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

“We deliver the male.” No, I’m not referring to the U.S. Postal Service.&nbsp;

In this case, it refers to a business that delivers selected male genetics to pork production operations across the Midwest. This same innovative farm family is also pursuing blockchain and bitcoin mining from its location in rural Kansas.&nbsp;

Lannin Zoltenko is president and managing partner at Zoltenko Farms and Wildcat Blockchain. His family’s farm is in Jewell County, just one mile from the Nebraska state line. Five generations of the family have lived here. The farm became a century farm in 2017.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Zoltenko’s folks are James and Sherryl Zoltenko. Lannin and his wife Melanie have two boys: Chandler, who is farming, and Taran who is at Kansas State University, which is also her father’s alma mater.&nbsp;

For decades, the Zoltenkos had a traditional diversified livestock farm raising cattle, crops and pigs. The hog operation was farrow-to-finish, meaning that the males (boars) were bred to the females (sows), which gave birth to piglets that were then raised to market weight.&nbsp;

In 1997, Zoltenko was considering whether to come back to the farm. His parents were trying to decide whether to retire or expand.&nbsp;

That year in December, they received an inquiry from a business named Pig Improvement Company, or PIC, which was looking for a location for a 50-head boar stud farm in north central Kansas. This would be like a racehorse stud farm, only with swine.&nbsp;&nbsp;This company was seeking a place where selected male hogs could be raised to collect semen for artificial insemination of sows by other hog producers.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

The Zoltenkos decided to give it a try. “It was a real faith walk,” Lannin Zoltenko said.&nbsp;&nbsp;He credits veterinarians Steve Henry and Lisa Tokach at Abilene Veterinary Hospital for providing key help in starting the operation.&nbsp;

“By February 1998, the sows were gone, and by May the boars were here,” Zoltenko said. They developed a process for collecting semen and distributing to other producers, and adopted the slogan, ‘We deliver the male.’&nbsp;

Today, Zoltenko Farms has 1,382 boars, most of those in Kansas. Since herd health and biosecurity are so important, their rural location is an advantage. The farm is located 17 miles north of the rural community of Courtland, population 294 people. Now, that’s rural.&nbsp;

For producers seeking maternal traits of good litter size and high milking ability, the Large White and Landrace breeds are preferred. For those producers who are raising hogs for harvest, Duroc and Berkshire hogs are the breeds of choice.&nbsp;

The semen collected from the Zoltenko’s high quality boars can serve some 300,000 sows annually. The farm operates 11 delivery routes to hog producers in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, Minnesota and Illinois.&nbsp;&nbsp;“Our drivers will put on a million miles a year,” Zoltenko said.&nbsp;

In 2020, the Zoltenkos started to pursue an additional enterprise as they looked at the direction of the national economy. “I was looking for sound money,” Zoltenko said. They decided to focus on bitcoin and bitcoin mining.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Bitcoin is a type of cryptocurrency or digital money. According to Investopedia, bitcoin is created, distributed, traded and stored using a decentralized ledger system called a blockchain. In February 2021, the Zoltenkos set up a business known as Wildcat Blockchain.&nbsp;

Bitcoin mining is the process of creating new bitcoins by solving extremely complicated math problems that verify transactions in the currency. This requires high level computer capacity. “We look for sub-stations that have unused electrical capacity and set up bitcoin data centers there,” Zoltenko said.&nbsp;

As these computers solve the math problems, bitcoin is generated for the discoverers.&nbsp;&nbsp;“We have clients from California to Florida,” he said.&nbsp;

“Our greatest success is to positively impact the lives of our team members, our partners, and our community.”&nbsp;

For more information about the stud farm, see&nbsp;<a href="http://www.zfistud.com/">www.zfistud.com</a>.&nbsp;

We deliver the male – in this case, male genetics for leading pork producer operations across the Midwest. We commend Lannin Zoltenko and all those involved with Zoltenko Farms and Wildcat Blockchain for their innovation and entrepreneurship.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669214992365.png" alt="Melanie and Lannin Zoltenko" />
 <figcaption>Melanie and Lannin Zoltenko</figcaption>
 </figure>By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development&nbsp;“We deliver the male.” No, I’m not referring to the U.S. Postal Service.&nbsp;In this case, it refers to a business that delivers selected male genetics to pork production operations across the Midwest. This same innovative farm family is also pursuing blockchain and bitcoin mining from its location in rural Kansas.&nbsp;Lannin Zoltenko is president and managing partner at Zoltenko Farms and Wildcat Blockchain. His family’s farm is in Jewell County, just one mile from the Nebraska state line. Five generations of the family have lived here. The farm became a century farm in 2017.&nbsp;&nbsp;Zoltenko’s folks are James and Sherryl Zoltenko. Lannin and his wife Melanie have two boys: Chandler, who is farming, and Taran who is at Kansas State University, which is also her father’s alma mater.&nbsp;For decades, the Zoltenkos had a traditional diversified livestock farm raising cattle, crops and pigs. The hog operation was farrow-to-finish, meaning that the males (boars) were bred to the females (sows), which gave birth to piglets that were then raised to market weight.&nbsp;In 1997, Zoltenko was considering whether to come back to the farm. His parents were trying to decide whether to retire or expand.&nbsp;That year in December, they received an inquiry from a business named Pig Improvement Company, or PIC, which was looking for a location for a 50-head boar stud farm in north central Kansas. This would be like a racehorse stud farm, only with swine.&nbsp;&nbsp;This company was seeking a place where selected male hogs could be raised to collect semen for artificial insemination of sows by other hog producers.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Zoltenkos decided to give it a try. “It was a real faith walk,” Lannin Zoltenko said.&nbsp;&nbsp;He credits veterinarians Steve Henry and Lisa Tokach at Abilene Veterinary Hospital for providing key help in starting the operation.&nbsp;“By February 1998, the sows were gone, and by May the boars were here,” Zoltenko said. They developed a process for collecting semen and distributing to other producers, and adopted the slogan, ‘We deliver the male.’&nbsp;Today, Zoltenko Farms has 1,382 boars, most of those in Kansas. Since herd health and biosecurity are so important, their rural location is an advantage. The farm is located 17 miles north of the rural community of Courtland, population 294 people. Now, that’s rural.&nbsp;For producers seeking maternal traits of good litter size and high milking ability, the Large White and Landrace breeds are preferred. For those producers who are raising hogs for harvest, Duroc and Berkshire hogs are the breeds of choice.&nbsp;The semen collected from the Zoltenko’s high quality boars can serve some 300,000 sows annually. The farm operates 11 delivery routes to hog producers in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, Minnesota and Illinois.&nbsp;&nbsp;“Our drivers will put on a million miles a year,” Zoltenko said.&nbsp;In 2020, the Zoltenkos started to pursue an additional enterprise as they looked at the direction of the national economy. “I was looking for sound money,” Zoltenko said. They decided to focus on bitcoin and bitcoin mining.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Bitcoin is a type of cryptocurrency or digital money. According to Investopedia, bitcoin is created, distributed, traded and stored using a decentralized ledger system called a blockchain. In February 2021, the Zoltenkos set up a business known as Wildcat Blockchain.&nbsp;Bitcoin mining is the process of creating new bitcoins by solving extremely complicated math problems that verify transactions in the currency. This requires high level computer capacity. “We look for sub-stations that have unused electrical capacity and set up bitcoin data centers there,” Zoltenko said.&nbsp;As these computers solve the math problems, bitcoin is generated for the discoverers.&nbsp;&nbsp;“We have clients from California to Florida,” he said.&nbsp;“Our greatest success is to positively impact the lives of our team members, our partners, and our community.”&nbsp;For more information about the stud farm, see&nbsp;<a href="http://www.zfistud.com/">www.zfistud.com</a>.&nbsp;We deliver the male – in this case, male genetics for leading pork producer operations across the Midwest. We commend Lannin Zoltenko and all those involved with Zoltenko Farms and Wildcat Blockchain for their innovation and entrepreneurship.&nbsp;They definitely deliver.&nbsp;

Now That’s Rural: Zoltenko Farms and Wildcat Blockchain 

I often smile when I think about the Winston Churchill quote,&nbsp;“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” Fort&nbsp;Hays State University continues to be abundantly blessed by the generosity of so many philanthropists. Those gifts are&nbsp;game-changers. They help us provide state-of-the-art facilities, honor and inspire faculty and open doors of opportunity to many students.

I have a deeply grateful heart for our philanthropists. Because their imprint on our university is so profound, I often find myself searching for the right words and the right ways to say&nbsp;“thank you.”&nbsp;That is why I soaked up every word expressed by graduate student Tanner Callis, who is completing his master’s degree in English.&nbsp;

I’d like to share Tanner’s story in his own words.&nbsp;The following&nbsp;is&nbsp;his beautiful expression&nbsp;of impact:

Every scholarship carries with it a story. The gift of an alumna or alumnus. The goodwill of a loved one. The charity of a friend. And as scholarships are given and received by students, the stories attached to them become intertwined with our own personal experiences&nbsp;in&nbsp;academia.&nbsp;I believe the endowing of an educational scholarship is a reflection of our shared trust in one another across generations.

Today, I am pleased to share a bit about my story of scholarship.&nbsp;

Growing up in Hays, I was one of a blooming batch of annual Hays High School seniors who had to&nbsp;decide whether&nbsp;to pursue higher education either abroad—as in daring outside the comfort zone and finding a new school in a foreign city or state—or attend here at Fort Hays, my local college and the home of that familiar Tiger Gold.&nbsp;

Of course, I chose the latter, not only because Fort Hays offers&nbsp;a&nbsp;quality education at a student-friendly price&nbsp;but also because I had earned a scholarship that was transferable only&nbsp;to&nbsp;a handful of&nbsp;Midwest colleges. (And if I was going to go and do this college thing, I was convinced at the time that it had to either be&nbsp;here&nbsp;or somewhere along the coast.&nbsp;My decision-making process at the time was based on what I would call&nbsp;dreaming high-schooler logic.&nbsp;Ultimately, I went where the scholarship took me.&nbsp;

And I’m not alone in my decision. Many of us—hundreds of us, perhaps thousands, even—choose Fort Hays because this school offers attainable scholarships where many others do not. We’re here on basketball, soccer,&nbsp;and&nbsp;volleyball scholarships. We’re here on scholarships for painting, ceramics, graphic design.&nbsp;band, orchestra,&nbsp;and&nbsp;choir.&nbsp;Many of us are here on&nbsp;English, history, philosophy. Biology, chemistry, mathematics,&nbsp;business, communication, nursing,&nbsp;or&nbsp;teaching&nbsp;scholarships.&nbsp;I’ve talked to fellow students from all across campus, and&nbsp;many&nbsp;of them are here on scholarship for one craft or another.

So,&nbsp;there I am, standing amidst a handful of other psychology scholarship recipients my freshman year, none of us having formally met a single faculty member before the department had already considered us worthy of scholarships&nbsp;more than&nbsp;five months prior. And that’s because the committees involved in selecting these recipients read our resumes, report cards, and recommendation letters. They decided to invest in us before we even&nbsp;decided&nbsp;to invest in this school. It sounds like a risky environment, and it kind of is. But the risks, more often than not,&nbsp;are&nbsp;worth taking.&nbsp;

Thanks to scholarships from the Department of Psychology and the Department of Music (I play cello in the Hays Symphony), I did not have to disproportionately pay out of pocket for textbooks for&nbsp;any&nbsp;of my classes that first year. Not only that, there was runoff. Looking back, those departmental&nbsp;scholarships probably paid for the majority of the materials I needed for any of my amazing psych courses. Combined with my community scholarship, which covered fees and tuition, I didn’t drop a penny on Fort Hays classes. It’s almost ridiculous. Here in the 2020s, and no fees. Incredible. And it’s all thanks to scholarships.

Perhaps my hard work and&nbsp;resulting&nbsp;good fortune&nbsp;helped me&nbsp;decide&nbsp;to arrange&nbsp;for&nbsp;another investment in Fort Hays State University. In the fall of 2021, I enrolled in the English department’s program for a Master of Arts. Here again, I was presented with—you guessed it—a scholarship-the Eleanor Bogart scholarship. This scholarship bought me expert-approved copies of&nbsp;Le Morte D'arthur,&nbsp;The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano&nbsp;(with letters of critical review),&nbsp;and&nbsp;The Norton Anthology of English Literature&nbsp;covering The Middle Ages. There’s&nbsp;a lot&nbsp;to be excited about here—take my word for it. &nbsp;

The jump from psychology undergrad to English M.A. questions many, sometimes even myself. As an undergraduate, I continuously&nbsp;tacked&nbsp;on an English course every semester. World Fiction. Survey of American History. Advanced Composition. There was no pressing need to complete Gen Ed credits, so I know it had become a conscious decision at some point. Twenty-one credit hours later, I walked across the&nbsp;commencement&nbsp;stage with my B.S. in psychology, an English minor, and a cumulative 4.0 GPA, along with the confidence to start a new chapter in my life.&nbsp;

This chapter will just so happen to come to a close this spring. As I near the end of my M.A. degree, I look back on a six-year academic career at FHSU. “So many people got me to where I am today.” It’s a thought that often comes to mind when we begin to see the light at the end of a long tunnel. Family, teachers, colleagues, coworkers—even the retired neighbors on my block who see me getting in and out of my car five times a day. These people were all integral to&nbsp;my ability to&nbsp;complete&nbsp;my degree. But the&nbsp;failure&nbsp;to include scholarships in bolstering my academic and financial situation would be most erroneous.&nbsp;

Currently, I am using my writing and editing strengths as the publicity writer for the Hays Symphony here in town. I’ve been a cello player in the orchestra for almost a decade now, so it’s nice to be able to give back and&nbsp;get involved&nbsp;in a new way.&nbsp;As a publicity intern, I gained experience writing copy for posters and other promotional materials, generating content for our website, and managing content for our social media platforms, primarily Facebook and Instagram.&nbsp;Plus, I get to help out my longtime mentor Cathy Drabkin, the brilliant baker behind Cathy’s Breads, who was also once an English M.A. student herself. Maybe the similarities add up to why we get along so well.

Where does all this effort lead? What’s the goal after this?” Those are the big questions. After graduation, I hope to attend the Denver Publishing Institute. There, I will be able to&nbsp;leverage&nbsp;my&nbsp;reading, writing, and editing experiences and become a more skilled professional. But also, the publishing&nbsp;world&nbsp;demands&nbsp;an&nbsp;understanding of different viewpoints, negotiation skills, presentation formality, business instinct, and a good eye for appealing content. I want to work with writers who articulate thoughts, feelings, and&nbsp;emotions through character, plot, and setting. I also want to try my hand at technical writing someday. And I think I’d like to work in writing and editing&nbsp;textbooks instead of solely reading them. Academia is, for many people, a circular journey.&nbsp;

And so,&nbsp;in this next chapter&nbsp;of my life,&nbsp;I will continue to experiment, explore, and acquire new knowledge. Fort Hays State University met me at a time&nbsp;when&nbsp;I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do,&nbsp;and through challenge, helped me figure that out. Now, I plan to put my cumulative experience to the test. Tough times await, no doubt, but as I’ve been told before numerous times—and reinforced through being a scholarship recipient—I&nbsp;am&nbsp;a person who can meet these demands head-on.&nbsp;(Callis, 2022)

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575301942236.jpeg" alt="Dr. Tisa Mason, FHSU president" />
 <figcaption>Dr. Tisa Mason, FHSU president</figcaption>
 </figure>I often smile when I think about the Winston Churchill quote,&nbsp;“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” Fort&nbsp;Hays State University continues to be abundantly blessed by the generosity of so many philanthropists. Those gifts are&nbsp;game-changers. They help us provide state-of-the-art facilities, honor and inspire faculty and open doors of opportunity to many students.I have a deeply grateful heart for our philanthropists. Because their imprint on our university is so profound, I often find myself searching for the right words and the right ways to say&nbsp;“thank you.”&nbsp;That is why I soaked up every word expressed by graduate student Tanner Callis, who is completing his master’s degree in English.&nbsp;I’d like to share Tanner’s story in his own words.&nbsp;The following&nbsp;is&nbsp;his beautiful expression&nbsp;of impact:Every scholarship carries with it a story. The gift of an alumna or alumnus. The goodwill of a loved one. The charity of a friend. And as scholarships are given and received by students, the stories attached to them become intertwined with our own personal experiences&nbsp;in&nbsp;academia.&nbsp;I believe the endowing of an educational scholarship is a reflection of our shared trust in one another across generations.Today, I am pleased to share a bit about my story of scholarship.&nbsp;Growing up in Hays, I was one of a blooming batch of annual Hays High School seniors who had to&nbsp;decide whether&nbsp;to pursue higher education either abroad—as in daring outside the comfort zone and finding a new school in a foreign city or state—or attend here at Fort Hays, my local college and the home of that familiar Tiger Gold.&nbsp;Of course, I chose the latter, not only because Fort Hays offers&nbsp;a&nbsp;quality education at a student-friendly price&nbsp;but also because I had earned a scholarship that was transferable only&nbsp;to&nbsp;a handful of&nbsp;Midwest colleges. (And if I was going to go and do this college thing, I was convinced at the time that it had to either be&nbsp;here&nbsp;or somewhere along the coast.&nbsp;My decision-making process at the time was based on what I would call&nbsp;dreaming high-schooler logic.&nbsp;Ultimately, I went where the scholarship took me.&nbsp;And I’m not alone in my decision. Many of us—hundreds of us, perhaps thousands, even—choose Fort Hays because this school offers attainable scholarships where many others do not. We’re here on basketball, soccer,&nbsp;and&nbsp;volleyball scholarships. We’re here on scholarships for painting, ceramics, graphic design.&nbsp;band, orchestra,&nbsp;and&nbsp;choir.&nbsp;Many of us are here on&nbsp;English, history, philosophy. Biology, chemistry, mathematics,&nbsp;business, communication, nursing,&nbsp;or&nbsp;teaching&nbsp;scholarships.&nbsp;I’ve talked to fellow students from all across campus, and&nbsp;many&nbsp;of them are here on scholarship for one craft or another.So,&nbsp;there I am, standing amidst a handful of other psychology scholarship recipients my freshman year, none of us having formally met a single faculty member before the department had already considered us worthy of scholarships&nbsp;more than&nbsp;five months prior. And that’s because the committees involved in selecting these recipients read our resumes, report cards, and recommendation letters. They decided to invest in us before we even&nbsp;decided&nbsp;to invest in this school. It sounds like a risky environment, and it kind of is. But the risks, more often than not,&nbsp;are&nbsp;worth taking.&nbsp;Thanks to scholarships from the Department of Psychology and the Department of Music (I play cello in the Hays Symphony), I did not have to disproportionately pay out of pocket for textbooks for&nbsp;any&nbsp;of my classes that first year. Not only that, there was runoff. Looking back, those departmental&nbsp;scholarships probably paid for the majority of the materials I needed for any of my amazing psych courses. Combined with my community scholarship, which covered fees and tuition, I didn’t drop a penny on Fort Hays classes. It’s almost ridiculous. Here in the 2020s, and no fees. Incredible. And it’s all thanks to scholarships.Perhaps my hard work and&nbsp;resulting&nbsp;good fortune&nbsp;helped me&nbsp;decide&nbsp;to arrange&nbsp;for&nbsp;another investment in Fort Hays State University. In the fall of 2021, I enrolled in the English department’s program for a Master of Arts. Here again, I was presented with—you guessed it—a scholarship-the Eleanor Bogart scholarship. This scholarship bought me expert-approved copies of&nbsp;Le Morte D'arthur,&nbsp;The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano&nbsp;(with letters of critical review),&nbsp;and&nbsp;The Norton Anthology of English Literature&nbsp;covering The Middle Ages. There’s&nbsp;a lot&nbsp;to be excited about here—take my word for it. &nbsp;The jump from psychology undergrad to English M.A. questions many, sometimes even myself. As an undergraduate, I continuously&nbsp;tacked&nbsp;on an English course every semester. World Fiction. Survey of American History. Advanced Composition. There was no pressing need to complete Gen Ed credits, so I know it had become a conscious decision at some point. Twenty-one credit hours later, I walked across the&nbsp;commencement&nbsp;stage with my B.S. in psychology, an English minor, and a cumulative 4.0 GPA, along with the confidence to start a new chapter in my life.&nbsp;This chapter will just so happen to come to a close this spring. As I near the end of my M.A. degree, I look back on a six-year academic career at FHSU. “So many people got me to where I am today.” It’s a thought that often comes to mind when we begin to see the light at the end of a long tunnel. Family, teachers, colleagues, coworkers—even the retired neighbors on my block who see me getting in and out of my car five times a day. These people were all integral to&nbsp;my ability to&nbsp;complete&nbsp;my degree. But the&nbsp;failure&nbsp;to include scholarships in bolstering my academic and financial situation would be most erroneous.&nbsp;Currently, I am using my writing and editing strengths as the publicity writer for the Hays Symphony here in town. I’ve been a cello player in the orchestra for almost a decade now, so it’s nice to be able to give back and&nbsp;get involved&nbsp;in a new way.&nbsp;As a publicity intern, I gained experience writing copy for posters and other promotional materials, generating content for our website, and managing content for our social media platforms, primarily Facebook and Instagram.&nbsp;Plus, I get to help out my longtime mentor Cathy Drabkin, the brilliant baker behind Cathy’s Breads, who was also once an English M.A. student herself. Maybe the similarities add up to why we get along so well.Where does all this effort lead? What’s the goal after this?” Those are the big questions. After graduation, I hope to attend the Denver Publishing Institute. There, I will be able to&nbsp;leverage&nbsp;my&nbsp;reading, writing, and editing experiences and become a more skilled professional. But also, the publishing&nbsp;world&nbsp;demands&nbsp;an&nbsp;understanding of different viewpoints, negotiation skills, presentation formality, business instinct, and a good eye for appealing content. I want to work with writers who articulate thoughts, feelings, and&nbsp;emotions through character, plot, and setting. I also want to try my hand at technical writing someday. And I think I’d like to work in writing and editing&nbsp;textbooks instead of solely reading them. Academia is, for many people, a circular journey.&nbsp;And so,&nbsp;in this next chapter&nbsp;of my life,&nbsp;I will continue to experiment, explore, and acquire new knowledge. Fort Hays State University met me at a time&nbsp;when&nbsp;I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do,&nbsp;and through challenge, helped me figure that out. Now, I plan to put my cumulative experience to the test. Tough times await, no doubt, but as I’ve been told before numerous times—and reinforced through being a scholarship recipient—I&nbsp;am&nbsp;a person who can meet these demands head-on.&nbsp;(Callis, 2022)

Heart of a Tiger: FHSU student discusses the power of scholarships 

By GREG DOERING Kansas Farm Bureau Even as Thanksgiving draws near, it’s easy have a pessimistic perspective about the current state of the world. If you’re feeding a gathering of 10 people, a traditional turkey dinner will cost 20 percent more this year, according to an American Farm Bureau Federation survey. To be fair, wages are rising but at a much slower pace so while the survey’s results are real, 20 percent is a bit of an overstatement. Nonetheless, that pinch in your pocketbook is real, and it’s easy to let it spoil Thanksgiving. Our inclination to self-centeredness is partly to blame. We know exactly which rung on the ladder we occupy, and it’s all too easy to look up, see everyone a step or two higher and think we’re at the bottom. Our aspirations for tomorrow can easily lead to resentment today if we spend too much time looking up. We avoid looking down, not out of a feeling of superiority, but fear. Fear our footing isn’t solid enough to prevent slipping down a rung. Angst our only assets are material in nature. Worry our worth is based on ascending. These are universal causes of anxiety and alarm even if they’re only true in our minds. Just as our value isn’t set by a bank account, a meal’s quality isn’t dependent on its price. While accounting can make things look simple and tidy, it’s a poor approach to confine one’s life to a spreadsheet or the balance of a retirement account, especially this year. Thanksgiving is the perfect time to reflect on just how much we take gratitude for granted and how skewed our perspective can become. A day reserved for family and feast is surely a reason to be grateful, but it’s worth acknowledging there’s value in recognizing the obvious and near rather than waiting for some special, unexpected good luck to express appreciation. Is it not worth celebrating the mere fact we’re alive right now? When counting blessings isn’t that the logical place to begin? While not everyone has the opportunity to give thanks for the laughter of cousins playing while the adults cook or have those close conversations around the table after the meal is finished, the fact we’re here at all is notable. The funny thing about recognizing the incredibly simple aspects of life is it has a way of changing your outlook. A week or two from now, no one will recall if the turkey was dry, the mashed potatoes were a little lumpy, who brought what pie or even what everything cost. That’s the hope at least. It’s possible a curmudgeon or two will find their way to a few dinner tables, bringing with them dour assessments of the world and wanting to talk about unseemly topics like politics. Being thankful for life doesn’t mean we’re free from challenges. However, we get to choose how we approach those challenges. Thanksgiving is a good time to focus on all the things big and small we’re grateful for. It should also serve as a reminder to take stock of our gratitude throughout the year. If you start with the simple fact you’re grateful to be alive, you can probably continue counting your blessings until your family’s next feast.

"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/2019/11/1574694551876.png" alt="Greg Doering&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Greg Doering&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>By GREG DOERING Kansas Farm Bureau Even as Thanksgiving draws near, it’s easy have a pessimistic perspective about the current state of the world. If you’re feeding a gathering of 10 people, a traditional turkey dinner will cost 20 percent more this year, according to an American Farm Bureau Federation survey. To be fair, wages are rising but at a much slower pace so while the survey’s results are real, 20 percent is a bit of an overstatement. Nonetheless, that pinch in your pocketbook is real, and it’s easy to let it spoil Thanksgiving. Our inclination to self-centeredness is partly to blame. We know exactly which rung on the ladder we occupy, and it’s all too easy to look up, see everyone a step or two higher and think we’re at the bottom. Our aspirations for tomorrow can easily lead to resentment today if we spend too much time looking up. We avoid looking down, not out of a feeling of superiority, but fear. Fear our footing isn’t solid enough to prevent slipping down a rung. Angst our only assets are material in nature. Worry our worth is based on ascending. These are universal causes of anxiety and alarm even if they’re only true in our minds. Just as our value isn’t set by a bank account, a meal’s quality isn’t dependent on its price. While accounting can make things look simple and tidy, it’s a poor approach to confine one’s life to a spreadsheet or the balance of a retirement account, especially this year. Thanksgiving is the perfect time to reflect on just how much we take gratitude for granted and how skewed our perspective can become. A day reserved for family and feast is surely a reason to be grateful, but it’s worth acknowledging there’s value in recognizing the obvious and near rather than waiting for some special, unexpected good luck to express appreciation. Is it not worth celebrating the mere fact we’re alive right now? When counting blessings isn’t that the logical place to begin? While not everyone has the opportunity to give thanks for the laughter of cousins playing while the adults cook or have those close conversations around the table after the meal is finished, the fact we’re here at all is notable. The funny thing about recognizing the incredibly simple aspects of life is it has a way of changing your outlook. A week or two from now, no one will recall if the turkey was dry, the mashed potatoes were a little lumpy, who brought what pie or even what everything cost. That’s the hope at least. It’s possible a curmudgeon or two will find their way to a few dinner tables, bringing with them dour assessments of the world and wanting to talk about unseemly topics like politics. Being thankful for life doesn’t mean we’re free from challenges. However, we get to choose how we approach those challenges. Thanksgiving is a good time to focus on all the things big and small we’re grateful for. It should also serve as a reminder to take stock of our gratitude throughout the year. If you start with the simple fact you’re grateful to be alive, you can probably continue counting your blessings until your family’s next feast."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: Family and feast

By MAX KAUTSCH <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/11/20/dear-kris-kobach-please-read-this-open-letter-about-open-government-in-kansas/">Courtesy Kansas Reflector</a>

Congratulations on your election as our state’s next attorney general.

I write this open letter in my capacity as the president of the <a target="_blank" href="https://kcog.us/">Kansas Coalition for Open Government</a>.
 My purpose is to express my hope for establishing a working 
relationship between the coalition and your administration to achieve 
what I believe to be a shared goal: educating the public about the 
importance of transparency at all levels of Kansas government.

Transparency is vital. For example, it is how<a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2022/08/23/overland-park-police-shooting-investigation/"> family members of crime victims learn</a> about what happened to their loved ones. A lack of transparency is why there was such an uproar over <a target="_blank" href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/shocking-kansas-secures-no-jobs-100000436.html">unknowns about how taxpayer dollars were leveraged during the Panasonic plant negotiations</a>. Transparency is, at its heart, the ability of members of a democracy to challenge or verify what the government tells us.

As you know, the Attorney General’s Office plays a critical role in 
promoting transparency in the state. Under Kansas law, the office is 
afforded more authority than any other entity to investigate and act on 
complaints made by members of the public that a public agency has 
violated the <a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/statute/045_000_0000_chapter/045_002_0000_article/045_002_0051_section/045_002_0051_k/">Kansas Open Records Act</a> or the <a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/statute/075_000_0000_chapter/075_043_0000_article/075_043_0020b_section/075_043_0020b_k/">Kansas Open Meetings Act</a>,
 such as when an agency denies access to a record that should have been 
available or a has a meeting behind closed doors that should have been 
open.

Although county and district attorneys, as well as members of the public, have <a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/statute/045_000_0000_chapter/045_002_0000_article/045_002_0022_section/045_002_0022_k/">authority to bring civil lawsuits</a> to enforce <a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/statute/075_000_0000_chapter/075_043_0000_article/075_043_0020a_section/075_043_0020a_k/">open government laws</a>,
 only the Attorney General’s Office has authority to enter into a 
“consent decree” with the offending agency or issue a “finding of 
violation” against such agency to resolve the complaint.

Your predecessor, who <a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.org/li_2016/b2015_16/committees/ctte_s_jud_1/documents/testimony/20150218_08.pdf">worked with legislators</a> to <a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.org/li_2016/b2015_16/measures/hb2256/">pass the bill</a> conferring these additional powers on the office in 2015, <a target="_blank" href="https://ag.ks.gov/media-center/news-releases/2016/02/01/ag-s-office-reorganizes-to-boost-open-government-enforcement">established an Open Government Enforcement Unit</a> within his office that was effectively the <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/03/16/kansas-attorney-general-derek-schmidt-falls-short-on-enforcing-open-records-law/">sole arbiter of open government law in this state</a> for the latter half of his tenure.

Now, Kansans have given you the responsibility to serve as the 
state’s primary enforcer of open government laws. With that 
responsibility comes broad investigatory and enforcement authority, 
including the ability to issue subpoenas to public agencies to enforce 
open meetings laws.

But I think we can agree that the most important component of effective open government law enforcement is education.

Your predecessor routinely offered open government <a target="_blank" href="https://ag.ks.gov/open-government/training">training sessions</a>
 for public employees and officials, the news media, and members of the 
public. Not only do such sessions help prevent public agencies from 
violating open government laws, but they also serve as a constructive 
way to resolve complaints because the office can order officials to 
remedy certain violations by attending.

To whatever extent the Attorney General’s Office under your 
leadership welcomes assistance in offering and developing such 
education, the coalition is happy to help. Our organization, a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.guidestar.org/profile/48-1224557">501(c)(3) nonprofit</a>&nbsp;formed in 1999, has provided open government training sessions, <a target="_blank" href="https://ag.ks.gov/media-center/news-releases/2018/08/01/ag-derek-schmidt-sunshine-coalition-to-offer-free-training-on-open-government-laws">sometimes in partnership with the office</a>, for more than two decades.

We offer a wide variety of open government education <a target="_blank" href="https://kcog.us/resources/">resources on our website</a>, including <a target="_blank" href="https://kautschlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/open-govt-crash-course-2022.pdf">KORA and KOMA training slides</a> based largely on outlines of open government laws written by your predecessor.

Finally, for many years, the Attorney General’s Office and the Kansas
 Coalition for Open Government worked together to offer KORA and KOMA 
training. But that practice was suspended for a variety of reasons, not 
the least of which was your predecessor’s <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/09/15/kansas-ags-office-enforces-open-records-law-while-overlooking-key-piece/">selective application of the plain language</a>
 of KORA. It is my hope, despite past differences, that your 
administration recognizes the benefit of our shared history and would be
 willing to discuss how we might resume working together to serve the 
public interest during your term.

I can be reached at <a target="_blank" href="mailto:president@kcog.us">president@kcog.us</a>. I wish you the best of luck as you prepare to take office, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Max Kautsch, licensed to practice law in both Kansas and Nebraska, focuses his practice on First Amendment rights and open government law. He helps news media and members of the public assert rights of access to court proceedings, court records, and government agency documents. He serves as the legal hotline attorney for the Kansas Press Association and the Kansas Association of Broadcasters, is president of the Kansas Coalition for Open Government, and is an adjunct professor at the University Kansas School of Law. Kautsch is also hotline counsel to both the Nebraska Press Association and the Nebraska Broadcasters Association.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663086493444.jpeg" alt="Kautsch" />
 <figcaption>Kautsch</figcaption>
 </figure>By MAX KAUTSCH <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/11/20/dear-kris-kobach-please-read-this-open-letter-about-open-government-in-kansas/">Courtesy Kansas Reflector</a>Dear attorney general-elect Kris Kobach:Congratulations on your election as our state’s next attorney general.I write this open letter in my capacity as the president of the <a target="_blank" href="https://kcog.us/">Kansas Coalition for Open Government</a>.
 My purpose is to express my hope for establishing a working 
relationship between the coalition and your administration to achieve 
what I believe to be a shared goal: educating the public about the 
importance of transparency at all levels of Kansas government.Transparency is vital. For example, it is how<a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2022/08/23/overland-park-police-shooting-investigation/"> family members of crime victims learn</a> about what happened to their loved ones. A lack of transparency is why there was such an uproar over <a target="_blank" href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/shocking-kansas-secures-no-jobs-100000436.html">unknowns about how taxpayer dollars were leveraged during the Panasonic plant negotiations</a>. Transparency is, at its heart, the ability of members of a democracy to challenge or verify what the government tells us.As you know, the Attorney General’s Office plays a critical role in 
promoting transparency in the state. Under Kansas law, the office is 
afforded more authority than any other entity to investigate and act on 
complaints made by members of the public that a public agency has 
violated the <a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/statute/045_000_0000_chapter/045_002_0000_article/045_002_0051_section/045_002_0051_k/">Kansas Open Records Act</a> or the <a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/statute/075_000_0000_chapter/075_043_0000_article/075_043_0020b_section/075_043_0020b_k/">Kansas Open Meetings Act</a>,
 such as when an agency denies access to a record that should have been 
available or a has a meeting behind closed doors that should have been 
open.Although county and district attorneys, as well as members of the public, have <a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/statute/045_000_0000_chapter/045_002_0000_article/045_002_0022_section/045_002_0022_k/">authority to bring civil lawsuits</a> to enforce <a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/statute/075_000_0000_chapter/075_043_0000_article/075_043_0020a_section/075_043_0020a_k/">open government laws</a>,
 only the Attorney General’s Office has authority to enter into a 
“consent decree” with the offending agency or issue a “finding of 
violation” against such agency to resolve the complaint.Your predecessor, who <a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.org/li_2016/b2015_16/committees/ctte_s_jud_1/documents/testimony/20150218_08.pdf">worked with legislators</a> to <a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.org/li_2016/b2015_16/measures/hb2256/">pass the bill</a> conferring these additional powers on the office in 2015, <a target="_blank" href="https://ag.ks.gov/media-center/news-releases/2016/02/01/ag-s-office-reorganizes-to-boost-open-government-enforcement">established an Open Government Enforcement Unit</a> within his office that was effectively the <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/03/16/kansas-attorney-general-derek-schmidt-falls-short-on-enforcing-open-records-law/">sole arbiter of open government law in this state</a> for the latter half of his tenure.Now, Kansans have given you the responsibility to serve as the 
state’s primary enforcer of open government laws. With that 
responsibility comes broad investigatory and enforcement authority, 
including the ability to issue subpoenas to public agencies to enforce 
open meetings laws.But I think we can agree that the most important component of effective open government law enforcement is education.Your predecessor routinely offered open government <a target="_blank" href="https://ag.ks.gov/open-government/training">training sessions</a>
 for public employees and officials, the news media, and members of the 
public. Not only do such sessions help prevent public agencies from 
violating open government laws, but they also serve as a constructive 
way to resolve complaints because the office can order officials to 
remedy certain violations by attending.To whatever extent the Attorney General’s Office under your 
leadership welcomes assistance in offering and developing such 
education, the coalition is happy to help. Our organization, a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.guidestar.org/profile/48-1224557">501(c)(3) nonprofit</a>&nbsp;formed in 1999, has provided open government training sessions, <a target="_blank" href="https://ag.ks.gov/media-center/news-releases/2018/08/01/ag-derek-schmidt-sunshine-coalition-to-offer-free-training-on-open-government-laws">sometimes in partnership with the office</a>, for more than two decades.We offer a wide variety of open government education <a target="_blank" href="https://kcog.us/resources/">resources on our website</a>, including <a target="_blank" href="https://kautschlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/open-govt-crash-course-2022.pdf">KORA and KOMA training slides</a> based largely on outlines of open government laws written by your predecessor.Finally, for many years, the Attorney General’s Office and the Kansas
 Coalition for Open Government worked together to offer KORA and KOMA 
training. But that practice was suspended for a variety of reasons, not 
the least of which was your predecessor’s <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/09/15/kansas-ags-office-enforces-open-records-law-while-overlooking-key-piece/">selective application of the plain language</a>
 of KORA. It is my hope, despite past differences, that your 
administration recognizes the benefit of our shared history and would be
 willing to discuss how we might resume working together to serve the 
public interest during your term.I can be reached at <a target="_blank" href="mailto:president@kcog.us">president@kcog.us</a>. I wish you the best of luck as you prepare to take office, and I hope to hear from you soon.Max Kautsch, licensed to practice law in both Kansas and Nebraska, focuses his practice on First Amendment rights and open government law. He helps news media and members of the public assert rights of access to court proceedings, court records, and government agency documents. He serves as the legal hotline attorney for the Kansas Press Association and the Kansas Association of Broadcasters, is president of the Kansas Coalition for Open Government, and is an adjunct professor at the University Kansas School of Law. Kautsch is also hotline counsel to both the Nebraska Press Association and the Nebraska Broadcasters Association.

Dear Kris Kobach: Please read this open letter about open government in Kansas

Can the three newly elected Kansas State Board of Education members move the agenda to the far right? &nbsp;We’ll soon find out.&nbsp;&nbsp;

While the much-hyped red wave didn’t materialize at the national level, Republicans took all five open seats in the Nov. 8 state board elections, gaining a seven to three advantage over Democrats.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The new board majority may move to advance more, and more rigorous, conservative positions. During the campaign, the three conservative Republican candidates’ views focused consistently on limiting discussion of gender, sexuality and race; banning books; and requiring all curriculum and materials to receive the parents’ approval before being given to students.

&nbsp;The three conservatives also supported “school choice,” a term that means allowing parents to claim the portion of state tax dollars going to their child’s education and use it for private schools or other not assessed nor audited learning expenses.&nbsp;

&nbsp;According to a report by KCUR the National Public Radio Kansas City affiliate, the conservative candidates’ campaign websites used similar language projecting a unified front on these issues.&nbsp;

In the past, KSDE board members have worked across party lines to support a moderate agenda, even though Republicans outnumbered Democrats on the board.&nbsp;

It’s not yet clear just how much the three new conservative board members can shift Kansas education agendas by moving the party that holds voting control toward national right-wing policies.&nbsp;&nbsp;

In general, the Kansas Legislature makes the laws governing K-12 education and it’s&nbsp;the responsibility of KSDE to carry out these laws including how curriculum is implemented.&nbsp;

November election results pushed the Legislature farther right and allowed Republicans to maintain a two-thirds supermajority. Nevertheless, Republicans, even with a supermajority in the Legislature last year, could not override a Parents’ Rights Bill or a bill prohibiting transgender students from athletic competition. Both bills were vetoed by Democrat Laura Kelly who will return for a second term as governor.&nbsp;

The November failure of an amendment giving the Legislature&nbsp;veto power to suspend rules and regulations written by executive branch agencies under control of the governor, also will make it difficult for&nbsp;a Republican controlled Legislature and KSDE board to make ultra-conservative changes in policies governed by state law.&nbsp;

Yet, the state board has considerable power to shape the way education laws are put into practice such as how subjects are taught, teacher licensure and graduation requirements.&nbsp;

Despite three of the open board seats going unopposed to Republicans, Kansans spoke through the election and the signal is clear. It’s time, within the legal framework of state and federal equity laws, to pump-the-breaks on school issues many in the public find unhelpful, such as explicit gender/sexuality education in Kindergarten to grade three classes.

There are serious issues to be addressed—teacher shortages; funding of special education; academic improvement, especially in math and reading in the lower grades—culture wars aside.&nbsp;

The hope is that relations on the state board don’t deteriorate, calm will prevail and special interests will give way to working through common concerns.&nbsp;

It really doesn’t matter which political party holds the majority of votes on the KSDE board as long as each of the members put the best interests of Kansas schools above party loyalties. &nbsp;

Sharon Hartin Iorio is Dean Emerita Wichita State University College of Education.

<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>Can the three newly elected Kansas State Board of Education members move the agenda to the far right? &nbsp;We’ll soon find out.&nbsp;&nbsp;While the much-hyped red wave didn’t materialize at the national level, Republicans took all five open seats in the Nov. 8 state board elections, gaining a seven to three advantage over Democrats.&nbsp;&nbsp;The new board majority may move to advance more, and more rigorous, conservative positions. During the campaign, the three conservative Republican candidates’ views focused consistently on limiting discussion of gender, sexuality and race; banning books; and requiring all curriculum and materials to receive the parents’ approval before being given to students.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575913663048.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;The three conservatives also supported “school choice,” a term that means allowing parents to claim the portion of state tax dollars going to their child’s education and use it for private schools or other not assessed nor audited learning expenses.&nbsp;&nbsp;According to a report by KCUR the National Public Radio Kansas City affiliate, the conservative candidates’ campaign websites used similar language projecting a unified front on these issues.&nbsp;In the past, KSDE board members have worked across party lines to support a moderate agenda, even though Republicans outnumbered Democrats on the board.&nbsp;It’s not yet clear just how much the three new conservative board members can shift Kansas education agendas by moving the party that holds voting control toward national right-wing policies.&nbsp;&nbsp;In general, the Kansas Legislature makes the laws governing K-12 education and it’s&nbsp;the responsibility of KSDE to carry out these laws including how curriculum is implemented.&nbsp;November election results pushed the Legislature farther right and allowed Republicans to maintain a two-thirds supermajority. Nevertheless, Republicans, even with a supermajority in the Legislature last year, could not override a Parents’ Rights Bill or a bill prohibiting transgender students from athletic competition. Both bills were vetoed by Democrat Laura Kelly who will return for a second term as governor.&nbsp;The November failure of an amendment giving the Legislature&nbsp;veto power to suspend rules and regulations written by executive branch agencies under control of the governor, also will make it difficult for&nbsp;a Republican controlled Legislature and KSDE board to make ultra-conservative changes in policies governed by state law.&nbsp;Yet, the state board has considerable power to shape the way education laws are put into practice such as how subjects are taught, teacher licensure and graduation requirements.&nbsp;Despite three of the open board seats going unopposed to Republicans, Kansans spoke through the election and the signal is clear. It’s time, within the legal framework of state and federal equity laws, to pump-the-breaks on school issues many in the public find unhelpful, such as explicit gender/sexuality education in Kindergarten to grade three classes.There are serious issues to be addressed—teacher shortages; funding of special education; academic improvement, especially in math and reading in the lower grades—culture wars aside.&nbsp;The hope is that relations on the state board don’t deteriorate, calm will prevail and special interests will give way to working through common concerns.&nbsp;It really doesn’t matter which political party holds the majority of votes on the KSDE board as long as each of the members put the best interests of Kansas schools above party loyalties. &nbsp;Sharon Hartin Iorio is Dean Emerita Wichita State University College of Education.

INSIGHT KANSAS: Will conservatives control state school board?

By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development

Patent pending. We frequently see those words on a label but may not think about the process required to gain such a designation.&nbsp;

Today we’ll meet a small town Kansas law firm that specializes in helping clients across the nation protect their intellectual property.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Attorney Daniel Coughlin is founder and principal of the Coughlin Law Office LLC in Sabetha.&nbsp; Stuart Aller is the patent agent in the law firm.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Coughlin is a Michigan native.&nbsp;While earning a doctorate in biochemistry at the University of Michigan, he researched a product that was thought to be patentable.&nbsp;“I was intrigued by the patent process,” he said.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Coughlin earned a law degree at the University of Toledo.&nbsp;Through a church youth group, he met and later married Tamra who was born in Sabetha.&nbsp;While working his way through law school, Coughlin built and programmed control panels at a Sabetha manufacturing company.&nbsp; He recognized that patents help encourage inventors by protecting their innovative ideas.&nbsp;&nbsp;

In 2012, he opened the Coughlin Law Office in Sabetha.&nbsp;Over time, he found a niche in developing and filing patents for his clients.&nbsp;&nbsp;

In 2020, Hiawatha native Stuart Aller joined the firm.&nbsp;Aller graduated from K-State with life science degrees and worked as a scientist for the State of Kansas before moving back to his hometown to teach.&nbsp;Aller met Coughlin and started doing technical writing for the firm during the summers. Aller became interested in the patent work that supports innovation. &nbsp;&nbsp;

“I’ve always been interested in science and technology,” Aller said.&nbsp;He sat for the patent bar exam, which is a specialized form of legal certification.&nbsp;“There’s something like a 40% pass rate,” he said.&nbsp;“It was definitely the hardest exam I’ve ever taken.”&nbsp;

Aller passed and, in 2020, became certified by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a registered patent agent. He joined the Coughlin firm in offering their KanPat® intellectual property services.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“An inventor will come in with some idea and we will work though it to identify the key factors that make it new and unique,” Coughlin said.&nbsp;Then they develop a proposed filing complete with technical drawings and explanations. Ultimately this is filed with the U.S. Patent Office.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“It is not necessarily a quick process,” Coughlin said.&nbsp;Filings are subject to in-depth review by patent examiners.&nbsp; “Depending on various factors, it can take 2-3 years at the fastest or up to 5-6 years for a patent to issue. However, ‘patent pending’ can usually be achieved in just a few days or weeks.”&nbsp;

“(Working with clients) is one of the best parts of the job,” he said.&nbsp;

Coughlin Law Office recently worked with a K-State student to patent an improved hitch pin.&nbsp;In another case, they worked with an inventor who had been turned away by a big city law firm, but Coughlin and Aller ultimately obtained a patent for him.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Sabetha is a fruitful home base for the company due to the multiple innovative manufacturers found in the community.&nbsp;However, the firm’s reputation has grown far beyond the region.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Coughlin Law Office has done patent work for clients across the nation, from Florida to Washington state.&nbsp;They have also done international work on intellectual property protection in such places as Japan, Brazil, Australia and South Africa.&nbsp;

That’s remarkable for a law firm located in a rural community such as Sabetha, population 2,545 people.&nbsp;Now, that’s rural.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“We get lots of referrals through our loyal clients who appreciate a rural small town law practice with this capability,” Coughlin said.&nbsp;As the law firm’s website states:&nbsp; “We strive to provide professional services with small town warmth and integrity.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

For more information, see&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kanpat.com/">www.kanpat.com</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Patent pending.&nbsp;Those simple words reflect a complex process, led in this case by a law office in rural Kansas.&nbsp;We commend Daniel Coughlin and Stuart Aller of the Coughlin Law Office for making a difference by encouraging innovation and protecting intellectual property in a small town setting.&nbsp; 

The benefit to rural Kansas should be patently obvious.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668700700329.png" alt="Courtesy K-State Research &amp; Extension" />
 <figcaption>Courtesy K-State Research &amp; Extension</figcaption>
 </figure>By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural DevelopmentPatent pending. We frequently see those words on a label but may not think about the process required to gain such a designation.&nbsp;Today we’ll meet a small town Kansas law firm that specializes in helping clients across the nation protect their intellectual property.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Attorney Daniel Coughlin is founder and principal of the Coughlin Law Office LLC in Sabetha.&nbsp; Stuart Aller is the patent agent in the law firm.&nbsp;&nbsp;Coughlin is a Michigan native.&nbsp;While earning a doctorate in biochemistry at the University of Michigan, he researched a product that was thought to be patentable.&nbsp;“I was intrigued by the patent process,” he said.&nbsp;&nbsp;Coughlin earned a law degree at the University of Toledo.&nbsp;Through a church youth group, he met and later married Tamra who was born in Sabetha.&nbsp;While working his way through law school, Coughlin built and programmed control panels at a Sabetha manufacturing company.&nbsp; He recognized that patents help encourage inventors by protecting their innovative ideas.&nbsp;&nbsp;In 2012, he opened the Coughlin Law Office in Sabetha.&nbsp;Over time, he found a niche in developing and filing patents for his clients.&nbsp;&nbsp;In 2020, Hiawatha native Stuart Aller joined the firm.&nbsp;Aller graduated from K-State with life science degrees and worked as a scientist for the State of Kansas before moving back to his hometown to teach.&nbsp;Aller met Coughlin and started doing technical writing for the firm during the summers. Aller became interested in the patent work that supports innovation. &nbsp;&nbsp;“I’ve always been interested in science and technology,” Aller said.&nbsp;He sat for the patent bar exam, which is a specialized form of legal certification.&nbsp;“There’s something like a 40% pass rate,” he said.&nbsp;“It was definitely the hardest exam I’ve ever taken.”&nbsp;Aller passed and, in 2020, became certified by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a registered patent agent. He joined the Coughlin firm in offering their KanPat® intellectual property services.&nbsp;&nbsp;“An inventor will come in with some idea and we will work though it to identify the key factors that make it new and unique,” Coughlin said.&nbsp;Then they develop a proposed filing complete with technical drawings and explanations. Ultimately this is filed with the U.S. Patent Office.&nbsp;&nbsp;“It is not necessarily a quick process,” Coughlin said.&nbsp;Filings are subject to in-depth review by patent examiners.&nbsp; “Depending on various factors, it can take 2-3 years at the fastest or up to 5-6 years for a patent to issue. However, ‘patent pending’ can usually be achieved in just a few days or weeks.”&nbsp;“(Working with clients) is one of the best parts of the job,” he said.&nbsp;Coughlin Law Office recently worked with a K-State student to patent an improved hitch pin.&nbsp;In another case, they worked with an inventor who had been turned away by a big city law firm, but Coughlin and Aller ultimately obtained a patent for him.&nbsp;&nbsp;Sabetha is a fruitful home base for the company due to the multiple innovative manufacturers found in the community.&nbsp;However, the firm’s reputation has grown far beyond the region.&nbsp;&nbsp;Coughlin Law Office has done patent work for clients across the nation, from Florida to Washington state.&nbsp;They have also done international work on intellectual property protection in such places as Japan, Brazil, Australia and South Africa.&nbsp;That’s remarkable for a law firm located in a rural community such as Sabetha, population 2,545 people.&nbsp;Now, that’s rural.&nbsp;&nbsp;“We get lots of referrals through our loyal clients who appreciate a rural small town law practice with this capability,” Coughlin said.&nbsp;As the law firm’s website states:&nbsp; “We strive to provide professional services with small town warmth and integrity.”&nbsp;&nbsp;For more information, see&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kanpat.com/">www.kanpat.com</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;Patent pending.&nbsp;Those simple words reflect a complex process, led in this case by a law office in rural Kansas.&nbsp;We commend Daniel Coughlin and Stuart Aller of the Coughlin Law Office for making a difference by encouraging innovation and protecting intellectual property in a small town setting.&nbsp; The benefit to rural Kansas should be patently obvious.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Now That’s Rural: Daniel Coughlin, Coughlin Law Firm 

I first learned to hunt deer with a group of neighbors where I grew-up in Ohio. 

We all had our&nbsp;favorite&nbsp;stands or places to sit for the first couple days of deer season, then if we hadn’t yet harvested a deer, we would get together as a group to move deer&nbsp;through a wood-lot&nbsp;somewhere&nbsp;towards waiting hunters. 

Here in Kansas, I have harvested several deer from stands or blinds strategically placed along travel routes or at&nbsp;natural&nbsp;feeding spots. When we built our raised blind years ago, we hung a corn feeder in a draw in front of the blind. Squirrels chewed a hole in the bottom of the feeder, so we tried another.&nbsp;Unhappy with that feeder, we began&nbsp;simply&nbsp;scattering buckets of shelled corn, ear corn, apples or pears&nbsp;on the ground&nbsp;over an area the size of a couple houses, which we still do today.&nbsp;

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a very infectious and deadly disease that was first discovered in our KS wild deer in 2005 in the northwestern part of the state, and has steadily spread south and eastward&nbsp;across Kansas. While&nbsp;conservation professionals are not certain of all the ways in which CWD spreads, they agree that the most prevalent seems to be from direct deer-to-deer contact, through saliva, urine, feces etc.

A friend frequently attends the open meetings held around the state where the public is invited to listen to, and to comment on topics such as proposed hunting season dates, etc. and topics of concern such as CWD. He told me that a topic of discussion at the last meeting he attended this summer was whether or not feeding and baiting deer&nbsp;aids in the transmission of CWD, and the possibility of making that practice illegal here in KS arose. A brochure about Chronic Wasting Disease available from the Kansas Dept. of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) states that “Concentrating deer and elk by artificial feeding or baiting probably increases the likelihood of both direct and indirect transmission between individuals” (meaning deer and elk.) A&nbsp;recent post on the KDWP Facebook page urges hunters not to feed or bait deer, and a topic at the early September open-meeting at Kansas City was a proposal to disallow bait&nbsp;for deer&nbsp;to be placed on KDWP managed lands and on all land enrolled in the popular walk-in hunting program.

As one would expect, the KDWP Facebook post urging people not to bait or feed deer&nbsp;as a way to help slow the spread of CWD&nbsp;drew a multitude of comments, with those in support of feeding deer far outnumbering those against it. Comments supporting banning the practice offered little factual information, most merely stating their opposition to feeding&nbsp;and&nbsp;baiting deer, and that deer should be hunted “the old-fashioned way.”&nbsp;Comments supporting&nbsp;feeding and baiting deer often mentioned the fact that many deer naturally feed on the same alfalfa, corn stubble, soybean stubble and new wheat fields, making the commentor wonder how deer feeders are a problem.&nbsp;

We feed deer mostly to get them comfortable with browsing in front of our blind. Last season, I was seeing the same five does and fawns every morning. My sister on who’s property our blind&nbsp;stands, had never spent time with us in the blind during hunting season, so I took her with me one morning. I had prayed that God would at least allow us to see the same five deer that morning, but to our amazement, He brought us fourteen! For forty-five minutes, she got to watch fawns run and play like lambs, and young bucks spar with each other, none of which would have happened had the scattered corn not invited them to&nbsp;pause and&nbsp;browse on&nbsp;their&nbsp;way through to a nearby bedding area.&nbsp;

If corn is being fed to deer by dumping it in a&nbsp;big&nbsp;pile on the ground where every critter from miles around can come and eat from that same pile, I can see how that could&nbsp;concentrate&nbsp;saliva, urine and feces there. But&nbsp;I’m not convinced&nbsp;at all&nbsp;that scattering corn and apples in a large area like we do, or using a battery-powered corn feeder that flings a small amount of corn at&nbsp;a&nbsp;time over a broad area will contribute to the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease.&nbsp;I understand the argument, but color me skeptical. Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors!

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>I first learned to hunt deer with a group of neighbors where I grew-up in Ohio. We all had our&nbsp;favorite&nbsp;stands or places to sit for the first couple days of deer season, then if we hadn’t yet harvested a deer, we would get together as a group to move deer&nbsp;through a wood-lot&nbsp;somewhere&nbsp;towards waiting hunters. Here in Kansas, I have harvested several deer from stands or blinds strategically placed along travel routes or at&nbsp;natural&nbsp;feeding spots. When we built our raised blind years ago, we hung a corn feeder in a draw in front of the blind. Squirrels chewed a hole in the bottom of the feeder, so we tried another.&nbsp;Unhappy with that feeder, we began&nbsp;simply&nbsp;scattering buckets of shelled corn, ear corn, apples or pears&nbsp;on the ground&nbsp;over an area the size of a couple houses, which we still do today.&nbsp;Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a very infectious and deadly disease that was first discovered in our KS wild deer in 2005 in the northwestern part of the state, and has steadily spread south and eastward&nbsp;across Kansas. While&nbsp;conservation professionals are not certain of all the ways in which CWD spreads, they agree that the most prevalent seems to be from direct deer-to-deer contact, through saliva, urine, feces etc.A friend frequently attends the open meetings held around the state where the public is invited to listen to, and to comment on topics such as proposed hunting season dates, etc. and topics of concern such as CWD. He told me that a topic of discussion at the last meeting he attended this summer was whether or not feeding and baiting deer&nbsp;aids in the transmission of CWD, and the possibility of making that practice illegal here in KS arose. A brochure about Chronic Wasting Disease available from the Kansas Dept. of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) states that “Concentrating deer and elk by artificial feeding or baiting probably increases the likelihood of both direct and indirect transmission between individuals” (meaning deer and elk.) A&nbsp;recent post on the KDWP Facebook page urges hunters not to feed or bait deer, and a topic at the early September open-meeting at Kansas City was a proposal to disallow bait&nbsp;for deer&nbsp;to be placed on KDWP managed lands and on all land enrolled in the popular walk-in hunting program.As one would expect, the KDWP Facebook post urging people not to bait or feed deer&nbsp;as a way to help slow the spread of CWD&nbsp;drew a multitude of comments, with those in support of feeding deer far outnumbering those against it. Comments supporting banning the practice offered little factual information, most merely stating their opposition to feeding&nbsp;and&nbsp;baiting deer, and that deer should be hunted “the old-fashioned way.”&nbsp;Comments supporting&nbsp;feeding and baiting deer often mentioned the fact that many deer naturally feed on the same alfalfa, corn stubble, soybean stubble and new wheat fields, making the commentor wonder how deer feeders are a problem.&nbsp;We feed deer mostly to get them comfortable with browsing in front of our blind. Last season, I was seeing the same five does and fawns every morning. My sister on who’s property our blind&nbsp;stands, had never spent time with us in the blind during hunting season, so I took her with me one morning. I had prayed that God would at least allow us to see the same five deer that morning, but to our amazement, He brought us fourteen! For forty-five minutes, she got to watch fawns run and play like lambs, and young bucks spar with each other, none of which would have happened had the scattered corn not invited them to&nbsp;pause and&nbsp;browse on&nbsp;their&nbsp;way through to a nearby bedding area.&nbsp;If corn is being fed to deer by dumping it in a&nbsp;big&nbsp;pile on the ground where every critter from miles around can come and eat from that same pile, I can see how that could&nbsp;concentrate&nbsp;saliva, urine and feces there. But&nbsp;I’m not convinced&nbsp;at all&nbsp;that scattering corn and apples in a large area like we do, or using a battery-powered corn feeder that flings a small amount of corn at&nbsp;a&nbsp;time over a broad area will contribute to the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease.&nbsp;I understand the argument, but color me skeptical. Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors!Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at stevenrgilliland@gmail.com.

Exploring Outdoors Kansas: Does it, or doesn’t it?

By JACKIE MUNDT Pratt County farmer and rancher There are two kinds of people in the world: people who hate snow and those of us who love it. If you think I am crazy, consider I grew up in Wisconsin. In my world, snow means picturesque landscapes coated in white, the fun of sledding, tubing, downhill skiing and snowmobile rides, and if you are lucky — a snow day. My farm friends might roll their eyes and say, what about chores. On my family’s dairy farm our cows were safe and warm in the barn, and we didn’t have to break ice or dig them out of the snow. We only had issues if temperatures were extremely low for a long enough time that the barn cleaner froze up. Those were not fun days. Since snow is a much rarer treat in Kansas, helping with livestock and navigating drifts on snowy days doesn’t really bother me. Plus, the snow never seems to last longer than a day or two so it melts before my excitement wears off. You might think it is too early to be wishing for snow but there are chances in the forecast, and I am filled with anticipation. I dream of fluffy floating flakes that fall peacefully as the sound is absorbed and the countryside is blanketed in white. That may be a bit of wishful thinking since Kansas snow often seems like it is right out of the blizzard from the Claymation classic “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.” The drier, drifting snow that whips across the Kansas plains is exactly where I imagine the Abominable Snowman. Even if it isn’t the picture perfectness of my dreams, snow is needed. This year’s drought conditions have ensured that pretty much all farmers are excited about any precipitation regardless of form. The unexpected break from our busy lives can be a blessing too as we pause our daily routines and postpone plans. Snow days are a special kind of boost to moral because they often include spending time with our loved ones and doing all the little things that we never have time for otherwise. On days when the world shut down, my family often had a blast and made lasting memories. In my younger years, snow days were spent making forts with my brothers. As I grew older, my dad would take us out for a snowmobile ride. Mom was ready with snacks to warm us up while watching movies as a family. Snow days have brought me so much joy because they are almost always spent with family. In the aftermath of the pandemic there has been debate about whether or not remote work and school means the end of snow days. I have been heartened to see that many educators fighting to keep snow days. There is great value in disrupted schedules making time for joy and togetherness. Today when I end up canceling plans because of snow, it usually allows me to spend more time helping on the farm. Checking on livestock and making the rounds on the farm don’t seem like work when you are with your favorite people and have nowhere else to be. Quality time working is just as fulfilling as play. If we are lucky enough and get great snowfalls this winter, remember not to spend too much time worrying about canceled plans or the work that is looming. Instead, I hope you will join me in embracing snow for the beauty, the moisture and the moments of togetherness.

<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 There are two kinds of people in the world: people who hate snow and those of us who love it. If you think I am crazy, consider I grew up in Wisconsin. In my world, snow means picturesque landscapes coated in white, the fun of sledding, tubing, downhill skiing and snowmobile rides, and if you are lucky — a snow day. My farm friends might roll their eyes and say, what about chores. On my family’s dairy farm our cows were safe and warm in the barn, and we didn’t have to break ice or dig them out of the snow. We only had issues if temperatures were extremely low for a long enough time that the barn cleaner froze up. Those were not fun days. Since snow is a much rarer treat in Kansas, helping with livestock and navigating drifts on snowy days doesn’t really bother me. Plus, the snow never seems to last longer than a day or two so it melts before my excitement wears off. You might think it is too early to be wishing for snow but there are chances in the forecast, and I am filled with anticipation. I dream of fluffy floating flakes that fall peacefully as the sound is absorbed and the countryside is blanketed in white. That may be a bit of wishful thinking since Kansas snow often seems like it is right out of the blizzard from the Claymation classic “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.” The drier, drifting snow that whips across the Kansas plains is exactly where I imagine the Abominable Snowman. Even if it isn’t the picture perfectness of my dreams, snow is needed. This year’s drought conditions have ensured that pretty much all farmers are excited about any precipitation regardless of form. The unexpected break from our busy lives can be a blessing too as we pause our daily routines and postpone plans. Snow days are a special kind of boost to moral because they often include spending time with our loved ones and doing all the little things that we never have time for otherwise. On days when the world shut down, my family often had a blast and made lasting memories. In my younger years, snow days were spent making forts with my brothers. As I grew older, my dad would take us out for a snowmobile ride. Mom was ready with snacks to warm us up while watching movies as a family. Snow days have brought me so much joy because they are almost always spent with family. In the aftermath of the pandemic there has been debate about whether or not remote work and school means the end of snow days. I have been heartened to see that many educators fighting to keep snow days. There is great value in disrupted schedules making time for joy and togetherness. Today when I end up canceling plans because of snow, it usually allows me to spend more time helping on the farm. Checking on livestock and making the rounds on the farm don’t seem like work when you are with your favorite people and have nowhere else to be. Quality time working is just as fulfilling as play. If we are lucky enough and get great snowfalls this winter, remember not to spend too much time worrying about canceled plans or the work that is looming. Instead, I hope you will join me in embracing snow for the beauty, the moisture and the moments of togetherness."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: Dreaming of snow days

Over the past several years public opinion polls have gotten a lot of heat — some of it deserved, some of it not — for not accurately predicting election results.

Public opinion is only as accurate as the sample&nbsp;of voters polled&nbsp;and what&nbsp;those voters&nbsp;are willing to tell pollsters.&nbsp;As such, election outcomes will always be the best gauge of public opinion.

But this year, the Kansas polls were mostly correct.

What insights&nbsp;do this year’s&nbsp;results&nbsp;and exit polls&nbsp;give us about&nbsp;political&nbsp;trends in Kansas?

First, moderate Democratic candidates can be competitive in, and even win, statewide races. We knew this already, but now we know that this can hold true even with an unpopular Democratic president in office.

This year the polls told us that some statewide races would be close.&nbsp;They were right. Once all the votes are counted, Laura Kelly will narrowly win re-election.&nbsp;

The Attorney General race was also close.&nbsp;

Both Democrats in those races outperformed Joe Biden’s 2020 vote share.&nbsp;Even before the election,&nbsp;Kelly’s approval rating was much higher than Biden’s, which boded well for the governor.

Exit polling conducted&nbsp;in Kansas&nbsp;by Fox News&nbsp;tell&nbsp;an intriguing&nbsp;story&nbsp;about Kansas voters.

Most of the negative campaign ads against Kelly — and other Democratic candidates — tried to use the president as a liability, and the exit polling shows Biden has a 63% disapproval rating in the state.

But&nbsp;a&nbsp;majority of&nbsp;Kelly&nbsp;voters said their opinion of President Biden had nothing to do with their vote.&nbsp;And interestingly enough, 11%&nbsp;of Kelly voters said they used their vote to express opposition to Biden.

Even among&nbsp;voters who expressed moderate disapproval of the president, 57% voted for Laura Kelly.

This suggests that the so called “Kansas Democrat playbook” — where statewide Democratic candidates distance themselves from national Democrats, especially unpopular ones — still works&nbsp;and&nbsp;we’ll likely see it used in years to come.

Second, Kansans seem to like the status quo in Topeka… at least when it comes to how the branches of government interact with each other.

While Republicans will decisively control the state legislature, and Laura Kelly held on to the governorship, Amendment 1 failed.&nbsp;This amendment, also known as the “legislative veto” would have dramatically shifted the balance of power had it passed. It would have changed our system of checks and balances as we know it.

While the vote was close, it looks like the amendment will&nbsp;fail by a narrow margin.

I suspect this outcome was somewhat motivated by confusing ballot language,&nbsp;but also by an&nbsp;age-old&nbsp;reluctance to give any branch of government more power than they currently have.

The state house races certainly seem to maintain the status quo. Democrats flipped one House seat in Johnson County, but still fell two seats short of blocking the Republican supermajority in the chamber.

The retention of all seven Supreme Court justices is another testament to the status quo. Generally, justices are retained but this was a different year&nbsp;where those races could have been much more politicized than usual due to&nbsp;conservative backlash to&nbsp;the&nbsp;Hodes&nbsp;decision which established abortion as a right protected by the state constitution.

Kansans certainly gave us some nail biters this year&nbsp;with several races too close to call as Election Day&nbsp;came to a close.&nbsp;We’ll&nbsp;probably continue to&nbsp;see close races&nbsp;in the years to come&nbsp;as&nbsp;Kansans&nbsp;grapple with a rapidly changing political environment.

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>Over the past several years public opinion polls have gotten a lot of heat — some of it deserved, some of it not — for not accurately predicting election results.Public opinion is only as accurate as the sample&nbsp;of voters polled&nbsp;and what&nbsp;those voters&nbsp;are willing to tell pollsters.&nbsp;As such, election outcomes will always be the best gauge of public opinion.But this year, the Kansas polls were mostly correct.What insights&nbsp;do this year’s&nbsp;results&nbsp;and exit polls&nbsp;give us about&nbsp;political&nbsp;trends in Kansas?<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575913663048.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>First, moderate Democratic candidates can be competitive in, and even win, statewide races. We knew this already, but now we know that this can hold true even with an unpopular Democratic president in office.This year the polls told us that some statewide races would be close.&nbsp;They were right. Once all the votes are counted, Laura Kelly will narrowly win re-election.&nbsp;The Attorney General race was also close.&nbsp;Both Democrats in those races outperformed Joe Biden’s 2020 vote share.&nbsp;Even before the election,&nbsp;Kelly’s approval rating was much higher than Biden’s, which boded well for the governor.Exit polling conducted&nbsp;in Kansas&nbsp;by Fox News&nbsp;tell&nbsp;an intriguing&nbsp;story&nbsp;about Kansas voters.Most of the negative campaign ads against Kelly — and other Democratic candidates — tried to use the president as a liability, and the exit polling shows Biden has a 63% disapproval rating in the state.But&nbsp;a&nbsp;majority of&nbsp;Kelly&nbsp;voters said their opinion of President Biden had nothing to do with their vote.&nbsp;And interestingly enough, 11%&nbsp;of Kelly voters said they used their vote to express opposition to Biden.Even among&nbsp;voters who expressed moderate disapproval of the president, 57% voted for Laura Kelly.This suggests that the so called “Kansas Democrat playbook” — where statewide Democratic candidates distance themselves from national Democrats, especially unpopular ones — still works&nbsp;and&nbsp;we’ll likely see it used in years to come.Second, Kansans seem to like the status quo in Topeka… at least when it comes to how the branches of government interact with each other.While Republicans will decisively control the state legislature, and Laura Kelly held on to the governorship, Amendment 1 failed.&nbsp;This amendment, also known as the “legislative veto” would have dramatically shifted the balance of power had it passed. It would have changed our system of checks and balances as we know it.While the vote was close, it looks like the amendment will&nbsp;fail by a narrow margin.I suspect this outcome was somewhat motivated by confusing ballot language,&nbsp;but also by an&nbsp;age-old&nbsp;reluctance to give any branch of government more power than they currently have.The state house races certainly seem to maintain the status quo. Democrats flipped one House seat in Johnson County, but still fell two seats short of blocking the Republican supermajority in the chamber.The retention of all seven Supreme Court justices is another testament to the status quo. Generally, justices are retained but this was a different year&nbsp;where those races could have been much more politicized than usual due to&nbsp;conservative backlash to&nbsp;the&nbsp;Hodes&nbsp;decision which established abortion as a right protected by the state constitution.Kansans certainly gave us some nail biters this year&nbsp;with several races too close to call as Election Day&nbsp;came to a close.&nbsp;We’ll&nbsp;probably continue to&nbsp;see close races&nbsp;in the years to come&nbsp;as&nbsp;Kansans&nbsp;grapple with a rapidly changing political environment.Alexandra Middlewood, PhD&nbsp;is an Assistant&nbsp;Professor of Political Science at&nbsp;Wichita State&nbsp;University.

INSIGHT KANSAS: What results, exit polls say about Kansas trends

That was the title of a business book that was especially popular a few years ago, as a parable of how to deal with change. Today we’ll learn about a remarkable change that is coming to southwest Kansas, and it is literally about cheese. A new state-of-the-art cheese and whey protein processing plant is being constructed in Dodge City.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Joann Knight is executive director of the&nbsp;Dodge City/Ford County Development Corporation with headquarters in Dodge City. She’s a native of the region and a graduate of Dodge City Community College and the University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute.&nbsp;

“Back in 1992, we started talking about recruiting dairies from California where they were being crowded out by population expansion,” Knight said.&nbsp;

Recruiting dairies became a successful strategy for the western Kansas Rural Economic Development Alliance in following decades. As milk production grew in western Kansas, leaders wanted to add value and create more jobs.&nbsp;

In 2021, Hilmar Cheese Company of Hilmar, Calif. announced that the company would build a state-of-the-art milk processing facility in Dodge City.&nbsp;&nbsp;“We’re excited,” Knight said.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

“This will be a $630 million project and create 260 jobs. The average salary is projected to be $63,000.”&nbsp;

The plant will operate 365 days a year and have the capacity to handle 260 tanker trucks of milk per day, the equivalent of the production of 110,000 cows. “They’ll be bringing in milk from across the region,” Knight said.&nbsp;

Hilmar Cheese Company was founded in 1984 by 12 dairy farm families in central California. In 2007, the company opened a production facility in Dalhart, Texas. The company is now one of the world’s largest producers of high quality, American-style cheese and whey products.&nbsp;

“Hilmar is an incredibly environmentally sensitive company,” Knight said. One of the factors that attracted Hilmar to Dodge City is the city’s innovative wastewater treatment system, which has won numerous awards.&nbsp;

“Milk is mostly water,” Knight said. “Once the cheese solids and whey are removed, that water will be recycled and reused. It can be re-irrigated and used in the biogas production system. They’ll actually be injecting water back into the aquifer.”&nbsp;

David Ahlem is president and CEO of Hilmar Cheese Company. “Dodge City gives us many opportunities, including a local and skilled labor force, a supportive and expanding agricultural region, and an excellent transportation network that allows us to easily reach our expanding markets,” he said at the time of the announcement in 2021.&nbsp;

The company specializes in the production of cheddar and American-style cheeses used by private label and national brand companies worldwide. It currently produces such cheeses as cheddar, monterey jack, pepper jack, colby, colby jack and mozzarella.&nbsp;

Whey is processed into whey protein products that are used as ingredients in many foods including nutritional beverages and bars; and lactose, which is marketed internationally as an ingredient in confections and infant formula. Hilmar exports products to 50 countries.&nbsp;

Increased demand for milk will benefit area dairies such as High Plains Ponderosa Dairy near the rural southwest Kansas community of Plains, population 1,037 people. Now, that’s rural.&nbsp;

“Dairy production is so advanced these days,” Knight said. “They’re using robotic milkers and computer operators. They monitor 600 data points on each cow and can test the milk on the spot with their state of the art system.”&nbsp;

“The economic impact will be compounded substantially by the additional dairies, transportation and services that will be required. This could double the dairy industry in southwest Kansas.”&nbsp;

For more information about the company, see&nbsp;<a href="http://www.hilmarcheese.com/">www.hilmarcheese.com</a>. For more information about business opportunities in the region, see&nbsp;<a href="http://www.dodgedev.org/">www.dodgedev.org</a>.&nbsp;

“Who Moved My Cheese?”&nbsp;&nbsp;A few years ago, that was a popular business book about change, and now we are excited to see this change in the southwest region of the state.&nbsp;

We commend Joann Knight and the people of Hilmar Dairy for making a difference with this investment in value-added agriculture processing.&nbsp;&nbsp;I’m glad to see that the production of this cheese has moved to rural Kansas.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668003356032.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development“Who Moved My Cheese?”&nbsp;That was the title of a business book that was especially popular a few years ago, as a parable of how to deal with change. Today we’ll learn about a remarkable change that is coming to southwest Kansas, and it is literally about cheese. A new state-of-the-art cheese and whey protein processing plant is being constructed in Dodge City.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Joann Knight is executive director of the&nbsp;Dodge City/Ford County Development Corporation with headquarters in Dodge City. She’s a native of the region and a graduate of Dodge City Community College and the University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute.&nbsp;“Back in 1992, we started talking about recruiting dairies from California where they were being crowded out by population expansion,” Knight said.&nbsp;Recruiting dairies became a successful strategy for the western Kansas Rural Economic Development Alliance in following decades. As milk production grew in western Kansas, leaders wanted to add value and create more jobs.&nbsp;In 2021, Hilmar Cheese Company of Hilmar, Calif. announced that the company would build a state-of-the-art milk processing facility in Dodge City.&nbsp;&nbsp;“We’re excited,” Knight said.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“This will be a $630 million project and create 260 jobs. The average salary is projected to be $63,000.”&nbsp;The plant will operate 365 days a year and have the capacity to handle 260 tanker trucks of milk per day, the equivalent of the production of 110,000 cows. “They’ll be bringing in milk from across the region,” Knight said.&nbsp;Hilmar Cheese Company was founded in 1984 by 12 dairy farm families in central California. In 2007, the company opened a production facility in Dalhart, Texas. The company is now one of the world’s largest producers of high quality, American-style cheese and whey products.&nbsp;“Hilmar is an incredibly environmentally sensitive company,” Knight said. One of the factors that attracted Hilmar to Dodge City is the city’s innovative wastewater treatment system, which has won numerous awards.&nbsp;“Milk is mostly water,” Knight said. “Once the cheese solids and whey are removed, that water will be recycled and reused. It can be re-irrigated and used in the biogas production system. They’ll actually be injecting water back into the aquifer.”&nbsp;David Ahlem is president and CEO of Hilmar Cheese Company. “Dodge City gives us many opportunities, including a local and skilled labor force, a supportive and expanding agricultural region, and an excellent transportation network that allows us to easily reach our expanding markets,” he said at the time of the announcement in 2021.&nbsp;The company specializes in the production of cheddar and American-style cheeses used by private label and national brand companies worldwide. It currently produces such cheeses as cheddar, monterey jack, pepper jack, colby, colby jack and mozzarella.&nbsp;Whey is processed into whey protein products that are used as ingredients in many foods including nutritional beverages and bars; and lactose, which is marketed internationally as an ingredient in confections and infant formula. Hilmar exports products to 50 countries.&nbsp;Increased demand for milk will benefit area dairies such as High Plains Ponderosa Dairy near the rural southwest Kansas community of Plains, population 1,037 people. Now, that’s rural.&nbsp;“Dairy production is so advanced these days,” Knight said. “They’re using robotic milkers and computer operators. They monitor 600 data points on each cow and can test the milk on the spot with their state of the art system.”&nbsp;“The economic impact will be compounded substantially by the additional dairies, transportation and services that will be required. This could double the dairy industry in southwest Kansas.”&nbsp;For more information about the company, see&nbsp;<a href="http://www.hilmarcheese.com/">www.hilmarcheese.com</a>. For more information about business opportunities in the region, see&nbsp;<a href="http://www.dodgedev.org/">www.dodgedev.org</a>.&nbsp;“Who Moved My Cheese?”&nbsp;&nbsp;A few years ago, that was a popular business book about change, and now we are excited to see this change in the southwest region of the state.&nbsp;We commend Joann Knight and the people of Hilmar Dairy for making a difference with this investment in value-added agriculture processing.&nbsp;&nbsp;I’m glad to see that the production of this cheese has moved to rural Kansas.&nbsp;

Now That’s Rural: Joann Knight, Hilmar Cheese 

In late November of 1996, we moved to a rural property on a limestone hilltop west of Ellis. By the time we got into the house,&nbsp;leaves&nbsp;swirled about the yard,&nbsp;hinting at greenery&nbsp;we could&nbsp;expect&nbsp;to see once&nbsp;spring&nbsp;arrived. 

A&nbsp;deep&nbsp;draw filled with standing and fallen trees as well as lots of bushes&nbsp;ran into Big Creek west of the house.&nbsp;I impatiently&nbsp;awaited&nbsp;warm weather and longer days&nbsp;to see what grew in that wildlife-rich habitat. I&nbsp;loved&nbsp;discovering&nbsp;not only ash, hackberry, cottonwood, and cedar trees, but also chokecherry bushes and wild grape vines&nbsp;filled that&nbsp;drainage. &nbsp;Over time,&nbsp;thick&nbsp;vines&nbsp;had&nbsp;climbed&nbsp;so high into the trees that birds&nbsp;had&nbsp;far greater odds of&nbsp;harvesting&nbsp;grapes&nbsp;than we&nbsp;did.&nbsp;Though our soil&nbsp;appeared&nbsp;rocky and barren, in reality,&nbsp;it suited wild grapes perfectly.&nbsp;It made me wonder how a vineyard would do in this region.

​Apparently, others shared&nbsp;my question. A decade later,&nbsp;a&nbsp;Wakeeney/Voda&nbsp;farm family with&nbsp;necessary skills and resources&nbsp;saw&nbsp;potential&nbsp;in raising&nbsp;grapes. They&nbsp;planted scores of vines, and birthed&nbsp;Shiloh Vineyard. &nbsp;Their dream has grown&nbsp;enough&nbsp;so they&nbsp;not only produce regional wines but they also host weddings,&nbsp;business,&nbsp;family,&nbsp;and friend gatherings, and 70th&nbsp;birthday parties. Yep, a friend invited me to her milestone birthday&nbsp;held last week at Shiloh Vineyard. Who knew&nbsp;adding a year&nbsp;could be so much fun.

​Attending&nbsp;that celebration&nbsp;offered&nbsp;15 of us the chance to see how&nbsp;Kirk and Treva Johnston have worked&nbsp;hard&nbsp;to turn their family farm into a&nbsp;successful winery and event destination. Guests&nbsp;can&nbsp;enjoy the western Kansas prairie while learning more about the vineyard and wines. I’d&nbsp;guess&nbsp;listening to a meadowlark serenade or&nbsp;watching a&nbsp;stunning&nbsp;sunset while sipping&nbsp;local wine&nbsp;creates&nbsp;favorite memories. &nbsp;The Johnstons&nbsp;offer a tour of their operation that includes a peek at huge casks where wine&nbsp;chemistry&nbsp;takes place&nbsp;as well&nbsp;showing off&nbsp;their&nbsp;rustic dining&nbsp;venue&nbsp;where&nbsp;guests can celebrate weddings, anniversaries, work, graduations, or just because. The tasting room and outdoor gathering area&nbsp;sit&nbsp;north of the barn.&nbsp;

​My friend chose to celebrate her 7 decades&nbsp;in the tasting room. It’s cozy enough to encourage visiting&nbsp;across the room between&nbsp;samples&nbsp;of&nbsp;wines&nbsp;and nibbles of crackers and cheese.&nbsp;During my decades,&nbsp;I’ve watched a movie or two where&nbsp;knowledgeable&nbsp;folk&nbsp;sniff and swirl glasses of wine, but&nbsp;I never understood that&nbsp;smelling&nbsp;the bouquet business&nbsp;or the differences&nbsp;between dry, semi-sweet, sweet, whites, reds, and dessert wines. Kirk and Treva&nbsp;offer down to earth&nbsp;guidelines&nbsp;to&nbsp;help&nbsp;guests who know nothing&nbsp;make sense of wine tasting.&nbsp;Many party&nbsp;guests&nbsp;knew more than I, but all of us learned something. My favorite lesson involved discovering a coffee flavored dessert wine that&nbsp;made my taste buds tap dance.&nbsp;I would never guess&nbsp;you&nbsp;could ferment coffee and grapes to&nbsp;create&nbsp;after-dinner magic.&nbsp;

​I counted&nbsp;it&nbsp;a blessing&nbsp;to help a dear friend celebrate a milestone birthday,&nbsp;but&nbsp;doing&nbsp;that while enjoying&nbsp;an afternoon on&nbsp;the prairie&nbsp;paired&nbsp;with&nbsp;an&nbsp;opportunity&nbsp;to learn something new about our state’s agriculture&nbsp;made the day extra special.&nbsp;Kansas&nbsp;grapes and&nbsp;wine may end up as famous as its&nbsp;wheat.

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

​By KAREN MADORINIn late November of 1996, we moved to a rural property on a limestone hilltop west of Ellis. By the time we got into the house,&nbsp;leaves&nbsp;swirled about the yard,&nbsp;hinting at greenery&nbsp;we could&nbsp;expect&nbsp;to see once&nbsp;spring&nbsp;arrived. A&nbsp;deep&nbsp;draw filled with standing and fallen trees as well as lots of bushes&nbsp;ran into Big Creek west of the house.&nbsp;I impatiently&nbsp;awaited&nbsp;warm weather and longer days&nbsp;to see what grew in that wildlife-rich habitat. I&nbsp;loved&nbsp;discovering&nbsp;not only ash, hackberry, cottonwood, and cedar trees, but also chokecherry bushes and wild grape vines&nbsp;filled that&nbsp;drainage. &nbsp;Over time,&nbsp;thick&nbsp;vines&nbsp;had&nbsp;climbed&nbsp;so high into the trees that birds&nbsp;had&nbsp;far greater odds of&nbsp;harvesting&nbsp;grapes&nbsp;than we&nbsp;did.&nbsp;Though our soil&nbsp;appeared&nbsp;rocky and barren, in reality,&nbsp;it suited wild grapes perfectly.&nbsp;It made me wonder how a vineyard would do in this region.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658158605319.jpeg" alt="Karen Madorin" />
 <figcaption>Karen Madorin</figcaption>
 </figure>​Apparently, others shared&nbsp;my question. A decade later,&nbsp;a&nbsp;Wakeeney/Voda&nbsp;farm family with&nbsp;necessary skills and resources&nbsp;saw&nbsp;potential&nbsp;in raising&nbsp;grapes. They&nbsp;planted scores of vines, and birthed&nbsp;Shiloh Vineyard. &nbsp;Their dream has grown&nbsp;enough&nbsp;so they&nbsp;not only produce regional wines but they also host weddings,&nbsp;business,&nbsp;family,&nbsp;and friend gatherings, and 70th&nbsp;birthday parties. Yep, a friend invited me to her milestone birthday&nbsp;held last week at Shiloh Vineyard. Who knew&nbsp;adding a year&nbsp;could be so much fun.​Attending&nbsp;that celebration&nbsp;offered&nbsp;15 of us the chance to see how&nbsp;Kirk and Treva Johnston have worked&nbsp;hard&nbsp;to turn their family farm into a&nbsp;successful winery and event destination. Guests&nbsp;can&nbsp;enjoy the western Kansas prairie while learning more about the vineyard and wines. I’d&nbsp;guess&nbsp;listening to a meadowlark serenade or&nbsp;watching a&nbsp;stunning&nbsp;sunset while sipping&nbsp;local wine&nbsp;creates&nbsp;favorite memories. &nbsp;The Johnstons&nbsp;offer a tour of their operation that includes a peek at huge casks where wine&nbsp;chemistry&nbsp;takes place&nbsp;as well&nbsp;showing off&nbsp;their&nbsp;rustic dining&nbsp;venue&nbsp;where&nbsp;guests can celebrate weddings, anniversaries, work, graduations, or just because. The tasting room and outdoor gathering area&nbsp;sit&nbsp;north of the barn.&nbsp;​My friend chose to celebrate her 7 decades&nbsp;in the tasting room. It’s cozy enough to encourage visiting&nbsp;across the room between&nbsp;samples&nbsp;of&nbsp;wines&nbsp;and nibbles of crackers and cheese.&nbsp;During my decades,&nbsp;I’ve watched a movie or two where&nbsp;knowledgeable&nbsp;folk&nbsp;sniff and swirl glasses of wine, but&nbsp;I never understood that&nbsp;smelling&nbsp;the bouquet business&nbsp;or the differences&nbsp;between dry, semi-sweet, sweet, whites, reds, and dessert wines. Kirk and Treva&nbsp;offer down to earth&nbsp;guidelines&nbsp;to&nbsp;help&nbsp;guests who know nothing&nbsp;make sense of wine tasting.&nbsp;Many party&nbsp;guests&nbsp;knew more than I, but all of us learned something. My favorite lesson involved discovering a coffee flavored dessert wine that&nbsp;made my taste buds tap dance.&nbsp;I would never guess&nbsp;you&nbsp;could ferment coffee and grapes to&nbsp;create&nbsp;after-dinner magic.&nbsp;​I counted&nbsp;it&nbsp;a blessing&nbsp;to help a dear friend celebrate a milestone birthday,&nbsp;but&nbsp;doing&nbsp;that while enjoying&nbsp;an afternoon on&nbsp;the prairie&nbsp;paired&nbsp;with&nbsp;an&nbsp;opportunity&nbsp;to learn something new about our state’s agriculture&nbsp;made the day extra special.&nbsp;Kansas&nbsp;grapes and&nbsp;wine may end up as famous as its&nbsp;wheat.Karen is a retired teacher, writer, photographer, outdoors lover, and
 sixth-generation Kansan. After a time away, she’s glad to be home.

MADORIN: Seeing western Kansas possibility

AARP Kansas strongly opposes a proposal by Midwest Energy to add a new demand charge to residential customer bills. The company, a customer-owned electric and natural gas cooperative that serves 93,000 customers in 40 counties in central and western Kansas, is considering a three-part rate structure&nbsp;featuring a customer charge, energy charge and a demand charge, beginning Jan. 1, 2023.&nbsp;AARP urges the Midwest Energy Board to soundly reject the proposal at its meeting on November 17, 2022.

Demand rates would add a monthly charge for the customer’s highest peak demand use. Midwest Energy would base the charge in the summer on peak demand time from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and the maximum monthly kilowatt peak used in a 15-minute interval in all other months.

“Such a charge is confusing and hard for customers to respond to,” said AARP Kansas State Director Glenda DuBoise. “Customers would not know when they incurred such a charge absent using the utility’s Customer Connect portal to track down the information. Such a difficult new charge to anticipate and track down should not be added to the bill.

“Even though the overall change may be revenue neutral, customers who do not pay attention to their energy use could face dramatically higher energy bills,” said DuBoise. “Such surprise charges are unfair to customers, do little to change energy consumption and are unreasonable in these inflationary times.”

AARP Kansas is urging Midwest Energy to withdraw the proposal and stick with volumetric rates, including a monthly customer charge. A voluntary time of use rate may be another option.&nbsp;

“In this time of rising energy costs, now is not the time to impose a confusing and unnecessary residential rate design change,” said DuBoise. “If one must be implemented, AARP suggests that Midwest Energy make it a rate option or pilot tested.”

Submitted by AARP KansasAARP Kansas strongly opposes a proposal by Midwest Energy to add a new demand charge to residential customer bills. The company, a customer-owned electric and natural gas cooperative that serves 93,000 customers in 40 counties in central and western Kansas, is considering a three-part rate structure&nbsp;featuring a customer charge, energy charge and a demand charge, beginning Jan. 1, 2023.&nbsp;AARP urges the Midwest Energy Board to soundly reject the proposal at its meeting on November 17, 2022.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575913663048.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Demand rates would add a monthly charge for the customer’s highest peak demand use. Midwest Energy would base the charge in the summer on peak demand time from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and the maximum monthly kilowatt peak used in a 15-minute interval in all other months.“Such a charge is confusing and hard for customers to respond to,” said AARP Kansas State Director Glenda DuBoise. “Customers would not know when they incurred such a charge absent using the utility’s Customer Connect portal to track down the information. Such a difficult new charge to anticipate and track down should not be added to the bill.“Even though the overall change may be revenue neutral, customers who do not pay attention to their energy use could face dramatically higher energy bills,” said DuBoise. “Such surprise charges are unfair to customers, do little to change energy consumption and are unreasonable in these inflationary times.”AARP Kansas is urging Midwest Energy to withdraw the proposal and stick with volumetric rates, including a monthly customer charge. A voluntary time of use rate may be another option.&nbsp;“In this time of rising energy costs, now is not the time to impose a confusing and unnecessary residential rate design change,” said DuBoise. “If one must be implemented, AARP suggests that Midwest Energy make it a rate option or pilot tested.”

LETTER: AARP asks Midwest Energy board to reject rate proposal

Throughout&nbsp;the year,&nbsp;we host several events to thank&nbsp;the&nbsp;philanthropists who fuel the dreams of our students. I really love the fact that as we thank our&nbsp;supporters, we also honor the students&nbsp;impacted by their generosity.&nbsp;Bringing the students and&nbsp;their benefactors&nbsp;together&nbsp;creates an&nbsp;amazing&nbsp;opportunity&nbsp;to&nbsp;witness firsthand the ripple effect&nbsp;of philanthropy&nbsp;in action – those who inspire dreams and those whose&nbsp;lives are&nbsp;transformed&nbsp;in predictable and&nbsp;often&nbsp;unanticipated ways.

Often, these events allow participants to share the "why" behind their investment in others and ponder the "how" – how lives are forever changed through their efforts. These conversations evoke a deep sense of significance and pride.&nbsp;

For example,&nbsp;the&nbsp;recent&nbsp;College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences reception, featuring&nbsp;keynote speaker&nbsp;Patrick McGinnis,&nbsp;'91,&nbsp;'20,&nbsp;and&nbsp;'22,&nbsp;definitely provided witness to the power of philanthropy. I was eager to hear Patrick talk –&nbsp;after all, I consider&nbsp;Patrick&nbsp;a hometown heroentrepreneur, pastor, social worker, and overall good guy. The embodiment of a generous spirit.

A tiger by heredity, Patrick's&nbsp;mom and dad graduated with Fine Arts degrees in 1960. His dad also received a master's degree in fine arts&nbsp;and served as a professor of ceramics at FHSU for 30 years.&nbsp;Patrick's&nbsp;Tiger roots go wide&nbsp;and deep.&nbsp;A remarkable 17 of&nbsp;Patrick's siblings and their families have earned 21 different FHSU degrees.

Patrick shared treasured memories of how his dad loved his students – pouring into&nbsp;each studentlessons&nbsp;of&nbsp;art and of life. His mom and dad&nbsp;also&nbsp;taught Patrick and his siblings&nbsp;many life lessons.Lessons like why&nbsp;freedom of&nbsp;creative&nbsp;expression is&nbsp;worth fighting for,&nbsp;that&nbsp;art and the process of expressing yourself&nbsp;have&nbsp;the power to change lives,&nbsp;and&nbsp;that people pulling together in a University that empowers&nbsp;them&nbsp;could make the world a better place. I was so drawn in,&nbsp;listening to this amazing person describe on a&nbsp;very&nbsp;personal level the mission of Fort Hays State University.

Patrick described the transformative education we work hard to create.&nbsp;"In my life and career, I have learned the importance of creating space for important things like real, 'count on you,'&nbsp;kind of relationships.&nbsp;FHSU has created and nurtured that space for me and my siblings,&nbsp;and&nbsp;for our kids."

I often talk about the ethic of care that is&nbsp;at&nbsp;the heart of this university. In Patrick's words,&nbsp;"Fort Hays&nbsp;State&nbsp;is&nbsp;far more than an institution of learning.&nbsp;It's&nbsp;like a longtime friend. You&nbsp;can recount and reminisce&nbsp;with other Tigers&nbsp;about all of the wonderful people&nbsp;who&nbsp;made a difference in your life and&nbsp;the lives of&nbsp;so many others.&nbsp;Through people&nbsp;who&nbsp;actually cared for me and my family on campus and off. We thrived as a family in large part because&nbsp;this university&nbsp;provided&nbsp;all&nbsp;of&nbsp;the right components to create the best and get the best from people."

The philanthropy of the McGinnis family is given with a strong desire to offer students the opportunity to share in the amazing culture of Fort Hays State University that&nbsp;each McGinnis uniquely&nbsp;experienced. They are investing&nbsp;in a culture they believe will create many generations&nbsp;of graduates who will go forward,&nbsp;embracing&nbsp;our&nbsp;ethic&nbsp;of care, along with&nbsp;a willingness to sacrifice for one another&nbsp;and challenge each other.

The generosity of the McGinnis family runs deep – from their investment&nbsp;in our students and programs to the many ways they serve this&nbsp;community with love and selflessness. The McGinnis family freely offers friendship and hope to anyone with whom they interact.

I end this column with the words Patrick chose to end his remarks, quoting John Denver, as Patrick and John&nbsp;ask&nbsp;each of us to challenge one&nbsp;another to reach for the heavens and hope for the future, for all&nbsp;that we can be, not just what we are. Thank you,&nbsp;Patrick and the McGinnisfamily,&nbsp;for your legacy and your love.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575301942236.jpeg" alt="Dr. Tisa Mason, FHSU president" />
 <figcaption>Dr. Tisa Mason, FHSU president</figcaption>
 </figure>Throughout&nbsp;the year,&nbsp;we host several events to thank&nbsp;the&nbsp;philanthropists who fuel the dreams of our students. I really love the fact that as we thank our&nbsp;supporters, we also honor the students&nbsp;impacted by their generosity.&nbsp;Bringing the students and&nbsp;their benefactors&nbsp;together&nbsp;creates an&nbsp;amazing&nbsp;opportunity&nbsp;to&nbsp;witness firsthand the ripple effect&nbsp;of philanthropy&nbsp;in action – those who inspire dreams and those whose&nbsp;lives are&nbsp;transformed&nbsp;in predictable and&nbsp;often&nbsp;unanticipated ways.Often, these events allow participants to share the "why" behind their investment in others and ponder the "how" – how lives are forever changed through their efforts. These conversations evoke a deep sense of significance and pride.&nbsp;For example,&nbsp;the&nbsp;recent&nbsp;College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences reception, featuring&nbsp;keynote speaker&nbsp;Patrick McGinnis,&nbsp;'91,&nbsp;'20,&nbsp;and&nbsp;'22,&nbsp;definitely provided witness to the power of philanthropy. I was eager to hear Patrick talk –&nbsp;after all, I consider&nbsp;Patrick&nbsp;a hometown heroentrepreneur, pastor, social worker, and overall good guy. The embodiment of a generous spirit.A tiger by heredity, Patrick's&nbsp;mom and dad graduated with Fine Arts degrees in 1960. His dad also received a master's degree in fine arts&nbsp;and served as a professor of ceramics at FHSU for 30 years.&nbsp;Patrick's&nbsp;Tiger roots go wide&nbsp;and deep.&nbsp;A remarkable 17 of&nbsp;Patrick's siblings and their families have earned 21 different FHSU degrees.Patrick shared treasured memories of how his dad loved his students – pouring into&nbsp;each studentlessons&nbsp;of&nbsp;art and of life. His mom and dad&nbsp;also&nbsp;taught Patrick and his siblings&nbsp;many life lessons.Lessons like why&nbsp;freedom of&nbsp;creative&nbsp;expression is&nbsp;worth fighting for,&nbsp;that&nbsp;art and the process of expressing yourself&nbsp;have&nbsp;the power to change lives,&nbsp;and&nbsp;that people pulling together in a University that empowers&nbsp;them&nbsp;could make the world a better place. I was so drawn in,&nbsp;listening to this amazing person describe on a&nbsp;very&nbsp;personal level the mission of Fort Hays State University.Patrick described the transformative education we work hard to create.&nbsp;"In my life and career, I have learned the importance of creating space for important things like real, 'count on you,'&nbsp;kind of relationships.&nbsp;FHSU has created and nurtured that space for me and my siblings,&nbsp;and&nbsp;for our kids."I often talk about the ethic of care that is&nbsp;at&nbsp;the heart of this university. In Patrick's words,&nbsp;"Fort Hays&nbsp;State&nbsp;is&nbsp;far more than an institution of learning.&nbsp;It's&nbsp;like a longtime friend. You&nbsp;can recount and reminisce&nbsp;with other Tigers&nbsp;about all of the wonderful people&nbsp;who&nbsp;made a difference in your life and&nbsp;the lives of&nbsp;so many others.&nbsp;Through people&nbsp;who&nbsp;actually cared for me and my family on campus and off. We thrived as a family in large part because&nbsp;this university&nbsp;provided&nbsp;all&nbsp;of&nbsp;the right components to create the best and get the best from people."The philanthropy of the McGinnis family is given with a strong desire to offer students the opportunity to share in the amazing culture of Fort Hays State University that&nbsp;each McGinnis uniquely&nbsp;experienced. They are investing&nbsp;in a culture they believe will create many generations&nbsp;of graduates who will go forward,&nbsp;embracing&nbsp;our&nbsp;ethic&nbsp;of care, along with&nbsp;a willingness to sacrifice for one another&nbsp;and challenge each other.The generosity of the McGinnis family runs deep – from their investment&nbsp;in our students and programs to the many ways they serve this&nbsp;community with love and selflessness. The McGinnis family freely offers friendship and hope to anyone with whom they interact.I end this column with the words Patrick chose to end his remarks, quoting John Denver, as Patrick and John&nbsp;ask&nbsp;each of us to challenge one&nbsp;another to reach for the heavens and hope for the future, for all&nbsp;that we can be, not just what we are. Thank you,&nbsp;Patrick and the McGinnisfamily,&nbsp;for your legacy and your love.

Heart of a Tiger: Patrick McGinnis & the power of community

By KIM BALDWIN McPherson County farmer and rancher

There’s something to be said about waking up to the sound of rain on a roof and thunder rumbling in the distance. Add in a dash of lightning momentarily highlighting an otherwise dark sky, and we have the start of a glorious fall day! &nbsp; It’s no secret I prefer the warm sunlight to awaken me from my slumber. But, after experiencing an incredibly hot and dry year that undoubtedly impacted our crops and attitudes, I jumped out of bed before my alarm clock went off to start my day. After all, it was raining, and it would continue to rain for the duration of the day.&nbsp; &nbsp; It was a cold and dark morning, which required wool socks and warm coffee as we got the kids moving and prepared for school. Generally, I’m not a fan of feeling cold in the morning, but I threw on a sweatshirt and happily packed the kids’ lunches and then gleefully made their breakfasts because it was raining and it would continue to rain for the remainder of the day.&nbsp; &nbsp; After getting the kids on the bus, my husband and I decided to make a trip into town to enjoy a warm breakfast together at our local cafe. It’s a tradition we haven’t practiced in a while but enjoy whenever there is a morning rain. &nbsp; I quickly put my hair up in a ponytail while walking out the door and cheerfully accepted that I’d probably have a bad hair day. But that didn’t matter. It was raining and it would continue to rain for the rest of the day.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Oh, how this morning rain was perfectly timed! After all, we had just wrapped up our fall harvest the day before feeling tired and deflated knowing it wasn’t the greatest of harvests. We gave thanks at the dinner table for the harvest we did have, asked for the rain forecast to hold, and then went to bed.&nbsp; &nbsp; And in the cold and dark early hours of the morning, the rain indeed arrived. And it remained a steady presence for the rest of the day and into the evening. &nbsp; The sun remained hidden behind the clouds and the temperature required me to keep my wool socks and sweater on all day. We enjoyed warm soup for lunch and office work that had been neglected because we haven’t had an opportunity to break from fall harvest.&nbsp; &nbsp; To others it was probably an otherwise no good, dreary and drab November day. A day that one would prefer to avoid for the sake of comfort, morale, or even style.&nbsp; &nbsp; But for me, it turned out to be a glorious fall day! All because I awoke to the sound of rain.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573617414005.jpeg" alt="Kim Baldwin&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Kim Baldwin&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>By KIM BALDWIN McPherson County farmer and rancher There’s something to be said about waking up to the sound of rain on a roof and thunder rumbling in the distance. Add in a dash of lightning momentarily highlighting an otherwise dark sky, and we have the start of a glorious fall day! &nbsp; It’s no secret I prefer the warm sunlight to awaken me from my slumber. But, after experiencing an incredibly hot and dry year that undoubtedly impacted our crops and attitudes, I jumped out of bed before my alarm clock went off to start my day. After all, it was raining, and it would continue to rain for the duration of the day.&nbsp; &nbsp; It was a cold and dark morning, which required wool socks and warm coffee as we got the kids moving and prepared for school. Generally, I’m not a fan of feeling cold in the morning, but I threw on a sweatshirt and happily packed the kids’ lunches and then gleefully made their breakfasts because it was raining and it would continue to rain for the remainder of the day.&nbsp; &nbsp; After getting the kids on the bus, my husband and I decided to make a trip into town to enjoy a warm breakfast together at our local cafe. It’s a tradition we haven’t practiced in a while but enjoy whenever there is a morning rain. &nbsp; I quickly put my hair up in a ponytail while walking out the door and cheerfully accepted that I’d probably have a bad hair day. But that didn’t matter. It was raining and it would continue to rain for the rest of the day.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Oh, how this morning rain was perfectly timed! After all, we had just wrapped up our fall harvest the day before feeling tired and deflated knowing it wasn’t the greatest of harvests. We gave thanks at the dinner table for the harvest we did have, asked for the rain forecast to hold, and then went to bed.&nbsp; &nbsp; And in the cold and dark early hours of the morning, the rain indeed arrived. And it remained a steady presence for the rest of the day and into the evening. &nbsp; The sun remained hidden behind the clouds and the temperature required me to keep my wool socks and sweater on all day. We enjoyed warm soup for lunch and office work that had been neglected because we haven’t had an opportunity to break from fall harvest.&nbsp; &nbsp; To others it was probably an otherwise no good, dreary and drab November day. A day that one would prefer to avoid for the sake of comfort, morale, or even style.&nbsp; &nbsp; But for me, it turned out to be a glorious fall day! All because I awoke to the sound of rain.&nbsp;"Insight" is a weekly column published by Kansas Farm Bureau, the state's largest farm organization whose mission is to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service.&nbsp;

Kansas Farm Bureau Insight: The sound of rain

With&nbsp;Kansas waterfowl season well underway, and&nbsp;upland gamebird season starting&nbsp;Saturday,&nbsp;November 12, I&nbsp;began thinking about all the skilled hunting dogs that are,&nbsp;and will be living&nbsp;their&nbsp;best life&nbsp;for the next couple months,&nbsp;finding and retrieving game for their owners&nbsp;/ hunters. There is nothing more&nbsp;pleasing&nbsp;to watch then a good&nbsp;bird&nbsp;dog as it&nbsp;points a sitting pheasant for the hunters, or a good retriever&nbsp;as every muscle in its body tenses at the shot and&nbsp;it&nbsp;watches for its chance to retrieve the downed duck or goose for its master.&nbsp;It&nbsp;all reminds me of a story about&nbsp;another dog, though not quite as gifted.

Call it a problem, or call it an inconvenience, but a challenge for all of us hunters, fishermen and trappers who don’t live in the country or who don’t own land is finding a place to unload carcasses and those “parts and pieces” remaining after cleaning fish and game.&nbsp;A friend&nbsp;recently told me that this summer someone had cleaned a mess of frogs and deposited the remains on the back corner of their property&nbsp;without permission; not good. And NO it wasn’t me!&nbsp;Anyway, that reminded me of an “incident” some years back, involving the&nbsp;above-mentioned&nbsp;dog.

My sister had an old dog&nbsp;named Jake, a stray as I remember it. Jake was old and a little crippled and was kind of the&nbsp;color of light brown gravy.&nbsp;Jake often seemed dumber than a bag of hammers, but he knew no strangers. He was big and stocky and when his tail got to waggin’ his whole back end wagged. His back half would fling from side-to-side so violently I often expected something from back there to come loose and fly across the yard! He always greeted visitors with something in his mouth, wanting to play fetch; trouble was, that “something” was always&nbsp;a 2x4 or&nbsp;a tree limb&nbsp;about 4 feet long, and once his body got to waggin’ with his chosen tree limb or 2x4 in his mouth, he could easily take you out with a whack across the legs. Ole’ Jake’s obsession took him far and wide over the farm to find just the right&nbsp;object to carry around in his position as head greeter&nbsp;there.

Every livestock farm raising&nbsp;chickens, turkeys, hogs, sheep or cattle, like it or not has occasional casualties from sickness or cold weather. And every livestock farm has a “bone pile,” a spot somewhere in the “back 40” where carcasses can be dumped in a ravine or a briar patch as a way to discreetly dispose of them while Mother Nature and the coyotes compost them. The first year I trapped beavers here in Kansas, I learned to take advantage of the bone pile on my sister’s farm, which was several hundred&nbsp;yards from the buildings,&nbsp;as a convenient way to dispose of beaver carcasses after I had removed their pelts. I had traps nearby, so every time I caught a&nbsp;beaver,&nbsp;I’d just carry the carcass with me the following morning and deposit it on the&nbsp;pile when I was in the neighborhood; very convenient for me.

One particularly cold morning I got a call from my sister; she sounded a little miffed, but I could tell she was on the verge of laughter even as we spoke. It seems she looked out into the yard&nbsp;this cold frozen morning to find Jake playing with his usual large prize, but something looked odd about that day’s trophy, so curiosity sent her into the yard to see just what he had found this time. As she approached, Jake’s back end began to wag feverishly, thinking someone was coming to play fetch with him and his prize,&nbsp;and he spun around&nbsp;joyfully&nbsp;and greeted her with a frozen beaver carcass from the bone pile clenched proudly in his big yap!&nbsp;

Yup, dogs are the epitome of unconditional love and acceptance. One minute they can seem dumber than a box of rocks, the next minute they curl up beside you in your old recliner and become your most loyal friend, despite the names you have just called them for performing certain hygiene functions in the middle of&nbsp;the dining room.&nbsp;Everyone&nbsp;of working age in our society today could also&nbsp;learn from a&nbsp;dog’s exuberance to work and / or to please its master.&nbsp;Mutts, you&nbsp;gotta; love em’!&nbsp;Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors!

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1574696211722.png" alt="Steve&nbsp;Gilliland" />
 <figcaption>Steve&nbsp;Gilliland</figcaption>
 </figure>With&nbsp;Kansas waterfowl season well underway, and&nbsp;upland gamebird season starting&nbsp;Saturday,&nbsp;November 12, I&nbsp;began thinking about all the skilled hunting dogs that are,&nbsp;and will be living&nbsp;their&nbsp;best life&nbsp;for the next couple months,&nbsp;finding and retrieving game for their owners&nbsp;/ hunters. There is nothing more&nbsp;pleasing&nbsp;to watch then a good&nbsp;bird&nbsp;dog as it&nbsp;points a sitting pheasant for the hunters, or a good retriever&nbsp;as every muscle in its body tenses at the shot and&nbsp;it&nbsp;watches for its chance to retrieve the downed duck or goose for its master.&nbsp;It&nbsp;all reminds me of a story about&nbsp;another dog, though not quite as gifted.Call it a problem, or call it an inconvenience, but a challenge for all of us hunters, fishermen and trappers who don’t live in the country or who don’t own land is finding a place to unload carcasses and those “parts and pieces” remaining after cleaning fish and game.&nbsp;A friend&nbsp;recently told me that this summer someone had cleaned a mess of frogs and deposited the remains on the back corner of their property&nbsp;without permission; not good. And NO it wasn’t me!&nbsp;Anyway, that reminded me of an “incident” some years back, involving the&nbsp;above-mentioned&nbsp;dog.My sister had an old dog&nbsp;named Jake, a stray as I remember it. Jake was old and a little crippled and was kind of the&nbsp;color of light brown gravy.&nbsp;Jake often seemed dumber than a bag of hammers, but he knew no strangers. He was big and stocky and when his tail got to waggin’ his whole back end wagged. His back half would fling from side-to-side so violently I often expected something from back there to come loose and fly across the yard! He always greeted visitors with something in his mouth, wanting to play fetch; trouble was, that “something” was always&nbsp;a 2x4 or&nbsp;a tree limb&nbsp;about 4 feet long, and once his body got to waggin’ with his chosen tree limb or 2x4 in his mouth, he could easily take you out with a whack across the legs. Ole’ Jake’s obsession took him far and wide over the farm to find just the right&nbsp;object to carry around in his position as head greeter&nbsp;there.Every livestock farm raising&nbsp;chickens, turkeys, hogs, sheep or cattle, like it or not has occasional casualties from sickness or cold weather. And every livestock farm has a “bone pile,” a spot somewhere in the “back 40” where carcasses can be dumped in a ravine or a briar patch as a way to discreetly dispose of them while Mother Nature and the coyotes compost them. The first year I trapped beavers here in Kansas, I learned to take advantage of the bone pile on my sister’s farm, which was several hundred&nbsp;yards from the buildings,&nbsp;as a convenient way to dispose of beaver carcasses after I had removed their pelts. I had traps nearby, so every time I caught a&nbsp;beaver,&nbsp;I’d just carry the carcass with me the following morning and deposit it on the&nbsp;pile when I was in the neighborhood; very convenient for me.One particularly cold morning I got a call from my sister; she sounded a little miffed, but I could tell she was on the verge of laughter even as we spoke. It seems she looked out into the yard&nbsp;this cold frozen morning to find Jake playing with his usual large prize, but something looked odd about that day’s trophy, so curiosity sent her into the yard to see just what he had found this time. As she approached, Jake’s back end began to wag feverishly, thinking someone was coming to play fetch with him and his prize,&nbsp;and he spun around&nbsp;joyfully&nbsp;and greeted her with a frozen beaver carcass from the bone pile clenched proudly in his big yap!&nbsp;Yup, dogs are the epitome of unconditional love and acceptance. One minute they can seem dumber than a box of rocks, the next minute they curl up beside you in your old recliner and become your most loyal friend, despite the names you have just called them for performing certain hygiene functions in the middle of&nbsp;the dining room.&nbsp;Everyone&nbsp;of working age in our society today could also&nbsp;learn from a&nbsp;dog’s exuberance to work and / or to please its master.&nbsp;Mutts, you&nbsp;gotta; love em’!&nbsp;Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors!Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at stevenrgilliland@gmail.com.

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