'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house Not a creature was stirring EXCEPT that darn mouse.&nbsp; It chewed and it rustled so to honor my spouse I set out some traps for that darn pesky mouse.

We don’t have&nbsp;a chimney, or mantle or poker And the nearest we&nbsp;own to a fireplace is a smoker. Our&nbsp;stockings were all holey&nbsp;and strewn under the bed So&nbsp;our&nbsp;old hunting boots hung by the smoker&nbsp;instead.

Our puppy was nestled all snug in her bed Under the laundry room table with her stuffed toy named Fred. She quivered and whimpered;&nbsp;to watch her was funny As she&nbsp;dreamed she would finally corral that ol’ bunny.

My&nbsp;pj’s&nbsp;were&nbsp;long johns,&nbsp;all&nbsp;cozy and white And&nbsp;I crawled into bed&nbsp;and turned out the light. Deer season had ended with no deer in the shed So visions of deer jerky danced in my head.

My wife lay beside me in jammies of red She&nbsp;was already dreaming of Claus and his sled When out in the drive there&nbsp;arose such a ruckus I sprang&nbsp;from my bed to see what&nbsp;had struck us.&nbsp;&nbsp;

I should have known not to “spring” from my bed Cause I busted my&nbsp;big&nbsp;toe and clobbered my head.&nbsp; As I limped up the hallway I grabbed my deer rifle I’d show them I was someone with whom not to trifle!

I peered out the&nbsp;window and what did I see? Why old Santa himself, alive as could be. And there stood old Rudolf in all of his glory, With his nose shining brightly just like in the story.

But&nbsp;all I could see was his head on my wall&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;.&nbsp; With that bright red nose twinkling&nbsp;to brighten my hall His rack was enormous, at least twenty points,&nbsp; The thought of its score made me weak in my joints&nbsp;

I wanted that rack, whether legal or not,&nbsp; So I eased out the door to line up my shot. I clicked off the safety and steadied myself So I wouldn’t endanger the Jolly Old Elf.

Now remember those traps I’d set out before? Well there happened to be&nbsp;one&nbsp;right&nbsp;by the door. While I tried to be sneaky so no one would know That trap clamped its jaws around my sore&nbsp;big&nbsp;toe.&nbsp;

I jerked on the trigger and the shot&nbsp;went astray And ended up lodged&nbsp;in the front of the sleigh. The reindeer all&nbsp;spooked and&nbsp;yanked on&nbsp;the sled Dumping St Nick on the floor on his head.

They shot out the drive as slick as a whistle And away they all flew like the down of a thistle, But I heard him exclaim as they drove out of sight Rudolph you blockhead; no more deer hunters tonight!

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

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1574696211722.png" alt="Steve&nbsp;Gilliland" />
 <figcaption>Steve&nbsp;Gilliland</figcaption>
 </figure>'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house Not a creature was stirring EXCEPT that darn mouse.&nbsp; It chewed and it rustled so to honor my spouse I set out some traps for that darn pesky mouse.We don’t have&nbsp;a chimney, or mantle or poker And the nearest we&nbsp;own to a fireplace is a smoker. Our&nbsp;stockings were all holey&nbsp;and strewn under the bed So&nbsp;our&nbsp;old hunting boots hung by the smoker&nbsp;instead.Our puppy was nestled all snug in her bed Under the laundry room table with her stuffed toy named Fred. She quivered and whimpered;&nbsp;to watch her was funny As she&nbsp;dreamed she would finally corral that ol’ bunny.My&nbsp;pj’s&nbsp;were&nbsp;long johns,&nbsp;all&nbsp;cozy and white And&nbsp;I crawled into bed&nbsp;and turned out the light. Deer season had ended with no deer in the shed So visions of deer jerky danced in my head.My wife lay beside me in jammies of red She&nbsp;was already dreaming of Claus and his sled When out in the drive there&nbsp;arose such a ruckus I sprang&nbsp;from my bed to see what&nbsp;had struck us.&nbsp;&nbsp;I should have known not to “spring” from my bed Cause I busted my&nbsp;big&nbsp;toe and clobbered my head.&nbsp; As I limped up the hallway I grabbed my deer rifle I’d show them I was someone with whom not to trifle!I peered out the&nbsp;window and what did I see? Why old Santa himself, alive as could be. And there stood old Rudolf in all of his glory, With his nose shining brightly just like in the story.But&nbsp;all I could see was his head on my wall&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;.&nbsp; With that bright red nose twinkling&nbsp;to brighten my hall His rack was enormous, at least twenty points,&nbsp; The thought of its score made me weak in my joints&nbsp;I wanted that rack, whether legal or not,&nbsp; So I eased out the door to line up my shot. I clicked off the safety and steadied myself So I wouldn’t endanger the Jolly Old Elf.Now remember those traps I’d set out before? Well there happened to be&nbsp;one&nbsp;right&nbsp;by the door. While I tried to be sneaky so no one would know That trap clamped its jaws around my sore&nbsp;big&nbsp;toe.&nbsp;I jerked on the trigger and the shot&nbsp;went astray And ended up lodged&nbsp;in the front of the sleigh. The reindeer all&nbsp;spooked and&nbsp;yanked on&nbsp;the sled Dumping St Nick on the floor on his head.They shot out the drive as slick as a whistle And away they all flew like the down of a thistle, But I heard him exclaim as they drove out of sight Rudolph you blockhead; no more deer hunters tonight!Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at stevenrgilliland@gmail.com.

Exploring Outdoors Kansas: 'Twas the night before Christmas, 2022

Dec. 18, 2017, was my first day as president of Fort Hays State University.&nbsp;Five years. Wow.&nbsp;As the fifth-year anniversary&nbsp;date approached, I&nbsp;took&nbsp;time&nbsp;to reflect on this wonderful journey of mission, community, setbacks and incredible success.&nbsp;I’ve built this reflection around five key themes that I think best describe my first five years as president.&nbsp;

Theme one: first&nbsp;steps.&nbsp;My first days were filled with awe. A&nbsp;homecoming, reuniting&nbsp;with&nbsp;the&nbsp;faculty and staff&nbsp;I cared&nbsp;deeply&nbsp;about and&nbsp;for whom I&nbsp;believed with unwavering faith in their talents and dedication to serve our mission and students.&nbsp;

The inauguration was both a wonderful and humbling experience. I remember the difficulty&nbsp;I&nbsp;felt in adequately expressing my deep gratitude. I continue to feel extremely blessed&nbsp;to serve this&nbsp;university and community.&nbsp;

One thing that was very important to me was to do my very best to ensure that&nbsp;the&nbsp;inaugurationwas a celebration&nbsp;for&nbsp;all of&nbsp;us.&nbsp;We needed an inauguration&nbsp;that celebrated&nbsp;not&nbsp;one&nbsp;person but&nbsp;one that celebrated&nbsp;our&nbsp;institution. It was our opportunity to pause and reflect on the things that make Fort Hays State University so special: Our spirit of hard work. Our remarkable community.&nbsp;Our enduring legacy of innovation.&nbsp;And in the center of it all, our magnetic north: our students.&nbsp;That sentiment continues to motivate me to&nbsp;show up, work hard,&nbsp;and&nbsp;do&nbsp;my&nbsp;best every day.

The theme of&nbsp;the&nbsp;inauguration,&nbsp;Unlocking Untapped Potential, served as the focal point for launching our strategic plan. During the past five&nbsp;years,&nbsp;we have invested more than $2.5 million in driving our goals of academic excellence, student success, strategic growth, resources and infrastructure, and community and global engagement.&nbsp;My heart is abundantly grateful for the impactful work our campus is leading.

Theme two: &nbsp;a remarkable record of “firsts&nbsp;and&nbsp;greatests.” &nbsp;Throughout its 120-year history,&nbsp;Fort Hays State University has been blessed with a community that consistently rallied its support around her, a committed faculty and staff, engaged students, and a strong legacy of leadership.&nbsp;

All of these elements come together to create extraordinary results,&nbsp;which I have the fortune of sharing.&nbsp;Here are&nbsp;just&nbsp;a few: 19 consecutive years of enrollment growth;&nbsp;our first Barry Goldwater Scholar Brynn Wooten;&nbsp;the&nbsp;first NCAA school in Kansas&nbsp;and in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA)&nbsp;to offer women’s wrestling as a varsity program in intercollegiate athletics;&nbsp;the first campus digital master plan;&nbsp;one of only six in the world and&nbsp;the&nbsp;only Kansas university to earn the United States Distance Learning Associations certification;the successful completion the Journey Campaign – the largest capital campaign in school historyand the largest single gift in university history. Truly amazing.

Theme three: &nbsp;a unique national championship legacy. From financial planning competitions to athletics to technology and engineering education,&nbsp;our students reinforce the power of our brand when they compete. I love talking about our current student body president, Ryan Stanley, who not only continues to&nbsp;lead our students with integrity,&nbsp;he also excels&nbsp;in the classroom, earning&nbsp;two bachelor’s&nbsp;degrees this past year. A remarkable student-athlete, Ryan&nbsp;also&nbsp;won the national title in the pole vault after clearing a school-record 17-2.75 not once, but twice!&nbsp;

This year our Technology and Engineering Education students won three of the five nationally recognized individual events to claim co-championship all-around honors with Purdue University. With that performance, Fort Hays State became the ITEEA’s first three-peat national champion.&nbsp;Meanwhile,&nbsp;our shotgun team claimed its 8th&nbsp;national championship.

Football claimed the MIAA championships in 2017 and 2018; men’s soccer the&nbsp;MIAA Champions&nbsp;in&nbsp;2017 and 2018, GAC/MIAA regular season champions&nbsp;in&nbsp;2019, GAC/MIAA Tournament champions&nbsp;in&nbsp;2021, and NCAA Tournament Super Region champions in 2018; while Lady Tiger basketball secured the MIAA regular season champions&nbsp;in&nbsp;2019, 2021, and 2022.&nbsp;Incredible!

Theme Four:&nbsp;Investing in the quality of the FHSU experience. If there are two constants in my five years – it would be commencement and ribbon cuttings. Both bring&nbsp;me&nbsp;immense joy and gratitude.&nbsp;

I have had the distinct privilege, thanks to the heart of philanthropy that flows to&nbsp;this university, to preside at the ceremonial openings of the Schmidt Foundation Art and Design&nbsp;Hall,&nbsp;the Fischli-Wills Center for Student Success,&nbsp;the&nbsp;Fleharty&nbsp;Family Field (softball),&nbsp;the FHSU Transfer Center at Garden City Community College, the National Guard Office located in the Memorial Union, the Nursing Simulation Lab, the Sternberg Paleo Lab, and&nbsp;the&nbsp;Tailored for Tigers closet. It is with great anticipation that I eagerly await the ribbon-cutting ceremonies for the&nbsp;Wilmer and Lorena Kellogg Training Center&nbsp;(shotgun team facility),&nbsp;Schmidt-Bickle Athletic Complex, the Forsyth Library&nbsp;renovation,&nbsp;and of course,&nbsp;celebrating the addition of air conditioning to the Gross Memorial Coliseum!

Theme five: &nbsp;fulfilling our roles as stewards of place. Core to who we are as&nbsp;a&nbsp;regional comprehensive&nbsp;university&nbsp;is our investment in our community.&nbsp;We are called to serve as a steward of place by forging deep connections with the communities we serve, being responsive, and seeking relationships with community leaders that enhance mutual beneficence that results in community well-being.

Our focus on serving our community&nbsp;is often delivered through a combination of applied learning (students helping to build the downtown pavilion, leadership service projects, accounting students helping with tax preparations,&nbsp;community&nbsp;hearing screenings by our communication science disorder students)&nbsp;and outreach&nbsp;focused on helping businesses and communities thrive through several initiatives such as the Docking Institute of Public Affairs, Center for Civic Leadership, Management Development Center, the Kansas Small Business Development Center, and&nbsp;a&nbsp;multitude of other centers and initiatives.

I am very excited about our new Cybersecurity Institute and Technology Incubator. Funded by the 2022&nbsp;Kansas Legislature, the cybersecurity institute will leverage student and faculty expertise to improve the cybersecurity posture for small and medium-sized businesses through student micro internships, capstone projects, and faculty consulting. Our students will gain&nbsp;excellent hands-on learning while businesses&nbsp;will be&nbsp;helped&nbsp;in areas such as website security evaluation, security vulnerability assessment, assistance with deploying data privacy and security controls, software testing, data&nbsp;cleanup,&nbsp;and more.

Our technology incubator will focus on tech and/or cybersecurity venture creation through an in-residence business incubator. These initiatives will leverage the strengths of FHSU to advance the Kansas economy through asset preservation and venture.

These past five years have been incredible.&nbsp;I end this column as I ended my inauguration remarks: &nbsp;Today&nbsp;is our opportunity to pause and reflect on the things that make Fort Hays State University so special&nbsp;–&nbsp;Our spirit of hard work. Our remarkable community. And our enduring legacy of innovation. Together we thrive.&nbsp;

My deepest gratitude to everyone who has been a part of our legacy story, our journey this past five years, and especially for those of you joining me as we head into our bright future&nbsp;to&nbsp;continue to write this transformative story together.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575301942236.jpeg" alt="Dr. Tisa Mason, FHSU president" />
 <figcaption>Dr. Tisa Mason, FHSU president</figcaption>
 </figure>Dec. 18, 2017, was my first day as president of Fort Hays State University.&nbsp;Five years. Wow.&nbsp;As the fifth-year anniversary&nbsp;date approached, I&nbsp;took&nbsp;time&nbsp;to reflect on this wonderful journey of mission, community, setbacks and incredible success.&nbsp;I’ve built this reflection around five key themes that I think best describe my first five years as president.&nbsp;Theme one: first&nbsp;steps.&nbsp;My first days were filled with awe. A&nbsp;homecoming, reuniting&nbsp;with&nbsp;the&nbsp;faculty and staff&nbsp;I cared&nbsp;deeply&nbsp;about and&nbsp;for whom I&nbsp;believed with unwavering faith in their talents and dedication to serve our mission and students.&nbsp;The inauguration was both a wonderful and humbling experience. I remember the difficulty&nbsp;I&nbsp;felt in adequately expressing my deep gratitude. I continue to feel extremely blessed&nbsp;to serve this&nbsp;university and community.&nbsp;One thing that was very important to me was to do my very best to ensure that&nbsp;the&nbsp;inaugurationwas a celebration&nbsp;for&nbsp;all of&nbsp;us.&nbsp;We needed an inauguration&nbsp;that celebrated&nbsp;not&nbsp;one&nbsp;person but&nbsp;one that celebrated&nbsp;our&nbsp;institution. It was our opportunity to pause and reflect on the things that make Fort Hays State University so special: Our spirit of hard work. Our remarkable community.&nbsp;Our enduring legacy of innovation.&nbsp;And in the center of it all, our magnetic north: our students.&nbsp;That sentiment continues to motivate me to&nbsp;show up, work hard,&nbsp;and&nbsp;do&nbsp;my&nbsp;best every day.The theme of&nbsp;the&nbsp;inauguration,&nbsp;Unlocking Untapped Potential, served as the focal point for launching our strategic plan. During the past five&nbsp;years,&nbsp;we have invested more than $2.5 million in driving our goals of academic excellence, student success, strategic growth, resources and infrastructure, and community and global engagement.&nbsp;My heart is abundantly grateful for the impactful work our campus is leading.Theme two: &nbsp;a remarkable record of “firsts&nbsp;and&nbsp;greatests.” &nbsp;Throughout its 120-year history,&nbsp;Fort Hays State University has been blessed with a community that consistently rallied its support around her, a committed faculty and staff, engaged students, and a strong legacy of leadership.&nbsp;All of these elements come together to create extraordinary results,&nbsp;which I have the fortune of sharing.&nbsp;Here are&nbsp;just&nbsp;a few: 19 consecutive years of enrollment growth;&nbsp;our first Barry Goldwater Scholar Brynn Wooten;&nbsp;the&nbsp;first NCAA school in Kansas&nbsp;and in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA)&nbsp;to offer women’s wrestling as a varsity program in intercollegiate athletics;&nbsp;the first campus digital master plan;&nbsp;one of only six in the world and&nbsp;the&nbsp;only Kansas university to earn the United States Distance Learning Associations certification;the successful completion the Journey Campaign – the largest capital campaign in school historyand the largest single gift in university history. Truly amazing.Theme three: &nbsp;a unique national championship legacy. From financial planning competitions to athletics to technology and engineering education,&nbsp;our students reinforce the power of our brand when they compete. I love talking about our current student body president, Ryan Stanley, who not only continues to&nbsp;lead our students with integrity,&nbsp;he also excels&nbsp;in the classroom, earning&nbsp;two bachelor’s&nbsp;degrees this past year. A remarkable student-athlete, Ryan&nbsp;also&nbsp;won the national title in the pole vault after clearing a school-record 17-2.75 not once, but twice!&nbsp;This year our Technology and Engineering Education students won three of the five nationally recognized individual events to claim co-championship all-around honors with Purdue University. With that performance, Fort Hays State became the ITEEA’s first three-peat national champion.&nbsp;Meanwhile,&nbsp;our shotgun team claimed its 8th&nbsp;national championship.Football claimed the MIAA championships in 2017 and 2018; men’s soccer the&nbsp;MIAA Champions&nbsp;in&nbsp;2017 and 2018, GAC/MIAA regular season champions&nbsp;in&nbsp;2019, GAC/MIAA Tournament champions&nbsp;in&nbsp;2021, and NCAA Tournament Super Region champions in 2018; while Lady Tiger basketball secured the MIAA regular season champions&nbsp;in&nbsp;2019, 2021, and 2022.&nbsp;Incredible!Theme Four:&nbsp;Investing in the quality of the FHSU experience. If there are two constants in my five years – it would be commencement and ribbon cuttings. Both bring&nbsp;me&nbsp;immense joy and gratitude.&nbsp;I have had the distinct privilege, thanks to the heart of philanthropy that flows to&nbsp;this university, to preside at the ceremonial openings of the Schmidt Foundation Art and Design&nbsp;Hall,&nbsp;the Fischli-Wills Center for Student Success,&nbsp;the&nbsp;Fleharty&nbsp;Family Field (softball),&nbsp;the FHSU Transfer Center at Garden City Community College, the National Guard Office located in the Memorial Union, the Nursing Simulation Lab, the Sternberg Paleo Lab, and&nbsp;the&nbsp;Tailored for Tigers closet. It is with great anticipation that I eagerly await the ribbon-cutting ceremonies for the&nbsp;Wilmer and Lorena Kellogg Training Center&nbsp;(shotgun team facility),&nbsp;Schmidt-Bickle Athletic Complex, the Forsyth Library&nbsp;renovation,&nbsp;and of course,&nbsp;celebrating the addition of air conditioning to the Gross Memorial Coliseum!Theme five: &nbsp;fulfilling our roles as stewards of place. Core to who we are as&nbsp;a&nbsp;regional comprehensive&nbsp;university&nbsp;is our investment in our community.&nbsp;We are called to serve as a steward of place by forging deep connections with the communities we serve, being responsive, and seeking relationships with community leaders that enhance mutual beneficence that results in community well-being.Our focus on serving our community&nbsp;is often delivered through a combination of applied learning (students helping to build the downtown pavilion, leadership service projects, accounting students helping with tax preparations,&nbsp;community&nbsp;hearing screenings by our communication science disorder students)&nbsp;and outreach&nbsp;focused on helping businesses and communities thrive through several initiatives such as the Docking Institute of Public Affairs, Center for Civic Leadership, Management Development Center, the Kansas Small Business Development Center, and&nbsp;a&nbsp;multitude of other centers and initiatives.I am very excited about our new Cybersecurity Institute and Technology Incubator. Funded by the 2022&nbsp;Kansas Legislature, the cybersecurity institute will leverage student and faculty expertise to improve the cybersecurity posture for small and medium-sized businesses through student micro internships, capstone projects, and faculty consulting. Our students will gain&nbsp;excellent hands-on learning while businesses&nbsp;will be&nbsp;helped&nbsp;in areas such as website security evaluation, security vulnerability assessment, assistance with deploying data privacy and security controls, software testing, data&nbsp;cleanup,&nbsp;and more.Our technology incubator will focus on tech and/or cybersecurity venture creation through an in-residence business incubator. These initiatives will leverage the strengths of FHSU to advance the Kansas economy through asset preservation and venture.These past five years have been incredible.&nbsp;I end this column as I ended my inauguration remarks: &nbsp;Today&nbsp;is our opportunity to pause and reflect on the things that make Fort Hays State University so special&nbsp;–&nbsp;Our spirit of hard work. Our remarkable community. And our enduring legacy of innovation. Together we thrive.&nbsp;My deepest gratitude to everyone who has been a part of our legacy story, our journey this past five years, and especially for those of you joining me as we head into our bright future&nbsp;to&nbsp;continue to write this transformative story together.

Heart of a Tiger: My first five years as president

By JOE NEWLAND Kansas Farm Bureau president When I was elected president of Kansas Farm Bureau (KFB) earlier this month, it was an incredible honor and a very humbling experience. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to adequately express my gratitude for those who supported my candidacy, but I’m excited to work with our members to advance KFB’s mission to strengthen agriculture through advocacy, education and service. I have considered myself a farmer ever since my first ride on the combine, which was long before I was able to operate one by myself. From that formative experience, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life caring for the land, tending crops and livestock and raising my family. About the time I was able to safely operate equipment on my own, I discovered FFA. It helped me better understand the world of agriculture extends far beyond the farm gate. My FFA adviser helped me discover my lifelong passion of promoting agriculture, both as a business and as a way of life. After marrying my wife, Dana, I became a Farm Bureau member for the first time because I had to have insurance. I quickly learned the value of a membership went well beyond protecting our home, cars and farm. We thought we were buying protection from financial loss, but we had actually purchased comprehensive coverage securing our way of life. As I began seeking out ways to advocate for agriculture, the Wilson County Farm Bureau stood out as a place where I could really make an impact for the industry and my community. My work there gave me the confidence to expand my leadership through civic groups, the local school board, a bank board, Kansas Farm Bureau committees and eventually representing southeast Kansas on KFB’s board of directors before serving in the Kansas House. The support of my wife and our four children has been instrumental in allowing me to spend time away from the farm pursuing these opportunities. I have no doubt they will continue to support and counsel me as I take on this new endeavor. I use “we” to acknowledge all the help I’ve received from friends and family that’s helped me succeed over the years. A big difference now is “we” extends to every border of Kansas. I am no longer a member of a local board, a district board or the Kansas House, all of which represented a part of the whole. I’m now tasked with helping ensure farms and ranches across the state – from Lenexa to Liberal and Bird City to Baxter Springs – prosper. The challenges you face on the farm, the issues you see in your schools and the obstacles you notice in your community aren’t just yours, they’re mine too. We must view these as opportunities rather than barriers. I have no doubt Kansas Farm Bureau can solve the most vexing matters facing agriculture today because I’ve experienced firsthand how the organization’s grassroots structure keeps us at the forefront of what matters. Of all the titles I’ve held, farmer is still the one I’m most proud of. I’ve come a long way from that first combine ride, but I’ve had plenty of help along the way. I’ll continue to rely on farmers and ranchers across the state to make sure KFB is successful as we tackle issues like water, taxes, regulation and more. Together we will represent all of agriculture.

"Insight" is a weekly column published by Kansas Farm Bureau, the state's largest farm organization whose mission is to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1671467390814.jpeg" alt="Newland " />
 <figcaption>Newland </figcaption>
 </figure>By JOE NEWLAND Kansas Farm Bureau president When I was elected president of Kansas Farm Bureau (KFB) earlier this month, it was an incredible honor and a very humbling experience. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to adequately express my gratitude for those who supported my candidacy, but I’m excited to work with our members to advance KFB’s mission to strengthen agriculture through advocacy, education and service. I have considered myself a farmer ever since my first ride on the combine, which was long before I was able to operate one by myself. From that formative experience, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life caring for the land, tending crops and livestock and raising my family. About the time I was able to safely operate equipment on my own, I discovered FFA. It helped me better understand the world of agriculture extends far beyond the farm gate. My FFA adviser helped me discover my lifelong passion of promoting agriculture, both as a business and as a way of life. After marrying my wife, Dana, I became a Farm Bureau member for the first time because I had to have insurance. I quickly learned the value of a membership went well beyond protecting our home, cars and farm. We thought we were buying protection from financial loss, but we had actually purchased comprehensive coverage securing our way of life. As I began seeking out ways to advocate for agriculture, the Wilson County Farm Bureau stood out as a place where I could really make an impact for the industry and my community. My work there gave me the confidence to expand my leadership through civic groups, the local school board, a bank board, Kansas Farm Bureau committees and eventually representing southeast Kansas on KFB’s board of directors before serving in the Kansas House. The support of my wife and our four children has been instrumental in allowing me to spend time away from the farm pursuing these opportunities. I have no doubt they will continue to support and counsel me as I take on this new endeavor. I use “we” to acknowledge all the help I’ve received from friends and family that’s helped me succeed over the years. A big difference now is “we” extends to every border of Kansas. I am no longer a member of a local board, a district board or the Kansas House, all of which represented a part of the whole. I’m now tasked with helping ensure farms and ranches across the state – from Lenexa to Liberal and Bird City to Baxter Springs – prosper. The challenges you face on the farm, the issues you see in your schools and the obstacles you notice in your community aren’t just yours, they’re mine too. We must view these as opportunities rather than barriers. I have no doubt Kansas Farm Bureau can solve the most vexing matters facing agriculture today because I’ve experienced firsthand how the organization’s grassroots structure keeps us at the forefront of what matters. Of all the titles I’ve held, farmer is still the one I’m most proud of. I’ve come a long way from that first combine ride, but I’ve had plenty of help along the way. I’ll continue to rely on farmers and ranchers across the state to make sure KFB is successful as we tackle issues like water, taxes, regulation and more. Together we will represent all of agriculture."Insight" is a weekly column published by Kansas Farm Bureau, the state's largest farm organization whose mission is to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service.&nbsp;

Kansas Farm Bureau Insight: Representing all of agriculture

A mascot is defined by Webster as "A person, animal or object adopted by a group as a symbolic figure, especially to bring them good luck."

In my opinion, the first step&nbsp;for the Hays High mascot committee&nbsp;would be to determine whether or not the current mascot meets this&nbsp;definition or if we need to start over.&nbsp;

I don’t believe&nbsp;Native Americans&nbsp;would fit this definition.&nbsp;Schools were one of the most negative places for&nbsp;Native Americans. The children were forced to give up their language and culture. They suffered all forms of abuse and were often beaten to death. We still haven’t recovered all of their bodies.

Native Americans&nbsp;were slaughtered, displaced, betrayed and placed on some of the most desolate land available. When some of the land turned out to be very valuable, the U S government tried to take it back.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Reservations are under the Department of the Interior which, until recently was run by a white male. The history of broken treaties is extensive and unique to the&nbsp;Native Americans.&nbsp;It is difficult to see how this group of people would bring good luck.

If we look at the definition of mascot from a fresh historical perspective, several ideas come to mind. (No,&nbsp;it doesn’t have to be a historical perspective.)&nbsp;

Eagle- any of various large diurnal birds of prey (family Accipitridae) noted for their strength, size, keenness of vision, and powers of flight

Bison – a strong animal that survived near extinction. Any of several large bovine mammals that have a long, broad head, short, hollow horns, heavy forequarters, a large muscular hump across the shoulders, and a shaggy mane on the head and lower neck and that typically live and migrate in herds

Settlers-&nbsp;One who settles in a new region-especially a region that has few occupants or that is occupied by a different ethnic or religious group

Trailblazer- A person who is paving the way in their field.&nbsp;

If the Eagle was chosen&nbsp;as a mascot, the logo could be&nbsp;a feather which would represent Eagles and&nbsp;Native Americans. A mural could be incorporated at the school- a composite of a&nbsp;Native American, an Eagle, a&nbsp;Settler,&nbsp;a&nbsp;Bison,&nbsp;with&nbsp;selected&nbsp;Trailblazers. There are endless options. Many creative students and members of the public&nbsp;could&nbsp;contribute&nbsp;ideas&nbsp;if the decision is made to start fresh.

DO WHAT NEEDS&nbsp;TO BE DONE FOR THE GOOD OF ALL — Native American Ten Commandments

A mascot is defined by Webster as "A person, animal or object adopted by a group as a symbolic figure, especially to bring them good luck."In my opinion, the first step&nbsp;for the Hays High mascot committee&nbsp;would be to determine whether or not the current mascot meets this&nbsp;definition or if we need to start over.&nbsp;I don’t believe&nbsp;Native Americans&nbsp;would fit this definition.&nbsp;Schools were one of the most negative places for&nbsp;Native Americans. The children were forced to give up their language and culture. They suffered all forms of abuse and were often beaten to death. We still haven’t recovered all of their bodies.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575913663048.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Native Americans&nbsp;were slaughtered, displaced, betrayed and placed on some of the most desolate land available. When some of the land turned out to be very valuable, the U S government tried to take it back.&nbsp;&nbsp;Reservations are under the Department of the Interior which, until recently was run by a white male. The history of broken treaties is extensive and unique to the&nbsp;Native Americans.&nbsp;It is difficult to see how this group of people would bring good luck.If we look at the definition of mascot from a fresh historical perspective, several ideas come to mind. (No,&nbsp;it doesn’t have to be a historical perspective.)&nbsp;Eagle- any of various large diurnal birds of prey (family Accipitridae) noted for their strength, size, keenness of vision, and powers of flightBison – a strong animal that survived near extinction. Any of several large bovine mammals that have a long, broad head, short, hollow horns, heavy forequarters, a large muscular hump across the shoulders, and a shaggy mane on the head and lower neck and that typically live and migrate in herdsSettlers-&nbsp;One who settles in a new region-especially a region that has few occupants or that is occupied by a different ethnic or religious groupTrailblazer- A person who is paving the way in their field.&nbsp;If the Eagle was chosen&nbsp;as a mascot, the logo could be&nbsp;a feather which would represent Eagles and&nbsp;Native Americans. A mural could be incorporated at the school- a composite of a&nbsp;Native American, an Eagle, a&nbsp;Settler,&nbsp;a&nbsp;Bison,&nbsp;with&nbsp;selected&nbsp;Trailblazers. There are endless options. Many creative students and members of the public&nbsp;could&nbsp;contribute&nbsp;ideas&nbsp;if the decision is made to start fresh.DO WHAT NEEDS&nbsp;TO BE DONE FOR THE GOOD OF ALL — Native American Ten CommandmentsSandra Watchous, Hays

LETTER: On mascot issue, blaze the right trail

The Respect for Marriage Act provides stronger federal safeguards for married same-sex couples in Kansas. Bipartisan majorities passed it through Congress and President Joe Biden recently signed it into law.&nbsp;

You might think that marriage is a settled debate. However, as recent politics shows, conservatives in the politics industry are prioritizing the culture war beyond just abortion, especially targeting transgender children and gay and lesbian Americans.&nbsp;&nbsp;

In our recent Kansas gubernatorial election, Republicans dedicated entire campaign advertisements to transgender students playing sports, hyping that issue above water, energy, or certain key economic matters.&nbsp;

In October, Republicans promoted a false British tabloid story about supposed taxpayer-funded drag shows in Kansas. On Twitter, Senator Roger Marshall used that story to validate homophobic stereotypes of gay people as sexual predators “grooming” children.&nbsp;

This past summer, conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas urged the court to “reconsider” past rulings that legalized contraception (Griswold), same-sex sexual relations (Lawrence), and same-sex marriage (Obergefell).&nbsp;

How does the RMA fit into this mounting conservative emphasis on LGBT people? And, what does that mean for gay and lesbian Kansans, especially the estimated 4,000 same-sex married couples in Kansas?&nbsp;

The Kansas Constitution contains an unenforceable provision banning same-sex marriage. Much has changed since voters approved this in 2005. Young people, including young Republicans, generally support same-sex marriage in surveys, and no Kansans under roughly age 35 today voted on that ban.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Repealing this marriage ban requires the legislature to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot. Conservatives realize that most Kansans today support same-sex marriage—roughly 60-ish percent in most surveys since 2017. They know how you would vote on this, so don’t expect conservatives to allow a marriage ban repeal vote anytime soon.&nbsp;

Kansas law also criminalizes sex between consenting same-sex adults, making it a misdemeanor punishable by six months incarceration. The 2003&nbsp;Lawrence&nbsp;decision makes this law unenforceable, but Kansas conservatives have repeatedly refused to repeal the law.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The RMA doesn’t address state laws regulating sex, but it does guarantee federal recognition to same-sex marriages. Simplifying things, it also clarifies that the Full Faith and Credit clause of the U.S. Constitution requires that marriages in one state must be recognized in others, including same-sex marriages. Meanwhile, it gives explicit exemptions for religious non-profits that oppose same-sex relationships.&nbsp;

So, what if Thomas prevails on marriage and sex, and Kansas changes no laws?&nbsp;&nbsp;

Kansas government could stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples and might try nullifying existing marriage licenses issued here. Thanks to the RMA, though, same-sex couples willing and able to travel could marry in another state and Kansas would have to recognize those marriages. However, it would still be illegal for same-sex spouses to have sex in Kansas.&nbsp;

Most Kansans agree that the ideology of big government conservatism that desires to regulate marriage and sex among two consenting adults is outdated. Conservative politicians are playing to a narrow strain of identity politics on the political right with their positions on these issues.&nbsp;&nbsp;

That political game comes at the expense of average gay and lesbian Kansans that these positions risk harming. If that’s not you, maybe it's a friend or loved one. That’s not what most Kansans want in 2022, but it’s up to average Kansans to hold politicians accountable on that.&nbsp;

Patrick R. Miller is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Kansas.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575644168170.png" alt="Patrick R. Miller is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Kansas.&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Patrick R. Miller is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Kansas.&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>The Respect for Marriage Act provides stronger federal safeguards for married same-sex couples in Kansas. Bipartisan majorities passed it through Congress and President Joe Biden recently signed it into law.&nbsp;You might think that marriage is a settled debate. However, as recent politics shows, conservatives in the politics industry are prioritizing the culture war beyond just abortion, especially targeting transgender children and gay and lesbian Americans.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575913663048.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>In our recent Kansas gubernatorial election, Republicans dedicated entire campaign advertisements to transgender students playing sports, hyping that issue above water, energy, or certain key economic matters.&nbsp;In October, Republicans promoted a false British tabloid story about supposed taxpayer-funded drag shows in Kansas. On Twitter, Senator Roger Marshall used that story to validate homophobic stereotypes of gay people as sexual predators “grooming” children.&nbsp;This past summer, conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas urged the court to “reconsider” past rulings that legalized contraception (Griswold), same-sex sexual relations (Lawrence), and same-sex marriage (Obergefell).&nbsp;How does the RMA fit into this mounting conservative emphasis on LGBT people? And, what does that mean for gay and lesbian Kansans, especially the estimated 4,000 same-sex married couples in Kansas?&nbsp;Let’s start with Kansas law.&nbsp;The Kansas Constitution contains an unenforceable provision banning same-sex marriage. Much has changed since voters approved this in 2005. Young people, including young Republicans, generally support same-sex marriage in surveys, and no Kansans under roughly age 35 today voted on that ban.&nbsp;&nbsp;Repealing this marriage ban requires the legislature to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot. Conservatives realize that most Kansans today support same-sex marriage—roughly 60-ish percent in most surveys since 2017. They know how you would vote on this, so don’t expect conservatives to allow a marriage ban repeal vote anytime soon.&nbsp;Kansas law also criminalizes sex between consenting same-sex adults, making it a misdemeanor punishable by six months incarceration. The 2003&nbsp;Lawrence&nbsp;decision makes this law unenforceable, but Kansas conservatives have repeatedly refused to repeal the law.&nbsp;&nbsp;The RMA doesn’t address state laws regulating sex, but it does guarantee federal recognition to same-sex marriages. Simplifying things, it also clarifies that the Full Faith and Credit clause of the U.S. Constitution requires that marriages in one state must be recognized in others, including same-sex marriages. Meanwhile, it gives explicit exemptions for religious non-profits that oppose same-sex relationships.&nbsp;So, what if Thomas prevails on marriage and sex, and Kansas changes no laws?&nbsp;&nbsp;Kansas government could stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples and might try nullifying existing marriage licenses issued here. Thanks to the RMA, though, same-sex couples willing and able to travel could marry in another state and Kansas would have to recognize those marriages. However, it would still be illegal for same-sex spouses to have sex in Kansas.&nbsp;Most Kansans agree that the ideology of big government conservatism that desires to regulate marriage and sex among two consenting adults is outdated. Conservative politicians are playing to a narrow strain of identity politics on the political right with their positions on these issues.&nbsp;&nbsp;That political game comes at the expense of average gay and lesbian Kansans that these positions risk harming. If that’s not you, maybe it's a friend or loved one. That’s not what most Kansans want in 2022, but it’s up to average Kansans to hold politicians accountable on that.&nbsp;Patrick R. Miller is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Kansas.&nbsp;

INSIGHT KANSAS: Respect for Marriage Act and its impact on Kansas 

By JACKIE MUNDT Pratt County farmer and rancher The Christmas season is a time of joy and anticipation. For weeks the Christmas Spirit grows with every decoration hung, carol sung and sweet treat consumed. The ultimate height of anticipation, especially for children is drafting a wish list for Santa. I vividly remember the anticipation that came each year of my childhood with the arrival of the JC Penny “Wish Book.” My brother and I spent hours examining every page and letting our imaginations run wild with just how cool and glamourous our lives would be with each toy. By the time we were done that poor book was marked and highlighted with so many circles even Santa couldn’t figure out what we wanted. There is a sad nostalgia for me in knowing “Wish Books” have faded away. Children today really don’t understand what they are missing. That is one of the beautiful things about children, they can manifest anticipation, imagination and joy just about everywhere they look. It rarely matters the cost of quality of the gift, in their mind the cheapest items can be great treasures and expensive gifts may not be any better at holding attention any longer. Children are quick to joy, imagination and seeing the possibility in all things.&nbsp; At some point though our ideas about gifts change. Teenage desires are fueled by the coolest brands and newest electronics, but as most of the world can’t really understand them you are almost better giving them a gift card. In our early adult years, our desires move to more practical things motivated by the gaps in our lives left by the new world of adulting. I remember when I was first out of college asking for exciting things like new tires for my car, a vacuum cleaner and a whole list of kitchen appliances. At some point in the last decade, I reached the point where I have everything I need to be happy. Gifts stopped being a source of anticipation, and a wish list became more a chore than a dream. My anticipation at the holidays has shifted from dreaming about what I want to give. Giving has become a source of great joy for me. My anticipation builds each year while I search and puzzle over gifts that will make my loved ones light up with joy. It isn’t always easy, we all have that one person who wants things that are completely unrealistic like a time-travel machine, world peace or a new sports car. The best gifts are rarely expensive or trendy, they are usually practical and may seem a bit strange to anyone but the recipient. However, they show your loved ones how much you listen to them and want them to be happy. Great gifts feel so good because it is like being told, “I like you exactly as you are.” None of the items on my Christmas list will make or break my holiday season. I make my list so my loved ones can have the joy of getting me something that shows their love, even though I really only care about spending time together. As you finish your holiday shopping this year don’t stress over the perfect gift, remember it really doesn’t matter if you buy them a smart phone, muck boots or a nice dinner together. The true joy of the season will come from participating in traditions, making memories and knowing how blessed we are to be together with people we love.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575406519723.jpeg" alt="Jackie Mundt" />
 <figcaption>Jackie Mundt</figcaption>
 </figure>By JACKIE MUNDT Pratt County farmer and rancher The Christmas season is a time of joy and anticipation. For weeks the Christmas Spirit grows with every decoration hung, carol sung and sweet treat consumed. The ultimate height of anticipation, especially for children is drafting a wish list for Santa. I vividly remember the anticipation that came each year of my childhood with the arrival of the JC Penny “Wish Book.” My brother and I spent hours examining every page and letting our imaginations run wild with just how cool and glamourous our lives would be with each toy. By the time we were done that poor book was marked and highlighted with so many circles even Santa couldn’t figure out what we wanted. There is a sad nostalgia for me in knowing “Wish Books” have faded away. Children today really don’t understand what they are missing. That is one of the beautiful things about children, they can manifest anticipation, imagination and joy just about everywhere they look. It rarely matters the cost of quality of the gift, in their mind the cheapest items can be great treasures and expensive gifts may not be any better at holding attention any longer. Children are quick to joy, imagination and seeing the possibility in all things.&nbsp; At some point though our ideas about gifts change. Teenage desires are fueled by the coolest brands and newest electronics, but as most of the world can’t really understand them you are almost better giving them a gift card. In our early adult years, our desires move to more practical things motivated by the gaps in our lives left by the new world of adulting. I remember when I was first out of college asking for exciting things like new tires for my car, a vacuum cleaner and a whole list of kitchen appliances. At some point in the last decade, I reached the point where I have everything I need to be happy. Gifts stopped being a source of anticipation, and a wish list became more a chore than a dream. My anticipation at the holidays has shifted from dreaming about what I want to give. Giving has become a source of great joy for me. My anticipation builds each year while I search and puzzle over gifts that will make my loved ones light up with joy. It isn’t always easy, we all have that one person who wants things that are completely unrealistic like a time-travel machine, world peace or a new sports car. The best gifts are rarely expensive or trendy, they are usually practical and may seem a bit strange to anyone but the recipient. However, they show your loved ones how much you listen to them and want them to be happy. Great gifts feel so good because it is like being told, “I like you exactly as you are.” None of the items on my Christmas list will make or break my holiday season. I make my list so my loved ones can have the joy of getting me something that shows their love, even though I really only care about spending time together. As you finish your holiday shopping this year don’t stress over the perfect gift, remember it really doesn’t matter if you buy them a smart phone, muck boots or a nice dinner together. The true joy of the season will come from participating in traditions, making memories and knowing how blessed we are to be together with people we love."Insight" is a weekly column published by Kansas Farm Bureau, the state's largest farm organization whose mission is to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service.&nbsp;

Kansas Farm Bureau Insight: The greatest gifts

Last Tuesday morning, I harvested this year’s deer, a 2 ½ year old buck just right for the freezer. The morning hunts were not without there setbacks, however. Opening morning as I left town, the steering on my pickup seemed a little “spongy,” and a quick stop revealed a low tire, causing me to head back home for air. I had gotten up late to begin with, so the sun was up when I got to the field, and 2 deer were already grazing just below our blind. Another morning as I left town, I realized my hearing aids&nbsp;weren’t&nbsp;in, meaning another quick trip&nbsp;back&nbsp;to the house.&nbsp;These little inconveniences reminded me of a&nbsp;much worse morning&nbsp;deer hunt 10 years ago that could have been called “Doomed from the Start.”

One&nbsp;cold, frosty December morning&nbsp;several&nbsp;winters ago,&nbsp;I slowly steered my pickup into the midst of several weathered old hay bales, and stepped out into the crisp, pre-dawn air. With the full moon illuminating the landscape like a spotlight and the frost making everything underfoot crunch like cornflakes, slipping in to our deer blind unnoticed that&nbsp;morning would&nbsp;have been&nbsp;like trying to slip into the house past mom when I was a kid and had stayed out past curfew. I crossed&nbsp;a&nbsp;stubble field and as I entered&nbsp;an adjoining&nbsp;meadow, I began hearing a strange quiet sort of popping sound; kind of like one of those kids push toys that pops a ping pong ball around inside as its pushed across the floor.&nbsp;Maybe it was just my old arthritic joints cracking and popping like Jiffy Pop popcorn with every step, but I stood still for&nbsp;a while&nbsp;and the sound still continued. Baffled at what I heard, I strode onward.

I’d taken just a couple more steps when an enormous eruption somewhere in front of me stopped me cold. &nbsp;I instinctively reeled backwards, and starring skyward, found the bright moonlit sky filled with the huge black shapes of wild turkeys, looking for all the world like beach balls with wings as they scattered to the four winds. Then it hit me that many times I had heard hen turkeys make that familiar quiet popping sound as they milled around me during turkey hunts. For anyone who has never seen or heard wild turkeys come down from a roost in the morning, it’s about the loudest, most awkward and unscripted event you’ll ever witness, and that’s when&nbsp;it’s planned by the turkeys themselves and not because of some intruder like me. When the dust settled, the moonlight revealed numerous more roosted in the trees all around me. I remember starring at all those black shapes in the trees and thinking “This aint’ gonna’ end well,” when, like shots from a roman candle, every few seconds another group would leave their perches and scatter in a different direction. And finally, as if any deer were still left in this part of the township, the last group set sail and glided right through the middle of the very woodlot I’d hoped would produce a deer for me this morning! Every fiber of my being told me “Just go back home to bed; you tried but your hunt is surely ruined for the morning,” but I regained my composure, readjusted my now warm wet shorts, and continued on anyway.&nbsp;

Next&nbsp;came a shortcut across a creek to our blind.&nbsp;We&nbsp;had pruned limbs to clear a path and formed steps into the creek bank, all in the name of getting to the blind quietly in the dark, even though that was obviously not a consideration any more this morning. I shone the flashlight down into the creek, and what had been a dry creek bed before a recent rain was now a frozen moat&nbsp;of paper-thin ice.&nbsp;It was already going to be a little uncomfortable sitting in the blind in warm wet drawers, so the last thing I needed now was to add two wet muddy boots to my outfit,so I opted to go around. That meant crossing the meadow again, crossing the creek at a nearby culvert and taking the long way around, all in the bright moonlight. The upside was that there were probably no more turkeys left to spook. The&nbsp;downside was that there were probably no more deer left to spook either! To any deer that might have stopped for a look back as they left the territory, the bright moonlight probably made me look like I was wrapped from head-to-toe in blinking white Christmas lights.&nbsp;

Our blind&nbsp;was&nbsp;a trailer with a camper shell on top that had&nbsp;two sliding windows in front. The insides of all the windows were frosted over, which we are used to, but as I tried to slide open the two front windows, I found them frozen shut (well of course they were.) I found an ice scraper and placing it sideways against one of the windows, I preceded to rap on it with my fist until one-at-a-time both windows broke free and slid open. As things stood now, any living thing not spooked from the property by the turkey explosion or rousted from the area by the eerie hulking figure wrapped in white Christmas lights was surely driven from the territory by the sound of a jack-hammer being run from inside our hunting blind.

At this point, I might as well have stood on top of the trailer and sung the&nbsp;Star Spangled Banner at the top of my lungs as the sun came up, or built a roaring fire in the middle of the stubble field; it would have made little difference in the outcome of my Saturday morning deer hunt. Sometimes all the preparation in the world just can’t outwit&nbsp;Mother&nbsp;Nature.&nbsp;Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors!

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1574696211722.png" alt="Steve&nbsp;Gilliland" />
 <figcaption>Steve&nbsp;Gilliland</figcaption>
 </figure>Last Tuesday morning, I harvested this year’s deer, a 2 ½ year old buck just right for the freezer. The morning hunts were not without there setbacks, however. Opening morning as I left town, the steering on my pickup seemed a little “spongy,” and a quick stop revealed a low tire, causing me to head back home for air. I had gotten up late to begin with, so the sun was up when I got to the field, and 2 deer were already grazing just below our blind. Another morning as I left town, I realized my hearing aids&nbsp;weren’t&nbsp;in, meaning another quick trip&nbsp;back&nbsp;to the house.&nbsp;These little inconveniences reminded me of a&nbsp;much worse morning&nbsp;deer hunt 10 years ago that could have been called “Doomed from the Start.”One&nbsp;cold, frosty December morning&nbsp;several&nbsp;winters ago,&nbsp;I slowly steered my pickup into the midst of several weathered old hay bales, and stepped out into the crisp, pre-dawn air. With the full moon illuminating the landscape like a spotlight and the frost making everything underfoot crunch like cornflakes, slipping in to our deer blind unnoticed that&nbsp;morning would&nbsp;have been&nbsp;like trying to slip into the house past mom when I was a kid and had stayed out past curfew. I crossed&nbsp;a&nbsp;stubble field and as I entered&nbsp;an adjoining&nbsp;meadow, I began hearing a strange quiet sort of popping sound; kind of like one of those kids push toys that pops a ping pong ball around inside as its pushed across the floor.&nbsp;Maybe it was just my old arthritic joints cracking and popping like Jiffy Pop popcorn with every step, but I stood still for&nbsp;a while&nbsp;and the sound still continued. Baffled at what I heard, I strode onward.I’d taken just a couple more steps when an enormous eruption somewhere in front of me stopped me cold. &nbsp;I instinctively reeled backwards, and starring skyward, found the bright moonlit sky filled with the huge black shapes of wild turkeys, looking for all the world like beach balls with wings as they scattered to the four winds. Then it hit me that many times I had heard hen turkeys make that familiar quiet popping sound as they milled around me during turkey hunts. For anyone who has never seen or heard wild turkeys come down from a roost in the morning, it’s about the loudest, most awkward and unscripted event you’ll ever witness, and that’s when&nbsp;it’s planned by the turkeys themselves and not because of some intruder like me. When the dust settled, the moonlight revealed numerous more roosted in the trees all around me. I remember starring at all those black shapes in the trees and thinking “This aint’ gonna’ end well,” when, like shots from a roman candle, every few seconds another group would leave their perches and scatter in a different direction. And finally, as if any deer were still left in this part of the township, the last group set sail and glided right through the middle of the very woodlot I’d hoped would produce a deer for me this morning! Every fiber of my being told me “Just go back home to bed; you tried but your hunt is surely ruined for the morning,” but I regained my composure, readjusted my now warm wet shorts, and continued on anyway.&nbsp;Next&nbsp;came a shortcut across a creek to our blind.&nbsp;We&nbsp;had pruned limbs to clear a path and formed steps into the creek bank, all in the name of getting to the blind quietly in the dark, even though that was obviously not a consideration any more this morning. I shone the flashlight down into the creek, and what had been a dry creek bed before a recent rain was now a frozen moat&nbsp;of paper-thin ice.&nbsp;It was already going to be a little uncomfortable sitting in the blind in warm wet drawers, so the last thing I needed now was to add two wet muddy boots to my outfit,so I opted to go around. That meant crossing the meadow again, crossing the creek at a nearby culvert and taking the long way around, all in the bright moonlight. The upside was that there were probably no more turkeys left to spook. The&nbsp;downside was that there were probably no more deer left to spook either! To any deer that might have stopped for a look back as they left the territory, the bright moonlight probably made me look like I was wrapped from head-to-toe in blinking white Christmas lights.&nbsp;Our blind&nbsp;was&nbsp;a trailer with a camper shell on top that had&nbsp;two sliding windows in front. The insides of all the windows were frosted over, which we are used to, but as I tried to slide open the two front windows, I found them frozen shut (well of course they were.) I found an ice scraper and placing it sideways against one of the windows, I preceded to rap on it with my fist until one-at-a-time both windows broke free and slid open. As things stood now, any living thing not spooked from the property by the turkey explosion or rousted from the area by the eerie hulking figure wrapped in white Christmas lights was surely driven from the territory by the sound of a jack-hammer being run from inside our hunting blind.At this point, I might as well have stood on top of the trailer and sung the&nbsp;Star Spangled Banner at the top of my lungs as the sun came up, or built a roaring fire in the middle of the stubble field; it would have made little difference in the outcome of my Saturday morning deer hunt. Sometimes all the preparation in the world just can’t outwit&nbsp;Mother&nbsp;Nature.&nbsp;Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors!Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at stevenrgilliland@gmail.com.

Exploring Outdoors Kansas: What next?

Is it even worth it to buy a house these days? I’ve always been told buying a house is the adult thing to do and that it’s a great investment, but I can’t find anything decent and livable in my area for less than $350,000. My wife and I are debt-free, and we’re expecting our first baby in January. I was hoping to get your advice.

I can understand how things might feel a little hopeless in your current situation. You’re probably feeling the weight of the responsibility a new life brings to the picture. Things are getting real really fast, aren’t they? Believe me, I get it.

The truth is you may not be ready to buy a house today. And that’s okay. Having a new baby on the horizon doesn’t mean you have to run out and buy a home. That little boy or girl isn’t going to know the difference between a house and an apartment for a long time. Right now, giving your child a safe, loving environment is the most important thing.

Now, looking down the road, is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/real-estate/how-much-house-can-i-afford">owning a house</a>&nbsp;worth it? Yes. But it’s not worth doing it at the wrong time or in a stupid way. You first need to make sure the income is there. Then, you need an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses in place along with a strong down payment. So, what if you don’t buy a home for another two or three years? Home buying should always be done with patience and wisdom.

There are two or three things that make buying a home a great long-term investment versus renting your whole life:

A house is a great wealth-building tool, and it can also stabilize the biggest line item in your budget—housing.

Dave Ramsey&nbsp;is an eight-time national bestselling author, personal finance expert and host of “The Ramsey Show,” heard by more than 18 million listeners. He&nbsp;has appeared on “Good Morning America,” “CBS This Morning,” “Today,” Fox News, CNN, Fox Business and many more. Since 1992, Dave has helped people regain control of their money, build wealth, and enhance their lives. He also serves as CEO of Ramsey Solutions.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1648177011035.png" alt="Dave Ramsey&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Dave Ramsey&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>Dear Dave,Is it even worth it to buy a house these days? I’ve always been told buying a house is the adult thing to do and that it’s a great investment, but I can’t find anything decent and livable in my area for less than $350,000. My wife and I are debt-free, and we’re expecting our first baby in January. I was hoping to get your advice.CraigDear Craig,I can understand how things might feel a little hopeless in your current situation. You’re probably feeling the weight of the responsibility a new life brings to the picture. Things are getting real really fast, aren’t they? Believe me, I get it.The truth is you may not be ready to buy a house today. And that’s okay. Having a new baby on the horizon doesn’t mean you have to run out and buy a home. That little boy or girl isn’t going to know the difference between a house and an apartment for a long time. Right now, giving your child a safe, loving environment is the most important thing.Now, looking down the road, is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/real-estate/how-much-house-can-i-afford">owning a house</a>&nbsp;worth it? Yes. But it’s not worth doing it at the wrong time or in a stupid way. You first need to make sure the income is there. Then, you need an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses in place along with a strong down payment. So, what if you don’t buy a home for another two or three years? Home buying should always be done with patience and wisdom.There are two or three things that make buying a home a great long-term investment versus renting your whole life:<ol>
 <li>Rents go up every year. If you lock in a good, fixed-rate mortgage, that payment will stay the same.</li><li>The value of your home will increase. When you rent, you don’t own your residence, and you won’t benefit from the value of it going up.</li><li><a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/retirement/the-national-study-of-millionaires-research">Our study</a>&nbsp;of 10,000 millionaires showed that most say two things were integral parts of their ability to build wealth: Good retirement investments and a paid-off home.</li>
 </ol>A house is a great wealth-building tool, and it can also stabilize the biggest line item in your budget—housing.God bless you guys, Craig!— DaveDave Ramsey&nbsp;is an eight-time national bestselling author, personal finance expert and host of “The Ramsey Show,” heard by more than 18 million listeners. He&nbsp;has appeared on “Good Morning America,” “CBS This Morning,” “Today,” Fox News, CNN, Fox Business and many more. Since 1992, Dave has helped people regain control of their money, build wealth, and enhance their lives. He also serves as CEO of Ramsey Solutions.

DAVE SAYS: Wait until the time is right

Kansas Supreme Court Justice Caleb Stegall is in the news for a letter he wrote to KU Law, his alma mater, stating that he would no longer serve as an adjunct professor there. I confess, this surprised me.

Two years ago, Stegall did another surprising thing. He publicly rebuked members of his own party for voting down Carl Folsom, whom Governor Laura Kelly had nominated to the Kansas Court of Appeals. It was, of course, just a partisan vote, but GOP leaders claimed justification because Folsom had gone to court on behalf of people charged with some pretty horrible crimes, as was his job as a public defender, and that was used to smear him. Stegall responded by calling out those Republicans for failing to honor “the ideal of a public-spirited, deliberative, and reasoned engagement with others.”

Now Stegall and I are not close friends. Still, we’ve interacted and argued with each other for close to 20 years; we’ve come to know and, I think, like each other. My philosophical understanding of that ideal which he articulated back in 2020 isn’t exactly the same as his, but we’ve disagreed plenty before, and either way, I truly admire how he has adhered to it.

So when Stegall faulted KU Law for “an institutional failure to cultivate the norms, habits, and skills necessary to the task of lawyering”—specifically in reference to what he called the “bullying” response of certain members of the KU Law community when a conservative student organization invited a speaker from the controversial Alliance Defending Freedom to campus—I took his words seriously.

On the one hand, Stegall is plainly correct that the ADF and its ideas—which tend to frame almost any advance in the rights of gay, lesbian, and transgender individuals as an attack on religious liberty—have, like it or not, long been present in Kansas’s legal environment. Consequently, discouraging students from confronting those ideas—even when, as Stegall admits, they may seem “existentially threatening”—is probably not a good way to prepare Kansas’s future lawyers. Quoting Professor Richard Levy, a longtime KU Law faculty member, Stegall rightly makes the point that “if lawyers cannot talk to each other about difficult subjects on which they disagree, how can we expect anyone too?”

But on the other hand, I have a hard time squaring Stegall’s previous rebuke of those who prefer accusations to “reasoned engagement” with his own decision. After all, in our present moment, with polarizing opinions taking advantage of the ideological and technological breakdown of long-accepted norms all around us, remaining present to so as to engage ideas which one disagrees with directly seems imperative. Shouldn’t that include disagreements over how other people respond to disagreements as well?

Last year, Stegall gave a wonderful address that addressed how the law can never be entirely disentangled from arguments over the ethical concerns and procedural outcomes which surround it. Quoting an old parable, he concluded that, in the midst of these quandaries, “heaven smiles mischievously down on us”—then added, “we can smile back, if we have the stomach for it.”

Every person’s stomach for dealing with disagreement is going to be different, and perhaps sometimes withdrawing in the face of a disagreement may be the most productive way of engaging with it. Nobody can entirely refuse to ever draw lines in the sand, and hence I respect Stegall’s reasoning for drawing his line here. But I also must admit: it doesn’t seem consistent with his own best arguments to me. No doubt, this will be something we can continue to disagree about as well.

Dr. Russell Arben Fox teaches politics in Wichita.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1583339056495.jpeg" alt="Dr. Russell Arben Fox teaches politics in Wichita." />
 <figcaption>Dr. Russell Arben Fox teaches politics in Wichita.</figcaption>
 </figure>Kansas Supreme Court Justice Caleb Stegall is in the news for a letter he wrote to KU Law, his alma mater, stating that he would no longer serve as an adjunct professor there. I confess, this surprised me.Two years ago, Stegall did another surprising thing. He publicly rebuked members of his own party for voting down Carl Folsom, whom Governor Laura Kelly had nominated to the Kansas Court of Appeals. It was, of course, just a partisan vote, but GOP leaders claimed justification because Folsom had gone to court on behalf of people charged with some pretty horrible crimes, as was his job as a public defender, and that was used to smear him. Stegall responded by calling out those Republicans for failing to honor “the ideal of a public-spirited, deliberative, and reasoned engagement with others.”Now Stegall and I are not close friends. Still, we’ve interacted and argued with each other for close to 20 years; we’ve come to know and, I think, like each other. My philosophical understanding of that ideal which he articulated back in 2020 isn’t exactly the same as his, but we’ve disagreed plenty before, and either way, I truly admire how he has adhered to it.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575913663048.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>So when Stegall faulted KU Law for “an institutional failure to cultivate the norms, habits, and skills necessary to the task of lawyering”—specifically in reference to what he called the “bullying” response of certain members of the KU Law community when a conservative student organization invited a speaker from the controversial Alliance Defending Freedom to campus—I took his words seriously.On the one hand, Stegall is plainly correct that the ADF and its ideas—which tend to frame almost any advance in the rights of gay, lesbian, and transgender individuals as an attack on religious liberty—have, like it or not, long been present in Kansas’s legal environment. Consequently, discouraging students from confronting those ideas—even when, as Stegall admits, they may seem “existentially threatening”—is probably not a good way to prepare Kansas’s future lawyers. Quoting Professor Richard Levy, a longtime KU Law faculty member, Stegall rightly makes the point that “if lawyers cannot talk to each other about difficult subjects on which they disagree, how can we expect anyone too?”But on the other hand, I have a hard time squaring Stegall’s previous rebuke of those who prefer accusations to “reasoned engagement” with his own decision. After all, in our present moment, with polarizing opinions taking advantage of the ideological and technological breakdown of long-accepted norms all around us, remaining present to so as to engage ideas which one disagrees with directly seems imperative. Shouldn’t that include disagreements over how other people respond to disagreements as well?Last year, Stegall gave a wonderful address that addressed how the law can never be entirely disentangled from arguments over the ethical concerns and procedural outcomes which surround it. Quoting an old parable, he concluded that, in the midst of these quandaries, “heaven smiles mischievously down on us”—then added, “we can smile back, if we have the stomach for it.”Every person’s stomach for dealing with disagreement is going to be different, and perhaps sometimes withdrawing in the face of a disagreement may be the most productive way of engaging with it. Nobody can entirely refuse to ever draw lines in the sand, and hence I respect Stegall’s reasoning for drawing his line here. But I also must admit: it doesn’t seem consistent with his own best arguments to me. No doubt, this will be something we can continue to disagree about as well.Dr. Russell Arben Fox teaches politics in Wichita.

INSIGHT KANSAS: Dealing with disagreement, in law and life

Robins, sandhill cranes, hummers, and other summer birds headed south&nbsp;months ago.&nbsp;Official winter has&nbsp;nearly&nbsp;arrived,&nbsp;and&nbsp;now&nbsp;sparrows, finches, and juncos&nbsp;visit&nbsp;our feeder&nbsp;several times a day. Hoping we’ll see an elusive cardinal adding&nbsp;its&nbsp;color to our regular diners’ drab neutrals,&nbsp;we&nbsp;hide behind the curtain and peek out the window. Instead of&nbsp;laying eyes on that&nbsp;scarlet bird with the dashing cockade, we&nbsp;observe&nbsp;extreme skittishness&nbsp;amongst our&nbsp;regulars who&nbsp;never stay in one spot long.&nbsp;That means&nbsp;one thing—a predator lurks.

My husband adds fresh&nbsp;birdseed&nbsp;every day and makes sure the suet hasn’t disappeared. One of us empties ice from the water pan and refills it so our visitors can drink or bathe, depending on their mood.&nbsp;Since we&nbsp;began&nbsp;winter feeding, we’ve noticed&nbsp;our little brown birds (lbbs) dash to the feeder&nbsp;only&nbsp;long enough to grab&nbsp;a beak full of&nbsp;seeds.&nbsp;They then&nbsp;flee to our deck’s edge&nbsp;where&nbsp;they duck under swiftly when&nbsp;they feel&nbsp;threatened&nbsp;(which is often). In&nbsp;years&nbsp;past, we’ve enjoyed watching them hang&nbsp;out to&nbsp;do the bird version of gabbing around the office water cooler. This season, these&nbsp;creatures&nbsp;don’t congregate in open space.&nbsp;

Once we noted their anxious zipping from feeder to&nbsp;porch, we&nbsp;looked&nbsp;for the reason. Clearly, a neighboring cat didn’t alarm them. It would have no trouble following&nbsp;panicked birds&nbsp;under the deck. In fact, that would simplify&nbsp;feline&nbsp;efforts to snag a fresh meal.&nbsp;Our eyes turned skyward. What threatened&nbsp;from above?

On&nbsp;a recent&nbsp;windy day, I spied a possibility&nbsp;clinging to a nearby&nbsp;light pole.&nbsp;A small&nbsp;accipiter&nbsp;took refuge from gusts in the&nbsp;crook where&nbsp;light&nbsp;intersects with pole. On a day like that, I assumed&nbsp;it blew in, but&nbsp;based on&nbsp;our&nbsp;backyard&nbsp;birds’&nbsp;behavior,&nbsp;this designed-for-precision attack bird&nbsp;preyed regularly upon&nbsp;several&nbsp;feeders&nbsp;available&nbsp;in our neighborhood.

A couple&nbsp;of&nbsp;days later, I stood at the stove stirring&nbsp;bubbling&nbsp;fudge. My hubs&nbsp;slipped&nbsp;in&nbsp;to tell me&nbsp;to&nbsp;creep&nbsp;quietly into the laundry room and look out the window. What the heck&nbsp;did I see but&nbsp;animmature&nbsp;Cooper’s&nbsp;hawk&nbsp;planting itself&nbsp;square in the middle of our deck!

Needless to say, not a single lbb remained in sight. I’m sure&nbsp;that&nbsp;raptor&nbsp;heard&nbsp;their tiny, hollowbones quaking in fear below the&nbsp;flooring. I had to&nbsp;pour&nbsp;that fudge&nbsp;onto a plate,&nbsp;but&nbsp;fortunately&nbsp;thehawk hung around&nbsp;long enough to&nbsp;let&nbsp;me&nbsp;have&nbsp;another&nbsp;look&nbsp;along with a quick cell phone pic through a smudged window.&nbsp;

For those of us who’ve reached&nbsp;an&nbsp;age where&nbsp;feathered&nbsp;visitors&nbsp;add excitement to our days, Iwanted desperately&nbsp;to spy a cardinal. Instead, a&nbsp;young Cooper’s hawk&nbsp;highlighted&nbsp;my week&nbsp;by landing right outside our back door.&nbsp;That said, we don’t&nbsp;want&nbsp;to make&nbsp;easy&nbsp;targets&nbsp;of our&nbsp;tiny&nbsp;guests. Now we&nbsp;need&nbsp;to&nbsp;pile&nbsp;brush next to the little brown birds’&nbsp;food&nbsp;source&nbsp;so they can&nbsp;flitswiftly&nbsp;to safety.&nbsp;Hawks need to eat too, but&nbsp;they’ll&nbsp;have&nbsp;to work&nbsp;to snag a meal in our backyard.

Karen is a retired teacher, writer, photographer, outdoors lover, and
 sixth-generation Kansan. After a time away, she’s glad to be home.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1670599042550.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By KAREN MADORINRobins, sandhill cranes, hummers, and other summer birds headed south&nbsp;months ago.&nbsp;Official winter has&nbsp;nearly&nbsp;arrived,&nbsp;and&nbsp;now&nbsp;sparrows, finches, and juncos&nbsp;visit&nbsp;our feeder&nbsp;several times a day. Hoping we’ll see an elusive cardinal adding&nbsp;its&nbsp;color to our regular diners’ drab neutrals,&nbsp;we&nbsp;hide behind the curtain and peek out the window. Instead of&nbsp;laying eyes on that&nbsp;scarlet bird with the dashing cockade, we&nbsp;observe&nbsp;extreme skittishness&nbsp;amongst our&nbsp;regulars who&nbsp;never stay in one spot long.&nbsp;That means&nbsp;one thing—a predator lurks.My husband adds fresh&nbsp;birdseed&nbsp;every day and makes sure the suet hasn’t disappeared. One of us empties ice from the water pan and refills it so our visitors can drink or bathe, depending on their mood.&nbsp;Since we&nbsp;began&nbsp;winter feeding, we’ve noticed&nbsp;our little brown birds (lbbs) dash to the feeder&nbsp;only&nbsp;long enough to grab&nbsp;a beak full of&nbsp;seeds.&nbsp;They then&nbsp;flee to our deck’s edge&nbsp;where&nbsp;they duck under swiftly when&nbsp;they feel&nbsp;threatened&nbsp;(which is often). In&nbsp;years&nbsp;past, we’ve enjoyed watching them hang&nbsp;out to&nbsp;do the bird version of gabbing around the office water cooler. This season, these&nbsp;creatures&nbsp;don’t congregate in open space.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658158605319.jpeg" alt="Karen Madorin" />
 <figcaption>Karen Madorin</figcaption>
 </figure>Once we noted their anxious zipping from feeder to&nbsp;porch, we&nbsp;looked&nbsp;for the reason. Clearly, a neighboring cat didn’t alarm them. It would have no trouble following&nbsp;panicked birds&nbsp;under the deck. In fact, that would simplify&nbsp;feline&nbsp;efforts to snag a fresh meal.&nbsp;Our eyes turned skyward. What threatened&nbsp;from above?On&nbsp;a recent&nbsp;windy day, I spied a possibility&nbsp;clinging to a nearby&nbsp;light pole.&nbsp;A small&nbsp;accipiter&nbsp;took refuge from gusts in the&nbsp;crook where&nbsp;light&nbsp;intersects with pole. On a day like that, I assumed&nbsp;it blew in, but&nbsp;based on&nbsp;our&nbsp;backyard&nbsp;birds’&nbsp;behavior,&nbsp;this designed-for-precision attack bird&nbsp;preyed regularly upon&nbsp;several&nbsp;feeders&nbsp;available&nbsp;in our neighborhood.A couple&nbsp;of&nbsp;days later, I stood at the stove stirring&nbsp;bubbling&nbsp;fudge. My hubs&nbsp;slipped&nbsp;in&nbsp;to tell me&nbsp;to&nbsp;creep&nbsp;quietly into the laundry room and look out the window. What the heck&nbsp;did I see but&nbsp;animmature&nbsp;Cooper’s&nbsp;hawk&nbsp;planting itself&nbsp;square in the middle of our deck!Needless to say, not a single lbb remained in sight. I’m sure&nbsp;that&nbsp;raptor&nbsp;heard&nbsp;their tiny, hollowbones quaking in fear below the&nbsp;flooring. I had to&nbsp;pour&nbsp;that fudge&nbsp;onto a plate,&nbsp;but&nbsp;fortunately&nbsp;thehawk hung around&nbsp;long enough to&nbsp;let&nbsp;me&nbsp;have&nbsp;another&nbsp;look&nbsp;along with a quick cell phone pic through a smudged window.&nbsp;For those of us who’ve reached&nbsp;an&nbsp;age where&nbsp;feathered&nbsp;visitors&nbsp;add excitement to our days, Iwanted desperately&nbsp;to spy a cardinal. Instead, a&nbsp;young Cooper’s hawk&nbsp;highlighted&nbsp;my week&nbsp;by landing right outside our back door.&nbsp;That said, we don’t&nbsp;want&nbsp;to make&nbsp;easy&nbsp;targets&nbsp;of our&nbsp;tiny&nbsp;guests. Now we&nbsp;need&nbsp;to&nbsp;pile&nbsp;brush next to the little brown birds’&nbsp;food&nbsp;source&nbsp;so they can&nbsp;flitswiftly&nbsp;to safety.&nbsp;Hawks need to eat too, but&nbsp;they’ll&nbsp;have&nbsp;to work&nbsp;to snag a meal in our backyard.Karen is a retired teacher, writer, photographer, outdoors lover, and
 sixth-generation Kansan. After a time away, she’s glad to be home.

MADORIN: Raptors vs. LBBs

By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development&nbsp;

It’s the Festival of Lights. Twinkly lights adorn five acres of trees, barns and buildings as excited families enjoy hot chocolate and homemade, spiced wine.&nbsp;

It’s an annual Christmas celebration hosted by a family-owned winery on the high plains of rural Kansas.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Kirk and Treva Johnston are the owners and founders of Shiloh Vineyard and Winery near WaKeeney. The vineyard hosts special events throughout the year, including the weeklong Festival of Lights during the week before Christmas.&nbsp;

Kirk Johnston grew up in Goodland. His wife Treva is originally from Damar. Kirk was always interested in farming. He grew up helping his uncle on the farm and earned a degree in agronomy from Kansas State University.&nbsp;

“I took lots of chemistry classes,” Kirk said. The two married and eventually ended up on his grandfather’s place near WaKeeney.&nbsp;

“My grandfather bought this place in 1921 because it had a horse barn on it,” Kirk said.&nbsp;&nbsp;“They built a chicken house and by 1925, had 300 layers in it.”&nbsp;

In 1929, they added the family home: “It was a house ordered out of the Montgomery Ward catalog,” Kirk said.&nbsp;

When Kirk and Treva got the property decades later, they considered their options. “We wanted to farm, but diversification seemed like a good idea, compared to spending millions of dollars for new farm equipment,” Kirk said.&nbsp;

Instead of big farm equipment, they put in a vineyard, installing a drip irrigation system. “We planted our first grapes in 2008,” Kirk said. Ultimately, this became a commercial winery.&nbsp;

“I read everything I could and went to a lot of conferences,” Kirk said. He learned from other commercial operators as well.&nbsp;

“We were assistant pastors at a local church in Hays and felt called to make an overseas trip,” Kirk said. Kirk and Treva went to a vineyard in Shiloh, Israel to help trim the vineyard and prune their vines. It was a powerful experience for them.&nbsp;

“If you let God direct your paths, his peace will come in,” Kirk said. “We want to provide top quality service so that people can experience that peace here in western Kansas.”&nbsp;

Today, Shiloh Vineyard and Winery offers a variety of premium wines made from the farm’s own fruit. This includes&nbsp;dry whites, dry reds, semi-sweet white, fruit and dessert wines.&nbsp;

“We started with 350 gallons in our first year,” Kirk said. “In 2021, we produced 1,000 cases at 2.5 gallons per case.”&nbsp;

They have upgraded their facilities and renovated the chicken house, barn, and a 100-year-old granary. In 2020, Treva’s niece, Kym, and her husband, Chris Heitke, relocated from California to WaKeeney to help with the business.&nbsp;

Shiloh Vineyard and Winery also hosts special events, lots of weddings, and visitors throughout the year. In addition to the nightly Festival of Lights during the week before Christmas, they offer a Sip of Summer Patio Party, Fall Festival dinner, and much more.&nbsp;&nbsp;Three times a year, they host five course meals paired with their wines.&nbsp;

The Johnstons also offer recreational vehicle dry camping sites at the vineyard. They connected with a national website called Harvest Hosts which promotes RV camping at farms, breweries, wineries and more across the country. The website has brought in lots of visitors.&nbsp;

“It’s been so wonderful,” Kirk said. “People say this is an oasis.”&nbsp;

They have had guests from every state in the U.S. plus Brazil, China, Peru, Germany, Australia and more.&nbsp;

Shiloh wines are available at a variety of retail outlets in western Kansas as well as at the vineyard itself. The vineyard is located in the country between WaKeeney and the rural community of Collyer, population 97 people. Now, that’s rural.&nbsp;

For more information, go to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.shilohvineyard.com/">www.shilohvineyard.com</a>.&nbsp;

It’s time to leave the Festival of Lights, one of several events that bring guests to the Shiloh Vineyard and Winery. We commend Kirk and Treva Johnston for making a difference with grape and wine production and lots of great hospitality on the high plains.&nbsp;

They are helping to bring happiness to light.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1670423416710.png" alt="Treva and Kirk Johnston / Courtesy K-State Extension" />
 <figcaption>Treva and Kirk Johnston / Courtesy K-State Extension</figcaption>
 </figure>By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development&nbsp;It’s the Festival of Lights. Twinkly lights adorn five acres of trees, barns and buildings as excited families enjoy hot chocolate and homemade, spiced wine.&nbsp;It’s an annual Christmas celebration hosted by a family-owned winery on the high plains of rural Kansas.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kirk and Treva Johnston are the owners and founders of Shiloh Vineyard and Winery near WaKeeney. The vineyard hosts special events throughout the year, including the weeklong Festival of Lights during the week before Christmas.&nbsp;Kirk Johnston grew up in Goodland. His wife Treva is originally from Damar. Kirk was always interested in farming. He grew up helping his uncle on the farm and earned a degree in agronomy from Kansas State University.&nbsp;“I took lots of chemistry classes,” Kirk said. The two married and eventually ended up on his grandfather’s place near WaKeeney.&nbsp;“My grandfather bought this place in 1921 because it had a horse barn on it,” Kirk said.&nbsp;&nbsp;“They built a chicken house and by 1925, had 300 layers in it.”&nbsp;In 1929, they added the family home: “It was a house ordered out of the Montgomery Ward catalog,” Kirk said.&nbsp;When Kirk and Treva got the property decades later, they considered their options. “We wanted to farm, but diversification seemed like a good idea, compared to spending millions of dollars for new farm equipment,” Kirk said.&nbsp;Instead of big farm equipment, they put in a vineyard, installing a drip irrigation system. “We planted our first grapes in 2008,” Kirk said. Ultimately, this became a commercial winery.&nbsp;“I read everything I could and went to a lot of conferences,” Kirk said. He learned from other commercial operators as well.&nbsp;“We were assistant pastors at a local church in Hays and felt called to make an overseas trip,” Kirk said. Kirk and Treva went to a vineyard in Shiloh, Israel to help trim the vineyard and prune their vines. It was a powerful experience for them.&nbsp;“If you let God direct your paths, his peace will come in,” Kirk said. “We want to provide top quality service so that people can experience that peace here in western Kansas.”&nbsp;Today, Shiloh Vineyard and Winery offers a variety of premium wines made from the farm’s own fruit. This includes&nbsp;dry whites, dry reds, semi-sweet white, fruit and dessert wines.&nbsp;“We started with 350 gallons in our first year,” Kirk said. “In 2021, we produced 1,000 cases at 2.5 gallons per case.”&nbsp;They have upgraded their facilities and renovated the chicken house, barn, and a 100-year-old granary. In 2020, Treva’s niece, Kym, and her husband, Chris Heitke, relocated from California to WaKeeney to help with the business.&nbsp;Shiloh Vineyard and Winery also hosts special events, lots of weddings, and visitors throughout the year. In addition to the nightly Festival of Lights during the week before Christmas, they offer a Sip of Summer Patio Party, Fall Festival dinner, and much more.&nbsp;&nbsp;Three times a year, they host five course meals paired with their wines.&nbsp;The Johnstons also offer recreational vehicle dry camping sites at the vineyard. They connected with a national website called Harvest Hosts which promotes RV camping at farms, breweries, wineries and more across the country. The website has brought in lots of visitors.&nbsp;“It’s been so wonderful,” Kirk said. “People say this is an oasis.”&nbsp;They have had guests from every state in the U.S. plus Brazil, China, Peru, Germany, Australia and more.&nbsp;Shiloh wines are available at a variety of retail outlets in western Kansas as well as at the vineyard itself. The vineyard is located in the country between WaKeeney and the rural community of Collyer, population 97 people. Now, that’s rural.&nbsp;For more information, go to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.shilohvineyard.com/">www.shilohvineyard.com</a>.&nbsp;It’s time to leave the Festival of Lights, one of several events that bring guests to the Shiloh Vineyard and Winery. We commend Kirk and Treva Johnston for making a difference with grape and wine production and lots of great hospitality on the high plains.&nbsp;They are helping to bring happiness to light.&nbsp;

Now That’s Rural: Trego County's Shiloh Vineyard 

By ERIC THOMAS <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/12/09/when-the-world-cup-comes-to-kansas-city-tough-questions-will-follow/">Courtesy Kansas Reflector</a>

Last weekend, the team representing the United States at the World Cup in Qatar crashed out of the tournament following a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.foxsports.com/watch/play-6110921be00004b?cmpid=google-one-box">3-1 loss against the Netherlands</a>.

As a fan, I have tracked this team 
from qualifying in CONCACAF to pre-tournament friendlies, from the group
 stage into the knockout round, monitoring the pre-match lineups and 
coaching decisions. Even my soccer-crazed son might have rolled his eyes
 at the arcane statistics I recited to him, likely from one of the 
dozens of <a target="_blank" href="https://meninblazers.com/page/podcasts">podcasts</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://theathletic.com/">articles</a> or videos I gobbled up.

Besides the results for the U.S. 
men’s national team, the other dominant storyline from the World Cup has
 little to do with assists, corner kicks or <a target="_blank" href="https://theanalyst.com/na/2021/07/what-are-expected-goals-xg/">xG</a>.
 Counterintuitively, this second storyline might determine the success 
of the 2026 World Cup in the United States even more than the wins, 
losses and ties of our national team.

The referee’s final whistle at 
Khalifa International Stadium signaled the start of a new storyline. The
 next World Cup match that the U.S. will play will likely be at home — 
in the United States.

This storyline is the stew of 
political hijinks and squabbles that flooded the World Cup this year. 
That storyline includes how journalists have covered (or failed to 
cover) the politics of this multibillion dollar global sports event.

With Kansas City hosting games for 
the 2026 event, our region will be dipped into that World Cup stew. As 
local journalists, many of us will decide how to cover it.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

One thing is certain: This year’s 
World Cup has provided lessons on what not to do as both a host nation 
and as journalists. Let’s study the lessons now for 2026, so we don’t 
make the same blunders.

We start with the profit-driven 
cowardice of Fox Sports. In the years preceding the Qatar World Cup, 
FIFA and the host nation generated so many newsworthy controversies: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/20/fifa-qatar-world-cup-corruption/">accusations of bribes to FIFA</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/the-world-cup-is-officially-underway-in-qatar-heres-why-its-so-controversial">anti-gay laws in Qatar</a> and the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/feb/23/revealed-migrant-worker-deaths-qatar-fifa-world-cup-2022">deaths of foreign workers</a>.
 The question for Fox Sports, the broadcast rights holder in the United 
States, was how it would cover these juicy narratives during the match 
telecasts.

How would they cover the diplomatic 
tensions between the competing countries? Perhaps, they would cover 
international flaps — like the social media staff of the U.S. team 
foolishly <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/27/usmnt-twitter-iran-flag-change/">removing a portion of the Iran flag</a>
 on some social media posts — during pregame segments. Or perhaps we 
would hear the in-match commentators interject the news into their 
play-by-play.

Fox Sports made short work of that decision by simply opting not to cover any of it.

Their possible motive? <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/18/fox-qatar-world-cup-coverage/">The Washington Post reported</a>
 that Fox Sports agreed to a sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways. That 
funding (and perhaps some complementary airfare for Fox Sports staff) 
may have enabled the broadcaster to set up a swank studio in Qatar 
rather than anchoring coverage from Los Angeles.&nbsp;

Who owns the airline? Qatar itself, suggesting an unsightly quid pro quo. A Fox Sports spokesman <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/18/fox-qatar-world-cup-coverage/">told the Post</a> that the network did not agree to censor its political coverage in exchange for the Qatar Airways sponsorship deal.

However, contrast Fox Sports’ 
editorial spinelessness with the words of Telemundo Deportes president 
Ray Warren about how his network would cover World Cup politics: “I do 
think we have to talk about the legacy we leave. By the time the 
tournament’s over, we (won’t have been) ignoring the geopolitical issues
 that might arise.”

I doubt that an American sponsor in 
2026 will make such a brazen attempt to neuter a media outlet, at least 
partially because of how embarrassing this incident has been for Fox 
Sports.

However, millions of sponsorship 
dollars will flood the Kansas City region. Might a sponsor ask a local 
publication or broadcaster to weaken its scrutiny with a wink? How might
 an advertiser discourage honest coverage through a financial nudge?

“World Corrupt,” <a target="_blank" href="https://crooked.com/podcast-series/world-corrupt/">a podcast series</a>
 that has chronicled the hypocrisy and corruption of this World Cup, 
summarized what it looks like to watch the coverage of a World Cup that 
has been artificially sweetened.

“It is basically the Splenda of international tournaments,” <a target="_blank" href="https://crooked.com/podcast/world-corrupt-episode-7-stoppage-time/">co-host Tommy Vietor half-joked</a>.

Fewer controversies should ignite in 
the run-up to the World Cup in North America. However, smoke-free skies 
can’t be guaranteed with a flammable international syndicate like FIFA.

Because Kansas City will host 
matches, we should also expect that the visiting foreign press will zoom
 in on the blemishes of Missouri, Kansas and the Midwest. As the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/06/16/world-cup-2026-venues-los-angeles-new-york-list">only host city in the central United States</a>,
 our local site will stand in for all of middle America in news 
coverage. You could travel west from Pennsylvania to California, and the
 only host city you would pass would be KC.

Of course, we want our region to be a
 great place to live for the sake of, well, being a great place to live.
 However, if we need any extra motivation, maybe we will clean up our 
room before the house guests come to visit.

Consider, for example, the local headlines that the foreign press might have seized on during the last month. A<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kshb.com/news/crime/4-teens-man-charged-in-shooting-death-of-kansas-city-man-in-shawnee"> recent Shawnee shooting</a> resulted in charges for four teens. Alleged <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kcur.org/corruption-in-kansas-city-kansas">corruption in the Kansas City, Kansas, police department</a> allowed an officer to terrorize citizens. A small town <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/12/06/kansas-towns-library-lease-renewed-after-months-of-debate-about-lgbtq-content/">nearly shuttered its library</a> because it included books about LGBTQ lives.

If we need any proof that the 
visiting press will care about these stories, note how the American 
press is rightfully scrutinizing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/qatar-world-cup-migrant-deaths-28679897">the death of a foreign worker in Qatar</a> this week.

We should also prepare ourselves for absurd questions from hostile journalists with an agenda. Here’s how <a target="_blank" href="https://time.com/6237256/usmnt-press-conference-tyler-adams/">they grilled the U.S. team captain</a> Tyler Adams about racism in America, after chiding him for his pronunciation of Iran.

“Are you OK to be representing a 
country that has so much discrimination against Black people in its own 
borders?” a reporter for Iran’s state-controlled TV station asked during
 a pre-match press conference.

Or — even more bonkers — how the same press gaggle asked U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter for <a target="_blank" href="https://nypost.com/2022/11/28/us-coach-gregg-berhalter-grilled-at-world-cup-presser-before-iran-match/">his take on the position of U.S. warships</a>.

Everything will be inbounds. We, as Americans and Midwesterners, will need answers.

Adams’ response to the grilling by 
the Iranian press displayed the kind of eloquence and patience that our 
politicians and players will need in 2026.

“There’s discrimination everywhere 
you go,” he said. “In the U.S., we’re continuing to make progress every 
single day … through education. I think it’s super important. Like you 
just educated me now on the pronunciation of your country. It’s a 
process. As long as you see progress, that’s the most important thing.”

Or, perhaps we need to all practice the kind of deflection that Berhalter used.

“I don’t know enough about politics; I’m a soccer coach,” Berhalter said, dodging a foreign affairs kerfuffle.

As hosts, we will need to do a bit of each: toughen our skin, clean up our affairs and provide thoughtful and patient answers.

Like the team itself, we will need 
some practice to prepare for the World Cup in Kansas City. The 2026 
summer of soccer and all its controversial storylines are coming, along 
with the goals and celebrations.

Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association, a nonprofit that supports student journalism throughout the state. He also teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1670597372971.png" alt="The U.S. men’s national soccer team warms up before a friendly match against the national team of Uruguay on June 5, 2022, at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. (Eric Thomas, courtesy Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>The U.S. men’s national soccer team warms up before a friendly match against the national team of Uruguay on June 5, 2022, at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. (Eric Thomas, courtesy Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By ERIC THOMAS <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/12/09/when-the-world-cup-comes-to-kansas-city-tough-questions-will-follow/">Courtesy Kansas Reflector</a>Last weekend, the team representing the United States at the World Cup in Qatar crashed out of the tournament following a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.foxsports.com/watch/play-6110921be00004b?cmpid=google-one-box">3-1 loss against the Netherlands</a>.As a fan, I have tracked this team 
from qualifying in CONCACAF to pre-tournament friendlies, from the group
 stage into the knockout round, monitoring the pre-match lineups and 
coaching decisions. Even my soccer-crazed son might have rolled his eyes
 at the arcane statistics I recited to him, likely from one of the 
dozens of <a target="_blank" href="https://meninblazers.com/page/podcasts">podcasts</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://theathletic.com/">articles</a> or videos I gobbled up.Besides the results for the U.S. 
men’s national team, the other dominant storyline from the World Cup has
 little to do with assists, corner kicks or <a target="_blank" href="https://theanalyst.com/na/2021/07/what-are-expected-goals-xg/">xG</a>.
 Counterintuitively, this second storyline might determine the success 
of the 2026 World Cup in the United States even more than the wins, 
losses and ties of our national team.The referee’s final whistle at 
Khalifa International Stadium signaled the start of a new storyline. The
 next World Cup match that the U.S. will play will likely be at home — 
in the United States.This storyline is the stew of 
political hijinks and squabbles that flooded the World Cup this year. 
That storyline includes how journalists have covered (or failed to 
cover) the politics of this multibillion dollar global sports event.With Kansas City hosting games for 
the 2026 event, our region will be dipped into that World Cup stew. As 
local journalists, many of us will decide how to cover it.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;One thing is certain: This year’s 
World Cup has provided lessons on what not to do as both a host nation 
and as journalists. Let’s study the lessons now for 2026, so we don’t 
make the same blunders.We start with the profit-driven 
cowardice of Fox Sports. In the years preceding the Qatar World Cup, 
FIFA and the host nation generated so many newsworthy controversies: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/20/fifa-qatar-world-cup-corruption/">accusations of bribes to FIFA</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/the-world-cup-is-officially-underway-in-qatar-heres-why-its-so-controversial">anti-gay laws in Qatar</a> and the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/feb/23/revealed-migrant-worker-deaths-qatar-fifa-world-cup-2022">deaths of foreign workers</a>.
 The question for Fox Sports, the broadcast rights holder in the United 
States, was how it would cover these juicy narratives during the match 
telecasts.How would they cover the diplomatic 
tensions between the competing countries? Perhaps, they would cover 
international flaps — like the social media staff of the U.S. team 
foolishly <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/27/usmnt-twitter-iran-flag-change/">removing a portion of the Iran flag</a>
 on some social media posts — during pregame segments. Or perhaps we 
would hear the in-match commentators interject the news into their 
play-by-play.Fox Sports made short work of that decision by simply opting not to cover any of it.Their possible motive? <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/18/fox-qatar-world-cup-coverage/">The Washington Post reported</a>
 that Fox Sports agreed to a sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways. That 
funding (and perhaps some complementary airfare for Fox Sports staff) 
may have enabled the broadcaster to set up a swank studio in Qatar 
rather than anchoring coverage from Los Angeles.&nbsp;Who owns the airline? Qatar itself, suggesting an unsightly quid pro quo. A Fox Sports spokesman <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/18/fox-qatar-world-cup-coverage/">told the Post</a> that the network did not agree to censor its political coverage in exchange for the Qatar Airways sponsorship deal.However, contrast Fox Sports’ 
editorial spinelessness with the words of Telemundo Deportes president 
Ray Warren about how his network would cover World Cup politics: “I do 
think we have to talk about the legacy we leave. By the time the 
tournament’s over, we (won’t have been) ignoring the geopolitical issues
 that might arise.”I doubt that an American sponsor in 
2026 will make such a brazen attempt to neuter a media outlet, at least 
partially because of how embarrassing this incident has been for Fox 
Sports.However, millions of sponsorship 
dollars will flood the Kansas City region. Might a sponsor ask a local 
publication or broadcaster to weaken its scrutiny with a wink? How might
 an advertiser discourage honest coverage through a financial nudge?“World Corrupt,” <a target="_blank" href="https://crooked.com/podcast-series/world-corrupt/">a podcast series</a>
 that has chronicled the hypocrisy and corruption of this World Cup, 
summarized what it looks like to watch the coverage of a World Cup that 
has been artificially sweetened.“It is basically the Splenda of international tournaments,” <a target="_blank" href="https://crooked.com/podcast/world-corrupt-episode-7-stoppage-time/">co-host Tommy Vietor half-joked</a>.Fewer controversies should ignite in 
the run-up to the World Cup in North America. However, smoke-free skies 
can’t be guaranteed with a flammable international syndicate like FIFA.Because Kansas City will host 
matches, we should also expect that the visiting foreign press will zoom
 in on the blemishes of Missouri, Kansas and the Midwest. As the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/06/16/world-cup-2026-venues-los-angeles-new-york-list">only host city in the central United States</a>,
 our local site will stand in for all of middle America in news 
coverage. You could travel west from Pennsylvania to California, and the
 only host city you would pass would be KC.Of course, we want our region to be a
 great place to live for the sake of, well, being a great place to live.
 However, if we need any extra motivation, maybe we will clean up our 
room before the house guests come to visit.Consider, for example, the local headlines that the foreign press might have seized on during the last month. A<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kshb.com/news/crime/4-teens-man-charged-in-shooting-death-of-kansas-city-man-in-shawnee"> recent Shawnee shooting</a> resulted in charges for four teens. Alleged <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kcur.org/corruption-in-kansas-city-kansas">corruption in the Kansas City, Kansas, police department</a> allowed an officer to terrorize citizens. A small town <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/12/06/kansas-towns-library-lease-renewed-after-months-of-debate-about-lgbtq-content/">nearly shuttered its library</a> because it included books about LGBTQ lives.If we need any proof that the 
visiting press will care about these stories, note how the American 
press is rightfully scrutinizing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/qatar-world-cup-migrant-deaths-28679897">the death of a foreign worker in Qatar</a> this week.We should also prepare ourselves for absurd questions from hostile journalists with an agenda. Here’s how <a target="_blank" href="https://time.com/6237256/usmnt-press-conference-tyler-adams/">they grilled the U.S. team captain</a> Tyler Adams about racism in America, after chiding him for his pronunciation of Iran.“Are you OK to be representing a 
country that has so much discrimination against Black people in its own 
borders?” a reporter for Iran’s state-controlled TV station asked during
 a pre-match press conference.Or — even more bonkers — how the same press gaggle asked U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter for <a target="_blank" href="https://nypost.com/2022/11/28/us-coach-gregg-berhalter-grilled-at-world-cup-presser-before-iran-match/">his take on the position of U.S. warships</a>.Everything will be inbounds. We, as Americans and Midwesterners, will need answers.Adams’ response to the grilling by 
the Iranian press displayed the kind of eloquence and patience that our 
politicians and players will need in 2026.“There’s discrimination everywhere 
you go,” he said. “In the U.S., we’re continuing to make progress every 
single day … through education. I think it’s super important. Like you 
just educated me now on the pronunciation of your country. It’s a 
process. As long as you see progress, that’s the most important thing.”Or, perhaps we need to all practice the kind of deflection that Berhalter used.“I don’t know enough about politics; I’m a soccer coach,” Berhalter said, dodging a foreign affairs kerfuffle.As hosts, we will need to do a bit of each: toughen our skin, clean up our affairs and provide thoughtful and patient answers.Like the team itself, we will need 
some practice to prepare for the World Cup in Kansas City. The 2026 
summer of soccer and all its controversial storylines are coming, along 
with the goals and celebrations.Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association, a nonprofit that supports student journalism throughout the state. He also teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.&nbsp;

OPINION: World Cup kicks tough questions at Kansas City

I am always inspired by our students’ stories. Listening to Brendan Chapman at a recent donor reception did not disappoint. I found his story filled with courage, perseverance, and a humble confidence.

Brendan is a Fort Hays senior finishing his double major in history and secondary education. He aspires to complete his master’s and doctorate degrees and teach at a university in the future, passing on knowledge to the next generation and publishing his writings along the way.&nbsp;

Brendan is a Tiger legacy –&nbsp;his mom, Alaina&nbsp;Dresslar, dad,&nbsp;Korrie&nbsp;Chapman, and older brother, Keegan Chapman, are all FHSU alumni. Brendan shared that since he grew up in Hays, he knew all about FHSU’s good reputation.&nbsp;

Brendan wanted to study history and was very aware of the excellent reputation of our History Department faculty. Indeed, he is correct, as they are known for excellence in their profession coupled with a deep culture of mentoring and caring for their students.

A major driver of his decision to attend Fort Hays State&nbsp;University was our value proposition. Brendan shared that he knew he could attend FHSU and graduate debt free.&nbsp;

“With the scholarships that I have received, I had the opportunity to dedicate myself to my education without worrying about taking out loans.&nbsp;This will allow me to pursue further education in history, whereas, without scholarships, I would not be able to do so,” Brendan said.&nbsp;

As he completes his senior year, he is in the process of applying for graduate schools, including Purdue, Arizona, Kansas, Virginia, and Fort Hays State. The FHSU value proposition, low cost, high quality, and outstanding faculty mentors made his dream of both undergraduate and graduate education possible. It will launch his dream of becoming a professor.

I have heard and written about&nbsp;several student stories, rich with testimony, of faculty who invested authentically in their students. Brendan’s experience is no different.&nbsp;

“Throughout my years of studying history, I discovered my passion for cultural history. In orderto understand how the public reacts to both historical events and new technologies and to also understand how they promote&nbsp;change,&nbsp;cultural history is the integral piece. By learning more about technologies and events, we can make informed predictions on&nbsp;how people will react. By understanding the causes and effects of the past, we can learn from those actions and will grow as a society. This is the mindset that I intend to pass on to my students – one that encourages them to learn lessons from the past in&nbsp;order to build a better future. By doing this, I seek to inspire greatness in the next generation.”

Currently, Brendan is&nbsp;working on a research paper on Music Television with guidance from Dr. McClure. It was Dr. McClure who inspired his passion for cultural history. Brendan plans to submit this paper for publication to California State Fullerton’s online history journal. Additionally, he plans to present his paper at the Kansas Association of Historians Annual Conference in March 2023.&nbsp;

“Through these endeavors, I am utilizing skills on writing and presenting academic works learned from my professors, particularly Dr. Amber Nickell and Hollie Marquess. By honing my skills as a writer and academic, I plan on producing several more written works on the history of popular culture in the future,” Brendan noted.

His dreams are to continue to research the past to write books and articles that teach lessons about how the world works. He is passionate about sharing these lessons with his future university students and inspiring them to make the world a better place in their lifetimes, just as his Fort Hays professors have done for him.

Henry David Thoreau said, “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” This is exactly what Brendan is doing, and that positive forward momentum has been fueled by a university that invests deeply in our students.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575301942236.jpeg" alt="Dr. Tisa Mason, FHSU president" />
 <figcaption>Dr. Tisa Mason, FHSU president</figcaption>
 </figure>I am always inspired by our students’ stories. Listening to Brendan Chapman at a recent donor reception did not disappoint. I found his story filled with courage, perseverance, and a humble confidence.Brendan is a Fort Hays senior finishing his double major in history and secondary education. He aspires to complete his master’s and doctorate degrees and teach at a university in the future, passing on knowledge to the next generation and publishing his writings along the way.&nbsp;Brendan is a Tiger legacy –&nbsp;his mom, Alaina&nbsp;Dresslar, dad,&nbsp;Korrie&nbsp;Chapman, and older brother, Keegan Chapman, are all FHSU alumni. Brendan shared that since he grew up in Hays, he knew all about FHSU’s good reputation.&nbsp;Brendan wanted to study history and was very aware of the excellent reputation of our History Department faculty. Indeed, he is correct, as they are known for excellence in their profession coupled with a deep culture of mentoring and caring for their students.A major driver of his decision to attend Fort Hays State&nbsp;University was our value proposition. Brendan shared that he knew he could attend FHSU and graduate debt free.&nbsp;“With the scholarships that I have received, I had the opportunity to dedicate myself to my education without worrying about taking out loans.&nbsp;This will allow me to pursue further education in history, whereas, without scholarships, I would not be able to do so,” Brendan said.&nbsp;As he completes his senior year, he is in the process of applying for graduate schools, including Purdue, Arizona, Kansas, Virginia, and Fort Hays State. The FHSU value proposition, low cost, high quality, and outstanding faculty mentors made his dream of both undergraduate and graduate education possible. It will launch his dream of becoming a professor.I have heard and written about&nbsp;several student stories, rich with testimony, of faculty who invested authentically in their students. Brendan’s experience is no different.&nbsp;“Throughout my years of studying history, I discovered my passion for cultural history. In orderto understand how the public reacts to both historical events and new technologies and to also understand how they promote&nbsp;change,&nbsp;cultural history is the integral piece. By learning more about technologies and events, we can make informed predictions on&nbsp;how people will react. By understanding the causes and effects of the past, we can learn from those actions and will grow as a society. This is the mindset that I intend to pass on to my students – one that encourages them to learn lessons from the past in&nbsp;order to build a better future. By doing this, I seek to inspire greatness in the next generation.”Currently, Brendan is&nbsp;working on a research paper on Music Television with guidance from Dr. McClure. It was Dr. McClure who inspired his passion for cultural history. Brendan plans to submit this paper for publication to California State Fullerton’s online history journal. Additionally, he plans to present his paper at the Kansas Association of Historians Annual Conference in March 2023.&nbsp;“Through these endeavors, I am utilizing skills on writing and presenting academic works learned from my professors, particularly Dr. Amber Nickell and Hollie Marquess. By honing my skills as a writer and academic, I plan on producing several more written works on the history of popular culture in the future,” Brendan noted.His dreams are to continue to research the past to write books and articles that teach lessons about how the world works. He is passionate about sharing these lessons with his future university students and inspiring them to make the world a better place in their lifetimes, just as his Fort Hays professors have done for him.Henry David Thoreau said, “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” This is exactly what Brendan is doing, and that positive forward momentum has been fueled by a university that invests deeply in our students.

Heart of a Tiger: Brendan Chapman

About this time each year,&nbsp;with numerous hunting and trapping seasons in full swing,&nbsp;we begin to hear and read stories that all center&nbsp;around&nbsp;the&nbsp;illegal taking of Kansas wildlife, otherwise known as poaching.Whether&nbsp;it’s&nbsp;bald eagles being shot, outfitters being investigated for assisting their clients in illegally taking and transporting game or&nbsp;numerous game law violations intentionally and knowingly committed by people mistakenly calling themselves hunters, it all amounts to theft from those of us who attempt to abide by all the game rules and regulations of our state.&nbsp;

When poachers take fish or game illegally,&nbsp;they&nbsp;not only hurt&nbsp;the&nbsp;population of&nbsp;wildlife&nbsp;they prey upon, but they&nbsp;also&nbsp;tarnish the reputation of&nbsp;we&nbsp;ethical&nbsp;hunters&nbsp;who&nbsp;follow the rules and regulations. For the most part, poachers&nbsp;are not poor people looking to put food on the table for their families.&nbsp;They are&nbsp;greedy individuals who kill&nbsp;for the&nbsp;thrill of&nbsp;illegally taking trophy game animals, or they&nbsp;are&nbsp;people being paid outrageous sums of money to&nbsp;collect trophy or rare&nbsp;fish and wildlife.

Kansas is&nbsp;divided into 105 counties and currently a drastic shortage&nbsp;of game wardens saddles around 60 natural resource officers (NRO’s) with&nbsp;the&nbsp;intense&nbsp;responsibility of patrolling&nbsp;all&nbsp;those counties.&nbsp;Each year those NRO’s check tens of thousands of hunters and fishermen in the field&nbsp;and about 96% of them are found to be law-abiding. Unfortunately, many non-hunters associate ethical hunters with the small percentage who are not.

Kansas Dept. of&nbsp;Wildlife, Parks and Tourism has an excellent tool to help fight wildlife crimes called Operation Game Thief. It’s a toll-free telephone hotline, (877) 426-3843, that can be accessed anytime of the day or night, any day of the year. Callers are given the choice to remain anonymous and each call is immediately relayed to the natural resource officer&nbsp;nearest the violation.&nbsp;Examples of activities that can be reported over the game thief hotline are road hunting, trespassing, littering,&nbsp;vandalism,&nbsp;drinking while hunting, taking more game than allowed by law, using illegal equipment, hunting out of season or taking wildlife for which there&nbsp;is no legal season.&nbsp;

Two important rules to remember when observing illegal wildlife related activities are:

• Never confront the suspects you observe committing these crime •Be observant and be prepared to provide as much information as possible about what you observe, such as detailed descriptions of the people and vehicles including license plate numbers, and location and time of the incident. We all have cellphones now with excellent cameras, so take pictures if possible.

Calls to Operation Game Thief&nbsp;have resulted in arrest and convictions on violations from vandalism to deer poaching and everything in between. Drug operations have even been uncovered as a result of calls to this number. Perhaps the worst result of wildlife related crimes is the damage caused to the image of those of us who attempt to abide by all the wildlife&nbsp;rules and regulations. I refuse to be categorized with those who call themselves “hunters” but refuse to abide by the rules. If they insist on being known as “hunters” then perhaps the rest of us should find a different term for what we enjoy. Remember, Operation Game Thief, (877) 426-3843. 

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

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1574696211722.png" alt="Steve&nbsp;Gilliland" />
 <figcaption>Steve&nbsp;Gilliland</figcaption>
 </figure>About this time each year,&nbsp;with numerous hunting and trapping seasons in full swing,&nbsp;we begin to hear and read stories that all center&nbsp;around&nbsp;the&nbsp;illegal taking of Kansas wildlife, otherwise known as poaching.Whether&nbsp;it’s&nbsp;bald eagles being shot, outfitters being investigated for assisting their clients in illegally taking and transporting game or&nbsp;numerous game law violations intentionally and knowingly committed by people mistakenly calling themselves hunters, it all amounts to theft from those of us who attempt to abide by all the game rules and regulations of our state.&nbsp;When poachers take fish or game illegally,&nbsp;they&nbsp;not only hurt&nbsp;the&nbsp;population of&nbsp;wildlife&nbsp;they prey upon, but they&nbsp;also&nbsp;tarnish the reputation of&nbsp;we&nbsp;ethical&nbsp;hunters&nbsp;who&nbsp;follow the rules and regulations. For the most part, poachers&nbsp;are not poor people looking to put food on the table for their families.&nbsp;They are&nbsp;greedy individuals who kill&nbsp;for the&nbsp;thrill of&nbsp;illegally taking trophy game animals, or they&nbsp;are&nbsp;people being paid outrageous sums of money to&nbsp;collect trophy or rare&nbsp;fish and wildlife.Kansas is&nbsp;divided into 105 counties and currently a drastic shortage&nbsp;of game wardens saddles around 60 natural resource officers (NRO’s) with&nbsp;the&nbsp;intense&nbsp;responsibility of patrolling&nbsp;all&nbsp;those counties.&nbsp;Each year those NRO’s check tens of thousands of hunters and fishermen in the field&nbsp;and about 96% of them are found to be law-abiding. Unfortunately, many non-hunters associate ethical hunters with the small percentage who are not.Kansas Dept. of&nbsp;Wildlife, Parks and Tourism has an excellent tool to help fight wildlife crimes called Operation Game Thief. It’s a toll-free telephone hotline, (877) 426-3843, that can be accessed anytime of the day or night, any day of the year. Callers are given the choice to remain anonymous and each call is immediately relayed to the natural resource officer&nbsp;nearest the violation.&nbsp;Examples of activities that can be reported over the game thief hotline are road hunting, trespassing, littering,&nbsp;vandalism,&nbsp;drinking while hunting, taking more game than allowed by law, using illegal equipment, hunting out of season or taking wildlife for which there&nbsp;is no legal season.&nbsp;Two important rules to remember when observing illegal wildlife related activities are:• Never confront the suspects you observe committing these crime •Be observant and be prepared to provide as much information as possible about what you observe, such as detailed descriptions of the people and vehicles including license plate numbers, and location and time of the incident. We all have cellphones now with excellent cameras, so take pictures if possible.Calls to Operation Game Thief&nbsp;have resulted in arrest and convictions on violations from vandalism to deer poaching and everything in between. Drug operations have even been uncovered as a result of calls to this number. Perhaps the worst result of wildlife related crimes is the damage caused to the image of those of us who attempt to abide by all the wildlife&nbsp;rules and regulations. I refuse to be categorized with those who call themselves “hunters” but refuse to abide by the rules. If they insist on being known as “hunters” then perhaps the rest of us should find a different term for what we enjoy. Remember, Operation Game Thief, (877) 426-3843. Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors!Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at stevenrgilliland@gmail.com

Exploring Outdoors Kansas: Operation Game Thief

By KIM BALDWIN McPherson County farmer and rancher The rush is on as the hustle and bustle of the holiday season ramps up! It seems like there’s never enough hours in the days, or days in the weeks leading up to Christmas. &nbsp; As a parent, small business owner, community member and farmer, there’s just a lot to accomplish immediately after washing the dishes from our Thanksgiving meal. &nbsp; As a parent, keeping track of the Christmas parties and holiday-themed school days for my two young children requires organization and focus.&nbsp; &nbsp; Throughout the year, I keep track of the "normal" school things needed to be done like the minutes we read nightly, the weekly spelling words needing attention at home, and making sure the kids have their library books read and ready to return on their assigned library days.&nbsp; &nbsp; But this month I’m hyper alert to knowing when “Ugly Christmas Sweater Day”&nbsp;is compared to when “Santa’s Ho-Ho-Hoedown Day”&nbsp;is to ensure my kids participate in at least some of their school’s countdown to Christmas Break spirit days – 15 themed spirit days in all.&nbsp; &nbsp; One of my greatest fears this month has become the thought of sending the kids to school wearing their pajamas for “Dream a Little Dream Day”&nbsp;when they should be wearing a scarf for “Deck Your Neck Day” or forgetting to dig out Hawaiian shirts for “Christmas Vacation Day”.&nbsp; &nbsp; I’ve concluded that if there are prizes for most spirited this month at school, the Baldwin kids probably won’t make the cut. I’ll consider it a win if I remember to send lunch money on the day the school serves their Christmas ham meal later this month! &nbsp; On the farm, there’s a list of things we try to get done every December. Currently, that list has us trying to get fields fertilized before any potential snow falls. This responsibility mainly falls on my husband as I dedicate my days fulfilling holiday orders and making multiple trips to the post office for our small business.&nbsp; &nbsp; There are parties and practices and community events and performances and games and top-secret shopping trips also on my December calendar. &nbsp; My December started out with an incredibly busy day, which transitioned into an equally busy evening consisting of shuttling kids from school to basketball practice and then home for showers and food, only to drive them back to town to practice their church Christmas program. I was able to briefly catch my breath after handing the kids off to my husband before making my way to choir practice.&nbsp; &nbsp; Getting home shortly before 9 that night, I collapsed on the couch ready to unwind from a busy, busy day. However, I got a phone call from my father-in-law instead.&nbsp; &nbsp; It turned out my day was not done just yet. Instead, I put on my coveralls and headed out to the barn to watch over a ewe who had just lambed.&nbsp; &nbsp; Peeking into the lambing pen that was now occupied by the ewe with her tiny, wet lamb with wobbly legs brought me a calm I had not experienced that day.&nbsp; &nbsp; Under a clear, dark December sky with stars shining bright above us, a new mother with her newborn lying in a bed of straw reminded me of the true spirit of this season. And all was calm. &nbsp; May you have at least one moment this month which causes you to pause amongst the holiday hustle and bustle in order to experience the true spirit of the season.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573617414005.jpeg" alt="Kim Baldwin&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Kim Baldwin&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>By KIM BALDWIN McPherson County farmer and rancher The rush is on as the hustle and bustle of the holiday season ramps up! It seems like there’s never enough hours in the days, or days in the weeks leading up to Christmas. &nbsp; As a parent, small business owner, community member and farmer, there’s just a lot to accomplish immediately after washing the dishes from our Thanksgiving meal. &nbsp; As a parent, keeping track of the Christmas parties and holiday-themed school days for my two young children requires organization and focus.&nbsp; &nbsp; Throughout the year, I keep track of the "normal" school things needed to be done like the minutes we read nightly, the weekly spelling words needing attention at home, and making sure the kids have their library books read and ready to return on their assigned library days.&nbsp; &nbsp; But this month I’m hyper alert to knowing when “Ugly Christmas Sweater Day”&nbsp;is compared to when “Santa’s Ho-Ho-Hoedown Day”&nbsp;is to ensure my kids participate in at least some of their school’s countdown to Christmas Break spirit days – 15 themed spirit days in all.&nbsp; &nbsp; One of my greatest fears this month has become the thought of sending the kids to school wearing their pajamas for “Dream a Little Dream Day”&nbsp;when they should be wearing a scarf for “Deck Your Neck Day” or forgetting to dig out Hawaiian shirts for “Christmas Vacation Day”.&nbsp; &nbsp; I’ve concluded that if there are prizes for most spirited this month at school, the Baldwin kids probably won’t make the cut. I’ll consider it a win if I remember to send lunch money on the day the school serves their Christmas ham meal later this month! &nbsp; On the farm, there’s a list of things we try to get done every December. Currently, that list has us trying to get fields fertilized before any potential snow falls. This responsibility mainly falls on my husband as I dedicate my days fulfilling holiday orders and making multiple trips to the post office for our small business.&nbsp; &nbsp; There are parties and practices and community events and performances and games and top-secret shopping trips also on my December calendar. &nbsp; My December started out with an incredibly busy day, which transitioned into an equally busy evening consisting of shuttling kids from school to basketball practice and then home for showers and food, only to drive them back to town to practice their church Christmas program. I was able to briefly catch my breath after handing the kids off to my husband before making my way to choir practice.&nbsp; &nbsp; Getting home shortly before 9 that night, I collapsed on the couch ready to unwind from a busy, busy day. However, I got a phone call from my father-in-law instead.&nbsp; &nbsp; It turned out my day was not done just yet. Instead, I put on my coveralls and headed out to the barn to watch over a ewe who had just lambed.&nbsp; &nbsp; Peeking into the lambing pen that was now occupied by the ewe with her tiny, wet lamb with wobbly legs brought me a calm I had not experienced that day.&nbsp; &nbsp; Under a clear, dark December sky with stars shining bright above us, a new mother with her newborn lying in a bed of straw reminded me of the true spirit of this season. And all was calm. &nbsp; May you have at least one moment this month which causes you to pause amongst the holiday hustle and bustle in order to experience the true spirit of the season."Insight" is a weekly column published by Kansas Farm Bureau, the state's largest farm organization whose mission is to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service.&nbsp;

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