KS - December 10 2024

1. Kansas Education Board Approves Cell Phone Recommendations for Classrooms; Lawrence Schools Adopt Cell Phone Restrictions
2. Kansas Farmers Brace for Bird Flu Amid Rising Cases in Wildlife
3. Cities Like Topeka Offer Incentives to Attract Remote Workers
4. Broadband Gaps Persist for Low-Income Kansans Despite Investments
5. Trump’s Agriculture Pick Creates Rift with RFK Jr. Over Farm Policy

1. Kansas Education Board Approves Cell Phone Recommendations for Classrooms; Lawrence Schools Adopt Cell Phone Restrictions

A. Kansas education leadership gathered on Tuesday to vote on whether or not recommendations on cell phone usage in schools should be adopted or not. The Kansas Board of Education (KSDE) met on Dec. 10 to take action on the recommendations put forward by the Blue-Ribbon Task Force on Student Screen Time headed by Commissioner of Education Randy Watson. The task force was previously given the assignment to examine what actions need to be taken regarding the use of cell phones in Kansas classrooms. The board members voted to accept the recommendations put forward by the task force at 10-0. These recommendations will now be provided to individual Kansas school districts to consider implementing at the local level.  

B. Students in Lawrence Public Schools will be mostly prohibited access to their cell phones during school hours based on a new policy the school board approved Monday, though the policy includes a number of exceptions.  All cell phones and other personal electronic devices “must be turned off and stored out of sight” during instructional time, the approved policy says. Instructional time is defined in the policy as time “a student spends receiving instruction in a school setting.” The board approved the policy with a vote of 7-0 following a discussion and comments from two members of the public Monday. It will go into effect in January.

Article Source: KSNT, Lawrence Times

2. Kansas Farmers Brace for Bird Flu Amid Rising Cases in Wildlife

Bird flu cases are increasing across the country causing many farmers to take extra precautions to make sure their livestock stays healthy. “In Kansas right now, we’re probably starting to see our peak numbers in light geese,” said Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Wildlife Disease Program Coordinator Shane Hesting,” so with that we are seeing some disease outbreaks within the wild populations and that may heighten concerns of how it may affect the commercial poultry industry.” Devin Griffith with Griffith Family Farms is one of those farmers. He’s working to keep his chickens away from any wild birds that may bring bird flu with them during migration.

Article Source: KWCH

3. Cities Like Topeka Offer Incentives to Attract Remote Workers

More than 20% of U.S. residents say they are more likely to move now that the election is over, and some cities are offering cold hard cash to attract newcomers. The pandemic-era rise of remote work made it possible for employees to work away from their company’s home base. Cities such as Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Columbus, Georgia, have tried to attract those workers with incentives worth thousands of dollars. 

Topeka, Kansas 

Population: Approximately 125,000 

Typical home value: $186,706 (Oct. 2024) 

Median rent: $950 (Dec. 2024) 

Incentives: New residents can receive up to $15,000 as part of the Choose Topeka program. The initiative offers on-site workers up to $10,000 if they rent in the area and up to $15,000 to those who buy a home. Transitioning military service members and former residents who return to the city are also eligible to receive $5,000. To qualify, workers must rent or purchase a home as their primary residence within a year of moving to Shawnee County.

Article Source: KSN

4. Broadband Gaps Persist for Low-Income Kansans Despite Investments

the nonprofit and nonpartisan Kansas Health Institute’s latest research demonstrated with online county-by-county maps that broadband deficits and computer ownership gaps plaguing Kansas were intertwined with social and demographic influences. Thirty-one percent of low-income Kansas households making less than $20,000 annually didn’t have high-speed connections, KHI said. However, 4.5% of Kansas households earning more than $75,000 were in the same predicament in terms of broadband access.

Article Source: KS Reflector

5. Trump’s Agriculture Pick Creates Rift with RFK Jr. Over Farm Policy

When Donald Trump announced his pick to lead the Agriculture Department last month, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s team was blindsided, according to people familiar with the matter. Kennedy, the president-elect’s nominee to run the Health and Human Services Department, had been quietly compiling a shortlist of agriculture-secretary candidates in hopes of installing a like-minded disrupter in the post who would remake the food and farming sectors, the people said. Brooke Rollins, a former White House aide with little prior relationship with Kennedy, wasn’t on the list. Kennedy’s allies reacted to Trump’s decision to choose Rollins as his agriculture secretary with skepticism, the people said, privately worrying that her more-conventional political résumé might make her reluctant to pursue the wholesale changes that Kennedy is pushing. Rollins has said little publicly about her positions on agriculture policy, and she hasn’t endorsed Kennedy’s agenda, leaving some close to Kennedy looking for signs that she is willing to cooperate. Now, Kennedy and Rollins have been thrust into an unexpected—and potentially uneasy—partnership. Rollins will be tasked with balancing the interests of the politically powerful farming industry with the priorities of Kennedy, who promised during his presidential campaign to “reverse 80 years of farm policy” by ending factory farming and banning some pesticides. The Agriculture Department oversees many of the issues that are at the core of Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.

Article Source: WSJ

Sources

1. A https://www.ksnt.com/news/kansas/education-officials-approve-new-cell-phone-rules-in-kansas-classrooms/
B https://lawrencekstimes.com/2024/12/09/usd497bd-approves-cell-phone-policy/

2. https://www.kwch.com/2024/12/10/kansas-farmers-take-precautions-protect-livestock-against-bird-flu/

3. https://www.ksn.com/news/state-regional/these-us-cities-will-pay-you-to-move-there/

4. https://kansasreflector.com/2024/12/10/kansas-broadband-internet-disparities-persist-despite-huge-investments/

5. https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-agriculture-pick-brooke-rollins-rfk-jr-1a85beda?st=oDyL8h&reflink=article_copyURL_share