JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – The 23 clergy members who were arrested in May for disrupting a session of the Missouri Senate are now charged with two misdemeanors each.
The Jefferson City News-Tribune reported Friday that Cole County authorities charged the clergy members with obstructing government operations and first-degree trespassing.
They were among about 300 hundred people who briefly interrupted debate in the Missouri Senate on May 6 to protest lawmakers’ refusal to expand the state’s Medicaid program. They sang and chanted, causing lawmakers to halt work for about an hour. The 23 charged refused a request by Capitol Police to leave the gallery.
SPRINGFIELD (AP) – A man wanted by the FBI who had been the subject of an intensive search has been captured in Springfield.
The Greene County Sheriff’s Office says an anonymous tip led them to a Springfield home Friday night, where 43-year-old Gary Orrick was captured without incident.
The FBI had issued a release late Thursday cautioning that Orrick was considered armed and dangerous.
Authorities said Orrick had fled on foot from a Greene County sheriff’s deputy on Thursday, and left several items behind, including a gun. Police dogs, a helicopter and dozens of officers searched for him before the search was scaled back.
A federal charging document says Orrick has six felony convictions, five in Missouri.
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — Laura Ingalls Wilder penned one of the most beloved children’s series of the 20th century, but her forthcoming autobiography will show devoted “Little House on the Prairie” fans a more realistic view of frontier living.
“Prairie Girl: The Annotated Autobiography” is slated to be released by the South Dakota State Historical Society Press nationwide this fall.
Wilder wrote the autobiography before the “Little House” series but could never get it published. She used tales from the memoir as inspiration for her more family-oriented books.
Wilder’s not-safe-for-children tales include stark scenes of domestic abuse, love triangles gone awry and a man who lit himself on fire while drunk.
Editor Pamela Smith Hill says the book will give fans the chance to see the real family behind Wilder’s fictionalized accounts.
TAMI ABDOLLAH, Associated Press
ERIC TUCKER, Associated Press
Police vehicle used in July 4 standoff in Hutchinson, Kansas
WASHINGTON (AP) — For years, Washington has sent military equipment to U.S. police departments. But federal officials are now reconsidering the idea in light of the violence in Ferguson, Missouri.
Attorney General Eric Holder says that when police and citizens need to restore calm, he’s concerned that using military equipment and vehicles sends “a conflicting message.”
Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill says police responses like the one in Ferguson have “become the problem instead of the solution.”
Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia says he’ll introduce legislation to reverse police militarization.
The Senate Armed Services Committee will review the program to determine if the Defense Department’s surplus equipment is being used as intended.
The American Civil Liberties Union says police agencies have become “excessively militarized” as officers use battlefield equipment and training on city streets.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama already is heading toward a fall fight with Republicans over his ability to change immigration policies.
And he’s also facing potential rifts with members of his own party who are in tough re-election contests.
If Obama takes the broadest action — removing the threat of deportation for millions of people who are in this country — then the short-term risks appear greatest for Senate Democrats in conservative-leaning states.
Just weeks before Election Day in November, those Democrats could find themselves on the hot seat over their views on immigration and Obama’s use of his presidential powers.
Some of those lawmakers already have said Obama should act with caution.
The 105-Rosedale bus route runs between the Rosedale and Argentine neighborhoods and is the first new Kansas City, Kan., route in about a decade.-Photo by Mike Sherry
By Mike Sherry
Hale Center for Journalism
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — It was nearly a decade ago when the Rosedale Development Association, a nonprofit community improvement corporation, identified lack of transportation as a significant barrier for neighborhood residents who wanted better access to medical care, grocery stores and other basic services.
The feedback came via a community-needs survey conducted by a volunteer working with the organization, said Erin Stryka, program manager of the association’s Rosedale Healthy Kids program.
After a less-than-positive response from area transit authorities back then, she said, the push for a bus route serving the area languished until a coalition of neighborhood organizations and church leaders revived the idea a couple years ago. Stryka has served as the association’s point person on the project.
“It just kind of became a mission for some of us,” she said.
Stryka said proponents of the route packed the audience as elected officials with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan., held budget deliberations last year.
The board of commissioners agreed to allocate $250,000 to run the health-focused route, which began operation in late June as the 105-Rosedale run. The route runs between the Rosedale and Argentine neighborhoods.
Ridership is about 40 percent above the break-even point, Stryka said. The 105 is the first new route in Kansas City, Kan., in about a decade, according to officials with the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA).
Public transportation addresses a social equity issue by giving low-income residents mobility, said Daniel Serda, a city planning consultant and a Wyandotte County representative on the KCATA board of commissioners.
On a more practical level, Serda cited the example of a diabetic who is relying on a friend for a trip to the doctor and has to cancel because the friend gets sick or has car problems.
“You could end up in a week or two in a health crisis that lands you in the emergency room out of something that really boiled down to the fact that your friend’s car broke down,” he said. “There is almost a level of absurdity with it, but that is the reality that a lot of folks in our community are facing.”
BRANSON (AP) – The city of Branson could ban smoking of cigarettes and electronic cigarettes in most public places by the end of the year.
KOLR-TV reports more than 200 people attended a public forum on the issue Thursday night in the southwest Missouri resort town. The meeting focused on a proposed ordinance before the Board of Aldermen.
Alderman Rick Davis said multiple surveys have found large majorities of visitors and Branson residents favoring limits on public smoking.
The proposal would ban smoking in public places such as restaurants, parks and taxis and within 20 feet of doorways. It would allow up to 25 percent of a public outdoor space to be designated as a smoking area.
Davis said the ordinance will probably be approved in October and take effect within 60 days.
Don Foley, who earned a master’s degree from Northwest in 1978, is giving back to the University through a $100,000 testamentary gift to support agricultural sciences students and programing at the University. (Photo by Darren Whitley/University Relations)
Northwest Media Release
Don Foley has long had an affinity for agriculture and Northwest Missouri State University. Now he’s giving back through a $100,000 testamentary gift to support agricultural sciences students and programing at the University.
Foley earned a master’s degree in agriculture business in 1978 from Northwest to supplement his bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University and has been employed by Iowa Banker’s Association mortgage corporation in Ames, Iowa, since then. By having a master’s degree from Northwest, Foley says he realized more opportunities that may not have been afforded him otherwise.
“What the master’s did was give me the opportunity to look at some jobs for which I might not have qualified,” Foley said, adding that earning his master’s degree also was a personal goal. “When I got done working on my master’s, an opportunity for employment came up in Ames, Iowa, in agricultural lending and I took that opportunity. It certainly gave me an opportunity to do well in that profession.”
After earning his master’s degree, Foley went to work as a lender for Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company’s agricultural division in Ames. In 1990, he joined the Iowa Bankers Association and the Iowa Bankers Mortgage Corporation in Ames as director of agriculture, and he remains there today.
Foley assists Iowa bank branches with their agriculture portfolios and securing real estate mortgages for farm customers. He also works on agriculture marketing and legislative issues as well as directing and teaching the Iowa Bankers Association’s Agricultural Credit School at Iowa State.
“I’ve always felt that I’ve been honored over my career to work with two groups of people who I’ve always really respected – farmers and bankers – and it’s been a good situation for me,” Foley said.
Foley developed his admiration and respect of farmers while growing up on a crop and livestock farm near Creston, Iowa. During his youth, he became aware of Northwest’s strong academic reputation and its knowledgeable faculty who continually prepare students to be successful in their careers.
After completing his bachelor’s degree, Foley began his career at Monsanto as the regional director of its livestock program in northwest Missouri and southwest Iowa. He then seized the opportunity to take graduate courses at Northwest and completed his master’s degree within two years.
“I could go to school at night or in the summertime at 7 o’clock in the morning, so it worked beautifully for someone trying to get a master’s but still holding down a job,” he said.
Through the years, Foley has not forgotten the support he received as he worked toward his master’s degree, especially Northwest faculty members like Dr. Dennis Padgitt and Dr. Harold Brown, with whom he maintains friendships.
“The professors I had at Northwest seemed extremely concerned about helping you get to where you could get a job,” Foley said. “They wanted you to be employed when you graduated, and I always appreciated that.”
Now, Foley believes the time is right for him to give back to Northwest. In addition to joining the Northwest Foundation Board, Foley hopes his gift to Northwest’s Department of Agricultural Sciences will support future students through financial assistance, programming and equipment.
“You get to a point in time where you do start to think about those things that have been important in your life and maybe influenced your life or your career, and Northwest is certainly one of those,” Foley said. “I wanted to give something back to a place that I feel gave me a wonderful start in life and helped shape my personality and work habits.”
Mike Johnson, Northwest’s vice president of university advancement, says Foley is “a special Bearcat” whose talents and gifts continue to have an impact in his career field and on Northwest.
“His dedicated service to our country and sacrifices made along his personal and professional path make him a wonderful leader on our foundation board and an admired philanthropic partner,” Johnson said.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — For candidates in the Midwest, almost nothing tops a photo opportunity with a barnyard animal or a colorful anecdote about life on the farm. There is Iowa U.S. Senate candidate Joni Ernst, who gained national attention with an ad touting her hog castration skills.
There is also Mary Burke, a former business executive running as a Democrat for governor in Wisconsin, who recently paused to check out the cows at a county fair. Or Illinois venture capitalist Bruce Rauner, who talks about his dairy farmer grandfather as a role model in his Republican bid for governor.
Most voters in these states don’t work on farms. Most candidates don’t either. But many of those seeking office seem to be stretching farther than ever for
A century ago when this state consisted mainly of farm and ranch families, it was a common sight to see neighbors helping neighbors. They swapped farm machinery. They loaned labor back and forth to work harvest thrashing crews. A barn raising presented another opportunity for friends to help build and support the community.
John Schlageck writes for the Kansas Farm Bureau.
Since Kansas was settled, farmers and ranchers have supported their communities. They’ve always appreciated main streets that are bright, clean and well maintained. They’ve actively participated in the school system, served on the county planning board, taught Sunday school and worked with other community organizations and activities. Farmers and ranchers have been part of the fabric that has made Kansas the viable state it is today.
Some people have the mistaken belief that government can control the economy and provide a better life for its citizens. This is unrealistic. Both for theoretical and practical reasons, governments are unable to control the economy or create jobs.
Kansans know this. Our communities have never stood idly by and waited for the federal government to care for them. Instead they have formed alliances to tackle community issues, foster business development and ensure an environment where they will continue to grow. Consider towns storm-ravaged by tornadoes like Greensburg to see evidence of this.
Still, with the number of farm families dwindling each year, it is not enough for rural Kansas communities to have and follow a strategic plan for economic development. Such communities must not forget they need institutions that bring farmers into the communities on a regular basis.
This means places where rural and townsfolk can gather. This means a place where they can talk about mutual interests – children, the high school football team, the remodeled library – just about anything that relates to the welfare and well-being of the area.
Restaurants, grocery stores, a church – active participation in the school system and involvement in farm and community organizations are all ways to rekindle interest. Leaders must, however, be willing to live in and become part of the community.
Vibrant communities thrive and grow when farmers retire in their towns or become actively involved in local affairs. Farmers, ranchers and businesses remain the key to growth and vitality in any rural area.
Agriculture has always been the crucial ingredient driving the economic machinery of our state. Kansans are proud of the leadership our agricultural community provides. Working together rural and urban, with progressive community leadership, we can improve our standard of living and the quality of life in Kansas.
John Schlageck, a Hoxie native, is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.
