September 04 2024

1. Kansas State Fair Begins Friday, Aims to Break Pre-COVID Attendance Numbers
2. Western Kansas Used to be Watermelon Capital
3. K-State Secures $7M Federal Investment for Biomanufacturing
4. Toxic “Forever Chemicals” from Sewage Fertilizer Detected on U.S. Farmland
5. Torrential Rains in Northern China Devastate Crops, Push Food Prices to 5-Year High
Sports

1. Kansas State Fair Begins Friday, Aims to Break Pre-COVID Attendance Numbers

Many Kansans have a tradition of attending the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson, but there will be some changes this year. The Kansas State Fair administration aims to reach 350,000 people over its 10-day run, breaking its pre-COVID numbers. Friday’s grand opening will also coincide with a brand-new building, the 1861 Club.

The 1861 Club is a flexible, lodge style event venue located on the Kansas State Fairgrounds. For most of the year it operates as a high-end venue for weddings, special and corporate events, and activities. During the Kansas State Fair, it is transformed into a climate-controlled food, beverage and entertainment venue for fast fine dining and entertainment experience for all Fair attendees. The “1861” in the name was suggested by a KFF staff member, noting the year Kansas became a state. The motto of the Kansas State Fair is to “Celebrate all things Kansas,” and the committee felt “1861” was a great fit for the venue name considering the ultimate purpose of the project is to support the Kansas State Fairgrounds.  A bison was incorporated into the logo for the 1861 Club, not only because the bison is Kansas’ state animal, but also as a nod to the Kansas State Fair mascot, Ike the Bison.   All in all, the name and branding of the 1861 Club is meant to evoke the timeless and high-quality feeling the space brings while also continuing to celebrate Kansas.

Article Source: KSN

2. Western Kansas Used to be Watermelon Capital

Slices of sweet watermelon are synonymous with summer, but 100 years ago the fruit was also synonymous with southwest Kansas when the area was the watermelon capital of the country. Despite being surrounded by agriculture, the only watermelons you will find in Kansas now will probably be growing in a home garden. Driving to Lakin just west of Garden City, the topography won’t really stand out to visitors. There are thousands of acres growing a few crops, most likely corn, alfalfa or sorghum. You will see the occasional grain elevator, and train tracks leading up to them. But this region, home to a multi-billion dollar grain industry, was started by vine-ripened fruits before modern, large-scale grain production changed the game. The water resources needed to grow these melons started to run out, causing an agricultural shift in the area and foreshadowing the same struggles farmers are facing now.

Article Source: Wichita Eagle

3. K-State Secures $7M Federal Investment for Biomanufacturing

Kansas State University and U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran announced on Monday a $7 million federal investment to support the university’s Biomanufacturing Training and Education Initiative, a comprehensive program designed to position Kansas as a national leader in biomanufacturing and biosecurity.

The funding will be directed toward the construction of the new Biomanufacturing Core and Training Facility, which will accelerate the university’s ability to lead cutting-edge research and workforce development in the rapidly expanding field of biomanufacturing.

K-State’s innovative ecosystem fosters collaboration between academia, industry and research to make significant strides in animal health, food security and public safety. Through the initiative, the university is establishing itself as a hub for industry partnerships and workforce development, which are critical to solving challenges in both human and animal health.

Article Source: Ad Astra Radio

4. Toxic “Forever Chemicals” from Sewage Fertilizer Detected on U.S. Farmland

For decades, farmers across America have been encouraged by the federal government to spread municipal sewage on millions of acres of farmland as fertilizer. It was rich in nutrients, and it helped keep the sludge out of landfills. But a growing body of research shows that this black sludge, made from the sewage that flows from homes and factories, can contain heavy concentrations of chemicals thought to increase the risk of certain types of cancer and to cause birth defects and developmental delays in children. Known as “forever chemicals” because of their longevity, these toxic contaminants are now being detected, sometimes at high levels, on farmland across the country, including in Texas, Maine, Michigan, New York and Tennessee. In some cases the chemicals are suspected of sickening or killing livestock and are turning up in produce. Farmers are beginning to fear for their own health.

Article Source: NYT

5. Torrential Rains in Northern China Devastate Crops, Push Food Prices to 5-Year High

After weeks of drought, farmers in the typically arid agricultural belt in northern China were ill prepared for the torrential rain that inundated fields earlier this summer and decimated their crops  Farmers in the city of Shijiazhuang, 180 miles from Beijing, showed in a video posted to social media in late August how days of downpours and an overflowing reservoir had turned soil into sludge unfit for growing plants. Across the country, a shift in weather patterns has caught people off guard, with floods arriving two months earlier than usual in the south and then extending to northern and eastern provinces that are more accustomed to summer drought. The prices of many vegetables nationwide rocketed, some by up to 40 percent, reaching their highest level in five years and hitting the pocketbooks of consumers who already face hard spending choices as China’s economy has slowed.  The stakes are high: China is already the world’s largest food importer and needs to feed almost one-sixth of the world’s population with less than one-tenth of the world’s arable land, which has shrunk and degraded with heavy fertilizer use and pollution. The ranks of farmers have thinned out, with generations of people moving into towns and cities in pursuit of better wages.  

Ed note: not a Kansas story but agriculture markets are global

Article Source: NYT

Sports

Kansas City Royals Slide in AL Central Standings After Losses to Astros and Guardians


The Kansas City Royals continue to struggle after losing two games to the Houston Astros and two more to the Cleveland Guardians, bringing their record to 75-65. These losses have dropped the Royals to third place in the AL Central, now five games behind the first-place Cleveland Guardians. The Royals will face Cleveland again tonight in a critical matchup as they fight to stay in contention. 

K-State Wildcats Dominate UT-Martin


On the college side, the Kansas State Wildcats secured a decisive victory 41-6 over UT-Martin on Saturday.   

Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs Eye Historic Three-Peat Super Bowl Victory 

From the moment Patrick Mahomes took over as the starting quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs, his superpower has been making absurd feats seem amazingly ordinary.  He throws no-look passes, delivers the ball with pinpoint accuracy when he’s off-balance, and even tosses the ball behind his back. He takes plays that look completely dead and revives them into enormous gains. And despite defying most conventions about how to play his position, he’s become the greatest quarterback of his generation.  But this season he’s out to do something that no one has ever accomplished. Mahomes is attempting to make the Chiefs the first team to three-peat as Super Bowl champions. Everything about the NFL conspires to impede sustained runs of success. The salary cap prevents the best teams from keeping all of their players. Injuries upend the most meticulous plans in a notoriously violent sport. Even the most cutting-edge schemes quickly grow stale when rivals pilfer ideas from the most successful teams in this copycat league. It’s why there have been teams that have won three consecutive NBA championships and World Series trophies, but never three Super Bowls.  The Chiefs have a historic chance to change that. They have just won back-to-back titles and the third of Mahomes’ tenure. In fact, they’ve been so consistently good that they’ve reached the conference championship game in every one of Mahomes’s six seasons as a starter.

Article Source: WSJ

Sources

1. https://www.ksn.com/news/state-regional/some-changes-coming-to-the-kansas-state-fair-this-year/; https://www.1861club.com/home-main

2. https://www.kansas.com/news/business/agriculture/article290665299.html?tbref=hp

3. https://www.adastraradio.com/adastra-news/a-safer-future-for-kansas-and-beyond-k-state-announces-7m-in-federal-funding-to-drive-biomanufacturing-training-and-education-initiative

4. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/31/climate/pfas-fertilizer-sludge-farm.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb

5. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/02/world/asia/china-rainfall-crops.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb

6. https://www.wsj.com/sports/football/kansas-city-chiefs-patrick-mahomes-super-bowl-f8defd75?st=zxv5qwouxko8q09&reflink=article_copyURL_share