by John Schlageck, Kansas Farm Bureau

During the last couple months, winter had a tight grip on Kansas countryside. Seemed like whenever I’d look outside my office window I saw gray clouds, large flakes of snow and trees blowing in a bitterly cold wind. This made it easy to dream about the spring thaw or the warm summer sun.

Still there was work to be done – Insight columns to write, photos to take, radio programs to record and meetings to attend. Stacks of files waved to me from the corner.

Deadlines and commitments. What to leave in. What to leave out.

When experiences like this occur, I clear my mind and remember what makes this profession I’ve chosen rewarding.

For me, happiness comes in many forms:

• Seeing any story you’ve written adorned with your byline. You probably won’t rush home and show your spouse, mother or a good friend, but you consider it a job well done, a challenge met or another human interest story that comes to life on the printed page, Facebook or the web.

• Knowing you are creative. You think about things that cause others to say, “I wish I had thought of that” and for thinking of good stories, coming up with catchy headlines and “well-writ” and telling sentences. On top of that you’re being paid for that talent, even if you need less than a wheelbarrow to take into the bank.

• Wordsmithing, or working well with words. Whether it’s coaxing, educating, enlightening, urging or uncovering a wonderful story you have the ability. Still, you must look for the reality beyond the deadlines. You help people adjust to change. You show them dreams can become reality. You attempt to guide them away from trouble. And, you hold them up as examples of success in this business of farming and ranching.

• Sharing the excitement when the organization you work with is recognized for excellence. You enjoy the company you keep – the farmers and ranchers across Kansas. You admire the people you work for and write about, the folks who remain a part of this key industry called agriculture. Maybe you were once part of this vocation. Maybe you weren’t. In the end it makes no difference. By association, you are part of it.

• Understanding and valuing the weather and the four seasons. You’ve experienced the promising winds of spring, the blistering heat of summer, the brilliant colors of fall and the bleakness winter can bring. You know what it can do to crops and livestock. You know about the white combine. You’ve seen blizzards destroy a cow herd. Weather is like a wheel moving slowly while being prodded along by Mother Nature. Sure would be fun to spend more time watching her do so.

• Being recognized for your abilities. This usually includes certificates, a plaque, pin or that all too fleeting trip on stage and the applause that follows. The point is someone singled you out as a writer, photographer or editor. You’ve received an ‘atta boy or ‘atta girl. Accept it graciously and with gratitude.

• Finally, you are alive. You’re walking upright and enjoying this big adventure called life.

By the way, just yesterday I saw some green shoots in our yard poking their little heads out of the melting snow. That’s another reason for happiness.

A French writer from the early 1600s once said, “We are never so happy, nor so unhappy, as we suppose ourselves to be.”

This guy’s name was La Rochefoucauld.

Now that’s real happiness – remembering a name like that.

John Schlageck, a Hoxie native, 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.

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today had the opportunity to meet Missouri delegates representing the Disabled American Veterans (DAV)-a veterans advocacy group dedicated to empowering veterans and improving their lives.

“DAV does an amazing job of standing up for our nation’s heroes by working to provide them with important resources to achieve a quality, honorable life,” said McCaskill, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and daughter of a World War II veteran. “I will continue to be their partner in our fight for veterans and make sure they have access to the care and benefits they have earned.”

The Disabled American Veterans organization represents 1.2 million veterans and their families nationally and assists more than 200,000 veterans every year in claiming the benefits they have earned.

McCaskill has been a champion for military veterans since joining the Senate in 2006 and was a founding member of the Senate Veterans Jobs Caucus. McCaskill was a leading advocate for the VOW to Hire Heroes Act, helped pass the 21st Century GI Bill to open up educational opportunities for veterans, and has repeatedly rallied support for additional care for veterans returning from combat duty.

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors is adding more than 588,000 vehicles to a recall to fix ignition switches that can shut off engines and cause crashes.

The company says it’s adding Saturn Ion compacts from 2003 through 2007, and Chevrolet HHR SUVs and Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky sports cars from 2006 and 2007.

The additional vehicles increase the total recall to 1.37 million. GM announced Feb. 13 that it would recall 780,000 Chevrolet Cobalts and Pontiac G5s from the 2005 through 2007 model years.

GM says the problem has been linked to 31 crashes and 13 front-seat deaths.

GM says a heavy key ring or jarring from rough roads can move the ignition out of the run position, cutting of the engine. If that happens, the front air bags may not work.

(AP) — Missouri congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer is urging the federal Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider newly proposed regulations for wood-burning stoves.
Luetkemeyer sent a letter Tuesday to the EPA administrator saying the proposed regulations could increase the costs of manufacturing wood-burning heaters. He said that could make them unaffordable to many people and drive some small manufacturers out of business.
The EPA wants to significantly reduce the particle pollution flowing from the smokestacks of wood stoves as a way to improve air quality. The tougher regulations would be phased in over five years.
Luetkemeyer, who represents parts of central and eastern Missouri, called the proposal “silly” and “regulatory nonsense.”
Missouri congressman Jason Smith, of southeast Missouri, has described the EPA regulations as “a war on rural America.”

(AP) — Members of a state House panel agree the state needs to update its ethics law but are divided along party lines on how to do it.

At a Tuesday hearing on a number of ethics proposals, Republicans on the House General Laws Committee said the state needed to take a piecemeal approach on the issue.

The panel considered measures to institute a cooling off period before lawmakers can register as a lobbyist, impose campaign contribution limits and require legislators to disclose additional financial information.

Missouri is the only state not to have limits on campaign contributions and gifts from lobbyists, or a waiting period before an elected official can lobby.

The committee did not vote on any of the proposals.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The U.S. military has criticized a bill before the Kansas Legislature that narrows the definition of what’s considered an airport hazard.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports both the Army and Air Force have written letters stating that House Bill 2652 would threaten military training and deployment capabilities because it would allow development to encroach on airfields.

The bill’s supported by a company called Pflumm 143 Inc., which has been trying to develop land in Olathe near the Johnson County Executive Airport. The bill narrows the definition of airport hazard, which can be used to protect airspace from development, to physical structures only.

But critics of the bill say there are many land uses without structures that pose a threat to air safety and should be kept far away from airfields.

(AP) — Nearly 40 years have passed since Kansas City, Mo., last hosted a national political convention. The city doesn’t have the glitz of Las Vegas, New Orleans or some of the other places seeking to host the 2016 Republican National Convention.

Yet Kansas City is mounting an aggressive campaign to be the winning city.

Kansas City is hoping to host the event in the Sprint Center arena. It’s touting a roughly $6 billion investment in a renovated downtown. And it’s promoting the logistical ease of holding the convention in a Midwestern city.

(AP) – Missouri voters would be required to show photo identification before casting ballots under legislation endorsed by the Missouri House.

The House gave first-round approval Tuesday to two measures that would enact the requirement. One is a state constitutional amendment that upon voter approval would authorize state officials to require a photo ID during elections. The other bill would actually implement the requirement.

One of the sponsors, Republican Rep. Stanley Cox, of Sedalia, says the measure would increase integrity of elections and protect against fraud. Democrats opposed the bill and argued it would disenfranchise voters without proper identification.

Missouri’s Legislature has made multiple attempts to enact the requirement, but have been stymied by courts and Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon.

The House measures need one more vote before moving to the Senate.