KS - December 2 2024
Kansas House leadership picked; Grain Belt Express loan; Tyson Emporia layoffs; WSU "Doomsday Plane" project; U.S. farm trade deficit; Sports
Kansas House Republicans, Democrats Choose Leaders for 2025
Grain Belt Express Loan Guarantee Approved by Biden Administration
Tyson Foods Announces Major Layoffs in Emporia
Wichita State Partners on Replacement for Air Force “Doomsday Plane”
U.S. Agricultural Trade Deficit Set to Worsen
Sports
Kansas House Republicans, Democrats Choose Leaders for 2025
Politicians elected to serve in the Kansas House in the 2025 legislative session endorsed Monday retention of three top Republicans in leadership posts and the nomination of a Democrat to assume responsibility for shepherding the minority party. House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, was nominated to hold the No. 1 position in the House for another two-year term. No one was nominated to challenge Hawkins, who took over the position in 2023. The slate of Republican candidates for leadership positions included incumbent House Majority Leader Chris Croft of Overland Park and incumbent House Speaker Pro Tempore Blake Carpenter of Derby. Croft and Carpenter were nominated by acclimation by GOP colleagues, because no one stepped forward to challenge them. Meanwhile, Rep. Kyle Hoffman of Coldwater was selected to serve as assistant House majority leader. He was nominated to fill the shoes of the late Rep. Les Mason, a McPherson lawmaker who died in June. In a separate meeting at the Capitol, House Democrats moved to replace retiring Rep. Vic Miller of Topeka by choosing between two candidates for House minority leader. Democrats selected Lenexa Rep. Brandon Woodard, a 34-year-old representative who entered the Legislature in 2019.
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Grain Belt Express Loan Guarantee Approved by Biden Administration
The Biden administration approved a loan guarantee of $4.9 billion for a controversial project that would dissect Kansas with an electric transmission line. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it would be giving a conditional loan to Grian Belt Express LLC as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America plan. If completed the project would run a 578-mile-long 2,500-megawatt transmission line from Ford County, KS to Callaway County, MO. Parts of that project are already approved. According to the DOE, the project will connect three regional grids together: the Southwest Power Pool, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator and Associated Electric Cooperative Incorporated.
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Tyson Foods Announces Major Layoffs in Emporia
A major employer in northeast Kansas is set to lay off hundreds of employees in the Emporia area in what is being described as a “setback” for the community by the city manager. The Kansas Department of Commerce (KDC) shows on its website that a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) has been posted by Tyson Food, Inc. on Dec. 2. This impacts a total of 809 employees at the Tyson Fresh Meats location at 2101 West Sixth Street in Emporia.
Editor's note: Tyson employs 5,000 across Kansas.
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Wichita State Partners on Replacement for Air Force “Doomsday Plane”
Wichita State University students and employees are getting the chance to help protect the president and the country in case of a future national emergency. WSU’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) will be part of the team that designs an aircraft into a command center for the president, secretary of defense, and chairs of the joint chiefs of staff. The U.S. Air Force wants a newer version of its current E-4B “Nightwatch” aircraft fleet, which entered service in 1974. The Air Force chose Sierra Nevada Company (SNC) to modernize and deliver a replacement for the fleet. The Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) contract is a multi-billion-dollar award. During a news conference in Wichita on Monday, SNC announced it has chosen NIAR as a partner in the project.
An E-4 when in action is denoted a "National Airborne Operations Center" (NAOC) and has been nicknamed the "Doomsday plane."
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Editor's note: I didn’t realize our nation’s emergency command and control system was designed by a bunch of college kids.
U.S. Agricultural Trade Deficit Set to Worsen
An already record agricultural trade deficit in the United States is expected to get even bigger, the Agriculture Department said Tuesday. The U.S. farm trade deficit in fiscal year 2025 is on track to reach $45.5 billion, according to an updated USDA outlook. Government analysts were previously forecasting a $42.5 billion deficit in August. U.S. agricultural exports have declined since peaking in 2022 as ample supply and slowing demand depress global prices. The trade headwinds have eaten into farmers’ income and are a key driver of expected pressure in the agricultural economy.
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Sports Updates
Football
KU 17 Baylor 51
KSU 21 ISU 29
Chiefs recover botched snap by Raiders in closing seconds, clinch playoff berth with 19-17 victory
Basketball
KU 75 Duke 72
KU 86 Furman 51
KSU 120 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 73
KU remains #1 in AP college basketball poll
Kansas State scores school-record 120 points, 21 3-pointers, in win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Editor’s note: Who is Arkansas-Pine Bluff?
KU football ends 2024 season with loss at Baylor
By Clark Goble: The Jayhawks’ three-game winning streak came to a screeching halt on Saturday in a 45-17 loss at Baylor. The Jayhawks led 7-0 before going into halftime down 21-10. Kansas finishes its season at 5-7 and will not be playing in a bowl game. With many seniors set to leave the program, coach Lance Leipold will have his work cut out for him to get the Jayhawks to a winning record in 2025.