EMPORIA-- Scarlett Kennedy Erin Nowlin of Victoria, Kansas, was one of over 550 students who graduated from Emporia State University in May 2024.

Nowlin graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Communication with a concentration in Public Relations and a minor in Marketing.

Emporia State University offers a range of academic programs through its institute and seven schools: Applied Health Sciences, Business &amp; Technology, Humanities &amp; Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary Studies, Library and Information Management &amp; Library and Archives, Science &amp; Mathematics and Visual and Performing Arts, along with The Teachers College.

As the sole public university in Kansas to be recognized as a College of Distinction for eight consecutive years, ESU stands out for its innovative education practices. It ensures accessible education by offering in-state tuition rates to full-time undergraduate students from all lower-48 United States. Additionally, full-time undergraduates benefit from flat-rate tuition - students enrolled in 12 or more credit hours with at least one credit hour on campus pay a flat rate.

For more information on how to build your future at Emporia State University, please visit&nbsp;<a href="http://email.readme.readmedia.com/ss/c/u001._-OPS4e3A9I_9r190n7YE4IEMQLe03DvzvPm0kZ3L6E/47l/SFQI6PikRsqVxTUTKqINEw/h0/h001.HULuhysWcwRlqYeUb5fyZsAfDE3WfpOHN-0HndmiYsg">www.emporia.edu</a>.

SubmittedEMPORIA-- Scarlett Kennedy Erin Nowlin of Victoria, Kansas, was one of over 550 students who graduated from Emporia State University in May 2024.Nowlin graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Communication with a concentration in Public Relations and a minor in Marketing.About Emporia State UniversityEmporia State University offers a range of academic programs through its institute and seven schools: Applied Health Sciences, Business &amp; Technology, Humanities &amp; Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary Studies, Library and Information Management &amp; Library and Archives, Science &amp; Mathematics and Visual and Performing Arts, along with The Teachers College.As the sole public university in Kansas to be recognized as a College of Distinction for eight consecutive years, ESU stands out for its innovative education practices. It ensures accessible education by offering in-state tuition rates to full-time undergraduate students from all lower-48 United States. Additionally, full-time undergraduates benefit from flat-rate tuition - students enrolled in 12 or more credit hours with at least one credit hour on campus pay a flat rate.For more information on how to build your future at Emporia State University, please visit&nbsp;<a href="http://email.readme.readmedia.com/ss/c/u001._-OPS4e3A9I_9r190n7YE4IEMQLe03DvzvPm0kZ3L6E/47l/SFQI6PikRsqVxTUTKqINEw/h0/h001.HULuhysWcwRlqYeUb5fyZsAfDE3WfpOHN-0HndmiYsg">www.emporia.edu</a>.

Victoria student graduates from Emporia State University

THOMAS COUNTY—One person was injured in an accident just after 1p.m. Monday in Thomas County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2025 Freightliner semi driven by Ryan Joseph Silva, 45, Thornton, Colorado, was westbound on Interstate 70 near the Brewster exit.

The semi drifted into the passing lane and struck a 2021 Ford F150 driven by Brandon MIles&nbsp;Smith, 48, Wichita.&nbsp; After impact the pickup&nbsp;&nbsp;rotated around the semi and came to rest in the north ditch.&nbsp;

EMS transported Smith to Citizens Medical Center in Colby. Silva was not injured. Both driver were properly restrained, according to the KHP.

THOMAS COUNTY—One person was injured in an accident just after 1p.m. Monday in Thomas County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2025 Freightliner semi driven by Ryan Joseph Silva, 45, Thornton, Colorado, was westbound on Interstate 70 near the Brewster exit.The semi drifted into the passing lane and struck a 2021 Ford F150 driven by Brandon MIles&nbsp;Smith, 48, Wichita.&nbsp; After impact the pickup&nbsp;&nbsp;rotated around the semi and came to rest in the north ditch.&nbsp;EMS transported Smith to Citizens Medical Center in Colby. Silva was not injured. Both driver were properly restrained, according to the KHP.

Kansas man hospitalized after semi strikes pickup on I-70

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/4aa6bbd1-8340-4dd0-8db1-6aa2a34dc235">RELATED STORY: Wild West Festival 2024: Day 3 Quiet Riot</a>

By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post

Hays was the site on Saturday of a long-anticipated reunion for two women who grew up in Florida.

Ruth Prince and Gloria Trammell met in junior high in 1969 while growing up in Miami, Florida.

The two were the closest friends until they graduated high school in 1973.

The friends lost track of each other, but recently, Prince and Trammil reconnected through classmates on Facebook.

"I put on our high school site, 'Does anyone know where Geni Trammell is? The same day I put it on, I got a return message. I found her, and I was overcome with joy, believe me," Prince said.

Prince now lives in Blackwell, Oklahoma, and Trammell lives in Denver.

The two decided they would reunite halfway between their two homes last year in Colby.

"It was a little boring," Trammell said, "because you blink your eye and you're already done."

"I searched some more, and I saw they were having a Wild Wild West Festival here in Hays," Trammell said. "I said let's meet there, so I reserved the hotel room right away.

"We bought tickets online, and we are here six hours later each."

The duo went to multiple nights of festival concerts and sat in the front row in the VIP section. They also watched the fireworks on Thursday night and attended the festival parade on Saturday.&nbsp;

"We sat in the parking lot for six hours all by ourselves," Prince said of the two taking time to talk and catch up.

The duo hugged, and Prince was almost brought to tears.

"It's like it never was ever, ever," Trammell said with a huge smile and laugh.

"We're just really happy that we found each other, and we can enjoy each other's company again," Prince said.

The two friends were the special guests of the Wild West Festival on Saturday night and were recognized before the Quiet Riot show.

The friends have been invited to attend the festival next year, and the two women said they are looking forward to coming back to Hays.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1720377798433.jpeg" alt="Gloria Trammell, Denver, left, and Ruth Prince, Blackwell, Oklahoma, right, sing along at the Wild West Festival concert in Hays Friday night. The two former classmates chose Hays for a reunion after losing touch 50 years ago. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Gloria Trammell, Denver, left, and Ruth Prince, Blackwell, Oklahoma, right, sing along at the Wild West Festival concert in Hays Friday night. The two former classmates chose Hays for a reunion after losing touch 50 years ago. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/4aa6bbd1-8340-4dd0-8db1-6aa2a34dc235">RELATED STORY: Wild West Festival 2024: Day 3 Quiet Riot</a>By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays PostHays was the site on Saturday of a long-anticipated reunion for two women who grew up in Florida.Ruth Prince and Gloria Trammell met in junior high in 1969 while growing up in Miami, Florida.The two were the closest friends until they graduated high school in 1973.The friends lost track of each other, but recently, Prince and Trammil reconnected through classmates on Facebook."I put on our high school site, 'Does anyone know where Geni Trammell is? The same day I put it on, I got a return message. I found her, and I was overcome with joy, believe me," Prince said.Prince now lives in Blackwell, Oklahoma, and Trammell lives in Denver.The two decided they would reunite halfway between their two homes last year in Colby."It was a little boring," Trammell said, "because you blink your eye and you're already done.""I searched some more, and I saw they were having a Wild Wild West Festival here in Hays," Trammell said. "I said let's meet there, so I reserved the hotel room right away."We bought tickets online, and we are here six hours later each."The duo went to multiple nights of festival concerts and sat in the front row in the VIP section. They also watched the fireworks on Thursday night and attended the festival parade on Saturday.&nbsp;"We sat in the parking lot for six hours all by ourselves," Prince said of the two taking time to talk and catch up.The duo hugged, and Prince was almost brought to tears."It's like it never was ever, ever," Trammell said with a huge smile and laugh."We're just really happy that we found each other, and we can enjoy each other's company again," Prince said.The two friends were the special guests of the Wild West Festival on Saturday night and were recognized before the Quiet Riot show.The friends have been invited to attend the festival next year, and the two women said they are looking forward to coming back to Hays.

50 years later, classmates from Miami choose Hays Wild West Festival for reunion

By JOHN P. TRETBAR Eagle Communications

The government reported the biggest weekly drop in crude stockpiles in over a year. Commercial crude inventories dropped by 12.2 million barrels last week. That marks the biggest decline in commercial stockpiles since May of last year. The Energy Information Administration reports stockpiles of 448.5 million barrels, or about four percent below the five-year seasonal average.

The weekly government inventory report shows the Department of Energy bought another 400,000 barrels for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve last week. At today's prices, that's a savings of nearly $5 million under the sale price three years ago.

Crude production returns to its record-breaking pre-winter flight plan, soaring 5% over last year. U.S. production averaged 13.24 million barrels a day in April, up from 13.17 million per day in March. The Energy Information Administration reports output hit the all-time high over 13.3 million barrels a day last December, just before a widespread winter weather event shut in production in January and February.&nbsp; April output in Texas, the top producing state, rose to 42% of the national total at over 5.6 million barrels a day.&nbsp; 

Kansas ranks 12th among crude-producing states in the latest Energy Information Administration report, with output over 75,000 barrels a day.

Weekly U.S. crude production holds steady in the lower 48 states for a third straight week. For the week through June 28, Energy Information Administration reported output in Alaska was down 27,000 barrels a day for a nationwide total just over 13.2 million barrels per day.

U.S. crude imports topped exports by more than 2 million barrels a day last week. Product exports beat imports by over 5 million. The US imported 6.5 million barrels of crude oil per day in the week through June 28, down nearly 100,000 daily barrels from the week before, and down nearly half a million barrels from a year ago. U.S. firms exported 4.4 million barrels of crude per day. Four-week average exports are up nearly half a million barrels a day from a year ago.

The weekly Rig Count from Baker Hughes is up four gas rigs for a total of 585 active drilling rigs. After last week, this is the second-lowest total in nearly three years.&nbsp; Louisiana was up three rigs for the week. Texas was up one.

The Kansas Rig Count from Independent Oil and Gas Service is up one rig in western Kansas and unchanged east of Wichita, for a total of 29 active drilling rigs. Drilling was underway Friday on two leases in Barton County.

Regulators approved 24 new drilling permits, with just two in western Kansas. That's 498 new drilling locations approved through the first half of the year, compared to 651 a year ago.

Independent Oil and Gas Service reports 28 new well completions, 13 east of Wichita and 15 in the western half of the state. That's 671 completed wells so far this year, compared to 874 through the first half of last year.

A judge halts the pause, but don't expect big liquefied natural gas export growth right away. A U.S. judge last week halted President Biden's temporary moratorium on new export licenses for liquefied natural gas. But Bloomberg reports the decision won't jump-start new export approvals any time soon. The pause affected new licenses only. The U.S. is the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas and has more room to grow under existing licenses.

Conoco Phillips filed suit to block an Biden administration ban on new drilling across nearly half of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. The company holds leases on nearly 2 million acres within the reserve, which was established as an emergency oil supply for the U.S. Navy in 1923. The regulation won’t alter the terms of existing contracts there, or directly affect current projects including ConocoPhillips’ 600-million-barrel Willow project.

A government report suggests that aviation in the U.S. is getting close but has not yet fully returned to normal operations in the third year after the onset of the pandemic. Annual jet fuel consumption grew for the third year in a row last year, but remained about 5% below the pre-pandemic high in 2019. The Energy Information Administration reports airline passenger volumes so far this year have surpassed 2019 and are consistently higher than last year.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1684775008059.jpeg" alt="Photo by Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Photo by Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>By JOHN P. TRETBAR Eagle Communications The government reported the biggest weekly drop in crude stockpiles in over a year. Commercial crude inventories dropped by 12.2 million barrels last week. That marks the biggest decline in commercial stockpiles since May of last year. The Energy Information Administration reports stockpiles of 448.5 million barrels, or about four percent below the five-year seasonal average.The weekly government inventory report shows the Department of Energy bought another 400,000 barrels for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve last week. At today's prices, that's a savings of nearly $5 million under the sale price three years ago.Crude production returns to its record-breaking pre-winter flight plan, soaring 5% over last year. U.S. production averaged 13.24 million barrels a day in April, up from 13.17 million per day in March. The Energy Information Administration reports output hit the all-time high over 13.3 million barrels a day last December, just before a widespread winter weather event shut in production in January and February.&nbsp; April output in Texas, the top producing state, rose to 42% of the national total at over 5.6 million barrels a day.&nbsp; Kansas ranks 12th among crude-producing states in the latest Energy Information Administration report, with output over 75,000 barrels a day.Weekly U.S. crude production holds steady in the lower 48 states for a third straight week. For the week through June 28, Energy Information Administration reported output in Alaska was down 27,000 barrels a day for a nationwide total just over 13.2 million barrels per day.U.S. crude imports topped exports by more than 2 million barrels a day last week. Product exports beat imports by over 5 million. The US imported 6.5 million barrels of crude oil per day in the week through June 28, down nearly 100,000 daily barrels from the week before, and down nearly half a million barrels from a year ago. U.S. firms exported 4.4 million barrels of crude per day. Four-week average exports are up nearly half a million barrels a day from a year ago.The weekly Rig Count from Baker Hughes is up four gas rigs for a total of 585 active drilling rigs. After last week, this is the second-lowest total in nearly three years.&nbsp; Louisiana was up three rigs for the week. Texas was up one.The Kansas Rig Count from Independent Oil and Gas Service is up one rig in western Kansas and unchanged east of Wichita, for a total of 29 active drilling rigs. Drilling was underway Friday on two leases in Barton County.Regulators approved 24 new drilling permits, with just two in western Kansas. That's 498 new drilling locations approved through the first half of the year, compared to 651 a year ago.Independent Oil and Gas Service reports 28 new well completions, 13 east of Wichita and 15 in the western half of the state. That's 671 completed wells so far this year, compared to 874 through the first half of last year.A judge halts the pause, but don't expect big liquefied natural gas export growth right away. A U.S. judge last week halted President Biden's temporary moratorium on new export licenses for liquefied natural gas. But Bloomberg reports the decision won't jump-start new export approvals any time soon. The pause affected new licenses only. The U.S. is the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas and has more room to grow under existing licenses.Conoco Phillips filed suit to block an Biden administration ban on new drilling across nearly half of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. The company holds leases on nearly 2 million acres within the reserve, which was established as an emergency oil supply for the U.S. Navy in 1923. The regulation won’t alter the terms of existing contracts there, or directly affect current projects including ConocoPhillips’ 600-million-barrel Willow project.A government report suggests that aviation in the U.S. is getting close but has not yet fully returned to normal operations in the third year after the onset of the pandemic. Annual jet fuel consumption grew for the third year in a row last year, but remained about 5% below the pre-pandemic high in 2019. The Energy Information Administration reports airline passenger volumes so far this year have surpassed 2019 and are consistently higher than last year.

News from the Oil Patch: Biggest drop in stockpiles in over a year

&nbsp;The Ellis County Public Works Road &amp; Bridge Division is announcing that an asphalt overlay project will be taking place in the 1300 block of Antonino Road, between 220th and 230th Avenue. 

This area will be closed to through traffic beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Monday, July 8 and will remain closed until the project is completed. The estimated completion date is Tuesday, July 9, pending weather conditions. 

Motorists traveling in the affected closure area should use alternate routes of travel until the project is completed. 

Please direct any questions to the Ellis County Public Works Road &amp; Bridge Division at 785-628- 9455. Your cooperation during this project is appreciated

<figure>
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 </figure>ELLIS COUNTY&nbsp;The Ellis County Public Works Road &amp; Bridge Division is announcing that an asphalt overlay project will be taking place in the 1300 block of Antonino Road, between 220th and 230th Avenue. This area will be closed to through traffic beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Monday, July 8 and will remain closed until the project is completed. The estimated completion date is Tuesday, July 9, pending weather conditions. Motorists traveling in the affected closure area should use alternate routes of travel until the project is completed. Please direct any questions to the Ellis County Public Works Road &amp; Bridge Division at 785-628- 9455. Your cooperation during this project is appreciated

Asphalt overlay project starts Monday on portion of Antonino Road in Ellis County

The Ellis County Sheriff's Office responded to 313 incidents June 30-July 6, 2024, according to the activity report.

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 </figure>ECSOThe Ellis County Sheriff's Office responded to 313 incidents June 30-July 6, 2024, according to the activity report.<figure>
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Ellis County Sheriff activity log, June 30-July 6, 2024

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Ellis County Jail bookings, July 1-8, 2024

The Hays Police Department responded to 72 incidents June 23-29, 2024, according to the HPD Activity Log.

<figure>
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 </figure>HPDThe Hays Police Department responded to 72 incidents June 23-29, 2024, according to the HPD Activity Log.<figure>
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Hays Police Department activity log, June 23-29, 2024

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Hays Police Department arrest log, June 23-27, 2024

By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT Hays Post

The Ellis County Commission will begin discussing the
future of the Ellis County Jail at Tuesday’s commission meeting.

Last year, the commission approved a feasibility study by Justice Planners and a needs assessment for the county jail.

Currently, the facility houses 72 beds, but according to information provided ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, a 2013 assessment projected it to
have 95 beds by 2025.

Justice Planners will present the commission with the
results of their assessment.

The commission will also consider increasing the rental rate for the Schenk and Unrein Building at the fairgrounds, discuss rate increases for the Transfer Station in 2025, and vote on whether to exceed the revenue
neutral rate.

This week's agenda can be found <a href="https://www.ellisco.net/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07092024-608">HERE</a>.

Tuesday’s meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. at the Ellis
County Administrative Center, 812 Main St., Hays.

By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT Hays PostThe Ellis County Commission will begin discussing the
future of the Ellis County Jail at Tuesday’s commission meeting.Last year, the commission approved a feasibility study by Justice Planners and a needs assessment for the county jail.Currently, the facility houses 72 beds, but according to information provided ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, a 2013 assessment projected it to
have 95 beds by 2025.Justice Planners will present the commission with the
results of their assessment.The commission will also consider increasing the rental rate for the Schenk and Unrein Building at the fairgrounds, discuss rate increases for the Transfer Station in 2025, and vote on whether to exceed the revenue
neutral rate.This week's agenda can be found <a href="https://www.ellisco.net/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07092024-608">HERE</a>.Tuesday’s meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. at the Ellis
County Administrative Center, 812 Main St., Hays.

Ellis County Commission set to discuss jail future

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/b853194d-fc10-4735-bbcd-bc8e86c5b170">RELATED STORY: 50 years later, classmates from Miami choose Hays Wild West Festival for reunion</a>

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/f1cec037-5a22-4a91-9022-f52b6a71e5b8">RELATED STORY: From the beginning: Grand marshall recalls 30 years of Wild West Festival</a>

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/f3e7d822-a91b-4cef-b989-58c64905dc1d">RELATED STORY: Wild West Festival 2024 parade</a>

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/3210cfb2-5a57-4be3-9de6-1ec97a6926b6">RELATED STORY: Wild West Festival 2024 Day 2</a>

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/18281817-5cd5-4d42-b1fe-89097f6e34ad">RELATED STORY: Wild West Festival Day 1: Nate Smith</a>

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/b853194d-fc10-4735-bbcd-bc8e86c5b170">RELATED STORY: 50 years later, classmates from Miami choose Hays Wild West Festival for reunion</a><a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/f1cec037-5a22-4a91-9022-f52b6a71e5b8">RELATED STORY: From the beginning: Grand marshall recalls 30 years of Wild West Festival</a><a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/f3e7d822-a91b-4cef-b989-58c64905dc1d">RELATED STORY: Wild West Festival 2024 parade</a><a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/3210cfb2-5a57-4be3-9de6-1ec97a6926b6">RELATED STORY: Wild West Festival 2024 Day 2</a><a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/18281817-5cd5-4d42-b1fe-89097f6e34ad">RELATED STORY: Wild West Festival Day 1: Nate Smith</a><figure>
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📷 Wild West Festival 2024: Day 3 Quiet Riot

Many small businesses owners are planning on retiring soon, but finding buyers to keep the businesses going can be a challenge, especially in rural areas.

&nbsp;By Brian Beach Harvest Public Media

The town of Stratton, Nebraska, used to have two grocery stores, two barber shops and a pharmacist.

But today, most of those businesses are long gone.

Late last year the town’s lone lumberyard and hardware store closed, too, adding to the empty buildings in town.

Owner Denis League, who is in his late 60s, spent a year trying to find a buyer. Yet none of the interested buyers could make the finances work in the tiny western Nebraska community.

“You’re dealing with a pretty small base and we’re just not getting enough business here to make it interesting to anybody else, as far as anybody else wanting to buy it,” League said.

Without League Builders Supply, customers now have to drive more than an hour and a half away to the nearest lumberyard.

“The people that have been coming here are just going to have to go somewhere else,” League said. “But a lot of people have gotten used to not coming here anyway.”

More than half of business owners are 55 years or older, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Business Survey. With the youngest Baby Boomers set to reach retirement age in 2030, it’s clear small business ownership will undergo a major transition. The Exit Planning Institute found in a recent study that 75% of business owners would like to exit their businesses within the next 10 years.

“There's a silver tsunami coming,” said Renee Wiatt, a research specialist with the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development at Purdue University. “There’s basically going to be this mass exodus of that baby boomer age who are going to all be retiring in the next five to 10 years.”

That wave is likely to hit rural areas especially hard.

The village of Stratton had a population of more than 600 in 1950.

Many other towns across the rural Great Plains and the Midwest have experienced similar losses.

Young people migrating to larger cities and leaving behind aging populations are contributing to the decline, according to Ness Sandoval, a sociology professor at Saint Louis University.

“In rural areas, you tend to see more people dying than are born,” he said. “That has to do with the brain drain — young people leaving and going to college, and not necessarily coming back home.”

He grew up in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, a town of nearly 15,000 people in the state’s western panhandle.

He said things have changed since he was a kid, as most businesses in the smaller towns have closed due to competition from larger retailers.

“All these small businesses that surrounded Scottsbluff essentially are dead because they can't compete with a Walmart, they can't compete with Home Depot,” he said. “The margins are just too small.”

Sandoval said he is concerned about the future of many rural small towns as the older generation retires without young people to replace them.

“Once these Baby Boomers die and my generation, the Gen Xers die, I don’t see a lot of people moving there because they’re not the same type of communities that existed 20, 25 years ago,” he said.

Yet Wiatt of the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development said the wave of retirements could also bring opportunities, as well.

“Most businesses fail within the first five years from when they're started,” she said. “So, if there was an opportunity like that, to come into a business that’s established and try to run it, I think it's a great opportunity for these younger individuals to take some charge there,” she said.

At Advance Iowa, an organization that helps businesses with ownership succession planning, Program Manager Stacy Mullinex said there are three primary questions that need to be asked when a business owner is looking to sell their business: when they want to see, what the value of the business is and who they are going to sell to.

Mullinex said the third question is where more business owners struggle.

But through Advance Iowa, Mullinex focuses on an employee ownership model where existing business employees can be trained to own the operation.

“A lot of times, the people that already know the business really well, that already are vested in the community, they already know the consumers and they know how the business operates and runs, that’s the employees,” Mullinex said.

She advocates for the worker cooperative model, where the owner sells the business to employees and then the workers own it as a group. “It’s kind of a win-win-win of opportunity for everybody,” she said.

Mullinex said the owner wins because they are provided with a feasible buyer, the employees win through increased wealth and job satisfaction through ownership, and the local community wins by keeping a business in town.

However, for businesses with no employees to sell to, Wiatt said many business owners are working further into old age to keep their operations running.

“The retirement age is being pushed back for a lot of these farms and small businesses and family businesses,” she said. “I think it's just getting harder and harder to quit.”

In the southeast Kansas town of Moran, population 466, Marilyn Logan is adamant that she does not plan on retiring soon.

Logan, who is nearing 80 years old, is the part-owner and manager of Marmaton Market, the town’s lone grocery store.

“I'm going to be here until they wheel me out to the ambulance in my chair,” she said.

However, Logan is looking to hire someone to help her manage the grocery store and lighten her current workload of 60-to-80-hour weeks. That process hasn’t been easy.

“We need younger people, but we need younger people with skills,” she said. “We don't have people in the town that are young enough to work that have the skills to work, and they're not interested in learning.”

Most young people with skills, Logan said, move to larger cities where they can earn more money.

“It’s hard to find somebody with the passion to stay in a small town and work at a lower wage to make a business succeed,” she said. “It’s also tough on them to stay here too, because there’s not a lot of things for them.”

At Vitale’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria in Macomb, Illinois, Julie Dienst said her 86-year-old mother still comes to the restaurant each day to make the pizza sauce.

“She is really a driving force behind the restaurant too, so it’s a passion for her,” Dienst said.

The family has been running the restaurant since 1980, and while her mother is dedicated, Dienst said she’s ready to retire, along with Dienst’s older brother.

Two years ago, the family put the restaurant on the market. But Macomb, the home of Western Illinois University, has lost a quarter of its population and is facing a declining university enrollment.

Dienst said that’s made it a challenging market.

“There are already several restaurants that are empty, so having one more restaurant for sale, even though we're not closed like these other places, it's just more competition, I guess,” she said.

Dienst’s father came from Brooklyn to buy a pizzeria in a town with more room to expand. Since then, she said the family restaurant has seen generations of customers come through their doors.

“I’m waiting on the grandchildren of people I waited on when I was in high school,” she said. “It’s really hard to put on a price on that.”

This story was produced in partnership with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/harvestpublicmedia" target="_blank">Harvest Public Media,</a>&nbsp;a collaboration of public media newsrooms in the Midwest. It reports on food systems, agriculture and rural issues.&nbsp;

<h2>Many small businesses owners are planning on retiring soon, but finding buyers to keep the businesses going can be a challenge, especially in rural areas.</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1719931207344.png" alt="League Builders Supply, a lumberyard and store in Stratton, Nebraska, closed at the end of 2023 after owner Denis League retired. “I’m not going to say Stratton’s going to shrivel up and die because I’m not here, but I don’t think it’s going to help anything, and I feel bad about that,” he said.&nbsp;Brian Beach/Nebraska Public Media" />
 <figcaption>League Builders Supply, a lumberyard and store in Stratton, Nebraska, closed at the end of 2023 after owner Denis League retired. “I’m not going to say Stratton’s going to shrivel up and die because I’m not here, but I don’t think it’s going to help anything, and I feel bad about that,” he said.&nbsp;Brian Beach/Nebraska Public Media</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;By Brian Beach Harvest Public MediaThe town of Stratton, Nebraska, used to have two grocery stores, two barber shops and a pharmacist.But today, most of those businesses are long gone.Late last year the town’s lone lumberyard and hardware store closed, too, adding to the empty buildings in town.Owner Denis League, who is in his late 60s, spent a year trying to find a buyer. Yet none of the interested buyers could make the finances work in the tiny western Nebraska community.“You’re dealing with a pretty small base and we’re just not getting enough business here to make it interesting to anybody else, as far as anybody else wanting to buy it,” League said.Without League Builders Supply, customers now have to drive more than an hour and a half away to the nearest lumberyard.“The people that have been coming here are just going to have to go somewhere else,” League said. “But a lot of people have gotten used to not coming here anyway.”More than half of business owners are 55 years or older, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Business Survey. With the youngest Baby Boomers set to reach retirement age in 2030, it’s clear small business ownership will undergo a major transition. The Exit Planning Institute found in a recent study that 75% of business owners would like to exit their businesses within the next 10 years.“There's a silver tsunami coming,” said Renee Wiatt, a research specialist with the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development at Purdue University. “There’s basically going to be this mass exodus of that baby boomer age who are going to all be retiring in the next five to 10 years.”That wave is likely to hit rural areas especially hard.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1719931090132.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Shrinking rural populations</h2>The village of Stratton had a population of more than 600 in 1950.Today, it’s less than half that.Many other towns across the rural Great Plains and the Midwest have experienced similar losses.Young people migrating to larger cities and leaving behind aging populations are contributing to the decline, according to Ness Sandoval, a sociology professor at Saint Louis University.“In rural areas, you tend to see more people dying than are born,” he said. “That has to do with the brain drain — young people leaving and going to college, and not necessarily coming back home.”Sandoval knows firsthand.He grew up in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, a town of nearly 15,000 people in the state’s western panhandle.He said things have changed since he was a kid, as most businesses in the smaller towns have closed due to competition from larger retailers.“All these small businesses that surrounded Scottsbluff essentially are dead because they can't compete with a Walmart, they can't compete with Home Depot,” he said. “The margins are just too small.”Sandoval said he is concerned about the future of many rural small towns as the older generation retires without young people to replace them.“Once these Baby Boomers die and my generation, the Gen Xers die, I don’t see a lot of people moving there because they’re not the same type of communities that existed 20, 25 years ago,” he said.Yet Wiatt of the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development said the wave of retirements could also bring opportunities, as well.“Most businesses fail within the first five years from when they're started,” she said. “So, if there was an opportunity like that, to come into a business that’s established and try to run it, I think it's a great opportunity for these younger individuals to take some charge there,” she said.At Advance Iowa, an organization that helps businesses with ownership succession planning, Program Manager Stacy Mullinex said there are three primary questions that need to be asked when a business owner is looking to sell their business: when they want to see, what the value of the business is and who they are going to sell to.Mullinex said the third question is where more business owners struggle.But through Advance Iowa, Mullinex focuses on an employee ownership model where existing business employees can be trained to own the operation.“A lot of times, the people that already know the business really well, that already are vested in the community, they already know the consumers and they know how the business operates and runs, that’s the employees,” Mullinex said.She advocates for the worker cooperative model, where the owner sells the business to employees and then the workers own it as a group. “It’s kind of a win-win-win of opportunity for everybody,” she said.Mullinex said the owner wins because they are provided with a feasible buyer, the employees win through increased wealth and job satisfaction through ownership, and the local community wins by keeping a business in town.However, for businesses with no employees to sell to, Wiatt said many business owners are working further into old age to keep their operations running.“The retirement age is being pushed back for a lot of these farms and small businesses and family businesses,” she said. “I think it's just getting harder and harder to quit.”<h2>Working longer</h2>In the southeast Kansas town of Moran, population 466, Marilyn Logan is adamant that she does not plan on retiring soon.Logan, who is nearing 80 years old, is the part-owner and manager of Marmaton Market, the town’s lone grocery store.“I'm going to be here until they wheel me out to the ambulance in my chair,” she said.However, Logan is looking to hire someone to help her manage the grocery store and lighten her current workload of 60-to-80-hour weeks. That process hasn’t been easy.“We need younger people, but we need younger people with skills,” she said. “We don't have people in the town that are young enough to work that have the skills to work, and they're not interested in learning.”Most young people with skills, Logan said, move to larger cities where they can earn more money.“It’s hard to find somebody with the passion to stay in a small town and work at a lower wage to make a business succeed,” she said. “It’s also tough on them to stay here too, because there’s not a lot of things for them.”At Vitale’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria in Macomb, Illinois, Julie Dienst said her 86-year-old mother still comes to the restaurant each day to make the pizza sauce.“She is really a driving force behind the restaurant too, so it’s a passion for her,” Dienst said.The family has been running the restaurant since 1980, and while her mother is dedicated, Dienst said she’s ready to retire, along with Dienst’s older brother.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1719931304791.png" alt="The Dienst family has run Vitale’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria since 1980, when Julie’s father moved from Brooklyn to buy a pizzeria in a town with more room to expand. “My dad saw it and fell in love, so we’ve been here for 44 years,” Julie said.&nbsp;Provided By Vitale’s Italian Restaurant And Pizzeria" />
 <figcaption>The Dienst family has run Vitale’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria since 1980, when Julie’s father moved from Brooklyn to buy a pizzeria in a town with more room to expand. “My dad saw it and fell in love, so we’ve been here for 44 years,” Julie said.&nbsp;Provided By Vitale’s Italian Restaurant And Pizzeria</figcaption>
 </figure>Two years ago, the family put the restaurant on the market. But Macomb, the home of Western Illinois University, has lost a quarter of its population and is facing a declining university enrollment.Dienst said that’s made it a challenging market.“There are already several restaurants that are empty, so having one more restaurant for sale, even though we're not closed like these other places, it's just more competition, I guess,” she said.Dienst’s father came from Brooklyn to buy a pizzeria in a town with more room to expand. Since then, she said the family restaurant has seen generations of customers come through their doors.“I’m waiting on the grandchildren of people I waited on when I was in high school,” she said. “It’s really hard to put on a price on that.”This story was produced in partnership with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/harvestpublicmedia" target="_blank">Harvest Public Media,</a>&nbsp;a collaboration of public media newsrooms in the Midwest. It reports on food systems, agriculture and rural issues.&nbsp;

'Silver tsunami’ hitting rural America as small business owners retire without replacements

By COLLEEN TRESSLER Federal Trade Commission, Division of Consumer and Business Education

Here’s a new scam spotted on social media: appointment setting jobs. They claim you can work from home and make big money. But just what does an appointment setter do? And how can you tell the difference between a legit job offer and a scam?

An appointment setter is someone who schedules calls for a company’s sales staff and potential clients to help them close deals. You’re typically paid an hourly rate, but might earn bonuses based on the number of appointments you successfully set. If you need training, the employer should offer it at no cost to you.

Now that you know the basics, here are some ways to tell the difference between an appointment setter&nbsp;<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/job-scams">job scam</a>&nbsp;and a legitimate position. Scammy ads tend to promise a very high income.&nbsp;The truth is&nbsp;that real appointment setting is a normal job with a modest income.&nbsp;Scammy job offers claim you have to pay thousands of dollars upfront for training.&nbsp;The truth is&nbsp;honest employers will never ask you to pay to get a job. Scammers say they’ll guarantee you a job once you pay for training.&nbsp;The truth is&nbsp;no one can guarantee you a job. Scammers may also look more like a business opportunity than a paid position, promising you potential clients, or suggesting you recruit new people to their “job” training programs, instead of setting appointments.

Before you accept a job or&nbsp;<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/when-business-offer-or-coaching-program-scam#avoid">business opportunity offer</a>:

If you see a job or business opportunity scam, or lose money to one, report it to the FTC at&nbsp;<a href="https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/">ReportFraud.ftc.gov</a>.&nbsp;

By COLLEEN TRESSLER Federal Trade Commission, Division of Consumer and Business EducationHere’s a new scam spotted on social media: appointment setting jobs. They claim you can work from home and make big money. But just what does an appointment setter do? And how can you tell the difference between a legit job offer and a scam?An appointment setter is someone who schedules calls for a company’s sales staff and potential clients to help them close deals. You’re typically paid an hourly rate, but might earn bonuses based on the number of appointments you successfully set. If you need training, the employer should offer it at no cost to you.Now that you know the basics, here are some ways to tell the difference between an appointment setter&nbsp;<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/job-scams">job scam</a>&nbsp;and a legitimate position. Scammy ads tend to promise a very high income.&nbsp;The truth is&nbsp;that real appointment setting is a normal job with a modest income.&nbsp;Scammy job offers claim you have to pay thousands of dollars upfront for training.&nbsp;The truth is&nbsp;honest employers will never ask you to pay to get a job. Scammers say they’ll guarantee you a job once you pay for training.&nbsp;The truth is&nbsp;no one can guarantee you a job. Scammers may also look more like a business opportunity than a paid position, promising you potential clients, or suggesting you recruit new people to their “job” training programs, instead of setting appointments.Before you accept a job or&nbsp;<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/when-business-offer-or-coaching-program-scam#avoid">business opportunity offer</a>:<ul>
 <li>Take your time and talk to someone you trust.&nbsp;Scammers will try to pressure you to get involved or risk losing out.</li><li>Do some research.&nbsp;Search online for the name of the company and words like “review,” “scam,” or “complaint.” Check with&nbsp;<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/now-leaving?external_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.naag.org%2Ffind-my-ag%2F&amp;back_url=https%3A%2F%2Fconsumer.ftc.gov%2Fconsumer-alerts%2F2024%2F06%2Fjob-scams-start-social-media-appointment-setters%3Futm_source%3Dgovdelivery">your state attorney general</a>&nbsp;for complaints. No complaints? It doesn’t guarantee that a company is honest, but complaints can tip you off to possible problems.</li><li>Read success stories and testimonials with skepticism.&nbsp;They might not be true or typical. Glowing stories of success could be fake or misleading, and positive&nbsp;<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-evaluate-online-reviews">online reviews</a>&nbsp;may have come from made-up profiles.</li>
 </ul>If you see a job or business opportunity scam, or lose money to one, report it to the FTC at&nbsp;<a href="https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/">ReportFraud.ftc.gov</a>.&nbsp;

Job scams that start on social media: Appointment setters

<a href="https://hayspost.com/pages/state-farm-weather-window">For a full look at the weather forecast, click here.</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1720393471175.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://hayspost.com/pages/state-farm-weather-window">For a full look at the weather forecast, click here.</a>

Three-day weather outlook

Are you a detail-oriented individual looking for a great opportunity?

Midwest Energy’s Hays, Kan. office has an opening for a Grant Accountant. We offer excellent pay and benefits, like family coverage through Blue Cross &amp; Blue Shield of Kansas, Delta dental, a vision/wellness plan, 401K with generous match and a company-funded pension plan!

The Grant Accountant position will support Federal grant projects by preparing and submitting grant fund reimbursement and progress forms and administering other grant reporting activities as necessary. In addition, the Grant Accountant can function as an Accountant by entering journal entries into the General Ledger, processing wholesale and miscellaneous invoicing, conducting general ledger reconciliations for interim and annual audited financial statements, and preparing and submitting monthly taxes. The Grant Accountant maintains the overall integrity of the grant reporting, general ledger and financial statements through relevant recording and analysis.

A bachelor’s degree with completion of at least twelve hours of college credit in accounting is required. A bachelor’s degree in accounting is preferred. A successful candidate will have one to two years of professional-level experience in an office environment and the ability to learn FERC Uniform System of Accounts. Find more information on our website under www.mwenergy.com/careers. If you’re ready to apply, visit https://mwenergy.clearcompany.com/careers/jobs/c252cc90-3753-353b-ed56-775b31c6e330/apply?source=3083908-CS-43286 before July 15th. Midwest Energy is an EOE.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1720017520778.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Are you a detail-oriented individual looking for a great opportunity?Midwest Energy’s Hays, Kan. office has an opening for a Grant Accountant. We offer excellent pay and benefits, like family coverage through Blue Cross &amp; Blue Shield of Kansas, Delta dental, a vision/wellness plan, 401K with generous match and a company-funded pension plan!The Grant Accountant position will support Federal grant projects by preparing and submitting grant fund reimbursement and progress forms and administering other grant reporting activities as necessary. In addition, the Grant Accountant can function as an Accountant by entering journal entries into the General Ledger, processing wholesale and miscellaneous invoicing, conducting general ledger reconciliations for interim and annual audited financial statements, and preparing and submitting monthly taxes. The Grant Accountant maintains the overall integrity of the grant reporting, general ledger and financial statements through relevant recording and analysis.A bachelor’s degree with completion of at least twelve hours of college credit in accounting is required. A bachelor’s degree in accounting is preferred. A successful candidate will have one to two years of professional-level experience in an office environment and the ability to learn FERC Uniform System of Accounts. Find more information on our website under www.mwenergy.com/careers. If you’re ready to apply, visit https://mwenergy.clearcompany.com/careers/jobs/c252cc90-3753-353b-ed56-775b31c6e330/apply?source=3083908-CS-43286 before July 15th. Midwest Energy is an EOE.

WINKEL: Healthy habits start now

By STEVE GILLILAND Exploring Kansas Outdoors

I don’t know what makes some people deathly afraid of snakes and other people not, but I was blessed (or cursed) with the latter; we’ll call it a “healthy respect.” Now, don’t misunderstand me, I don’t want a snake for a pet, to wear around my neck or to curl up on my lap for scratches like our pups, but I’m not much afraid of them. I have close friends who would make a back-door in a building where there was no back-door, if suddenly faced with a snake. My brother, whom I have always seen as being as manly-as-they-come, will turn and walk the other way. I have seen grown men twice my size and tough-as-nails run screaming like little girls at the sight of a snake. A recent conversation with a friend who found a big bull snake in her basement, and a Facebook post today asking readers to identify a snake someone found in their backyard, reminded me of my first encounter with a big Kansas snake.

My first residence in Kansas, years ago, was only one-half mile from the Arkansas River, so my place was no stranger to critters. The first summer there, I had a vegetable garden at one end of the yard. Nearby sat a small chicken coup that was home to a few odd chickens and a duck or two. One duck was sitting on a nest of several eggs, on the floor, at the far end of the chicken house. This particular day as I worked in the garden, I could hear the duck squawking and quacking like crazy from inside the chicken house, sort of like a duck’s version of a frenzied 911 call. I peered into the little building and found the momma duck pacing back and forth in front of her nest. “Odd,” I thought, so I stepped up into the building to get a better look, and there coiled up in-and- around her nest was a big bull snake swallowing her eggs. As I remember, a couple lumps in its throat showed the beast had already ingested a few.

What happened next will probably make many readers think the butter had dripped off my noodles. Bull snakes are not poisonous and eat many vermin around farmsteads, so if you can tolerate them and give them space, we humans will be the benefactors. Knowing this, I didn’t want to kill or hurt the thing, so with the garden hoe I had in my hand, I scooped the bugger up and chucked it out the door into the yard where I had some maneuvering room. With the snake trying to decide whether to “slither” for its life or whether to turn and take me on, I pinned its head to the ground with the flat blade of the hoe, and carefully

grasped the wriggling critter just behind the head. The snake kept wrapping around my arm and leg, so I finally stood on its tail while I hoisted its head to stretch it out; it was as long as I am tall, over 6 feet. A friend was there, so with me holding the brutes head out the window with one hand, we drove to the river and released it there. I’m sure it paid me many more visits after that we just never knew about.

Back to my friend’s snake encounter that reminded me of this story. Her clothes dryer is in the basement, and some time back, the dryer quit working properly. Long story short, they found a big bull snake had somehow gotten into the dryer vent and was completely blocking it. It was pulled out and released near a row of round bales up the road. Now, I’m certainly not advising to release a rattlesnake that is around your home or buildings that might bite someone, but if possible, give bull, rat and garter snakes room and let them do the jobs God equipped them to do, to help rid your property of vermin. Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors.

Steve can be contacted by email at stevenrgilliland@gmail.com.

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 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1574696211722.png" alt="" />
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 </figure>By STEVE GILLILAND Exploring Kansas OutdoorsI don’t know what makes some people deathly afraid of snakes and other people not, but I was blessed (or cursed) with the latter; we’ll call it a “healthy respect.” Now, don’t misunderstand me, I don’t want a snake for a pet, to wear around my neck or to curl up on my lap for scratches like our pups, but I’m not much afraid of them. I have close friends who would make a back-door in a building where there was no back-door, if suddenly faced with a snake. My brother, whom I have always seen as being as manly-as-they-come, will turn and walk the other way. I have seen grown men twice my size and tough-as-nails run screaming like little girls at the sight of a snake. A recent conversation with a friend who found a big bull snake in her basement, and a Facebook post today asking readers to identify a snake someone found in their backyard, reminded me of my first encounter with a big Kansas snake.My first residence in Kansas, years ago, was only one-half mile from the Arkansas River, so my place was no stranger to critters. The first summer there, I had a vegetable garden at one end of the yard. Nearby sat a small chicken coup that was home to a few odd chickens and a duck or two. One duck was sitting on a nest of several eggs, on the floor, at the far end of the chicken house. This particular day as I worked in the garden, I could hear the duck squawking and quacking like crazy from inside the chicken house, sort of like a duck’s version of a frenzied 911 call. I peered into the little building and found the momma duck pacing back and forth in front of her nest. “Odd,” I thought, so I stepped up into the building to get a better look, and there coiled up in-and- around her nest was a big bull snake swallowing her eggs. As I remember, a couple lumps in its throat showed the beast had already ingested a few.What happened next will probably make many readers think the butter had dripped off my noodles. Bull snakes are not poisonous and eat many vermin around farmsteads, so if you can tolerate them and give them space, we humans will be the benefactors. Knowing this, I didn’t want to kill or hurt the thing, so with the garden hoe I had in my hand, I scooped the bugger up and chucked it out the door into the yard where I had some maneuvering room. With the snake trying to decide whether to “slither” for its life or whether to turn and take me on, I pinned its head to the ground with the flat blade of the hoe, and carefullygrasped the wriggling critter just behind the head. The snake kept wrapping around my arm and leg, so I finally stood on its tail while I hoisted its head to stretch it out; it was as long as I am tall, over 6 feet. A friend was there, so with me holding the brutes head out the window with one hand, we drove to the river and released it there. I’m sure it paid me many more visits after that we just never knew about.Back to my friend’s snake encounter that reminded me of this story. Her clothes dryer is in the basement, and some time back, the dryer quit working properly. Long story short, they found a big bull snake had somehow gotten into the dryer vent and was completely blocking it. It was pulled out and released near a row of round bales up the road. Now, I’m certainly not advising to release a rattlesnake that is around your home or buildings that might bite someone, but if possible, give bull, rat and garter snakes room and let them do the jobs God equipped them to do, to help rid your property of vermin. Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors.Steve can be contacted by email at stevenrgilliland@gmail.com.

Exploring Kansas Outdoors: God’s slithering vermin snatchers

In his light blue Pontiac Tempest, Bob Swift and his wife, Sandra, led the parade for the 30th-annual Wild West Festival Saturday as the grand marshall.

Swift, 80, of Hays, has been on the Wild West Committee since its beginning three decades ago.

He became involved with the festival in its infancy through his work with Midwest Energy, which provided the festival's electricity.

"That's how a lot of people got started in this, through businesses, because the businesses were very active and supportive of this from the get-go," he said.

The festival was conceived as a way to keep Hays residents in town during the Fourth of July holiday.

He's seen the festival grow over the years, starting the first year with a trailer being brought in for a stage and audience members sitting on planks set across hay bales.

The committee was instrumental in building two shelter houses, parking in Municipal Park, and a cement pad for the stage brought in annually for the event.

He was there for the epic Charlie Daniels concert, which attracted 10,000 people to Municipal Park—far more than the committee expected.

"It kind of scared me because there were more people than we ever could imagine we could take care of," Swift said. "As always, people were very good and very courteous, and everything went well. But gosh, that night was unbelievable."

Swift said one of the reasons he has kept coming back for the July Fourth festivities is the joy the event creates.

"People have fun," he said. "We do it for that reason. It's a family-oriented program. When you see them smiling ...&nbsp; They'll see a committee member in one of our red, white and blue shirts and thank them. 

"They come down and relax and just have a good time. We need that in our daily lives to be able to hang out and just be with our neighbors and enjoy some good music."

&nbsp;<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/d8edd6b6-77a5-4f00-be6f-dd172d6a13a7">Earlier this year, the committee announced that the festival was in financial difficulties, and members were unsure if it would be able to continue.</a>

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/70199022-3eac-48ab-888e-07f9fa5667d9">Businesses stepped up as sponsors and community members packed the park on Wednesday and Friday nights for the first two nights of the festival's ticketed concerts.</a>

"That tells me that the people of Hays want this event. In wanting this event, they stepped forward financially, and buying that ticket really put us over the top," Swift said. "We really appreciate that. We can't do this by ourselves as a committee and all the volunteers we've had over 30 years."

Swift said he was honored to be named grand marshal of the parade, but he thought each of the many volunteers over the years of the festival deserved recognition.

Swift encouraged anyone interested in volunteering to contact the committee. The committee can still use volunteers to tear down the festival venue at Municipal Park today.&nbsp;

Although the festival has three days to stage the event, they only have one day to tear down and clean up.

"We always encourage new people to get on. [They bring] new ideas. The ideas I see are the new talent. They ask me who I want. I've been here so long. I'm in the '50s. You give me some good ole rock 'n' roll, and I'm happy."

He added, "It's not easy. There's a lot of sweat that goes into this. We appreciate each and every person who does this. It's unbelievable what it takes to put this on."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1720310277664.jpeg" alt="Bob Swift before the 2024 Wild West Festival parade. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Bob Swift before the 2024 Wild West Festival parade. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/f3e7d822-a91b-4cef-b989-58c64905dc1d">RELATED STORY: Wild West Festival 2024 parade</a><a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/3210cfb2-5a57-4be3-9de6-1ec97a6926b6">RELATED STORY: Wild West Festival 2024 Day 2</a><a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/18281817-5cd5-4d42-b1fe-89097f6e34ad">RELATED STORY: Wild West Festival Day 1: Nate Smith</a>By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays PostIn his light blue Pontiac Tempest, Bob Swift and his wife, Sandra, led the parade for the 30th-annual Wild West Festival Saturday as the grand marshall.Swift, 80, of Hays, has been on the Wild West Committee since its beginning three decades ago.He became involved with the festival in its infancy through his work with Midwest Energy, which provided the festival's electricity."That's how a lot of people got started in this, through businesses, because the businesses were very active and supportive of this from the get-go," he said.The festival was conceived as a way to keep Hays residents in town during the Fourth of July holiday.He's seen the festival grow over the years, starting the first year with a trailer being brought in for a stage and audience members sitting on planks set across hay bales.The committee was instrumental in building two shelter houses, parking in Municipal Park, and a cement pad for the stage brought in annually for the event.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1720308832054.jpeg" alt="Bob Swift, longtime Wild West Festival Committee member, makes announcements during the Wild West Festival concert Friday night. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Bob Swift, longtime Wild West Festival Committee member, makes announcements during the Wild West Festival concert Friday night. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>He was there for the epic Charlie Daniels concert, which attracted 10,000 people to Municipal Park—far more than the committee expected."It kind of scared me because there were more people than we ever could imagine we could take care of," Swift said. "As always, people were very good and very courteous, and everything went well. But gosh, that night was unbelievable."Swift said one of the reasons he has kept coming back for the July Fourth festivities is the joy the event creates."People have fun," he said. "We do it for that reason. It's a family-oriented program. When you see them smiling ...&nbsp; They'll see a committee member in one of our red, white and blue shirts and thank them. "They come down and relax and just have a good time. We need that in our daily lives to be able to hang out and just be with our neighbors and enjoy some good music."&nbsp;<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/d8edd6b6-77a5-4f00-be6f-dd172d6a13a7">Earlier this year, the committee announced that the festival was in financial difficulties, and members were unsure if it would be able to continue.</a><a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/70199022-3eac-48ab-888e-07f9fa5667d9">Businesses stepped up as sponsors and community members packed the park on Wednesday and Friday nights for the first two nights of the festival's ticketed concerts.</a>"That tells me that the people of Hays want this event. In wanting this event, they stepped forward financially, and buying that ticket really put us over the top," Swift said. "We really appreciate that. We can't do this by ourselves as a committee and all the volunteers we've had over 30 years."Swift said he was honored to be named grand marshal of the parade, but he thought each of the many volunteers over the years of the festival deserved recognition.Swift encouraged anyone interested in volunteering to contact the committee. The committee can still use volunteers to tear down the festival venue at Municipal Park today.&nbsp;Although the festival has three days to stage the event, they only have one day to tear down and clean up."We always encourage new people to get on. [They bring] new ideas. The ideas I see are the new talent. They ask me who I want. I've been here so long. I'm in the '50s. You give me some good ole rock 'n' roll, and I'm happy."He added, "It's not easy. There's a lot of sweat that goes into this. We appreciate each and every person who does this. It's unbelievable what it takes to put this on."

From the beginning: Grand marshal recalls 30 years of Wild West Festival

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📷 Wild West Festival 2024 Parade

Beginning Monday, July 8 at about 8 a.m., the west part of the 11th and Walnut and 14th and Walnut intersections in Hays will be closed to through traffic for water line replacements. 

Any residents affected by this project will be notified by the contractor for any interruption of services.

The City of Hays regrets any inconvenience this may cause to the public. 

If there are any questions, please call the contractor, J Corp, at 785-650-3995 or the Office of Project Management at 785-628-7350.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686234332975.jpeg" alt="File photo" />
 <figcaption>File photo</figcaption>
 </figure>City of HaysBeginning Monday, July 8 at about 8 a.m., the west part of the 11th and Walnut and 14th and Walnut intersections in Hays will be closed to through traffic for water line replacements. Any residents affected by this project will be notified by the contractor for any interruption of services.The City of Hays regrets any inconvenience this may cause to the public. If there are any questions, please call the contractor, J Corp, at 785-650-3995 or the Office of Project Management at 785-628-7350.

2 Walnut Street intersections to close for water line replacements in Hays

By BRIANNE HEIDBREDER Insight Kansas

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 </figure>By BRIANNE HEIDBREDER Insight KansasFireworks are an important part of Independence Day celebrations in the United States. They entertain us with their power and beauty, while symbolizing our national pride. However, the sale and use of fireworks are heavily regulated by state and local governments.Consumer fireworks are legal to purchase in 49 of the 50 states. In fact, only Massachusetts bans the sale of all fireworks at the state level. However, just because you can buy them, doesn’t mean you can shoot them off. Kansas gives local authorities the power to regulate the use of consumer fireworks. Therefore, before lighting up your stash of smoke bombs, sparklers, and bottle rockets over the 4th of July week, you better check your local ordinances.The regulation of fireworks is not arbitrary. City and county officials may be driven by several factors when deciding their own regulations.The foremost reason for regulating fireworks is public safety. Many types of fireworks, while beautiful, are explosives. They can cause serious injuries when not handled with care. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, thousands of people are injured each year in fireworks-related accidents.To prevent injury, government officials in some local governments have outright banned consumer fireworks. Others have chosen to heavily regulate the types that are allowed. For example, Lawrence is a “fireworks-free” city, allowing only the use of items such as party poppers, snappers, snakes, sparklers, toy caps and toy smoke devices.Another critical aspect of fireworks regulation is the prevention of fires and property damage. Fireworks can be a fire hazard, especially in dry areas. To mitigate potential fire and property damage caused by fireworks, regulations may mandate safe distances from buildings and flammable material, or they may even prohibit their use during droughts. For example, Manhattan KS does not allow discharge of fireworks within 100 feet of firework stands.Property and fire damage concerns are also the reason many local governments ban the use of sky lanterns as they can land on property while still burning.Environmental concerns can also play a role in firework regulation. Fireworks contain chemicals and heavy metals that can pollute air, water, and soil. They leave behind debris, some of which is non-biodegradable.Another type of pollution that comes with fireworks is noise pollution. Fireworks can be loud, causing disturbances to residents, particularly in densely populated areas. The loud explosions can be distressing to people. This is especially true for those with conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).To mitigate the effects of noise pollution, cities and counties have regulated the hours of the day fireworks can be used. Shawnee county, for example, allows fireworks to be shot off between 8:00 am and midnight in unincorporated areas.While fireworks are a revered part of our fourth of July celebrations, the regulation of fireworks by state and local governments is essential to protect public health, safety, and property, and to mitigate disturbances.

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