Imagine fields of solar arrays with crops growing under them, tilting up and down, depending on plant, solar and producer needs. Imagine new agricultural industries, solar grazing and solar beekeeping, using grasses and flowering plants under and beside solar farms.
What makes Lindley Hall historic This is an addendum to my previous letter of the February 10, edition regarding “The Historic Lindley Hall Gymnasium.” I felt that it was necessary, for those who were not born yet, or around, and have no clue as to why the “historic gymnasium”, is in fact “Historic”. Much less, why its intangible value makes it truly worth saving.
“When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was the promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. // It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note in so far as her citizens of color are concerned.” -Martin Luther King, Jr, “March on Washington” (1963)
It’s the biggest financial incentive package in state history. Yet we don’t know the name of the firm lawmakers have decided to woo with this unprecedented and risky deal, which would provide the mystery company at least $1 billion in tax breaks, payroll subsidy, state-funded employee training and other incentives.
It is unclear that the people of Butler County and Senate District 16 sent Ty Masterson to Topeka to behave has he has this past week – but it is doubtful. Masterson has shown his manipulative and vindictive side as the Legislature has grappled with redistricting.
COVID has interrupted and dismantled daily life, but it can’t keep Kansans from celebrating their state’s birthday! On behalf of the board of directors, staff and volunteers at Kauffman Museum at Bethel College, I’d like to thank the Newton community for its enthusiastic support of the museum’s Kansas Day event on Saturday, January 29, celebrating the 161st birthday of the Sunflower State. Over 500 guests and volunteers enjoyed the warm day and participated in the afternoon festivities, many of which were moved outdoors. Special Kudos go to the Kansas Day Committee and staff members who worked extra hard the week prior to the 29th and the many volunteers who stepped up to help at the event. I’d like to especially thank the City of North Newton, Citizens State Bank and Intrust Bank for providing financial support. Cooperating partners included Bethel College, LeJ’s BBQ, Salted Creamery, and the Newton Public Library. We hope you’ll join us next year on January 28, 2023 to celebrate Kansas’s 162th Birthday!
There is no doubt that the Plains Indians were masters of horsemanship. Consider the Cheyenne, who were forced onto the plains in the later eighteenth century by traditional enemies who had acquired guns. The Cheyenne adapted quickly to the equine lifestyle of the plains, immediately giving up farming and becoming nomadic hunters, a change that flew in the face of anthropological theory that assumed a steady progression from hunter-gathering to farming to becoming civilized.
Kansas ranks second nationally for the proportion of energy produced in the state coming from wind— over 40 percent of all electricity produced in Kansas in 2020. Conservative politicians across America are promoting state-level legislation aimed at preventing new wind farms from being built in their states.
It has been a long time since I have penned lines for the opinion page of The Newton Kansan, or any newspaper as a matter of fact. I hope that this will be a welcome change, and one that can last.