The New York Times had a lengthy article last week on the greening of Greensburg. Among the impressive signs of progress reported were the buildings that have earned or likely will receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum certification. For example, the town’s arts center was designed and built by graduate students of the University of Kansas School of Architecture and is powered by windmills and solar panels and heated and cooled by a geothermal system. It was the first LEED-platinum building in Kansas. The Kiowa County Memorial Hospital, currently under construction, is seeking to become the first LEED platinum critical-access hospital in the country, the article reported. The town also is about to break ground on a wind farm capable of supplying electricity to 4,000 homes. The article noted that such achievements would be impressive anywhere but seem unexpected in Kansas, which “routinely elects to Congress skeptics on matters of energy conservation and environmental regulation.”
The dam at HorseThief Reservoir in western Kansas is now completed, and state officials will inspect it next month, the Hutchinson News reported. Once the dam receives the final OK, creek runoff will begin filling the 440-acre lake, which is located about 20 miles north of Dodge City. Officials say that the new reservoir, which is surrounded by an 1,100-acre park, should be open to motorboats on Memorial Day weekend 2010. The new lake will help with flood control in the area and be a great addition to our state’s recreational options.
The number of millionaires in Kansas declined for the second straight year, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported. Kansas had 43,205 millionaires in 2008, or 3.98 percent of its overall population, according to a national study. That’s a 16 percent drop from 2007 — though laid-off workers in Wichita and elsewhere are unlikely to feel much sympathy. Kansas ranks 30th in the nation in its percentage of millionaires.
Sedgwick County Commissioner Dave Unruh was in line with his wife and two grandkids when the shooting occurred today at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Here is an interview with Unruh by a TV station.
As appalling as the anti-gay protests of Topeka’s Westboro Baptist Church are, it was startling to see Fred Phelps and daughter Shirley Phelps-Roper alongside Russian gangsters and Muslim extremists on a list of 16 people newly barred from entering Britain for allegedly fostering extremism or hatred. Another surprise was San Francisco talk-radio host Michael Savage (whose show airs locally weeknights on KNSS Radio, 1330 AM). The official explanation for the inclusion of Phelps and his daughter: “Considered to be engaging in unacceptable behaviour by fostering hatred which might lead to inter-community violence in the United Kingdom.” Unfortunately, being banned in Britain may only embolden the Phelps clan.
The Cheyenne Bottoms are among the greatest natural treasures of Kansas, drawing hunters and birders from throughout the state and far beyond with a riot of ducks, geese, whooping cranes and other wildlife. But the important wetlands system long had to speak for itself, offering visitors no opportunity to ask questions or otherwise fully comprehend what they see there. That changed with Friday’s opening of the Kansas Wetlands Education Center near Great Bend, a 11,000-square-foot, $4.2 million facility for research and public education. Kansans owe their appreciation to Kansas Wildlife and Parks Secretary Mike Hayden and project partners including Fort Hays State University, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, the city of Great Bend and the Fred C. and Mary R. Koch Foundation, which gave $500,000 for the center’s Koch Wetlands Exhibit. As the attraction helps interpret Cheyenne Bottoms for kids and other visitors, it stands to both enrich their visit and underscore the need for conservation.
Kansas’ 148th birthday finds the 34th state taking the economic bumps along with the rest of the nation and wondering how to pay its bills and seed its future. Fortunately, the moment bears no resemblance to the painful, bloody period that led up to statehood and made Kansas’ chosen motto, “Ad astra per aspera” (To the stars through difficulties), so apt. And Kansas’ past provides reason for optimism about its ability to rebound. As poet Harry Kemp wrote in 1912, “Kansas glories in her days to be, in her horizons limitless and vast. . . .”
One of Texas’ objections to the selection of Manhattan for the new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility is meteorological. John Kerr, chairman of the effort to bring the lab to San Antonio, sent a letter to the Homeland Security Department complaining that, among other things, the site selection didn’t factor in Kansas’ tornado track record. Arguing that Kansas has had recent twisters big enough to damage such a lab, Kerr wrote that “the (Homeland Security) site selection utterly ignored this obvious risk and found the risk of a catastrophic outbreak (of disease) to be no different at any of the sites, an absurd conclusion.” Texas has threatened to sue if the decision isn’t reconsidered.
Maybe the recent area flooding wasn’t as bad as Halloween 1998, but it was bad — as anyone involved in the evacuations, rescues, sandbagging and mopping up can attest. Now it’s up to neighbors and agencies to pitch in and help those suffering through the wet, smelly, miserable task of cleaning up after a flood. Others are dealing with another kind of heartbreak in the wake of rains that measured 10.86 inches in Sedgwick County and closed the Kansas Turnpike in Sumner County: the loss of loved ones. Dennis Rhodes died after heroically working to rescue eight others on the Chikaskia River in Sumner County, and Robert N. Bennett of Sedgwick died after driving into deep water in northern Sedgwick County. Next come the questions about whether leaders could or should have done more since 1998 to prevent such flooding.
It’s probably good to be wary of generalizations about people and places. But there’s some truth to a new study that identifies personality traits of U.S. states.
Kansas was No. 5 in “conscientiousness,” according to the listing. And we scored high in values of discipline, duty and faith.
OK, maybe we’re not the life of the party. But Kansas deserves credit for being a place of hardworking, down-to-earth, dependable folks who will do what they say they’re going to do.
Still, we might want to loosen up a bit: Kansas is No. 38 in “openness” — traits such as intellectual curiosity and artistic creativity.
Polls give every indication that Kansas will go for John McCain in November, just as it has for every Republican presidential nominee since 1964. But Barack Obama’s campaign will try hard to shake up the electoral map, as evidenced by its weekend opening of offices in Wichita, Lawrence and Mission. “We’re building this movement in Kansas from bottom up, not the top down,” said Samantha Finke McCain, state director of Obama for America. Meanwhile, McCain doesn’t yet have a Kansas office; his campaign Web site refers Kansans to a regional headquarters in Centennial, Colo.
And beyond Kansas, Associated Press reports that rather than continue with its “50-state strategy,” the Obama campaign “is quietly eyeing a states’ map similar to the one used in past elections, with some exceptions.” He is advertising in about 16 states.
Boeing and Wichita caught a major break Wednesday when the Pentagon pushed back the rebidding on the $35 billion air-refueling tanker contract to the next presidential administration. Given the mishandled initial contract with European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co./Northrop Grumman and the controversy over the skewed specifications for the rebidding, as Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, the current Pentagon “can no longer complete a competition that would be viewed as fair and objective in this highly charged environment.” But what comes after this cooling-off period for rival bidders Boeing and EADS/Northrop Grumman? A clean and impartial rebidding overseen by President John McCain, who has employed Airbus lobbyists and seemingly taken EADS’ side in the past? How much longer can the current fleet of tankers be expected to fly safely? Kansas’ congressional delegation must remain dogged on this issue, to ensure that the next bidding process is not only fair but final.
Craving funnel cake or roasted corn? Itching for some Styx, Poison or Alice Cooper? Curious about what those butter and chain-saw sculptors are up to? Want to sample or sell some wares? Ready to hear the first political debate of the fall (Pat Roberts versus Jim Slattery on Saturday)? Whatever the draw, many among us will be following the traditional early September siren song to the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson today through Sept. 14. Attendance is always dependent on the economy and weather. This year’s gas prices would seem to compound the concern. But there’s also a chance that people who’ve cut back on summer travel will be more in the mood than usual for the State Fair. And the changes that came with the $36 million master plan have the grounds looking better than ever. Year in and out, the fair is both a tutorial on and a tribute to Kansas.
It was surprising that the Wichita City Council voted Tuesday to terminate the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame’s lease from its city-owned building. Thirty days’ notice doesn’t give the museum much time to make other plans. Still, there are only so many museums and attractions that the city can help keep afloat, and the museum hasn’t done a good job making the case that the state needs to fund this state agency.
So what might this mean for the museum? Topeka Capital-Journal columnist Ric Anderson recommended that the sports museum fold into the Kansas Museum of History in Topeka. “Granted, it wouldn’t get as much space there without some major renovation or reorganization,” he wrote. “But at a time when the state is cutting spending to deal with a lousy economy and dwindling tax revenue, can we afford to keep propping up a free-standing sports hall that hasn’t shown much potential for drawing enough visitors to pay for itself?”
Transcription doesn’t do justice to Stephen Colbert, but for what it’s worth: In the process of apologizing Wednesday to Canton, Ga., for calling it “the crappy Canton” last week, Comedy Central’s faux conservative inexplicably unloaded on Canton, Kan., population 829, in McPherson County: “You can smell that dump all the way from Topeka. You know what they say about Canton, Kan.? Nothing. Nobody talks about it. I would say we should convert it to a landfill but that is insulting landfills. If Dorothy was from Canton, Kan., she would have wished that the house dropped on her. Hey, say, that reminds me of a joke. How many Canton, Kan., residents does it take to screw in a lightbulb? None. They don’t use lights ’cause they don’t want to see where they live.” Gov. Kathleen Sebelius responded in kind Thursday, inviting Colbert to spend a night in Canton’s historic jail.
Bravo to David Koch, executive vice president of Koch Industries, for agreeing to donate $100 million toward renovating the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center in New York City. “I’ve been going to the New York State Theater for 40 years,” said Koch, who reportedly is the richest resident of New York City. “I can assure you, I would not make a gift of this magnitude unless I was absolutely convinced that the quality of the work was world-class.”
What a great example nine current and former Wichita East High School students set in running from Wichita to Washington, D.C., to raise awareness about the genocide in Darfur. More than 200,000 civilians in Darfur have died since 2003, and more than 2 million have been displaced, according to the Genocide Intervention Network. In addition, a column by Nicholas Kristof on today’s Opinion pages tells of the how the Sudanese government has turned Darfur into a rape camp.
Obviously, running cross country isn’t an option for most people. But neither should be sitting back and doing nothing while thousands of civilians are raped and murdered.
Phill Kline filed today to run for Johnson County district attorney – the position that the county Republican Party gave him in late 2006 after he lost his re-election campaign for Kansas attorney general. Kline said last year that he wouldn’t seek the job but changed his mind.
Kline likely will face a tough challenge, even in the GOP primary. Many Johnson County Republicans were mad when Kline was chosen to fill the district attorney position, given how badly he lost in the attorney general race. They may prefer GOP candidate Steve Howe, one of the prosecutors Kline dismissed when he became district attorney. Howe has been endorsed by Sens. Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts and former Sen. Nancy Kassebaum Baker.
The winner of that primary will face Rick Guinn, the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party.
“One of the best ways to describe the current rural atmosphere is something akin to a gold rush — I’ve never seen anything like this — especially with the oil influence,†Lane County grain grower Vance Ehmke told Associated Press. But it’s not just increased oil drilling that is raising the fortunes of rural Kansas. So are high commodity prices. As a result, AP reported, farmland values are up about 20 percent from last year; farmers are making more capital investments, which also helps the rural economy; and there are high loan repayment rates, which is freeing up more money for farm loans.
As it’s become harder to find places to smoke over the past few years, more Kansans have smoked. At least that’s what seems to have happened, judging from a new Kansas Department of Health and Environment report. The number of adults who smoke cigarettes in Kansas rose from 17.8 percent in 2005 to 20 percent in 2006, after three years of declines. The increase is small statistically, but the reversal of the trend is significant — and should give lawmakers pause as they formally conclude the 2008 legislative session today without having passed a proposed statewide smoking ban or 50-cent cigarette-tax increase. Lawmakers should give both ideas another look next year. Meanwhile, the KDHE report suggests, 3,900 Kansans will die this year from smoking-related illnesses such as heart disease, lung cancer, emphysema, bronchitis and oral cancer, as smoking-related Medicaid bills cost the state $196 million.
In the upbeat new TV ads promoting Kansas attractions, the Kansas Department of Commerce blessedly limits its use of the current state slogan — “Kansas: as big as you think†— to an afterthought. We wouldn’t mind seeing the 3½-year-old phrase replaced. Those who don’t see a problem should consider the reaction of one out-of-stater, Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch columnist Joe Blundo. In a recent rumination on state slogans, Blundo suggested Kansas might even be repelling tourists with the tagline: “Far from attracting me, the slogan just makes me dread having to drive through Kansas on the way to Colorado,†he wrote.
The Kansas City Star recently asked author and branding expert Steve Cone what he thought of “as big as you think.â€â€œBig?†responded Cone. “Meaning what?â€
The problem with such slogans, he said, is that “there’s nothing head-nodding about them that makes people say, ‘Yeah, that’s exactly right.’â€
Asked about one former slogan, “Land of Ah’s,†Cone said: “They probably should have kept it. Oz will always be associated with Kansas. When you get a great line, it’s intriguing. People won’t get tired of it.â€
Eagle food columnist Joe Stumpe recently suggested some tasty replacements for “as big as you thinkâ€: “Kansas: Meat. Wheat. Chew on that.†Or “Kansas: Open wide.â€
Congratulations to David Rundle for receiving the Arc of Sedgwick County Adult Achiever of the Year award. The award recognizes citizens who have overcome disabilities to find success. Kevin Fish — executive director of the Arc, a non-profit agency serving individuals with developmental disabilities — said that not only has Rundle found personal success, he has become a “wonderful advocate†for people with disabilities. Rundle, who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, writes commentaries for The Eagle, primarily on disability issues. “We need to help bring the needs of the disabled to the attention of the public and government,†Rundle said. “If I help do that as a writer, I am glad.â€
Another reason to be optimistic about the future in Kansas: news of the creation of a Kansas Corps of college students who can be dispatched to help communities. “With a single phone call, this group could be mobilized to serve any area of the state,†Allie Crouse, a Wichita State University student, recently told the Kansas Board of Regents. She is among about 80 others who’ve spent 16 months planning the corps. At a recent trial run in Melvern, Kan., 50 students from six colleges built a hiking and biking trail on the site of a trash dump. No word from the regents as to whether they can oblige the group’s request to help with funding, starting in fiscal year 2010. But the Kansas Corps is an outstanding idea. Many student service groups already do great work around the state, but this one could be coordinated and deployed as needed. As Curt Brungardt, a professor at Fort Hays State University who is also involved, told the regents: “Think of the power of it.â€
As the Kansas House wrapped up its business recently, House Minority Leader Dennis McKinney, D-Greensburg, thanked his colleagues for their support for his tornado-ravaged community and offered an anecdote that reflects the storm’s worldwide attention. He described how some Kansans visiting England, asked where they live, had answered “Wichita.â€
“Oh, really?†replied the Britons. “Now, where is that from Greensburg?â€
Saying that Kansas’ Big First congressional district holds “the single greatest potential for wind energy in the country,” Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson helped break ground Friday for Horizon Wind Energy’s 67-turbine Meridian Way Wind Farm south of Concordia. Parkinson noted it had been “a week of smiles in Kansas,” what with the University of Kansas Jayhawks’ NCAA championship and the Kansas City Royals’ two wins over the New York Yankees. “But I don’t think I’ve ever seen smiles like I’ve seen today on the faces of the landowners that are going to have turbines on their property,” he said.
