(AP) — The company that landed a Boeing 747 at the wrong airport in Kansas in November says one of the pilots was not sure they were landing at the right place, but kept silent.

The description is in a training video produced by Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings and obtained by Aviation International News. Atlas confirmed the accuracy of the AIN report on Tuesday but declined to provide the video to The Associated Press.

The Atlas pilots landed near Wichita, 9 miles from their intended destination.

AIN reported that one of the pilots abandoned the plane’s instrument-guided approach after spotting a runway to the left and began heading there. It turned out to be the wrong airport. AIN reported that the other pilot was uncertain about the runway but didn’t say anything.

Two people were injured in a Tuesday morning accident in Wyandotte County.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol thirty-year old Cherie L. Williams of Kansas City was driving a 2007 Buick Eastbound on I-70 just west of the Mo. State line in the #4 lane.

Williams stopped the vehicle and it was rear ended by a 1993 Honda driven by eighteen-year-old Jesus Malso Flores-Acevedo Jesus of Kansas City. Williams was transported to Shawnee Mission Medical Center.  Flores-Acevedo was transported to Truman Medical Center. Both were wearing seat belts.

(AP) — A Kansas City woman has pleaded guilty to abusing her 10-year-old daughter who was found in a locked closet in 2012.

The woman entered the plea Tuesday to felony child abuse, child endangerment and assault charges. The Associated Press is not naming her to protect the child’s identity. The woman will be sentenced April 25 and prosecutors have agreed to seek a prison sentence of no more than 20 years.

The girl weighed just 32 pounds when she was found in a urine-soaked closet. She told authorities that she hadn’t been allowed to eat for days and hadn’t attended school since kindergarten.

The  woman told a judge Monday she was pleading guilty because she believes the state’s case is strong enough to convict her.

By John Schlageck, Kansas Farm Bureau

With the advent of the New Year, Kansas farmers and ranchers must once again look to the future with an open mind and the flexibility to develop new ways of marketing their products.

Customers and consumers are driven by changes in personal preferences and increased income levels. “Give consumers what they want” will never ring truer than it will in 2014.

Today’s consumers have money and they want to spend it on what they want. Convenience also is very important, and while price is less important, it will still be a major piece of the buying equation.

Our future agricultural economy will continue to be driven by consumer demand. Consumers become wiser, and savvier every day. Tomorrow’s well-informed shopper will want, and demand, more information about how and where their food is produced. It will be up to the producer to help provide such information.

Consumers must never be viewed as adversaries. They are the folks who buy agricultural products and keep farmers in the business of producing food, fiber and fuel.

We can never discount consumers’ intelligence. Rather, we must seek input from them, and, once we understand what their needs are, provide for them.

Along with giving customers what they want, agricultural producers will be once again be called upon to become better risk managers, especially as they continue moving into a market-oriented world arena.

The successful farmer in 2014 and beyond will be the one who manages yield and price risks by knowing exactly what break-even costs of each crop will be. They will incorporate specific goals that ensure profits and include prudent risk-management strategies.

Flexibility will also key future success on the farm and in the market place. One day soon farmers will no longer be able to rely on government disaster relief. Farmers must examine sound, new marketing techniques and the latest crop insurance options coming down the pike.

One attribute many farmers share is common sense. Don’t forget to use this vital tool during the upcoming year.

Remember, that past performance never guarantees future success. Avoid greed when marketing. Never wait to sell at the top of the market because you rarely will.

If something sounds too good to be true – it generally is. Always, and this means all the time, explain risk strategies you are considering to your spouse or partner. If they cannot reiterate what you have said and have it make sense, then you may want to reconsider.

While relying on common sense is helpful, it will not always make you a successful farmer. Being thought of as a good farmer will not always ensure profitability either. But, becoming a keener business specialist is a prerequisite to continuing in the profession of farming in the New Year while providing customers what they want.

John Schlageck is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas. Born and raised on a diversified farm in northwestern Kansas, his writing reflects a lifetime of experience, knowledge and passion.

(AP) — Legislation to renew jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed has cleared an initial Senate hurdle, but the bill’s fate remains in doubt.

The vote Tuesday was 60-37 to limit debate on the legislation, with a half-dozen Republicans siding with the Democrats.

At the same time, Senate Republicans served notice they would attempt to change the measure so the $6.4 billion cost would not add to deficits — a step that Democrats have so far rejected.

As drafted, the bill would restore between 14 weeks and 47 weeks of benefits averaging $256 weekly to an estimated 1.3 million long-term jobless who were affected when the program expired Dec. 28. Without action by Congress, thousands more each week would feel the impact as their state-funded benefits expire, generally after 26 weeks.

 

(AP) — An alert newspaper delivery driver is credited with saving a former suburban Kansas City mayor after hearing the man’s cries for help in the pre-dawn darkness of one of the coldest mornings in decades.

Jeff Stockwell was delivering in Shawnee, Kan., at 3:30 a.m. Monday when he heard what sounded like the wail of a cat trying to get indoors. He says the sound registered as strange the next time he heard it, so he got out of his vehicle and found 77-year-old former Shawnee Mayor Tony Soetaert leaning against a vehicle in his open garage.

Stockwell says Soetaert thought he had been there about an hour. He was taken to a hospital in stable condition and kept overnight Monday as a precaution.

 

Gov. Jay Nixon has appointed Dr. John A. Martin, of Kansas City, to the State Board of Education. Dr. Martin served for 16 years as superintendent of the Grandview Schools from 1990 to 2006. He then was deputy superintendent of the St. Louis Public Schools from 2006 to 2007 and most recently served as the interim superintendent of the Kansas City, Missouri Public Schools in 2008.

Nixon also appointed Joe Driskill to a term expiring in July 2021. Driskill, a Democrat, led the Department of Economic Development from 1993 to 2003. He’s also a former Missouri House member.

Prior to the Grandview position, Dr. Martin was an administrator in the Montgomery County (Va.) Schools, and a teacher and administrator in the School District of University City. Dr. Martin, a Democrat, obtained his bachelor’s degree in education from Harris Teachers’ College (now Harris-Stowe State University) and his master’s degree in education from Washington University, and his doctorate in education from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The Governor has appointed him for a term ending July 1, 2014.

The State Board of Education sets accreditation standards for local school districts, including minimum high school graduation standards and basic requirements for curriculum, staffing and student testing; establishes academic performance standards for public schools; sets education and certification requirements for all professional personnel in public schools (teachers, administrators, librarians, counselors); approves professional education programs in the state’s community colleges and four-year colleges and universities, both public and private; and establishes regulations and administrative requirements for the distribution of state and federal funds to school districts.

 

(AP) — Nebraska education officials intend to devise a new way to score public schools so they can get the help they need to improve.

The Education Department will be holding schools accountable for student achievement by combining what are now numerous rankings into just a few classifications.

On Monday the officials told Nebraska State Board of Education members that the new system will assign points to numerous measures, including graduation rate, test scores and improvement. Those points will be added together to come up with one score for each school. The score would be used to place each school and district in one of several classifications, from highest-performing to lowest-performing schools.

 

The Joovy Zoom car seat adaptor is being recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The adaptor was sold between May 2012 and August 2013 for about $25. The clips on the stroller frame can come loose, making them unsafe and children might fall.

No one has been injured by this, but nine incidents of trouble have been reported to the CPSC. A repair kit is available from Joovy.