Lamar Hunt Jr., the son of the late founder of the Kansas City Chiefs, has long been vocal about his opposition to abortion

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/annaspoerre/">ANNA SPOERRE</a>&nbsp;AND&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rudi-keller/">RUDI KELLER</a>&nbsp; <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>

The family business that owns the Kansas City Chiefs is one of the biggest funders of a political action committee opposing a proposed amendment to overturn Missouri’s abortion ban.&nbsp;

<a href="https://huntsouthwest.com/steve-caple/" target="_blank">Unity Hunt</a>, the business that controls the assets of the late Lamar Hunt, including the Chiefs, in late September donated $300,000 to the Leadership for America PAC. It is currently running ads on several conservative&nbsp;radio stations across the state opposing the abortion-rights amendment,&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/09/20/missouri-supreme-court-opinions-amendment-3-abortion/">which will appear on the November ballot as Amendment 3.&nbsp;</a>

Leadership for America is an independent spending PAC created in January. Prior to receiving the donation from Unity Hunt, the PAC had $31,159 on hand.

Along with paying directly for radio ads, Leadership for America has donated $100,000 to Vote “No” on 3, the main opposition group in the Amendment 3 campaign. And on Oct. 3, the PAC donated $100,000 to a PAC called Missouri Leadership Fund, which gave $100,000 to Vote “No” on 3 six days later.

Neither Unity Hunt nor the Kansas City Chiefs responded to requests for comment.

No one from Leadership for America could be reached for comment. The telephone number given to the Missouri Ethics Commission for treasurer John Royal has been disconnected.

The ads, which began airing across the state on Monday, call Amendment 3 “cleverly-worded to convince you that it only allows abortions until fetal viability.”&nbsp;

“But it has loopholes that allow for abortions through all nine months of pregnancy,” the ad continues. “Abortion proponents used to say ‘safe, legal and rare.’ But now they want abortion as common as the morning after pill.”

Supporters of the amendment say claims of abortions in the third trimester are misleading, since the legal freedoms around abortion would only apply until fetal viability, which is generally considered to be around 24 weeks, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

The amendment text would<a href="https://moconstitutionalfreedom.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Missourians-for-Constitutional-Freedom-Amendment.pdf" target="_blank">&nbsp;allow the Missouri legislature to regulate abortion after fetal viability</a>&nbsp;with exceptions only to “protect the life, or physical or mental health of the pregnant person.”

Abortion is illegal from the moment of conception in Missouri, with limited exceptions for medical emergencies. There are no exceptions for victims of rape or incest.&nbsp;

Leadership for America has spent a little more than $32,000 on the radio ads, which are set to run through Nov. 4. There are no other broadcast ads opposing the amendment.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Organized efforts against Amendment 3 have been hugely outspent by Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the committee backing the amendment. The campaign reported spending $7.3 million through June 30 and has purchased more than $8.7 million in television ads since the start of September.

Vote “No” on 3 has not filed a full disclosure report but has amassed $870,000 in donations greater than $5,000 since Aug. 30.

While the content of the Leadership for America ad aligns with most other opposition talking points, the original source of the money behind the ad drew some attention.&nbsp;

“It is incredibly disappointing to see Unity Hunt spend resources on this campaign to spread lies and continue the fear-mongering surrounding Amendment 3,” said state Rep. Maggie Nurrenbern, a Democrat from Kansas City.&nbsp;

Nurrenbern, who is running for the 17th Senate District in Clay County, said she was particularly alarmed by the size of the donation from a family she said “has done so much good for Kansas City and the Kansas City area.”&nbsp;

State Rep. Ashley Aune, also a Democrat from Kansas City, said she wasn’t surprised to see the Hunt family backing an effort to stop abortion.

“But also, it’s disappointing because when you have such a big platform,” Aune said. “Using that platform to sow misinformation is a really irresponsible way to use it.”

In 2020, Lamar Hunt Jr. served as the master of ceremonies at the&nbsp;<a href="https://nrlc.org/nrlnewstoday/2020/02/tim-tebow-and-kansas-city-chief-owner-lamar-hunt-jr-team-up-at-kansans-for-life-banquet/" target="_blank">Kansans for Life annual Valentine’s Day banquet.&nbsp;</a>

Hunt, an owner of the Chiefs, told the crowd: “I do not think it is a cliché to say we are in a life and death battle for the truth and authentic dignity of the human person.”&nbsp;

Hunt six years earlier published<a href="https://lamarhuntjr.com/shift-momentum-battle-abortion/" target="_blank">&nbsp;a blog post to his website&nbsp;</a>contemplating what he observed as cultural shifts away from the “pro-choice” movement, comparing the momentum in the “pro-life” community to the San Francisco 49ers comeback and near-win in the final seconds of the 2013 Super Bowl.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728651006539.png" alt=" A handful of people opposed to Amendment 3 protested outside the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, following a ruling to keep the abortion amendment on the Nov. 5 ballot (Anna Spoerre/Missouri Independent)." />
 <figcaption> A handful of people opposed to Amendment 3 protested outside the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, following a ruling to keep the abortion amendment on the Nov. 5 ballot (Anna Spoerre/Missouri Independent).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Lamar Hunt Jr., the son of the late founder of the Kansas City Chiefs, has long been vocal about his opposition to abortion</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/annaspoerre/">ANNA SPOERRE</a>&nbsp;AND&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rudi-keller/">RUDI KELLER</a>&nbsp; <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>The family business that owns the Kansas City Chiefs is one of the biggest funders of a political action committee opposing a proposed amendment to overturn Missouri’s abortion ban.&nbsp;<a href="https://huntsouthwest.com/steve-caple/" target="_blank">Unity Hunt</a>, the business that controls the assets of the late Lamar Hunt, including the Chiefs, in late September donated $300,000 to the Leadership for America PAC. It is currently running ads on several conservative&nbsp;radio stations across the state opposing the abortion-rights amendment,&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/09/20/missouri-supreme-court-opinions-amendment-3-abortion/">which will appear on the November ballot as Amendment 3.&nbsp;</a>Leadership for America is an independent spending PAC created in January. Prior to receiving the donation from Unity Hunt, the PAC had $31,159 on hand.Along with paying directly for radio ads, Leadership for America has donated $100,000 to Vote “No” on 3, the main opposition group in the Amendment 3 campaign. And on Oct. 3, the PAC donated $100,000 to a PAC called Missouri Leadership Fund, which gave $100,000 to Vote “No” on 3 six days later.Neither Unity Hunt nor the Kansas City Chiefs responded to requests for comment.No one from Leadership for America could be reached for comment. The telephone number given to the Missouri Ethics Commission for treasurer John Royal has been disconnected.The ads, which began airing across the state on Monday, call Amendment 3 “cleverly-worded to convince you that it only allows abortions until fetal viability.”&nbsp;“But it has loopholes that allow for abortions through all nine months of pregnancy,” the ad continues. “Abortion proponents used to say ‘safe, legal and rare.’ But now they want abortion as common as the morning after pill.”Supporters of the amendment say claims of abortions in the third trimester are misleading, since the legal freedoms around abortion would only apply until fetal viability, which is generally considered to be around 24 weeks, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.The amendment text would<a href="https://moconstitutionalfreedom.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Missourians-for-Constitutional-Freedom-Amendment.pdf" target="_blank">&nbsp;allow the Missouri legislature to regulate abortion after fetal viability</a>&nbsp;with exceptions only to “protect the life, or physical or mental health of the pregnant person.”Abortion is illegal from the moment of conception in Missouri, with limited exceptions for medical emergencies. There are no exceptions for victims of rape or incest.&nbsp;Leadership for America has spent a little more than $32,000 on the radio ads, which are set to run through Nov. 4. There are no other broadcast ads opposing the amendment.&nbsp;&nbsp;Organized efforts against Amendment 3 have been hugely outspent by Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the committee backing the amendment. The campaign reported spending $7.3 million through June 30 and has purchased more than $8.7 million in television ads since the start of September.Vote “No” on 3 has not filed a full disclosure report but has amassed $870,000 in donations greater than $5,000 since Aug. 30.While the content of the Leadership for America ad aligns with most other opposition talking points, the original source of the money behind the ad drew some attention.&nbsp;“It is incredibly disappointing to see Unity Hunt spend resources on this campaign to spread lies and continue the fear-mongering surrounding Amendment 3,” said state Rep. Maggie Nurrenbern, a Democrat from Kansas City.&nbsp;Nurrenbern, who is running for the 17th Senate District in Clay County, said she was particularly alarmed by the size of the donation from a family she said “has done so much good for Kansas City and the Kansas City area.”&nbsp;State Rep. Ashley Aune, also a Democrat from Kansas City, said she wasn’t surprised to see the Hunt family backing an effort to stop abortion.“But also, it’s disappointing because when you have such a big platform,” Aune said. “Using that platform to sow misinformation is a really irresponsible way to use it.”In 2020, Lamar Hunt Jr. served as the master of ceremonies at the&nbsp;<a href="https://nrlc.org/nrlnewstoday/2020/02/tim-tebow-and-kansas-city-chief-owner-lamar-hunt-jr-team-up-at-kansans-for-life-banquet/" target="_blank">Kansans for Life annual Valentine’s Day banquet.&nbsp;</a>Hunt, an owner of the Chiefs, told the crowd: “I do not think it is a cliché to say we are in a life and death battle for the truth and authentic dignity of the human person.”&nbsp;Hunt six years earlier published<a href="https://lamarhuntjr.com/shift-momentum-battle-abortion/" target="_blank">&nbsp;a blog post to his website&nbsp;</a>contemplating what he observed as cultural shifts away from the “pro-choice” movement, comparing the momentum in the “pro-life” community to the San Francisco 49ers comeback and near-win in the final seconds of the 2013 Super Bowl.

KC Chiefs owners fund radio ad campaign opposing Missouri abortion amendment

TOPEKA — Education Commissioner Dr. Randy Watson has announced Kansas literacy rates continue to improve with fewer students scoring in Level 1 on the spring 2024 reading state assessments, marking a second straight year that number has decreased. &nbsp;

“This is good news as one of the state board of education’s goals is to move more Kansas students out of the lowest level of reading,” Watson said. “While the decrease in Level 1 reading results is slight, this is the second year in a row that measure has improved, which tells us we’re on the right track. We expect these results will continue to improve as more teachers transition to structured literacy.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

The Kansas State Board of Education invested $15 million in early literacy three years ago and committed an additional $10 million in 2024 to fund structured literacy training for Kansas teachers. Additionally, the board earlier this year approved a new licensure requirement for identified groups of educators requiring training in structured literacy or passing an exam measuring knowledge of structured literacy, beginning in 2028. &nbsp;

Structured literacy uses evidence-based science of reading principles that can be taught to all students, including those with dyslexia.&nbsp;

Watson’s announcement of the spring 2024 reading and math state assessment results coincided with his presentation of the Kansas State Department of Education’s 2023-24 annual report during this week’s Kansas State Board of Education’s monthly meeting.&nbsp; The Kansas assessment student performances are scored using four levels:&nbsp;

Students in the third through eighth grades and 10th&nbsp;grade take the reading and math state assessments annually each spring. &nbsp;

The 2024 ELA assessment results show that 33.6% of all students assessed scored at Levels 3 and 4, an increase from 33.2% in 2023 and 32.1% in 2022.&nbsp;

The 2024 ELA results show a decrease in the number of students scoring at Level 1 to 32.8%. That’s down from 32.9% in 2023 and 33.9% in 2022. &nbsp;

The 2024 math assessment results show 31.6% of all students scored at Levels 3 and 4, an increase from 31.3% in 2023 and 29.4% in 2022. &nbsp;

The 2024 math assessment results also show 33.2% of students scored at Level 1, a slight increase from 33.1% in 2023 but down from 34.2% in 2022.&nbsp;

The State Board’s goal to move more students out of Level 1 in reading, along with the initiative to increase the number of Kansas educators trained in Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling, or LETRS®, is gaining momentum.&nbsp;&nbsp;

As of Oct. 2024, an estimated 3,242 educators (including early childhood and administrators) had completed LETRS®&nbsp;training and have post-test scores. Another 12,141 educators (including early childhood and administrators) are in the process of getting trained in LETRS®. The LETRS®&nbsp;training is free for all Kansas educators as a result of federal ESSER funds. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Chronic absenteeism rates saw a three-year decline, going from 24.5% in 2022; 21.8% in 2023; and 19.7% in 2024. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or more of the total number of days enrolled during the school year. It includes both excused, unexcused, out-of-school suspensions and in-school suspensions that last more than one-half of the school day.&nbsp;&nbsp;

As a lag indicator, the 2023 graduation rate declined by 1.2 percentage points to 88.1%, including a 1.3 percentage point decrease for students with disabilities. However, the graduation rate for English language learners (ELL) increased by 1 percentage point. (Graduation rates for 2024 won’t be available until later this year.)&nbsp;

While the graduation rate decreased slightly, the number of Kansas high school students participating in postsecondary courses has increased every year since 2021. The number of students concurrently enrolled, dual enrolled and those enrolled in the Excel in CTE courses at the college level in 2024 was 38,002, up from 35,785 in 2023; 33,519 in 2022; and 32,603 in 2021. The number of credit hours these students earned also increased over the same four-year period – 332,615 in 2024; 306,904 in 2023; 289,456 in 2022 and 285,402 in 2021. &nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1709132878234.jpg" alt="Courtesy Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Courtesy Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA — Education Commissioner Dr. Randy Watson has announced Kansas literacy rates continue to improve with fewer students scoring in Level 1 on the spring 2024 reading state assessments, marking a second straight year that number has decreased. &nbsp;“This is good news as one of the state board of education’s goals is to move more Kansas students out of the lowest level of reading,” Watson said. “While the decrease in Level 1 reading results is slight, this is the second year in a row that measure has improved, which tells us we’re on the right track. We expect these results will continue to improve as more teachers transition to structured literacy.”&nbsp;&nbsp;The Kansas State Board of Education invested $15 million in early literacy three years ago and committed an additional $10 million in 2024 to fund structured literacy training for Kansas teachers. Additionally, the board earlier this year approved a new licensure requirement for identified groups of educators requiring training in structured literacy or passing an exam measuring knowledge of structured literacy, beginning in 2028. &nbsp;Structured literacy uses evidence-based science of reading principles that can be taught to all students, including those with dyslexia.&nbsp;Watson’s announcement of the spring 2024 reading and math state assessment results coincided with his presentation of the Kansas State Department of Education’s 2023-24 annual report during this week’s Kansas State Board of Education’s monthly meeting.&nbsp; The Kansas assessment student performances are scored using four levels:&nbsp;<ul>
 <li>A student at Level 1 shows a limited ability to understand and use the skills and knowledge needed for postsecondary readiness.&nbsp;</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>A student at Level 2 shows a basic ability to understand and use the skills and knowledge needed for postsecondary readiness.&nbsp;</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>A student at Level 3 shows an effective ability to understand and use the skills and knowledge needed for postsecondary readiness.&nbsp;</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>A student at Level 4 shows an excellent ability to understand and use the skills and knowledge needed for postsecondary readiness.&nbsp;</li>
 </ul>Students in the third through eighth grades and 10th&nbsp;grade take the reading and math state assessments annually each spring. &nbsp;The 2024 ELA assessment results show that 33.6% of all students assessed scored at Levels 3 and 4, an increase from 33.2% in 2023 and 32.1% in 2022.&nbsp;The 2024 ELA results show a decrease in the number of students scoring at Level 1 to 32.8%. That’s down from 32.9% in 2023 and 33.9% in 2022. &nbsp;The 2024 math assessment results show 31.6% of all students scored at Levels 3 and 4, an increase from 31.3% in 2023 and 29.4% in 2022. &nbsp;The 2024 math assessment results also show 33.2% of students scored at Level 1, a slight increase from 33.1% in 2023 but down from 34.2% in 2022.&nbsp;The State Board’s goal to move more students out of Level 1 in reading, along with the initiative to increase the number of Kansas educators trained in Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling, or LETRS®, is gaining momentum.&nbsp;&nbsp;As of Oct. 2024, an estimated 3,242 educators (including early childhood and administrators) had completed LETRS®&nbsp;training and have post-test scores. Another 12,141 educators (including early childhood and administrators) are in the process of getting trained in LETRS®. The LETRS®&nbsp;training is free for all Kansas educators as a result of federal ESSER funds. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Chronic absenteeism rates saw a three-year decline, going from 24.5% in 2022; 21.8% in 2023; and 19.7% in 2024. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or more of the total number of days enrolled during the school year. It includes both excused, unexcused, out-of-school suspensions and in-school suspensions that last more than one-half of the school day.&nbsp;&nbsp;As a lag indicator, the 2023 graduation rate declined by 1.2 percentage points to 88.1%, including a 1.3 percentage point decrease for students with disabilities. However, the graduation rate for English language learners (ELL) increased by 1 percentage point. (Graduation rates for 2024 won’t be available until later this year.)&nbsp;While the graduation rate decreased slightly, the number of Kansas high school students participating in postsecondary courses has increased every year since 2021. The number of students concurrently enrolled, dual enrolled and those enrolled in the Excel in CTE courses at the college level in 2024 was 38,002, up from 35,785 in 2023; 33,519 in 2022; and 32,603 in 2021. The number of credit hours these students earned also increased over the same four-year period – 332,615 in 2024; 306,904 in 2023; 289,456 in 2022 and 285,402 in 2021. &nbsp;

Kansas schools continue to improve  student literacy

By TONY GUERRERO Hays Post

Offering family fun and pumpkin picking for the season, Pa's Pumpkin Patch in Hays is open for the rest of October.&nbsp;

Pa's Pumpkin Patch, owned by Jeff Copper, is a seasonal agritourism destination at 978 250th Ave. with family-friendly activities.

Brett and Amy Denham have managed Pa's Pumpkin Patch during the fall season for three years.

"It's a long distance to get to any other pumpkin patches. We want to serve our community and have something affordable where you can go out and have fun as a family," Brett said.

The pumpkin patch is open&nbsp;from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays and&nbsp;from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays.

Weekend admission is $7 per person, while family nights, Tuesdays, is $15 per family.

The pumpkin patch operates for five weekends each season, beginning on the last Saturday of September and continuing through Halloween.

Activities at the patch include hayrack rides, a corn maze, train rides, an RC track course, interactions with alpacas and goats, and photo booths.

"We've got several different photo booths set up. We know moms like getting family pictures," Brett said.

The pumpkin patch also features a fire pit for making s'mores and other concessions.

Brett said Copper is the "Pa" behind Pa's Pumpkin Patch, as he and his grandkids take charge of planting and caring for the pumpkins.

Brett said this year's growing season was a great success, with their largest pumpkin weighing 108 pounds.

"This is the best pumpkin season we've ever had with the amount of pumpkins and size. They are big and healthy," he said. "We didn't do anything different. We were blessed this year."

Large pumpkins are 50 cents per pound, and smaller pumpkins and gourds are also available.

Pa's Pumpkin Patch hosts field trips throughout the fall for schools, including special needs students. These trips allow students to explore and learn about agriculture.

Brett said Pa's Pumpkin Patch supports agritourism by offering local, affordable pumpkins paired with outdoor fun.

"We want to bring joy to families through our agriculture by spending time outside, growing pumpkins and learning about pumpkins," Brett said.

You can follow Pa's Pumpkin Patch on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100067533002537">Facebook</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728498211510.jpeg" alt="Group of kids in Pa's Pumpkin Patch's wagon in Hays. Courtesy Photo" />
 <figcaption>Group of kids in Pa's Pumpkin Patch's wagon in Hays. Courtesy Photo</figcaption>
 </figure>By TONY GUERRERO Hays PostOffering family fun and pumpkin picking for the season, Pa's Pumpkin Patch in Hays is open for the rest of October.&nbsp;Pa's Pumpkin Patch, owned by Jeff Copper, is a seasonal agritourism destination at 978 250th Ave. with family-friendly activities.Brett and Amy Denham have managed Pa's Pumpkin Patch during the fall season for three years."It's a long distance to get to any other pumpkin patches. We want to serve our community and have something affordable where you can go out and have fun as a family," Brett said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728498248231.jpeg" alt="Three kids riding Pa's Pumpkin Patch wagon in Hays. Courtesy Photo" />
 <figcaption>Three kids riding Pa's Pumpkin Patch wagon in Hays. Courtesy Photo</figcaption>
 </figure>The pumpkin patch is open&nbsp;from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays and&nbsp;from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays.Weekend admission is $7 per person, while family nights, Tuesdays, is $15 per family.The pumpkin patch operates for five weekends each season, beginning on the last Saturday of September and continuing through Halloween.Activities at the patch include hayrack rides, a corn maze, train rides, an RC track course, interactions with alpacas and goats, and photo booths.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728498582750.jpeg" alt="The entrance to Pa's Pumpkin Patch's corn maze in Hays. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>The entrance to Pa's Pumpkin Patch's corn maze in Hays. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728498289632.jpeg" alt="A child interacting with an alpaca at Pa's Pumpkin Patch in Hays. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>A child interacting with an alpaca at Pa's Pumpkin Patch in Hays. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728498410138.jpeg" alt="A train with kids inside at Pa's Pumpkin Patch in Hays. Courtesy photo." />
 <figcaption>A train with kids inside at Pa's Pumpkin Patch in Hays. Courtesy photo.</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728498450030.jpeg" alt="Two kids in a scarecrow photo booth at Pa's Pumpkin Patch in Hays. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Two kids in a scarecrow photo booth at Pa's Pumpkin Patch in Hays. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>"We've got several different photo booths set up. We know moms like getting family pictures," Brett said.The pumpkin patch also features a fire pit for making s'mores and other concessions.Brett said Copper is the "Pa" behind Pa's Pumpkin Patch, as he and his grandkids take charge of planting and caring for the pumpkins.Brett said this year's growing season was a great success, with their largest pumpkin weighing 108 pounds.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728498479655.jpeg" alt="Rows of pumpkins at Pa's Pumpkin Patch in Hays.&nbsp;at Pa's Pumpkin Patch. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Rows of pumpkins at Pa's Pumpkin Patch in Hays.&nbsp;at Pa's Pumpkin Patch. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>"This is the best pumpkin season we've ever had with the amount of pumpkins and size. They are big and healthy," he said. "We didn't do anything different. We were blessed this year."Large pumpkins are 50 cents per pound, and smaller pumpkins and gourds are also available.Pa's Pumpkin Patch hosts field trips throughout the fall for schools, including special needs students. These trips allow students to explore and learn about agriculture.Brett said Pa's Pumpkin Patch supports agritourism by offering local, affordable pumpkins paired with outdoor fun."We want to bring joy to families through our agriculture by spending time outside, growing pumpkins and learning about pumpkins," Brett said.You can follow Pa's Pumpkin Patch on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100067533002537">Facebook</a>.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728498622360.jpeg" alt="Pa's Pumpkin Patch's tractor and wagon in Hays. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Pa's Pumpkin Patch's tractor and wagon in Hays. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>

Pa's Pumpkin Patch open through Halloween for family nights

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Former President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/obama">Barack Obama</a>&nbsp;gave a blistering critique of his White House successor&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;and urged Black men to show up for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kamala-harris">Kamala Harris</a>&nbsp;as he campaigned in Pittsburgh on Thursday at the start of a swing-state tour for the Democratic ticket.

At a campaign field office to thank volunteers, Obama said he wanted to “speak some truths” after hearing reports on the ground that there was lower enthusiasm for Harris than there was for his own candidacy and that some Black men were thinking of sitting out the election.

“Part of it makes me think — and I’m speaking to men directly — part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that,” Obama said.

The former president said Trump’s penchant for putting people down was not real strength.

“You’re thinking about sitting out or supporting somebody who has a history of denigrating you, because you think that’s a sign of strength, because that’s what being a man is? Putting women down? That’s not acceptable,” Obama said.

The Democratic former president made the battleground state of Pennsylvania the first stop of his campaign tour with less than four weeks until Election Day and as voting is already underway. Speaking at a rally at the University of Pittsburgh, he painted Trump as out-of-touch and not the choice to lead the country to change, calling him a “bumbling” billionaire “who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago.”

He said Harris is “a leader who has spent her life fighting on behalf of people who need a voice and a chance” and declared, “Kamala is as prepared for the job as any nominee for president has ever been.”

Obama, eight years out of power, has been one of the Democratic Party’s most reliable surrogates to galvanize voters. Until he was elected president in 2020, Joe Biden had also taken on that role for Democrats, but this year, since ending his reelection campaign and letting Harris ascend to the ticket, he’s yet to hit the trail.

Obama, who received a roaring welcome from the crowd, described Trump’s all-caps posts on social media and his “ranting and the raving about crazy conspiracy theories. The two-hour speeches, word salad, just — it’s like Fidel Castro. Just on and on. Constant attempts to sell you stuff. Who does that?”

Obama listed some of the products Trump has tried to sell during his third White House campaign, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-sneakers-sneaker-con-philadelphia-4de093eda6f8d1c68baf8fe8095f777b">$399 gold sneakers</a>, a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-election-campaign-watches-c6000a9944a5e9116b99ca2fe8b95cb0">$100,000 watch</a>&nbsp;and his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-god-bless-usa-bible-china-32a80611605d4052d8238064bbcace4c">“God Bless the USA” Bible for $59.99.</a>

“He wants you to buy the word of God: Donald Trump edition. Got his name right there next to Matthew and Luke,” Obama said, laughing. “You could not make this stuff up.”

As the nation’s first Black president, Obama’s appearance for Harris underscores the history-making nature of her own political career. Harris, the first woman, Black person or person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president, would be the first woman to serve as president if elected next month.

His old campaign rallying cry, “Yes, We Can,” was even refashioned for the event, with “Yes, She Can” beaming on a screen over the crowd.

Both Harris and Trump have been vying for support from Black Americans. A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/harris-trump-election-black-voters-biden-78e344ddea4886dd23582f4a51eb0da6">recent poll from the  AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research</a>&nbsp;found that about 7 in 10 Black voters have a somewhat or very favorable view of Harris, with few differences between Black male and female voters on how they view the Democratic candidate.

Black voters’ opinions of Trump, by contrast, were overwhelmingly negative, according to the poll, but the former president believes his message on the economy, immigration and traditional values can make inroads into the Democrats’ traditional base of support among Black voters, especially younger Black men.

Obama acknowledged that the last few years, starting with the pandemic, have been hard for Americans, with high prices and other impacts putting a squeeze on working families.

“I get it, why people are looking to shake things up. I mean, I am the hopey-changey guy. So I understand people feeling frustrated and feeling we can do better,” Obama said. “What I cannot understand is why anybody would think that Donald Trump will shake things up in a way that is good for you, Pennsylvania.”

He mocked Trump’s answer in the debate that he would replace Obama’s signature health care law, the Affordable Care Act, with “concepts of a plan,” and his running mate JD Vance’s recent comment that Trump worked to “salvage” the law.

“Donald Trump spent his entire presidency trying to tear it down. And by the way, he couldn’t even do that right.”

Obama also referenced a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-jack-smith-election-supreme-court-0b9969b480036bb1f7c61a73980d406c">new court filing in the federal election interference case</a>&nbsp;against Trump that said Trump told an aide, “So what?” after being told his vice president, Mike Pence, had been rushed to a safe location after a violent crowd of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

“If Donald Trump does not care that a mob might attack his own vice president, do you think he cares about you?” he asked.

Glenda Ellison, a 71-year-old retired schoolteacher and Democrat from Pittsburgh, said she is feeling “a little nervous” about the election but “prayerful that it’s going to turn out in our favor.”

Ellison said she sees Obama as a party spokesperson with a large following who can hopefully sway voters that might be on the fence about voting for Harris.

“As a former president, and also as a Black president, I think that is something that might connect with the African American community, the fact that we do have our Black president supporting another Black candidate,” said Ellison, who is Black.

Obama was among the key Democrats who were part of a behind-the-scenes effort to encourage Biden, his former vice president, to drop out of the 2024 race.

Obama and Harris have been friends for two decades since he ran for Senate in Illinois. She campaigned for him when he sought the presidency in 2008.

Pennsylvania is a state Obama won in his 2008 and 2012 presidential races, but Trump won in 2016. Biden narrowly carried it in 2020 and the state is shaping up to be one of the most closely contested in this year’s race.

Trump was in the eastern part of the state Wednesday for back-to-back rallies in Scranton and Reading. He also campaigned in eastern Pennsylvania over the weekend when he returned to Butler, where he was shot in July as he survived an assassination attempt.

Obama’s appearance at the University of Pittsburgh was also aimed to bolster the reelection campaign of Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, who is being challenged by Trump-endorsed Republican David McCormick.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Former President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/obama">Barack Obama</a>&nbsp;gave a blistering critique of his White House successor&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;and urged Black men to show up for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kamala-harris">Kamala Harris</a>&nbsp;as he campaigned in Pittsburgh on Thursday at the start of a swing-state tour for the Democratic ticket.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Donald Trump is not thinking about you. He only sees power as a means to his ends. America is ready to turn the page. <a href="https://t.co/q80uODpUkZ">pic.twitter.com/q80uODpUkZ</a>&mdash; Barack Obama (@BarackObama) <a href="https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1844539876110119393?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 11, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>At a campaign field office to thank volunteers, Obama said he wanted to “speak some truths” after hearing reports on the ground that there was lower enthusiasm for Harris than there was for his own candidacy and that some Black men were thinking of sitting out the election.“Part of it makes me think — and I’m speaking to men directly — part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that,” Obama said.The former president said Trump’s penchant for putting people down was not real strength.“You’re thinking about sitting out or supporting somebody who has a history of denigrating you, because you think that’s a sign of strength, because that’s what being a man is? Putting women down? That’s not acceptable,” Obama said.The Democratic former president made the battleground state of Pennsylvania the first stop of his campaign tour with less than four weeks until Election Day and as voting is already underway. Speaking at a rally at the University of Pittsburgh, he painted Trump as out-of-touch and not the choice to lead the country to change, calling him a “bumbling” billionaire “who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago.”He said Harris is “a leader who has spent her life fighting on behalf of people who need a voice and a chance” and declared, “Kamala is as prepared for the job as any nominee for president has ever been.”Obama, eight years out of power, has been one of the Democratic Party’s most reliable surrogates to galvanize voters. Until he was elected president in 2020, Joe Biden had also taken on that role for Democrats, but this year, since ending his reelection campaign and letting Harris ascend to the ticket, he’s yet to hit the trail.Obama, who received a roaring welcome from the crowd, described Trump’s all-caps posts on social media and his “ranting and the raving about crazy conspiracy theories. The two-hour speeches, word salad, just — it’s like Fidel Castro. Just on and on. Constant attempts to sell you stuff. Who does that?”Obama listed some of the products Trump has tried to sell during his third White House campaign, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-sneakers-sneaker-con-philadelphia-4de093eda6f8d1c68baf8fe8095f777b">$399 gold sneakers</a>, a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-election-campaign-watches-c6000a9944a5e9116b99ca2fe8b95cb0">$100,000 watch</a>&nbsp;and his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-god-bless-usa-bible-china-32a80611605d4052d8238064bbcace4c">“God Bless the USA” Bible for $59.99.</a>“He wants you to buy the word of God: Donald Trump edition. Got his name right there next to Matthew and Luke,” Obama said, laughing. “You could not make this stuff up.”As the nation’s first Black president, Obama’s appearance for Harris underscores the history-making nature of her own political career. Harris, the first woman, Black person or person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president, would be the first woman to serve as president if elected next month.His old campaign rallying cry, “Yes, We Can,” was even refashioned for the event, with “Yes, She Can” beaming on a screen over the crowd.Both Harris and Trump have been vying for support from Black Americans. A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/harris-trump-election-black-voters-biden-78e344ddea4886dd23582f4a51eb0da6">recent poll from the  AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research</a>&nbsp;found that about 7 in 10 Black voters have a somewhat or very favorable view of Harris, with few differences between Black male and female voters on how they view the Democratic candidate.Black voters’ opinions of Trump, by contrast, were overwhelmingly negative, according to the poll, but the former president believes his message on the economy, immigration and traditional values can make inroads into the Democrats’ traditional base of support among Black voters, especially younger Black men.Obama acknowledged that the last few years, starting with the pandemic, have been hard for Americans, with high prices and other impacts putting a squeeze on working families.“I get it, why people are looking to shake things up. I mean, I am the hopey-changey guy. So I understand people feeling frustrated and feeling we can do better,” Obama said. “What I cannot understand is why anybody would think that Donald Trump will shake things up in a way that is good for you, Pennsylvania.”He mocked Trump’s answer in the debate that he would replace Obama’s signature health care law, the Affordable Care Act, with “concepts of a plan,” and his running mate JD Vance’s recent comment that Trump worked to “salvage” the law.“Donald Trump spent his entire presidency trying to tear it down. And by the way, he couldn’t even do that right.”Obama also referenced a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-jack-smith-election-supreme-court-0b9969b480036bb1f7c61a73980d406c">new court filing in the federal election interference case</a>&nbsp;against Trump that said Trump told an aide, “So what?” after being told his vice president, Mike Pence, had been rushed to a safe location after a violent crowd of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.“If Donald Trump does not care that a mob might attack his own vice president, do you think he cares about you?” he asked.Glenda Ellison, a 71-year-old retired schoolteacher and Democrat from Pittsburgh, said she is feeling “a little nervous” about the election but “prayerful that it’s going to turn out in our favor.”Ellison said she sees Obama as a party spokesperson with a large following who can hopefully sway voters that might be on the fence about voting for Harris.“As a former president, and also as a Black president, I think that is something that might connect with the African American community, the fact that we do have our Black president supporting another Black candidate,” said Ellison, who is Black.Obama was among the key Democrats who were part of a behind-the-scenes effort to encourage Biden, his former vice president, to drop out of the 2024 race.Obama and Harris have been friends for two decades since he ran for Senate in Illinois. She campaigned for him when he sought the presidency in 2008.Pennsylvania is a state Obama won in his 2008 and 2012 presidential races, but Trump won in 2016. Biden narrowly carried it in 2020 and the state is shaping up to be one of the most closely contested in this year’s race.Trump was in the eastern part of the state Wednesday for back-to-back rallies in Scranton and Reading. He also campaigned in eastern Pennsylvania over the weekend when he returned to Butler, where he was shot in July as he survived an assassination attempt.Obama’s appearance at the University of Pittsburgh was also aimed to bolster the reelection campaign of Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, who is being challenged by Trump-endorsed Republican David McCormick.

🎥Obama makes first campaign rally appearance for Harris

HAYS -&nbsp; The TMP-Marian volleyball team won both of their matches on Senior Night at Al Billinger Fieldhouse Thursday. The Monarchs swept Ellis and Victoria to move to 21-10 on the season.

TMP-Marian def. Ellis 25-20, 25-14 TMP-Marian def. Victoria 25-16, 25-18

Hays PostHAYS -&nbsp; The TMP-Marian volleyball team won both of their matches on Senior Night at Al Billinger Fieldhouse Thursday. The Monarchs swept Ellis and Victoria to move to 21-10 on the season.TMP-Marian def. Ellis 25-20, 25-14 TMP-Marian def. Victoria 25-16, 25-18

🏐 Monarchs sweep on Senior Night

GARDEN CITY - Hays High girls’ golf closed out their regular season with a
second-place finish at Thursday's Garden City Invitational at the Southwind Country Club. The Indians shot a 392 and finished 42 strokes behind the host Buffaloes.


Jaycee Oakley fired an 82 and led HHS with a third-place finish. Kinley Pfannenstiel placed seventh with a 99 and Ava Erbert ninth with a 102.


Oakley was named the WAC Player of the Year. Liz Dreiling finished on the All-WAC first team. Pfannenstiel, Erbert and Lily Butler were named to the second team.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728644505038.jpeg" alt="Jaycee Oakley (Courtesy HHS golf)" />
 <figcaption>Jaycee Oakley (Courtesy HHS golf)</figcaption>
 </figure>Hays PostGARDEN CITY - Hays High girls’ golf closed out their regular season with a
second-place finish at Thursday's Garden City Invitational at the Southwind Country Club. The Indians shot a 392 and finished 42 strokes behind the host Buffaloes.
Jaycee Oakley fired an 82 and led HHS with a third-place finish. Kinley Pfannenstiel placed seventh with a 99 and Ava Erbert ninth with a 102.
Oakley was named the WAC Player of the Year. Liz Dreiling finished on the All-WAC first team. Pfannenstiel, Erbert and Lily Butler were named to the second team.

⛳ HHS girls second at GC Invite, Oakley earns WAC POY

MCPHERSON COUNTY —The McPherson County Courthouse, 117 N Maple Street in McPherson, was evacuated Thursday afternoon due to a threat by phone, according to a social media report from police.

A McPherson County District Court employee received a call at 2:42pm that a bomb is set to go off in three minutes. Court house employees evacuated the building and McPherson Police Officers, McPherson County Sheriffs Deputies, and McPherson Fire Department, searched the area for anything suspicious. No items were found and the McPherson Police Officers were released by the McPherson County Sheriffs Office at 3:29pm.&nbsp;

MCPHERSON COUNTY —The McPherson County Courthouse,&nbsp;117 N Maple Street in McPherson,  was evacuated Thursday afternoon due to an ongoing threat by phone, according to a social media report from police.

 The roads around the courthouse were closed. Police asked the public to stay clear of the courthouse at this time.

Check the Post for additional details as they become available.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728592544009.png" alt="McPherson County Court House -Google image" />
 <figcaption>McPherson County Court House -Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>MCPHERSON COUNTY —The McPherson County Courthouse, 117 N Maple Street in McPherson, was evacuated Thursday afternoon due to a threat by phone, according to a social media report from police.A McPherson County District Court employee received a call at 2:42pm that a bomb is set to go off in three minutes. Court house employees evacuated the building and McPherson Police Officers, McPherson County Sheriffs Deputies, and McPherson Fire Department, searched the area for anything suspicious. No items were found and the McPherson Police Officers were released by the McPherson County Sheriffs Office at 3:29pm.&nbsp;--------------MCPHERSON COUNTY —The McPherson County Courthouse,&nbsp;117 N Maple Street in McPherson, was evacuated Thursday afternoon due to an ongoing threat by phone, according to a social media report from police. The roads around the courthouse were closed. Police asked the public to stay clear of the courthouse at this time.Check the Post for additional details as they become available.

McPherson Co. courthouse evacuated due to bomb threat

MANHATTAN, Kan.&nbsp;– Kansas State senior transfer&nbsp;Coleman Hawkins&nbsp;has been named the Preseason Big 12 co-Newcomer of the Year by the league coaches, as the Big 12 announced its annual preseason poll and all-conference teams on Thursday.

Hawkins, who earned All-Big Ten honors at Illinois in 2023-24, was selected for the preseason honor alongside Baylor’s&nbsp;Jeremy Roach. Hawkins was also named to the preseason All-Big 12 Second Team by the league coaches, joining Baylor’s&nbsp;Norchad Omier&nbsp;and Roach, Iowa State’s&nbsp;Keshon Gilbert&nbsp;and Kansas’&nbsp;Dajuan Harris.

Hunter Dickinson&nbsp;of preseason favorite Kansas was named the Preseason Player of the Year, while Baylor’s&nbsp;V.J. Edgecombe&nbsp;was tabbed as the Freshman of the Year. Dickinson was joined on the Preseason All-Big 12 First Team by Arizona’s&nbsp;Caleb Love, Houston’s&nbsp;L.J. Cryer&nbsp;and&nbsp;J’Wan Roberts&nbsp;and Iowa State’s&nbsp;Tamin Lipsey.

K-State was picked eighth in the new 16-team preseason poll with 133 points, just two points behind seventh-place Texas Tech and 17 points ahead of ninth-place BYU.

Kansas was picked first with 215 points and nine first-place votes followed by closely by reigning champion Houston (211, five first-place votes), third-place Iowa State (194, one first-place vote), fourth-place Baylor (185) and fifth-place Arizona (179 points, one first-place vote).The rest of the preseason poll included Cincinnati in sixth with 140 followed by Texas Tech, K-State, BYU, TCU, UCF, Arizona State, West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Colorado and Utah.

Hawkins is the first Wildcat to be selected as the Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and the fourth to be chosen for a preseason player honor, joining&nbsp;Michael Beasley&nbsp;(2007-08 Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year),&nbsp;Jacob Pullen&nbsp;(2010-11 Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year) and&nbsp;Dean Wade&nbsp;(2018-19 Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year).Hawkins is also the first Wildcat to earn selection to one of the main preseason all-conference teams by the league coaches since&nbsp;Barry Brown Jr.&nbsp;and&nbsp;Dean Wade&nbsp;in 2018-19. He is one of eight players in school history to be chosen for preseason all-conference honors dating to&nbsp;Manny Dies&nbsp;in 1998-99. Others include Pullen and&nbsp;Curtis Kelly&nbsp;in 2010-11,&nbsp;Rodney McGruder&nbsp;in 2012-13 and&nbsp;Marcus Foster&nbsp;in 2014-15.

Arthur Kaluma&nbsp;and&nbsp;Tylor Perry&nbsp;were honorable mention preseason All-Big 12 picks in 2023-24.Hawkins was a Second Team All-Big Ten selection in 2023-24 after averaging a career-high 12.1 points per game for the Fighting Illini while posting career-bests for field goal percentage (45.1), 3-point field goal percentage (36.9) and free throw percentage (79.2). He is the only player in Illinois history with at least 900 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists, 100 blocks and 100 steals.

K-State will tip off the season at 7 p.m., CT on Tuesday, Nov. 5 against New Orleans, while the lone exhibition is set for 7 p.m., CT on Tuesday, Oct. 29. All of home game times are set and can be viewed by clicking on this&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/2024-25">link</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728590780999.png" alt="Kansas State Athletics photo" />
 <figcaption>Kansas State Athletics photo</figcaption>
 </figure>Kansas State AthleticsMANHATTAN, Kan.&nbsp;– Kansas State senior transfer&nbsp;Coleman Hawkins&nbsp;has been named the Preseason Big 12 co-Newcomer of the Year by the league coaches, as the Big 12 announced its annual preseason poll and all-conference teams on Thursday.Hawkins, who earned All-Big Ten honors at Illinois in 2023-24, was selected for the preseason honor alongside Baylor’s&nbsp;Jeremy Roach. Hawkins was also named to the preseason All-Big 12 Second Team by the league coaches, joining Baylor’s&nbsp;Norchad Omier&nbsp;and Roach, Iowa State’s&nbsp;Keshon Gilbert&nbsp;and Kansas’&nbsp;Dajuan Harris.Hunter Dickinson&nbsp;of preseason favorite Kansas was named the Preseason Player of the Year, while Baylor’s&nbsp;V.J. Edgecombe&nbsp;was tabbed as the Freshman of the Year. Dickinson was joined on the Preseason All-Big 12 First Team by Arizona’s&nbsp;Caleb Love, Houston’s&nbsp;L.J. Cryer&nbsp;and&nbsp;J’Wan Roberts&nbsp;and Iowa State’s&nbsp;Tamin Lipsey.K-State was picked eighth in the new 16-team preseason poll with 133 points, just two points behind seventh-place Texas Tech and 17 points ahead of ninth-place BYU.Kansas was picked first with 215 points and nine first-place votes followed by closely by reigning champion Houston (211, five first-place votes), third-place Iowa State (194, one first-place vote), fourth-place Baylor (185) and fifth-place Arizona (179 points, one first-place vote).The rest of the preseason poll included Cincinnati in sixth with 140 followed by Texas Tech, K-State, BYU, TCU, UCF, Arizona State, West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Colorado and Utah.Hawkins is the first Wildcat to be selected as the Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and the fourth to be chosen for a preseason player honor, joining&nbsp;Michael Beasley&nbsp;(2007-08 Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year),&nbsp;Jacob Pullen&nbsp;(2010-11 Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year) and&nbsp;Dean Wade&nbsp;(2018-19 Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year).Hawkins is also the first Wildcat to earn selection to one of the main preseason all-conference teams by the league coaches since&nbsp;Barry Brown Jr.&nbsp;and&nbsp;Dean Wade&nbsp;in 2018-19. He is one of eight players in school history to be chosen for preseason all-conference honors dating to&nbsp;Manny Dies&nbsp;in 1998-99. Others include Pullen and&nbsp;Curtis Kelly&nbsp;in 2010-11,&nbsp;Rodney McGruder&nbsp;in 2012-13 and&nbsp;Marcus Foster&nbsp;in 2014-15.Arthur Kaluma&nbsp;and&nbsp;Tylor Perry&nbsp;were honorable mention preseason All-Big 12 picks in 2023-24.Hawkins was a Second Team All-Big Ten selection in 2023-24 after averaging a career-high 12.1 points per game for the Fighting Illini while posting career-bests for field goal percentage (45.1), 3-point field goal percentage (36.9) and free throw percentage (79.2). He is the only player in Illinois history with at least 900 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists, 100 blocks and 100 steals.K-State will tip off the season at 7 p.m., CT on Tuesday, Nov. 5 against New Orleans, while the lone exhibition is set for 7 p.m., CT on Tuesday, Oct. 29. All of home game times are set and can be viewed by clicking on this&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/2024-25">link</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;

🏀 K-State's Hawkins named Preseason Big 12 co-Newcomer of the Year

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of copies of Donald Trump’s “God Bless the USA” Bible were printed in a country that the former president has repeatedly accused of stealing American jobs and engaging in unfair trade practices: China.

Global trade records reviewed by The Associated Press show a printing company in China’s eastern city of Hangzhou shipped close to 120,000 of the Bibles to the United States earlier this year.

The estimated value of the three separate shipments was $342,000, or less than $3 per Bible, according to databases that track exports and imports. The minimum price for the Trump-backed Bible is $59.99, putting the potential sales revenue at about $7 million.

The Trump Bible’s connection to China reveals a deep divide between the former president’s harsh anti-China rhetoric and his efforts to raise cash while campaigning.

The Trump campaign did not respond to emails and calls seeking comment.

In a March 26 video posted on his Truth Social platform, Trump announced a partnership with country singer Lee Greenwood to hawk the Bibles, inspired by Greenwood's “God Bless the USA” hit song.

In the video, Trump blended religion with his campaign message as he urged viewers to buy the Bible, which includes copies of the U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights and Pledge of Allegiance.

“This Bible is a reminder that the biggest thing we have to bring back in America, and to make America great again, is our religion," Trump said.

Trump didn’t say where the “God Bless the USA” Bibles are printed, what they cost or how much he earns per sale. A version of the $59.99 Bible memorializes the July 13 assassination attempt on the former president in Pennsylvania. Trump’s name is stamped on the cover above the phrase, “The Day God Intervened.”

The Bibles are sold exclusively through a website that states it is not affiliated with any political campaign nor is it owned or controlled by Trump.

The website states that Trump’s name and image are used under a paid license from CIC Ventures, a company Trump reported owning in a financial disclosure released in August. CIC Ventures earned $300,000 in Bible sales royalties, according to the disclosure. It’s unclear if Trump has received additional payments.

AP received no response to questions sent to the Bible website and to a publicist for Greenwood.

For years, Trump has castigated Beijing as an obstacle to America’s economic success, slapping hefty tariffs on Chinese imports while president and threatening even more stringent measures if he’s elected again. He blamed China for the COVID-19 outbreak and recently suggested, without evidence, that Chinese immigrants are flooding the U.S. to build an “army” and attack America.

But Trump also has an eye on his personal finances. Pitching Bibles is one of a dizzying number of for-profit ventures he’s launched or promoted, including diamond-encrusted watches, sneakers, photo books, cryptocurrency and digital trading cards.

The web of enterprises has stoked conflict of interest concerns. Selling products at prices that exceed their value may be considered a campaign contribution, said Claire Finkelstein, founder of the nonpartisan Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law and a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

“You have to assume that everything that the individual does is being done as a candidate and so that any money that flows through to him benefits him as a candidate,” Finkelstein said. “Suppose Vladimir Putin were to buy a Trump watch. Is that a campaign finance violation? I would think so.”

There’s a potentially lucrative opportunity for Trump to sell 55,000 of the Bibles to Oklahoma after the state’s education department ordered public schools to incorporate Scripture into lessons. Oklahoma plans to buy Bibles that initially matched Trump’s edition: a King James Version that contains the U.S. founding documents. The request was revised Monday to allow the U.S. historical documents to be bound with the Bible or provided separately.

The first delivery of Trump Bibles was labeled “God Bless USA,” according to the information from the Panjiva and Import Genius databases. The other two were described as “Bibles.” All the books were shipped by New Ade Cultural Media, a printing company in Hangzhou, to Freedom Park Design, a company in Alabama that databases identified as the importer of the Bibles.

Tammy Tang, a sales representative for New Ade, told AP all three shipments were “God Bless the USA” Bibles. She said New Ade received the orders from Freedom Park Design via the WhatsApp messaging service. The books were printed on presses near the company’s office, she said.

Freedom Park Design was incorporated in Florida on March 1. An aspiring country singer named Jared Ashley is the company’s president. He also co-founded 16 Creative, a marketing firm that uses the same Gulf Shores address and processes online orders for branded merchandise.

Ashley hung up on a reporter who called to ask about the Bibles. Greenwood is a client of 16 Creative, according to the firm’s website. He launched the American-flag emblazoned Bible in 2021.

Religious scholars have denounced the merger of Scripture and government documents as a “toxic mix” that would fuel Christian nationalism, a movement that fuses American and Christian values, symbols and identity and seeks to privilege Christianity in public life. Other critics have called the Trump Bible blasphemous.

Tim Wildsmith, a Baptist minister who reviews Bibles on his YouTube channel, said he quickly noticed the signs of a cheaply made book when his “God Bless the USA” Bible arrived in the mail.

It had a faux leather cover, and words were jammed together on the pages, making it hard to read. He also found sticky pages that ripped when pulled apart, and there was no copyright page or information about who printed the Bible, or where.

“I was shocked by how poor the quality of it was,” Wildsmith said. “It says to me that it’s more about the love of money than it is the love of our country.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1711546280758.png" alt="Image from the&nbsp;<a href="https://godblesstheusabible.com/">GodBlessTheUSABible.com</a>&nbsp;web site" />
 <figcaption>Image from the&nbsp;<a href="https://godblesstheusabible.com/">GodBlessTheUSABible.com</a>&nbsp;web site</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of copies of Donald Trump’s “God Bless the USA” Bible were printed in a country that the former president has repeatedly accused of stealing American jobs and engaging in unfair trade practices: China.Global trade records reviewed by The Associated Press show a printing company in China’s eastern city of Hangzhou shipped close to 120,000 of the Bibles to the United States earlier this year.The estimated value of the three separate shipments was $342,000, or less than $3 per Bible, according to databases that track exports and imports. The minimum price for the Trump-backed Bible is $59.99, putting the potential sales revenue at about $7 million.The Trump Bible’s connection to China reveals a deep divide between the former president’s harsh anti-China rhetoric and his efforts to raise cash while campaigning.The Trump campaign did not respond to emails and calls seeking comment.In a March 26 video posted on his Truth Social platform, Trump announced a partnership with country singer Lee Greenwood to hawk the Bibles, inspired by Greenwood's “God Bless the USA” hit song.In the video, Trump blended religion with his campaign message as he urged viewers to buy the Bible, which includes copies of the U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights and Pledge of Allegiance.“This Bible is a reminder that the biggest thing we have to bring back in America, and to make America great again, is our religion," Trump said.Trump didn’t say where the “God Bless the USA” Bibles are printed, what they cost or how much he earns per sale. A version of the $59.99 Bible memorializes the July 13 assassination attempt on the former president in Pennsylvania. Trump’s name is stamped on the cover above the phrase, “The Day God Intervened.”The Bibles are sold exclusively through a website that states it is not affiliated with any political campaign nor is it owned or controlled by Trump.The website states that Trump’s name and image are used under a paid license from CIC Ventures, a company Trump reported owning in a financial disclosure released in August. CIC Ventures earned $300,000 in Bible sales royalties, according to the disclosure. It’s unclear if Trump has received additional payments.AP received no response to questions sent to the Bible website and to a publicist for Greenwood.For years, Trump has castigated Beijing as an obstacle to America’s economic success, slapping hefty tariffs on Chinese imports while president and threatening even more stringent measures if he’s elected again. He blamed China for the COVID-19 outbreak and recently suggested, without evidence, that Chinese immigrants are flooding the U.S. to build an “army” and attack America.But Trump also has an eye on his personal finances. Pitching Bibles is one of a dizzying number of for-profit ventures he’s launched or promoted, including diamond-encrusted watches, sneakers, photo books, cryptocurrency and digital trading cards.The web of enterprises has stoked conflict of interest concerns. Selling products at prices that exceed their value may be considered a campaign contribution, said Claire Finkelstein, founder of the nonpartisan Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law and a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania.“You have to assume that everything that the individual does is being done as a candidate and so that any money that flows through to him benefits him as a candidate,” Finkelstein said. “Suppose Vladimir Putin were to buy a Trump watch. Is that a campaign finance violation? I would think so.”There’s a potentially lucrative opportunity for Trump to sell 55,000 of the Bibles to Oklahoma after the state’s education department ordered public schools to incorporate Scripture into lessons. Oklahoma plans to buy Bibles that initially matched Trump’s edition: a King James Version that contains the U.S. founding documents. The request was revised Monday to allow the U.S. historical documents to be bound with the Bible or provided separately.The first delivery of Trump Bibles was labeled “God Bless USA,” according to the information from the Panjiva and Import Genius databases. The other two were described as “Bibles.” All the books were shipped by New Ade Cultural Media, a printing company in Hangzhou, to Freedom Park Design, a company in Alabama that databases identified as the importer of the Bibles.Tammy Tang, a sales representative for New Ade, told AP all three shipments were “God Bless the USA” Bibles. She said New Ade received the orders from Freedom Park Design via the WhatsApp messaging service. The books were printed on presses near the company’s office, she said.Freedom Park Design was incorporated in Florida on March 1. An aspiring country singer named Jared Ashley is the company’s president. He also co-founded 16 Creative, a marketing firm that uses the same Gulf Shores address and processes online orders for branded merchandise.Ashley hung up on a reporter who called to ask about the Bibles. Greenwood is a client of 16 Creative, according to the firm’s website. He launched the American-flag emblazoned Bible in 2021.Religious scholars have denounced the merger of Scripture and government documents as a “toxic mix” that would fuel Christian nationalism, a movement that fuses American and Christian values, symbols and identity and seeks to privilege Christianity in public life. Other critics have called the Trump Bible blasphemous.Tim Wildsmith, a Baptist minister who reviews Bibles on his YouTube channel, said he quickly noticed the signs of a cheaply made book when his “God Bless the USA” Bible arrived in the mail.It had a faux leather cover, and words were jammed together on the pages, making it hard to read. He also found sticky pages that ripped when pulled apart, and there was no copyright page or information about who printed the Bible, or where.“I was shocked by how poor the quality of it was,” Wildsmith said. “It says to me that it’s more about the love of money than it is the love of our country.”

Trump blasted China's trade practices. His 'God Bless the USA' Bibles were printed there

MANHATTAN—Law enforcement are investigating a shooting in Manhattan.

Just before 8p.m. Wednesday, police responded to a report of shots fired in the 900 block of Yuma Street, according to a media release.

Officers located a 23-year-old man from Manhattan who had been shot in the parking lot of the Douglass Activity Complex. The victim was transported by EMS to Ascension Via Christi Hospital, where he was air-lifted to Stormont Vail Hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries.

Preliminary information indicates the shooter, a 26-year-old man, acted in self-defense. There is believed to be little to no relationship between the individuals involved, and this appears to be an isolated incident with no threat to public safety.

This is an open and ongoing investigation. Additional details will be released as they become available.

RILEY COUNTY —Officers were on the scene of a shooting Wednesday evening in the 900 block of Yuma in Manhattan near the Douglas Recreation Center, according to the Riley County Police Department. 

One person has been shot and transported to Via Christi for treatment of their injuries.

Police asked drivers to find alternate routes&nbsp; to avoid the 900 blocks of Yuma and Fort Riley Boulevard so officers continue to work the scene.&nbsp;

if your child was participating in activities at the Douglas Center, please follow the cones on the 900 block of Fort Riley Boulevard for pick-up. Police believed the shooting was in isolated incident and there was no&nbsp; danger to the public.

Few details are available. Check the Post for more information as it is released from the RCPD.

MANHATTAN—Law enforcement are investigating a shooting in Manhattan.Just before 8p.m. Wednesday, police responded to a report of shots fired in the 900 block of Yuma Street, according to a media release.Officers located a 23-year-old man from Manhattan who had been shot in the parking lot of the Douglass Activity Complex. The victim was transported by EMS to Ascension Via Christi Hospital, where he was air-lifted to Stormont Vail Hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries.Preliminary information indicates the shooter, a 26-year-old man, acted in self-defense. There is believed to be little to no relationship between the individuals involved, and this appears to be an isolated incident with no threat to public safety.This is an open and ongoing investigation. Additional details will be released as they become available.----------------RILEY COUNTY —Officers were on the scene of a shooting Wednesday evening in the 900 block of Yuma in Manhattan near the Douglas Recreation Center, according to the Riley County Police Department. One person has been shot and transported to Via Christi for treatment of their injuries.Police asked drivers to find alternate routes&nbsp; to avoid the 900 blocks of Yuma and Fort Riley Boulevard so officers continue to work the scene.&nbsp;if your child was participating in activities at the Douglas Center, please follow the cones on the 900 block of Fort Riley Boulevard for pick-up. Police believed the shooting was in isolated incident and there was no&nbsp; danger to the public.Few details are available. Check the Post for more information as it is released from the RCPD.

Police: Shooter in Manhattan parking lot acted in self defense

BOSTON, Mass. (AP) — Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy who raised their 11 children after he was assassinated and remained dedicated to social causes and the family’s legacy for decades thereafter, died on Thursday, her family said. She was 96.

Kennedy had been hospitalized after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ethel-kennedy-stroke-robert-f-kennedy-camelot-d54fb65f161bee60e32d27049778f761">suffering a stroke</a>&nbsp;in her sleep on Oct. 3, her family said.

“It is with our hearts full of love that we announce the passing of our amazing grandmother,” Joe Kennedy III posted on X. “She died this morning from complications related to a stroke suffered last week.”

“Along with a lifetime’s work in social justice and human rights, our mother leaves behind nine children, 34 grandchildren and 24 great-great grandchildren along with numerous nieces and nephews, all of whom love her dearly,” the family statement said.

The Kennedy matriarch, whose children were Kathleen, Joseph II, Robert Jr., David, Courtney, Michael, Kerry, Christopher, Max, Douglas and Rory, was one of the last remaining members of a generation that included President John F. Kennedy. Her family said she had recently enjoyed seeing many of her relatives, before falling ill.

A millionaire’s daughter who married the future senator and attorney general in 1950, Ethel Kennedy had endured more death by the age of 40, for the whole world to see, than most would in a lifetime.

She was by Robert F. Kennedy’s side when he was fatally shot in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968, just after winning the Democratic presidential primary in California. Her brother-in-law, President John F. Kennedy, had been assassinated in Dallas less than five years earlier.

Her parents were killed in a plane crash in 1955, and her brother died in a 1966 crash. Her son David Kennedy later died of a drug overdose, son Michael Kennedy in a skiing accident and nephew John F. Kennedy Jr. in a plane crash. Another nephew, Michael Skakel, was found guilty of murder in 2002, although a judge in 2013 ordered a new trial and the Connecticut Supreme Court vacated his conviction in 2018.

In 2019, she was grieving again after granddaughter&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/0112adae889247ba897319279a696ae9">Saoirse Kennedy Hill died</a>&nbsp;of an apparent drug overdose.

“One wonders how much this family must be expected to absorb,” family friend Philip Johnson, founder of the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation, told the Boston Herald after Michael Kennedy’s death.

Ethel Kennedy sustained herself through her faith and devotion to family.

“She was a devout Catholic and a daily communicant, and we are comforted in knowing she is reunited with the love of her life, our father, Robert. F. Kennedy; her children David and Michael; her daughter-in-law Mary; her grandchildren Maeve and Saorise and her great-grandchildren Gideon and Josie. Please keep our mother in your hearts and prayers,” the family statement said.

Ethel's mother-in-law, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, initially worried about how she would handle so much tragedy.

“I knew how difficult it was going to be for her to raise that big family without the guiding role and influence that Bobby would have provided,” Rose recalled in her memoir, “Times to Remember.” “And, of course, she realized this too, fully and keenly. Yet she did not give way.”

She founded the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights soon after husband’s death and advocated for causes including gun control and human rights. She rarely spoke about her husband’s assassination. When her filmmaker daughter, Rory, brought it up in the 2012 HBO documentary, “Ethel,” she couldn't share her grief.

“When we lost Daddy ...” she began, then teared up and asked that her youngest daughter “talk about something else.”

In 2008, she joined brother-in-law Ted Kennedy and niece Caroline Kennedy in endorsing Sen. Barack Obama for president, likening him to her late husband. She made several trips to the White House during the Obama years, receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014 and meeting Pope Francis in 2015.

Many of her progeny became well known. Daughter Kathleen became lieutenant governor of Maryland; Joseph represented Massachusetts in Congress; Courtney married Paul Hill, who had been wrongfully convicted of an IRA bombing; Kerry became a human rights activist and president of the RFK center; Christopher ran for governor of Illinois; Max served as a prosecutor in Philadelphia and Douglas reported for Fox News Channel.

Her Robert F. Kennedy Jr., also became a national figure, although not as a liberal in the family tradition. First known as an environmental lawyer, he evolved into a conspiracy theorist who spread false theories about vaccines. He ran for president as an independent after briefly challenging President Joe Biden, and his name remained on ballots in multiple states after he suspended his campaign and endorsed Donald Trump.

Ethel Kennedy did not comment publicly on her son's actions, although several other family members denounced him.

Decades earlier, she seemed to thrive on her in-laws’ rising power. She was an enthusiastic backer of JFK’s 1960 run and during the Kennedy administration hosted some of the era’s most well-attended parties at their Hickory Hill estate in McLean, Virginia, including one where historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. was pushed fully clothed into the swimming pool. In the Kennedy spirit, she also was known as an avid and highly competitive tennis player and a compulsive planner.

“Petite and peppy Ethel, who doesn’t look one bit the outdoorsy type, considers outdoor activity so important for the children that she has arranged her busy Cabinet-wife schedule so she can personally take them on two daily outings,” The Washington Post reported in 1962.

In February of that year, she accompanied her husband on a round-the-world goodwill tour, stopping in Japan, Hong Kong, Italy and other countries. She said it was important for Americans to meet ordinary people overseas.

“People have a distinct liking for Americans,” she told the Post. “But the Communists have been so vocal, it was a surprise for some Asians to hear America’s point of view. It is good for Americans to travel and get our viewpoint across.”

Kennedy was born Ethel Skakel on April 11, 1928, in Chicago, the sixth of seven children of coal magnate George Skakel and Ann Brannack Skakel, a devout Roman Catholic. She grew up in a 31-room English country manor house in Greenwich, Connecticut, and attended Greenwich Academy before graduating from the Convent of the Sacred Heart in the Bronx in 1945.

She met Robert Kennedy through his sister Jean, her roommate at Manhattanville College in New York. They moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, where he finished his last year of law school at the University of Virginia, and then in 1957, they bought Hickory Hill from by John and Jacqueline Kennedy, who had bought it in 1953.

Robert Kennedy became chief counsel to the Senate Select Committee in 1957. He later was appointed attorney general by his brother, the newly elected President Kennedy.

She had supported her husband in his successful 1964 campaign for the U.S. Senate in New York and his subsequent presidential bid. Pregnant with their 11th child when he was gunned down by Sirhan Sirhan, her look of shock and horror was captured by photographers in images that remained indelible decades later.

The assassination traumatized the family, especially son David Kennedy, who watched the news in a hotel room. He was just days before his 13th birthday and never recovered, struggling with addiction problems for years and overdosing in 1984.

In 2021, she said Sirhan Sirhan should not be released from prison, a view not shared&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-d5e12df9cc3c0241ab108bfc124dda1b">by some others in her family.</a>&nbsp;Two years later, a California panel denied him parole.

Although Ethel Kennedy was linked to several men after her husband’s death, most notably singer Andy Williams, she never remarried.

In April 2008, Ethel Kennedy visited Indianapolis on the 40th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. A monument there commemorated King’s death and the speech her husband had given that night in 1968, which was credited with averting rioting in the city.

“Of all the Kennedy women, she was the one I would end up admiring the most,” Harry Belafonte would write of her. “She wasn’t playacting. She looked at you and immediately got what you were about. Often in the coming years, when Bobby was balking at something we wanted him to do for the movement, I’d take my case to Ethel. ‘We have to talk to him,’ she’d say, and she would.”

Ethel Kennedy joined President Obama and former President Bill Clinton — each held one of her hands — as they climbed stairs to lay a wreath at President Kennedy’s gravesite during a November 2013 observance of the 50th anniversary of JFK’s death.

The nonprofit center she founded remains dedicated to advancing human rights through litigation, advocacy, education and inspiration, giving annual awards to journalists, authors and others who have made significant contributions to human rights.

She also was active in the Coalition of Gun Control, Special Olympics, and the Earth Conservation Corps. And she showed up in person, participating in a 2016 demonstration in support of higher pay for farmworkers in Florida and a 2018 hunger strike against the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

Hickory Hill was sold in 2009 for $8.25 million, and Ethel Kennedy divided her time between homes in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, and Palm Beach, Florida.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728495330718.png" alt="FILE - Ethel Kennedy, widow of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, watches a video about her late husband during the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights awards ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 5, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)" />
 <figcaption>FILE - Ethel Kennedy, widow of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, watches a video about her late husband during the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights awards ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 5, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)</figcaption>
 </figure>BOSTON, Mass. (AP) — Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy who raised their 11 children after he was assassinated and remained dedicated to social causes and the family’s legacy for decades thereafter, died on Thursday, her family said. She was 96.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=476&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FRFKHumanRights%2Fvideos%2F1216503226075492%2F&show_text=false&width=267&t=1" width="267" height="476" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>Kennedy had been hospitalized after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ethel-kennedy-stroke-robert-f-kennedy-camelot-d54fb65f161bee60e32d27049778f761">suffering a stroke</a>&nbsp;in her sleep on Oct. 3, her family said.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">It is with our hearts full of love that we announce the passing of our mother, Ethel Kennedy. Please keep our mother in your hearts and prayers. <a href="https://t.co/bdIQFsC0CS">pic.twitter.com/bdIQFsC0CS</a>&mdash; Kerry Kennedy (@KerryKennedyRFK) <a href="https://twitter.com/KerryKennedyRFK/status/1844397785065664700?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 10, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“It is with our hearts full of love that we announce the passing of our amazing grandmother,” Joe Kennedy III posted on X. “She died this morning from complications related to a stroke suffered last week.”“Along with a lifetime’s work in social justice and human rights, our mother leaves behind nine children, 34 grandchildren and 24 great-great grandchildren along with numerous nieces and nephews, all of whom love her dearly,” the family statement said.The Kennedy matriarch, whose children were Kathleen, Joseph II, Robert Jr., David, Courtney, Michael, Kerry, Christopher, Max, Douglas and Rory, was one of the last remaining members of a generation that included President John F. Kennedy. Her family said she had recently enjoyed seeing many of her relatives, before falling ill.A millionaire’s daughter who married the future senator and attorney general in 1950, Ethel Kennedy had endured more death by the age of 40, for the whole world to see, than most would in a lifetime.She was by Robert F. Kennedy’s side when he was fatally shot in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968, just after winning the Democratic presidential primary in California. Her brother-in-law, President John F. Kennedy, had been assassinated in Dallas less than five years earlier.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Ethel Kennedy was a dear friend with a passion for justice, an irrepressible spirit, and a great sense of humor. She touched the lives of countless people around the world with her generosity and grace, and was an emblem of enduring faith and hope, even in the face of… <a href="https://t.co/lTukrEl9hI">pic.twitter.com/lTukrEl9hI</a>&mdash; Barack Obama (@BarackObama) <a href="https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1844421243644039471?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 10, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Her parents were killed in a plane crash in 1955, and her brother died in a 1966 crash. Her son David Kennedy later died of a drug overdose, son Michael Kennedy in a skiing accident and nephew John F. Kennedy Jr. in a plane crash. Another nephew, Michael Skakel, was found guilty of murder in 2002, although a judge in 2013 ordered a new trial and the Connecticut Supreme Court vacated his conviction in 2018.In 2019, she was grieving again after granddaughter&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/0112adae889247ba897319279a696ae9">Saoirse Kennedy Hill died</a>&nbsp;of an apparent drug overdose.“One wonders how much this family must be expected to absorb,” family friend Philip Johnson, founder of the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation, told the Boston Herald after Michael Kennedy’s death.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">From 2014, Ethel Kennedy receives Presidential Medal of Freedom: &quot;She&#39;s an emblem of enduring faith and enduring hope, even in the face of unimaginable loss and unimaginable grief...she has touched the lives of countless people around the world with her generosity and her grace.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/GiStGMP18Y">pic.twitter.com/GiStGMP18Y</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1844431442702631079?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 10, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Ethel Kennedy sustained herself through her faith and devotion to family.“She was a devout Catholic and a daily communicant, and we are comforted in knowing she is reunited with the love of her life, our father, Robert. F. Kennedy; her children David and Michael; her daughter-in-law Mary; her grandchildren Maeve and Saorise and her great-grandchildren Gideon and Josie. Please keep our mother in your hearts and prayers,” the family statement said.Ethel's mother-in-law, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, initially worried about how she would handle so much tragedy.“I knew how difficult it was going to be for her to raise that big family without the guiding role and influence that Bobby would have provided,” Rose recalled in her memoir, “Times to Remember.” “And, of course, she realized this too, fully and keenly. Yet she did not give way.”She founded the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights soon after husband’s death and advocated for causes including gun control and human rights. She rarely spoke about her husband’s assassination. When her filmmaker daughter, Rory, brought it up in the 2012 HBO documentary, “Ethel,” she couldn't share her grief.“When we lost Daddy ...” she began, then teared up and asked that her youngest daughter “talk about something else.”In 2008, she joined brother-in-law Ted Kennedy and niece Caroline Kennedy in endorsing Sen. Barack Obama for president, likening him to her late husband. She made several trips to the White House during the Obama years, receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014 and meeting Pope Francis in 2015.Many of her progeny became well known. Daughter Kathleen became lieutenant governor of Maryland; Joseph represented Massachusetts in Congress; Courtney married Paul Hill, who had been wrongfully convicted of an IRA bombing; Kerry became a human rights activist and president of the RFK center; Christopher ran for governor of Illinois; Max served as a prosecutor in Philadelphia and Douglas reported for Fox News Channel.Her Robert F. Kennedy Jr., also became a national figure, although not as a liberal in the family tradition. First known as an environmental lawyer, he evolved into a conspiracy theorist who spread false theories about vaccines. He ran for president as an independent after briefly challenging President Joe Biden, and his name remained on ballots in multiple states after he suspended his campaign and endorsed Donald Trump.Ethel Kennedy did not comment publicly on her son's actions, although several other family members denounced him.Decades earlier, she seemed to thrive on her in-laws’ rising power. She was an enthusiastic backer of JFK’s 1960 run and during the Kennedy administration hosted some of the era’s most well-attended parties at their Hickory Hill estate in McLean, Virginia, including one where historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. was pushed fully clothed into the swimming pool. In the Kennedy spirit, she also was known as an avid and highly competitive tennis player and a compulsive planner.“Petite and peppy Ethel, who doesn’t look one bit the outdoorsy type, considers outdoor activity so important for the children that she has arranged her busy Cabinet-wife schedule so she can personally take them on two daily outings,” The Washington Post reported in 1962.In February of that year, she accompanied her husband on a round-the-world goodwill tour, stopping in Japan, Hong Kong, Italy and other countries. She said it was important for Americans to meet ordinary people overseas.“People have a distinct liking for Americans,” she told the Post. “But the Communists have been so vocal, it was a surprise for some Asians to hear America’s point of view. It is good for Americans to travel and get our viewpoint across.”Kennedy was born Ethel Skakel on April 11, 1928, in Chicago, the sixth of seven children of coal magnate George Skakel and Ann Brannack Skakel, a devout Roman Catholic. She grew up in a 31-room English country manor house in Greenwich, Connecticut, and attended Greenwich Academy before graduating from the Convent of the Sacred Heart in the Bronx in 1945.She met Robert Kennedy through his sister Jean, her roommate at Manhattanville College in New York. They moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, where he finished his last year of law school at the University of Virginia, and then in 1957, they bought Hickory Hill from by John and Jacqueline Kennedy, who had bought it in 1953.Robert Kennedy became chief counsel to the Senate Select Committee in 1957. He later was appointed attorney general by his brother, the newly elected President Kennedy.She had supported her husband in his successful 1964 campaign for the U.S. Senate in New York and his subsequent presidential bid. Pregnant with their 11th child when he was gunned down by Sirhan Sirhan, her look of shock and horror was captured by photographers in images that remained indelible decades later.The assassination traumatized the family, especially son David Kennedy, who watched the news in a hotel room. He was just days before his 13th birthday and never recovered, struggling with addiction problems for years and overdosing in 1984.In 2021, she said Sirhan Sirhan should not be released from prison, a view not shared&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-d5e12df9cc3c0241ab108bfc124dda1b">by some others in her family.</a>&nbsp;Two years later, a California panel denied him parole.Although Ethel Kennedy was linked to several men after her husband’s death, most notably singer Andy Williams, she never remarried.In April 2008, Ethel Kennedy visited Indianapolis on the 40th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. A monument there commemorated King’s death and the speech her husband had given that night in 1968, which was credited with averting rioting in the city.“Of all the Kennedy women, she was the one I would end up admiring the most,” Harry Belafonte would write of her. “She wasn’t playacting. She looked at you and immediately got what you were about. Often in the coming years, when Bobby was balking at something we wanted him to do for the movement, I’d take my case to Ethel. ‘We have to talk to him,’ she’d say, and she would.”Ethel Kennedy joined President Obama and former President Bill Clinton — each held one of her hands — as they climbed stairs to lay a wreath at President Kennedy’s gravesite during a November 2013 observance of the 50th anniversary of JFK’s death.The nonprofit center she founded remains dedicated to advancing human rights through litigation, advocacy, education and inspiration, giving annual awards to journalists, authors and others who have made significant contributions to human rights.She also was active in the Coalition of Gun Control, Special Olympics, and the Earth Conservation Corps. And she showed up in person, participating in a 2016 demonstration in support of higher pay for farmworkers in Florida and a 2018 hunger strike against the Trump administration’s immigration policies.Hickory Hill was sold in 2009 for $8.25 million, and Ethel Kennedy divided her time between homes in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, and Palm Beach, Florida.

Robert F. Kennedy widow Ethel Kennedy has died

TAMPA, Florida —The City of Pratt sent 5 of their linemen to assist with hurricane relief in the south. They are set to arrive shortly after hurricane Milton. "We are very proud of our brave team for stepping up. Stay safe!"

&nbsp;According to the Associated Press,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/milton-florida-hurricane-d40b1e47fd78844bf1ed528bab5099f1">Hurricane Milton</a>&nbsp;barreled into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday after plowing across Florida, pounding cities with ferocious winds and rain, and whipping up a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-tornadoes-florida-deaths-climate-change-oceans-f197c258022c189c6ce8bc59dc88223e">barrage of tornadoes</a>. It caused at least four deaths and compounded the misery wrought by Helene while sparing Tampa a direct hit.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728561808320.png" alt="Linemen John Giggy, Ethan Tilley, Gavin McAllister, Ruben Rayas, and Ty Weilert.-Photo courtesy city of Pratt" />
 <figcaption>Linemen John Giggy, Ethan Tilley, Gavin McAllister, Ruben Rayas, and Ty Weilert.-Photo courtesy city of Pratt</figcaption>
 </figure>TAMPA, Florida —The City of Pratt sent 5 of their linemen to assist with hurricane relief in the south. They are set to arrive shortly after hurricane Milton. "We are very proud of our brave team for stepping up. Stay safe!"&nbsp;According to the Associated Press,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/milton-florida-hurricane-d40b1e47fd78844bf1ed528bab5099f1">Hurricane Milton</a>&nbsp;barreled into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday after plowing across Florida, pounding cities with ferocious winds and rain, and whipping up a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-tornadoes-florida-deaths-climate-change-oceans-f197c258022c189c6ce8bc59dc88223e">barrage of tornadoes</a>. It caused at least four deaths and compounded the misery wrought by Helene while sparing Tampa a direct hit.The storm tracked to the south in the final hours and made landfall as a Category 3 storm Wednesday night in Siesta Key, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of Tampa. The situation in the Tampa area was still a major emergency as St. Petersburg recorded over 16 inches (41 centimeters) of rain, prompting the National Weather Service to warn of flash flooding there as well as other parts of western and central Florida.As dawn broke Thursday, officials repeated that the danger had not passed: Storm surge remained a concern in many parts of Florida and tropical storm warnings were in place for much of the east-central coast. Officials in the hard-hit counties of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota and Lee urged people to stay home, warning of downed power lines, trees in roads, blocked bridges and flooding.“We’ll let you know when it’s safe to come out,” Sheriff Chad Chronister of Hillsborough County, home to Tampa, said on Facebook.Though the deadly storm surge feared for Tampa appears not to have materialized, the city saw flooding from rain. Farther south, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office reported localized flooding and storm surge, and Lorraine Anderson, the public information officer for Venice Beach, said on CNN that the area saw an estimated 6 to 7 feet (1.8 to 2 meters) of storm surge, far below the feared 15.The storm knocked out power across a large section of Florida, with more than 3.2 million homes and businesses without electricity, according to&nbsp;<a href="http://poweroutage.us/">poweroutage.us</a>, which tracks utility reports.The fabric that serves as the roof of Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team in St. Petersburg, was ripped to shreds by the fierce winds. It was not immediately clear if there was damage inside. Multiple cranes were also toppled in the storm, the weather service said.St. Petersburg residents also could no longer get water from their household taps because a water main break led the city to shut down service. Mayor Ken Welch had told residents to expect long power outages and the possible shutdown of the sewer system.Just inland from Tampa, the flooding in Plant City was “absolutely staggering,” according City Manager Bill McDaniel. Emergency crews rescued 35 people overnight, said McDaniel, who estimated the city had received 13.5 inches (34 cm) of rain."We have flooding in places and to levels that I’ve never seen, and I’ve lived in this community for my entire life,” he said in a video posted online Thursday morning.Before Milton even made landfall, heavy rain and tornadoes lashed parts of southern Florida Wednesday morning, with conditions deteriorating throughout the day. One twister touched down in the lightly populated Everglades and&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/NWSMiami/status/1844017185817342101">crossed Interstate 75.</a>&nbsp;Another apparent tornado hit in Fort Myers, snapping tree limbs and tearing a gas station’s canopy to shreds.The Spanish Lakes Country Club near Fort Pierce, on Florida’s Atlantic Coast, was hit particularly hard, with homes destroyed and some residents killed.Four people were killed in tornadoes there, the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office said.About 125 homes were destroyed before the hurricane came ashore, many of them mobile homes in communities for senior citizens, said Kevin Guthrie, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.About 90 minutes after making landfall, Milton was downgraded to a Category 2 storm. By early Thursday, the hurricane was a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of about 85 mph (135 kph) and leaving the state near Cape Canaveral.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fema-misinformation-helene-milton-hurricane-aid-recovery-468b036784b1db05937e9a34d0146041">The storm slammed into a region</a>&nbsp;still reeling two weeks after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-helene-fema-826effecab238ff0acf0556ad64b0df2">Hurricane Helene</a>&nbsp;flooded streets and homes in western Florida and left at least 230 people dead across the South. In many places along the coast, municipalities raced to collect and dispose of debris before Milton’s winds and storm surge could toss it around and compound any damage.Officials had issued dire warnings to flee or face grim odds of survival. By late afternoon, some officials said the time had passed for such efforts, suggesting that people who stayed behind hunker down instead.Jackie Curnick said she wrestled with her decision to stay at home in Sarasota, just north of where the storm made landfall. She and her husband started packing Monday to evacuate, but they struggled to find available hotel rooms, and the few they came by were too expensive.With a 2-year-old son and a baby girl due Oct. 29, Curnick said there were too many unanswered questions if they got in the car and left: where to sleep, if they’d be able to fill up their gas tank, and if they could even find a safe route out of the state.Video taken during the storm showed howling winds and sheets of rain lashing their glass-enclosed swimming pool as their son and dog watched. Trees shook violently.“The thing is it’s so difficult to evacuate in a peninsula,” she said ahead of the storm. “In most other states, you can go in any direction to get out. In Florida, there are only so many roads that take you north or south."At a news conference in Tallahassee, Gov. Ron DeSantis described deployment of a wide range of resources, including 9,000 National Guard members from Florida and other states; over 50,000 utility workers from as far as California; and highway patrol cars with sirens to escort gasoline tankers to replenish supplies so people could fill up their tanks before evacuating.“Unfortunately, there will be fatalities. I don’t think there’s any way around that,” DeSantis said.Authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders across 15 Florida counties with a total population of about 7.2 million people. In Orlando,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-milton-florida-theme-parks-orlando-383cbb4c442aef52650dbab028eb949d">Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and Sea World remained closed</a>&nbsp;Thursday.More than 60% of gas stations in Tampa and St. Petersburg were out of gas Wednesday night, according to GasBuddy, though DeSantis said the state’s overall supply was fine.Officials warned that anyone staying behind must fend for themselves, because first responders were not expected to risk their lives attempting rescues at the height of the storm.In Charlotte Harbor, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Tampa, clouds swirled and winds gusted as Josh Parks packed his Kia sedan with clothes and other belongings Wednesday. Two weeks ago, Helene’s surge brought about 5 feet (1.5 meters) of water to the neighborhood, and its streets remain filled with waterlogged furniture, torn-out drywall and other debris.Parks, an auto technician, planned to flee to his daughter’s home inland and said his roommate already left.