Kansas Farm Bureau

A new coalition is fighting to defend the rural way of life and economic prosperity in five states.

The coalition, comprised of the Kansas Farm Bureau, Kansas Corn Growers Association, Texas Farm Bureau, The American Farm Bureau Federation, New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau and Colorado Farm Bureau, opposes The Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife and WildEarth Guardians’ request that the lesser prairie chicken (LPC) be listed as an “endangered” species. The bird is currently listed as “threatened.” The LPC range is roughly 20 million acres, affecting 85 counties in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado.

“We are already seeing impacts from the ‘threatened’ listing,” said Jim Sipes, who farms near the primary habitat area. “We have seen wind generator projects leave the area. We have seen oil and gas companies pull out of the region. We have seen seismograph crews stopping seismograph work, and we are seeing effects on farms and ranches through the amount of grazing we are able to do.”

The threat from an “endangered” designation reaches far beyond the farm gate to rural Main Street and local government.

“In our small communities, businesses on Main Street depend on farmers and ranchers,” said Marieta Hauser, an economic development administrator and rural Chamber of Commerce official. “If we don’t stop excessive regulations on farmers and ranchers, more and more often what you are going to see on Main Street in rural America is a ‘Going Out of Business’ sign. If farmers and ranchers don’t have money to spend, our main street businesses will not be able to survive. It’s that important.”

County commissioner Mick MacNair, who lives in the habitat area, is concerned that with a more restrictive designation of the LPC comes lower property values. With less oil, gas, and renewable energy development, the tax base reduction would be disastrous.

“How we are going to fund our county roads and keep them maintained? How are we going to fund our local police departments? How are we going to fund our EMS and fire departments?” MacNair asks. “These are essential government entities. With the loss of revenue this will cost us, we have some very grave concerns.”

The coalition has created a website to provide detailed information on the issue and the progress of a lawsuit opposing the listing. Users are also urged to donate to the legal fund to defer the cost of litigation. The site is www.stopfowlplay.com. You can also follow the coalition activity on Twitter and Facebook at @StopFowlPlay and Facebook.com/StopFowlPlay. Look for the hashtag #StopFowlPlay.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Police Officers Association says the five Rams players who stood with their hands raised before Sunday’s game should be disciplined and the NFL should publicly apologize.

Some witnesses said Michael Brown, who was black, had his hands up before being fatally shot by white officer Darren Wilson in August. Wilson testified to the grand jury that Brown hit him and reached for his gun.

The officers’ association released a statement Sunday that says the players’ gesture was “tasteless, offensive and inflammatory.”

Rams coach Jeff Fisher said he wasn’t aware the gesture had been planned by the players, who are all black.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said Monday in an email: “We respect and understand the concerns of all individuals who have expressed views on this tragic situation.”

Members of electric co-ops have flooded the Environmental Protection Agency with comments on EPA’s proposed new regulations of coal-fired power plants.

In a news release, the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives said there were more than 1.1 million comments from co-op members, including more than 300,000 sent from Missouri. The association says if they were printed and stacked, the pile would be over 400 feet high, and would tower over the Statue of Liberty.

“Those comments all had one thing in common,” says Barry Hart, CEO of the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives. “They told EPA in no uncertain terms that they can’t afford the rate increases those regulations would cause.”

The issue involves new regulations proposed by the EPA that would reduce the options for generating affordable electricity by reducing the use of coal for energy production. That is of particular concern to utilities in Missouri, since 80 percent of the electricity comes from coal generation.

Hart noted that when electric rates increase – and the EPA acknowledges they will under their plan – the burden disproportionally falls on rural America and electric cooperative members. That’s because electric cooperatives serve 93 percent of the counties where poverty is persistent. Rural communities in general have been slower to recover from the economic recession.

“Put simply, electric co-op members can’t afford to pay more for electricity,” Hart says. The comments came from people of all walks of life, including farmers, small business owners and senior citizens on fixed incomes.

These comments are typical of the many sent to the EPA from Missourians:
“Most of Missouri’s electricity comes from coal and being a widow living on Social Security, I cannot afford higher rates for my power bill,” a member of White River Valley Electric wrote.

“Your agency is overreaching, doing real harm to average Americans for the sake of your own environmental ideals,” wrote a member from Laclede Electric Cooperative. “I support common sense conservation, and have myself participated in activities to clean up my local natural environment. But the course you are taking will hurt folks who cannot afford the cost you wish to impose on them.”

“As you drive up the cost of electricity via more regulation you drive jobs overseas. Eventually, if we lose our economic might, someone else will decide what is good for us and I don’t think we will like it,” added a Cuivre River Electric member.

“As senior citizens we are on a fixed income and we need reliable electric power for our well being. The proposed regulations, which will have a disastrous impact on power plants using coal, negatively threaten us both financially and health wise. We ask that the EPA, which is at least theoretically supposed to be working for us, reconsider these proposals, which will diminish our quality of life,” said a Callaway Electric member.

A Black River Electric member had this to say: “Hello, I am concerned that you at the EPA have no idea what it takes to make ends meet at home or in business. I run my own company, and I find that I cannot afford to heat or cool my work site or my home as cost effectively as in the past. I have installed all the energy-saving items I can, but every month I have to make tough choices on my energy use. I used to have 4 employees, now I have one, myself. Please stop playing with my future and any chance I have to put something back for savings and retirement.”

Hart thanked the many Missourians who sent comments to the EPA. He said the sheer magnitude of the comments can’t help but make a difference on this issue.

He also pledged to keep fighting for members at the end of the line who rely on affordable and reliable electricity at their homes and businesses. “Those 1.1 million comments from across the country underscore the demand for common sense from the EPA,” Hart says. “But will the EPA listen? American families and businesses continue to struggle and the proposed EPA regulations will only add to their burden.”

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — State and union officials acknowledge that understaffing and turnover have caused violations of the contract covering employees at the Topeka Correctional Facility for women and other state prisons.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the violations include having probationary officers train newer workers and requiring employees to work double shifts.

Rebecca Proctor, executive director of the Kansas Organization of State Employees, says the violations raised concerns about security for inmates, employees and people living near state prisons.

Jeremy Barclay, spokesman for the state corrections department, says a probationary officer trained new employees at the Topeka prison only once, and said mandatory, forced overtime was authorized since a 2009 between the state and union.

SPRINGFIELD-  The Cyber-Monday deals are exciting but the Missouri Better Business Bureau is reminding shoppers to be extra careful.

Guard personal and financial information. Watch for “phishing” emails from “phony” retailers or shippers that try to trick you into exposing passwords or financial information.

Only use secure, encrypted, “https,” sites when buying online. Don’t use the same password for shopping that is used for your bank account.

Americans are expected to log on and keep up their holiday shopping on Cyber Monday. It’s been the biggest online shopping day of the year since 2010. People started shopping online for holiday deals on Thanksgiving and even before and haven’t slowed down. The research firm comScore expects people to spend about $2.5 billion on Cyber Monday.

 

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Topeka police believe those responsible for four homicides in the city last year are still living in or near the city.

On Dec. 1, 2013, 45-year-old Carla Avery was found seriously wounded behind a strip mall in Topeka. House later, three other people were found shot to death. Two of those victims had connections to Avery, who died two days later.

A year later, no arrests have been made.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports (http://bit.ly/11IxmIC ) that Police Capt. Brian Desch believes the suspect or suspects came from Topeka and that someone knows who was involved. He is asking anyone with information to come forward.

Desch says police believe the deaths were not random acts of violence. He says one to two detectives continue to pursue leads in the case.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A monthly economic survey index for nine Midwestern and Plains has dipped again.

A survey report issued Monday says the overall Mid-America Business Conditions Index fell in November to 51.3 from 51.8 in October. September’s figure was 54.3.

After rising in June to its highest level in more than three years, the overall reading has hovered in a range pointing to much slower growth for the overall regional economy over the next three to six months.

The survey results from supply managers are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests economic growth, while a score below that suggests decline.

The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.