August 24 2024

1 WSU Launches Apprenticeship Program to Combat Kansas Teacher Shortage
2 Kansas Judge Dismisses Machine Gun Charges, Citing Constitutional Rights
3 Kansas Secures Federal Grants for Infrastructure
4 Wyandotte County Faces Tuberculosis Outbreak
5 Brittany Mahomes Likes Trump Post, Controversy Ensues
6 Agricultural Lobbying Outpaces Oil, Defense
7 Rebuilding U.S. Cattle Herd May Take Years
8 Rising Land Values Price Farmers Out 
9 COVID-19 Wave Hits Kansas and Missouri as Schools Reopen
10 Heat to Scorch Region This Weekend
Sports

1 WSU Launches Apprenticeship Program to Combat Kansas Teacher Shortage 

Wichita State University started an apprenticeship program to lower the cost and time commitment to earn a teaching license…  WSU’s Teacher Apprenticeship Program lets students learn and earn money as teacher’s aides or paraprofessionals while they speed their way to filling the statewide public school faculty shortage. Kansas schools have more than 1,500 teaching jobs they can’t fill. Wichita State’s program follows a national trend of grow-your-own strategies to outfit more people to become teachers.  Teacher vacancies in Kansas rose 31% from 2020 to 2022. Of all 50 states, only Vermont posted a higher rate of teachers leaving the profession.

Article Source: Kansas Beacon

2 Kansas Judge Dismisses Machine Gun Charges, Citing Constitutional Rights

A U.S. District Court judge in Kansas on Wednesday dismissed machine gun possession charges against a defendant, finding that prosecutors hadn’t proven the weapons can be banned under the Second Amendment. The decision marks a potentially seismic shift in firearm regulations if it is appealed and stands. Machine guns have been prohibited for decades – a ban that has remained in place even as restrictions on guns have been dramatically weakened in Kansas, Missouri and other states over time. Judge John W. Broomes, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, dismissed two machine gun possession counts against Tamori Morgan, who was indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2023. Broomes wrote that prosecutors hadn’t met their burden under two landmark U.S. Supreme Court gun rights cases – called Bruen and Rahimi – that require firearms restrictions to have historical analogs at the time of the nation’s founding.

Article Source: Wichita Eagle

3 Kansas Secures Federal Grants for Infrastructure

Matthew Volz, executive director of the Kansas Infrastructure Hub, said these projects were among 11 in Kansas earning federal approval in the past year under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law authorizing distribution to U.S. states of $1.2 [t]illion. The Legislature and Gov. Laura Kelly established the Build Kansas Fund for the purpose of investing $200 million over four years to support infrastructure projects tied to water, transportation, energy, cybersecurity and broadband initiatives. Volz said state investment of $23.1 million in the 11 projects had secured $31.5 million in federal grants.

Article Source: KS Reflector

4 Wyandotte County Faces Tuberculosis Outbreak

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment on Thursday confirmed a tuberculosis outbreak in Wyandotte County, with more cases than the entire state recorded last year. In response to questions from the Kansas News Service about the outbreak, a spokesperson for KDHE confirmed there have been 49 recorded cases of tuberculosis in Wyandotte County since the start of the year. She said the federal government had recorded 46 cases in all of Kansas last year. There are an additional seven confirmed cases this year in neighboring Johnson County.

Article Source: Topeka Capitol-Journal

5 Brittany Mahomes Likes Trump Post, Controversy Ensues

Brittany Mahomes, wife of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes wrote a statement on social media in response to criticism after ‘liking’  an Instagram post from former President Donald Trump. Brittany defended her support for 'liking; the Trump post, and standing up to "haters for not healing from issues they had from childhood."

Article Source: Salina Post

6 Agricultural Lobbying Outpaces Oil, Defense

agricultural trade associations are “enormously powerful”, says Ben Lilliston, director of rural strategies and climate change at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. “Our farm policy is very much their policy.”   The sector’s spending on US lobbying rose from $145mn in 2019 to $177mn last year, more than the total big oil and gas spent, according to an analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). 

Article Source: FT

7 Rebuilding U.S. Cattle Herd May Take Years

Rebuilding the U.S. cattle herd could take years as market conditions encourage ranchers to sell off rather than keep their cows. Although pasture conditions and feed costs are improving, there are still financial upsides for producers to send their beef calves and heifers to feedlots rather than raise them, according to a CoBank Knowledge Exchange research brief. Some top analysts are expecting herd numbers to return to 2023 levels in the next three to four years if market conditions persist, while others believe cattle contraction to continue through 2027, CoBank analyst Abbi Prins wrote.

Article Source: Agriculture Dive

8 Rising Land Values Price Farmers Out 

From 2017 to 2022, the average value per acre of all American farmland grew from $4,368 to $5,354, an increase of nearly 23%, according to USDA data on the market value of farmland and its buildings.  But in the 409 counties across the country that saw a producer decline of 15% or greater over the past five years, average farmland values increased by 31%, according to Investigate Midwest’s analysis of USDA reports, land value records, and other property data.  

·       Population growth expanding into rural communities has increased prices and reduced farmland as 11 million acres of agricultural land were converted into residential properties from 2001 to 2016, according to the American Farmland Trust. 

·       The push towards wind and solar energy, often backed by government subsidies, has also raised land rents much higher than for traditional agricultural use. 

·       Large investment firms, such as Farmland Partners, PGIM and Gladstone Land, are paying top dollar for land and reselling some property at amounts as much as five times higher than the regional average. 

·       The move towards industrial farms has also meant more corporate land buyers who can pay cash and beat many local offers.

Article Source: Successful Farming

9 COVID-19 Wave Hits Kansas and Missouri as Schools Reopen 

a surprisingly strong summer surge of COVID cases sweeps across Kansas and Missouri. As students head back to school, more people are testing positive, ending up in emergency rooms and getting hospitalized with the virus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  In Kansas City, the reported case rate at the end of July was more than double the same week last year and edging toward last winter’s rate. At the same time, wastewater testing in Kansas and Missouri showed viral activity that surpassed national and regional levels. Of course, the virus is nothing like it used to be. At the height of the pandemic in January of 2021, the CDC reported that almost 30% of weekly deaths in the U.S. could be attributed to COVID. For the week of Aug. 3, the disease was blamed for 1.5% of U.S. deaths.

Article Source: Kansas Beacon

10 Heat to Scorch Region This Weekend

Dangerous heat covers the area for the weekend ahead. Saturday and Sunday will have highs near or above 100 degrees, but adding in the high humidity will make it feel like 110 in some spots Saturday, and only improving to a heat index of 105 for Sunday.

Article Source: KWCH

Sports

The Kansas City Royals defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 7-4, improving their record to 72-56. The Royals remain 2nd in the AL Central, just 1 game behind the first-place Cleveland Guardians. The Royals face the Phillies again tonight and Sunday before a crucial series against Cleveland on Monday. Meanwhile, Sporting KC takes on Orlando City SC tonight.

Sources

1. https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2024/08/22/teacher-apprenticeship-program-could-help-solve-kansas-shortage/

2. https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article291318960.html

3. https://kansasreflector.com/2024/08/23/kansas-secures-federal-matching-grants-for-11-infrastructure-projects-but-eight-rejected/

4. https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/state/2024/08/23/what-tuberculosis-outbreak-in-wyandotte-county-means-for-kansas/74910867007/

5. https://salinapost.com/posts/3d089f50-6a75-46af-8f18-9816ef22e1a5

6. https://www.ft.com/content/5f4e0538-10a4-4c8f-bc3c-28f255f20f0b?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202024-08-22%20Agriculture%20Dive%20%5Bissue:65164%5D&utm_term=Agriculture%20Dive

7. https://www.agriculturedive.com/news/rebuilding-the-us-cattle-herd-could-take-years-analyst-says/724725/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202024-08-20%20Agriculture%20Dive%20%5Bissue:65078%5D&utm_term=Agriculture%20Dive

8. https://www.agriculture.com/as-investors-pay-top-dollar-for-land-farmers-are-often-priced-out-8697619?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202024-08-20%20Agriculture%20Dive%20%5Bissue:65078%5D&utm_term=Agriculture%20Dive

9. https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2024/08/14/health-officials-warn-of-worsening-covid-surge-without-free-vaccines/

10. https://www.kwch.com/2024/08/22/weather-alert-days-extreme-heat-this-weekend/