Professors of political science are in a unique position to not only impart academic knowledge, but to build better citizens.&nbsp;I give students the trust, resources, engagement, and invitations they need to participate. Then I encourage them to put those civic skills into action.

I teach&nbsp;my students&nbsp;how&nbsp;to think, not&nbsp;what&nbsp;to think.&nbsp;

Our young people&nbsp;have the opportunity to&nbsp;shape the communities we live in&nbsp;and in recent years they have started to participate in droves, especially young women.

Earlier this year,&nbsp;<a href="https://united-we.org/">United WE</a>, an evidence-based, nonpartisan organization dedicated to unlocking women’s economic and civic leadership, released<a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/545815dce4b0d75692c341a8/t/61fa931d5cf4fa1101723fb5/1643811618520/StatusofWomeninKansas2021_1.26.22.pdf">&nbsp;</a><a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/545815dce4b0d75692c341a8/t/61fa931d5cf4fa1101723fb5/1643811618520/StatusofWomeninKansas2021_1.26.22.pdf">new research</a>&nbsp;that illuminated progress made&nbsp;by Kansas women but also showed barriers to their economic potential.&nbsp;While several issues impact women’s ability to fully participate in the workforce, barriers to childcare stands out as a pressing issue in Kansas that even garnered&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/child-care-keeping-women-from-work/">national attention</a>.

In Kansas,&nbsp;about 29% of a working mother’s salary is spent on childcare costs alone, making Kansas childcare costs as a percentage of salary one of the highest in the country.&nbsp;Kansas&nbsp;womenalso&nbsp;represent a higher share of the labor force than the rest of the country, however, the gender earnings gap is wider in Kansas. For Kansas women, 73.5% are employed while only 69.6% of U.S. women participate in the labor force. Women in Kansas earned 78 cents for every dollar earned by a Kansas man in 2020.

In addition to the research report,&nbsp;United WE&nbsp;has been hosting a&nbsp;Town Hall Series across the state&nbsp;that is&nbsp;listening to Kansas&nbsp;women and allies share their stories about barriers they’ve faced in the workplace.&nbsp;The&nbsp;research statistics&nbsp;are&nbsp;compelling, but real-life stories provide eye-opening insights into often unspoken challenges:

•“I miss so much work trying to keep up with my licensure…for work.”•“They hired me because I was twice as qualified as anyone else, but I was still paid less.”•“At 34, I got my first job with health insurance.”•“I know if I have anotherchildI won’t be able to keep my job financially due to childcare expenses.”•“No matter what status or position us women are in, we are all experiencing the same struggles.”

These stories&nbsp;from the Town Halls&nbsp;highlight&nbsp;barriers impacting women in the workplace and entrepreneurship, including&nbsp;occupational licensing, pay equity, healthcare, childcare, and more.&nbsp;According to the&nbsp;<a href="https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/mckinsey.analytics/viz/USPowerofParity/Dashboard1womens-economic-task-force/">McKinsey Global Institute</a>, the Kansas economy can grow by 10-15% by 2025&nbsp;if women are fully participating in the workforce.&nbsp;To recruit and retain women in the workforce and grow our Kansas economy to its full potential, we need to come together and make progress in these areas.

There is a&nbsp;virtual&nbsp;statewide&nbsp;Town Hall&nbsp;by United WE&nbsp;on August&nbsp;24&nbsp;from&nbsp;12:00 p.m.&nbsp;to 1:00 p.m.&nbsp;This&nbsp;event is&nbsp;open to all women and allies and includes&nbsp;a Spanish translator and&nbsp;a $10 gift card for all participants. The stories heard will be combined into a comprehensive report and used to create bipartisan policy reform for all Kansas women.

Please join&nbsp;me&nbsp;at the virtual statewide Town Hall&nbsp;to&nbsp;speak up about&nbsp;issues that will make our state&nbsp;thrive,&nbsp;our economy stronger,&nbsp;our women empowered,&nbsp;and a place for our young people&nbsp;to&nbsp;be proud to live&nbsp;for years to come.

Alexandra Middlewood, PhD&nbsp;is an Assistant&nbsp;Professor of Political Science at&nbsp;Wichita State&nbsp;University.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/10/1633377761670.jpeg" alt="Alexandra Middlewood, PhD&nbsp;is an Assistant&nbsp;Professor of Political Science at&nbsp;Wichita State&nbsp;University." />
 <figcaption>Alexandra Middlewood, PhD&nbsp;is an Assistant&nbsp;Professor of Political Science at&nbsp;Wichita State&nbsp;University.</figcaption>
 </figure>Professors of political science are in a unique position to not only impart academic knowledge, but to build better citizens.&nbsp;I give students the trust, resources, engagement, and invitations they need to participate. Then I encourage them to put those civic skills into action.I teach&nbsp;my students&nbsp;how&nbsp;to think, not&nbsp;what&nbsp;to think.&nbsp;Our young people&nbsp;have the opportunity to&nbsp;shape the communities we live in&nbsp;and in recent years they have started to participate in droves, especially young women.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575913663048.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Earlier this year,&nbsp;<a href="https://united-we.org/">United WE</a>, an evidence-based, nonpartisan organization dedicated to unlocking women’s economic and civic leadership, released<a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/545815dce4b0d75692c341a8/t/61fa931d5cf4fa1101723fb5/1643811618520/StatusofWomeninKansas2021_1.26.22.pdf">&nbsp;</a><a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/545815dce4b0d75692c341a8/t/61fa931d5cf4fa1101723fb5/1643811618520/StatusofWomeninKansas2021_1.26.22.pdf">new research</a>&nbsp;that illuminated progress made&nbsp;by Kansas women but also showed barriers to their economic potential.&nbsp;While several issues impact women’s ability to fully participate in the workforce, barriers to childcare stands out as a pressing issue in Kansas that even garnered&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/child-care-keeping-women-from-work/">national attention</a>.In Kansas,&nbsp;about 29% of a working mother’s salary is spent on childcare costs alone, making Kansas childcare costs as a percentage of salary one of the highest in the country.&nbsp;Kansas&nbsp;womenalso&nbsp;represent a higher share of the labor force than the rest of the country, however, the gender earnings gap is wider in Kansas. For Kansas women, 73.5% are employed while only 69.6% of U.S. women participate in the labor force. Women in Kansas earned 78 cents for every dollar earned by a Kansas man in 2020.In addition to the research report,&nbsp;United WE&nbsp;has been hosting a&nbsp;Town Hall Series across the state&nbsp;that is&nbsp;listening to Kansas&nbsp;women and allies share their stories about barriers they’ve faced in the workplace.&nbsp;The&nbsp;research statistics&nbsp;are&nbsp;compelling, but real-life stories provide eye-opening insights into often unspoken challenges:•“I miss so much work trying to keep up with my licensure…for work.”•“They hired me because I was twice as qualified as anyone else, but I was still paid less.”•“At 34, I got my first job with health insurance.”•“I know if I have anotherchildI won’t be able to keep my job financially due to childcare expenses.”•“No matter what status or position us women are in, we are all experiencing the same struggles.”These stories&nbsp;from the Town Halls&nbsp;highlight&nbsp;barriers impacting women in the workplace and entrepreneurship, including&nbsp;occupational licensing, pay equity, healthcare, childcare, and more.&nbsp;According to the&nbsp;<a href="https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/mckinsey.analytics/viz/USPowerofParity/Dashboard1womens-economic-task-force/">McKinsey Global Institute</a>, the Kansas economy can grow by 10-15% by 2025&nbsp;if women are fully participating in the workforce.&nbsp;To recruit and retain women in the workforce and grow our Kansas economy to its full potential, we need to come together and make progress in these areas.There is a&nbsp;virtual&nbsp;statewide&nbsp;Town Hall&nbsp;by United WE&nbsp;on August&nbsp;24&nbsp;from&nbsp;12:00 p.m.&nbsp;to 1:00 p.m.&nbsp;This&nbsp;event is&nbsp;open to all women and allies and includes&nbsp;a Spanish translator and&nbsp;a $10 gift card for all participants. The stories heard will be combined into a comprehensive report and used to create bipartisan policy reform for all Kansas women.Please join&nbsp;me&nbsp;at the virtual statewide Town Hall&nbsp;to&nbsp;speak up about&nbsp;issues that will make our state&nbsp;thrive,&nbsp;our economy stronger,&nbsp;our women empowered,&nbsp;and a place for our young people&nbsp;to&nbsp;be proud to live&nbsp;for years to come.Alexandra Middlewood, PhD&nbsp;is an Assistant&nbsp;Professor of Political Science at&nbsp;Wichita State&nbsp;University.

INSIGHT KANSAS: Speak up for women and our economic future

By GLENN BRUNKOW Pottawatomie County farmer and rancher I am writing this on the day of the primary elections, complete with my “I Voted” sticker on the left pocket of my shirt. I am proud to say that I exercised my right to vote, and, in my mind, I made all the right choices. To my knowledge I have participated in every election since I turned 18, and I intend to exercise it every opportunity I get for the rest of my life. I don’t know if you have noticed but we are at a serious crossroads in the history of our great nation. That crossroads makes exercising the right to vote even more critical now than ever. That is especially true for those of us in agriculture. We are an ever-shrinking number, and we must take every chance we can get to make our voices heard and that is especially true when it comes to the polls. That is also why it is so critical for each of us as Farm Bureau members to get involved with Voters Organized To Elect Farm Bureau Friends, or VOTE FBF. First, let me encourage you to support it monetarily. The dollars are used to support candidates friendly to agriculture are only generated through donations from members. It doesn’t have to be much if each of us donate every year. More importantly get involved in the county process to decide which candidates to support. Like everything else in Farm Bureau, the decision of which candidates to support starts at the county level. Increasingly we are seeing candidates recognize this and start to attend county board meetings and this gives us an opportunity to have discussions with them about our views. Those recommendations along with voting records are heavily considered by the Vote FBF board when deciding which candidates to endorse. I would also hope that when you do go to the polls you will look at the list of candidates endorsed by VOTE FBF and consider supporting them. They are the candidates who have the best interest of agriculture in mind and most closely align with our policy. In the end you will make up your own mind and vote for the candidates that best represent you, but the list of endorsed candidates is a good place to start. The most important thing is to get out and vote in November. It is the best way for us to make our voices heard. It was ingrained in me early on that if you did not participate and vote, you really had no right to complain. I know I still get a feeling of pride every time I go to the polls and cast my vote. Regardless of how I feel about the slate of candidates or the issues I am voting on, I do get a great deal of satisfaction participating in the process. It isn’t perfect, but it is the best in the world. So go cast your vote and wear that sticker with pride, you earned it.

"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/2019/12/1576508626397.png" alt="Glenn Brunkow" />
 <figcaption>Glenn Brunkow</figcaption>
 </figure>By GLENN BRUNKOW Pottawatomie County farmer and rancher I am writing this on the day of the primary elections, complete with my “I Voted” sticker on the left pocket of my shirt. I am proud to say that I exercised my right to vote, and, in my mind, I made all the right choices. To my knowledge I have participated in every election since I turned 18, and I intend to exercise it every opportunity I get for the rest of my life. I don’t know if you have noticed but we are at a serious crossroads in the history of our great nation. That crossroads makes exercising the right to vote even more critical now than ever. That is especially true for those of us in agriculture. We are an ever-shrinking number, and we must take every chance we can get to make our voices heard and that is especially true when it comes to the polls. That is also why it is so critical for each of us as Farm Bureau members to get involved with Voters Organized To Elect Farm Bureau Friends, or VOTE FBF. First, let me encourage you to support it monetarily. The dollars are used to support candidates friendly to agriculture are only generated through donations from members. It doesn’t have to be much if each of us donate every year. More importantly get involved in the county process to decide which candidates to support. Like everything else in Farm Bureau, the decision of which candidates to support starts at the county level. Increasingly we are seeing candidates recognize this and start to attend county board meetings and this gives us an opportunity to have discussions with them about our views. Those recommendations along with voting records are heavily considered by the Vote FBF board when deciding which candidates to endorse. I would also hope that when you do go to the polls you will look at the list of candidates endorsed by VOTE FBF and consider supporting them. They are the candidates who have the best interest of agriculture in mind and most closely align with our policy. In the end you will make up your own mind and vote for the candidates that best represent you, but the list of endorsed candidates is a good place to start. The most important thing is to get out and vote in November. It is the best way for us to make our voices heard. It was ingrained in me early on that if you did not participate and vote, you really had no right to complain. I know I still get a feeling of pride every time I go to the polls and cast my vote. Regardless of how I feel about the slate of candidates or the issues I am voting on, I do get a great deal of satisfaction participating in the process. It isn’t perfect, but it is the best in the world. So go cast your vote and wear that sticker with pride, you earned it."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: A sticker of satisfaction

Our garden each year consists of six tomato plants, and some years, that’s&nbsp;all. Each winter, using a tried-and-true family recipe, we make tomato soup. So, all our tomatoes, minus a few for BLT’s are cut-up and frozen in one-gallon freezer bags for&nbsp;this winter’s soup. I usually plant my tomatoes early,&nbsp;mid-March to early April, using “Walls-of-Water,”&nbsp;plastic gadgets filled with water that provide each plant with its own little greenhouse. I’ve learned that here in Kansas, planting that early gets them setting fruit and producing tomatoes before the obnoxious hot weather.&nbsp;I plant “indeterminate” tomato plants which will live and continue to produce fruit until frost, allowing for a nice fall harvest also.

As most of you have already noticed, this year has not been a “tomato year” as a Master Gardener friend of mine puts&nbsp;it. My tomatoes were planted later than usual because I had knee surgery, so&nbsp;I have not even put any into the freezer yet. Shirley Buller, my Master Gardener friend from Montezuma&nbsp;and author of the weekly gardening column called “Hoe and Tell,”&nbsp;Kansas explains that tomatoes will not set fruit when the&nbsp;temperature stays above 75 degrees. 

So, since the weather got so hot so early, and the fact that the temperatures barely&nbsp;get as low as&nbsp;the mid 70s at night, combined with the horribly hot days, tomato plants are just not yielding fruit. Her advise is to keep the plants well-watered and well-fertilized until the weather begins to cool, then prepare for a nice fall harvest of tasty Kansas tomatoes.&nbsp;Adding too much nitrogen when fertilizing often results in massive plants but few tomatoes. But this year, Shirley says that extra watering can result in leaching away of nitrogen reserves, so adding a&nbsp;LITTLE&nbsp;nitrogen now may be beneficial.

Each year here in Inman, we see one or two hummingbirds in the spring or in the fall, then we’ll hustle to get a feeder up but never see them again.&nbsp;Late last Augustthat&nbsp;scenario repeated itself, we put up a couple feeders, and&nbsp;four&nbsp;of the little buggers hung-out here with us&nbsp;until they left to go south. In researching hummingbird “gurus” here in KS, I was told to contact Chuck Otte, Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent for Geary County.&nbsp;He says that hummingbirds here in KS “leisurely” begin meandering south in late July; the adult males first, followed by the adult females then this-years young. Otte also says winds and weather fronts&nbsp;&amp; patterns help determine when they leave for their winter digs in southern Mexico or northern Central America. I just assumed they would all go together in one large group, especially so the youngsters could safely follow, but he says that’s not the case. &nbsp;

When talking hummingbirds, feeding them always enters the discussion, and Otte had lots of advice. He advises feeding hummingbirds straight sugar water, mixed one-part sugar to four parts water; NO red food color, NO honey, NO sugar substitutes or other additives, just straight sugar water. Don’t mix the syrup stronger than that,&nbsp;as hummingbirds get most of their water from the syrup they drink. They are attracted to the color red, so it may be helpful if the feeder is red, but avoid yellow on the feeder as yellow attracts bees and wasps. Put the feedersup in late July to begin attracting fall travelers.&nbsp;

Our feeders have been up a week, but with no hummingbirds yet. I spoke with Chuck yesterday and he said he has lots already at his home near Junction City, so his&nbsp;advice&nbsp;for all of us&nbsp;“fall hummingbird hopefuls” is to keep the faith, so we’re looking for fall hummingbirds with our fall tomatoes.&nbsp;Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors.&nbsp;

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>Our garden each year consists of six tomato plants, and some years, that’s&nbsp;all. Each winter, using a tried-and-true family recipe, we make tomato soup. So, all our tomatoes, minus a few for BLT’s are cut-up and frozen in one-gallon freezer bags for&nbsp;this winter’s soup. I usually plant my tomatoes early,&nbsp;mid-March to early April, using “Walls-of-Water,”&nbsp;plastic gadgets filled with water that provide each plant with its own little greenhouse. I’ve learned that here in Kansas, planting that early gets them setting fruit and producing tomatoes before the obnoxious hot weather.&nbsp;I plant “indeterminate” tomato plants which will live and continue to produce fruit until frost, allowing for a nice fall harvest also.As most of you have already noticed, this year has not been a “tomato year” as a Master Gardener friend of mine puts&nbsp;it. My tomatoes were planted later than usual because I had knee surgery, so&nbsp;I have not even put any into the freezer yet. Shirley Buller, my Master Gardener friend from Montezuma&nbsp;and author of the weekly gardening column called “Hoe and Tell,”&nbsp;Kansas explains that tomatoes will not set fruit when the&nbsp;temperature stays above 75 degrees. So, since the weather got so hot so early, and the fact that the temperatures barely&nbsp;get as low as&nbsp;the mid 70s at night, combined with the horribly hot days, tomato plants are just not yielding fruit. Her advise is to keep the plants well-watered and well-fertilized until the weather begins to cool, then prepare for a nice fall harvest of tasty Kansas tomatoes.&nbsp;Adding too much nitrogen when fertilizing often results in massive plants but few tomatoes. But this year, Shirley says that extra watering can result in leaching away of nitrogen reserves, so adding a&nbsp;LITTLE&nbsp;nitrogen now may be beneficial.---------Each year here in Inman, we see one or two hummingbirds in the spring or in the fall, then we’ll hustle to get a feeder up but never see them again.&nbsp;Late last Augustthat&nbsp;scenario repeated itself, we put up a couple feeders, and&nbsp;four&nbsp;of the little buggers hung-out here with us&nbsp;until they left to go south. In researching hummingbird “gurus” here in KS, I was told to contact Chuck Otte, Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent for Geary County.&nbsp;He says that hummingbirds here in KS “leisurely” begin meandering south in late July; the adult males first, followed by the adult females then this-years young. Otte also says winds and weather fronts&nbsp;&amp; patterns help determine when they leave for their winter digs in southern Mexico or northern Central America. I just assumed they would all go together in one large group, especially so the youngsters could safely follow, but he says that’s not the case. &nbsp;When talking hummingbirds, feeding them always enters the discussion, and Otte had lots of advice. He advises feeding hummingbirds straight sugar water, mixed one-part sugar to four parts water; NO red food color, NO honey, NO sugar substitutes or other additives, just straight sugar water. Don’t mix the syrup stronger than that,&nbsp;as hummingbirds get most of their water from the syrup they drink. They are attracted to the color red, so it may be helpful if the feeder is red, but avoid yellow on the feeder as yellow attracts bees and wasps. Put the feedersup in late July to begin attracting fall travelers.&nbsp;Our feeders have been up a week, but with no hummingbirds yet. I spoke with Chuck yesterday and he said he has lots already at his home near Junction City, so his&nbsp;advice&nbsp;for all of us&nbsp;“fall hummingbird hopefuls” is to keep the faith, so we’re looking for fall hummingbirds with our fall tomatoes.&nbsp;Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors.&nbsp;Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at stevenrgilliland@gmail.com.

Exploring Kansas Outdoors: Tomatoes (or lack thereof) and fall hummingbirds 

A friend and I were at a restaurant earlier this week having an end-of-summer-vacation celebration, when my friend mentioned to the waitress that she teaches high school in Wichita. “How great,” said the waitress. “Thank you for being a teacher.” 

This small appreciation meant a lot to my friend who’s facing another hard school year, partly because this fall teachers and substitute teachers will be in short supply.

In July, the Kansas State Department of Education reported around 4 percent or about 1,400 teaching positions were unfilled, and the vacancies are expected to grow as fall start dates come closer. 

Teacher and staff shortages are a long-building, national problem. In a July study, EdWeek Research Center found almost 75 percent of the 535 principals and district leaders surveyed said the number of applicants this year for teacher, para-professional, bus driver, food service worker and custodian is not adequate. 

Teachers’ salaries have not kept pace with other careers that require university preparation. However, the current competitive job market offers teachers opportunities for better pay that helps them deal with record inflation and threats of recession. 

Educators say recent shortages are compounded by demands on personnel brought about by COVID induced school disruptions which also created student learning loss and problems with student social interactions.

In a July Kahn Academy national study nearly 70 percent of 639 teachers surveyed chose “student behavioral issues” as a barrier to addressing unfinished learning and 57 percent chose “student mental health.” 

Educator burn-out is aggravated by worries about school safety amid rising numbers of school shootings. There is also increased stress about what teachers feel important to teach and what they feel safe to teach amid increasing pressure from politicians and parents motivated by social media.

Despite shortages and reasons thereof, school will go on.

Short term vacancy solutions include pushing upper-grade classrooms to as many as 38 students in larger schools, dropping elective courses to ensure classes required for graduation, asking current employees to take on additional duties and hiring long-term substitute-teachers when they can be found. 

State Board of Education members have authorized retired teachers who previously had a Kansas teaching license that has been expired for six months to receive a license for the 2022-2023 school year. The board also relaxed requirements for substitutes.

KSDE will be holding discussions this fall to go beyond stop-gap measures and address the current education environment. 

The challenge will be to attract a diverse population of dedicated teachers without lowering the criteria for rigorous teacher preparation and licensure.  Ideas from my interviews include:   

	•	Tuition support for education majors who commit to five-year teaching contracts in Kansas public schools.

	•	Tuition support for teachers who are teaching outside their licensure area to become licensed in their current teaching area.

	•	Repurposing funds for unfilled para-professional positions to create paid internships for education majors in their final semester of student teaching. 

	•	Redirecting COVID relief funding and other federal and state resources to cover expanding teacher preparation costs.

	•	Reviewing current licensure requirements to eliminate waiting periods, fees and other non-skills or knowledge-based requirements.

KSDE will consider a range of options to build back the full complement of highly qualified Kansas teachers.

In the meantime, if you encounter a teacher who is returning to students this fall, just say thanks. 

Dr. Sharon Hartin Iorio is dean emerita Wichita State University College of Education.

A friend and I were at a restaurant earlier this week having an end-of-summer-vacation celebration, when my friend mentioned to the waitress that she teaches high school in Wichita. “How great,” said the waitress. “Thank you for being a teacher.” This small appreciation meant a lot to my friend who’s facing another hard school year, partly because this fall teachers and substitute teachers will be in short supply.In July, the Kansas State Department of Education reported around 4 percent or about 1,400 teaching positions were unfilled, and the vacancies are expected to grow as fall start dates come closer. <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1593719779701.jpeg" alt="Sharon Hartin Iorio is Dean Emerita Wichita State University College of Education." />
 <figcaption>Sharon Hartin Iorio is Dean Emerita Wichita State University College of Education.</figcaption>
 </figure>Teacher and staff shortages are a long-building, national problem. In a July study, EdWeek Research Center found almost 75 percent of the 535 principals and district leaders surveyed said the number of applicants this year for teacher, para-professional, bus driver, food service worker and custodian is not adequate. Such shortages should not be surprising.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575913663048.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Teachers’ salaries have not kept pace with other careers that require university preparation. However, the current competitive job market offers teachers opportunities for better pay that helps them deal with record inflation and threats of recession. Educators say recent shortages are compounded by demands on personnel brought about by COVID induced school disruptions which also created student learning loss and problems with student social interactions.In a July Kahn Academy national study nearly 70 percent of 639 teachers surveyed chose “student behavioral issues” as a barrier to addressing unfinished learning and 57 percent chose “student mental health.” Educator burn-out is aggravated by worries about school safety amid rising numbers of school shootings. There is also increased stress about what teachers feel important to teach and what they feel safe to teach amid increasing pressure from politicians and parents motivated by social media.Despite shortages and reasons thereof, school will go on.Short term vacancy solutions include pushing upper-grade classrooms to as many as 38 students in larger schools, dropping elective courses to ensure classes required for graduation, asking current employees to take on additional duties and hiring long-term substitute-teachers when they can be found. State Board of Education members have authorized retired teachers who previously had a Kansas teaching license that has been expired for six months to receive a license for the 2022-2023 school year. The board also relaxed requirements for substitutes.KSDE will be holding discussions this fall to go beyond stop-gap measures and address the current education environment. The challenge will be to attract a diverse population of dedicated teachers without lowering the criteria for rigorous teacher preparation and licensure. Ideas from my interviews include: 	•	Tuition support for education majors who commit to five-year teaching contracts in Kansas public schools.	•	Tuition support for teachers who are teaching outside their licensure area to become licensed in their current teaching area.	•	Repurposing funds for unfilled para-professional positions to create paid internships for education majors in their final semester of student teaching. 	•	Redirecting COVID relief funding and other federal and state resources to cover expanding teacher preparation costs.	•	Reviewing current licensure requirements to eliminate waiting periods, fees and other non-skills or knowledge-based requirements.KSDE will consider a range of options to build back the full complement of highly qualified Kansas teachers.In the meantime, if you encounter a teacher who is returning to students this fall, just say thanks. Dr. Sharon Hartin Iorio is dean emerita Wichita State University College of Education.

INSIGHT KANSAS: Kansas school districts feel staffing crisis

I’ve mentioned we encourage birds to share our yard. Several American Robin pairs have accepted our invitation and raised multiple broods this summer. I met&nbsp;Grumpy Pot,&nbsp;one of the newest fledglings,&nbsp;the other morning between a pumpkin and tomato vine. While the disoriented little guy pretended to be invisible, I raced&nbsp;to&nbsp;the house for my camera.&nbsp;

Once outside, I&nbsp;knelt to his level and zeroed in for a picture.&nbsp;It&nbsp;clearly was not happy to get launched from&nbsp;a&nbsp;nest where parents delivered regular hot meals and then have some lady, even if she planted the garden&nbsp;that sort of hid&nbsp;it, point a lens in his face and say, “Smile!” In fact, if I had to compare his demeanor to someone most of us have heard of, I’d say he looked a lot like a stern Winston Churchill telling the free world,&nbsp;“Never, Never, Give Up!”

Once we’d met, I needed to&nbsp;learn&nbsp;more about this&nbsp;new&nbsp;neighbor. I abandoned&nbsp;The Attitude&nbsp;to hunt bugs in my garden as its parents flitted from clothesline to tree branch, singing encouragement. I headed&nbsp;inside&nbsp;to google&nbsp;robins. At the click of a button, I promptly discovered I could&nbsp;appropriately&nbsp;call the little&nbsp;saucy&nbsp;one a turd as&nbsp;its&nbsp;bird family is Turdidae and its genus is Turdus.&nbsp;

This little&nbsp;song bird&nbsp;is one of — if not — the most common birds in North America. According to Partners in Flight Database, 370,000,000 robins call this continent home. More robins claim&nbsp;its&nbsp;real estate and air space than do&nbsp;huge numbers of&nbsp;redwing blackbirds, finches, or mourning doves. Proportionally, our backyard census confirms these statistics.&nbsp;Robins&nbsp;may be common, butthey&nbsp;are engaging&nbsp;as all get out&nbsp;to watch as they build nests, search for food, and come to water for drinks and&nbsp;splashathons.

Watching robins construct nests exhausts me even though they do the work! They&nbsp;busily&nbsp;gather twigs, coarse grasses, feathers, and bits of paper&nbsp;for&nbsp;their nurseries. We&nbsp;devoted a morning to watching&nbsp;a pair&nbsp;assemble&nbsp;a nest in&nbsp;less than&nbsp;half a day in&nbsp;the&nbsp;branches&nbsp;hanging&nbsp;over our patio,&nbsp;only&nbsp;feet above our heads. Obviously,&nbsp;this species&nbsp;doesn’t mind living close to humans. &nbsp;We’ve watched&nbsp;robins, upon completing nests,&nbsp;visit&nbsp;our&nbsp;just-watered garden to&nbsp;gather&nbsp;mud to daub into the nest bowls. In short time, mom lays 3 to 5 blue eggs&nbsp;and so begins the next generation. &nbsp;

She incubates&nbsp;the eggs&nbsp;for two weeks&nbsp;and then nurtures her hatchlings with&nbsp;masticated&nbsp;worms, insects, and berries she and her mate forage&nbsp;til offspring fledge&nbsp;after&nbsp;another two weeks.&nbsp;Upon&nbsp;leaving&nbsp;their nest, it takes&nbsp;additional&nbsp;two weeks before youngsters fly&nbsp;reliably. That’s where the&nbsp;Grumpy&nbsp;Pot in my garden comes in.&nbsp;That little one is&nbsp;strengthening its wings and learning to find its own food.

This particular&nbsp;fledgling&nbsp;is lucky. We’ve watched its parents&nbsp;hunt food&nbsp;like pros all summer. They wander the yard and garden, cocking heads to listen for insects and worms&nbsp;or perhaps&nbsp;they feel vibrations. Anyway, in no time, that beak stabs&nbsp;repeatedly at&nbsp;the ground&nbsp;until,&nbsp;Eureka, up comes fresh meat. We make finding water easy with our&nbsp;always full&nbsp;bird baths. I’m sure mom and dad will provide bathing instructions that&nbsp;detail&nbsp;how to splash&nbsp;enough to make humans laugh.

Based on my observations, raising babies is&nbsp;endless&nbsp;labor for adult robins. The bad news is that some statistics say only a quarter of&nbsp;these offspring&nbsp;hatched live to maturity. That explains&nbsp;naked bird bodies I find&nbsp;littering the yard. For those that reach adulthood, most live an average of two years. &nbsp;I hope Grumpy Pot beats these&nbsp;statistics and returns to raise its own young next summer.&nbsp;I know we’ll&nbsp;enjoy&nbsp;seeing it&nbsp;and hearing&nbsp;its song as it raises its own young.

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/2022/8/1659711777234.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By KAREN MADORINI’ve mentioned we encourage birds to share our yard. Several American Robin pairs have accepted our invitation and raised multiple broods this summer. I met&nbsp;Grumpy Pot,&nbsp;one of the newest fledglings,&nbsp;the other morning between a pumpkin and tomato vine. While the disoriented little guy pretended to be invisible, I raced&nbsp;to&nbsp;the house for my camera.&nbsp;Once outside, I&nbsp;knelt to his level and zeroed in for a picture.&nbsp;It&nbsp;clearly was not happy to get launched from&nbsp;a&nbsp;nest where parents delivered regular hot meals and then have some lady, even if she planted the garden&nbsp;that sort of hid&nbsp;it, point a lens in his face and say, “Smile!” In fact, if I had to compare his demeanor to someone most of us have heard of, I’d say he looked a lot like a stern Winston Churchill telling the free world,&nbsp;“Never, Never, Give Up!”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658158605319.jpeg" alt="Karen Madorin" />
 <figcaption>Karen Madorin</figcaption>
 </figure>Once we’d met, I needed to&nbsp;learn&nbsp;more about this&nbsp;new&nbsp;neighbor. I abandoned&nbsp;The Attitude&nbsp;to hunt bugs in my garden as its parents flitted from clothesline to tree branch, singing encouragement. I headed&nbsp;inside&nbsp;to google&nbsp;robins. At the click of a button, I promptly discovered I could&nbsp;appropriately&nbsp;call the little&nbsp;saucy&nbsp;one a turd as&nbsp;its&nbsp;bird family is Turdidae and its genus is Turdus.&nbsp;This little&nbsp;song bird&nbsp;is one of — if not — the most common birds in North America. According to Partners in Flight Database, 370,000,000 robins call this continent home. More robins claim&nbsp;its&nbsp;real estate and air space than do&nbsp;huge numbers of&nbsp;redwing blackbirds, finches, or mourning doves. Proportionally, our backyard census confirms these statistics.&nbsp;Robins&nbsp;may be common, butthey&nbsp;are engaging&nbsp;as all get out&nbsp;to watch as they build nests, search for food, and come to water for drinks and&nbsp;splashathons.Watching robins construct nests exhausts me even though they do the work! They&nbsp;busily&nbsp;gather twigs, coarse grasses, feathers, and bits of paper&nbsp;for&nbsp;their nurseries. We&nbsp;devoted a morning to watching&nbsp;a pair&nbsp;assemble&nbsp;a nest in&nbsp;less than&nbsp;half a day in&nbsp;the&nbsp;branches&nbsp;hanging&nbsp;over our patio,&nbsp;only&nbsp;feet above our heads. Obviously,&nbsp;this species&nbsp;doesn’t mind living close to humans. &nbsp;We’ve watched&nbsp;robins, upon completing nests,&nbsp;visit&nbsp;our&nbsp;just-watered garden to&nbsp;gather&nbsp;mud to daub into the nest bowls. In short time, mom lays 3 to 5 blue eggs&nbsp;and so begins the next generation. &nbsp;She incubates&nbsp;the eggs&nbsp;for two weeks&nbsp;and then nurtures her hatchlings with&nbsp;masticated&nbsp;worms, insects, and berries she and her mate forage&nbsp;til offspring fledge&nbsp;after&nbsp;another two weeks.&nbsp;Upon&nbsp;leaving&nbsp;their nest, it takes&nbsp;additional&nbsp;two weeks before youngsters fly&nbsp;reliably. That’s where the&nbsp;Grumpy&nbsp;Pot in my garden comes in.&nbsp;That little one is&nbsp;strengthening its wings and learning to find its own food.This particular&nbsp;fledgling&nbsp;is lucky. We’ve watched its parents&nbsp;hunt food&nbsp;like pros all summer. They wander the yard and garden, cocking heads to listen for insects and worms&nbsp;or perhaps&nbsp;they feel vibrations. Anyway, in no time, that beak stabs&nbsp;repeatedly at&nbsp;the ground&nbsp;until,&nbsp;Eureka, up comes fresh meat. We make finding water easy with our&nbsp;always full&nbsp;bird baths. I’m sure mom and dad will provide bathing instructions that&nbsp;detail&nbsp;how to splash&nbsp;enough to make humans laugh.Based on my observations, raising babies is&nbsp;endless&nbsp;labor for adult robins. The bad news is that some statistics say only a quarter of&nbsp;these offspring&nbsp;hatched live to maturity. That explains&nbsp;naked bird bodies I find&nbsp;littering the yard. For those that reach adulthood, most live an average of two years. &nbsp;I hope Grumpy Pot beats these&nbsp;statistics and returns to raise its own young next summer.&nbsp;I know we’ll&nbsp;enjoy&nbsp;seeing it&nbsp;and hearing&nbsp;its song as it raises its own young.Karen is a retired teacher, writer, photographer, outdoors lover, and sixth-generation Kansan. After a time away, she’s glad to be home.

MADORIN: A little guy with a big attitude

A&nbsp;highlight&nbsp;of&nbsp;every&nbsp;summer at Fort Hays State University is&nbsp;the&nbsp;wide range of exciting experiential learning programs we offer elementary, middle,&nbsp;and high school students.&nbsp;Our team does an amazing job bringing young folks to campus for a myriad of fun, friendship, and growth. Here are just a couple of recaps of a very full summer schedule.

<a></a>I absolutely love the variety and uniqueness of our Sternberg Science Camps! We offer elementary school camps (6-10 years old)&nbsp;with a focus on our&nbsp;museum and&nbsp;another specifically on&nbsp;dinosaurs,&nbsp;middle school camps (11-13 years old) including camping trips,&nbsp;and high school trips (ages 14-18).

<a></a>This year we offered three thirteen-day high school field&nbsp;programs,&nbsp;including field paleontology,&nbsp;field herpetology, the volcanic history of Oregon, vertebrate anatomy, fossil preparation, and a California&nbsp;zooquarium&nbsp;adventure.

<a></a>The staff at the Sternberg Museum know that people of all ages love the freedom of the great outdoors, so they successfully ran two parallel field paleontology high school camps. The programs drew 17 students, and with six camp staffers, these became our largest in-person camp operations since before COVID.&nbsp;

Student campers came from 12 states, led by New York with three. Students were delighted with the rich geologic landscape, an abundance of fossil shark teeth, fossil fish bones, and the ubiquitous giant clams that once covered the bottom of the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway.&nbsp;

<a></a>Staff this year includes Teaching Assistant Kathryn Gatlin, who began with us as a camper in 2015.&nbsp;According to Sternberg’s outstanding camps director, David Levering,&nbsp;Kathryn has been crucial in our pre-camp prep and in-the-field execution of programs this year.&nbsp;

Prior to camp, she was one of two staff who volunteered to participate in an intensive 80-hour Wilderness First Responder&nbsp;(WFR)&nbsp;certification course through the National Outdoor Leadership School, giving her a certification one rank below a Wilderness EMT. Kathryn is a true powerhouse of a young scholar and will be starting her undergraduate at FHSU this fall as a freshman double majoring in Geology and Biology.&nbsp;

<a></a>Thanks to the intrepid Dr. Laura Wilson, multiple fossil sites were visited or revisited this summer. Much to our camper's delight, Dr. Wilson was also able to join our high school field paleontology campers for a day of fossil hunting on private land not normally accessible to fossil hunters.&nbsp;

<a></a>There is so much more to share about Sternberg camps (lots of great information on our website),&nbsp;but I also want to mention the 75thanniversary of&nbsp;the&nbsp;High Plains Music camp and&nbsp;one of&nbsp;many&nbsp;very successful&nbsp;athletic camps.

<a></a>The first High Plains Music Camp was organized by FHSU Professor Hal Palmer 75 years ago and has been held every summer since. It continues to be one of the most comprehensive summer camps in the state and has garnered a reputation as one of the top summer camps in our region.&nbsp;

This year’s High Plains Music Camp was held July 10-16, 2022. More than 200 middle and high school-aged singers, actors,&nbsp;and instrumentalists spent the week in rehearsals led by FHSU Music and Theater faculty, alumni, and invited guest teachers from around the state.&nbsp;

<a></a>Daily evening concerts included the Faculty Recital, High School Honors Recital, Faculty Band, Jazz Ensembles, Alternative Strings, and Theater Scenes from Annie Get Your Gun. The featured soloist with both the Faculty Band and Jazz Ensemble was the world-renowned trumpet soloist Allen Vizzutti.&nbsp;

<a></a>Our Tiger Volleyball Camps&nbsp;were also very popular&nbsp;this year.&nbsp;The youth volleyball camp in June&nbsp;attracted&nbsp;60 campers. This camp ended up being so popular&nbsp;Tiger Volleyball Coach&nbsp;Jessica&nbsp;Wood-Atkins&nbsp;added&nbsp;a second session at the end of July.&nbsp;

Along with learning the basics of volleyball, campers also enjoyed games, a pool party, and pictures with our inflatable Tiger Head. All Skills I Camp had 70 high school and middle school athletes from Kansas, Colorado, and Nebraska.&nbsp;

Campers enjoyed sharpening their volleyball skills while getting feedback from our current athletes. They also got to experience what it is like to live in the residence halls for a night of games,&nbsp;snacks,&nbsp;and stories. Camps continued throughout the summer. At the end of July,&nbsp;our outstanding staff worked with our incoming freshman class as well as some great recruits from the 2023 and 2024 classes.

<a></a>The FHSU Volleyball coaching staff was also busy with camps off campus as well. We ran four local Tiger satellite volleyball camps at Quinter, Hoisington, Ulysses, and Decatur High Schools. Our staff also traveled to two camps in Colorado at Byers High School and Limon High school. All these camps hosted both high school and middle school campers.

<a></a>Next up, the Tiger Volleyball team will kick off the 2022 season at the Oklahoma City Tournament on August 26. Don’t miss the 2022 home opener on Friday, September 16, at 6 p.m. in Gross Memorial Coliseum.

<a></a>It’s been a blistering hot summer, but the heat is not the only memory those who chose to spend part of their summer at FHSU will take home. Hundreds&nbsp;of&nbsp;student&nbsp;camperstook advantage of&nbsp;unique&nbsp;opportunities to pursue their intellectual, creative,&nbsp;or athletic passion, meet&nbsp;new friends, and begin or renew relationships with the caring and compassionate people who make FHSU special.&nbsp;

<a></a>It’s almost August, and in less than 30 days, the new academic year will begin at FHSU.&nbsp;Many of the new students we will welcome this fall will already know&nbsp;us pretty well from their time as summer campers.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575302014229.png" alt="Dr. Tisa Mason, FHSU president" />
 <figcaption>Dr. Tisa Mason, FHSU president</figcaption>
 </figure>A&nbsp;highlight&nbsp;of&nbsp;every&nbsp;summer at Fort Hays State University is&nbsp;the&nbsp;wide range of exciting experiential learning programs we offer elementary, middle,&nbsp;and high school students.&nbsp;Our team does an amazing job bringing young folks to campus for a myriad of fun, friendship, and growth. Here are just a couple of recaps of a very full summer schedule.<a></a>I absolutely love the variety and uniqueness of our Sternberg Science Camps! We offer elementary school camps (6-10 years old)&nbsp;with a focus on our&nbsp;museum and&nbsp;another specifically on&nbsp;dinosaurs,&nbsp;middle school camps (11-13 years old) including camping trips,&nbsp;and high school trips (ages 14-18).<a></a>This year we offered three thirteen-day high school field&nbsp;programs,&nbsp;including field paleontology,&nbsp;field herpetology, the volcanic history of Oregon, vertebrate anatomy, fossil preparation, and a California&nbsp;zooquarium&nbsp;adventure.<a></a>The staff at the Sternberg Museum know that people of all ages love the freedom of the great outdoors, so they successfully ran two parallel field paleontology high school camps. The programs drew 17 students, and with six camp staffers, these became our largest in-person camp operations since before COVID.&nbsp;Student campers came from 12 states, led by New York with three. Students were delighted with the rich geologic landscape, an abundance of fossil shark teeth, fossil fish bones, and the ubiquitous giant clams that once covered the bottom of the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway.&nbsp;<a></a>Staff this year includes Teaching Assistant Kathryn Gatlin, who began with us as a camper in 2015.&nbsp;According to Sternberg’s outstanding camps director, David Levering,&nbsp;Kathryn has been crucial in our pre-camp prep and in-the-field execution of programs this year.&nbsp;Prior to camp, she was one of two staff who volunteered to participate in an intensive 80-hour Wilderness First Responder&nbsp;(WFR)&nbsp;certification course through the National Outdoor Leadership School, giving her a certification one rank below a Wilderness EMT. Kathryn is a true powerhouse of a young scholar and will be starting her undergraduate at FHSU this fall as a freshman double majoring in Geology and Biology.&nbsp;<a></a>Thanks to the intrepid Dr. Laura Wilson, multiple fossil sites were visited or revisited this summer. Much to our camper's delight, Dr. Wilson was also able to join our high school field paleontology campers for a day of fossil hunting on private land not normally accessible to fossil hunters.&nbsp;<a></a>There is so much more to share about Sternberg camps (lots of great information on our website),&nbsp;but I also want to mention the 75thanniversary of&nbsp;the&nbsp;High Plains Music camp and&nbsp;one of&nbsp;many&nbsp;very successful&nbsp;athletic camps.<a></a>The first High Plains Music Camp was organized by FHSU Professor Hal Palmer 75 years ago and has been held every summer since. It continues to be one of the most comprehensive summer camps in the state and has garnered a reputation as one of the top summer camps in our region.&nbsp;This year’s High Plains Music Camp was held July 10-16, 2022. More than 200 middle and high school-aged singers, actors,&nbsp;and instrumentalists spent the week in rehearsals led by FHSU Music and Theater faculty, alumni, and invited guest teachers from around the state.&nbsp;<a></a>Daily evening concerts included the Faculty Recital, High School Honors Recital, Faculty Band, Jazz Ensembles, Alternative Strings, and Theater Scenes from Annie Get Your Gun. The featured soloist with both the Faculty Band and Jazz Ensemble was the world-renowned trumpet soloist Allen Vizzutti.&nbsp;<a></a>Our Tiger Volleyball Camps&nbsp;were also very popular&nbsp;this year.&nbsp;The youth volleyball camp in June&nbsp;attracted&nbsp;60 campers. This camp ended up being so popular&nbsp;Tiger Volleyball Coach&nbsp;Jessica&nbsp;Wood-Atkins&nbsp;added&nbsp;a second session at the end of July.&nbsp;Along with learning the basics of volleyball, campers also enjoyed games, a pool party, and pictures with our inflatable Tiger Head. All Skills I Camp had 70 high school and middle school athletes from Kansas, Colorado, and Nebraska.&nbsp;Campers enjoyed sharpening their volleyball skills while getting feedback from our current athletes. They also got to experience what it is like to live in the residence halls for a night of games,&nbsp;snacks,&nbsp;and stories. Camps continued throughout the summer. At the end of July,&nbsp;our outstanding staff worked with our incoming freshman class as well as some great recruits from the 2023 and 2024 classes.<a></a>The FHSU Volleyball coaching staff was also busy with camps off campus as well. We ran four local Tiger satellite volleyball camps at Quinter, Hoisington, Ulysses, and Decatur High Schools. Our staff also traveled to two camps in Colorado at Byers High School and Limon High school. All these camps hosted both high school and middle school campers.<a></a>Next up, the Tiger Volleyball team will kick off the 2022 season at the Oklahoma City Tournament on August 26. Don’t miss the 2022 home opener on Friday, September 16, at 6 p.m. in Gross Memorial Coliseum.<a></a>It’s been a blistering hot summer, but the heat is not the only memory those who chose to spend part of their summer at FHSU will take home. Hundreds&nbsp;of&nbsp;student&nbsp;camperstook advantage of&nbsp;unique&nbsp;opportunities to pursue their intellectual, creative,&nbsp;or athletic passion, meet&nbsp;new friends, and begin or renew relationships with the caring and compassionate people who make FHSU special.&nbsp;<a></a>It’s almost August, and in less than 30 days, the new academic year will begin at FHSU.&nbsp;Many of the new students we will welcome this fall will already know&nbsp;us pretty well from their time as summer campers.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Heart of a Tiger: Hot fun in the summertime

By GREG DOERING Kansas Farm Bureau “Price is what you pay, value is what you get,” Warren Buffet is fond of saying. That line was running through my head recently as my wife and I were preparing to have some flooring replaced in our kitchen and living room. We had moved all the furniture out of the way and thought we might try to speed the process along, and save a little money, by starting the demolition process ourselves. The floating floor we installed in the kitchen when we first moved in came out without any problem. The linoleum underneath was a different story. Actually, it turned out there were two layers of vinyl covering. After working up a sweat removing a small section of flooring that was atomically bonded to the subfloor, we decided the cost savings weren’t as valuable as we initially thought. We left the rest to the professionals. It’s a good reminder that price is only one side of the equation, and it’s difficult to judge the utility of something by only looking at half the calculation. It’s something I hope everyone keeps in the back of their minds as budget season for cities, counties and school districts is in full swing. In the coming weeks the majority of Kansans are likely to receive letters from at least one of these governing bodies of their intent to raise property taxes. These notices will include the value of your property, the tax you paid in the last year and a variety of other information. The date, time and location of a public hearing on the budget also will be included, and that’s where community members can offer their input on the proposed tax increase. The direct notices are relatively new and add an extra layer of transparency to the usual public notices published in a local newspaper and posted on government websites. Hopefully they’ll function as intended and spur more public feedback on budgets. Whether it’s through people attending the public hearings or having private conversations with county commissioners, city councilors or school board members, more engagement in the process will help ensure the taxes levied match the value of services the community desires. I will note that these conversations should be approached with a degree of caution because the public hearing is toward the end of a months-long process of drafting a budget and setting tax rates. If, for some reason, you’re hoping for a larger tax increase than proposed, you’re going to be out of luck since the maximum mill levy will have already been established. But public pressure can still lower the levy and reduce tax bills if elected officials are persuaded to do so. Officials have to strike a balance between the services the public wants at a price they’re willing to pay. The wants are often well intentioned, even reasonable, but they’re also unlimited. The appetite for tax increases is usually more subdued, at least by the public. When offering your opinion on a budget, keep in mind the other side of the equation. Cutting taxes is popular until it results in service reductions. The same way saving money on a new floor sounds like a good idea until you’re on the ground with a pry bar trying to pull off two layers of linoleum. I have no doubt some are willing to pay that price. I, on the other hand, discovered that getting the lowest bid possible isn’t always the greatest value.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1574694551876.png" alt="Greg Doering&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Greg Doering&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>By GREG DOERING Kansas Farm Bureau “Price is what you pay, value is what you get,” Warren Buffet is fond of saying. That line was running through my head recently as my wife and I were preparing to have some flooring replaced in our kitchen and living room. We had moved all the furniture out of the way and thought we might try to speed the process along, and save a little money, by starting the demolition process ourselves. The floating floor we installed in the kitchen when we first moved in came out without any problem. The linoleum underneath was a different story. Actually, it turned out there were two layers of vinyl covering. After working up a sweat removing a small section of flooring that was atomically bonded to the subfloor, we decided the cost savings weren’t as valuable as we initially thought. We left the rest to the professionals. It’s a good reminder that price is only one side of the equation, and it’s difficult to judge the utility of something by only looking at half the calculation. It’s something I hope everyone keeps in the back of their minds as budget season for cities, counties and school districts is in full swing. In the coming weeks the majority of Kansans are likely to receive letters from at least one of these governing bodies of their intent to raise property taxes. These notices will include the value of your property, the tax you paid in the last year and a variety of other information. The date, time and location of a public hearing on the budget also will be included, and that’s where community members can offer their input on the proposed tax increase. The direct notices are relatively new and add an extra layer of transparency to the usual public notices published in a local newspaper and posted on government websites. Hopefully they’ll function as intended and spur more public feedback on budgets. Whether it’s through people attending the public hearings or having private conversations with county commissioners, city councilors or school board members, more engagement in the process will help ensure the taxes levied match the value of services the community desires. I will note that these conversations should be approached with a degree of caution because the public hearing is toward the end of a months-long process of drafting a budget and setting tax rates. If, for some reason, you’re hoping for a larger tax increase than proposed, you’re going to be out of luck since the maximum mill levy will have already been established. But public pressure can still lower the levy and reduce tax bills if elected officials are persuaded to do so. Officials have to strike a balance between the services the public wants at a price they’re willing to pay. The wants are often well intentioned, even reasonable, but they’re also unlimited. The appetite for tax increases is usually more subdued, at least by the public. When offering your opinion on a budget, keep in mind the other side of the equation. Cutting taxes is popular until it results in service reductions. The same way saving money on a new floor sounds like a good idea until you’re on the ground with a pry bar trying to pull off two layers of linoleum. I have no doubt some are willing to pay that price. I, on the other hand, discovered that getting the lowest bid possible isn’t always the greatest value."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: Price and value

I first heard about&nbsp;“cultivated&nbsp;or cultured&nbsp;meat”&nbsp;a couple years ago,&nbsp;even though it has been in the research stage for many years.&nbsp;My first&nbsp;thought&nbsp;was that&nbsp;mankind had finally lost its mind completely.&nbsp;In fact, I wrote a column&nbsp;about it&nbsp;back then,&nbsp;and&nbsp;ended&nbsp;that column with the notion that lab-grown meat would never catch-on.&nbsp;Since then,&nbsp;lab-grown meat has in fact more than caught-on, and is being&nbsp;marketed successfully.&nbsp;

Cultured or cultivated meat is made from&nbsp;small amounts of muscle cells taken from living animals, much&nbsp;like a blood sample.&nbsp;Lab technicians&nbsp;add the samples to a bath of nutrients in bioreactors, where they grow actual muscle tissue which the technicians shape into what they call&nbsp;edible&nbsp;“scaffoldings.”&nbsp;Using these&nbsp;“scaffoldings”&nbsp;they can transform those lab-grown cells into steaks, chops,&nbsp;hamburger patties, or chicken nuggets.&nbsp;The&nbsp;industry claims&nbsp;their lab-grown meat&nbsp;cooks and tastes just like actual&nbsp;meat, but with no animal slaughter required.&nbsp;Now I have to admit, burying myself elbow-deep in innards to field dress&nbsp;a deer is not the&nbsp;highlight&nbsp;of my&nbsp;hunt, and I never particularly looked forward to sending a steer&nbsp;to the processing plant. But&nbsp;with the first bite of grilled venison&nbsp;tenderloin or juicy T-bone steak,&nbsp;any and all twinges&nbsp;of apprehension dissolve&nbsp;like my deodorant on a Kansas August afternoon.

I&nbsp;barely&nbsp;understand people wanting to be vegetarian and not eat meat, but I&nbsp;simply&nbsp;cannot&nbsp;wrap my head around&nbsp;someone&nbsp;wanting to enjoy&nbsp;the taste of a grilled rib-eye or chicken breast, but only if it has been grown in a lab. I worked with a&nbsp;guy years ago who was a vegetarian and brought sandwiches in his lunch made from&nbsp;“wham,”&nbsp;a&nbsp;vegetarian&nbsp;ham made from wheat. If you want the taste of ham&nbsp;or other meat, why not eat the real thing?&nbsp;

When I wrote that first article, here was my humorous take on what shopping for lab-grown meat might look like.&nbsp;Maybe I’ll&nbsp;walk into the lobby of&nbsp;a storefront that looks&nbsp;for all-the-world&nbsp;like&nbsp;an out-of-business dry cleaners and&nbsp;announce to the clerk “Hi, I’m here to pick up the 3 pounds of Kansas City strip I ordered 17 years ago.”&nbsp;The clerk will press a button, the racks that used to hold the dry-cleaned clothing will revolve until out&nbsp;pop my steaks, hanging from the rack like&nbsp;a couple old welding gloves.&nbsp;Or maybe I’ll have to don a hospital gown and hairnet and stroll through&nbsp;what looks like&nbsp;the&nbsp;maternity ward at a hospital,&nbsp;where row-after-row of large covered&nbsp;Petri&nbsp;dishes&nbsp;contain growing steaks and chops, all labeled with&nbsp;“birth dates”&nbsp;going back 15 years. I’ll&nbsp;direct the&nbsp;“lab doctor’s”&nbsp;attention&nbsp;to a couple robust looking pork chops and a giant sirloin&nbsp;and head home with my&nbsp;“slaughter-free”&nbsp;meat.&nbsp;

God has programmed genetic information into seeds telling them what they will become. How else do you explain that a soybean seed grows another soybean plant and not&nbsp;an oak tree, etc?&nbsp;But how&nbsp;are&nbsp;muscle tissue samples from a steer&nbsp;coerced into becoming different cuts of beef in a lab?&nbsp;Seems like the rib-eye I order could just as easily grow into&nbsp;rocky mountain&nbsp;oysters.

Look, I get that some folks&nbsp;don’t want to eat meat,&nbsp;but&nbsp;for those of us that do,&nbsp;God never meant for&nbsp;our meat to be grown in a lab.&nbsp;I find it&nbsp;interesting&nbsp;that large swaths of our society&nbsp;today either deny God completely or want nothing to do with Him&nbsp;in their lives, yet are more than happy&nbsp;for someone to play God for them in a&nbsp;lab. Also interesting&nbsp;is&nbsp;how some people&nbsp;vehemently&nbsp;oppose&nbsp;harvesting animals for food, yet have no&nbsp;problem&nbsp;ending the life of an unborn human child …

Continue to Explore&nbsp;Kansas Outdoors!

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1574696211722.png" alt="Steve&nbsp;Gilliland" />
 <figcaption>Steve&nbsp;Gilliland</figcaption>
 </figure>I first heard about&nbsp;“cultivated&nbsp;or cultured&nbsp;meat”&nbsp;a couple years ago,&nbsp;even though it has been in the research stage for many years.&nbsp;My first&nbsp;thought&nbsp;was that&nbsp;mankind had finally lost its mind completely.&nbsp;In fact, I wrote a column&nbsp;about it&nbsp;back then,&nbsp;and&nbsp;ended&nbsp;that column with the notion that lab-grown meat would never catch-on.&nbsp;Since then,&nbsp;lab-grown meat has in fact more than caught-on, and is being&nbsp;marketed successfully.&nbsp;Cultured or cultivated meat is made from&nbsp;small amounts of muscle cells taken from living animals, much&nbsp;like a blood sample.&nbsp;Lab technicians&nbsp;add the samples to a bath of nutrients in bioreactors, where they grow actual muscle tissue which the technicians shape into what they call&nbsp;edible&nbsp;“scaffoldings.”&nbsp;Using these&nbsp;“scaffoldings”&nbsp;they can transform those lab-grown cells into steaks, chops,&nbsp;hamburger patties, or chicken nuggets.&nbsp;The&nbsp;industry claims&nbsp;their lab-grown meat&nbsp;cooks and tastes just like actual&nbsp;meat, but with no animal slaughter required.&nbsp;Now I have to admit, burying myself elbow-deep in innards to field dress&nbsp;a deer is not the&nbsp;highlight&nbsp;of my&nbsp;hunt, and I never particularly looked forward to sending a steer&nbsp;to the processing plant. But&nbsp;with the first bite of grilled venison&nbsp;tenderloin or juicy T-bone steak,&nbsp;any and all twinges&nbsp;of apprehension dissolve&nbsp;like my deodorant on a Kansas August afternoon.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575913663048.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>I&nbsp;barely&nbsp;understand people wanting to be vegetarian and not eat meat, but I&nbsp;simply&nbsp;cannot&nbsp;wrap my head around&nbsp;someone&nbsp;wanting to enjoy&nbsp;the taste of a grilled rib-eye or chicken breast, but only if it has been grown in a lab. I worked with a&nbsp;guy years ago who was a vegetarian and brought sandwiches in his lunch made from&nbsp;“wham,”&nbsp;a&nbsp;vegetarian&nbsp;ham made from wheat. If you want the taste of ham&nbsp;or other meat, why not eat the real thing?&nbsp;When I wrote that first article, here was my humorous take on what shopping for lab-grown meat might look like.&nbsp;Maybe I’ll&nbsp;walk into the lobby of&nbsp;a storefront that looks&nbsp;for all-the-world&nbsp;like&nbsp;an out-of-business dry cleaners and&nbsp;announce to the clerk “Hi, I’m here to pick up the 3 pounds of Kansas City strip I ordered 17 years ago.”&nbsp;The clerk will press a button, the racks that used to hold the dry-cleaned clothing will revolve until out&nbsp;pop my steaks, hanging from the rack like&nbsp;a couple old welding gloves.&nbsp;Or maybe I’ll have to don a hospital gown and hairnet and stroll through&nbsp;what looks like&nbsp;the&nbsp;maternity ward at a hospital,&nbsp;where row-after-row of large covered&nbsp;Petri&nbsp;dishes&nbsp;contain growing steaks and chops, all labeled with&nbsp;“birth dates”&nbsp;going back 15 years. I’ll&nbsp;direct the&nbsp;“lab doctor’s”&nbsp;attention&nbsp;to a couple robust looking pork chops and a giant sirloin&nbsp;and head home with my&nbsp;“slaughter-free”&nbsp;meat.&nbsp;God has programmed genetic information into seeds telling them what they will become. How else do you explain that a soybean seed grows another soybean plant and not&nbsp;an oak tree, etc?&nbsp;But how&nbsp;are&nbsp;muscle tissue samples from a steer&nbsp;coerced into becoming different cuts of beef in a lab?&nbsp;Seems like the rib-eye I order could just as easily grow into&nbsp;rocky mountain&nbsp;oysters.Look, I get that some folks&nbsp;don’t want to eat meat,&nbsp;but&nbsp;for those of us that do,&nbsp;God never meant for&nbsp;our meat to be grown in a lab.&nbsp;I find it&nbsp;interesting&nbsp;that large swaths of our society&nbsp;today either deny God completely or want nothing to do with Him&nbsp;in their lives, yet are more than happy&nbsp;for someone to play God for them in a&nbsp;lab. Also interesting&nbsp;is&nbsp;how some people&nbsp;vehemently&nbsp;oppose&nbsp;harvesting animals for food, yet have no&nbsp;problem&nbsp;ending the life of an unborn human child …Continue to Explore&nbsp;Kansas Outdoors!Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at stevenrgilliland@gmail.com.

Exploring Outdoors Kansas: Makin’ bacon

Life and health exemptions to abortion bans are complex. With the legality of abortion effectively on the Aug. 2 ballot, Kansans should understand how looming government regulations might affect women’s health.&nbsp;

If the abortion amendment passes, the Kansas legislature will likely ban all or most abortions soon. Conservatives have generally avoided talking about abortion bans during this campaign, instead opting for emotional arguments that often mislead voters about threats to current abortion regulations and what types of abortions are actually occurring here.&nbsp;

But recently, conservatives have started going off script. Most notably, the&nbsp;Kansas Reflector&nbsp;reported on comments from conservative legislators and an activist group staffer about House Bill (HB) 2746.&nbsp;

HB 2746 was introduced in the Kansas legislature this year. It banned abortion except in limited circumstances, with no exception for rape, incest, or many threats to a woman’s life or health.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Let’s focus on life and health. Should something like HB 2746 pass, states that have newly banned abortion are giving Kansas hints of its future.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Most state abortion bans offer some vague exception for a woman’s life, though sometimes not her health in non-fatal situations. Doctors and hospitals in many states are voicing concerns in media reports that they are unsure how to navigate the intentionally vague language of these exceptions.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Specifically, doctors are often unsure if they can legally provide emergency abortions in many cases, even when they feel women have clear health needs. Violating these new abortion bans carries penalties up to life in prison in some states, so it’s understandable that doctors who fear prosecution are denying or delaying medical care to women.&nbsp;

Let’s identify some scenarios where it’s often uncertain whether abortion is allowed under vague life or health exceptions:&nbsp;

If a woman develops a serious condition where her chance of dying is under fifty percent or not quantifiable, is that “life-threatening” enough?&nbsp;

If a woman discovers cancer but it won’t immediately kill her, should government require her to delay chemotherapy?&nbsp;

Since many states explicitly require health threats to be physical, what about women experiencing severe mental health crises?&nbsp;

If a pregnancy will likely result in stillbirth or a quick death for the fetus, should government require women to endure the mental and physical effects of continuing with that pregnancy?&nbsp;&nbsp;

What about high risk of cardiac failure but symptoms haven’t yet manifested? Pre-eclampsia? Placenta accreta?&nbsp;

Responding to confusion among doctors, President Biden recently issued Executive Order 14076. It reminds medical providers of their obligation to provide emergency care—including emergency abortions—under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1986. Texas has filed a lawsuit challenging that emergency care obligation, and federal courts have yet to rule.&nbsp;

Kansas already bans abortion after 22 weeks. If conservatives ban abortion before that point and if they allow health or life exemptions, then like any new government regulation, it takes time and—ultimately—testing the law to learn how government is implementing it.&nbsp;

Under a ban, if Kansas doctors perform emergency abortions under a life or health exemption and if the government does not prosecute them or their female patients, then doctors may get comfortable performing emergency abortions they feel are warranted. But as that process evolves, women can expect delayed or denied care—and likely riskier pregnancies—while doctors navigate the new regulations.&nbsp;&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. " />
 <figcaption>Patrick R. Miller is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Kansas. </figcaption>
 </figure>Life and health exemptions to abortion bans are complex. With the legality of abortion effectively on the Aug. 2 ballot, Kansans should understand how looming government regulations might affect women’s health.&nbsp;If the abortion amendment passes, the Kansas legislature will likely ban all or most abortions soon. Conservatives have generally avoided talking about abortion bans during this campaign, instead opting for emotional arguments that often mislead voters about threats to current abortion regulations and what types of abortions are actually occurring here.&nbsp;But recently, conservatives have started going off script. Most notably, the&nbsp;Kansas Reflector&nbsp;reported on comments from conservative legislators and an activist group staffer about House Bill (HB) 2746.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575913663048.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>HB 2746 was introduced in the Kansas legislature this year. It banned abortion except in limited circumstances, with no exception for rape, incest, or many threats to a woman’s life or health.&nbsp;&nbsp;Let’s focus on life and health. Should something like HB 2746 pass, states that have newly banned abortion are giving Kansas hints of its future.&nbsp;&nbsp;Most state abortion bans offer some vague exception for a woman’s life, though sometimes not her health in non-fatal situations. Doctors and hospitals in many states are voicing concerns in media reports that they are unsure how to navigate the intentionally vague language of these exceptions.&nbsp;&nbsp;Specifically, doctors are often unsure if they can legally provide emergency abortions in many cases, even when they feel women have clear health needs. Violating these new abortion bans carries penalties up to life in prison in some states, so it’s understandable that doctors who fear prosecution are denying or delaying medical care to women.&nbsp;Let’s identify some scenarios where it’s often uncertain whether abortion is allowed under vague life or health exceptions:&nbsp;If a woman develops a serious condition where her chance of dying is under fifty percent or not quantifiable, is that “life-threatening” enough?&nbsp;If a woman discovers cancer but it won’t immediately kill her, should government require her to delay chemotherapy?&nbsp;Since many states explicitly require health threats to be physical, what about women experiencing severe mental health crises?&nbsp;If a pregnancy will likely result in stillbirth or a quick death for the fetus, should government require women to endure the mental and physical effects of continuing with that pregnancy?&nbsp;&nbsp;What about high risk of cardiac failure but symptoms haven’t yet manifested? Pre-eclampsia? Placenta accreta?&nbsp;Responding to confusion among doctors, President Biden recently issued Executive Order 14076. It reminds medical providers of their obligation to provide emergency care—including emergency abortions—under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1986. Texas has filed a lawsuit challenging that emergency care obligation, and federal courts have yet to rule.&nbsp;Kansas already bans abortion after 22 weeks. If conservatives ban abortion before that point and if they allow health or life exemptions, then like any new government regulation, it takes time and—ultimately—testing the law to learn how government is implementing it.&nbsp;Under a ban, if Kansas doctors perform emergency abortions under a life or health exemption and if the government does not prosecute them or their female patients, then doctors may get comfortable performing emergency abortions they feel are warranted. But as that process evolves, women can expect delayed or denied care—and likely riskier pregnancies—while doctors navigate the new regulations.&nbsp;&nbsp;Patrick R. Miller is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Kansas.&nbsp;

INSIGHT KANSAS: Complexity of life, health exemptions to abortion bans 

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

Do those events sound like items on the calendar at your local grocery store? They might not be what one would expect, but those are examples of creative events that one rural grocery store is using to expand and engage its customer base.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Marilyn Logan is general manager of The Marmaton Market in Moran, a rural Allen County community of 466 people – but there’s more. Marilyn grew up in the Crawford County community of Walnut, Kansas, population 187 people. Now, that’s rural.&nbsp;

“My dad taught us a good work ethic,” Logan said. She earned a degree in business with a minor in accounting and worked for years as an accountant and auditor. She raised four sons and is now widowed. She has 15 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.&nbsp;

Marilyn moved back to southeast Kansas in 2016. “I like little towns,” Logan said. She serves on several local volunteer boards such as the Iola Public Library, Iola Housing Authority, Allen County GROW and SEKCAP.&nbsp;

In Moran, the local grocery store owners were wanting to retire. In 2018, the store was purchased by a group of citizens who formed what Logan called a for-profit semi-cooperative. She served on the board. They named the store The Marmaton Market.&nbsp;

“The first thing we did was take everything down to the bare walls,” Logan said. They added LED lighting, remodeled and restocked the store. By December 2019, the store was struggling financially again. Logan took over as general manager.&nbsp;

“I don’t know anything about groceries but I do know something about business,” she said. “I try to think of innovative ways to bring customers in and keep them happy. I have a wonderful Board of Directors that has been very supportive of the ideas I bring to them.”&nbsp;

Today, The Marmaton Market is a full-line grocery store that also offers health, beauty and cleaning items. Logan seeks local meat and produce as much as possible. “In my store, you can get everything you need to prepare a full, healthy meal,” she said.&nbsp;

She launched several creative ideas to grow business in the store. One was a more aggressive use of social media, specifically Facebook.&nbsp;

“I post each day,” Logan said. Each week she does what she calls Trivia Tuesday when she posts fun and educational trivia questions in addition to ads and sale items. She started holding contests for kids’ coloring pages and offering member-only sales plus drawings for holiday gifts.&nbsp;

Customers have the option to sign up to get sale ads emailed to them in advance.&nbsp;&nbsp;Supplies are provided to local food pantries at a discount.&nbsp;

On the Second Saturday of each month, craft vendors are invited to display products inside the store. Lunches are prepared using in-store products and hoagie sandwiches are made up to go. When the school district stopped offering summer meals, Logan said, “We can do that.” A farmers market operates at the store twice a month.&nbsp;

“I like to think outside the box,” Logan said. “Or, maybe I don’t have a box. I try to learn something new every day.”&nbsp;

In 2022, she wrote a grant proposal with input from K-State’s Rural Grocery Initiative staff&nbsp;for a Healthy Food Financing Initiative grant that will enable installation of a commercial kitchen for use by local food entrepreneurs.&nbsp;

During 2021 and 2022, she also wrote grants to various programs that allowed for the purchase of coolers, freezers, and a new HVAC system. Almost $250,000 has been generated through grants to upgrade The Marmaton Market and better serve customers.&nbsp;

“The Kansas Healthy Food Initiative and Rural Grocery Initiative have been a blessing to us,” Logan said.&nbsp;

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

Second Saturday. Trivia Tuesday. These are examples of creative ideas resulting from outside-the-box thinking by owners and managers of this store in rural Kansas. We salute Marilyn Logan and all those involved with The Marmaton Market for making a difference with commitment to their community and creativity in marketing.&nbsp;

It makes for a Compelling Calendar at a Successful Store.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658925682503.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development&nbsp;Second Saturday. Trivia Tuesday.&nbsp;Do those events sound like items on the calendar at your local grocery store? They might not be what one would expect, but those are examples of creative events that one rural grocery store is using to expand and engage its customer base.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Marilyn Logan is general manager of The Marmaton Market in Moran, a rural Allen County community of 466 people – but there’s more. Marilyn grew up in the Crawford County community of Walnut, Kansas, population 187 people. Now, that’s rural.&nbsp;“My dad taught us a good work ethic,” Logan said. She earned a degree in business with a minor in accounting and worked for years as an accountant and auditor. She raised four sons and is now widowed. She has 15 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.&nbsp;Marilyn moved back to southeast Kansas in 2016. “I like little towns,” Logan said. She serves on several local volunteer boards such as the Iola Public Library, Iola Housing Authority, Allen County GROW and SEKCAP.&nbsp;In Moran, the local grocery store owners were wanting to retire. In 2018, the store was purchased by a group of citizens who formed what Logan called a for-profit semi-cooperative. She served on the board. They named the store The Marmaton Market.&nbsp;“The first thing we did was take everything down to the bare walls,” Logan said. They added LED lighting, remodeled and restocked the store. By December 2019, the store was struggling financially again. Logan took over as general manager.&nbsp;“I don’t know anything about groceries but I do know something about business,” she said. “I try to think of innovative ways to bring customers in and keep them happy. I have a wonderful Board of Directors that has been very supportive of the ideas I bring to them.”&nbsp;Today, The Marmaton Market is a full-line grocery store that also offers health, beauty and cleaning items. Logan seeks local meat and produce as much as possible. “In my store, you can get everything you need to prepare a full, healthy meal,” she said.&nbsp;She launched several creative ideas to grow business in the store. One was a more aggressive use of social media, specifically Facebook.&nbsp;“I post each day,” Logan said. Each week she does what she calls Trivia Tuesday when she posts fun and educational trivia questions in addition to ads and sale items. She started holding contests for kids’ coloring pages and offering member-only sales plus drawings for holiday gifts.&nbsp;Customers have the option to sign up to get sale ads emailed to them in advance.&nbsp;&nbsp;Supplies are provided to local food pantries at a discount.&nbsp;On the Second Saturday of each month, craft vendors are invited to display products inside the store. Lunches are prepared using in-store products and hoagie sandwiches are made up to go. When the school district stopped offering summer meals, Logan said, “We can do that.” A farmers market operates at the store twice a month.&nbsp;“I like to think outside the box,” Logan said. “Or, maybe I don’t have a box. I try to learn something new every day.”&nbsp;In 2022, she wrote a grant proposal with input from K-State’s Rural Grocery Initiative staff&nbsp;for a Healthy Food Financing Initiative grant that will enable installation of a commercial kitchen for use by local food entrepreneurs.&nbsp;During 2021 and 2022, she also wrote grants to various programs that allowed for the purchase of coolers, freezers, and a new HVAC system. Almost $250,000 has been generated through grants to upgrade The Marmaton Market and better serve customers.&nbsp;“The Kansas Healthy Food Initiative and Rural Grocery Initiative have been a blessing to us,” Logan said.&nbsp;For more information on the store, go to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.themarmatonmarketinc.com/">www.themarmatonmarketinc.com</a>.&nbsp;Second Saturday. Trivia Tuesday. These are examples of creative ideas resulting from outside-the-box thinking by owners and managers of this store in rural Kansas. We salute Marilyn Logan and all those involved with The Marmaton Market for making a difference with commitment to their community and creativity in marketing.&nbsp;It makes for a Compelling Calendar at a Successful Store.&nbsp;

Now That’s Rural: Marilyn Logan, Marmaton Market 

By JACKIE MUNDT Pratt County farmer and rancher The world belongs those who show up. That simple idea has become one of the cardinal rules in my life. What I love about this rule is it doesn’t hinge on predisposed talent or having the right connections. The only way to unlock the potential of this rule is to just keep showing up.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Showing up has been on my mind as I contemplate the upcoming primary. Over the years, I have heard many people dismiss primaries as unimportant. They may say their vote doesn’t matter or claim they will vote when the “real” election happens. That type of thinking is flawed because often the primary election is the real race. If you live in an area that is largely affiliated with one party, the primary likely determines the front runner or the only name that will be on the ballot in the general election. In our state, there are dozens of state and local races where only one party has candidates who have filed for election. This is your chance to show up for your community. If you hesitate to vote because you aren’t sure who to vote for, I invite you to visit&nbsp;<a href="http://kfb.org/">KFB.org</a>&nbsp;to see a list of the candidates endorsed by Kansas Farm Bureau’s Voters Organized To Elect Farm Bureau Friends. These candidates have been recommended by our local members through a grassroots process. KFB’s political action committee takes local feedback and, in cases of incumbents’, voting histories into consideration to make endorsements for candidates who understand, value and support agriculture in our state. If that is not enough of a reason to show up for the primary, here an important question: Do you have an opinion on abortion? This is such a heated and prominent issue on the national stage that I am guessing most people do. This primary election is your opportunity to share that opinion without having to put a sign in your yard and jeopardize any relationships. The primary will feature a proposed constitutional amendment that would affirm there is no Kansas constitutional right to abortion, and the right to pass laws to regulate abortion. If the amendment fails, the constitution would not change leaving in place the recently recognized right to abortion. I am not advocating for or against the amendment. However, I am advocating for you to show up and cast a ballot for your beliefs and values. If I haven’t convinced you in any of my previous points, let me try one more. You probably already knew an election was coming from the seemingly endless advertisements on social media, TV, streaming services and in your mailbox. These advertisements are overly sensational, meant to vilify one candidate while making a hero out of another, and often make claims that are irrelevant to the position in question. The reason we are bombarded with these advertisement is because organizations, many outside the state, are spending millions of dollars to sway your vote. All that money is spent in hope that an unengaged voter will show up to the poll and pick someone based on the faint memory they have of an advertisement. If you don’t want our elections to be determined by the highest bidder, show up as an informed voter for the primary. Politics can be overwhelming and it is easy to feel like your vote doesn’t matter, but it does. The world and elections belong to those who show up and I hope you will on Aug. 2.

<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 world belongs those who show up. That simple idea has become one of the cardinal rules in my life. What I love about this rule is it doesn’t hinge on predisposed talent or having the right connections. The only way to unlock the potential of this rule is to just keep showing up.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Showing up has been on my mind as I contemplate the upcoming primary. Over the years, I have heard many people dismiss primaries as unimportant. They may say their vote doesn’t matter or claim they will vote when the “real” election happens. That type of thinking is flawed because often the primary election is the real race. If you live in an area that is largely affiliated with one party, the primary likely determines the front runner or the only name that will be on the ballot in the general election. In our state, there are dozens of state and local races where only one party has candidates who have filed for election. This is your chance to show up for your community. If you hesitate to vote because you aren’t sure who to vote for, I invite you to visit&nbsp;<a href="http://kfb.org/">KFB.org</a>&nbsp;to see a list of the candidates endorsed by Kansas Farm Bureau’s Voters Organized To Elect Farm Bureau Friends. These candidates have been recommended by our local members through a grassroots process. KFB’s political action committee takes local feedback and, in cases of incumbents’, voting histories into consideration to make endorsements for candidates who understand, value and support agriculture in our state. If that is not enough of a reason to show up for the primary, here an important question: Do you have an opinion on abortion? This is such a heated and prominent issue on the national stage that I am guessing most people do. This primary election is your opportunity to share that opinion without having to put a sign in your yard and jeopardize any relationships. The primary will feature a proposed constitutional amendment that would affirm there is no Kansas constitutional right to abortion, and the right to pass laws to regulate abortion. If the amendment fails, the constitution would not change leaving in place the recently recognized right to abortion. I am not advocating for or against the amendment. However, I am advocating for you to show up and cast a ballot for your beliefs and values. If I haven’t convinced you in any of my previous points, let me try one more. You probably already knew an election was coming from the seemingly endless advertisements on social media, TV, streaming services and in your mailbox. These advertisements are overly sensational, meant to vilify one candidate while making a hero out of another, and often make claims that are irrelevant to the position in question. The reason we are bombarded with these advertisement is because organizations, many outside the state, are spending millions of dollars to sway your vote. All that money is spent in hope that an unengaged voter will show up to the poll and pick someone based on the faint memory they have of an advertisement. If you don’t want our elections to be determined by the highest bidder, show up as an informed voter for the primary. Politics can be overwhelming and it is easy to feel like your vote doesn’t matter, but it does. The world and elections belong to those who show up and I hope you will on Aug. 2."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: Primary reasons to show up

To those of you who know me well,&nbsp;you know I hate the Kansas summer. My dad&nbsp;loved heat, and&nbsp;with each passing year, I hope I will become more like him, but if&nbsp;anything,&nbsp;my hatred of the&nbsp;heat just gets worse. I’m trying to smile as I write this, so maybe something in this column will take your mind off this beastly heat&nbsp;for&nbsp;awhile&nbsp;and bring&nbsp;you a smile.

Last Sunday after church, a western Kansas rancher and a visitor from Washington State struck up a conversation and the topic naturally turned to how dry it was there&nbsp;in western KS. “Does it ever rain in this blooming state?” the visitor asked. “Oh sure,” answered the rancher. “Do you remember the story in the Bible where it rained for forty days and forty nights?” “Yes, I’m familiar with Noah’s flood,” replied the visitor. “Well,”&nbsp;began the rancher, “That time we got about 2 ½ inches.”&nbsp;

A new friend of mine, a recent transplant to Kansas&nbsp;from a cooler climate, shared with me some pages from his diary:

June 10th&nbsp;–&nbsp;Just moved to Kansas, now this is a state that knows how to live; beautiful sunny days and warm, balmy evenings. It’s beautiful, I love it here!

June 14th&nbsp;– Really heating up, got to 100 today. Not a problem, I live in an&nbsp;air-conditioned&nbsp;home, and drive an&nbsp;air-conditioned&nbsp;car. What a pleasure to see the sun everyday like this.&nbsp;

June&nbsp;20th&nbsp;–I&nbsp;had the backyard landscaped with western plants today, lots of rocks and cactus. No more mowing the lawn for me. Another scorcher today, but I love it here.

July 3&nbsp;– The temperature hasn’t been below 100 all week. How do people get used to this heat? At least is kind of windy though. Getting used to this heat is taking longer than I expected,&nbsp;but I’ll get there.

July&nbsp;7&nbsp;– The air conditioner shot craps and the repairman charged me $200 to drive by and tell me he needed to order parts. I’ve been sleeping outside on the patio for three nights now; a $225,000 house and can’t even go inside! Why did I ever come here?

July 10&nbsp;– Got the AC fixed; it cost $500 and drops the temperature down to&nbsp;85. If one more wise guy asks“Hot enough for you today?” I’m going to strangle them. I hate this stupid state!

July 12&nbsp;– My new air conditioner barely gets the inside of my house cooler than my morning coffee, my new cactus can’t even live in this blasted heat, and the weather report might as well be a recording! Does it ever rain in this God&nbsp;forsaken place?

July 14&nbsp;– Welcome to HELL! Forgot to crack the car windows at work today and since&nbsp;it was 115, the windshield blew out. When the repairman came to fix it, guess what he asked me??? “Hot enough for you today?” …It cost my sister $1,500 to bail me out of jail. What kind of demented idiot would want to live in a place like this?&nbsp;

Just when&nbsp;you thought you’d heard every possible way to finish this sentence “Its soo dry that … let me offer a&nbsp;couple&nbsp;more:

It’s so dry that the river only runs twice a week.

And finally, it’s so dry that they’ve had to close two lanes at the&nbsp;local&nbsp;swimming pool and swimmers are&nbsp;actually&nbsp;encouraged to pee in the pool.

As a farm boy in Ohio, the Ohio State Fair was the perfect end to summer. We took our flock of registered sheep and stayed there for most of the fair. Just up the midway from the sheep&nbsp;barn was a dunk tank manned by a clown&nbsp;calling himself&nbsp;BoBo. Now BoBo knew&nbsp;just&nbsp;exactly how to&nbsp;taunt kids to the point where they would spend their life savings&nbsp;just to try to dunk him. His famous one-liner that I can still remember echoing across the midway into the wee hours of the morning was “BoBo, High and&nbsp;Dry!” BoBo, I feel your pain! &nbsp;

Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors anyway!&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1574696211722.png" alt="Steve&nbsp;Gilliland" />
 <figcaption>Steve&nbsp;Gilliland</figcaption>
 </figure>To those of you who know me well,&nbsp;you know I hate the Kansas summer. My dad&nbsp;loved heat, and&nbsp;with each passing year, I hope I will become more like him, but if&nbsp;anything,&nbsp;my hatred of the&nbsp;heat just gets worse. I’m trying to smile as I write this, so maybe something in this column will take your mind off this beastly heat&nbsp;for&nbsp;awhile&nbsp;and bring&nbsp;you a smile.Last Sunday after church, a western Kansas rancher and a visitor from Washington State struck up a conversation and the topic naturally turned to how dry it was there&nbsp;in western KS. “Does it ever rain in this blooming state?” the visitor asked. “Oh sure,” answered the rancher. “Do you remember the story in the Bible where it rained for forty days and forty nights?” “Yes, I’m familiar with Noah’s flood,” replied the visitor. “Well,”&nbsp;began the rancher, “That time we got about 2 ½ inches.”&nbsp;A new friend of mine, a recent transplant to Kansas&nbsp;from a cooler climate, shared with me some pages from his diary:June 10th&nbsp;–&nbsp;Just moved to Kansas, now this is a state that knows how to live; beautiful sunny days and warm, balmy evenings. It’s beautiful, I love it here!June 14th&nbsp;– Really heating up, got to 100 today. Not a problem, I live in an&nbsp;air-conditioned&nbsp;home, and drive an&nbsp;air-conditioned&nbsp;car. What a pleasure to see the sun everyday like this.&nbsp;June&nbsp;20th&nbsp;–I&nbsp;had the backyard landscaped with western plants today, lots of rocks and cactus. No more mowing the lawn for me. Another scorcher today, but I love it here.July 3&nbsp;– The temperature hasn’t been below 100 all week. How do people get used to this heat? At least is kind of windy though. Getting used to this heat is taking longer than I expected,&nbsp;but I’ll get there.July&nbsp;7&nbsp;– The air conditioner shot craps and the repairman charged me $200 to drive by and tell me he needed to order parts. I’ve been sleeping outside on the patio for three nights now; a $225,000 house and can’t even go inside! Why did I ever come here?July 10&nbsp;– Got the AC fixed; it cost $500 and drops the temperature down to&nbsp;85. If one more wise guy asks“Hot enough for you today?” I’m going to strangle them. I hate this stupid state!July 12&nbsp;– My new air conditioner barely gets the inside of my house cooler than my morning coffee, my new cactus can’t even live in this blasted heat, and the weather report might as well be a recording! Does it ever rain in this God&nbsp;forsaken place?July 14&nbsp;– Welcome to HELL! Forgot to crack the car windows at work today and since&nbsp;it was 115, the windshield blew out. When the repairman came to fix it, guess what he asked me??? “Hot enough for you today?” …It cost my sister $1,500 to bail me out of jail. What kind of demented idiot would want to live in a place like this?&nbsp;Just when&nbsp;you thought you’d heard every possible way to finish this sentence “Its soo dry that … let me offer a&nbsp;couple&nbsp;more:It’s so dry that the river only runs twice a week.And finally, it’s so dry that they’ve had to close two lanes at the&nbsp;local&nbsp;swimming pool and swimmers are&nbsp;actually&nbsp;encouraged to pee in the pool.As a farm boy in Ohio, the Ohio State Fair was the perfect end to summer. We took our flock of registered sheep and stayed there for most of the fair. Just up the midway from the sheep&nbsp;barn was a dunk tank manned by a clown&nbsp;calling himself&nbsp;BoBo. Now BoBo knew&nbsp;just&nbsp;exactly how to&nbsp;taunt kids to the point where they would spend their life savings&nbsp;just to try to dunk him. His famous one-liner that I can still remember echoing across the midway into the wee hours of the morning was “BoBo, High and&nbsp;Dry!” BoBo, I feel your pain! &nbsp;Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors anyway!&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at stevenrgilliland@gmail.com.

 Exploring Kansas Outdoors: Its sooo dry that …

Despite the fervent support the Republican leadership has given to the Value Them Both amendment, its fate on August 2 may not tell us much about the current Kansas GOP. But the Republican contest for Kansas attorney general, by contrast, may actually tell us a great deal.

Three candidates are campaigning for the Republican nomination: former Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who needs no introduction to Kansas voters; Kellie Warren, a state senator and attorney with a background in civil law; and Tony Mattivi, a former federal prosecutor with a long track record of criminal conviction on both the state and federal level. Mattivi, who polls put in third place in this race, makes his lack of a history of political engagement part of his campaign against Koback and Warren—and that is what makes this Republican fight so interesting.

It is not that Mattivi has no political opinions. His strong conservative beliefs—including firmly opposing abortion rights and strongly supporting gun rights—are prominently displayed in his campaign literature. And yet it is the fact that he also insists an attorney general should not spend their time on politics, always filing lawsuits against the Biden administration—as Kobach has promised, with Warren concurring—which presents Kansas Republicans with a difficult choice.

Two things are clear about Kobach. First, he has devoted Republican supporters who see in him, with his attacks on the threats supposedly posed by illegal immigrants and President Biden, a Kansas version of their beloved leader, Donald Trump. Second, those supporters do not constitute a majority of the Kansas Republican electorate, much less Kansas voters overall. He is not, in short, a consensus candidate—and lacking that consensus support, many other Republicans fear him as a divisive spoiler. At a recent Mattivi event in Wichita, one prominent Republican elected official stated with great confidence that, should Kobach win the nomination, Democrat Chris Mann’s election to the attorney general office would be assured.

I disagree with this official that a Kobach nomination would necessarily mean a loss for the Republicans in November, but the many prominent Republicans and conservative organizations behind Warren’s candidacy provides evidence of how widespread that fear is. Warren’s strategy is to reach out to the very same zealous conservatives who support Kobach, as well as the major donors who once did, with one simple argument: I’m actually electable, and Kobach isn’t.

Ordinary campaign politics suggest that when two conservative candidates fight over the same faction, a path opens up for moderate candidates to win. This, however, is not something Mattivi is doing—not officially, anyway. He knows the Kansas Republican primary electorate well, and knows that a moderate tone would open him up to fervent attack. And yet, perhaps taking a non-political tone instead when it come to national or cultural controversies, preferring to talk about fighting criminals rather than Value Them Both, is what passes for moderation in 2022. (That the abortion amendment will likely bring to the polls more of Kansas’s small Republican moderate population than is typical for an August election may be part of that quiet calculation too.)&nbsp;

The attorney general contest shows us Kansas Republicans playing a guessing game with the future of their party. Will Kobach’s ideological convictions return him to power? Are his extreme opinions a winner, so long as someone else expresses them? Or are a plurality of Kansas Republican voters supportive of a conservatism that, while passionate, focuses on the job rather than fighting a culture war? Mattivi’s bet on the latter is a long one, but an admirable one too.

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>Despite the fervent support the Republican leadership has given to the Value Them Both amendment, its fate on August 2 may not tell us much about the current Kansas GOP. But the Republican contest for Kansas attorney general, by contrast, may actually tell us a great deal.Three candidates are campaigning for the Republican nomination: former Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who needs no introduction to Kansas voters; Kellie Warren, a state senator and attorney with a background in civil law; and Tony Mattivi, a former federal prosecutor with a long track record of criminal conviction on both the state and federal level. Mattivi, who polls put in third place in this race, makes his lack of a history of political engagement part of his campaign against Koback and Warren—and that is what makes this Republican fight so interesting.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575913663048.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>It is not that Mattivi has no political opinions. His strong conservative beliefs—including firmly opposing abortion rights and strongly supporting gun rights—are prominently displayed in his campaign literature. And yet it is the fact that he also insists an attorney general should not spend their time on politics, always filing lawsuits against the Biden administration—as Kobach has promised, with Warren concurring—which presents Kansas Republicans with a difficult choice.Two things are clear about Kobach. First, he has devoted Republican supporters who see in him, with his attacks on the threats supposedly posed by illegal immigrants and President Biden, a Kansas version of their beloved leader, Donald Trump. Second, those supporters do not constitute a majority of the Kansas Republican electorate, much less Kansas voters overall. He is not, in short, a consensus candidate—and lacking that consensus support, many other Republicans fear him as a divisive spoiler. At a recent Mattivi event in Wichita, one prominent Republican elected official stated with great confidence that, should Kobach win the nomination, Democrat Chris Mann’s election to the attorney general office would be assured.I disagree with this official that a Kobach nomination would necessarily mean a loss for the Republicans in November, but the many prominent Republicans and conservative organizations behind Warren’s candidacy provides evidence of how widespread that fear is. Warren’s strategy is to reach out to the very same zealous conservatives who support Kobach, as well as the major donors who once did, with one simple argument: I’m actually electable, and Kobach isn’t.Ordinary campaign politics suggest that when two conservative candidates fight over the same faction, a path opens up for moderate candidates to win. This, however, is not something Mattivi is doing—not officially, anyway. He knows the Kansas Republican primary electorate well, and knows that a moderate tone would open him up to fervent attack. And yet, perhaps taking a non-political tone instead when it come to national or cultural controversies, preferring to talk about fighting criminals rather than Value Them Both, is what passes for moderation in 2022. (That the abortion amendment will likely bring to the polls more of Kansas’s small Republican moderate population than is typical for an August election may be part of that quiet calculation too.)&nbsp;The attorney general contest shows us Kansas Republicans playing a guessing game with the future of their party. Will Kobach’s ideological convictions return him to power? Are his extreme opinions a winner, so long as someone else expresses them? Or are a plurality of Kansas Republican voters supportive of a conservatism that, while passionate, focuses on the job rather than fighting a culture war? Mattivi’s bet on the latter is a long one, but an admirable one too.Dr. Russell Arben Fox teaches politics in Wichita.

INSIGHT KANSAS: Politics of a (partly) non-political AG candidate

By HUASCAR MEDINA <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/07/23/kansas-exhibit-unites-worlds-of-artistry-and-family-into-a-big-hearted-whole/">Courtesy Kansas Reflector</a>

“Making It Work” is currently on display at the <a target="_blank" href="https://lawrenceartscenter.org/">Lawrence Arts Center</a>.
 The exhibit takes a deeper look into the generative processes of 
artists as parents and how familial bonds inform their work.&nbsp; The featured artists include <a target="_blank" href="https://pilaraguero.com/">Pilar Agüero-Esparza</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://albertoaguilar.org/">Alberto Aguilar</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.christadonner.com/">Christa Donner</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lisehallerbaggesen.org/">Lise Haller Baggesen</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cararomerophotography.com/home">Cara Romero</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="http://blacklunchtable.com/about/founders/">Jina Valentine</a>.

The show “brings together six 
contemporary U.S. artists who are artists and parents who make that 
relationship visible in their work,” said Maria Velasco, a professor at the University of Kansas’ <a target="_blank" href="https://art.ku.edu/">Department of Visual Art</a>, along with being a mother and artist herself.
 “It is part of their dynamic, their conception and their making. So 
from that point of view, it is really unique. Because we’re used to 
having to choose between one or the other. The culture tells us that you
 must be one or the other. That if you are a good parent you can’t be a 
good artist and if you are a good artist you can’t be a parent. So you 
really have to challenge that belief. And still deal with the 
difficulties in existing in that kind of juncture.”&nbsp;

The show was co-curated by Velasco and Rachel Epp Buller, professor of visual arts and design at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bethelks.edu/">Bethel College</a>.&nbsp;

When asked about the artists chosen, 
Velasco said that, “For us, from the beginning, the choice was based on 
what we call generative practices, which are ways in which we look at 
processes, collaboration, conversations, activities that may take place 
normally internally, in terms of the making of the work, but also with 
the existing community.&nbsp;

“We were looking at how those 
processes materialize into some kind of work. It’s not so much the 
old-fashioned way of making work, where you are thinking about an object
 on the wall that is self contained. This is looking at how we make work
 from a different platform to begin with.”

Featured artist Agüero-Esparza presents a
 wall installation with three-dimensional elements in acrylic and wood 
titled: “Multicultural Crayon: White, Apricot, Peach, Tan, Mahogany, 
Burnt Sienna, Sepia, Black — What Color Are You?” This piece converses 
with another piece, “Dance &amp; Conversations: Castings” Both include 
casts of her daughter’s feet at different ages. At age 10, the 
conversation is about skin tone. The artist uses a crayon skin tone 
color palette to have discussions about race.&nbsp;

This conversation began with her 
daughter coming home after school, asking why people don’t identify with
 the peach color that most white people consider skin color. Agüero-Esparza also connects this work with her upbringing in Mexico. Her family had a shoe shop that made huaraches. The tint of the leather strands are represented in the base of the casted feet, dancing at age 17.&nbsp;

“Since an early age, she (Agüero-Esparza) has
 been involved in seeing and being a part of that process,” Velasco 
said. “That process is stripes of leather that are tinted in different 
forms and has carried that stylistic choice in her work. The story 
behind this work is intergenerational. A story she is having with her 
parents and her daughter. When you become a parent that lineage becomes 
so apparent.”&nbsp;

Donner’s interactive piece, “A Portal
 Is Opening,” is also an intergenerational work in which the viewer is 
projected into the future. It has a QR code and map that will send you 
to a spot in South Park by a bench, where you can listen to a letter 
that a child from 2226 telling us about extinction and species that have
 disappeared.

&nbsp;“This is a conversation on 
sustainability and how unaware we are of the damage that we are 
creating. The fact that our children will inherit that world and life 
doesn’t stop when we stop. Having kids makes that more obvious than 
ever.” Velasco said. “We are connecting with a child from the future. It
 makes obvious these political issues in a poetic way. The piece is 
narrated by the daughter of the artist. It is a way of collaborating 
with your kids.”&nbsp;

Velasco continued: “It is not just a 
sentimental or cute thing. You are having a conversation with a 
legitimate human being that is a small person, because of course, it’s 
cute because kids are cute, but that is not what the point is. But when 
you are engaged as a parent who is also an artist, and you are having 
conversations with your kids that are very serious like this one about 
race, sustainability or others.”

Another conversation presented in the show addresses racial violence against Black men. It’s titled “Testimony.”

Valentine was inspired by her 
inability to process the news about the shooting deaths of young Black 
men. The piece is difficult to absorb. It includes excerpts of news 
reports about the deaths of Black sons. You can only read a little bit 
at a time. In this work, Valentine used an ink that eats the paper away.
 Possibly she’s commenting about erasure, whitewashing, or an attempt to
 remove a reality that should not have taken place. Perhaps she is 
facilitating time being pressed forward, to a point where these stories 
may not exist.&nbsp;

Baggesens describes her work 
“Mothernism” as “a nomadic tent camp, audio installation and a book 
dedicated to staking out and making speakable the “mother-shaped hole in
 contemporary art discourse.”&nbsp;

In this created space, you can listen
 to music and read books that Baggesens has selected. The place projects
 a sense of sanctuary, contemplation and isolation all at once.&nbsp;

The familial bonds displayed 
throughout this show magnify the works of all these artists. Each one 
creates simultaneously as an artist and parent. There is no delineation 
in the work that has to be done and the conversations that need to be 
had. Creating art that addresses issues affecting both parents and 
children is not only good parenting, but important artistry. “Making it 
work” exemplifies the power of artists as parents with real profundity.&nbsp;

“Making It Work” will run until July 
30. A curator’s INSIGHT Art Talk will occur July 28, at 7 p.m.. This 
will include a presentation of Epp Buller’s book “<a target="_blank" href="https://demeterpress.org/books/inappropriate-bodies-art-design-and-maternity/">Inappropriate Bodies: Art, Design, Maternity”</a> and the first local screening of Velasco’s award-winning documentary “<a target="_blank" href="https://www.mariavelascostudio.com/all-of-me-artistsmothers">All of Me: Artists+Mothers</a>.”

A closing reception will be held July 29 at the Lawrence Arts Center from 5 to 9 p.m.

Huascar Media — the Kansas poet laureate — is a poet, writer, and performer who lives in Topeka. He works as a freelance copywriter and as the literary editor for seveneightfive magazine, publishing stories that spotlight literary and artistic events in northeast Kansas. His poems can be found in his collection "How to Hang the Moon" and "Un Mango Grows in Kansas." He is the winner of ARTSConnect’s 2018 Arty Award for Literary Art.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658602054729.png" alt="“Dance &amp; Conversations: Castings” by Pilar Agüero-Esparza (front) and “Testimony” by Jina Valentine are both part of the “Making It Work” exhibit currently on display at the Lawrence Arts Center. (Huascar Medina/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>“Dance &amp; Conversations: Castings” by Pilar Agüero-Esparza (front) and “Testimony” by Jina Valentine are both part of the “Making It Work” exhibit currently on display at the Lawrence Arts Center. (Huascar Medina/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By HUASCAR MEDINA <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/07/23/kansas-exhibit-unites-worlds-of-artistry-and-family-into-a-big-hearted-whole/">Courtesy Kansas Reflector</a>“Making It Work” is currently on display at the <a target="_blank" href="https://lawrenceartscenter.org/">Lawrence Arts Center</a>.
 The exhibit takes a deeper look into the generative processes of 
artists as parents and how familial bonds inform their work.&nbsp; The featured artists include <a target="_blank" href="https://pilaraguero.com/">Pilar Agüero-Esparza</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://albertoaguilar.org/">Alberto Aguilar</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.christadonner.com/">Christa Donner</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lisehallerbaggesen.org/">Lise Haller Baggesen</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cararomerophotography.com/home">Cara Romero</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="http://blacklunchtable.com/about/founders/">Jina Valentine</a>.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575913663048.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The show “brings together six 
contemporary U.S. artists who are artists and parents who make that 
relationship visible in their work,” said Maria Velasco, a professor at the University of Kansas’ <a target="_blank" href="https://art.ku.edu/">Department of Visual Art</a>, along with being a mother and artist herself.
 “It is part of their dynamic, their conception and their making. So 
from that point of view, it is really unique. Because we’re used to 
having to choose between one or the other. The culture tells us that you
 must be one or the other. That if you are a good parent you can’t be a 
good artist and if you are a good artist you can’t be a parent. So you 
really have to challenge that belief. And still deal with the 
difficulties in existing in that kind of juncture.”&nbsp;The show was co-curated by Velasco and Rachel Epp Buller, professor of visual arts and design at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bethelks.edu/">Bethel College</a>.&nbsp;When asked about the artists chosen, 
Velasco said that, “For us, from the beginning, the choice was based on 
what we call generative practices, which are ways in which we look at 
processes, collaboration, conversations, activities that may take place 
normally internally, in terms of the making of the work, but also with 
the existing community.&nbsp;“We were looking at how those 
processes materialize into some kind of work. It’s not so much the 
old-fashioned way of making work, where you are thinking about an object
 on the wall that is self contained. This is looking at how we make work
 from a different platform to begin with.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658602124523.jpeg" alt="In this closeup from “Testimony,” by Jina Valentine, you can see how excerpts from newspapers are written in an iron gall ink that eats away at the paper. (Huascar Medina/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>In this closeup from “Testimony,” by Jina Valentine, you can see how excerpts from newspapers are written in an iron gall ink that eats away at the paper. (Huascar Medina/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>Featured artist Agüero-Esparza presents a
 wall installation with three-dimensional elements in acrylic and wood 
titled: “Multicultural Crayon: White, Apricot, Peach, Tan, Mahogany, 
Burnt Sienna, Sepia, Black — What Color Are You?” This piece converses 
with another piece, “Dance &amp; Conversations: Castings” Both include 
casts of her daughter’s feet at different ages. At age 10, the 
conversation is about skin tone. The artist uses a crayon skin tone 
color palette to have discussions about race.&nbsp;This conversation began with her 
daughter coming home after school, asking why people don’t identify with
 the peach color that most white people consider skin color. Agüero-Esparza also connects this work with her upbringing in Mexico. Her family had a shoe shop that made huaraches. The tint of the leather strands are represented in the base of the casted feet, dancing at age 17.&nbsp;“Since an early age, she (Agüero-Esparza) has
 been involved in seeing and being a part of that process,” Velasco 
said. “That process is stripes of leather that are tinted in different 
forms and has carried that stylistic choice in her work. The story 
behind this work is intergenerational. A story she is having with her 
parents and her daughter. When you become a parent that lineage becomes 
so apparent.”&nbsp;Donner’s interactive piece, “A Portal
 Is Opening,” is also an intergenerational work in which the viewer is 
projected into the future. It has a QR code and map that will send you 
to a spot in South Park by a bench, where you can listen to a letter 
that a child from 2226 telling us about extinction and species that have
 disappeared.&nbsp;“This is a conversation on 
sustainability and how unaware we are of the damage that we are 
creating. The fact that our children will inherit that world and life 
doesn’t stop when we stop. Having kids makes that more obvious than 
ever.” Velasco said. “We are connecting with a child from the future. It
 makes obvious these political issues in a poetic way. The piece is 
narrated by the daughter of the artist. It is a way of collaborating 
with your kids.”&nbsp;Velasco continued: “It is not just a 
sentimental or cute thing. You are having a conversation with a 
legitimate human being that is a small person, because of course, it’s 
cute because kids are cute, but that is not what the point is. But when 
you are engaged as a parent who is also an artist, and you are having 
conversations with your kids that are very serious like this one about 
race, sustainability or others.”Another conversation presented in the show addresses racial violence against Black men. It’s titled “Testimony.”Valentine was inspired by her 
inability to process the news about the shooting deaths of young Black 
men. The piece is difficult to absorb. It includes excerpts of news 
reports about the deaths of Black sons. You can only read a little bit 
at a time. In this work, Valentine used an ink that eats the paper away.
 Possibly she’s commenting about erasure, whitewashing, or an attempt to
 remove a reality that should not have taken place. Perhaps she is 
facilitating time being pressed forward, to a point where these stories 
may not exist.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658602157042.png" alt=" “Mothernism,” by Lise Haller Baggesen, includes a nomadic tent camp, audio installation and a book. (Huascar Medina/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> “Mothernism,” by Lise Haller Baggesen, includes a nomadic tent camp, audio installation and a book. (Huascar Medina/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>Baggesens describes her work 
“Mothernism” as “a nomadic tent camp, audio installation and a book 
dedicated to staking out and making speakable the “mother-shaped hole in
 contemporary art discourse.”&nbsp;In this created space, you can listen
 to music and read books that Baggesens has selected. The place projects
 a sense of sanctuary, contemplation and isolation all at once.&nbsp;The familial bonds displayed 
throughout this show magnify the works of all these artists. Each one 
creates simultaneously as an artist and parent. There is no delineation 
in the work that has to be done and the conversations that need to be 
had. Creating art that addresses issues affecting both parents and 
children is not only good parenting, but important artistry. “Making it 
work” exemplifies the power of artists as parents with real profundity.&nbsp;“Making It Work” will run until July 
30. A curator’s INSIGHT Art Talk will occur July 28, at 7 p.m.. This 
will include a presentation of Epp Buller’s book “<a target="_blank" href="https://demeterpress.org/books/inappropriate-bodies-art-design-and-maternity/">Inappropriate Bodies: Art, Design, Maternity”</a> and the first local screening of Velasco’s award-winning documentary “<a target="_blank" href="https://www.mariavelascostudio.com/all-of-me-artistsmothers">All of Me: Artists+Mothers</a>.”A closing reception will be held July 29 at the Lawrence Arts Center from 5 to 9 p.m.Huascar Media — the Kansas poet laureate — is a poet, writer, and performer who lives in Topeka. He works as a freelance copywriter and as the literary editor for seveneightfive magazine, publishing stories that spotlight literary and artistic events in northeast Kansas. His poems can be found in his collection "How to Hang the Moon" and "Un Mango Grows in Kansas." He is the winner of ARTSConnect’s 2018 Arty Award for Literary Art.

KS poet laureate: Exhibit unites worlds of artistry, family

From open plains to outer space, Ron Evans experienced a remarkable journey. He was a Kansan who played a record-setting role in the United States’ final mission to the moon.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

The year was 1972. NASA had planned for a series of moon missions but budget limitations cancelled additional lunar flights. Instead, NASA changed the focus of future flights to the space shuttle and lower earth orbital flights.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, NASA moved forward with what would be the final deep space manned mission to date. It was named Apollo 17. The person selected to serve as command module pilot on Apollo 17 was a Kansan, Ron Evans.&nbsp;

Evans was born in the rural northwest Kansas community of St. Francis, population 1,329 people. Now, that’s rural.&nbsp;

Evans had two younger brothers, Larry and Jay. When Larry came down with liver cancer, the family relocated to Topeka to be closer to treatment. Unfortunately, Larry passed away in 1951.&nbsp;

Brother Jay played football for K-State. By his senior year, he was team captain and was second in the Big 8 in yards receiving. Jay went on to play in the NFL for the Denver Broncos.&nbsp;

Jay left pro football to join the Marines during the Vietnam war era and became one of the most highly decorated Marines of the Vietnam War.&nbsp;He received the combat medal, Navy Cross, Silver Star, three Purple Hearts, three Air Medals, Combat Gold Wings and three personal citations from the Vietnamese government, one of which was the Cross of Gallantry with four gold stars -- the equivalent to the Congressional Medal of Honor from the U.S.&nbsp;

Ron chose to study electrical engineering at the University of Kansas. In order to finance his studies, he joined the Navy ROTC program. Part of that program involved a tour of a naval air station in Texas, which inspired him to become a naval aviator. He became a fighter pilot and flew more than 100 missions during the Vietnam War. He served on the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga.&nbsp;

In 1966, Ron Evans joined the astronaut corps. He became a member of the backup crew for Apollo 14 and, in 1972, was selected as the command module pilot of Apollo 17. This would prove to be the last manned flight to the moon.&nbsp;

As command module pilot, he remained on the command module while his two fellow crew members made a landing on the surface of the moon. They spent three days on the lunar surface and deployed numerous scientific instruments before rejoining Evans on the command module for the trip back home to earth.&nbsp;

During the flight back to earth, Evans conducted a spacewalk to retrieve materials from the service module. Upon leaving the space capsule and seeing the vastness of space, he uttered words which truly sound like a Kansas kid: “Hot diggety dog,” he said.&nbsp;

His spacewalk is one of only three to occur in deep space and holds the record as the spacewalk performed at the greatest distance from any planetary body. He also holds the record for the most time spent by any human in lunar orbit.&nbsp;&nbsp;

After the command module splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, the astronauts were retrieved by the crew of a Navy ship. It was none other than the USS Ticonderoga, the very ship where Evans had served six years before.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Evans worked on the development of the space shuttle before retiring from the Navy and NASA. He worked in industry before suffering a stroke and passing away suddenly in his sleep in 1990.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658323566649.png" alt="Evans" />
 <figcaption>Evans</figcaption>
 </figure>By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development&nbsp;From open plains to outer space, Ron Evans experienced a remarkable journey. He was a Kansan who played a record-setting role in the United States’ final mission to the moon.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The year was 1972. NASA had planned for a series of moon missions but budget limitations cancelled additional lunar flights. Instead, NASA changed the focus of future flights to the space shuttle and lower earth orbital flights.&nbsp;Meanwhile, NASA moved forward with what would be the final deep space manned mission to date. It was named Apollo 17. The person selected to serve as command module pilot on Apollo 17 was a Kansan, Ron Evans.&nbsp;Evans was born in the rural northwest Kansas community of St. Francis, population 1,329 people. Now, that’s rural.&nbsp;Evans had two younger brothers, Larry and Jay. When Larry came down with liver cancer, the family relocated to Topeka to be closer to treatment. Unfortunately, Larry passed away in 1951.&nbsp;Brother Jay played football for K-State. By his senior year, he was team captain and was second in the Big 8 in yards receiving. Jay went on to play in the NFL for the Denver Broncos.&nbsp;Jay left pro football to join the Marines during the Vietnam war era and became one of the most highly decorated Marines of the Vietnam War.&nbsp;He received the combat medal, Navy Cross, Silver Star, three Purple Hearts, three Air Medals, Combat Gold Wings and three personal citations from the Vietnamese government, one of which was the Cross of Gallantry with four gold stars -- the equivalent to the Congressional Medal of Honor from the U.S.&nbsp;Ron chose to study electrical engineering at the University of Kansas. In order to finance his studies, he joined the Navy ROTC program. Part of that program involved a tour of a naval air station in Texas, which inspired him to become a naval aviator. He became a fighter pilot and flew more than 100 missions during the Vietnam War. He served on the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga.&nbsp;In 1966, Ron Evans joined the astronaut corps. He became a member of the backup crew for Apollo 14 and, in 1972, was selected as the command module pilot of Apollo 17. This would prove to be the last manned flight to the moon.&nbsp;As command module pilot, he remained on the command module while his two fellow crew members made a landing on the surface of the moon. They spent three days on the lunar surface and deployed numerous scientific instruments before rejoining Evans on the command module for the trip back home to earth.&nbsp;During the flight back to earth, Evans conducted a spacewalk to retrieve materials from the service module. Upon leaving the space capsule and seeing the vastness of space, he uttered words which truly sound like a Kansas kid: “Hot diggety dog,” he said.&nbsp;His spacewalk is one of only three to occur in deep space and holds the record as the spacewalk performed at the greatest distance from any planetary body. He also holds the record for the most time spent by any human in lunar orbit.&nbsp;&nbsp;After the command module splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, the astronauts were retrieved by the crew of a Navy ship. It was none other than the USS Ticonderoga, the very ship where Evans had served six years before.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Evans worked on the development of the space shuttle before retiring from the Navy and NASA. He worked in industry before suffering a stroke and passing away suddenly in his sleep in 1990.&nbsp;Evans was one of 24 astronauts to have flown to the moon and one of 12 to have flown to the moon without landing on it. He remains the last person in history to have orbited the moon.&nbsp;&nbsp;From the open plains to outer space, Kansan Ron Evans experienced a remarkable journey in life. We salute Ron Evans and all those who make a difference by exploring the universe or searching for new discoveries at home.&nbsp;All I can say about his record-setting career is, “Hot diggety dog.”&nbsp;

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