WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration is laying out new requirements to ensure the safety of infant formula.

The rules announced Thursday are designed to make sure that formula manufacturers test their products for salmonella and other pathogens before they are distributed. They would also require formula companies to include specific nutrients, including proteins, fats and vitamins.

Most formula manufacturers follow these practices already, but the rules will ensure that new formulas on the market also comply with the requirements.

The FDA’s Michael Taylor says the rules are intended to ensure that formula is safe and supports normal growth in babies. The agency said breastfeeding is strongly recommended for newborns but that 25 percent of infants start out using formula. By three months, two-thirds of infants rely on formula.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

The director of an upcoming television commercial for Coca-Cola wants to shoot it in Kansas.

According Marci Penner, Executive Director of the Kansas Sampler Foundation, Zach Lowry is a New York City-based director wanting to come to Kansas to shoot a Coca-Cola commercial late May or June.

“They are seeking an old, vintage barn surrounded by wheat fields,” said Penner in a news release Thursday.

Here are Lowry’s preferences:

– Wooden barn (first choice red but can be any color or no paint)
– Probably wooden roof
– Weathered
– Located right beside or with wheat all around it
– Interior dimensions 30′ x 30′ or wide enough to fit a 1965 Mustang inside of the barn sitting at a diagonal
– Preferably ceilings of 20′ or higher
– Windows and slits in the side of the barn for light rays to poke through

Anyone with access to such a Kansas barn is encouraged to get in contact with Lowry at za.lowry@gmail.com or call 610.710.5245.

“It would be great to send him pictures of the barn and proximity to or in the field, and the interior,” said Penner.

The mission of the Kansas Sampler Foundation is to help preserve and sustain rural culture.

In light of the upcoming release of “The Monuments Men” movie this week starring Missouri native John Goodman, as well as actors George Clooney, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, and Bill Murray, U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) and his colleagues continued to push for bipartisan legislation to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the men and women who worked to protect cultural artifacts during World War II.

In December 2013, Blunt introduced bipartisan legislation awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to the “Monuments Men,” a group of approximately 350 men and women from 13 countries who are credited with preserving, protecting, and restoring millions of pieces of artwork, sculptures, and other cultural artifacts in Europe during World War II.

“Incredible men and women from Missouri and across the world fought to protect and preserve millions of invaluable cultural artifacts from devastation during World War II,” Blunt said. “I’m excited to see their compelling story adapted into film, and I’m hopeful that through this movie and this bipartisan legislation we can encourage more Americans to learn about the rich history of these works of art and the remarkable legacies of the Monuments Men.”

Four of the Monuments Men were Missouri natives, and 10 were later employed in Missouri, including two Directors of the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, Mo. The bill is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), John Boozman (Ark.), Maria Cantwell (Wash.), Robert Menendez (N.J.), Jerry Moran (Kan.), and Jim Risch (Idaho), and was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by U.S. Representative Kay Granger (Texas).

“Today we are able to enjoy numerous works of art done by the some of the world’s most renowned artists thanks to the heroics of the Monuments Men who helped rescue them from the Nazi regime and preserve them for future generations. I’m proud to support this legislation that highlights the remarkable story of the sacrifice they endured on a mission to protect pieces of history,” Boozman said.

“This is a long-overdue honor for the men and women who risked so much to preserve countless cultural treasures from destruction during World War II,” Cantwell said. “Americans owe these heroes a great deal of gratitude, including two leaders from Washington state – Theodore Heinrich, an art historian who was born in Tacoma, and Sherman Lee, who was a professor at the University of Washington and Associate Director at the Seattle Art Museum. Without their uncommon courage, some of the world’s most renowned artworks may have been lost forever. Our bipartisan legislation and this new film seek to remind Americans of this chapter in history and to commend this group for their heroic efforts.”

“I’m incredibly proud to honor New Jerseyan Henry Ettlinger, a surviving member of the Monuments Men, for his work to recover, protect, preserve, and return innumerable works of art and artifacts that might have disappeared or been destroyed during WWII and even more proud that I can call him a friend,” Menendez said. “I know I share in his excitement and look forward to seeing their amazing story captured in film.”

“The brave men and women whose story is told in ‘The Monuments Men’ are truly unsung heroes of World War II,” Moran said. “Their passion and courage is responsible for safeguarding and preserving some of civilization’s greatest cultural and artistic achievements amidst the destruction of war. I am proud to join my colleague Sen. Blunt in working to award the Congressional Gold Medal to those whose legacy of protection for the sake of the next generation are finally receiving the recognition they deserve.”

Additional Background on the Monuments Men:

The Monuments Men served in the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives section of the Western Allied military effort. They were initially charged with protecting structures, such as churches, museums, and monuments, from destruction. Their responsibilities later shifted to recovering art and artifacts stolen by Nazis across Europe. Today, there are only five living members of the Monuments Men.

Works from many of Europe’s major artists – including Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and Pablo Picasso – were plundered by the Nazis and added to their private collections. Some of the notable pieces preserved by the Monuments Men include Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, Jan Van Eyck’s Ghent Altarpiece and Michelangelo’s David and Madonna and Child. By 1951, they had recovered or restored nearly five million cultural artifacts.

In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Roberts Commission to help the U.S. Army protect cultural works in Allied occupied areas. General Dwight Eisenhower told his commanders that “inevitably, in the path of our advance will be found historical monuments and cultural centers which symbolize to the world all that we are fighting to preserve,” and he ordered his commanders to safeguard those treasures.

The story is the subject of multiple books by author Robert Edsel, the most recent of which is The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History. While living in Europe, Mr. Edsel became interested in how the monuments and artwork survived the devastation of World War II. He is the Founder and Chairman of the Board for the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art. The upcoming movie is based on Edsel’s book.

By Mike Sherry
KHI News Service

As part of its effort to beef up services in the area, the Kansas City, Mo., health department has moved four of its inspectors north of the river.

The move could be the forerunner to a combined health and transit hub at one of the Northland’s busiest intersections, officials said.

Bert Malone, the department’s deputy director, said the inspectors had been posted in mid-January to space the city is renting from Northland Neighborhoods Inc., a community development organization at 4420 N.E. Choteau Trafficway.

The four handle a variety of duties, including inspecting the safety and cleanliness of restaurants, child-care facilities and motels.

The new Northland presence has energized staff “who like the pioneering aspect of being in a new area,” Malone said, “and it puts us a lot closer to our patrons.”

He also said that traveling to 24th and Troost (the main health department office) had become “problematic” for some workers and others because it was too far away. Services offered at the main office include immunizations and food-handler training classes.

Malone and other officials, including Hilda Fuentes, chief executive of Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center, said they were hopeful the health department could cement a Northland partnership with the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority to help solve transportation problems for low-income residents.

Dick Jarrold, senior director for the transportation authority, said the various agency officials hope to cooperate in the redevelopment of about a 1-acre site that the transportation authority owns at the corner of Northeast Vivion and Northeast Antioch roads. Once the site of the Antioch Center shopping mall, developers are building a new retail center there.

The idea is that a joint facility could serve as a transit center for riders on the six bus lines that serve that area and house a number of safety-net medical providers. Besides the health department, potential tenants could include Sam Rodgers, Tri-County Mental Health and the Clay County health department.

The timetable for construction and the expense remain uncertain, Jarrold said, but in early discussions officials have talked about a building that could cost as much as $2 million and include up to 7,500 square feet. Partnering with safety net providers would make sense for the transportation authority, he said, because their customer bases overlap.

As chief executive of Northland Neighborhoods Inc., which works to revitalize older parts of the area, Deb Hermann said she has seen residents’ access to health care limited because of lack of transportation. Some residents, she said, live seven or eight miles from the Clay County health department.

“And it might as well be 700 or 800 miles,” Hermann said. “And the same goes for 24th and Troost. For those us that have vehicles and go out and get in them whenever we feel like, that is not a bad jaunt, but it is a huge challenge for many of our low-income residents.”

Jarrold and Malone said each of their organizations want to serve parts of the city outside the urban core. For example, Jarrold said the transportation authority plans to build a facility near Bannister Road and Blue Ridge Boulevard in south Kansas City.

A community-needs assessment, completed in the fall by a nonprofit health organization in the Northland, revealed a “severe shortage” of family doctors, dental services and mental health providers serving low-income residents in seven ZIP codes north of the river. The study area encompassed a large swath of the Northland, stretching from Parkville to the north and east of Liberty.

Of nearly 162,000 residents in the study area, according to the report, about a third had income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. The 200 percent threshold is $47,100 for a family of four.

According to the report, of 118 primary care physicians in the study area, about three quarters treat Medicaid patients. And of those, only about a quarter were accepting new Medicaid patients.

Fuentes, the Sam Rodgers CEO, said its Northland clinic is bursting at the seams. It occupies about 2,600 square feet in a strip shopping center at North Oak Trafficway and Vivion Road.

Rodgers could use double the space so moving to a new transit facility would make a lot of sense for the clinic, she said.

“Between growth, the ability to provide additional services and accessibility,” Fuentes said, “those are really the three reasons why we would look into moving.”

(AP)  There are some newly created vacancies on several prominent state boards and commissions.

The Missouri Senate took no action Thursday on Gov. Jay Nixon’s nominees for slots on the Board of Probation and Parole, the state highway commission and the University of Missouri Board of Curators.

The Senate also took no action on two appointments to the State Highways and Transportation Commission and the nomination of Cape Girardeau lawyer Michael Ponder to the university board was defeated in committee.

Nixon can now decide whether to resubmit all of those nominations to the Senate for confirmation.

(AP) — A northeast Kansas teenager who braved this week’s winter storm to pull dozens of cars out of the snow has been recognized for his good deeds.

19-year-old Andrew Flood headed out from his Lenexa home in a pickup truck Tuesday night amid snow blanketing the Kansas City metro region. One by one, he hooked up his truck to stranded cars and pulled them free — for free.

By sunrise Wednesday, Flood had towed 53 cars.

Flood didn’t ask for money, but an executive of LongHorn Steakhouse heard about his work and gave him a $200 gift card Thursday.

Flood, who’s training to be a paramedic, said he likes to help people and knows that not all drivers have money for a tow.

(AP) — A southwest Missouri woman has pleaded guilty to trying to hire someone to kill her boyfriend’s ex-wife.

48-year-old Nixa resident Diane Elaine Greer remains jailed on $200,000 bond following her plea Wednesday in Greene County Circuit Court. Sentencing is scheduled for April 4.

Investigators said Greer and the boyfriend — who is not charged — wanted access to the ex-wife’s money.

Springfield police received a tip from a citizen and put an undercover officer on the case. Greer gave the officer $200, a knife and the promise of a Jeep if the murder was carried out.

Police then arranged to stage the killing, with photos as proof for Greer that the other woman was dead. Investigators said Greer confessed in the face of the evidence.

(AP) — Large food companies are trying to head off state-by-state efforts to enact mandatory labeling of genetically modified ingredients by proposing new voluntary labels nationwide.

The food industry and farm groups are pushing Congress to pass legislation that would require the Food and Drug Administration to create guidelines for the new labels, which food manufacturers could use.

A federal standard for voluntary labels would get food manufacturers off the hook if any individual states pass laws requiring mandatory labeling. Recent ballot initiatives in California and Washington failed. But several state legislatures are considering labeling requirements and opponents of engineered ingredients are aggressively pushing new state laws.

There’s very little science that says genetically engineered foods are unsafe. But opponents say too much is unknown about them.

(AP) — Missouri’s Republican-led House is starting its budget-writing process from scratch, scrapping the recommendations of Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon.

House Budget Committee Chairman Rick Stream said Thursday that he won’t use Nixon’s budget plan as the starting point for legislation, because he believes it spends at least $310 million more than Missouri likely will receive in tax revenues.

Instead, Stream said he is using the current year’s budget as the beginning point for the proposed 2015 budget and will allot each of the six House appropriations committees a lump sum of additional money to divvy out as funding increases.

“I’m going to increase funding in virtually every area, but it won’t be to the levels that the governor promised or proposed,” said Stream, R-Kirkwood.

For example, Stream said he is allotting an additional $317 million in funding increases to the House panel that oversees the budgets of public school districts and higher education. It will be up to that House committee to decide how much of that should go to K-12 schools versus state colleges and universities and how specifically it should be spent.

Stream’s allotment for education funding increases is significantly smaller than the $490 million increase that Nixon recommended for education when he outlined a budget during his State of the State address two weeks ago.

Nixon has defended his plan as a balanced budget that takes a more optimistic view of the state’s economy than embraced by lawmakers.

“As Missouri’s economy continues to pick up steam, now is not the time to back up on our commitment to what we know is the best economic development tool there is: public education,” Nixon spokesman Scott Holste said in written statement responding to the House budget plan.

Nixon proposed a $278 million increase in Missouri’s roughly $3 billion base budget for public school districts, which would move Missouri halfway toward covering the projected shortfall in what’s called for under a state school funding law.

Nixon also proposed a variety of funding increases for higher education, including $42 million to be distributed to colleges and universities based on whether they met performance goals. He also proposed millions of dollars more for scholarships and to accommodate additional students in mental health fields and other particular study areas.

Stream said education funding will remain a priority for the House, even though its budget will include smaller increases than sought by Nixon.

Stream set aside lesser amounts of money for funding increases in other areas of government — $132.6 million for the departments of health, mental health and social services; $56.8 million for general administration; $15.6 million for the departments of revenue, economic development and transportation; $13 million for the departments of public safety and corrections; and $5.6 million for the departments of agriculture and natural resources.

By starting with the current year’s budget, House members will be deciding how much more to spend. Had they started with Nixon’s budget plan, Stream said lawmakers would have been “in a terrible position of trying to cut a lot of things.”

House Speaker Tim Jones, R-Eureka, described Nixon’s proposal as “potentially a real budget-buster.”

Missouri’s governor and legislative budget leaders typically agree to a state revenue forecast before presenting their budget plans. But this year, there was no consensus.

The House and Senate budget chairmen projected that the current year’s revenues will rise by 2 percent and that 2015 revenues will grow by an additional 4.2 percent. Nixon’s budget assumes revenue growth of 2.8 percent this year and an additional 5.2 percent in 2015.