NEODESHA, Kan. (AP) — A company in Neodesha is building drones that its owner believes could someday help farmers watch over their fields without spending hours walking or driving through their property.
The company, called AgEagle, has shipped 125 unmanned aircraft systems to customers across the world since Jan. 1. AgEagle was started by Bret Chilcott, a former aircraft employee who grew up on a farm near Udall.
Chilcott says his firm is a pioneer in an industry that he believes will grow quickly, despite current federal regulations that prohibit commercial use of drones.
The Hutchinson News reports the machines could someday allow farmers to map out fields using imagery to detect how a crop is growing. Data collected by the drones would be sent to a laptop for study by the farmer.
COLUMBIA (AP) – Hundreds of computer hackers have converged on the University of Missouri to participate in a weekend hacking marathon that organizers hope will help spur interest in computer programming in the Midwest.
As many as 350 college students and a small number of high-schoolers are taking part in HackMizzou, in which teams of two to five students are spending the weekend creating computer and mobile applications. The Columbia Daily Tribune reports the winning team will earn a $4,000 technology prize pack.
Organizer Gabrielle Perdieu, a senior business major at Missouri, says last year’s event yielded some amazing projects. For instance, one student hacker created Bully Finder, software that allows parents to access their child’s social network profile and search for abusive behavior.
ST. JOSEPH- A Missouri man was injured in an accident on Friday afternoon in Buchanan County.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix driven by Ricky L. Shanks, 56, Stewartsville, was southbound on Interstate 29 five miles from St. Joseph. The vehicle swerved to miss an animal and slowed to almost a stop and was rear-ended by a Freightliner semi driven by William D. Wick, 48, Chandler, TX.
Shanks was transported to Heartland Regional Medical Center.
Wicks was not injured.
The MSHP reported both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident.
Inside the Biocontainment unit at the University of Nebraska
LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press
LAURAN NEERGAARD, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is seeking to allay fear about the single confirmed case of Ebola in the United States, saying that despite some initial missteps the health care system is doing what needs to be done to prevent an outbreak.
The chief of infectious diseases at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Anthony Fauci (FOW’-chee), says the health care infrastructure in the U.S. is well-equipped to stop Ebola.
Fauci and other senior Obama administration officials spoke with reporters on Friday during an unusual high-level briefing at the White House that reflected the administration’s urgency in seeking to reassure the public.
Officials are focusing on identifying high-risk individuals before they leave the outbreak zone in West Africa for the U.S. Scores of people have been stopped from getting on flights.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) issued the following statement today marking the first anniversary of the disastrous launch of the ObamaCare exchanges:
“One year after the disastrous launch of the $2 billion ObamaCare website, I continue to hear from families, workers, seniors, and small business owners across Missouri who are facing skyrocketing out-of-pocket costs, canceled coverage, fewer doctors, and job losses. That’s because ObamaCare is more than a website with technical glitches – it’s a flawed law that needs to be repealed and replaced with common-sense health care solutions.”
Since the disastrous launch of the ObamaCare exchanges, Blunt has gone to the floor almost every week the U.S. Senate has been in session to share health care news and stories from Missourians. Click here to watch highlights from Blunt’s speeches. Click here to read more about the health care solutions Blunt supports.
Key Facts About ObamaCare:
$3,459: Average increase in family health insurance premiums since President Obama took office
450: Employers who have cut hours or jobs due to ObamaCare
30 percent: Average premium increase for Alaskans who’ve enrolled in ObamaCare through their state’s exchange
46 percent: Doctors who give ObamaCare a grade of “D” or “F”
250,000: “Virginians will have their current insurance plans cut this fall” due to ObamaCare
$2.1 billion: Cost for the “federal government’s Obamacare enrollment system”
$73 billion: Total amount the Obama administration has spent on ObamaCare
700,000: Fewer people paying ObamaCare premiums today than the Obama administration reported this spring
Proponents of organic, labor-intensive farming contend we should go back to the days when every family owned 40 acres, farmed with hay burners (horses) and used no chemicals.
You remember the good ol’ days when people were self-sufficient, owned a couple milk cows, tilled a garden and butchered 40 or 50 fryers each spring.
Some of these zealots propose each nation should also strive for self-sufficiency. No imports. No exports.
Should such events occur, you may want to prepare yourself for milking each morning instead of enjoying that piping hot mug of coffee. Forget about sliced bananas on your bowl of corn flakes. These goodies we import into this country, and a lot more, won’t be on the kitchen table any more. Count on it.
God forbid we adopt these policies. If we cave in to those who spread hysteria about unsafe food and giant farms, be prepared to do without the services of carpenters, painters, nurses, doctors, teachers, writers and musicians. In case you haven’t heard, labor-intensive farming doesn’t permit time for many other pursuits. Neither does production agriculture.
Farmers run non-stop, from early morning to late at night, planting and harvesting crops, tilling the soil, feeding and caring for livestock. Their work seldom ends. It’s foolish to assume everyone would want to leave his or her jobs in the city to move to the farm. It ain’t all Green Acres out there folks.
And who’s to say all these people from other professions would become productive farmers?
A city friend remarked to me he does not want to be a farmer. He contends he couldn’t feed himself, much less the rest of the country or world.
“I’d starve to death and so would the rest of us,” he told me. “If you want to till the soil, go for it. But that doesn’t mean the rest of us want to, thank you.”
If we return to a system where everyone farms, brace yourself for even more uncertain economic times. Manual labor and animal power could spell the return of food shortages and famine. A nation of farmers translates to a nation even more vulnerable to depressions and hunger. A drought, plague of insects or disease could trigger such tragedies because we’d have no chemicals to fight them with.
Today’s mechanized farmer provides us with the safest, most abundant food in the world. He works closely with crop consultants when applying herbicides, insecticides and fertilizers. He has cut his uses significantly in recent years – up to 50 percent in some cases.
Farmers work years to leave a legacy of beneficial soil practices. Most of the farmers I know would give up farming rather than ruin their land. They are proud of the crops they grow and the land they work.
Farmers continue to work to conserve water, plug abandoned wells, monitor their grassland grazing and adopt sound techniques that will ensure preservation of the land. Urban residents should also look at new ways to protect the environment where they live.
There’s an old saying that rings true today: “You can never go home.” Yes, we can never return to the good ol’ days. Besides, were they really all that good?
John Schlageck, a Hoxie native, is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.
DENVER (AP) — Democrats defending their Senate majority this year are increasingly relying on an issue once seen as a wash with voters: reproductive rights.
U.S. Sen. Mark Udall in Colorado has made it a centerpiece of his campaign to stave off a strong challenge from GOP Rep. Cory Gardner. And from Alaska to Florida, Democrats are highlighting their support for abortion rights to try to drive left-leaning single women to the polls in November.
Republicans say the Democrats are overplaying the point. In Colorado, Gardner has fought back against Udall by disavowing a measure that could grant legal rights to a fertilized egg and advocating for over-the-counter sales of birth control pills.
Nationally, Republicans must gain a net six seats to win control of the Senate.
SHAWNEE, Kan.- A Kansas man was injured in an accident just after 6:30 p.m. on Friday in Johnson County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2014 Harley Davidson driven by Richard A. Mcgrath, 54, Shawnee was north bound on Interstate 435 just south of Midland Drive in Shawnee.
The vehicle made an evasive maneuver to avoid road debris and the driver lost control of the motorcycle.
Mcgrath was transported to Overland Park Regional Medical Center.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A budget shortfall predicted for Kansas for July 2016 has grown to $260 million after tax collections fell short of expectations during the past three months.
The previous figure from the Legislature’s nonpartisan research staff was $238 million. But researchers noted that tax collections in July, August and September fell a total of $22 million short of expectations.
The Legislative Research Department confirmed the new figure Friday.
The budget shortfall represents the predicted gap between anticipated revenues and current spending commitments, and it can fluctuate month to month with tax collections.
Gov. Sam Brownback and lawmakers must prevent any shortfall because the Kansas Constitution does not permit a budget deficit. Brownback’s administration has said it has identified $101 million in potential budget savings and is working to find other efficiencies.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities are looking for one or more intruders who they say broke into the Wichita home of a 100-year-old woman and sexually assaulted her.
Police told reporters Friday that the victim walked to a neighbor’s house Tuesday morning, saying there were two people inside her home. The woman told police she was awakened during the night by intruders.
Wichita Police Captain Troy Livingston says that rape is always a deplorable crime but that this victim’s age makes the case even more disturbing.
Police believe burglary was the main motive for the break-in. The woman lives alone.
NEODESHA, Kan. (AP) — A company in Neodesha is building drones that its owner believes could someday help farmers watch over their fields without spending hours walking or driving through their property.
