Poet Nikki Giovanni talks space travel, hip-hop and ‘Selma’
Nikki Giovanni — famed and acclaimed poet — doesn’t buy the old adage that great art comes from great suffering. “I think great art comes from great joy,” she said. She pointed to “Selma,” a film about the 1965 march for civil rights from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery, Alabama, headed by Martin Luther King Jr.,…
How the grain glut could hurt rural economies
American farmers grew more corn and soybeans in 2014 than ever before, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest crop production report. The glut has pushed grain prices to a five-year low, forcing some farmers in Midwestern states to operate on much tighter profit margins than in recent history. Some will even sell their crop for less than it cost to grow.
Reflections from Selma
Tex Sample had no intention of being part of Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic march from Selma, Alabama, to the state’s capital, Montgomery. In March of 1965, Sample was working in Boston with the Massachusetts Council of Churches, a coalition of clergy that lobbied for civil rights legislation. Although he was organizing flight reservations for…
A beef over politics
NEMAHA COUNTY, Kan. – From their small farms set in the rolling hills of northeast Kansas, two ranchers are raising a few cattle, and a lot of Cain. David Pfrang and Jim Dobbins turned themselves into activists, launched a shadow corporation, got hauled into federal court and had to hire a lawyer. All over $1….
Health groups support cigarette tax increase for Kansas
A coalition of health organizations is supporting Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s call for a big increase in the state’s cigarette tax. Brownback is proposing to raise the tax by $1.50 per pack, increasing it from 79 cents to $2.29. The governor wants to use the approximately $81 million in additional revenue to close a gaping hole in the fiscal 2016 budget.
Brownback budget includes Medicaid changes, tobacco tax increase
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration outlined a sweeping budget plan Friday that includes changes to Medicaid and increases in the state’s tobacco and alcohol taxes.
Budget Director Shawn Sullivan said closing a $650 million budget gap will require new tax revenue and slowed expenses in the state’s “three major cost drivers”: public schools, public employee pensions and Medicaid.
Brownback’s SOS address outlines vision for Kansas
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback delivered his state of the state address Thursday night in advance of the State of the Union address Tuesday night. News reviewers Mary Sanchez, Eric Wesson, Steve Vockrodt and Dave Helling dissect Brownback’s proposed changes for the state of Kansas. Also this week: Senator Claire McCaskill’s announcement she will not run for governor in Missouri in 2016; the fuss surrounding Kansas Congressman Kevin Yoder and his successful amendment to a congressional bill; remembering minister and civil rights activist Nelson “Fuzzy” Thompson; and the absence of women in statewide office in Kansas.
Seeking unity amid disparity: KC faith leaders initiate ‘Hope Lives’
Pastor Alan Shelby has lived in the Kansas City area his entire life, and he says the KC he has experienced is different from other cities. “Kansas City is kind of a unique community,” he said. “If you go to another large city like Dallas, you have a rich part, you have a poor part….
Kansas Teachers Respond to State of the State
When school let out in Johnson County on Thursday, fifth grade teacher Barbara Casey hopped in the car with a fellow teacher and two parents to drive to Topeka, Kansas for Gov. Brownback’s State of the State address. “The main reason I came up there was not for myself,” Casey said. “It was really for…
Twins Peak At Saint Luke’s East Hospital
When Jennifer Vaughn delivered identical twin girls at Saint Luke’s East Hospital last week, she and her husband were not that surprised – and it wasn’t just because of the sonograms or because she had dreamt of having twins even before the ultrasounds.
An uncertain future, for Kansas rural hospitals
Experts on rural Kansas hospitals made dire predictions about their fiscal futures in a legislative hearing Wednesday that laid the groundwork for a discussion of Medicaid expansion. Rep. Tom Sloan, chairman of the Vision 2020 Committee, said that he’s trying to start a discussion about crafting an expansion plan that addresses the needs of stakeholders and the concerns of those wary of its connections to the Affordable Care Act.
A water success story, in Kansas
There are also some who believe that the main water source for western Kansas, the Ogallala Aquifer, is past the point of no return when it comes to natural recharge. A plan to build a giant aqueduct to transport water from the Missouri River hundreds of miles has been floated, but it would involve tremendous expense and is not formally a part of the 50-year water plan.
President Obama: Gigabit access could unleash innovation
When President Obama visited Cedar Falls, Iowa, yesterday to talk about the potential benefits of local communities building their own broadband networks, community and tech leaders from around the country were already gathered at the Gigabit City Summit here in Kansas City to discuss the exact same issues. In Cedar Falls, residents can get gigabit-speed…
Can Missouri afford not to expand Medicaid?
Even as prospects appear bleak for Medicaid expansion in Missouri, a new report says the state would save $81 million right off the bat and $100 million annually later on if it expands the program. The report by the Missouri Budget Project, a nonpartisan think tank in St. Louis, says the savings would come from money the state currently spends on Medicaid services provided to pregnant women, mental health patients and prisoners in need of medical care.
Unlocking the potential of an under-researched crop: Hemp
Humans have been growing hemp for centuries. Hemp-based foods have taken off recently. So have lotions and soaps that use hemp oil. There’s evidence that different compounds in cannabis could be used as medicine and hope that its chemical compounds could hold keys to treatments for Parkinson’s disease and childhood epilepsy. Scientists studying industrial hemp say the plant holds a tremendous amount of promise. But to unlock its potential there’s very basic scientific research to be done.