KS - December 19 2024

1. Kansas report points to transparency gaps on economic development database
2. GOP strikes a new spending deal including disaster aid and farm bill extension
3. Farm Bill extension secures Kansas agricultural programs through March 2025
4. Hutchinson CC wins NJCAA national championship
5. Dry stretch ahead as 2024 nears end
Sports: Missouri, Kansas, and K-State athletic programs valuations

GET THE APP - FREE!

download

1. Kansas report points to transparency gaps on economic development database

State auditors reported the Kansas Department of Commerce wasn’t fully complying with a five-year-old law mandating maintenance of a public database tracking more than 100 economic development incentive programs. The transparency database was conceived by the Kansas Legislature to offer a means of reviewing how hundreds of millions of dollars in incentives were handed out by state officials to city, county and businesses recipients. The statute authorizing the accessible, searchable and printable database limited the required disclosures to incentive awards valued at more than $50,000 per year. The Legislature’s auditing agency concluded the commerce department’s database didn’t include all economic development programs. In addition, auditors said, there were shortcomings in the database due to missing information on incentive programs and unreported details on recipients of incentives.

Article Source: KS Reflector

2. GOP strikes a new spending deal including disaster aid and farm bill extension

President-elect Donald Trump endorsed a new Republican deal Thursday afternoon to avert a government shutdown and raise the nation’s debt limit for two years, after sinking the bipartisan agreement Speaker Mike Johnson originally struck with Democrats. "All Republicans, and even the Democrats, should do what is best for our Country and vote 'YES' for this Bill, TONIGHT!" Trump wrote. The news caught House Democrats by surprise, and the caucus is expected to meet Thursday afternoon to discuss the new deal. Johnson will almost certainly need their votes to pass the bill, text of which was released shortly after Trump expressed approval. The House is expected to vote on the plan as early as 6 p.m. on Thursday, according to three Republicans, ahead of the government shutdown deadline Friday at midnight. The plan Johnson is expected to put on the House floor would fund the government through March 14, just like the spending patch he agreed to with Democrats, and also includes the $110 billion disaster aid package mirroring that bipartisan negotiation. But the measure contains a straightforward extension of current "farm bill" policy for food and agriculture programs, along with a simple renewal of expiring health care policy, rather than making changes to those programs and adding new policy like overhauling rules for pharmacy benefit managers.

Article Source: Politico

3. Farm Bill extension secures Kansas agricultural programs through March 2025

Editor’s note: I used ChatGPT-4o (AI) to analyze the 116-page bill and summarize the provisions related to farm aid. Below is the information it provided.  

The American Relief Act of 2025 extends the 2018 Farm Bill, originally set to expire in 2023 after its five-year term. Following a one-year extension to allow time for reauthorization, the new legislation further extends the 2018 Farm Bill until March 2025. This extension ensures uninterrupted support for vital agricultural programs, including crop insurance, conservation efforts, and disaster relief, critical to Kansas farmers. The bill also allocates $30.78 billion in nationwide agricultural disaster relief, addressing damages from droughts, wildfires, and other natural disasters in 2023 and 2024. Kansas producers may benefit from targeted assistance for crop and livestock losses and resources for watershed and forest restoration. Additionally, the legislation includes $362.5 million for the Rural Development Disaster Assistance Fund to bolster infrastructure recovery in smaller agricultural states, emphasizing continuity and resilience in agricultural policy.

Article Source: Congress

4. Hutchinson CC wins NJCAA national championship

In a rematch of a thriller in the season’s second week, the top two teams in junior college football faced off Wednesday night in the NJCAA DI National Championship in Canyon, Texas. For the second time in school history and the second time in the last five years, the Hutchinson Community College Blue Dragons are national champs. The third-ranked Blue Dragons fell into an early, two-touchdown hole, stormed back to take a two-possession lead in the second half and held off No. 1 Iowa Western, 28-23. Hutchinson wraps up its dream season with an 11-1 final record.

Article Source: KWCH

5. Dry stretch ahead as 2024 nears end

It was a dry for most of the region with only areas of southeastern Nebraska, northeastern Kansas, northern North Dakota and the Plains of eastern Wyoming and Montana showing any above-normal precipitation. Over the next five to seven days, it is anticipated that the best chances for precipitation will be over the Pacific Northwest, Midwest, and the eastern third of the United States. Much of the central and southern Plains, Southwest, and Rocky Mountains will expect little to no precipitation.  

Article Source: HPL

Sports: Missouri, Kansas, and K-State athletic programs valuations

How much are the Missouri Tigers, Kansas Jayhawks and Kansas State Wildcats worth? CNBC ranked the 75 most valuable athletic programs, as private equity firms and venture capital enterprises look to invest in college sports. Topping the list is Ohio State, with an athletic department worth $1.32 billion. Texas is next at $1.28 billion, just ahead of Texas A&M at $1.26 billion. Of the top 15 programs, 14 are from the Big Ten and SEC, the conferences with the biggest media deals. The Tigers check in at No. 35 at $590 million. Kansas is 37th at $553 million, and Kansas State 57th at $444 million. The average SEC school is worth $832 million. The Big 12 average is $420 million.

Article Source: KC Star

Sponsors

Sources

1. https://kansasreflector.com/2024/12/19/kansas-report-points-to-transparency-gaps-on-economic-development-database/

2. https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/12/19/congress/gop-strikes-a-new-spending-deal-00195410

4. https://www.kwch.com/2024/12/19/hutchinson-cc-holds-off-no-1-iowa-western-njcaa-national-championship/

5. https://hpj.com/2024/12/19/dry-stretch-ahead-as-2024-nears-end/

6. https://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/big-12/university-of-kansas/article297356034.html?tbref=hp