: “Load your brain before you load your gun,” because the most important piece of safety equipment a hunter can have in the field is between his or her ears.
There were also five elevated stand incidents, including one fatality, reported last year. A full body harness/fall arrest system should becorrectly usedany time a hunter leaves the ground. But a full body harness/fall arrest system is not a parachute, so it will not protect a hunter if not attached to the tree.
When you compare hunting-related incidents to the number of incidents reported for other activities per 100,000 participants, hunting is safer than cheerleading. And the trend in safe hunting can be directly attributed to the dedicated efforts of the 700 Kansas Hunter Education Program volunteer instructors, who have taught and certified more than 500,000 Kansas students since 1973.
PRATT–Does a park in your neighborhood need a new playground? Has your community been waiting for the right time to put in a new picnic shelter, ball fields or a dog park? Now, with the reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act (LWCF), the time is right to make those projects happen.
LWCF grants have provided funding for more than 700 outdoor recreation projects throughout Kansas since its inception in 1965. Kansas has received more than $50 million that has helped create and enhance outdoor recreation opportunities in almost every county.
Grants require 50 percent matches, and properties where grants are used must remain in pubic recreational use for perpetuity. Grants are available to cities, counties, school districts and other government entities. Funding is administered by the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, through the National Park Service.
The application deadline is April 15, 2016, and competition for grants is intense, so it’s important that applications be accurately and thoroughly completed. To learn more about the application process and to download an application, go to ksoutdoors.com/KDWPT-Info/Grants.
The Kansas Ag Research & Technology Association (KARTA) announced late last month that they will be making up to $11,000 available for research funding in 2016. Several KARTA members have already submitted their grant applications to let us know what they will be researching this year. At the 2017 conference, researchers will give presentations explaining the results of their projects.
There is still time for you to apply for your own project or apply to join in with one of the existing projects as a group participant. Group research gives producers in different parts of the region a look at how your trials could work in their operation.
Grants are still available for group and individual projects with an additional $100 for first-time participants.
Projects & locations already lined up for 2016:
Cover Crops (East and Northwest KS)
Gypsum as a Soil Amendment (Central KS)
Haney Soil Test comparison (North Central KS)
Ascend in Winter Wheat (Northwest and South Central KS)
Grain Sorghum Seeding Rates (Western KS and Northeast OK)
AgBoost NutriPlant in Irrigated Corn (Northwest KS)
Long-term Impacts of Winter Canola in Crop Rotation System (Northeast OK)
sUAS Imagery for Leak Detection in Drip Tape Irrigation (Northwest KS)
Comparison of Soil Sampling Methods (North Central KS)
HARTFORD– Everyone has heard of, and probably participated in, a spelling bee. But did you know there is such a thing as a wing bee? There is and it is well-known among waterfowl biologists. While it’s not a competition, the wing bee is part of the annual waterfowl harvest monitoring process, and each year it brings professional biologists and enforcement officers to a single location to analyze approximately 18,000 duck wings and 6,000 goose tail fans.
This year marks the 52nd year of the Central Flyway Wing Bee, which has been hosted for the last 25 years by the by Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism and Flint Hills National Wildlife Refuge.
Wing bee participants are in Hartford in Lyon County through Thursday to examine wings and tail feathers in order to estimate the species, age, and sex of waterfowl harvested in the Central Flyway. Each year since 1964, a sample of waterfowl hunters have been asked to send a wing from each duck and primary wing feathers and tail from each goose they harvested.
The task of reading or classifying the large sample of wings and tails requires an extensive cadre of willing, dedicated and often highly experienced workers. In a typical year, about 40 biologists and enforcement officers from state wildlife agencies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and universities assemble for four days to “read” wings. In the 25 years that Kansas has hosted the wing bee, more than half-a-million parts have been analyzed.
Sarah Shipman, Kansas Secretary of AdministrationOffice of KS Governor
TOPEKA–The Kansas Senate Wednesday, by a vote of 37-3, approved Governor Sam Brownback’s cabinet nominee for Secretary of Administration, Sarah Shipman.
“I am pleased Sarah’s qualifications were so widely recognized by members of the Senate,” said Governor Brownback. “She is deeply knowledgeable about the department’s responsibilities and extremely well suited for this position. She will serve the citizens of Kansas well.”
Shipman was appointed by the Governor on July 24, 2015.
She has been with the Department of Administration since October 2011 and served as its Deputy Secretary and Chief Counsel since March 2014. She received her Juris Doctor from Washburn University School of Law and her bachelor’s degree from Southwestern College.
Student teams from the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, and the University of Missouri are among the 38 university student teams to receive Phase I grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) program to pursue projects to develop new, sustainable products and strategies.
Each of the three successful student team grantees from EPA Region 7 for 2015-2016 will receive $15,000 for their proposals:
The team from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kan., will focus on “Harvesting the Otherwise Wasted Heat of LED Lights in Green Buildings.”
The team from Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan., will focus on “Net Zero Energy Air Filtration: Innovative Filter Media Applications for Improved Indoor Air Quality and Energy Efficiency.”
The team from the University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo., will focus on “Water Quality Monitoring at Hydraulic Fracturing Sites Using Molecularly Imprinted Porous Hydrogels.”
“This year’s P3 teams have created innovative research projects that tackle some of our most pressing environmental and public health challenges,” said Dr. Thomas A. Burke, EPA’s Science Advisor and Deputy Assistant Administrator of EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “These students have the opportunity to bring their exciting new ideas for innovation in sustainability to life, by expanding their learning experience beyond the classroom.”
Funding for the P3 competition is divided into two phases. Teams selected for Phase I awards receive grants of up to $15,000 to fund the development of their projects, which are then showcased at the National Sustainable Design Expo in the spring. Following the Expo, P3 teams compete for Phase II awards of up to $75,000 to further develop their designs and potentially bring them to the marketplace.
TOPEKA–A new report from the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA), focuses on welfare reforms in Kansas and how they have positively impacted low-income residents who previously relied on food assistance. Among some of the findings, before work requirements, 93 percent of able-bodied adults without dependent children (ABAWDs) on welfare were in poverty. Most were in severe poverty and not working at all. Within one year of leaving welfare, their incomes had more than doubled, an increase of 127 percent on average.
“Our staff worked closely with FGA to supply data,” said Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) Secretary Phyllis Gilmore. “We are pleased to see the information shared turned into a meaningful report that demonstrates for Kansas and the rest of the nation that employment is the most effective path out of poverty. And our reforms, led by Governor Sam Brownback, are empowering Kansans to achieve self-reliance.”
In September 2013, Kansas announced, as one of few states at the time, that it would allow a federal waiver to expire that made it possible for able-bodied adults between the ages of 18 and 49 to receive food assistance with no work requirement. Since Kansas made that important decision, other states have followed our lead.
Additionally, in 2015, Governor Brownback signed into law the most comprehensive welfare reform in the nation that not only added permanency to existing work requirements, but also added additional regulations to strengthen the integrity of the welfare benefits system in Kansas.
FGA found these reforms to be fiscally responsible for taxpayers. They also showed the reforms to offer Kansans previously locked into dependence on government-funded programs, a way out of poverty.
“The Kansas data clearly shows the best way to help able-bodied adults who are trapped in welfare is to get them back to work as quickly as possible,” said Johnathan Ingram, FGA Vice President of Research. “The more time people spend on welfare, the harder it is for them to get a job. But once they get back to work, their earnings skyrocket and they create a better life for themselves than welfare ever could. To policymakers who want to lift Americans out of the poverty trap—Kansas has shown you the way.”
TOPEKA–Ken Selzer, CPA, Kansas Commissioner of Insurance, urges Kansans to know what exclusions might apply to their earthquake policies or earthquake policy endorsements on homeowners insurance policies.
“In many cases, there are certain restrictions on what is included in their coverage,” Commissioner Selzer said. “It is wise for policyholders to go over their policies with their insurance agents or companies to fully understand the limits and exclusions.”
Concerns have been raised about whether the Oklahoma quakes have originated because of man-made oil drilling activity. Policy endorsements or special policies may or may not address this, the commissioner said.
“No one should be surprised about what is covered or excluded in any type of policy,” Commissioner Selzer said. “If you have trouble understanding your policy limits or language, contact our Consumer Assistance Division at the Kansas Insurance Department for help.”
The department’s Consumer Assistance Hotline is 1-800-432-2484.
Abernathy Furniture Company Plant K. Early 1900s. Rosin Preservation, PSIQ photo.
KSHS
TOPEKA–At its regular quarterly meeting held at the Kansas Historical Society in Topeka on Saturday, February 6, 2016, the Historic Sites Board of Review voted to forward five nominations to the office of the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C., to be evaluated by its professional staff members. If they concur with the board’s findings, the properties will be included in the National Register. The board also voted to list one property in the Register of Historic Kansas Places.
Nominated to the National Register of Historic Places:
Abernathy Furniture Company Factory (Plant K)
1100 N 2nd Street, Leavenworth, Leavenworth County
Hemmed in at the original site at North 2nd and Seneca streets, the Abernathy Furniture Company (1883) expanded with the construction of a new plant in 1926. Plant K, a complex of four brick buildings located one-half mile north of the existing factory, enabled the company to double its production capacity and to continue the manufacture and distribution of furniture in an era when many of its local competitors were closing operations. Abernathy was among the longest operating industries in Leavenworth and was one of the largest furniture manufacturers in the region. The original factory complex at 200-210 Seneca Street was listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. The historic context for Plant K is within the period of significance (1883 to 1950) documented by the National Register nomination, though Plant K’s period of significance begins in 1926 with its construction.
First United Methodist Church of Lawrence Oregon-California Trail Segment
867 US-40 Highway, Lawrence vicinity, Douglas County
This 0.6-acre remnant of the Oregon and California trails network is part of the eastern (beginning) section of the combined trail, which emigrants passed over on the first few days of their journey west. One of the most important resources in this initial portion of the trail was Big Springs, a reliable water source lying approximately nine miles west of these two swales. Active between 1840 and circa 1860, these swales are associated with transportation and exploration/settlement along the combined route of the Oregon and California trails. This site’s location on the trail may suggest the presence of related artifacts. Due to current transportation developments within the immediate vicinity, this site is all that remains of a larger segment.
Eskridge Bandstand
City Park, Eskridge, Wabaunsee County
The Eskridge Bandstand, built between June 1908 and March 1909, stands in the approximate center of Eskridge City Park (established in 1903) and is the park’s focal structure. The park and bandstand are associated with the most vigorous period of economic growth and community development in the history of Eskridge. Built primarily for city band, the bandstand has a long history of use for other public and private social events. The period of significance begins with its construction in 1908 and extends to 1966.
Grandview Terrace Apartments
1736-1748 N Hillside, Wichita, Sedgwick County
Constructed between 1949 and 1950, the Grandview Terrace Apartments are nominated as a rare example of a post-World War II (WWII), private apartment building in the Fairmount neighborhood in north central Wichita. With the influx of WWII veterans and the increase in job opportunities in aviation, the housing shortage in Wichita that began in 1940 and 1941 continued well into the 1950s. Local real-estate women Maud Beech (sister of Beech Aircraft founder) and Marguerite Mollohan took advantage of the unmet demand for modern living. The apartment complex included covered off-street parking as well as a beauty salon, pharmacy, and restaurant. The property is also significant as a distinct 1950 Modern style building designed by Wichita architects Overend & Boucher. The Grandview Terrace Apartments reflect the general tenets of the post-WW II Modern apartment building not unlike the federal housing during and after the war.
Ash-Grove Historic District on East Douglas Avenue
2100 to 2330 blocks East Douglas Avenue, Wichita, Sedgwick County
The Ash-Grove Historic District is nominated for its association with the growth and development of this commercial cluster opposite Wichita East High School. The 2100-2300 blocks of East Douglas Avenue were initially developed during a time when the city was experiencing explosive growth that led to neighborhood and commercial expansion outside the city’s core. Development along this section of East Douglas followed the establishment of Wichita’s “Auto-Row” immediately east of downtown and coincided with the selection of the south side of the 2200 block as home to Wichita’s new high school, built in the 1920s to serve the eastward-marching Wichita population. This growth stalled by the end of the decade as the 1930s ushered in a focus on survival, not expansion. The second wave of development within this district spanned from 1940 to 1960. Wichita’s World War II and post-war growth was related largely to Wichita’s aviation industry. Grove Street, the eastern boundary of the district, served as the north-south thoroughfare connecting the aviation businesses that had developed south and east of the city. Eight new buildings were constructed in this three-block area in the post-war era. The district generally took its current form by 1960.
Added to the Register of Historic Kansas Places:
Coffeyville Municipal Building & Courthouse
102 W 7th Street, Coffeyville, Montgomery County
Completed in 1929, Coffeyville’s Municipal Building & Courthouse is an excellent example of civic architecture of the 1920s. It serves a unique dual function as a city hall and district court in a non-county seat community. The building was distinguished in municipal realms with financing from the city’s electric and light plant, without a cent of tax dollars—particularly significant given that the building was completed just after the stock market crash in 1929. Designed by Coffeyville architect Clare (C. A.) Henderson, in partnership with consulting architects/engineers Owen, Sayler, & Payson of Kansas City, Missouri, the Classical Revival style building maintains a significant degree of historic and architectural integrity. Its interior retains a marble-clad rotunda, terrazzo staircases, coffered plaster ceilings, and pendant light fixtures. The exterior embraces dominant characteristics of the Classical Revival style including symmetrical façades with central entrances, a prominent cornice band, massive Doric columns and pilasters, and delicately carved terracotta and stone panels.
The National Register of Historic Places is the country’s official list of historically significant properties. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archaeological resources. Eligible properties must be significant for one or more of the four criteria for evaluation. Properties can be eligible if they are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history. They can be eligible if they are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. Distinctive construction can qualify properties for the National Register if they embody the characteristic of a type, period, or method of construction, or represent the work of a master, or possess high artistic values, or represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction. Lastly, properties may be eligible for the National Register if they have yielded or may be likely to yield information important in prehistory or history. The National Register recognizes properties of local, statewide, and national significance.
The Register of Historic Kansas Places is our state’s official list of historically significant properties. Properties included in the National Register are automatically listed in the State Register. However, not all properties listed in the State Register are included in the National Register. The same general criteria are used to assess the eligibility of a property for inclusion in the state register, but more flexibility is allowed in the interpretation of the criteria for eligibility.
Related Internet Links:
National Register of Historic Places: nps.gov/nr
Kansas Historical Society (National and State Registers): kshs.org/14638
To read drafts of these nominations and links to photographs, see this link: kshs.org/14633 (This is a temporary link to these documents.)
TOPEKA–Kansas Medical Mutual Insurance Company (KaMMCO), based in Topeka, has agreed to contribute $10,000 each year for four years to a new educational initiative to attract Kansas college students to the insurance industry. The initial $10,000 contribution was made to the Kansas Insurance Education Foundation (KIEF). KIEF is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt charitable foundation whose mission is to support insurance education in Kansas.
The initiative would provide the Kansas insurance industry with a steady stream of college-educated employees who have completed certain core insurance coursework and/or have obtained certification through a collaborative program among Kansas universities, community colleges and private industry.
The program’s initiative has universities and colleges working together to provide academic flexibility for students, possibly through distance learning programs. Initially the program would provide core courses for an Insurance Certificate, which would consist of 12-15 hours of college insurance-related courses available through the participating universities and colleges.
“We appreciate KaMMCO’s enthusiasm and support for the initiative,” said Ken Selzer, CPA, Kansas Commissioner of Insurance. “Growing our insurance industry in Kansas through a collaborative effort between private industry and higher education is important for a healthy business climate.”
KS Dept. of Commerce
