By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post

The Hays Arts Center has three exhibits opening on Friday, featuring five artists, representing five different artistic media.

"We have got three very unique and very different exhibitions for our fall features," Brenda Meder, Hays Arts Council director, said.

The first exhibit, "Bits and Pieces," which will be in the main gallery, will feature Shannon Trevethan and Tracy Hanzlick, both of Russell.&nbsp;

"Shannon loves assemblage work and putting things together," Meder said. "She is also a fabulous painter. That's not what is included in this exhibition, but you can see elements of that incorporated into her assemblages."

"Everybody likes getting a close look and seeing what they're made of," she said. "She's always upcycling, repurposing and finding things. It is wonderful to see what her imagination allows her to put together."

Hanzlick rolls pieces from magazines or brochures to produce the color in her collages. Some are more abstract, but she also has a piece that depicts two feathers.

The exhibit will also feature some of her paintings.

"There are some similarities in color, so I've tried to put things together so that the moods and feelings of these two artists' work come together," Meder said.

"Painting with Sun" watercolors by Margie Hammerschmidt will be displayed in the center's hallway.

Hammerschmidt, of Hays, is a retired nurse and began painting in earnest later in life.

"Life, career and family, although she was always a creative person, kept her from really immersing herself in [painting]. Margie has not been a watercolor painter until the last four to four and half years," Meder said.

"I have just watched her work grow amazingly."

"Sunset Duets" by George Jerkovich of Salina and Debbie Wagner of Bennington will be in the Founder's Gallery.

Each piece of artwork coordinates with a sunset on a set day, although the pieces may portray a different location.

Wagner's media is pastels. Jerkovich is a photographer.

The images are titled with the dates of the sunset depicted.

"Debbie, following on the heels of some very traumatic brain surgery and some brain tumors, decided in gratitude that she wanted to look at the world in a new way," Meder said.&nbsp;

Since 2005, she has painted the sunrise each morning.

Jerkovich, who was not an early riser, proposed the sunset collaboration from late 2012 through 2013.

"It's really wonderful to see that artistic creation from two different perspectives but on the same night very near those same bewitching hours of dusk and sunset," Meder said.

The exhibits' opening reception will be from 5:30 to 8 p.m. today at the Hays Arts Center. The event is free and open to the public. The exhibit will be on display through Nov. 26.

"With diverse as the art that is in here right now," Meder said, "everybody will gravitate toward one of the forms or another and be completely drawn to it."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729784571901.jpeg" alt="Art by Shannon Trevethan from the "Bits and Pieces" exhibit opening today at the Hays Arts Center in Hays. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Art by Shannon Trevethan from the "Bits and Pieces" exhibit opening today at the Hays Arts Center in Hays. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays PostThe Hays Arts Center has three exhibits opening on Friday, featuring five artists, representing five different artistic media."We have got three very unique and very different exhibitions for our fall features," Brenda Meder, Hays Arts Council director, said.The first exhibit, "Bits and Pieces," which will be in the main gallery, will feature Shannon Trevethan and Tracy Hanzlick, both of Russell.&nbsp;"Shannon loves assemblage work and putting things together," Meder said. "She is also a fabulous painter. That's not what is included in this exhibition, but you can see elements of that incorporated into her assemblages.""Everybody likes getting a close look and seeing what they're made of," she said. "She's always upcycling, repurposing and finding things. It is wonderful to see what her imagination allows her to put together."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729784764653.jpeg" alt="Art by Tracy Hanzlick for the "Bits and Pieces" exhibit at the Hays Arts Council. Hanzlick uses tightly rolled pieces of magazines to create images such as this feather image hanging on the wall. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Art by Tracy Hanzlick for the "Bits and Pieces" exhibit at the Hays Arts Council. Hanzlick uses tightly rolled pieces of magazines to create images such as this feather image hanging on the wall. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>Hanzlick rolls pieces from magazines or brochures to produce the color in her collages. Some are more abstract, but she also has a piece that depicts two feathers.The exhibit will also feature some of her paintings."There are some similarities in color, so I've tried to put things together so that the moods and feelings of these two artists' work come together," Meder said."Painting with Sun" watercolors by Margie Hammerschmidt will be displayed in the center's hallway.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729784969771.jpeg" alt="A watercolor by Margie Hammerschmidt as part of the exhibit "Painting with the Sun" is now on display at the Hays Arts Center in Hays. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>A watercolor by Margie Hammerschmidt as part of the exhibit "Painting with the Sun" is now on display at the Hays Arts Center in Hays. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>Hammerschmidt, of Hays, is a retired nurse and began painting in earnest later in life."Life, career and family, although she was always a creative person, kept her from really immersing herself in [painting]. Margie has not been a watercolor painter until the last four to four and half years," Meder said."I have just watched her work grow amazingly."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729798827760.jpeg" alt="Sunset photo by George Jerkovich, below, and pastel by&nbsp;Debbie Wagner, above. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Sunset photo by George Jerkovich, below, and pastel by&nbsp;Debbie Wagner, above. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>"Sunset Duets" by George Jerkovich of Salina and Debbie Wagner of Bennington will be in the Founder's Gallery.Each piece of artwork coordinates with a sunset on a set day, although the pieces may portray a different location.Wagner's media is pastels. Jerkovich is a photographer.The images are titled with the dates of the sunset depicted.Jerkovich is a retired psychiatrist."Debbie, following on the heels of some very traumatic brain surgery and some brain tumors, decided in gratitude that she wanted to look at the world in a new way," Meder said.&nbsp;Since 2005, she has painted the sunrise each morning.Jerkovich, who was not an early riser, proposed the sunset collaboration from late 2012 through 2013."It's really wonderful to see that artistic creation from two different perspectives but on the same night very near those same bewitching hours of dusk and sunset," Meder said.The exhibits' opening reception will be from 5:30 to 8 p.m. today at the Hays Arts Center. The event is free and open to the public. The exhibit will be on display through Nov. 26."With diverse as the art that is in here right now," Meder said, "everybody will gravitate toward one of the forms or another and be completely drawn to it."

Hays Arts Center offers trio of diverse exhibits for fall show

Halloween is just around the corner and you can find all kinds of events to enjoy the holiday ranging from scary haunted houses to fall seasonal activities for families, and of course, lot of trick or treating.

Hays and Ellis Halloween activities include:

• Tunnel of Terror Tommy's Express, 2524 Vine, Hays 7-10 p.m.

• Rocky Horror Picture Show Hays Community Theatre, 121 E. 8th, Hays 8 p.m.

• Cottage Lane Harvest of Pumpkins 2024 1001 W. 15th St., Ellis 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

• Pa's Pumpkin Patch 2.5 miles south of Hays on Highway 183 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

• FHSU Football Game Trunk or Treat for the Kids Lewis Field, FHSU 1 p.m. during halftime

• Dawgz &amp; Drawz Humane Society of the High Plains&nbsp; Defiance Brewing Taproom, 2050 Highway 40 4-8 p.m.

• Cottage Lane Pumpkin Patch Moonlight Maze 1001 W. 15th St., Ellis 8-10:30 p.m.

• Rocky Horror Picture Show Hays Community Theatre,&nbsp; 121 E. 8th, Hays 8 p.m.

•&nbsp;Cottage Lane Harvest of Pumpkins 2024 1001 W. 15th St., Ellis 1 -6 p.m.&nbsp;&nbsp;

• Pa's Pumpkin Patch 2.5 miles south of Hays on Highway 183 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

• Mad Science Lab, Creepy Animals, Strange Games Sternberg Museum of Natural History, 3000 Sternberg Museum, Hays 4-6 p.m.

• Bats in the Night FHSU Science Cafe, The Venue at Thirsty's, 2704 Vine, Hays 7 p.m.

•Ellis Recreation Commission High School Halloween Candy Dash Ellis K18 Baseball Field 8:45 p.m.

• Come Meet the Spooks Ellis Good Samaritan, 1101 Spruce 2-4:30 p.m.&nbsp;

• Trick or Treat Northridge Plaza, 2703 Vine, Hays 3-5 p.m.

• Trick or Treat On the Bricks Downtown Hays 3-5 p.m.

• Halloween Hoedown at&nbsp;FHSU Fall Fest North of Gross Coliseum parking lot &amp; east of Robbins Center 5-7 p.m.

• Ellis VFW Haunted Mansion Ellis VFW Hall 5-8 p.m.&nbsp;

• Trick or Treat Homestead of Hays, 2929 Sternberg Drive, Hays 6-7 p.m.

&nbsp;• Haunted Hays City Historic Tours Hays Community Theatre, 121 E. 8th Street, Hays 7-10 p.m.&nbsp;&nbsp;

• Haunted Hays City Historic Tours Hays Community Theatre, 121 E. 8th Street, Hays 7-10 p.m.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729783218898.png" alt="Photo by Unsplash" />
 <figcaption>Photo by Unsplash</figcaption>
 </figure>Hays PostHalloween is just around the corner and you can find all kinds of events to enjoy the holiday ranging from scary haunted houses to fall seasonal activities for families, and of course, lot of trick or treating.Hays and Ellis Halloween activities include:<h2>FRIDAY, OCT. 25</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729782200944.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>• Tunnel of Terror Tommy's Express, 2524 Vine, Hays 7-10 p.m.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729784485027.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>• Rocky Horror Picture Show Hays Community Theatre, 121 E. 8th, Hays 8 p.m.<h2>SATURDAY, OCT. 26</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729786469062.jpeg" alt="Photo courtesy Cottage Lane, Ellis" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy Cottage Lane, Ellis</figcaption>
 </figure>• Cottage Lane Harvest of Pumpkins 2024 1001 W. 15th St., Ellis 11 a.m.-6 p.m.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729786335326.png" alt="Courtesy Pa's Pumpkin Patch" />
 <figcaption>Courtesy Pa's Pumpkin Patch</figcaption>
 </figure>• Pa's Pumpkin Patch 2.5 miles south of Hays on Highway 183 10 a.m.-7 p.m.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729787058832.png" alt="Photo by Unsplash" />
 <figcaption>Photo by Unsplash</figcaption>
 </figure>• FHSU Football Game Trunk or Treat for the Kids Lewis Field, FHSU 1 p.m. during halftime <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729781925966.png" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>• Dawgz &amp; Drawz Humane Society of the High Plains&nbsp; Defiance Brewing Taproom, 2050 Highway 40 4-8 p.m.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729784858603.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>• Cottage Lane Pumpkin Patch Moonlight Maze 1001 W. 15th St., Ellis 8-10:30 p.m.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729782200944.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>• Tunnel of Terror Tommy's Express, 2524 Vine, Hays 7-10 p.m.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729784485027.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>• Rocky Horror Picture Show Hays Community Theatre,&nbsp; 121 E. 8th, Hays 8 p.m.<h2>SUNDAY, OCT. 27</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729785375745.jpeg" alt="Photo courtesy Cottage Lane, Ellis&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy Cottage Lane, Ellis&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>•&nbsp;Cottage Lane Harvest of Pumpkins 2024 1001 W. 15th St., Ellis 1 -6 p.m.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729786335326.png" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>• Pa's Pumpkin Patch 2.5 miles south of Hays on Highway 183 11 a.m.-6 p.m.<h2>MONDAY, OCT. 28</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729780644955.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>• Mad Science Lab, Creepy Animals, Strange Games Sternberg Museum of Natural History, 3000 Sternberg Museum, Hays 4-6 p.m.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729780508886.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>• Bats in the Night FHSU Science Cafe, The Venue at Thirsty's, 2704 Vine, Hays 7 p.m.<h2>WEDNESDAY, OCT.30</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729781277463.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>•Ellis Recreation Commission High School Halloween Candy Dash Ellis K18 Baseball Field 8:45 p.m.<h2>THURSDAY, OCT. 31</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729781462180.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>• Come Meet the Spooks Ellis Good Samaritan, 1101 Spruce 2-4:30 p.m.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729785572256.png" alt="Photo by Unsplash" />
 <figcaption>Photo by Unsplash</figcaption>
 </figure>• Trick or Treat Northridge Plaza, 2703 Vine, Hays 3-5 p.m.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729786018193.png" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>• Trick or Treat On the Bricks Downtown Hays 3-5 p.m.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729787477296.png" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>• Halloween Hoedown at&nbsp;FHSU Fall Fest North of Gross Coliseum parking lot &amp; east of Robbins Center 5-7 p.m. <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729781175375.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>• Ellis VFW Haunted Mansion Ellis VFW Hall 5-8 p.m.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729782819658.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>• Trick or Treat Homestead of Hays, 2929 Sternberg Drive, Hays 6-7 p.m. FRIDAY, NOV.&nbsp; 1<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729782636578.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;• Haunted Hays City Historic Tours Hays Community Theatre, 121 E. 8th Street, Hays 7-10 p.m.&nbsp;&nbsp;SATURDAY, NOV. 2<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729782636578.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>• Haunted Hays City Historic Tours Hays Community Theatre, 121 E. 8th Street, Hays 7-10 p.m.

Halloween haunted happenings around Hays 

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (AP) — Jack Jones, a Grammy-winning crooner known for “The Love Boat” television show theme song, has died. He was 86.

Jones died Wednesday night at a hospital in Rancho Mirage, California, after battling leukemia for more than two years, according to a statement from his manager, Milt Suchin.

Jones began his singing career in the 1950s and in the 1960s won two Grammy Awards for best vocal performance, one on the song “Lollipops And Roses" and one on the song “Wives and Lovers.”

He was nominated for several other Grammys in later years, including for the album "Jack Jones Paints A Tribute To Tony Bennett" in 1999.

In 1980, his “Love Boat” television show theme song rose to No. 37 on the Billboard U.S. Adult Contemporary songs chart. Jones was also a frequent guest on the popular romantic comedy show in which guest stars, ranging from Gene Kelly to Janet Jackson, would come aboard for a cruise and fall in love with one another.

A social media account for “The Ed Sullivan Show,” an American television variety show that aired for decades, posted on X on Thursday that Jones lit up the show with smooth vocals and unforgettable performances.

“His music will forever inspire us,” the post said. “Thank you for the memories, Jack. Rest in peace.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729850482742.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (AP) — Jack Jones, a Grammy-winning crooner known for “The Love Boat” television show theme song, has died. He was 86.Jones died Wednesday night at a hospital in Rancho Mirage, California, after battling leukemia for more than two years, according to a statement from his manager, Milt Suchin.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">My longtime buddy since we went to Unihi. Jonesey was an 18 year old senior and I was a lowly freshman. He has left the earth and I’m so sad. His beautiful voice will linger and linger as long as people need to listen to good music. Happy trails and following seas, dear treasured… <a href="https://t.co/eaGiKySxnI">pic.twitter.com/eaGiKySxnI</a>&mdash; Nancy Sinatra (@NancySinatra) <a href="https://twitter.com/NancySinatra/status/1849633212294746128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 25, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Jones began his singing career in the 1950s and in the 1960s won two Grammy Awards for best vocal performance, one on the song “Lollipops And Roses" and one on the song “Wives and Lovers.”He was nominated for several other Grammys in later years, including for the album "Jack Jones Paints A Tribute To Tony Bennett" in 1999.In 1980, his “Love Boat” television show theme song rose to No. 37 on the Billboard U.S. Adult Contemporary songs chart. Jones was also a frequent guest on the popular romantic comedy show in which guest stars, ranging from Gene Kelly to Janet Jackson, would come aboard for a cruise and fall in love with one another.A social media account for “The Ed Sullivan Show,” an American television variety show that aired for decades, posted on X on Thursday that Jones lit up the show with smooth vocals and unforgettable performances.“His music will forever inspire us,” the post said. “Thank you for the memories, Jack. Rest in peace.”

Grammy-winning crooner Jack Jones, singer of 'Love Boat' theme, dies At 86

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/ashley-murray/">ASHLEY MURRAY</a>

WASHINGTON — The next U.S. president must steer the nation through crises across the globe, including worsening violence in the Middle East, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to retreat from Ukraine and U.S-China trade relations.

The Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, largely built her career as a prosecutor, but once in Washington she sat on the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, a position that comes with access to highly classified national security files.

As vice president she’s represented the U.S. at high-profile international meetings, including the Munich Security Conference and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.

The Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, who followed his wealthy father’s path into real estate and ascended to the status of celebrity businessman, has already held the elected position of Commander-in-Chief for four years — though high-ranking officials who served under him&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/milley-trump-biden-democracy-military-d2abb76858291c87ae856f91e9556d8e" target="_blank">say</a>&nbsp;he&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/bolton-excoriates-trump-fresh-introduction-his-memoir-2024-01-30/" target="_blank">should</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2024/03/30/mark-esper-wont-vote-for-trump-wont-say-he-will-vote-for-biden-sot-nr-vpx.cnn" target="_blank">not</a>&nbsp;occupy that seat again.

Trump and Harris’ track records can provide clues on how, if elected, they would handle complex and challenging national and economic security policies.

But overall on the campaign trail, foreign policy “has played a back seat role to domestic politics in the 2024 election,” James M. Lindsay, a senior fellow in U.S. foreign policy for the Council on Foreign Relations, told States Newsroom in an interview.

That’s not unusual, Lindsay said, as presidential year politics generally tend to have a domestic focus.

“This has been more a campaign about personalities than about specific policy prescriptions. It’s safe to say that the two candidates have very different world views,” Lindsay said.

Harris centers relationship building, and promised in her Democratic National Convention acceptance speech to “stand strong” with NATO allies.

In Trump’s convention speech he lamented that the U.S. has “long been taken advantage of” by “so-called allies.”

Observers say the former president leads with a transactional outlook: In other words, nations must pay for access to U.S. markets and security.

“Trump thinks that U.S. support to allies is a bad deal for America, whereas Harris realizes that the United States benefits immensely from them,” Matthew Waxman, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and chair of Columbia Law School’s National Security Law Program, told States Newsroom.

But predicting how a presidential candidate would act on the global stage, if elected, is tricky. Conflicts continue to evolve, and those in top defense and diplomatic jobs are likely to turn over.

“It’s partly because a President Harris or President Trump could face a very different situation in the Middle East or in Ukraine come Inauguration Day, but it’s also because in Washington personnel are policy, people are policy,” Lindsay said.

Here are some of the serious international situations either administration will face:

The deadly Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, launched from the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip, reignited smoldering regional tensions and highlighted the inextricable U.S. role. Hamas militants killed roughly 1,200 in the brutal and unexpected incursion, and took 250 hostages, many of whom still remain in captivity.

President Joe Biden immediately&nbsp;<a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47828" target="_blank">surged</a>&nbsp;weapons and security aid to the key U.S. defense partner, and in April Congress approved his request for $8.7 billion more in foreign military financing and missile defense.

Israel’s year-long campaign to completely eliminate Iranian-allied Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip has resulted in a staggering death toll, now over 41,000, according to Gaza health officials.

Hamas’ assault also set in motion attacks from other Iranian-backed militias, opening up a war front between Israel and Hezbollah fighters to the north in Lebanon. And for months, Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthis have terrorized commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

Biden has faced fierce criticism for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war tactics.

Harris, as early as March,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/03/04/1234822836/kamala-harris-benny-gantz-gaza-cease-fire-israel-hamas" target="_blank">publicly</a>&nbsp;criticized Israel over the humanitarian “<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us-vp-harris-urges-israeli-government-do-more-boost-aid-into-gaza-2024-03-03/" target="_blank">catastrophe</a>” in Gaza and called for an immediate six-week cease-fire.

Harris, who became the Democratic presidential nominee in mid-summer after Biden dropped his bid, has repeatedly said she defends Israel’s right to defend itself but that “<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/07/25/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-following-meeting-with-prime-minister-benjamin-netanyahu-of-israel/" target="_blank">how it does so matters</a>.”

Protesters could be heard in the distance Monday as Harris planted a memorial tree at the vice president’s residence to mark the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack. Pro-Palestinian activists protesting the death toll in Gaza have marched and rallied throughout the U.S. during the past year.

Harris&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/one-year-oct-7-attack-israel-us-leaders-honor-victims-and-protesters-march" target="_blank">told</a>&nbsp;reporters that the administration is “not giving up” on negotiating a cease-fire deal and release of hostages, an effort that has so far floundered.

“It’s one of the most important ways we will be able to end this war and bring any type of stability to the region. It’s one of the highest priorities of this administration,” she said.

She has not indicated any slowdown or conditions on assistance to Israel if elected — though she continues to advocate for a two-state solution.

“Trump may give Jerusalem less public chastising and criticism, but I’m not sure the policy differences would be that great either,” Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow and foreign policy research director at the Brookings Institution, told States Newsroom. O’Hanlon recently published an article arguing the Trump and Harris defense strategies would at least “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-partially-convergent-trump-and-harris-defense-policies/" target="_blank">partially</a>” converge.

Trump maintains that Oct. 7 “would never have happened” had he been in office, and he accuses the Biden administration of inviting the attack because of its “weak” relationship with Iran.

“What is needed more than ever is a return of unwavering American leadership and unquestioned American strength. We were strong, we were powerful … That’s what I intend to deliver as the 47th president of the United States,” he said Monday while in Miami marking one year since the ambush on Israel.

The attack also wrecked any forward progress on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.state.gov/the-abraham-accords/" target="_blank">Abraham Accords</a>&nbsp;— Trump’s signature Middle East achievement that created full diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco. While those established channels remain steady, the Biden administration’s efforts to strike a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia are now at a standstill.

Trump is increasingly selling himself on the campaign trail as the candidate of stability who can quash Iran’s aggression — which is pretty much a “standard approach to campaigning,” Lindsay said.

“He is not the first challenger to argue that the incumbent president has been weak.”

But Lindsay said, “the important question isn’t whether he was tougher, it’s whether his policies were more effective.”

For example, the Iranian-backed so-called “axis of resistance” militias currently upending the Middle East were also operating during Trump’s presidency.

“(They) pre-dated his coming into office but it’s not that a Trump administration ended that network of anti-Western, anti-Israeli groups,” Lindsay said. “And during the Trump administration it was the case that Iran both underwrote attacks on American troops and actually launched attacks on American troops.”

Trump drew attention last week to an early January 2020 barrage on U.S. troops in Iraq when he again&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-describes-traumatic-brain-injuries-sustained-us-troops-iraq-headache" target="_blank">described</a>&nbsp;the traumatic brain injuries they suffered as “headaches.”

U.S. troops&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cfr.org/article/us-troops-middle-east-mapping-military-presence" target="_blank">in Iraq and Syria</a>, already a target, have come under increasing fire from Iran-backed militants, with more than 100&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/drone-strike-risks-dangerous-us-iran-escalation" target="_blank">attacks</a>&nbsp;on U.S. service members since Israel began its post-Oct. 7 offensive. A drone strike in January&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/28/politics/us-troops-drone-attack-jordan/index.html" target="_blank">killed</a>&nbsp;three U.S. soldiers and injured 30 at an outpost in Jordan on the Syrian border. The U.S. retaliated by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/02/1228132782/us-biden-iran-drone-response-strike" target="_blank">launching</a>&nbsp;more than 100 precision rockets at 85 of Iran military sites in Iraq and Syria.

The U.S. assisted Israel&nbsp;<a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3923123/us-assets-in-mediterranean-again-helped-defend-israel-against-iranian-missiles/" target="_blank">twice</a>&nbsp;in 2024 in intercepting rockets fired directly from Iran — once in April following Israel’s bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, and again in September after Israel’s assassination of Iranian-backed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, Lebanon.

“We’re in the last months of the Biden presidency, and Biden’s own, I think, personal influence here is quite diminished. And you know, I can’t predict what Trump policy really would be. I assume he would be less likely to be trying to restrain the Israelis, but so is the Biden administration. And maybe that is a Biden-Harris policy,” Elliott Abrams, CFR’s senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, told reporters on Oct. 2, the day after Iran launched its second direct&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/01/iran-imminent-ballistic-missile-attack-israel-us-warns" target="_blank">attack</a>.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with both&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/zelenskyy-washington-meets-us-leaders-beef-support-ukraine" target="_blank">Harris</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/09/27/u-s-government-unveils-charges-against-iranians-who-hacked-into-trump-2024-campaign/" target="_blank">Trump</a>&nbsp;in recent weeks to shore up continued U.S. support for his country’s ongoing war against Russia’s occupation.

Harris’ meeting with the Ukrainian leader was her seventh, and she pledged continued aid for the eastern European nation on the principle that Putin would continue marching into Europe if allies relent on Ukraine.

Harris supports continued U.S. assistance, which has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cfr.org/article/how-much-us-aid-going-ukraine" target="_blank">totaled</a>&nbsp;roughly $175 billion since 2022. At the Ukraine peace&nbsp;<a href="https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2024/06/16/joint-communique-on-a-peace-framework-summit-on-peace-in-ukraine/" target="_blank">summit</a>&nbsp;in Switzerland in June, Harris&nbsp;<a href="https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20240723-from-gaza-to-china-where-kamala-harris-stands-on-foreign-policy-issues" target="_blank">pledged</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/jun-15-2024-/vice-president-kamala-harris-announces-over-1-billion-bolster-ukraines-energy-sector-address-humanitarian-needs-and-strengthen-civilian-security" target="_blank">nearly</a>&nbsp;$2 billion, some new and some redirected, to bolster the country’s energy sector and add to humanitarian efforts.

The vice president has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/02/19/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-at-the-munich-security-conference/" target="_blank">represented</a>&nbsp;the U.S.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/02/18/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-at-the-munich-security-conference-2/" target="_blank">three</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/02/16/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-at-the-munich-security-conference-munich-germany/" target="_blank">times</a>&nbsp;at the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany, where she praised the NATO alliance and said the U.S. commitment to its principles is “ironclad.”

When facing Harris on the presidential debate stage in September, Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/harris-tears-trump-over-abortion-rights-and-race-tense-presidential-debate" target="_blank">refused</a>&nbsp;to answer whether he wants Ukraine to be victorious over Russia.

Trump’s rhetoric and past behavior “spells bad news for Ukraine,” Waxman said.

“He is likely to reduce American support for Ukraine and push Ukraine to make concessions to Russia. Overall, Trump’s transactional approach to leader-to-leader diplomacy is likely to benefit Putin,” Waxman continued. “Whereas Harris wants to invest in alliances like NATO, Trump is skeptical of them.”

That type of leader-to-leader communication was notoriously highlighted in 2019 when U.S. House lawmakers&nbsp;<a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S4-4-9/ALDE_00000035/" target="_blank">impeached</a>&nbsp;Trump for directly threatening to withhold Ukraine aid if Zelenskyy did not announce an investigation into Biden — Trump’s presidential campaign rival at the time. The Senate acquitted Trump.

Like his campaign line on the Israel attack, Trump also repeatedly claims that had he been in office, instead of Biden, Russia would have never launched its February 2022 attack on Ukraine.

“The war in Ukraine did not begin in February of ‘22, it began back in 2014,” Lindsay said, referring to Putin’s forced annexation of the Crimean Peninsula.

Trump’s own administration&nbsp;<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/on-the-record-the-u-s-administrations-actions-on-russia/" target="_blank">expanded</a>&nbsp;Obama-era sanctions meant to punish Russia’s actions in Crimea.

“Experts can argue about how to dole out criticism across administrations, but clearly the issue of Russian support for a notionally independent insurrection in eastern Ukraine was not solved during the Trump presidency,” Lindsay continued.

Foreign trade is a “political hot potato,” and neither Harris nor Trump are offering much clarity for U.S. trading partners around the world, Mary E. Lovely, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told States Newsroom in an interview.

Lovely described the Biden-Harris approach as multipronged, in that they’ve instituted policies to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. while also aiming to maintain good trade relationships with partner nations.

The tightrope walk becomes even trickier as U.S. policy also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economics/2024/while-us-and-china-decouple-eu-and-china-deepen-trade-dependencies" target="_blank">disincentivizes</a>&nbsp;materials and components from China — one of the world’s largest trading nations — in the final products imported from trading partners. Think: components in solar panels and electric vehicles.

The Biden administration’s major legislative accomplishments — the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act — provided major subsidies for “reshoring,” or returning to the U.S., clean energy and semiconductor production. But the policies were not without risks to U.S. trading partners.

“We had a lot of things (in the legislation), including things that upset the allies — you know, subsidies for American businesses, that they saw potentially as pulling investment out of their economies,” Lovely said.

“These are things that the European Union, Japan, Korea were concerned about,” Lovely continued. “So we’ve seen it there — this tension between foreign policy and this idea of economic security.”

While Lovely said she worries about how some of the Biden-Harris trade policies might affect competition and the nation’s ability to sign timely trade agreements, she said Trump’s plans are overall “destabilizing.”

“The increased use of tariffs is misguided at best,” Lovely said.

Trump’s promise to not only increase tariffs on Chinese imports to 60%, but also to slap flat 10% to 20% tariffs on all imports across the board is akin to “starting a trade war with the entire world.”

“We’re not going to see those kinds of tariffs without retaliation,” Lovely said.

If enacted, the tariffs would be particularly challenging for Indo-Pacific countries that rely on U.S. partnership in the face of China’s regional dominance.

“I mean, you can imagine how this will go down in, say, Japan and Korea, two countries which rely on the U.S. for a security umbrella, which is why Trump thinks that he can do stuff to them. But they also have to protect their own economies,” Lovely said. “So it’s going to put them in a really terrible position because it’s very important for them to maintain their alliance with the U.S., economic as well as military.”

But one thing is for sure, Lovely said: “Everybody wants to know what’s going to happen. Everybody in every embassy here in Washington.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1695389171060.png" alt="File photo -President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy&nbsp; and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin- photo courtesy White House" />
 <figcaption>File photo -President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy&nbsp; and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin- photo courtesy White House</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/ashley-murray/">ASHLEY MURRAY</a>WASHINGTON — The next U.S. president must steer the nation through crises across the globe, including worsening violence in the Middle East, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to retreat from Ukraine and U.S-China trade relations.The Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, largely built her career as a prosecutor, but once in Washington she sat on the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, a position that comes with access to highly classified national security files.As vice president she’s represented the U.S. at high-profile international meetings, including the Munich Security Conference and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.The Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, who followed his wealthy father’s path into real estate and ascended to the status of celebrity businessman, has already held the elected position of Commander-in-Chief for four years — though high-ranking officials who served under him&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/milley-trump-biden-democracy-military-d2abb76858291c87ae856f91e9556d8e" target="_blank">say</a>&nbsp;he&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/bolton-excoriates-trump-fresh-introduction-his-memoir-2024-01-30/" target="_blank">should</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2024/03/30/mark-esper-wont-vote-for-trump-wont-say-he-will-vote-for-biden-sot-nr-vpx.cnn" target="_blank">not</a>&nbsp;occupy that seat again.Trump and Harris’ track records can provide clues on how, if elected, they would handle complex and challenging national and economic security policies.But overall on the campaign trail, foreign policy “has played a back seat role to domestic politics in the 2024 election,” James M. Lindsay, a senior fellow in U.S. foreign policy for the Council on Foreign Relations, told States Newsroom in an interview.That’s not unusual, Lindsay said, as presidential year politics generally tend to have a domestic focus.“This has been more a campaign about personalities than about specific policy prescriptions. It’s safe to say that the two candidates have very different world views,” Lindsay said.<h2>Relationships with allies</h2>Harris centers relationship building, and promised in her Democratic National Convention acceptance speech to “stand strong” with NATO allies.In Trump’s convention speech he lamented that the U.S. has “long been taken advantage of” by “so-called allies.”Observers say the former president leads with a transactional outlook: In other words, nations must pay for access to U.S. markets and security.“Trump thinks that U.S. support to allies is a bad deal for America, whereas Harris realizes that the United States benefits immensely from them,” Matthew Waxman, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and chair of Columbia Law School’s National Security Law Program, told States Newsroom.But predicting how a presidential candidate would act on the global stage, if elected, is tricky. Conflicts continue to evolve, and those in top defense and diplomatic jobs are likely to turn over.“It’s partly because a President Harris or President Trump could face a very different situation in the Middle East or in Ukraine come Inauguration Day, but it’s also because in Washington personnel are policy, people are policy,” Lindsay said.Here are some of the serious international situations either administration will face:<h2>Middle East</h2>The deadly Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, launched from the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip, reignited smoldering regional tensions and highlighted the inextricable U.S. role. Hamas militants killed roughly 1,200 in the brutal and unexpected incursion, and took 250 hostages, many of whom still remain in captivity.President Joe Biden immediately&nbsp;<a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47828" target="_blank">surged</a>&nbsp;weapons and security aid to the key U.S. defense partner, and in April Congress approved his request for $8.7 billion more in foreign military financing and missile defense.Israel’s year-long campaign to completely eliminate Iranian-allied Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip has resulted in a staggering death toll, now over 41,000, according to Gaza health officials.Hamas’ assault also set in motion attacks from other Iranian-backed militias, opening up a war front between Israel and Hezbollah fighters to the north in Lebanon. And for months, Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthis have terrorized commercial shipping in the Red Sea.Biden has faced fierce criticism for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war tactics.Harris, as early as March,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/03/04/1234822836/kamala-harris-benny-gantz-gaza-cease-fire-israel-hamas" target="_blank">publicly</a>&nbsp;criticized Israel over the humanitarian “<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us-vp-harris-urges-israeli-government-do-more-boost-aid-into-gaza-2024-03-03/" target="_blank">catastrophe</a>” in Gaza and called for an immediate six-week cease-fire.Harris, who became the Democratic presidential nominee in mid-summer after Biden dropped his bid, has repeatedly said she defends Israel’s right to defend itself but that “<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/07/25/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-following-meeting-with-prime-minister-benjamin-netanyahu-of-israel/" target="_blank">how it does so matters</a>.”Protesters could be heard in the distance Monday as Harris planted a memorial tree at the vice president’s residence to mark the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack. Pro-Palestinian activists protesting the death toll in Gaza have marched and rallied throughout the U.S. during the past year.Harris&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/one-year-oct-7-attack-israel-us-leaders-honor-victims-and-protesters-march" target="_blank">told</a>&nbsp;reporters that the administration is “not giving up” on negotiating a cease-fire deal and release of hostages, an effort that has so far floundered.“It’s one of the most important ways we will be able to end this war and bring any type of stability to the region. It’s one of the highest priorities of this administration,” she said.She has not indicated any slowdown or conditions on assistance to Israel if elected — though she continues to advocate for a two-state solution.“Trump may give Jerusalem less public chastising and criticism, but I’m not sure the policy differences would be that great either,” Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow and foreign policy research director at the Brookings Institution, told States Newsroom. O’Hanlon recently published an article arguing the Trump and Harris defense strategies would at least “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-partially-convergent-trump-and-harris-defense-policies/" target="_blank">partially</a>” converge.Trump maintains that Oct. 7 “would never have happened” had he been in office, and he accuses the Biden administration of inviting the attack because of its “weak” relationship with Iran.“What is needed more than ever is a return of unwavering American leadership and unquestioned American strength. We were strong, we were powerful … That’s what I intend to deliver as the 47th president of the United States,” he said Monday while in Miami marking one year since the ambush on Israel.The attack also wrecked any forward progress on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.state.gov/the-abraham-accords/" target="_blank">Abraham Accords</a>&nbsp;— Trump’s signature Middle East achievement that created full diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco. While those established channels remain steady, the Biden administration’s efforts to strike a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia are now at a standstill.Trump is increasingly selling himself on the campaign trail as the candidate of stability who can quash Iran’s aggression — which is pretty much a “standard approach to campaigning,” Lindsay said.“He is not the first challenger to argue that the incumbent president has been weak.”But Lindsay said, “the important question isn’t whether he was tougher, it’s whether his policies were more effective.”For example, the Iranian-backed so-called “axis of resistance” militias currently upending the Middle East were also operating during Trump’s presidency.“(They) pre-dated his coming into office but it’s not that a Trump administration ended that network of anti-Western, anti-Israeli groups,” Lindsay said. “And during the Trump administration it was the case that Iran both underwrote attacks on American troops and actually launched attacks on American troops.”Trump drew attention last week to an early January 2020 barrage on U.S. troops in Iraq when he again&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-describes-traumatic-brain-injuries-sustained-us-troops-iraq-headache" target="_blank">described</a>&nbsp;the traumatic brain injuries they suffered as “headaches.”U.S. troops&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cfr.org/article/us-troops-middle-east-mapping-military-presence" target="_blank">in Iraq and Syria</a>, already a target, have come under increasing fire from Iran-backed militants, with more than 100&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/drone-strike-risks-dangerous-us-iran-escalation" target="_blank">attacks</a>&nbsp;on U.S. service members since Israel began its post-Oct. 7 offensive. A drone strike in January&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/28/politics/us-troops-drone-attack-jordan/index.html" target="_blank">killed</a>&nbsp;three U.S. soldiers and injured 30 at an outpost in Jordan on the Syrian border. The U.S. retaliated by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/02/1228132782/us-biden-iran-drone-response-strike" target="_blank">launching</a>&nbsp;more than 100 precision rockets at 85 of Iran military sites in Iraq and Syria.The U.S. assisted Israel&nbsp;<a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3923123/us-assets-in-mediterranean-again-helped-defend-israel-against-iranian-missiles/" target="_blank">twice</a>&nbsp;in 2024 in intercepting rockets fired directly from Iran — once in April following Israel’s bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, and again in September after Israel’s assassination of Iranian-backed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, Lebanon.“We’re in the last months of the Biden presidency, and Biden’s own, I think, personal influence here is quite diminished. And you know, I can’t predict what Trump policy really would be. I assume he would be less likely to be trying to restrain the Israelis, but so is the Biden administration. And maybe that is a Biden-Harris policy,” Elliott Abrams, CFR’s senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, told reporters on Oct. 2, the day after Iran launched its second direct&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/01/iran-imminent-ballistic-missile-attack-israel-us-warns" target="_blank">attack</a>.<h2>Ukraine and NATO</h2>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with both&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/zelenskyy-washington-meets-us-leaders-beef-support-ukraine" target="_blank">Harris</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/09/27/u-s-government-unveils-charges-against-iranians-who-hacked-into-trump-2024-campaign/" target="_blank">Trump</a>&nbsp;in recent weeks to shore up continued U.S. support for his country’s ongoing war against Russia’s occupation.Harris’ meeting with the Ukrainian leader was her seventh, and she pledged continued aid for the eastern European nation on the principle that Putin would continue marching into Europe if allies relent on Ukraine.Harris supports continued U.S. assistance, which has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cfr.org/article/how-much-us-aid-going-ukraine" target="_blank">totaled</a>&nbsp;roughly $175 billion since 2022. At the Ukraine peace&nbsp;<a href="https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2024/06/16/joint-communique-on-a-peace-framework-summit-on-peace-in-ukraine/" target="_blank">summit</a>&nbsp;in Switzerland in June, Harris&nbsp;<a href="https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20240723-from-gaza-to-china-where-kamala-harris-stands-on-foreign-policy-issues" target="_blank">pledged</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/jun-15-2024-/vice-president-kamala-harris-announces-over-1-billion-bolster-ukraines-energy-sector-address-humanitarian-needs-and-strengthen-civilian-security" target="_blank">nearly</a>&nbsp;$2 billion, some new and some redirected, to bolster the country’s energy sector and add to humanitarian efforts.The vice president has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/02/19/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-at-the-munich-security-conference/" target="_blank">represented</a>&nbsp;the U.S.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/02/18/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-at-the-munich-security-conference-2/" target="_blank">three</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/02/16/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-at-the-munich-security-conference-munich-germany/" target="_blank">times</a>&nbsp;at the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany, where she praised the NATO alliance and said the U.S. commitment to its principles is “ironclad.”When facing Harris on the presidential debate stage in September, Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/harris-tears-trump-over-abortion-rights-and-race-tense-presidential-debate" target="_blank">refused</a>&nbsp;to answer whether he wants Ukraine to be victorious over Russia.Trump’s rhetoric and past behavior “spells bad news for Ukraine,” Waxman said.“He is likely to reduce American support for Ukraine and push Ukraine to make concessions to Russia. Overall, Trump’s transactional approach to leader-to-leader diplomacy is likely to benefit Putin,” Waxman continued. “Whereas Harris wants to invest in alliances like NATO, Trump is skeptical of them.”That type of leader-to-leader communication was notoriously highlighted in 2019 when U.S. House lawmakers&nbsp;<a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S4-4-9/ALDE_00000035/" target="_blank">impeached</a>&nbsp;Trump for directly threatening to withhold Ukraine aid if Zelenskyy did not announce an investigation into Biden — Trump’s presidential campaign rival at the time. The Senate acquitted Trump.Like his campaign line on the Israel attack, Trump also repeatedly claims that had he been in office, instead of Biden, Russia would have never launched its February 2022 attack on Ukraine.“The war in Ukraine did not begin in February of ‘22, it began back in 2014,” Lindsay said, referring to Putin’s forced annexation of the Crimean Peninsula.Trump’s own administration&nbsp;<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/on-the-record-the-u-s-administrations-actions-on-russia/" target="_blank">expanded</a>&nbsp;Obama-era sanctions meant to punish Russia’s actions in Crimea.“Experts can argue about how to dole out criticism across administrations, but clearly the issue of Russian support for a notionally independent insurrection in eastern Ukraine was not solved during the Trump presidency,” Lindsay continued.<h2>China and trade</h2>Foreign trade is a “political hot potato,” and neither Harris nor Trump are offering much clarity for U.S. trading partners around the world, Mary E. Lovely, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told States Newsroom in an interview.Lovely described the Biden-Harris approach as multipronged, in that they’ve instituted policies to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. while also aiming to maintain good trade relationships with partner nations.The tightrope walk becomes even trickier as U.S. policy also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economics/2024/while-us-and-china-decouple-eu-and-china-deepen-trade-dependencies" target="_blank">disincentivizes</a>&nbsp;materials and components from China — one of the world’s largest trading nations — in the final products imported from trading partners. Think: components in solar panels and electric vehicles.The Biden administration’s major legislative accomplishments — the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act — provided major subsidies for “reshoring,” or returning to the U.S., clean energy and semiconductor production. But the policies were not without risks to U.S. trading partners.“We had a lot of things (in the legislation), including things that upset the allies — you know, subsidies for American businesses, that they saw potentially as pulling investment out of their economies,” Lovely said.“These are things that the European Union, Japan, Korea were concerned about,” Lovely continued. “So we’ve seen it there — this tension between foreign policy and this idea of economic security.”While Lovely said she worries about how some of the Biden-Harris trade policies might affect competition and the nation’s ability to sign timely trade agreements, she said Trump’s plans are overall “destabilizing.”“The increased use of tariffs is misguided at best,” Lovely said.Trump’s promise to not only increase tariffs on Chinese imports to 60%, but also to slap flat 10% to 20% tariffs on all imports across the board is akin to “starting a trade war with the entire world.”“We’re not going to see those kinds of tariffs without retaliation,” Lovely said.If enacted, the tariffs would be particularly challenging for Indo-Pacific countries that rely on U.S. partnership in the face of China’s regional dominance.“I mean, you can imagine how this will go down in, say, Japan and Korea, two countries which rely on the U.S. for a security umbrella, which is why Trump thinks that he can do stuff to them. But they also have to protect their own economies,” Lovely said. “So it’s going to put them in a really terrible position because it’s very important for them to maintain their alliance with the U.S., economic as well as military.”But one thing is for sure, Lovely said: “Everybody wants to know what’s going to happen. Everybody in every embassy here in Washington.”

Foreign policy: Where do Harris and Trump stand?

By BECKY KISER Hays Post

Hays city commissioners will consider approving a charter ordinance allowing for a 1.25% increase in the city's transient guest tax (TGT) to 8.25% during their meeting this afternoon.

The 2025 Convention and Visitors Bureau budget was developed using the 8.25% guest tax rate. "It's necessary to ensure the fund’s sustainability," Collin Bielser, deputy city manager said at last week's work session.

Several items will be voted upon to move forward The Grove retiree-focused housing project north of Hays Medical Center. They include a recommended bid award of $3 million to Sporer Land Development, Oakley/Colby, for construction of street, water, storm water, sanitary sewer, and other infrastructure improvements.

Commissioners are also expected to sign a construction engineering services agreement with Driggs Design Group, Hays, for $100,438, and to approve&nbsp;the development agreement with Grow Hays.&nbsp;

Erin Giebler, human resources director, will present a proposed renewal agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas for a triple-option employee health insurance plan. The premium increased nearly 13% for 2025.&nbsp; City staff also recommends continuing to provide up to $625 in employer match for employees’ health savings accounts.&nbsp;

Qualifying city employees will be honored with service awards from commissioners.

The complete Oct. 24 agenda is available <a href="https://ks-hays.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10242024-1508">here</a>.&nbsp;

The meeting starts at 4 p.m. today in Hays City Hall, 1507 Main.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729779992282.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>By BECKY KISER Hays PostHays city commissioners will consider approving a charter ordinance allowing for a 1.25% increase in the city's transient guest tax (TGT) to 8.25% during their meeting this afternoon.The 2025 Convention and Visitors Bureau budget was developed using the 8.25% guest tax rate. "It's necessary to ensure the fund’s sustainability," Collin Bielser, deputy city manager said at last week's work session.Several items will be voted upon to move forward The Grove retiree-focused housing project north of Hays Medical Center. They include a recommended bid award of $3 million to Sporer Land Development, Oakley/Colby, for construction of street, water, storm water, sanitary sewer, and other infrastructure improvements.Commissioners are also expected to sign a construction engineering services agreement with Driggs Design Group, Hays, for $100,438, and to approve&nbsp;the development agreement with Grow Hays.&nbsp;Erin Giebler, human resources director, will present a proposed renewal agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas for a triple-option employee health insurance plan. The premium increased nearly 13% for 2025.&nbsp; City staff also recommends continuing to provide up to $625 in employer match for employees’ health savings accounts.&nbsp;Qualifying city employees will be honored with service awards from commissioners.The complete Oct. 24 agenda is available <a href="https://ks-hays.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10242024-1508">here</a>.&nbsp;The meeting starts at 4 p.m. today in Hays City Hall, 1507 Main.

City commission expected to approve increase to 8.25% in guest tax rates for Hays visitors

Scott Schwab recommends dropping ballots in mail no later than Nov. 1

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA —&nbsp; Rep. Pat Proctor worries the U.S. Postal Service’s inability to properly process mail-in ballots that disenfranchised nearly 1,000 Kansas voters in the August primary could be exacerbated by broader interest in the Nov. 5 election.

Proctor, a Leavenworth Republican who chairs the House Elections Committee, said that damage to the voting public in the primary was limited due to the lackluster 17% statewide turnout.

In the upcoming general election, he said, turnout would be substantially higher and ramifications of more USPS’ fumbling could be significantly worse.

“How bad could it be in a general election in a presidential election year that could well have a turnout of over 60%?” Proctor said.

Secretary of State Scott Schwab, who is the state’s chief elections officer, sounded an alarm in September by disclosing results of a survey of Kansas’ 105 county election offices.

The survey showed as many as 1,000 mail-in ballots were received by county election offices within the three-day, post-election grace period established by state law, but were rejected because they lacked a postmark to prove they were mailed prior to close of polls at 7 p.m. Election Day. Without an official postmark, the Kansas ballots couldn’t be counted.

Schwab released a letter he sent to the U.S. postmaster highlighting a “troubling pattern” associated with USPS’ handling of mailed ballots. He said it was “unacceptable that voters, who follow the rules for requesting, voting and returning their mail ballot, are disenfranchised by the USPS.”

Schwab later said he had spoken with Postmaster General Louis DeJoy about operational failures in handling Kansas ballots in August.

“I had a productive conversation with Postmaster General DeJoy,” Schwab said. “He assured me that the USPS will implement new measures to prevent similar issues in the upcoming general election.”

Schwab, a Republican, encouraged Kansans to avoid potential processing obstacles by hand-delivering ballots to a county election office or a ballot drop box prior to the Nov. 5 election.

The secretary of state said an alternative would be for voters to place their ballot in the mail by Nov. 1 or seven days ahead of the Nov. 8 deadline in state law for counties to accept postmarked ballots.

“We are encouraging voters who vote by mail to use a more secure way of returning your ballot to the county election office, if possible,” Schwab said.

The 2017 Kansas Legislature created the three-day window for post-election acceptance of mailed ballots. The motivation was to account for mail delays involving ballots from military personnel, but state law now allows for electronic transfer of those ballots.

Proctor said he was aware of complaints from election clerks in large and small counties about ballots arriving without a USPS postmark.

“We need to eliminate the three-day grace period and … require that&nbsp;mail-in ballots be returned to the election office by Election Night. This will completely eliminate our need to rely on the U.S.&nbsp;Postal&nbsp;Service to do its job and postmark every&nbsp;ballot,” Proctor said.

Aimee Bateman, a Democrat from Leavenworth running for Proctor’s seat in the House, said the central issue was the mail processing capability of the U.S. Postal Service. Addressing flaws in USPS’ approach to ballot handling should make it unnecessary to repeal the three-day grace period, she said.

“That’s the issue that needs to be fixed,” Bateman said. “Getting rid of the three-day grace period will not cure the issue that disenfranchised 1,000 voters in the August primary.”

In the 2024 legislative session, the Republican-led House and Senate approved different bills repealing the grace period.

There was an attempt to send Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly a compromise bill that added three days of advance voting to the calendar to account for loss of three days for ballot delivery. The reform effort was derailed, in part, when the Senate injected into the debate the idea of banning use of machines to count ballots.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729687547258.png" alt=" Secretary of State Scott Schwab, alarmed by the U.S. Postal Service's failure to properly process nearly 1,000 mail-in ballots in the August primary, suggests voters deliver November general election ballots to county offices or ballot drop boxes. He said an alternative is to place ballots in the mail by Nov. 1 to give the Postal Service more time to postmark and deliver ballots. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Secretary of State Scott Schwab, alarmed by the U.S. Postal Service's failure to properly process nearly 1,000 mail-in ballots in the August primary, suggests voters deliver November general election ballots to county offices or ballot drop boxes. He said an alternative is to place ballots in the mail by Nov. 1 to give the Postal Service more time to postmark and deliver ballots. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Scott Schwab recommends dropping ballots in mail no later than Nov. 1</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA —&nbsp; Rep. Pat Proctor worries the U.S. Postal Service’s inability to properly process mail-in ballots that disenfranchised nearly 1,000 Kansas voters in the August primary could be exacerbated by broader interest in the Nov. 5 election.Proctor, a Leavenworth Republican who chairs the House Elections Committee, said that damage to the voting public in the primary was limited due to the lackluster 17% statewide turnout.In the upcoming general election, he said, turnout would be substantially higher and ramifications of more USPS’ fumbling could be significantly worse.“How bad could it be in a general election in a presidential election year that could well have a turnout of over 60%?” Proctor said.Secretary of State Scott Schwab, who is the state’s chief elections officer, sounded an alarm in September by disclosing results of a survey of Kansas’ 105 county election offices.The survey showed as many as 1,000 mail-in ballots were received by county election offices within the three-day, post-election grace period established by state law, but were rejected because they lacked a postmark to prove they were mailed prior to close of polls at 7 p.m. Election Day. Without an official postmark, the Kansas ballots couldn’t be counted.Schwab released a letter he sent to the U.S. postmaster highlighting a “troubling pattern” associated with USPS’ handling of mailed ballots. He said it was “unacceptable that voters, who follow the rules for requesting, voting and returning their mail ballot, are disenfranchised by the USPS.”Schwab later said he had spoken with Postmaster General Louis DeJoy about operational failures in handling Kansas ballots in August.“I had a productive conversation with Postmaster General DeJoy,” Schwab said. “He assured me that the USPS will implement new measures to prevent similar issues in the upcoming general election.”Schwab, a Republican, encouraged Kansans to avoid potential processing obstacles by hand-delivering ballots to a county election office or a ballot drop box prior to the Nov. 5 election.The secretary of state said an alternative would be for voters to place their ballot in the mail by Nov. 1 or seven days ahead of the Nov. 8 deadline in state law for counties to accept postmarked ballots.“We are encouraging voters who vote by mail to use a more secure way of returning your ballot to the county election office, if possible,” Schwab said.The 2017 Kansas Legislature created the three-day window for post-election acceptance of mailed ballots. The motivation was to account for mail delays involving ballots from military personnel, but state law now allows for electronic transfer of those ballots.Proctor said he was aware of complaints from election clerks in large and small counties about ballots arriving without a USPS postmark.“We need to eliminate the three-day grace period and … require that&nbsp;mail-in ballots be returned to the election office by Election Night. This will completely eliminate our need to rely on the U.S.&nbsp;Postal&nbsp;Service to do its job and postmark every&nbsp;ballot,” Proctor said.Aimee Bateman, a Democrat from Leavenworth running for Proctor’s seat in the House, said the central issue was the mail processing capability of the U.S. Postal Service. Addressing flaws in USPS’ approach to ballot handling should make it unnecessary to repeal the three-day grace period, she said.“That’s the issue that needs to be fixed,” Bateman said. “Getting rid of the three-day grace period will not cure the issue that disenfranchised 1,000 voters in the August primary.”In the 2024 legislative session, the Republican-led House and Senate approved different bills repealing the grace period.There was an attempt to send Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly a compromise bill that added three days of advance voting to the calendar to account for loss of three days for ballot delivery. The reform effort was derailed, in part, when the Senate injected into the debate the idea of banning use of machines to count ballots.

Kansas election official urges voters to avoid U.S. Postal Service delivery obstacles

A recent <a href="https://www.kslpa.gov/audit-report-library/estimating-the-economic-impacts-of-tax-increment-financing-districts/">state audit</a> of the <a href="https://www.kansascommerce.gov/program/taxes-and-financing/tif/">Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts</a> in six of Kansas' largest cities showed&nbsp;half did not recover their costs in a timely manner.&nbsp;

Two cities, Wichita and Topeka, aren’t likely to recover the costs of three projects through TIF revenue by the end of the districts’ lifetimes, according to the audit. 

The cities and their local taxpayers could potentially be responsible for the costs.

That can't happen in Hays under the city's current&nbsp;<a href="https://www.haysusa.com/DocumentCenter/View/608/Economic-Development-Policy---6-24-2021-PDF">economic development policy</a>.

"The difference is those cities have issued debt for those districts, and those districts are not generating enough revenue to cover the debt service," said Hays City Manager Toby Dougherty.&nbsp;"We don't have that problem because the developer takes care of their own debt."

The state does allow bonds to be issued for a TIF, "but our economic development policy doesn't allow that, so it's a 'pay-as-you-go' TIF," said Kim Rupp, city finance director.&nbsp;

"They have to finance on their own, and then the TIF can pay them back."

"Issuing bonds for a TIF is something that local governing bodies can do, and Wichita, Topeka and Olathe have done so, but it's not something Hays does," said Jarrod Kuckelman, Hays management analyst.

SEE RELATED STORY: <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/94b81708-ba02-4883-b7ce-bb38d98c85ff">Audit of&nbsp;Kansas TIF districts reveals delays in returns, increased crime rates</a>

Developers considering Hays projects first meet with Grow Hays, the city's economic development partner, to determine what financial incentives are available and appropriate.

TIF districts are often blighted or undeveloped areas identified for specific development projects.

Any increase in property taxes (city, county, school district) is reinvested to the developer for eligible project costs such as land acquisition and site preparation.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Hays has two TIF districts, each effective for 20 years as state statute dictates.

One is at the Hilton Garden Inn, 221 W. 43rd, and the development in front of it. The second is the  Hess property at the Interstate 70 Exit 157.

The Hess property is inactive. However, the developer has paid millions of dollars for water, sewer and street infrastructure improvements in the past six years.&nbsp;

The developer has not built anything at that location to generate TIF proceeds.

"If we were to have issued debt for that, we'd be pretty nervous because we'd be on the hook, " Dougherty said.

No increment has been captured at the Hess property TIF.

"Right now, I think we're just frustrated because the developer has a lot of incentives out there they could be utilizing, but they haven't built anything above ground. But it doesn't hurt us financially,"&nbsp; Dougherty said.

Several years ago, a different developer asked the city to essentially act as the bank for a project.

"The developer wanted a lot of incentives, but they also wanted the city to issue debt. So, the burden of performance was more on us than the developer,"&nbsp; Dougherty said.

 After lengthy discussions of incentives and risks, the city commission changed its economic development policy.

"Commissioners voted to be a little more liberal with the incentives they allow but they would not issue debt for a private developer," Dougherty said. "The developer takes the risk and can be reimbursed if the district performs."

Hays did issue debt for the Home Depot development, 1310 E. 41st, a project Dougherty refers to as a "TIF Lite."

Home Depot guaranteed the general obligation debt.

Only the city's portion of the property tax increment was rebated to the Home Depot developer. The Ellis County and Hays USD 489 property tax portions were not rebated.&nbsp;

"From an investment standpoint, that was a very successful district," Dougherty said.&nbsp;

Creating a TIF is a lengthy complicated procedure.

Rupp said the city leans heavily on the public finance law firm Gilmore Bell, Kansas City and Wichita.

 "They know the statutes inside and out and are guiding us all the way through the process," Rupp said.

The bottom line is that Hays taxpayers are not liable for any underperforming TIF districts, Dougherty said.

"Governing bodies can always change their mind, and they can issue debt for TIF districts, but current policy is that they don't, and it's worked out pretty well for us," he said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729777861093.jpeg" alt="Hilton Garden Inn TIF district, Hays. Photo by Becky Kiser/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Hilton Garden Inn TIF district, Hays. Photo by Becky Kiser/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>By BECKY KISER Hays PostA recent <a href="https://www.kslpa.gov/audit-report-library/estimating-the-economic-impacts-of-tax-increment-financing-districts/">state audit</a> of the <a href="https://www.kansascommerce.gov/program/taxes-and-financing/tif/">Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts</a> in six of Kansas' largest cities showed&nbsp;half did not recover their costs in a timely manner.&nbsp;Two cities, Wichita and Topeka, aren’t likely to recover the costs of three projects through TIF revenue by the end of the districts’ lifetimes, according to the audit. The cities and their local taxpayers could potentially be responsible for the costs.That can't happen in Hays under the city's current&nbsp;<a href="https://www.haysusa.com/DocumentCenter/View/608/Economic-Development-Policy---6-24-2021-PDF">economic development policy</a>."The difference is those cities have issued debt for those districts, and those districts are not generating enough revenue to cover the debt service," said Hays City Manager Toby Dougherty.&nbsp;"We don't have that problem because the developer takes care of their own debt."The state does allow bonds to be issued for a TIF, "but our economic development policy doesn't allow that, so it's a 'pay-as-you-go' TIF," said Kim Rupp, city finance director.&nbsp;"They have to finance on their own, and then the TIF can pay them back.""Issuing bonds for a TIF is something that local governing bodies can do, and Wichita, Topeka and Olathe have done so, but it's not something Hays does," said Jarrod Kuckelman, Hays management analyst.SEE RELATED STORY: <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/94b81708-ba02-4883-b7ce-bb38d98c85ff">Audit of&nbsp;Kansas TIF districts reveals delays in returns, increased crime rates</a>Developers considering Hays projects first meet with Grow Hays, the city's economic development partner, to determine what financial incentives are available and appropriate.TIF districts are often blighted or undeveloped areas identified for specific development projects.Any increase in property taxes (city, county, school district) is reinvested to the developer for eligible project costs such as land acquisition and site preparation.&nbsp;&nbsp;Hays has two TIF districts, each effective for 20 years as state statute dictates.One is at the Hilton Garden Inn, 221 W. 43rd, and the development in front of it. The second is the Hess property at the Interstate 70 Exit 157.The Hess property is inactive. However, the developer has paid millions of dollars for water, sewer and street infrastructure improvements in the past six years.&nbsp;The developer has not built anything at that location to generate TIF proceeds. "If we were to have issued debt for that, we'd be pretty nervous because we'd be on the hook, " Dougherty said.No increment has been captured at the Hess property TIF."Right now, I think we're just frustrated because the developer has a lot of incentives out there they could be utilizing, but they haven't built anything above ground. But it doesn't hurt us financially,"&nbsp; Dougherty said.Several years ago, a different developer asked the city to essentially act as the bank for a project."The developer wanted a lot of incentives, but they also wanted the city to issue debt. So, the burden of performance was more on us than the developer,"&nbsp; Dougherty said. After lengthy discussions of incentives and risks, the city commission changed its economic development policy."Commissioners voted to be a little more liberal with the incentives they allow but they would not issue debt for a private developer," Dougherty said. "The developer takes the risk and can be reimbursed if the district performs."Hays did issue debt for the Home Depot development, 1310 E. 41st, a project Dougherty refers to as a "TIF Lite."Home Depot guaranteed the general obligation debt.Only the city's portion of the property tax increment was rebated to the Home Depot developer. The Ellis County and Hays USD 489 property tax portions were not rebated.&nbsp;"From an investment standpoint, that was a very successful district," Dougherty said.&nbsp;It was paid off a few years ago.&nbsp;Creating a TIF is a lengthy complicated procedure.Rupp said the city leans heavily on the public finance law firm Gilmore Bell, Kansas City and Wichita. "They know the statutes inside and out and are guiding us all the way through the process," Rupp said.The bottom line is that Hays taxpayers are not liable for any underperforming TIF districts, Dougherty said."Governing bodies can always change their mind, and they can issue debt for TIF districts, but current policy is that they don't, and it's worked out pretty well for us," he said.

🎙City: Hays taxpayers not financially liable for TIFs as taxpayers in some KS cities

The Hays USD 489 school board discussed entering into a contract with Enterprise to manage its vehicle fleet at its work session on Monday.

The contract with Enterprise would include all vehicles except buses.

Prior to 2019, the Hays school district bought vehicles through the state bid system at steep discounts. Staff drove the vehicles until they wore out, and then they were auctioned at low prices.

Since the pandemic, that state bid system has not been available. The district has 12 Suburban SUVs, none of which are newer than 2019.

Enterprise has several programs the districts could choose from. One includes Enterprise managing the purchases and sales of the district's vehicles.

The company also offers maintenance and fuel programs.

Both the city of Hays and Ellis County use one of Enterprise's fleet programs.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729697771747.jpg" alt="Photo courtesy of Pixabay." />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy of Pixabay.</figcaption>
 </figure>By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays PostThe Hays USD 489 school board discussed entering into a contract with Enterprise to manage its vehicle fleet at its work session on Monday.The contract with Enterprise would include all vehicles except buses.Prior to 2019, the Hays school district bought vehicles through the state bid system at steep discounts. Staff drove the vehicles until they wore out, and then they were auctioned at low prices.Since the pandemic, that state bid system has not been available. The district has 12 Suburban SUVs, none of which are newer than 2019.Enterprise has several programs the districts could choose from. One includes Enterprise managing the purchases and sales of the district's vehicles.The company also offers maintenance and fuel programs.Both the city of Hays and Ellis County use one of Enterprise's fleet programs.Ken Olsen of Enterprise said the purchasing and sale program allows entities to decrease their costs while operating newer, safer vehicles.All manufacturers are available through these programs, Olsen said.Based on its significant connections and volume, Enterprise is able to obtain 10 percent over the average auction price for most of its vehicles.Enterprise estimates the district would save almost $89,000 over 10 years using its program to purchase and sell vehicles.Chris Hipp, assistant superintendent for business services, said he is still calculating if the district's savings would be advised for the maintenance and gas programs.The district now has a single staff mechanic performing vehicle maintenance. Its fleet includes 39 non-bus vehicles.However, Russ&nbsp;Henningsen, transportation director, said the program would rotate vehicles about every three years, and not much maintenance would likely be needed.The district purchases the bulk of its gas from the co-op. Enterprise provides a gas card that can be used at most stations for a 5% discount.Enterprise also uses data from those gas purchases in maintenance and sales decisions.Although the vehicles will be newer, Olsen said district insurance costs usually do not increase because of the improved safety features on the newer vehicles.The district would still use local dealerships for warranty work.Board member Ken Brooks asked how easy it would be to exit the program if the board found it was not working well for the district.Olsen said the district would maintain a master agreement with Enterprise, but the obligation would be divided among individual vehicles.&nbsp;Board attorney Bill Jeter said he had reviewed the contract and gave his approval from a legal standpoint.Hipp said he recommends the district involve its entire fleet for the district and Early Childhood Connections. Those two fleets must be maintained separately because of the federal funds involved with Early Childhood Connections.The new vehicles would be phased into the fleet over several years.&nbsp;"We don't want to be worrying about a vehicle coming back from Liberal at 2 in the morning. If we are rotating vehicles out every three years, we will not even be buying tires," he said.Hipp said the district would still benefit even if it broke even. Students and staff will be in safer vehicles, and the cost and time to repair vehicles will be less, he said.Board vice-president Jayme Goetz said, "If we're driving vehicles until the wheels fall off, they are not safe. We are carrying precious cargo."Monday's meeting was a work session. The Enterprise contract could be brought before the board for a vote as soon as its next meeting, which is Nov. 11.