The Post Podcast: Recent Episodes
Hays Post
Coming up on this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Lee Ann June, executive director of The Bricks about the popularity of the Hays Farmers Market in Downtown Hays which runs through Oct. 17.
They'll also preview Wines and Steins on Sept. 12 with tickets available now online at www.downtownhays.com/wines.
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Two commercial development projects took another step forward following Thursday's Hays city commission meeting.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Stacy Campbell, Cottonwood Extension District crop production agent, about phragmites which can develop in low-lying areas of standing water, waterways and in ponds. Campbell has tips on how to control the nuisance aquatic grass as the temperatures rise.
They also discuss watering and fertilizing garden plants when it's hot and dry.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Doug Williams, Grow Hays executive director, about the revenue neutral rate as the City of Hays, Ellis County and USD 489 work on their draft 2027 budgets.
They also talk about the needs of social services agencies and their requests for funding from the city and county.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Sarah Meitner, Heartland Community Foundation executive director, about the most recent completed spring grant cycle.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Hays City Manager Toby Dougherty and Commissioner Shaun Musil
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director, Doug Williams
Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Ellis County Clerk Bobbi Dreiling
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks about summer events on The Bricks with Lee Ann June, executive director.
Bazaar on the Bricks is coming up Saturday, July 25 and the Downtown Market is open 7:30-11 a.m. on Saturdays. You can find fresh produce, baked goods, handmade treasures, local beef, books, soaps and more.
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Eagle Radio Mix 103.3 Host Jeff Leiker chats with Max Collins and Jon Siebels of Eve 6
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KAYS Morning Show Host, Gerard Wellbrock chats with Wild West Fest Committee Member, James Bell
KAYS Morning Show Host, Gerard Wellbrock chats with Ellis County Historical Society Executive Director, Amanda Rupp.
Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser chats with City of Hays Vice Mayor Alaina Cunningham and City Manager Toby Dougherty
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director, Doug Williams
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks about the area wheat harvest with Stacy Campbell, Cottonwood Extension crop production specialist.
Campbell also talks about weed control after harvest and to be on the outlook for chinch bugs.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director, Doug Williams
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks about hydration with Jessica Phelan, Fort Hays State University Department of Health and Human Performance assistant professor.
Phelan explains the importance of water to our bodies, especially as the summer nears and the temperatures soar.
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Hays Post reporter Alin Hett chats with Hays Arts Council Board of Directors President, Brittney Squire and Executive Director, Chandler Reich
Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with USD 489 Superintendent, Ron Wilson
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director, Doug Williams
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Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser chats with Hays City Mayor, Mason Ruder and Hays City Manager Toby Dougherty.
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It's time to start trying out your recipes to get ready for the food entries in the 2026 Ellis County Fair special food classes.
On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Monique Koerner, Cottonwood Extension District Family and Consumer Wellness agent about the King Arthur Flour category and another class celebrating the area's German heritage in baked goods.
Youth and adults may enter the competition.
The will also discuss the new "Breastfeeding Welcome Here" designation for the Cottonwood Extension offices in Hays and Great Bend.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director, Doug Williams
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with The Bricks in Downtown Hays Executive Director, Lee Ann June
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Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser chats with Hays City Manager Toby Dougherty and Hays City Commissioner David Vilaysing
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director, Doug Williams
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks about the recent rain, the ongoing drought in Ellis County and western Kansas, and an accelerated wheat harvest with Stacy Campbell, crop production agent, Cottonwood Extension District.
They also preview the K-State Weed Management Field Day in Hays on June 18.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Tony Guerrero visits with Ellis County Historical Society Amanda Rupp about Kinderfest on June 13 and auditions for the sesquicentennial heritage play, Josie's Gift.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director, Doug Williams.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with USD 489 Superintendent Ron Wilson
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Hays Post reporter Tony Guerreo chats with Ellis Co Health Director, Melissa Miller
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It's summer time at the Hays Arts Council and enrollment is open for youth and adult classes. The summer exhibit "Seasons of Summer" will also be on display June 18-July 18.
Becky Kiser, new reporter, talks with Chandler Reich on this episode of the Hays Post Podcast.
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Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser chats with Hays City Commissioner Shaun Musil and Deputy City Manager Collin Bielser
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director, Doug Williams
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Jessica Phelan, assistant professor in the Fort Hays State University Department of Health and Human Performance about historical changes in public health education.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Karissa Frasier, Cottonwood Extension community health worker, about two upcoming adult health programs in Hays.
"Stay Strong, Stay Healthy" is a strength training program for older adults with classes starting Monday, May 18.
Hypertension Awareness and Prevention program (HAPp) offers a lunch and learn session Tuesday, June 9.
Enrollment information is available by calling 785-628-9430 or emailing krfrasier@ksu.edu.
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On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Tony Guerrero speaks with Jessica Younker, USD 489 director of nutrition services, about the Summer Food Program.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Doug Williams, Grow Hays executive director, about his upcoming new podcast series "Growth Matters" with co-host Kris Munsch, a Hays entrepreneur.
Topics will include property taxes, economic incentives ,affordable housing and retail development.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Tamara Lynn, chair of the criminal justice program, Jessica Heronemus-Claiborn, lecturer of accounting, and Tisa Mason, university president, about the program which is the first of its kind in Kansas.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Lee Ann June, executive director of The Bricks, with a review of the recent Hays Science Festival and Sticks on the Bricks. They also look ahead to the Saturday, May 23 opening of the Downtown Hays Market.
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Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser chats with Hays City Manager, Toby Dougherty and City Commissioner, Shaun Musil.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Stacy Campbell, Cottonwood Extension District crop production specialist, about the upcoming Wheat Field Day on May 13 in Barton and Ellis counties.
They also discuss spring lawn care.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Early Childhood Connections Director Dawn Bush and Education Coordinator Sharon Beougher
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Jeff Leiker with eagle radio chats with cast members Jerri Leiker and Linda Becker, along with writer, director, and HCT board member, Bill Gasper
Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director, Doug Williams
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Jessica Phelan, assistant professor in the Fort Hays State University Department of Health and Human Performance.
The topic is BMI, or Body Mass Index, and a look at original research about body composition that's been performed by Phelan's students and those in the department of psychology.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks about spring events at the Hays Arts Council with Chandler Reich, executive director, and Brittney Squire, board president.
The Spring Art Walk is Saturday, April 25, anchored by the 57th annual Smoky Hill Art Competition and Exhibition. Art walk details will be posted online the week before the event.
Summer arts classes for children will also be offered.
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Reporter Tony Guerrero speaks with Ellis County Fire Chief Darin Myers about the Munjor fire station's volunteer shortage and its future.
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The "Country Classic" fundraiser for A Different Mindset Association is 5:30-10:30 p.m., Saturday, April 25, at the Ellis County Fairgrounds.
On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Micki Armstrong, board member, about "A Night to Remember," featuring the Wes Cossman Band.
Proceeds go toward local dementia respite and caregiver support programs.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Sarah Meitner, Heartland Community Foundation executive director, with the results of Match Month and details of how to apply for monies in the current spring grant cycle.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director, Doug Williams
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As soon as the ordinances for two economic development incentives approved Thursday for the planned 24/7 Travel Store in Hays are published, the Salina-based company can begin its construction process.
Public hearings were held followed by ordinances to adopt a requested Tax Increment Financing District (TIF) and a requested Community Improvement District (CID) levying a 2% sales tax.
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The Week of the Young Child is April 11-17 and Ellis County is celebrating with special programs through the K-State Cottonwood Extension District. On this episode of the Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Monique Koerner, Family and Community Wellness Agent, along with Susan Boles, speech language pathologist for KidsLINK and Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks about special upcoming spring events on The Bricks, with Lee Ann June, executive director.
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Fort Hays State University has a new religious education and community engagement program.
On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Carl Miller, professor of philosophy and Tisa Mason, university president, about the interdisciplinary degree program.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director, Doug Williams
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Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser chats with Hays City Commissioner, Sandy Jacobs and Hays City Manager, Toby Dougherty.
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The status of the winter wheat crop in Ellis County is moving backward, and needs rain, said Stacy Campbell, Cottonwood Extension crop production agent.
On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Campbell about the dry conditions and warmer-than-average temperatures effects on the wheat and alfalfa crops.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with USD 489 Superintendent, Ron Wilson
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director, Doug Williams
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Tony Guerrero visits with Fort Hays State University Alumni Director Kim Cebula, Director of Annual Giving Dane Dreiling and student Jenna Schlyer about FHSU Giving Day.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Chandler Reich, Hays Arts Council executive director and Brittney Squier, board president.
The Field & Forms dual exhibit is open until April 11 and will be followed by the annual Smoky Hils Art Competition and Exhibition debuting at the Spring Art Walk on April 25.
Renovation work continues at the Hays Arts Council and the annex with a grand opening target of early 2027.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Director of Recruitment & Retention, David Clingan
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Jessica Phelan, assistant professor in the Fort Hays State University Department of Health and Human Performance, about the five "Blue Zones" around the world and the "Plant Slant" in healthy diets of long-lived people.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Nancy Jeter with Women Who Lead
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Tamara Robertson, the 4-H Youth Development agent for the Cottonwood Extension District.
Upcoming 4-H events and activities include World Water Day, Super Fantastic Judging Day, and day camps for home-schooled 4-H members.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Director of Business Development & Special Projects, James Robben
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There's a new partnership between Fort Hays State University teacher interns and Roosevelt Elementary School in Hays.
On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Rachel Wentling, FHSU College of Education director of field experience, Amy Mayo, Roosevelt third-grade teacher, and Heidi Wamser, Roosevelt kindergarten teacher about the specialized classrooms in Roosevelt.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with the directors and members of the cast of HHS 'The Sound of Music'
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It's almost spring and that means the Downtown Hays Market opens soon.
On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Lee Ann June, executive director of The Bricks, about how to become a vendor, or even apply for the market manager position.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director, Doug Williams
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Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser chats with Hays City Manager Toby Dougherty and Mayor Mason Ruder
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Jeff Leiker with Eagle Radio chats with FHSU Assistant Professor of the Department of Health and Human Performance Jessica Phelan
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director, Doug Williams
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Prescribed burning for rural homeowners is the topic of this Hays Post Podcast with Stacy Campbell, Cottonwood Extension agent, and Becky Kiser, news reporter. A program will be offered Feb. 26 in Hays.
A look at the "Crop Talk" online serminar series is also reviewed.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Hays Arts Council Executive Director, Chandler Reich and Board of Directors President, Brittney Squire
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director, Doug Williams
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Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser chats with Hays City Manager Toby Dougherty and Vice Mayor Shaun Musil
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with USD 489 Director of Technology, Scott Summers
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Tamara Robertson, Cottonwood Extension District 4-H youth development agent, about the upcoming Food Challege, 4-H Club Day and the support of the Hays Lions Club.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director, Doug Williams.
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Fort Hays State University has been awarded the Community Engagement Classification by the American Council of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks about the designation with Dr. Lori Kniffin, the Omer G. Voss Distinguished Professor of Leadership and the director of Civic Learning and Engagement on this episode of the Hays Post Podcast.
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Hays Post reporter Tony Guerrero chats with Ellis County Sheriff Scott Braun
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This year is the 25th anniversary of The Bricks in Downtown Hays.
On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Lee Ann June, executive director of The Bricks, about the historic evolution of the non-profit organization and plans for the future.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams
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Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser chats with Deputy City Manager Collin Beilser and Vice Mayor Alania Cunningham
Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Hays Middle School Principal Tom Albers
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Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Stacy Campbell, Cottonwood Extension District crop production specialist, about upcoming soil fertility programs and how agriculture producers deal with winter weather.
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It's a busy fall season for the Fort Hays State University Alumni Office. On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Kim Cebula, alumni director, who has a review of Homecoming 2025 and looks ahead to events and activities coming up.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Gene Stramel from Insurance Planning Incorporated
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Monique Koerner and Karissa Frasier of the Cottonwood Extension District about the health benefits of walking, eating a Mediterranean diet, and free help available during the Part D Open Enrollment period.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Options Executive Director Jennifer Hecker
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It's holiday time on The Bricks in Downtown Hays. On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Lee Ann June, executive director, about Trick or Treat on the Bricks and Frost Fest.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams
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Eagle Radio Morning Blend Host Jeff Leiker chats with Hays USD 489 Foundation for Education President Chrisy Crough
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Be on the lookout for 'Bison on the Loose' in Hays next spring.
It's a project of the Heartland Community Foundation Youth Action Council to highlight the history and heritage of Ellis County.
At least 25 life-size fiberglass bison sculptures will be placed on city and private properties in Hays, Ellis and Victoria to direct visitors and residents to places of interest.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Stacy Campbell, Cottonwood Extension District agriculture agent about the recent invasion of fall army worms.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with USD 489 Superintendent Ron Wilson
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director, Doug Williams
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Dr. Jessica Phelan, asst. professor in the Fort Hays State University Department of Health and Human Performance about behavior changes to improve your health.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Nancy Jeter of Women Who Lead
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Hays Post reporter Tony Guerrero speaks with Ellis County Health Director Melissa Miller about National Preparedness Month and the upcoming flu season on this episode of the Hays Post Podcast.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with the new executive director of the Hays Arts Council, Chandler Reich, and board president Brittney Squire.
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Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser chats with City Commissioner Alaina Cunningham and City Manager Toby Dougherty
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Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser chats with K-State Extension – Cottonwood District Family and Community Wellness Agent, Monique Koerner
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director, Doug Williams
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with USD 489 Superintendent Ron Wilson
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Tony Guerrero speaks with Kim Cebula, Fort Hays State alumni director, and Megan Purinton, Fort Hays State director of events, about the university's homecoming weekend.
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Stroup Hall at Fort Hays State University is expanding as the allied health program moves in with the nursing program.
On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Crista Beiker, chair of allied health department, and Jenny Manry, nursing department chair, along with president Tisa Mason about of the growth of the two departments.
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Reporter Tony Guerrero speaks with Ellis County Sheriff Scott Braun about various scams in the community and the best ways to avoid them on this episode of the Hays Post Podcast.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Lee Ann June, executive director of The Bricks in Downtown Hays about upcoming events, including Wines & Steins, Farm to Fork and the Christmas season.
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The fundraising campaign continues for the new Crisis Intervention Center in Hays.
On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser has an update on the project with Craig Poe of High Plains Mental Health Center along with Sarah Wasinger from The Chamber in Hays.
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Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser chats with City Commissioner Alaina Cunningham and City Manager Toby Dougherty
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser, news reporter, talks with Stacy Campbell, Cottonwood Extension District agriculture agent, about sorghum headworm and wheat streak mosaic.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Jeff Leiker talks with Adam Conkey of historic Fort Hays about what school at the fort was like.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director, Doug Williams
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks about understanding pre-diabetes with Jessica Phelan, Fort Hays State University Department of Health and Human Performance assistant professor.
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Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser chats with Hays Arts Council Executive Director Brenda Meder
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with USD 489 Superintendent Ron Wilson
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Hays Post reporter Tony Guerrero chats with FHSU Alumni Director Kim Cebula and Athletic Director Dr. Lisa Goddar McGuirk
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Monique Koerner, Cottonwood Extension District family and community wellness agent, about healthy eating and the program series "Med Instead of Meds."
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Dustin Armbruster talks with Shawn Henderson, Hays High principal about the new USD 489 building.
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Fort Hays State University has a new vice-president for economic and workforce placement.
On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Ben Shears and Tisa Mason, FHSU president.
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Herzogfest weekend is August 8 and 9 in Victoria. On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Brenton Hoffman, committee president and vice-president Jennifer Bernes about the German-themed event.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Ellis County Undersheriff Tim Deines about the typical duties of a sheriff's deputy.
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Hays Post Cristina Janney chats with the coach and players of the Buffaloes Basketball Team
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The Bricks in downtown Hays has a new executive director. On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Lee Ann June and Ben Dome, operations director.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Gene Stramel Account Executive with IPI
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Executive Director of Grow Hays, Doug Williams
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams
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Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser chats with City Manager Toby Dougherty and Commissioner Alania Cunningham
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Nancy Jeter of Women Who Lead
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Pamela Grizzell and Bill Gasper with the Hays Community Theatre's production of Mamma Mia
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Wheat streak mosaic has been a widespread problem in western Kansas this year. On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Stacy Campbell, Cottonwood Extension Agriculture Agent about its management and the importance of the August 15-September 15 wheat free windows.
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KAYS Morning Blend Host Jeff Leiker chats with Jack Hues, lead singer for Wang Chung.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Adam Kober, a former Hays Mason, about the upcoming free health and cancer screening outreach in Hays.
The walk-in clinic is a collaboration between the University of Kansas Cancer Center and the Masonic Cancer Alliance.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Brenda Meder, executive director of the Hays Arts Council about summer art center activities and the upcoming Fall Art Walk on Aug. 22.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Doug Williams, Grow Hays executive director about the economic impact of the Hays Regional Airport and has an update on The Grove housing project on Canterbury Drive.
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Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser chats with Vice-Mayor Mason Ruder and City Manager Toby Dougherty
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Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser chats with Monique Koerner, Family Community Wellness Extension Agent
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks about the recent grant awards and two new funds at the Heartland Community Foundation with Sarah Meitner, executive director.
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Jeff Leiker with KAYS The Morning Blend chats with Aaron Comess, drummer for The Spin Doctors.
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The Bull Morning Show hosts Dustin Armbruster and Mike Holiday chat with Drew Baldridge
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Bryan VonFeldt, treasurer of The Bricks board of directors about the Downtown Hays Market and the upcoming Bazaar on the Bricks.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams
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Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser chats with City Manager Toby Dougherty and Vice-Mayor Mason Ruder
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks about snacking with Jessica Phelan, asst. professor in the Fort Hays State University of Health and Human Performance.
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Hays Post reporter Tony Guerrero chats with Jeff Briggs, Dean of Fort Hays State’s College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, Kim Cebula, FHSU Alumni Director, and Jenny Manry, Chair of the Department of Nursing at FHSU
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks about the 2025 area wheat crop and harvest with Stacy Campbell, Cottonwood Extension District agriculture agent.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Doug Williams, Executive Director of Grow Hays
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Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser chats with Hays Arts Council Executive Director Brenda Meder
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Nancy Jeter with Women Who Lead
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with USD 489 Superintendent Ron Wilson
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with City Manager Toby Dougherty and City Commissioner Alaina Cunningham.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Executive Director of Grow Hays, Doug Williams.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Karissa Frasier about her new position as Community Health Worker with the K-State Research and Extension Cottonwood District in Ellis County.
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The "No Bummer Summer Challenge" is underway and youth in Ellis, Rooks and Trego counties can enjoy it thanks to the Heartland Community Foundation.
On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Sara Meitner, executive director.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks about the Science and Mathematics Education Institute with Dr. Paul Adams, dean of the FHSU College of Education, and Chief Communications Officer Scott Cason discusses the 78th year of the High Plains Band Camp.
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Hays Post reporter Tony Guerrero chats with Ellis Co. Detention Lt. Dustin Barnes
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Leigh Purdy with The Chamber in Hays and Ben Schears with FHSU
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Brian Weimer and Tiffany Zimmerman from IPI
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney and Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams answer questions submitted by listeners.
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Hays Post reporter Tony Guerrero talks to Hays Deputy Fire Chief Shane Preston
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Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser chats with Vice Mayor Mason Ruder and City Manager Toby Dougherty
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney talks with Grow Hays Executive Director, Doug Williams.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks about snacking and metabolism with Jessica Phelan, assistant professor in the Fort Hays State University Department of Health and Human Performance.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Stacy Campbell, Cottonwood District K-State Research and Extension Agriculture agent, about wheat variety demonstration plots, the wheat streak mosaic virus that has hit hard in some fields, and predictions for the 2025 harvest.
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Hays Post reporter Tony Guerrero chats with Ellis County Commissioner Nathan Leiker and County Administrator Darin Myers
It's time for Sizzlin' Summer 2025 at the Hays Arts Council. On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Brenda Meder, executive director, about the classes for children.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Sarah Wasinger, President and CEO of The Chamber in Hays
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director, Doug Williams
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with USD 489 Director of Special Education, Kyle Carlin.
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Hays Post reporter Tony Guerrero talks water conservation with HPD Lieutenant Brandon Wright
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Micki Armstrong and Monique Koerner, board members of "A Different Mindset" about the upcoming Wacky Sport Scramble, a fundraiser for the dementia awareness organization.
Koerner, the Cottonwood District family and community wellness extension agent, also talks about the QPR Institute for suicide prevention training on May 30.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney talks with USD 489 Superintendent Ron Wilson
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Sara Meitner, Heartland Community Foundation executive director about spring application deadlines for grant funding, the Youth Action Council, and Table Talk for non-profit organizations.
They also discuss four new funds that have been opened in the past month.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney talks to Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams
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Hays city commissioners want to know what residents think about the use of fireworks within city limits and have provided an opinion survey on the city's website.
News reporter Becky Kiser talks with Collin Bielser, deputy city manager, and Alaina Cunningham, city commissioner, on this episode of the Hays Post Podcast.
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Hays Post reporter Tony Guerrero talks to Pilot Award Winner Eric Deneault and Alumni Director Kim Cebula
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney talks with Hays High School Principal Shawn Henderson
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney talks with High Plains Mental Health Development Director James Gerstner
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney talks with USD 489 Director of Nutrition Services Jessica Younker
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Kayley Klaus of Fort Hays State University's Professional and Continuing Education team. They're launching a new business retention and expansion pilot program.
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Hays Post reporter Tony Guerrero talks with Terri Braun and Cheryl Glassman about the National Day of Prayer event
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney talks with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams
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Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser talks with City Manager Toby Dougherty and City Commissioner Shaun Musil
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney talks with Lincoln Elementary School Principal Kerri Lacy
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Stacy Campbell, Cottonwood Extension Agriculture Agent, about spring and summer lawn care.
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Jeff Leiker with Eagle Radio chats with Director Everett Robert and Assistant Director Claire Nickerson about the upcoming Hays Community Theatre production of "Bus Stop" by Kansas playwright William Inge
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Doug Williams, Executive Director of Grow Hays
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Hays Post reporter Tony Guerrero chats with Ellis County Fire Chief Darin Myers
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The Hays Arts Council Spring Art Walk is Saturday, April 26. On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Brenda Meder, executive director.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Women Who Lead Board Member Nancy Jeter
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Hays Deputy City Manager Collin Bielser and The Chamber in Hays President/CEO Sarah Wasinger
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Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser chats with Commissioner Reese Barrick and City Manager Toby Dougherty
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On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Tony Guerrero speaks with Deputy of Police Tim Greenwood about the police department's recent assessment recruitment and critical response training.
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A classic case of good versus evil is coming to Fort Hays State University this week.
Jekyll & Hyde, the 1990 musical based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 novella, will run Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 13 at 2:30 p.m. in FHSU’s Felten-Start Theatre.
On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Jeff Leiker host of KAYS' The Morning Blend, talks with Dr. Terry Crull, professor of music and director of Jekyll & Hyde.
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"Stay Strong Stay Healthy" is an evidence-based strength training program for older adults offered by the K-State Cottonwood Extension District.
On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Monique Koerner, family and community wellness agent about the benefits of strength training and an upcoming eight-week program.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams
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Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney chats with Andrea Wichers with the Special Education Cooperative
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The affiliation agreement between Fort Hays State University and the technical colleges in Hays, Beloit and Goodland is up and running.
On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Joey Linn, Fort Hays State University vice-president for student affairs and Corey Isbell, Fort Hays Tech|North Central-Beloit's vice-president of student and instructional services with an update of the strategic process.
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The Community Baby Shower is will held on April 5 at St. Nicholas Church, 2901 E. 13th, Hays, as part of the Week of the Young Child.
News reporter Becky Kiser talks with Monique Koerner, Cottonwood Extension Family & Community Wellness Agent and Susan Bowles, Kid-Link speech pathologist on this episode of the Hays Post Podcast about the event for expectant and new parents.
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On this episode of the Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Julie Ryder, executive director of The Bricks in Downtown Hays, about the organization's new name and spring events on the bricks.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams about the Innovation Center and Hansen Foundation
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks backyard chickens and a Cedar Bluff Water release with Hays Mayor Sandy Jacobs and Toby Dougherty, city manager, with more details from the March 26 city commission meeting.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks agriculture in the spring growing season with Stacy Campbell, Cottonwood Extension agriculture agent.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with USD 489 Superintendent Ron Wilson
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Doug Williams, Executive Director of Grow Hays, about population growth
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She's the winner of the Arts Advocacy Award recently presented at the 2025 Kansas Governor's Arts in Topeka.
News reporter Becky Kiser talks with Brenda Meder, executive director of the Hays Arts Council on this episode of the Hays Post Podcast.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Nancy Jeter with Women Who Lead
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The Hays Regional Airport saw record passenger enplanements last year. On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser visits with Jamie Salter, airport director. Joining the discussion is Melissa Dixon, director of the Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau, who talks about the economic impacts of airport.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams about housing
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks about alcohol consumption and its effects on the body with Jessica Phelan, assistant professor in the Fort Hays State University Department of Health and Human Performance.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Monique Koerner, Family and Community Wellness extension agent in the Cottonwood District, and Micki Armstrong of "A Different Mindset" about the March 22 fundraiser, "A Rock 'n' Roll Night to Remember."
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Jeff Leiker of "The Morning Blend" talks with Dr. Terry Crull, assistant professor of music and director of choral activities at Fort Hays State University about Thursday's concert.
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Hays Post Cristina Janney discusses the restructuring of Hays Young Professionals with 1st Term Chair, Nicole Windholtz.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Kim Chappell, department chair and associate professor of Advanced Education Programs at FHSU about the trainings
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Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney chats with the Directors and Cast of Hays High School's production of Hadestown
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Julie Ryder, Downtown Hays Development Corporation executive director about the upcoming Downtown Hays Market.
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Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams
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Hays Post Becky Kiser chats with Hays Vice Mayer Mason Ruder and City Manager Toby Dougherty
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Pam Dreiling and Beth Hanson from Early Childhood Connections.
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Jeff Leiker with Eagle Radio chats with Adam Conkey from Historic Fort Hays about The Buffalo Soldier and Nicodemus
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Nancy Jeter from Women Who Lead about the Power of the Purse fundraiser.
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Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney chats with IPI Mike Niernberger about long term care insurance
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Doug Williams, Executive Director of Grow Hays, about the Heart of America Organization
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, new reporter Becky Kiser talks about artificial sweeteners, chemically produced and all-natural, with Jessica Phelan, assistant professor in the Fort Hays State University Department of Health and Human Performance.
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It's a busy time at the Hays Arts Council.
On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Brenda Meder, executive director, about upcoming exhibitions and a youth competition.
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Reporter Cristina Janney discusses inflation and tariffs with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams on this episode of the Hays Post Podcast.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Collin Bielser, Hays deputy city manager and Shaun Musil, city commissioner, about the latest updates in the R9 long-term water supply project for Hays and Russell.
Other discussion includes highlights of the Feb. 13 city commission meeting.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Reese Barrick, director of the Sternberg Museum of Natural History about the new exhibition "Water's Extreme Journey," an interactive maze.
We also talk about upcoming Fort Hays State University alumni events with Kim Cebula, director of the FHSU Foundation and Alumni Office.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Monique Koerner, K-State Research and Extension Family and Community Wellness Agent about the upcoming programs "Becoming a Mom" and "Walk with Ease."
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Lt. Tim Greenwood with HPD about emergency snow routes
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney chats with Jennifer Hecker and Anniston Weber of Options Domestic and Sexual Violence Services
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser talks with Sarah Meitner, Heartland Community Foundation executive director about February Match Month, during which donations are tripled.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcasts, news reporter Becky Kiser talks about the upcoming Western Kansas congressional delegation's trip to Washington, D.C. in April with Sarah Wasinger, of The Chamber in Hays, and Ernestor De La Rosa, ITC Great Plains regional manager of local government and community affairs, the presenting sponsor for the event.
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Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney and Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams talk about the recent Solutions Summit Meeting.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser visits with Janette Meis, communications specialist/event planner in the FHSU president's office, along with Scott Cason, chief communications officer.
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, news reporter Becky Kiser talks with Julie Ryder, executive director of the Downtown Hays Development Corporation about upcoming events, and the internship available for the position of downtown market manager.
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Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams about water use in business growth.
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Jeff Leiker with Eagle Radio chats with Adam Conkey with the Fort Hays Historic Site about some highlights of Kansas History on Kansas Day
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On this episode of the Hays Post Podcast, Becky Kiser talks with Erica Berges, United Way of Ellis County executive director about the second annual Dueling Pianos fundraiser on Sat., Feb. 8 at the Ellis County Fairgrounds, Hays.
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Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney chats with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams
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On this episode of The Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Feeding Hays director Ben Houchen about the program.
Read more at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Sarah Wasinger about the Kiwanis Club of Hays Veterans and Military Appreciation Lunch.
Read more on Hays Post.
On this episode of The Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser recaps this week's Hays City Commission meeting with commissioner Reese Barrick and City Manager Toby Dougherty.
Read more on Hays Post.
On this episode of The Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Fort Hays State University president Tisa Mason about their annual media tour.
Read more on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Arts Council executive director Brenda Meder discusses upcoming Hays Arts Center activities with Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, IPI Financial Services account executive Brian Weimer discusses the history of the company and its services with Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney.
On this episode of The Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Jonathan Zweygardt speaks with Ellis County Deputy Clerk Ruth Mermis about the 2024 general election cycle.
On this episode of the Post Podcast KAYS Morning Blend host Jeff Leiker discusses Oktoberfest details with event director Emily Knowles.
Read more on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Hays vice-mayor Mason Ruder and and deputy City manager Collin Bielser about housing and business developments.
Read more on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, IPI Financial Services account executive Gene Stramel and Traci Soukup discuss Medicare Part D and Advantage Plan enrollements with Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams about property taxes.
On this episode of The Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Heartland Community Foundation executive director Sarah Meitner about Give Fest.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with USD 489's Hays Virtual School lead educator Sondra Hickert about their 25 anniversary.
Read more on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, IPI Financial Services account executive Brian Weimer discusses multi-year guaranteed annuities with Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams about the Astra Bank groundbreaking.
Read more on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Downtown Development Corp. executive director Julie Rider about Wines and Steins.
Read more at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams about the mission of Grow Hays in Ellis County.
On this episode of The Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Jonathan Zweygardt speaks with Ellis County Historical Society director Amanda Rupp about the naming effort underway for the Victoria site.
Read more and find the link to submit your entry on Hays Post.
On this episode of The Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser discusses workforce development with The Chamber in Hays, Kansas president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and DSNWK employment services manager LaVonne Giess.
On this episode of The Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with vice mayor Sandy Jacobs and deputy city manager Collin Bielser about project developments in Hays
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Heartland Community Foundation Executive Director Sarah Meitner and Savannah Downing, about her new role as the new Trego County Development Director.
Read more at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams about incentive districts as Hays city leaders are looking for expansion opportunities.
Read more at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, IPI Financial Services account executive Gene Stramel discusses Medicare updates with Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Herzogfest president Brenton Hoffman about the upcoming event.
Read more at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams about development north of I-70, near Home Depot.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Downtown Development Corp. executive director Julie Rider about the Downtown Hays Farmers Market, voted No. 1 in Kansas for the second year.
Read more on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney discusses changes to the emergency communications across Ellis County with County Administrator Darin Myers and Communications Director Jeff Ridgway.
Read more about recent changes on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Jonathan Zweygardt discusses Ellis County Library funds with County Administrator Darin Myers and Commissioner Michael Berges.
Read more at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Tawnya Rohr, Senior Companion Program director, about their 50-year anniversary.
Read more at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams about development projects in Hays.
Read more on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser discusses tractor safety with Cottonwood Extension District with agent Stacy Campbell.
On this episode of The Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Jonathan Zwedgardt speaks with Ellis County Historical Society director Amanda Rupp about summer activities and recent developments.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Matt Meagher, assistant director of Ellis County Emergency Medical Services, cautions residents to be aware of the sun and the heat index, whether outdoors or indoors, with Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser.
Read more at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser recaps this week's Board of Education meeting with USD 489 Superintendent Ron Wilson.
Read more at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser discusses Stripe rust affecting the area winter wheat crop with Cottonwood Extension District with agent Stacy Campbell.
On this episode of The Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Fort Hays State University graduate Julie Riedel about her new book, "The Sketcher," in which she describes the process of creating the suspect sketches and facets of her own life during BTK's reign of terror.
Read more on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams about development projects in Hays.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Arts Council executive director Brenda Meder discusses upcoming Hays Arts Center activities with Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams about retail recruitment in Hays.
On this episode of The Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Jonathan Zwedgardt speaks with Ellis County Historical Society director Amanda Rupp about recent developments.
Read more on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney speaks with TreeTop Security owner Dallas Haselhorst about cybersecurity.
Read more at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Downtown Hays Development Corp. executive director Julie Rider about the upcoming Farmer's Market and Brews on the Bricks.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, IPI Financial Services account executive Brian Weimer discusses life insurance with Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Jonathan Zwedgyardt discusses the latest news from the Ellis County Historical Society with executive director Amanda Rupp.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams about the economic impact of the recently announced plan to relocate the Hays Police Department into the current home of Astra Bank.
Read more on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser discusses Grow Hays' funding request for The Grove in Hays with City Manager Toby Dougherty and Commissioner Reese Barrick.
Read more at City to locate new police station, municipal court in downtown Hays.
On this episode of The Post Podcast Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Thomas More Prep-Marian Advancement Director Mason Ruder about the upcoming ACE Auction.
Read more at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Arts Council executive director Brenda Meder discusses the 2024 Spring Art Walk with Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney.
Read more at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams about the economic impact of Fort Hays State University.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Cristina Janny speaks with Options executive director Jennifer Hecker and Anniston Weber about Sexual Assault Awareness Month activities.
On this episode of The Post Podcast KKQY 101.9 The Bull Morning Show host Mike Holiday speaks with Voice of the Chiefs Mitch Holthus about the Home on the Range Cabin Celebration in Smith Center.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser discusses Larks Park with City Manager Toby Dougherty and Vice Mayor Sandy Jacobs.
Read more at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney discusses FHSU Giving Day with Erica Fisher and Kristen Floyd.
Read more at Hays Post.
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On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams about the economic impact of Medicaid expansion in Ellis County.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Morgan Steele, FHSU criminal justice program assistant professor, about the John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days.
Read more about the activities on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams about their annual report.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, USD 489 Assistant Special Education Director Lindy McDaniel and students speak with Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney about Autism Awareness Month.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, The Chamber in Hays, Kansas President and CEO Sarah Wasinger discusses the thrid Legislative Coffee with Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser..
Read more about this event on Hays Post.
On this episode of The Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Jonathan Zweygardt speaks with Elllis County Commissioner Michael Berges about the proposed Ellis County Library.
Read more at Hays Post.
On this episode of The Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams about a proposed RHID for The Grove.
Read more at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast TMP-Marian Jr./Sr. High School drama director Travis Grizzell discusses the upcoming production of Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice with Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser.
Read more at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney speaks about housing in Hays with Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams.
Read more on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Hays High students Elizabeth Noble and Calliope Green, along with director Bill Gasper, about Hays High's upcoming production of "Daddy's Girl."
Hays High School will present the two-act comedy, along with several short sketches referred to as “Bon Appétit,” at 7 p.m. on March 7-9 at the 12th Street Auditorium.
Read more on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Downtown Hays Development Corp. executive director Julie Rider about upcoming downtown Hays events.
Read more on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Options Domestic and Sexual Violence Services executive director Jennifer Hecker about their Teen Book Club.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Jonathan Zweygardt discusses recent actions by the Ellis County Commission with Commissioner Nathan Leiker and County Administrator Darin Myers.
Read more at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, The Chamber in Hays, Kansas Vice President of Membership Leigh Purdy and Executive Assistant Isaiah Schindler discuss 2024 Stepping Out.
Read more about this event on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Arts Council executive director Brenda Meder discusses upcoming Hays Arts Center exhibitions.
Read more at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Jessica Phelan, assistant professor in the Fort Hays State University Department of Health and Human Performance and food management.
Read more at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, The Chamber in Hays, Kansas President and CEO Sarah Wasinger speaks with Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser about sponsorship opportunities for the upcoming 15th Annual Chamber Golf Tourney.
Read more about the event at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Fort Hays State University President Tisa Mason and Chair and Professor Center For Applied Technology Kim Stewart about the strategic affiliation with NCK Tech and Northwest Kansas Tech.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post editor Cristina Janney speaks with Kerri Lacy, Lincoln Elementary School principal, about this year's USD 489 Kindergarten Round-Up.
Read more about the USD 489 Kindergarten Round-Up on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Ellis County Sheriff Scott Braun discusses a jail assessment with Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Editor Cristina Janney discusses retail recuritment with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams.
Read more on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Downtown Hays Development Corp. executive director Julie Rider about upcoming events.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with United Way of Ellis County Executive Director Erica Berges about their upcoming fundraiser.
Read more about the event at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Options Domestic and Sexual Violence Services executive director Jennifer Hecker.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Heartland Community Foundation Executive Director Sarah Meitner about Match Month.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney speaks with TMP Singers director Katy Whalen about their upcoming dinner/dessert shows.
Read more about the shows at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Editor Cristina Janney discusses the Ellis County housing market with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser discusses updates on the R9 ranch project with City Manager Toby Dougherty and Mayor Shaun Musil.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, The Chamber in Hays, Kansas President and CEO Sarah Wasinger and Midwest Energy's Mike Morley discuss the upcoming 2024 Legislative Coffee series.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser discusses upcoming events at the Cottonwood Extension District with agent Stacy Campbell.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Holy Family Elementary teacher Hannah Augustine about Catholic Schools Week.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Arts Council executive director Brenda Meder discusses upcoming events with Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams about the Microfactory project.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Insurance Planning agent Gene Stramel discusses long-term care insurance with Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, The Chamber in Hays, Kansas President and CEO Sarah Wasinger and Executive Assistant Isiah Scheindler discuss the upcoming 2024 Leadership Hays series.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Public Library Communications Coordinator Callie Kolacny shares updates from the library with KAYS The Morning Blend host Jeff Leiker.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Kan. 110 District Rep. Ken Rahjes.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with United Way of Ellis County Executive Director Erica Berges about the ongoing fundraising campaign and upcoming events.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Holy Family Elementary Annual Chili Supper and Bazaar chair Tamara Hamel about the 2024 event.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams about economic growth in Ellis County.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Heartland Community Foundation Executive Director Sarah Meitner about end-of-year giving.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams about the recent letter of support signed by the Hays City Commission to support Medicaid expansion.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Thomas More Prep-Marian Principal Chad Meitner about end-of-the-year activities.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, IPI Financial Services agent Gene Stramel discusses Medicare enrollment with Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, KAYS 94.3/1400 Morning Blend host Jeff Leiker speaks with Hays Community Theatre's Keeping Christmas: A Traditional Christmas Tale Director Amy Bergman.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, KAYS 94.3/1400 Morning Blend host Jeff Leiker speaks with Fort Hays State University's director of choral activities, Terry Crull, about upcoming holiday concerts.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney speaks with United Way of Ellis County Executive Director Erica Berges about their ongoing fundraising campaign.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, KAYS 94.3's The Morning Blend host Jeff Leiker discusses The Chamber in Hays, Kansas' 36th Annual Ag Appreciation dinner, Sponsored by High Plains Farm Credit with Chamber President and CEO Sarah Wasinger and Vice President of Marketing from High Plains Farm Credit, Jared Bauck.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, KAYS 94.3's The Morning Blend host Jeff Leiker discusses upcoming events at the Cottonwood Extension District with agent Stacy Campbell.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, KAYS 94.3's The Morning Blend host Jeff Leiker discusses holiday safety with Hays Fire Department Chief Ryan Hagans.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser discusses Grow Hays' funding request for The Grove in Hays with City Manager Toby Dougherty and Commissioner Alaina Cunningham.
Read more at Grow Hays asks city for $1M, financing changes for housing developments
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney speaks with The Chamber in Hays, Kansas, President and CEO Sarah Wasinger and Vice President of Membership Leigh Purdy about advocacy at The Chamber.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, KAYS 94.3's The Morning Blend host Jeff Leiker discusses protein in the diet with Fort Hays State University's Jessica Phelan.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Arts Council executive director Brenda Meder discusses the 2023 Winter Art Walk.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, 94.3/1400 KAYS The Morning Blend host Jeff Leiker speaks with Cottonwood Extension District Family and Community Wellness Agent Monique Koerner about cooking turkey safely.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Heartland Community Foundation Executive Director Sarah Meitner about National Community Foundation week.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser speaks with The Chamber in Hays, Kansas, President and CEO Sarah Wasinger as they welcome Executive Assistant Isaiah Schindler to the team.
Read more about Schindler on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams about the latest Ellis County Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge.
Read more about the event on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Fort Hays State University Alumni Director Carolyn Tatro, about Veterans Day activities.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Holy Family Elementary Fourth grade teacher Teresa Schrant about their Gifts in a Jar fundraiser.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser speaks with The Chamber in Hays, Kansas, President and CEO Sarah Wasinger about the importance of shopping local this holiday season.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Hays High students Eric Lucio and Jordan Aschenbrenner, along with Musical Director Alex Underwood and Director Adrian Rifat, about Hays High's upcoming production of "Sweeney Todd."
Read more about the upcoming production at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams about a 48-apartment development planned on West 10th St.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, 94.3 KAYS The Morning Blend host Jeff Leiker speaks with Ellis County Sheriff Scott Braun about staying safe while driving this winter.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Fort Hays State University President Tisa Mason about their annual media tour.
Read about the tour at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser speaks with The Chamber in Hays, Kansas Vice-president of Membership Leigh Purdy about the 2024 Chamber Awards Banquet.
Find out more about The Chamber in Hays, Kansas 2024 Awards Banquet at Nomination deadline approaching for The Chamber in Hays 2024 awards banquet.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser discusses Ellis County property taxes with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser recaps the latest city commission meeting with City Manager Toby Dougherty and Vice Mayor Sandy Jacobs.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney speaks with United Way of Ellis County Executive Director Erica Berges about their ongoing fundraising campaign.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser discusses holiday stress with Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and High Plains Mental Health Center Outreach, Education and Marketing Manager James Gerstner.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Tracy Perrett and Toni Whitmer from Holy Family Elementary about club activities.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, KAYS 94.3's The Morning Blend host Jeff Leiker discusses Thomas More Prep-Marian's upcoming production of "The Music Man," with director Travis Grizzell.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams about a $3.6 million grant award for The Grove Housing Development's Community Center.
Read about the grant award at Hays' Grove housing development receives $3.6 M grant for community center
On this episode of the Post Podcast, KAYS 94.3's The Morning Blend host Jeff Leiker discusses the role of fiber in the diet with Fort Hays State University's Jessica Phelan.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Curtis Brown about the USD 489 Foundation for Educational Excellence and the upcoming Annual Project 489 Auction.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, 94.3FM/1400AM The Morning Blend host Jeff Leiker discusses the upcoming Cottonwood Extension District coyote trapping and calling program with Agent Stacy Campbell.
Read about the event on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with The Chamber in Hays, Kansas, President and CEO Sarah Wasinger and Manager of Education and Outreach from High Plains Mental Health Center Kaley Conner about the upcoming first session of the Child Care Provider Quarterly Professional Development Series, set for 6 p.m. Oct. 26.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Thomas More Prep-Marian Counsoler Dave Zachman about college and career prep.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney discusses the ongoing development in the Heart of America Tallgrass Addition with Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser discusses housing projects in Hays with City Manager Toby Dougherty and Vice Mayor Shaun Musil.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser discusses ongoing renovations at Roosevelt Elementary with Principal Chris Sramek.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Fort Hays State University Alumni Director Carolyn Tatro and Assistant Director of Student Success Hugo Perez about first-generation student success.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, 94.3FM/1400AM The Morning Blend host Jeff Leiker discusses the upcoming Cottonwood Extension District regional community visit with Family and Community Wellness Agent Monique Koerner.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, 94.3 FM/1400AM KAYS The Morning Blend host Jeff Leiker discusses Halloween safety and Domestic Violence Awareness month with Hays Police Deputy Chief Brian Dawson.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Historian and author Leo Oliva about the history of railroads in Kansas and his upcoming presentations.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University's chief communications officer Scott Cason and financial assistance counselor Robyn Brugardt discuss changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid application process.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Heartland Community Foundation executive director Sarah Meitner discusses succession planning with Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Options Domestic and Sexual Violence Services director of client services Megan Zampieri-Lillpopp about their 40th anniversary.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser discusses the upcoming AI Content Generation Workshop with Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and Nex-Tech digital media supervisor Aubree Broyles.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, KAYS 94.3/1400 Morning Blend host Jeff Leiker speaks with Fort Hays State University director of choral activities, Terry Crull about the upcoming production of "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder."
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Downtown Hays Development Corporation executive director Julie Rider discusses upcoming holiday events with Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser recaps the first quarter of the school year with Thomas More Prep-Marian principal Chad Meitner.
On this episode of the Post Podcast,Thomas More Prep-Marian's Wanda Billinger shares 2023 Homecoming information with Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Public Library Communications Coordinator Callie Kolacny shares updates from the library.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, USD 489 Early Childhood Connections instructors Arielle Simpson and Michelle Dannels share details for Go Truck Go, set for Sept. 14 in Hays.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares information on upcoming events at Brief Space.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, USD 489 Virtual School lead instructor Sondra Hickert discusses the start of the school year.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney discusses upcoming events at Options Domestic and Sexual Violence executive director Jennifer Hecker.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University chief communication officer Scott Cason, assistant athletic director Matt Cook and police chief Terry Pierce discuss changes at Lewis Field as FHSU Football prepares for the first home game of the year.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Downtown Hays Development Corp. executive director Julie Rider discusses fall events with Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays Director of Recruitment and Retention David Clingan shares updates from the MicroFactory project.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, USD 489 WeKan transition coordinator Dawn Howard and students Tristen and Christian discuss the center's community projects.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser recaps this week's Hays City Commission meeting with city manager Toby Dougherty and commissioner Sandy Jacobs.
Read more about the meeting on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams discusses the annexation of land that will be home to The Grove.
Read more about the project on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, USD 489 Hays Superintendent Ron Wilson discusses the first Board of Education meeting for the year with Hays Post Reporter Cristina Janney.
Read more about the meeting on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, USD 489 Hays Assistant Superintendent Shanna Dinkel shares updates from the district as students, staff and faculty settle in for the school year.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Thunder on the Plains organizers Shelby Doty and Jackie Lang share details about the 2023 event, set for Municipal Park Sept 15-16.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Arts Council executive director Brenda Meder discusses the 38th Annual Fall Art Walk, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. August 25.
Read about the event and find a schedule at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and Hays Public Library director Brandon Hines discuss the upcoming Leadership Book Club feature 13 Ways to Kill Your Community.
Read more about the event on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Holy Family Elementary principal Mandy Meagher and assistant principal Gene Flax discuss the beginning of the school year with The Morning Blend's Jeff Leiker.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays director of business development and special projects James Robben and facilitator Kris Munsch discuss the upcoming Think Like an Entrepreneur Ice House program.
Read about the program on Hays Post.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with Hays High School Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Bob Davis.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, USD 489 Hays Superintendent Ron Wilson discusses the beginning of the school year.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Holy Family Elementary administrative assistant Tracy Perrett and Thomas More Prep-Marian Advancement Office assistant Joe Roth discuss the 2023 Back 2 School Bash.
Read about the event on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Ellis County Public Health director Kim Reel and Tree Top Security owner Dallas Haselhorst discuss the Russ Tuttle Stop Trafficking Project presentation scheduled in Hays on Sept. 17.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and vice president of membership Leigh Purdy discuss the 2024 Hays Community Guide.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Public Library Communications Coordinator Callie Kolacny shares updates from the library.
Read about the Community Threads program on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares updates on the Tallgrass Addition.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Cottonwood Extension District Family and Community Wellness agent Monique Koerner discusses the upcoming Stay Strong, Stay Healthy program.
Read about Stay Strong, Stay Healthy on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Herzogfest president Brenton Hoffman and vice president Jennifer Pfiefer stop by to discuss the event set for Aug. 11-12.
Read about Herzogfest on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University Alumni Office Alumni Director Carolyn Tatro discusses preparations for Homecoming and the Homecoming Award recipients.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Police Department Lt. Tim Greenwood shares back-to-school safety tips.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and group sales advisor with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas Jeremy McGuire discuss the Chamber Blue of Kansas insurance program.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters area director Jenny Bates discusses the Hays Duck Derby.
Read more about the event at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams discusses the upcoming five year anniversary of Brief Space.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, The Morning Blend's Jeff Leiker speaks with Kansas' Biggest Rodeo Rodeo clown and barrelman Cody Sosebee.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger discusses the 35th annual Education Appreciation Dinner.
Read about the event at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University Alumni Office Alumni Director Carolyn Tatro and Dean of Library Services at Forsyth Library Ginger Williams discuss the remodel of FHSU's Forsyth Library.
Read about the remodel on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Lovegrass Music Festival organizer Aimee Riegel shares details of the festival set for Aug. 10-12.
Read about the event at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams discusses the budget process for city and county governments in the area.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Fire Department Deputy Chief Shane Preston shares summer and back-to-school safety tips, along with updates from the department.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, The Morning Blend's Jeff Leiker speaks with Buzz the Entertainer about his upcoming Hays performance.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, the director of The Hays Community Theatre's production of The Addams Family, a new musical comedy, Travis Grizzell, discusses the show set for performances at 7 p.m. July 27, 28 and 29 in the Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center on the Fort Hays State University campus.
Read more about the production on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University's global affairs operations director and chief communications officer, Scott Cason discuss the FHSU commencement delegation's trip to China.
Read about the trip on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams discusses the City of Hays' purchase of land near 27th and Main.
Find out more about the purchase at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Arts Council executive director Brenda Meder discusses current happenings at the Hays Arts Center as preparations begin for the Fall Art Walk.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Cottonwood Extension District Agent Jay Harris discusses his new responsibilities as the Horticulture Agent and Master Gardener coordinator.
Read about the Master Gardner program and Harris accepting the position on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University's Jessica Phelan discusses dietary guidelines and nutrition tips with The Morning Blend's Jeff Leiker.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Ellis County EMS director Danita Schroeder discuss the department's upcoming food drive for the Community Assistance Center.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney recaps the July 17, 2023, Board of Education meeting with superintendent Ron Wilson.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber vice president of marketing and communications Mariah Legleiter discusses the Hays Young Professionals.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams discusses the role and potential uses of STAR Bonds.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser recaps this week's Hays City Commission meeting with deputy city manager Collin Bielser and commissioner Reese Barrick.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Roger Leigleiter and Allen Mccoy speak with the KAYS Morning Blend host Jeff Leiker about the McCracken Rodeo.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Shrine Bowl of Kansas executive director B.J. Harris shares details of events in Hays in advance of the 50th annual Kansas Shrine Bowl.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger discusses recent efforts to address the shortage of childcare providers in Ellis County.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams discusses Fort Hays State University President Tisa Mason joining their board of directors while above-ground work begins on the Microfactory project.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Public Library communications coordinator Callie Kolacny Callie Kolacny shares updates from the Hays Public Library.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Ellis County Sheriff Scott Braun discusses the Fourth of July and safety tips for the annual Tour Die Kapellen.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Tour Die Kapellen organizer Kathy Rome discusses the upcoming event with the KAYS Morning Blend's Jeff Leiker.
Read more about the event on Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Arts Council executive director Brenda Meder shares updates from the Arts Center.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Cottonwood Extension District agents Monique Koerner and Tamara Robertson discuss the 2023 Ellis County Fair.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser discusses the ongoing fight over the water rights from the R9 ranch with city manager Toby Dougherty and city commissioner Mason Ruder.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams discusses the ongoing battle over the water rights from the R9 Ranch and the economic impacts.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post Reporter Jonathan Zweygardt discusses recent actions by the Ellis County Commission with Commissioner Michael Berges.
Read more about the decision to cut townships at hayspost.com/posts/f9d4812c-a10d-4f11-9856-f3673ebe6a7b.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Police Department Community Service Officer Ethan Henderson shares tips to keep pets safe during high summer temperatures.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Ellis County native and Nashville-based singer/songwriter Blaine Younger discusses his latest song, "Heartland."
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Ellis County Emergency Manager Lyle Pantle discusses fireworks regulations in unincorporated parts of Ellis County and tips to stay safe this Fourth of July holiday.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, The Morning Blend's Jeff Leiker speaks with event coordinator Sandi Maier and board member Kathy Cossaart about the 2023 Wild West Festival.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney recaps the June 19, 2023, Board of Education meeting with superintendent Ron Wilson.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and vice president of membership Leigh Purdy discuss their upgraded business directory and this week's chamber events.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University's Jessica Phelan, discusses the importance of staying hydrated.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams discusses the annual local government budget request process for Grow Hays and other area agencies.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus lead singer Ronnie Winter speaks with The Morning Blend's Jeff Liker about their upcoming performance in Hays and more.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Arts Council executive director Brenda Meder shares details of the 2023 Summer Art Walk.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber vice president of membership Leigh Purdy and Meredith Malatin, chair of the Hays Young Professionals Networking and Engagement Committee, discuss Pack the Pavilion, set for June 16.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber vice president of membership Leigh Purdy and Jeremy McGuire, Group Sales Advisor for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas, discuss the Chamber Blue of Kansas Association Health Plan enrollment process.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Heartland Community Foundation executive director Sarah Meitner discusses their latest round of grant awards, a rebrand and the importance of foundations to western Kansas, including the Patterson Family Foundation.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Public Library communications coordinator Callie Kolacny shares information about the Summer Reading Challenge and upcoming library events.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, The Morning Blend host Jeff Leiker speaks with 7eight5.com co-founder Harrison Brent about the project.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University Alumni Association alumni engagement strategist Carolyn Tatro, discusses summer activities at the Alumni Association.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Becky Kiser discusses the latest developments in the R9 Ranch project with Hays vice-mayor Sandy Jacobs and City Manager Toby Doughery.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays director of business recruitment and development David Clingan discusses The Microfactory, a business development project in Hays.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with Kayla Cullens and Roberta Myers to discuss the situation at Wilson schools.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams discusses The Grove, a housing project in Hays designed for senior living.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with State Library of Kansas director of reference Cindy Roupe.
To see the 2023 Kansas Notable Books list, visit the official State Library of Kansas website.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, United Way of Ellis County executive director Erica Berges shares updates from the organization with Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Ellis County Historical Society executive director Amanda Rupp shares the latest from the society.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays James Robben, Director of Business Development and Special Projects, shares information about the E-Community program.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with Eber Phelps about the Habitat for Humanity program.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Fire Department Chief Ryan Hagans shares summer safety tips.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Cottonwood Extension District agent Stacy Campbell discusses the upcoming Ellis County Wheat Demonstration Plot Field Day.
More from the K-State Research and Extension District:
The Ellis County Wheat Plot Field Day will be Thursday, June 1 beginning at 6 p.m.
A complimentary meal and refreshments will be provided courtesy of sponsors. RSVP Appreciated by Friday, May 26, to help with meal count. Please register at https://kstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_77nUUU6CSmIqJN4 call 785-628-9430 or email Theresa tam3@ksu.edu
Neil Gottschalk is the farmer cooperator. Location is at the intersection of Golf Course Road and 180th Avenue, turn south onto 180th Avenue and go 1.5 miles.
In case of inclement weather, it will be held at the Agricultural Research Center, Hays auditorium, 1232 240th Avenue.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Police Department Lt. Brandon Wright discusses water restrictions, set to go into effect on June 1 in Hays.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and Hays Public Library communications coordinator Callie Kolacny discuss the upcoming Book Club sessions featuring When everyone leads the toughest challenges get seen and solved.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays City Band director Matt Rome discusses the Hays City Band.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Arts Council executive director Brenda Meder discusses their upcoming summer activities.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University's Drew Gannon shares ways to take advantage of summer for health.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, the Hays Chambers' new vice president of membership, Leigh Purdy and president and CEO Sarah Wasinger discuss the role of the position in the community.
Read more at Hays Chamber announces new VP of membership.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Holy Family Elementary principal Rachel Wentling discusses the end of the school year and the preparations for next year.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Becky Kiser discusses the latest developments in the R9 Ranch project with Hays mayor Shaun Musil and City Manager Toby Doughery.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Jonathan Zwedygardt speaks with Ellis County Clerk Bobbi Dreiling about changes to Ellis County Polling Sites.
Read more at hayspost.com.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares updates on area projects.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with NASA Astronaut Victor Glover, Jr.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Cottonwood Extension District agent Monique Koerner discuss the MED instead of Meds program.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University professor of finance Tom Johansen and Alumni Association alumni engagement strategist Carolyn Tatro discuss the FHSU Bloomberg Terminals.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays High assistant principal Fred Winter discuss end-of-the-year plans at the school.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University President Tisa Mason and chief communication officer, Scott Cason discuss the President's Innovation Grants.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams discusses the Grow Hays 2022 Annual Report.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams discusses the recent Pitch It event and the effect of entrepreneurship in northwest Kansas.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University's director of choral activities, Terry Crull, discusses upcoming FHSU performances.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Ellis County Historical Society executive director Amanda Rupp.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Community Theatre's Comedy of Errors director Adam Conkey shares details of the upcoming performance.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Arts Council executive director Brenda Meder shares details from the upcoming Spring Art Walk.
On this episode of the Post Podcast First Care Clinic CEO Eric Flax and Hays Chamber CEO Sarah Wasinger discuss First Care, their expansion efforts and sponsorship of the upcoming Chamber auction.
Related stories:First Care Clinic announces new chief executive officer
First Care Clinic acquires Hess Clinic
First Care to open pharmacy, express care in downtown Hays
On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University, Jessica Phelan discusses the importance of Vitamin D.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director, Doug Williams shares information about local governments as economic drivers.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with Kansas State University Meteorologist Chip Redman.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Ellis County Emergency Manager Lyle Pantle shares severe weather safety information.
On this episode of the Post Podcast USD 489 Hays Virtual School Director Olivia Rice shares details from their upcoming graduation.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Thomas More Prep-Marian English, Drama, Debate & Forensics Instructor Travis Grizzell, discusses the upcoming production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Read the story at Hays Post.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University Rodeo team members Morgan Kessler and Kayler Getz discuss the upcoming FHSU Rodeo, set for April 20-22.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Holy Family Elementary Fifth Grade teacher Chris Dinkel discusses the annual Ellis County Famous Figures program with the school's final competition selections, Hannah Flax, Madelynne Corsair, Myka Schoepf and Weston Unrein.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber vice president of marketing and communications Mariah Legleiter and owner of Legleiter Insurance Devin Legleiter share information from the Kansas Leadership Center's ongoing Leadership Hays 2023.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University alumni engagement strategist Carolyn Tatro shares information about the John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days and the Day of Giving.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams discuss the Heart of America Development Corp.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Jonathan Foster discuss his music and upcoming Hays performance with The KAYS Morning Blend host Jeff Leiker.
On this episode of the Post Podcast USD 489 Director of Early Childhood Services Donna Hudson-Hamilton shares information about ongoing district pre-school enrollment.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Police Department Lt. Brandon Wright shares information about distracted driving during Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger shares details from their upcoming Plinko Patio Party.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Public Libary communications coordinator Callie Kolacny shares details of upcoming events at the library.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams share information about entrepreneurship in the area as they prepare for the next Pitch It event.
On this episode of the Post PodcastDevelopmental Services of Northwest Kansas President and CEO Jerry Michaud and Director of Development Steve Keil share information about the recently completed Stronger Forever Together Captial Campaign.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State Shooting Sports team members Kyler Niblock and Katie Dettmann discuss recent team activities and accomplishments as they reflect on the history and legacy of the team and it's impact on FHSU.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays High Plains Barbershop Chapter members Don Barber and Vance Chatier share details from the upcoming performance, It's a Grand Night For Singing, set for April 15 in the Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Ellis County Sheriff Scott Braun shares information about recent scam activity in the area along with prevention tips.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reported Cristina Janney gets updates from United Way of Ellis County executive director Erica Berges.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares updates on major Grow Hays projects.
On this episode of the Post Podcast USD 489 assistant superintendent and director of curriculum Shanna Dinkel shares updates from the district.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Amy B. chats with Letters from Home performers, prior to their Friday night performance in downtown Hays.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Amy B. speaks with Autumn Ragland, lead singer of Ragland, as she shares information about their upcoming performance in Hays.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, USD 489 Public Relations director Chrisy Crough, shares updates from the district as they continue facility updates that will utilize a bond issue passed by voters in 2022.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and Cottonwood Extension district agent Stacy Campbell, discuss area resources for plants and landscaping in Ellis County.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Lovegrass Music Festival organizer Aimee Riegel and Defiance Brewing Brand Master Brett Straight team up to bring Lovegrass "experience" to Hays.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Cottonwood Extension district agent Stacy Campbell discusses upcoming tractor safety courses.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney speaks with 11-year-old Russell resident Kyleigh Funk about her business Funky Sweet Treats.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Fire Department Chief Ryan Hagans shares updates from the Hays Fire Department.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Eagle Radio's Amy B. checks in with Chris Thompson of the Eli Young Band, set to perform in Hays on March 30 at the Fox Theater.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger shares updates from the Hays Chamber as they prepare for their upcoming Golf Tournament fundraiser.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Holy Family Elementary students discuss the upcoming Stations of the Cross.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares information about their soon-to-be-released annual report.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Arts Council executive director Brenda Meder discusses upcoming programming at the Hays Arts Center.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Ellis County emergency manager Lyle Pantle discusses a recent tornado strike drill in Hays.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University's Glen McNeil discusses Salt Awareness Week, National Orange and Lemon Day and Artichoke Day.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber vice president of membership Rhonda Meyerhoff and Creek Side Resort manager Kac' Patterson discuss the growing list of services offered at the RV Park.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University Alumni Association alumni engagement strategist, along with FHSU students Adolfo Molina and Slater Heglin discuss the Tigers Forever organization.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Public Library communications coordinator, Callie Kolacny shares information about upcoming events at the library.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Options executive director Jennifer Hecker about the ongoing training of therapy dog Fonzie to speak using language buttons.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director, Doug Williams recounts information shared during a recent visit of 13 Ways to Kill a Community author Doug Griffiths.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University Alumni Association Alumni Engagement Strategist Carolyn Tatro and FHSU Career Advisor Lisa Karlin share information about connecting students with the area business community.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Cottonwood Extension District Family and Community Wellness agent Monique Koerner shares information about the Walk Kansas program.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber President and CEO Sarah Wasinger and Nex-Tech Wireless Brand Manager Tasha Eichman discuss the Chamber's upcoming Golf Tournament fundraiser.
On this episode of the Post Podcast West Central Kansas Special Education Cooperative assistant director of special education Lindy McDaniel, along with students Wyatt and Michael discuss Westside school's family-style lunches.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Police Department Lt. Brandon Wright shares severe weather safety tips.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Thomas More Prep-Marian students Jensen Brull, Emma Wasinger and sponsor Jennie Helget discuss the Monarch Music program
On this episode of the Post Podcat Holy Family Elementary principal Rachel Wentling discusses the upcoming State of the Catholic Schools address set for March 7.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University professor of music and director of choral activities shares information about upcoming performances at the university.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares STAR bonds and potential uses in Ellis County.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Sunflower Insurance Solutions owner Courtney Dale shares the latest in Medicate enrollment news.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University sports information director, Ryan Prickett shares updates from winter and spring sports.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays High Anne of Green Gables cast members Spenser Mills-Kulmula, Addy Brull and Devlyn Jochum discuss the upcoming performance of the spring play.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Early Childhood Connections coordinator Beth Hansen shares information about the USD 489 Preschool Roundup, scheduled for March 2.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Ellis County Sheriff Scott Braun discusses the sheriff's department.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Community Theatre board member, Adam Conkey shares information about the upcoming events at the theater.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger shares updates from the Ellis County child care taskforce.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney recaps this week's USD 489 Board of Education meeting with superintendent Ron Wilson.
On this episode of the Post Pocast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares updates from the Tallgrass Housing addition, BriefSpace and more.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Wilson Elementary principal, Anita Schieve discusses the upcoming Hays USD 489 Kindergarten Roundup.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney discusses the latest United Way campaign with executive director Erica Berges.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Fire Department Chief Ryan Hagans shares information about the annual hydrant flushing in Hays.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Thomas More Prep-Marian Junior High assistant principal Melissa Schoepf discuss the move of Sixth Grade from Holy Family to TMP-M.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber vice president of membership Rhonda Meyerhoff and Homestead of Hays director Kathy Deines share information about the 2023 Chamber's Stepping Out event.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares information about recent donations to the Microfactory project and their importance to the area.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University's Glen McNeil shares information about almonds, wine and fat, all celebrated on Feb. 16.
On this episode of the Post Podcast's Catholic School Report Holy Family Elementary fourth-grade teachers Teresa Schrant and Maddy Quimby share information about the upcoming annual Pancake Races.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Ellis County Emergency Medical Services director Danita Schroeder shares updates from the department.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger along with vice president of membership Rhonda Meyerhoff share information about recent community activities and projects.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Public Library communications coordinator Callie Kolacny and outreach coordinator Jake Mishoulam share information about recent activities and events.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Heartland Community Foundation executive director Sarah Meitner shares updates from the foundation about Match Month and details of a Big Give Day free will dinner going on throughout Feb. 13 at Thirsty's Brew Pub and Grill in Hays.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser discuss the City of Hays proposal for the Braun property made during this week's city commission meeting with commissioner Reese Barrick and city manager Toby Dougherty.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams discusses the City of Hays Braun property plan.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Police Department Lt. Jeff Ridgeway discusses the We Tip program.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Cottonwood Extension District agent Monique Koerner shares details of an upcoming fermentation workshop.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and vice president of membership Rhonda Meyerhoff share information about the 2023 awards banquet.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University Global Affairs operations director Haley Williams discusses the university's efforts to create global citizens with a focus on sustainability.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Ellis County Historical Society executive director Amanda Rupp discusses future plans for the society and museum after presenting to the ECHS Board of Directors in January.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares information about grant funding.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Thomas More Prep-Marian Pop Singers director Alex Rome shares information about their upcoming Pop Singers Showcase.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Ellis County sheriff, Scott Braun discusses cold weather safety tips.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Heartland Community Foundation executive director Sarah Meitner shares details of Match Month.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays High FFA Alumni organizers discuss their upcoming fundraiser set for Feb. 4.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger shares details from the upcoming Legislative Coffee series.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares information about The Grove.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Middle School principal Tom Albers shares information about the upcoming student-led conferences.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams discusses recently released building permit data from Hays in 2022.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Arts Council executive director Brenda Meder shares information about their ongoing exhibition and upcoming activities.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Cottonwood Extension District Family and Community Wellness agent Monique Koerner shares details of the upcoming Stay Strong, Stay Healthy program.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University Alumni Association alumni engagement specialist Carolyn Tatro, Chantelle Arnold, FHSU director of financial assistance and FHSU associate vice president of student affairs, Dennis King share information about the Kansas Comprehensive Grant Match Program.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Holy Family Elementary principal Rachel Wentling details the expansion of the Precious Creations early childhood program.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Thomas More Prep-Marian principal Chad Meitner shares information about the school's foreign exchange programs
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Public Library Communications Coordinator Callie Kolacny shares information about the upcoming Hays Public Library Foundation Afternoon Tea Party Fundraiser.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber vice president of Marketing and Communications, Mariah Legleiter discusses the Hays Young Professionals organization.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser recaps this week's Hays city commission meeting with city manager Toby Dougherty and commissioner Sandy Jabobs.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Police Department Community Service Officer Nikki Hausler discusses pet registration and safety during the winter.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares information about raising property tax rates in Ellis County.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, USD 489 Early Childhood Connections director Donna Hudson-Hamilton shares updates from the program.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran from the U.S. Mexico border.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and vice president of membership Rhonda Meyerhoff share details from the upcoming Chamber Awards banquet.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University President Tisa Mason shares highlights from the university in 2022.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays USD 489 superintendent Ron Wilson recaps 2022 and shares what the district is looking forward to in 2023.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, STEM Harvest founder and Tree Top Security owner Dallas Haselhorst shares updates on the project and the remodel of 507 Main.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares updates on what 2023 will bring to Ellis County.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Holy Family Elementary parent organizer, Jessica Acosta shares information about the upcoming Chilli Supper and Bazaar
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams recaps Ellis County development projects in 2022.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and Laurie Kennedy stop by to discuss rebranded Ellis Co. leadership program.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Heartland Community Foundation executive director Sarah Meitner recaps this year at the foundation.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams discusses the results of a recent Ellis County quality of life survey.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, we chat with Ellis County performer Buzz The Entertainer.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Virtual School director Oliva Rice shares details about the program.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Cottonwood Extension District agent Monique Koerner introduces 4-H Youth Development agent Tamara Robertson.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Police Department Lt. Tim Greenwood shares ways to stay safe while shopping for gifts this holiday season.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Kansas Governor Laura Kelly.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Glen McNeil shares information about holiday snacking during our Nutrition, Health and Wellness report.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University chief communications officer Scott Cason shares upcoming FHSU graduation details.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Public LIbrary Communications Coordinator, Callie Kolacny share information about upcoming library activities and events.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and vice president of membership Rhonda Meyerhoff share the importance of shopping local during the holiday season.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Cristian Janney recaps the latest USD 489 Board of Education meeting with superintendent Ron Wilson.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University dean of the College of Education Paul Adams shares information about FHSU Christmas festivities.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger, and Kaley Conner, Manager, Outreach, Education and Marketing at High Plains Mental Health Center discuss mental health during the holiday season.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams discusses the impact of charitable giving on the area economy.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Arts Council executive director Brenda Meder shares information about the upcoming Winter Art Walk.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and Tree Top Security owner, Dallas Haselhorst share information about the upcoming Downtown Hays Tree Lighting and Hometown Holiday event.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger along with vice president of Marketing and Communications Mariah Legleighter share information about the Chamber's Community Guides.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director, Doug Williams discusses recent business development in Ellis County.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Holy Family Elementary Fourth grade teachers Maddy Quimby and Teresa Schrant share information about the ongoing Gifts in a Jar fundraiser.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger shares information about the upcoming Holiday Cher Community Card Decorating Event.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares updates from Grow Hays.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Arts Council executive director Brenda Meder shares information from the Arts Center.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Wilson Elementary principal, Anita Schieve shares information about the district's first parent-teacher conference of the year.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Glen McNeil shares information about the impacts of diet on bone health.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Ellis County Sheriff Scott Braun and Graham County Sheriff Cole Presley, discuss the proposed amendment to the Kansas Consitution on the ballot in November that would enshrine the office of the Sheriff within the constitution.
On this episode of the Post Podcast USD 489 Foundation president Curtis Brown shares information about the upcoming fifth annual Project 489 Dinner Show and Auction.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and administrative assistant Crystal Young share information about the Ag Appreciation Dinner.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University professor of music and director of choral activities Terry Crull shares information about the upcoming FHSU Choirs Concert.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University Informatics Department Chair and Associate Professor, Melissa Hunsicker Walburn and Chief Communications officer Scott Cason discuss the Cybersecurity Institute and Technology Incubator.
The Center for Life Experiences has added new support groups. Executive director Darian Schlegel stops by to share the details on this episode of the Post Podcast.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University Alumni Association engagement specialist Carolyn Tatro recaps Homecoming and discusses ways FHSU alums stay connected all year long.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares information about the Microfactory groundbreaking.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Hurricane Ian Red Cross volunteer Peter Peterson.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Cottonwood Extension District Family and Community Wellness agent, Monique Koerner shares information about the Keys to Aging program.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Holy Family IT director Duff Watson shares information about recent technology upgrades in Hays Catholic Schools.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Public Library Communications coordinator Callie Kolacny shares updates from the library.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares updates from the Microfactory Project.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director Melissa Dixon shares details from the upcoming Hays Oktoberfest.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Ellis County Sheriff Scott Braun shares winter safety preparation tips.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber vice president of membership Rhonda Meyerhoff and vice president of marketing and communication Mariah Legleiter stop by to share information about the relaunched Chamber referral program.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The Hays chamber has relaunched their referral program Vice President of Marketing and Communications Mariah Legleiter along with Vice President of membership, Rhonda Meyerhoff stopped by to share the details on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Some might have heard, we just finished up the coupon book in print.
Mariah Legleiter
Yeah, hopefully in the next few hours. Actually.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Yeah, out in October, later this month. This is October, isn't it?
James Bell
Yeah. We're just getting into it. It's the fourth. I had to look, I had to look, I don't know,
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
I missed the changing the month.
James Bell
How involved you guys were the calendar change? You didn't even know it. Sarah, you're working them too hard. Oh, my goodness. That's gonna be so exciting. Because there's, I don't, you know, as somebody that works in publishing, and now it's digital publishing, so it's a little different. But there's nothing I don't think more exciting than when you hand off something like that to the printer. And you're waiting for it to come back. Because you know, there's gonna be a mistake. There's always a mistake. Yeah. And you're gonna see it. As soon as you pick it up. You're like, dang it. There's my mistake. But then you're also going to be like, Look at what I did. Yeah. Look how cool this is.
Mariah Legleiter
Yeah, I think that was my first my first experience without the Community Guide last year was yeah, it was an amazing feeling. Yeah.
James Bell
About turning, turning an idea into a real physical object. Yeah. You just, I mean, you can do stuff online all day. And it feels good. That's great. But getting that thing in your Yes,
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
yes. Yes. i My first mistake was revealed on my first project back in 1981. And it had gone through several edit things. And like you said, opened up the box, and there was the word that was misspelled. So yeah, I just know that now. I'm not perfect. Try as hard as I made to make everything right. But I think this coupon book may be a first extent. Well, your guide was good. So yeah, I think it'll be great. So we're excited. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, these are some of the reasons to why our members are really proud, James, to belong to the the chamber and be a member of the chamber for these different various opportunities. Because in in our book, if they were not a chamber member, then then they weren't allowed. Yeah, yeah. And, and many of them, they're, they're really so happy about their chamber membership, that they end up talking to other businesses about it, and that it's an opportunity to for them to gain much by by joining the chamber, so we decided that we wanted to revitalize the referral program. Very cool. Yeah.
James Bell
Who doesn't love a referral program? That is like the most effective marketing you can really have? I think,
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
I think so too, is word of mouth. Yeah. Yeah. We know that. That's great. So yeah, if the the business analysts say, what's a business that's not in town, let's let's go CQRS talks to U V. W. And you see, W decides to that they want to join the chamber, and we know that QRS talk to him, then, yeah, there's some referral money in there. And it used to be that that was going didn't have quite the same as a reward as what it is now that we're going to give it's $25 and chamber checks. I realized $25 isn't going to make you rich, but who doesn't like some acknowledgement for their efforts? Yeah. And just the fun of receiving something that maybe you weren't planning on meeting your budget? You know, gosh, we have we have some people that I would anticipate are probably worth quite a bit. And they get tickled pink over a $25. Yeah, chamber check. Yeah. So it's, it's a good way for us to, to acknowledge that our members are doing that, you know, we want them to know, we're paying attention and, and show our appreciation for what they're doing. That all helps the chamber to grow. And also, it's paying them I guess, for some extra work that they're doing or maybe sometimes it was an uncomfortable conversation that they had. That's right. Yeah. So yeah, we're getting bring back that referral program. And, you know, James, there's lots of reasons for people to be happy with a chamber. You know, one of so many times when people think of the chamber they think of all the events that We do. And yes, those of yours
James Bell
do a lot of
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
yes, we do. Yes, we did
James Bell
talk about some of those here in a little bit. Yeah.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
And so that then other businesses will say that they can't go to all those events. So there's no reason for him to belong to the chamber, which is nothing really farther from reality. When you stop and look it, let's just take childcare task force of Ellis County, for example. You know, even though I may not have children that need daycare, if I'm running a business, and I find out that there's going to be more people working through a childcare effort promoted by the chamber, that means more expendable income. And they just might spend money at my store my business. And so it, it's kind of a revolving circle with that. So that advocacy that we're out there, we're doing, we'll go on to Ellis County Commissioner meetings, the city of Hays meetings, school board, the single board meetings, helping Ellis now what we did here in Hays to help advocate for a school bond chatting with Victoria on different things that we might be able to help them with as well. There's a lot of advocating going on. And that's the number one reason why chambers were actually formed was for them to get together as a pool and to advocate for causes that were going to help their businesses. So that's huge. Yeah, that that visibility, then that you get with those free benefits, inviting people to chamber chats, or to the ribbon cuttings, or the groundbreakings or the catching ups, I most always tell our businesses that are going to schedule one of those, please invite the individuals that you want to make sure that are here, you might have some customers that are not directly related to the chamber, that if those are people that you would like to have, send them an invitation column, let them know that you'd love to have them there. Because that celebration, although it's a chamber celebration, it's also the business member celebration. And so it's fun for them to have the people in their lives that were important in making their business what, what it is? Sure. So lots of reasons. Gosh, what's another one where I look here? We
Mariah Legleiter
have a lot of development opportunities, too. So there's there's tons of learning opportunities where you can get a competitive edge over non members with exclusive training opportunities on all kinds of hot topics. I mean, we have one coming up, but Mike Hankey seminar that we have that we've kind of partnered with the I'm going to get that wrong western Kansas Human Resource Management Association, I think. Right. Yeah, it's something that we we kind of approached them about and
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
it was actually Heartland credit. Oh, okay. Yeah, we found out about Mike Hankey through that. Okay, yes. And they said, This is somebody that you need to bring to town. And he's going to talk about setting yourself apart in the job market as an employer that's trying to hire people. So
James Bell
talking about an important skill right now. Yeah. Oh, my God. Absolutely.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
So at the Chamber, we're not just sitting around talking about it. We're actually trying to do things to help our businesses with those different aspects, you know, so he'll do a seminar on Thursday, the 27th. And we'll talk about that probably more with another segment. And then on the 28th, he's going to, he's going to talk to our members at the luncheon about, you got to know how are you going to keep them? You know, that that whole piece, and they're both very, very important pieces, you know, I'm of the firm belief. I'm 63. James, and I'm so proud to say that, that in my career, there's a lot of things I've learned that I think I can always learn more, or sometimes you'd go to those events, and it gives you more energy, again, to go back and, and do or you forgot about something you were doing it worked really well. So maybe this can help you to remember what those things were. And so I think everyone can benefit from from this education experience. And yeah, we have other places where MDC through Fort Hays, there's a special discount on training, if you're a chamber member for any of their training. And so yeah, different opportunities like that.
James Bell
Even here on the morning show yesterday, we were speaking with a couple of the leadership Hayes class guys, they're doing the Green Ribbon haze, which I thought was such a cool program and they mentioned this is a chamber this come out of the chamber. Yes.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Isn't that a great program that they're done? Anyone, man? Is it? Is it going to end up being a podcast or anything?
James Bell
If it is? Yeah, you'll see it on post here. Probably next couple days.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Oh, that's great. I would really encourage your listeners to go and see what they're trying to do. And I think it can help make a difference for things. So to schools. Yeah. And so it is great. And that, yes, like you said, that came out of the chamber. And then we go ahead. Oh,
Mariah Legleiter
I was, you know, something fun that I didn't realize until, you know, working at the Chamber is that we found a statistic from American business magazine that says 63% of consumers are more likely to buy products and services from companies that are members of a local chamber, I think is a super strong and important number. I mean, that just shows you know, the the trust and the the relationship that you can build with the consumers, just by being a member of the chamber by being a member of the chamber.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Yes, absolutely. So yeah. And then you did you talked about that credit, credibility, yeah, members, perks and those learning opportunities, you know, and those connections, we do have opportunities for you to build really strong connections, absolutely. Through those events, that's one of the main things that those events can help you to is for you to build connections, you may have the opportunity to talk with someone that you couldn't get in front of otherwise. And so now, it's just really, really strong.
James Bell
Yeah, you know, I remember from my time in the business world, one of the things that was a huge lesson for me, was learning how many people didn't know what was going on in our businesses, like if we were we'd have a special and we would think that we were saturating, we'd be sending out coupons and doing door knockers, and we thought everybody would know, and then come to find out later, we do surveys, and it'd be like 10% a percent, you can always get that word out there. And again, that word of mouth is so valuable to spread whatever message it is whether you know, it's new specials, or new products, or sales, new opening, whatever it is,
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
on the mouth, and even our newsletters. Members are welcome to put inserts in our newsletters, business connection section is for businesses that have something special going on and anniversary or, you know, some news that they would put in and so, yeah, lots and lots of opportunities to get your name out. Oh my gosh, our team members, actually once a quarter can email all the other chamber members just gets their name out in front of them. And, you know, over 400
James Bell
of them, right, a high, close to 500. justifies
Mariah Legleiter
the 500 real valuable.
James Bell
Oh, my hands on that list. What are we gonna do? We're gonna sign up, right? Well, yeah, contact
Rhonda.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Yes, absolutely. So, um, I was gonna go somewhere, and it's gone. I guess. That's part of being sick. I know what it was. When I graduated in 1981. James, it took seven touches. So a mailer, a radio, AD, a T TV, whatever, it took seven touches for an individual to even consider doing business with your company. That's for them just to consider. That's not saying they will. That's for them to consider. And that number is now 12. Whoa, yeah,
James Bell
I thought I'd go down.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Look at look at all that's out there. Yeah. That's trying to get people's attention. Suppose
James Bell
that's true. Yeah. We've always got some chirping or beeping at us emails pop in and all kinds of crazy.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Absolutely. And it's good to have a spread of all those mediums. So yeah, we're just one other opportunity for your business to get their name out there.
James Bell
Love it. Well, guys, before we run out of time, we better talk about the weekly events because I'm sure you guys have some going on. There's always some going on down chamber.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Absolutely, absolutely. This is you know, low week
Mariah Legleiter
we were used to,
James Bell
it'll be like, Oh, I can see there's like a 404 thing. Yeah,
Mariah Legleiter
it is kind of you know, we were joking earlier about being so busy. We are so busy today that we actually have something going on right now. So we have a catching up event with the USD 489 Foundation for Educational Excellence is going on right now at the Rockwell Administration Center. And then on the fifth, just tomorrow, we have the Hayes young professionals is having a lunch with leaders at noon at Paisley, pear wine bar bistro and market. On the sixth. We are having Earth H yp is having their network and Engagement Committee meeting at 1205 at the Welcome Center. And then on Friday, we'll wrap things up with our chamber chat with options downtown at Union Pacific Park. And now it'll be at 9am on Friday.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Leadership Hays 2022 class member Kyle Carlin and presenter Patrick McGinnis share details of the upcoming Green Ribbon Hays events.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Thomas More Prep-Marian counselor David Zachman stops by to talk about career exploration programs in the Hays Catholic Schools.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Preparing for life after high school is more complicated than ever, for our Catholic schools report, Thomas More Prep-Marian, counselor, David Zachman stops by to share ways that they help prepare kids for the future on this episode of the Post Podcast,.
David Zachman
seniors need to be filling out college applications, it's time to start financial aid that just opened up October 1, so and then the juniors need to be getting ready for that sophomores can be looking into it. So yeah, basically, once they get into high school, we're we're trying to get him directed towards what do you think? And how can we help you get there? Very cool.
James Bell
You know, and one of the things I think that's got to be influencing this is the conversations that are around, you know, the, basically the discovery of do we want to do a four year traditional college degree? Or do we want to go into a tech school? Do we want to do some sort of alternative training, maybe military, there's so many options, and it seems like the schools are just getting better and better at kind of directing those kids into what makes sense for them, rather than a one track fits all kind of function,
David Zachman
right? Well, even even the workforce has changed a number of years ago. A lot of people thought, well, if you just everybody goes and gets a four year degree, that's kind of the way you need to go. But the workforce has changed. But the number of people who have a need degrees from a four year program that hasn't grown, it's still about a third of the workforce. So the middle range, I guess, where students need some sort of technical or other preparation, that is what has really grown. So more than high school, but not necessarily a four year degree. So and getting students to figure that out. That's, that's the trick. That's
James Bell
my bet. So let's talk about this. So one of the ways that that kind of that this comes about is these individual plans of study, and I'm gonna let you just kind of open this up. And tell us a little bit about how this kind of
David Zachman
works. Sure, a number of years ago, the State Department of Education just said, We want all schools to offer and create an individual plan of study for all their students. It doesn't have to be the exact same thing, but we want all of them to have certain pieces, we want it to be an electronic portfolio, so they can access it from anywhere. We want them to be able to take Strength Finders, and to do career interest surveys to find out more about who they are and what their strengths are and how that might fit with a job. And then we want them to be able to kind of plan accordingly with what kind of classes then do I need to take in high school that will help me complete that, and even into the beginning of their college. So those are the four things that the state of Kansas said, we need to do. And of course, we a lot of us were doing those things even before but it wasn't in quite such a uniform format format across the state. So that's kind of a general outline of what we're what we're trying to do.
James Bell
Very cool. Well, let's first talk about these electronic portfolios, because that's, that's something that's come up. You know, since I was in school, we didn't have portfolios at all, we barely had electronic I think we had some some computers computers in the school, but maybe a few handful and that we were fighting over. So let's kind of talk about the details. This starts when they're, again in the freshman level, doesn't it?
David Zachman
Yes, it does, at least a TMP it does. But I know that the electronic portfolios can go down into grade school, also. So they can even start with some very basic, very beginning career things as very young children. Our electronic portfolio is called Zelo X e ll Oh. And at each grade level, the students have certain lessons and they build on each other. So that you know, for the freshmen, they're learning about their personalities and what kind of study skills they can learn different kinds of career things. And then as they work up through high school, they learn more about work values and lifestyle, choosing a college even for the seniors, then we get into job interviews and and maybe career backup plans. Because as we know, the things that we think about and what we want to do that doesn't always work out. So what else can you do? What else are you thinking about? Not quite be so zeroed in on? I can only do this and that's the only thing possible. They're always related things and so we try to try to get them to think about some some variety. Also.
James Bell
It's pretty rare that people stay in one career track through their entire lives at this point, too, isn't it?
David Zachman
Oh definitely. It is You know, it's rare for students to just stay in college, in the original major that they started in, they tend to change two or three times they tend tend to change schools. So let them know that I think that's one of the things that that is my biggest challenge is students think, well, when we're talking about this, I have to decide, and I have to get it right. And it life doesn't work that way. I've had a number of students that kind of had that had their whole lives figured out. And after one semester in college, they changed directions, different major, and, and it worked out very well for him. So it's a it's a process, I guess, not just a checklist.
James Bell
Yeah, then you but you, and I kind of think about back to, again, my school education and the tools that we had. And one of the things I remember was like, you know, the paper, you did the bubble test, and it would kind of tell you, like, hey, this might be a good career track or that one. You know, I'm wondering what the equivalent is nowadays for that?
David Zachman
Absolutely. That's one of the first things that students take with this electronic portfolio is something called matchmaker. And it works just like the Holland or some of the other tests that you took. But instead of bubble sheets, you're clicking on answers on a on a computer. And basically, what it does is the same thing, it takes what you like and what you're interested in, and it matches it up with a career. And the people in that career said, Well, these are the things that I like, and I want to do. And so it just puts those two together. And it really just says, here are some things that are a good fit for what you like, and students. And sometimes parents say, but I don't want to do that. This isn't telling you, you have to do it, it's just saying, these are things that you like, think about some of these kinds of careers. And once we kind of narrow it down, we should be able to find something that's a better fit. So that's the idea of the matchmaker. And then of course, we add to that other things, their personality, their skills, again, all just pointing them into a direction. And it actually even summarizes it forum and says, These are the things the careers that really fit your interests in your skills the best. If you want to do something else completely different, you certainly can.
James Bell
Very cool, you know, and I think you know, even having that, that guidance on that direction, at any point, your life is gonna be really helpful, whether or not you want to go that route, just having that insight is so valuable.
David Zachman
Sure. There are just so many jobs, so many different careers, new jobs that are being created in the future that we don't even know about right now. So how do you prepare for those kinds of things. And I think one of the best ways to career for to prepare for that is just a good education and improving those, sometimes they call them soft skills are transferable skills, just being able to work with people and communicate with them and be assertive, and be organized, all of those kinds of things that will allow you to, to transfer and change and adjust and adapt with the job market.
James Bell
Yeah, well, and it also keys into the educational experience too. Because if you're kind of on a track, you're thinking, you know, I think a specific job, like maybe a welder, for example, you know, if you're kind of have that mindset, you enjoy it, you know, you that might be something you're good at, that's going to completely just shift that educational track, both in the school and then post secondary, right?
David Zachman
I would say so. Once students kind of target in on something, whether it's a welding a technical skill, or something that requires a another degree, they can always diversify and move into related areas. But sometimes we just don't know about those related areas. And so again, broadening that perspective and getting students to look at things, you know, in smaller communities, we see doctors and nurses and lawyers and policemen and teachers, but we don't always see a lot of the other maybe high tech or unique fields that that are great options for students.
James Bell
Yeah, absolutely. And I love that piece of the evaluation of it. So as they're building those, those core schedules, they may be like going back to welding just because it's top of mind now for me, anyway, you know, like, Hey, I saw that, that sounds cool. I should try that out. And then they get in there. And they they have that hands on experience, and maybe in a in the spring class and find out now this is not actually as exciting as cool as I thought it was going to be. And there
David Zachman
are things of course, students can take college credit classes in high school. We have students that go to NC K for classes for several hours a day. And a lot of them experience exactly what you were talking about. I really thought this is what I wanted to do. And some are very happy with it and want to continue on with it and others say this isn't what I thought it was. And so by the time they've get out of high school, they already have some experience And they've already sometimes narrowing down what you don't want to do is as important as what you do want to do. So giving them those experience opportunities, job shadows, being able to go to colleges and and just check those out sometimes even just for a day can help broaden those horizons and experiences.
James Bell
Now, we want to talk about some of these activities that are coming up, that will help them on that track. But before we go, any other things we want to hit on about that? That four piece kind of direction that you're giving them a TMP,
David Zachman
it's really just about giving students information, and then help them them helping them choose their path. Of course, the original idea was students would have this done in junior high, and then they would just follow that path through high school. But, of course, people change their minds and they continue to grow and change. So we've learned that that's just an ongoing process. And we need to be able to adapt and change with the students sinteres. One of the things that we spend quite a bit of time on at TMP, Marion is helping students to choose their classes for four years. And of course, that will change too. But giving them a focus, helping them say, Well, what is it you want to accomplish? What is your goal? What kind of a curriculum? Do you want to choose a curriculum to just graduate from high school? Do you want to choose a curriculum to help you meet qualified admissions? So you can go on to a four year public university? Do you want to meet the scholars curriculum, so you qualify for a state of Kansas scholarship. And once they've kind of chosen, this is my goal, then we can get them in the correct classes, so that they can meet that goal. And we don't have any surprises when they're seniors and say, but I didn't take this class. And I needed it. If we choose the path, and we choose the goal, and we match classes, that should be right on target. Excellent. I think you also asked sorry, I kind of went off the back there. But yes, about some other activities that we do. We start off the year with just goal setting, helping students choose what's most important to you and, and making good goals. We haven't go to college and career conferences, Hays high sponsors, one and they're kind enough to invite us to go to that. So kids can go and talk to a variety of college, military, technical representatives. And they're all right there for them. So it's very convenient, they get a lot done, sophomores do reality you, which is a wonderful experience. And in they get a profile. And in less than two hours, they have a budget, and they have to try to figure out how to make that budget work for him and get a car and pay their bills. All of those kinds of things are just kind of helped the students focus a little bit more and learn the lessons in high school. So they'll be ahead of a game once they get out of high school.
James Bell
Love that. That's another tool that you know, it would have been so cool to have seen that when we were when I was I think you're a little bit older than I am when I was in school, but I see that now. And like what an eye opener every time those kids get to do that reality based training. They're like, Oh, I didn't even know
David Zachman
I think they learn more in that hour maybe that maybe I shouldn't say this out loud. But they they learn more in that hour than I can teach them in an hour's just because it's so real to them. I don't have enough money. I gotta get a second job even though it's just a simulation. It's and child cares, really expensive. And a Kitson thinking about all those real life things that are such valuable
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Tree Top Security owner Dallas Haselhorst shares information about upcoming cybersecurity awareness training sessions.
Hays High is once again getting ready for Homecoming. From Hays HIgh Stuco Rilee Schwarz and Hannah Eikenberry stop by to share the details on this episode of the Post Podcast.
The Imagine Ellis County Committee continues their work to strengthen area communities, from Grow Hays, Executive Director Doug Williams stops by to share with us the latest on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The Imagine Ellis County Committee continues their work to strengthen area communities, from Grow Hays, Executive Director Doug Williams stops by to share with us the latest on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
You know, I look back, this group was started back in late 2019, if my memory is correct, and it's a group that was started out of a committee, from the strategic doing process that the Hansen foundation sponsors, and we started this group, not having a name at that point in time, but just trying to look at what we need to be doing as a community to make ourselves more attractive and what people want to have and that kind of thing. And so it started then. And it's grown to about 25 or 30 people on this committee. And we were we started and then that little pesky pandemic came along, and kind of stalled us. And if not, for the good work of Sarah Wah singer with the chamber, we probably wouldn't exist today. But she kept things go into the pandemic, and then post pandemic, we gained a lot of momentum, and have have made a lot of progress so far as I look back.
James Bell
Yeah. And we've, as we've talked about this before, one of the biggest things on this, I think, is that communication piece, it's sharing the haze the story with others, and especially I think in with his that first go around, it was kind of geared towards the front range out in Colorado, correct? Well, it
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
was, you know, we initially, one of the first things we did is we brought in virtually all of the business leaders in the community, the organization leaders, you know, the school district, the university, large, you know, business community, and we asked them to give five minute presentations on what their plans are and what their what they're hoping to do in the future, as well as what their challenges are. And then we had some townhall meetings and Hayes and Ellis and Victoria. And we have produced six videos, one minute videos, promoting our quality of life here and talking to people from Ellis people from Victoria, people from Hays, different demographics, a retired person, a young person, family that bought a business and moved here a family that chooses to live here with the type of jobs they have, they could live anywhere. So we're trying to cover the gambit. And then yes, we've we've engaged Eagle creative services to help us get this message out because you can have the best message in the world. But if nobody hears it, it doesn't do you any good. And so they are doing some marketing for us on the eastern slope of Colorado, we feel like that's fertile ground, to attract people to our community. And, and we've got a lot of good things going on in that area.
James Bell
Yeah, is are those efforts out in that particular area is still ongoing.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
They are okay, they're ongoing. And we'll be through I think next February or March, we were very fortunate to receive a sizable grant from the Schmidt Foundation, and then a partial match from the Hanson Foundation. And then the Heartland Community Foundation gave us some dollars. And so we were able to engage some of these marketing campaigns do some website development, we have a website, imagine Ellis county.com. and produce these videos that this is this has allowed us to try to get this word out and tell people about what we have to offer here.
James Bell
Very cool. I wonder if you want to talk about what's next. Like what's the organization planning? What do you guys got coming
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
up? Well, currently, and many people I hope have received this in the mail, the docking Institute is doing a community survey for us. And they've asked a lot of questions, kind of the things I talked about earlier, you know, what, what about the community? Have you thinks positive? What do you think we have problems with, and we're hoping to get those results back sometime in October. And that will guide us in terms of some of the things we're going to continue to do. But I do imagine Ellis County at this point as a as a recruiting tool for Ellis County, you know, we we have a unique opportunity. And you and I have talked about this before with remote workers and lots and lots of Americans on the move, have the ability to move to other places live where they want to live because of remote work. And we think that we can get our fair share of those if they know about us and if we let them know what kind of community we have. And so we are very actively trying to recruit people. And we plan those, you know, the efforts and eastern slope of Colorado is one area we may focus on some others in the future. But we're gonna let some of this data that we've gotten be our guide and Thus far, we've had some interesting input, most of which we already know, in terms of the challenges, we know that housing is a problem, we know that childcare is a problem. But when you start talking about some of the wants and desires of retail and other activities, it's, it's good to have some validation from the community as to what they'd like to see.
James Bell
I don't know why you have to do a survey, Doug, you just get on Facebook, and they'll tell you, we need an olive garden, we need to target and what's the other one that I hear Dick's will get those things, they're always gonna be happy.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
I think that we solve all our problems. And then, you know, I obviously, retail is always everybody's view of economic development. You know, traditionally, economic development is recruiting the smokestacks, you know, big businesses employ lots of people, that that world has changed. And we're into the world of recruiting people. And we have to go after those remote workers, we have to look at retirees. They're a huge demographic that we believe we have, we check all the boxes. And then I've, I've talked, you and I have also talked about this maintenance, we need to leverage the resources our community has much in the way that southwest Kansas has leveraged their resources, they have water, they've turned that into cattle, grain production, beef, packing, dairy, cheese, the Hilmar cheese going into Dodge City, I mean, all those things come, primarily because they have a natural resource, which is water. We don't have that luxury here. But we have other resources. We've got an interstate highway that 15,000 cars a day go up and down. How do we leverage that we've got a unit amazing university. And you know that how do we leverage that? We've got a tremendous health care facility here. How do we leverage that those are the things we need to be leveraging? Those are the things we're looking at as to how we recruit using those resources in this community.
James Bell
You know, I'm curious, like, how do those imagine Ellis County committee meetings? Go? Are you guys are you talking about those things? Like how do we specifically dialed in? Are you talking more specifics like to make this happen, we need to do this
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
little bit of both. Certainly, there's a fair amount of, you know, tactical things that we're talking about, hey, we need to get our website up to date, we need to do this with our website, we need to do this with our ads. But then also, I think we talk about the greater vision and what we're trying to accomplish. And so a little bit of both happened, we meet monthly. And, you know, we've we've had the it's been a while since we've had an actual event, the last town hall meeting we had, I believe, was in Ellis, back in the spring. And we have tabulated those results. And we've got, we've created the bubble charts, where the things it's mentioned, most is bigger, you've got all these words on a chart, and the things it's mentioned most is, is the bigger so you see the emphasis. And, you know, obviously housing, retail, those kinds of things are are on there. But we've compiled those from each meeting, as well as a county compilation. And then we're obviously going forward with this survey. And we're eager to see the results of that. And that'll give us some guidance. And, you know, I think now we're just in the in the mode where we're trying to execute on some of the ideas we've had and some of the projects we're working on.
James Bell
Yeah, you know, you mentioned that that was meeting and I was lucky enough I get to go to that meeting, and also the one in Victoria and the one inherence. And the last one in Hays. I've already seen so especially in Victoria, they have taken really taken some of those ideas that came out of that meeting and they're running with it, they're ready to go. And they've actually already accomplished one of my things
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
they have, they are very active over there. They've got a couple of local committees looking at the obviously the old rest home is a project over there. And they're they're trying to work on some retail recruitment over there. And the the nature path through town, they've talked about and things. So that's what it takes. It takes a collaboration of a lot of people getting together for a common cause.
James Bell
Yeah, and really, and really, they came out of that meeting. One of the things they talked about was a farmers market. And Betty Johnson from the hazard Foundation was there kind of facilitate that meeting, say, you can do that, guys, don't wait, just get it done. And I believe that they're making that happen. And I just I love that because it was that idea that collaboration that meeting. And it may be never would have been thought of or never really planned out and discussed how to do it without imagining Ellis County in that that particular event.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
You have to start the fire. And it's my co presenter today. Sandy Jacobs, her favorite word is collaboration. But you see a lot of really positive things come from that. And so Ellis is aware of Victoria is a great example of a group of people getting together and just saying we're going to do this and it's amazing what can happen.
James Bell
You know, I'm curious if you want to talk a little bit about for all this work. I was listening to thinking like, Oh, I'm maybe I've got some ideas, and maybe I could help out. Are there ways at this point for them to have their voice heard? And I was or imagine I was kind of committee?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Absolutely, we would welcome input from anybody. If somebody wants to be in the committee and be an active member of it, they give us a call, send us an email, text us whatever. We would, we would love to have more input and more feedback from people. We feel we've got a good diverse group that cover most of the bases in the community, but there's always room for additional energy and additional ideas. So if anybody wants to be involved and engaged, definitely let us know.
James Bell
Yeah, I like the idea of those diverse ideas, just because everybody's got such a different life experience. You know, we talk pretty frequently see each other at least once a week, but our life experiences are so different from what I do and what you do every day and your your background in history. We're not going to come up with the same things, I'm
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
sure No, that's what it takes. It takes, you know, a lot of different ideas. And some of them might be crazy. I mean, we at grow Hayes, we get people who come in with, with ideas that seem pretty crazy sometimes, but then, you know, you think it through and maybe this makes sense. Maybe this is possible, what would it take? So those are the things we need to be? We need that from people.
James Bell
Cool. So let's talk before we run out of time, the specifics on this luncheon later today. Is that to open to everyone, or was that is that reservation already past.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Its past, I'm sure it's an RSVP event. And so this one is not going to be available, just anyone. But it's today that the Chamber has a membership luncheon each month, and they choose a topic, and they have somebody come in and make a presentation each month. And today, Sandy and I it's our turn into barrel to, to go out and give a presentation on this Imagine Ellis County because I think people are are wondering, I haven't done the best job in terms of keeping it in the public eye. You know, we have a website, we have these videos, we have a Facebook page, we've done all this. But as you know better than anybody, you have to be consistent with your message, and you have to get it out there repeatedly. And so we recognize that and we're trying to get more of Top of Mind awareness of what we're doing.
James Bell
Sure, you know, and but there's so many things to be concerned about. You turn on the news. And there's always it seems like there's always new bad news, always something, something that's going to come up and wreck our lives. And you got to be concerned about that. But this one that this, this is a local effort that really could have an impact on lives. You know, it's easy, I think, to fall into that trap of watching the national news watching hurricane coverage right now. And the political news is always out there. But to getting involved an organization like this, or following an organization like this can really change things here in Ellis County.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
We can't do a lot about hurricanes. We can't do a thought about national politics, but we can make a difference locally. And so I agree with you completely. That's that's something we all need to focus on and recognize that let's let's focus our time and energy on something that we can have an impact on, and we can all have an impact on this community.
James Bell
Absolutely. Well, before we run out of time, anything else going on down to grow Hayes we want to hit on
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
before we just we just had week three of our think like an entrepreneur class this week. And that's going well. And gosh, we the housing, the housing project Tallgrass second out there off of 22nd. I saw the Earthmovers out there yesterday for the next phase supposed to be done by year end. So we're excited about that. That's a team or lots the first phase of 36 lots are all gone. And so some things going on out there some additional housing will be sometime in the spring or summer
James Bell
starting to look like a real housing development. Before it was in the houses looked great, right but it was like a house here house. They're kind of on that hill and now it's starting to really fill in
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Yes, in spite of all the challenges that contractors have right now with material issues, windows, getting basements done and that kind of thing. They're they're progressing nicely
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with District 111 Representative Barbara Wasinger.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and Fort Hays State University Tiger Media Network director Nick Schwein discuss the upcoming KS-111th District election debate between Republican incumbent Barbara Wasinger and Democrat challenger Ed Hammond.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Cristian Janney recaps this week's Hays Board of Education meeting with superintendent Ron Wilson.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Ellis County Health Department director and public health officer Kim Reel stops by to share details of ongoing renovations.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Arts Council executive director Brenda Meder stops by to share the latest from the council.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University president Tisa Mason and chief communications officer Scott Cason share details of the upcoming FHSU Media Tour.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Fort Hays State University will kick off their media tour next week from the university president Tisa Mason stops by along with chief communications officer Scott Cason to talk about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Tisa Mason
Last year, when we went out and we talked to people, we realized so much more value was developing working relationships with member of the media, even at the Kansas Board of Regents. Now I see some of the people I talked to last year, I have those relationships. So that is really great. And of course, always sharing information on Fort Hays impact in Kansas and beyond, is one of the great joys. And, you know, it's something we have to work hard on, quite honestly, we have to draw attention to us. And that's not part of our culture, we tend to be more modest. But we've got a lot to be proud of. And it's it's really a privilege to be able to tell that story. And we always we learned a lot last year going out and seeing how media consolidation and how that is impacting communities. And, and the the, it just was incredible to hear stories of what's going on, especially in the smaller rural communities. But even in the urban institutions, the consolidation and what that means and trying to find somebody open to even have a conversation with or going into newspaper and seeing that they're printing the newspapers for a large area because everything's consolidated. So we're always excited about identifying opportunities for also our experts, our faculty that are doing extraordinary work, to assist in news reporting. So when we get to have those relationships, then we connect everyone together. And that makes us better.
James Bell
Yeah, truly. Now, let's talk about some specifics. I think you're kicking this thing off pretty locally right here. Oh, goodness. Oh, less than a week, isn't it?
Tisa Mason
Yes. Yes. And always we start right here in this studio.
James Bell
Oh, is this the first one? This is the first one. Let's call this a warm up. Because as everybody knows, I'm not shy to say that I'm not a professional broadcaster. I just kind of hear doing the radio thing. The case kickoff. Exactly. But we're gonna be in Great Bend, McPherson, Pratt, and then kicking down into Oklahoma. The business Oh, next week.
Tisa Mason
Yeah, that's just Monday. Well, that's just
James Bell
Monday. Yes. Oh, my goodness. You're gonna be dreads a lot of road time. Are you gonna be flying those spots?
Tisa Mason
No, we are driving driving it. Oh, yeah. The real American experience. We're getting in that car and we're driving from community to community.
James Bell
Very cool. Very cool. Man. You're I mean, you're hitting everywhere. You're getting down to the Wichita, Kansas City. You mentioned you're popping up to Nebraska, McCook, Nebraska looks like and then of course, dodge sitting gods in the Garden City. Those are always really fun, aren't they?
Tisa Mason
Yes, we love that. And we love that in Garden City. We have our Higher Education Learning Center there as well, which we've had for decades to help tell the higher education story first and the Fort Hays story second, and really trying to drive people to understand the value of why a higher education post K 12 is really important today.
Scott Cason
And two of those stops, the one in pride and the one in Garden City will highlight our partnerships with the local community colleges there.
James Bell
Go Pratt, I don't know if you guys know this. I was actually I'm a I'm a proud alum. I went to community college there. And before I came to four days, and really they are the ones that steered me this way. I had never been to Hayes before. Well, before enrolling, to be honest.
Tisa Mason
No, for decades, we were among the first to do the articulation agreement. And we have always valued our Community College and our tech partnerships. We've done some really unique things with them. And we think that's really important. So yeah, go Pratt, and shout out to all the rest of the community and tech colleges in Kansas. Love it.
James Bell
So let's talk some specifics about what you're going to be talking about on these media, media tours. You know, I think it's no secret. There's since the pandemic, there's been a lot of changes, we've seen what's going on in Emporia and you know, kind of trying to rebalance these things. And, you know, I wonder if you want to talk about how that's going to be part of those conversations and how this strategic plan is going to be brought up as you guys are out and about.
Tisa Mason
So of course we're aligned with the Kansas Board of Regents strategic plan on building a future and theirs is built on family you know, and affordability which is something that we are the star at and continue to drive forward. Because access is the first thing that you need to go to coloriages is the ability to open that door and we have flown it open for decades, you know businesses and how we create jobs and provide a talent pipeline, particularly since the pandemic hiring employees is an every call conversation in every community. And so how we continue to fuel that and provide an educated talent pipeline is really important. And then economic prosperity. How are we driving? How are we making an economic impact in communities? How are we bringing value with all kinds of outreach centers that we do in communities. And so that's really important, that's tied to our strategic plan as well. Then, of course, we at Fort Hays talk a lot about academic excellence, because that's really important. Our value is not just about our low price point, but it's also about the high quality. And so we're constantly investing and professional opportunity for our faculty, encourage their dialogue with business industry, so that we're keeping all that connected. And then resources and infrastructure, look anywhere across the state of Kansas, and you will find the best buildings and experiences at Fort Hays State University.
James Bell
Absolutely. And you know, what I like about kind of the strategic plan is, is your guys's vision of growth and how to actually accomplish that. And one of the things we've talked about previously in the segment is the the I don't remember the name of the plan, but basically the in state tuition that's offered across seven or eight states. Yeah, the 1313 states Oh, I was under pending. Yep.
Tisa Mason
We call it our 13 state regional tuition, program. And we're really excited. Of course, we don't have final numbers yet, because we're still waiting till the end of the month to get those. But early indicators with our first year out, is sending us really strong success in Colorado and Oklahoma, as first place winners for increasing those students. I've had I've had fun talking to are in states or out of state students from those 13 states last night at a dinner in my house with our VIP students. And we had a couple of students from Texas, like, how did you like that discount on your tuition this year? And they're like, We loved it. We're so excited. Thank you. So that was really fun.
James Bell
That's very cool. And you know, it really I think that helps probably in the community and global engagement piece as well, because you're getting people and folks, students from a larger geographic region, which then I think is going to just feed into the I don't know the stature, maybe a Fort Hays crossed the Midwest.
Tisa Mason
Yeah. And more importantly, we know when since that program is only for on campus students, we know when students come to Fort Hays, and then they do internships and practicums in the community, they're most likely to stay in Kansas. And that feeds the talent pipeline. So it's Win win, it's win for the students. It's win for the university and for our community in our state.
James Bell
Yeah. And there's lots of different ways I think you're going to be talking about on this tour, right about specifically some areas where the impact is very noticeable, like, for example, K through 12. Education, I think we're a huge driver of teachers out and across Kansas and beyond, right?
Tisa Mason
Yes. And really important. I think, over we've had about 200 students in teacher ed, every year, over 85% of them end up teaching in Kansas, and around half of those are in western Kansas, and often in rural areas. And that's something we work hard. And I know our nursing program. Also, if you're going to go to Fort Hays, you're going to do some practicums and some experiences in rural hospitals, because we want you to know that and understand that we really want to incentivize and encourage people to stay in rural Kansas. Yeah,
James Bell
yeah. I love that. And you mentioned at the top of the program here, the difficulty in hiring, and I think that is especially true in these rural school districts where, you know, you've got to pull in people that maybe aren't native to the area and are kind of questioning like, why would I live in this little town over anywhere else that I can live? And I think that's gonna help but to social workers, also a big important part of this, right?
Tisa Mason
Yeah. And they have been one of our strategic enrollment planning fancy word to say, how are we going to grow? And that's where we've put some of our dollars because we know the community needs social workers in many areas. And it's been a huge winner for us. Since its inception in 2015. We have expanded from 100 undergraduates to over 300. The Masters of Social Work, which is brand new to us had inaugural class of 52 students and grew to 85 students in just one year. And now a has a waiting list. Wow. We're really excited about the placements. Just last year and 21. The department placed over 90 students in clinics and other social service areas in 24 Kansas communities with 90% of that, or about 90% of those placements in rural areas. Again, really focusing on serving rural Kansas. We have about a hunt There needs students enrolled in practicum field experiences right now. And we're just really excited with our success and with the growth.
James Bell
Yeah, that's, that's awesome. This is another thing that I keep hearing about that I think is a really probably impacting a lot of people in ways that they don't understand or they don't know maybe don't understand, but don't necessarily see in their day to day lives. And that's the criminal justice program here. And the Regional de escalation Center, which you guys have been a huge part of getting set up. And I believe that's, that's up and running now. Right?
Tisa Mason
It is. And another shout out to Senator Moran, who helped us with some of the funding, we received $2.75 million in federal funding to fuel the center. We're doing all kinds of training both online and in person. We have delivered 20 programs to agencies in Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado. And right now, law enforcement agencies in Kansas, Nebraska and Florida, are scheduled to start completing online training created by Fort Hays and our fantastic teaching Innovation and Learning Technologies Group that can take learning to a new level online.
James Bell
Yeah, I love that. And then there's one other one we want to talk about. And this is this one is something I love. I think it's so cool. And it's been you know, I think it's becoming more and more prevalent. We saw the story even last year here in Hays, cybersecurity, you got some big achievements out of the Institute and technology department there, right? Yeah, infirm.
Tisa Mason
Informatics is the academic department. And we were so blessed by the legislature with half a million dollars and dedicated funding to create what we're calling the cyber Institute and technology incubator. So we're just ramping up right now. The first thing you're going to see here is the development of some really cool micro internships. So our students can go in sometimes I'm like, virtually, and sometimes in reality, physical body, and they can go into small businesses, small and medium sized businesses can lose their whole business with a cyber attack. So our students can go in and do web security evaluation, security vulnerability reports, clean up data for businesses, these smaller businesses don't have the resources that the large industries do. And so that's really important for us to make sure that we are supporting the grocers and other businesses, and the small area. So software testing and compliance of reports, this is going to be a great opportunity for our students to get hands on learning and training. And work on those soft skills as well. As well as support the small and medium sized businesses will be also then kicking off in years two and three incubators specifically to grow more businesses that can help small businesses and medium sized businesses with these issues in partnership with our outstanding Small Business Development Center throughout the state. So it's going to have I think, deep ramifications. And I'm so grateful for our faculty and informatics, who are leading this charge.
James Bell
Yeah, love that. All of these things, I think, you know, they're going to be really continuing to impact the folks out here in western Kansas and beyond. And I'm, I bet it really is just so exciting to go out and share more of these details with those, especially those young folks, as they're considering, like, what am I doing with my future? Where can I go and cybersecurity I think is in particular one of those areas that there's just unlimited potential out there in the field.
Tisa Mason
Yeah, we're actually having some exploratory conversations on we do a lot of Gen Ed, concurrent credit in high school so that they can take college bearing credit courses while they're in high school and informatics. We'd like to get a little bit into working with some of the high schools and partnerships so that the students can start getting college bearing credit in this in this information computer science area.
James Bell
Very cool. Get head start in the future. Yeah, love it. When the other last thoughts before we go,
Tisa Mason
I just want to say it's such a joy to be in this community. Our freshmen and our students have returned on campus today are high energy, they're loving haze, they're loving the campus. And I want to thank everybody who's coming out to our volleyball games, our basketball basketball is started but soccer and football and thank you everyone for being part of our community as we are a part of yours.
On this episode of the Post Podcast USD 489's Early Childhood Connections child development specialist Michelle Dannels shares information about the Go Truck Go event.
Planning is underway for the Hays Chamber's next awards banquet vice president of membership. Rhonda Meyerhoff and Vice President of Marketing and Communications Mariah Legleiter stop by to share all the details on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Planning is underway for the Hays Chamber's next awards banquet vice president of membership. Rhonda Meyerhoff and Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Mariah Legleiter stopp by to share all the details on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
we decided we would really give one to give more time to our our businesses that do the engraving on the award. So they didn't have last minute, we wanted to be able to give enough time to the committee that that picks from all the nominations to place them. And so we decided it was just be better to, to put that out in October instead of November. So it Yeah, yeah. It'll be in the in the October newsletter, if somebody wants that sooner. Absolutely.
James Bell
Okay. Well, let's talk some details like any Well, first off, I know we've gone to all the awards that we've done, and you've got this really cool list, right handed it to me as we got started, I don't know who I'm showing this to I'm showing it to the world out the window, I guess. But it's all the previous award winners, going back to the original award winners that looks like on some of these way back into the 80s, which is so cool. But anything new or different in that regard. Coming up on this one?
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Well, the awards are the same as they were last year that we did start a couple of new awards last year. And that would have been the Grow Hayes proper e Schmidt Entrepreneur of the Year award. So Doug Williams at grow Hayes and Gary Sherman, with the Robert E. And Pat Schmidt Foundation, decided to come up with this one. So, you know, we've got a lot of really amazing entrepreneurs in our community, truly, you know, and in sometimes seminars, I suppose I did was start a new business will have a digital, is that a franchise? Did you form it after somebody else know that what that's an entrepreneur, and we have a lot of those in town just really good. And so they decided that they wanted to recognize someone who was an entrepreneur. And so yeah, somebody who's demonstrated, you know, that ability to create and, and grow their business over the last year. And, you know, and then there's always efforts that go in to make it a better value for our community. And we have some amazing things that happen in our community. And it's so fun to be able to recognize those. And then Mariah, we added another one typically,
Mariah Legleiter
we added the worst Wealth Management member investor of the Year award. We really wanted to well worth wells wanted to partner with us and come up with an award that really showcased one of our member investors that that adds a lot to the community. And that gives back to our chamber. I think I think it was a great idea. It went over really, really well. We were happy to have Hays med win that last year. I'm looking forward to the nominees for this year.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, and it's not all about financial giving. James, you know, we have a board of directors that's volunteer ambassadors are volunteers, and they're pulled out of their workplace all throughout the day. I mean, we try not to have more than three events that they're pulled out.
James Bell
Just imagine they're trying to work and your call would like no time to go. See him so much out in the community. Yeah, great. Yeah. And yeah, and it does, it takes more than just their effort, it's their employers to that allows them to do that.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Well, and their co workers sure picking up the slack while they're gone. You know, and we try to be really respectful of that. But you know, without those volunteers, and our H yp is a great group. They have some things during the day, usually at noon, or after hours. But you know, all of those things are really helping the chamber in immense ways. And then obviously financial, we appreciate that as well. But there's a lot that goes into that member of the Year award.
James Bell
Yeah, like that. Let's start getting some more of these. Are you a winner? No, maybe we will just go through it before we talk about the submission process and how that all
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
works. Oh, okay. Yeah,
Mariah Legleiter
so we have the city of Hays Small Business Achievement Award. The I smile Vision Plus dental Helping Hands award, the golden belt bank Hall of Fame Award. The grow Hayes, Robert E. Schmidt, Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the next Tech Citizen of the Year Award, the next Tech wireless Business Woman of the Year Award, five broadband Rising Star Award and of course, the worst well worth Wealth Management member investor of the Year award.
James Bell
So really kind of covers the gamut Yes. To me, yes. In the business world. Yeah.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Yeah, those new rising individuals that are showing a lot of promise for the future of our community. You know, gosh, those small businesses,
Mariah Legleiter
the seasoned people that have been giving to the community for years, we have the Hall of Fame Award like, yeah, there's a little bit for everybody. I mean, anybody that that gives back, I mean, there's a way to give back to them.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
And I'll tell you, the really fun part is now being on this side when you know, yes, who's the winner? And
Mariah Legleiter
conspiring to get them there?
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Yeah, because we don't want them to know. Sure. Oh, yeah. There's some fibs that are told in order to get somebody there. We just think it's all one off, off, okay. Because it's, it's for the award winner to get them there. But, and then we had their family hide in a room in the back. So they don't see their family there. Because that would give something away.
Mariah Legleiter
It's a it's an elaborate setup.
James Bell
The real reason why you had to push it back, you guys didn't do more time to get get
Mariah Legleiter
that actually, yeah, that actually was a discussion we had was to figure out how to get them there. We need just a little bit more time to figure that out. So
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
although we know the more people that know what's going on, then, you know, yeah, the cat can be led out of the bag. Our families are always so excited to I, I remember last year GT Park, her husband was back in the waiting room and, and waiting for it to be her turn. And she was so amazed when she went up to win her award. She just couldn't believe first of all, that she was worthy of winning the award, which is so humbling to me. And then she sees she goes, Oh my gosh, and my husband's here, too. It's just it's so off the cuff. It's so fun. And it's Yeah. And the people are so honored by it. So yeah. Love it.
James Bell
Well, let's talk about how to get to get these people honored. How do you get as people signed up? Or do you sign up yourself? Well, you could because I could make I could sign myself up right now. put my name down here.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
You can you could James
James Bell
actually wrote my name down like, like,
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
yeah, there's more than just writing the name on a piece of paper. Sorry, you're gonna have to get another one. Okay. Yeah, we actually have the forms that Mariah has created for us. Live, as I mentioned earlier, there'll be in the October newsletter.
James Bell
So old school, handwritten form?
Mariah Legleiter
Yes. Okay. It'll be on our website starting October 1. And it will also like she said, it'll be in our October newsletter, which is also available on our website. And which is Hayes chamber.com. For those that don't know. And it has just a short description of each award. And then at the bottom, you fill out name, address, like contact information for the person you're nominating what award you're nominating them for. And then you just write a short paragraph on why you think they deserved the award. And then that all goes to our nomination committee, and then they take it from there.
James Bell
Very cool. Easy peasy. Yeah,
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
you don't change that might be part of what you've never won, because it's a short paragraph. And people would write pages about you.
James Bell
I'm sure they would. And this guy got let me tell you about this guy. All day long.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
So if individuals can't find it, for some reason, please call our chamber 705 or 78562. Ad 201. I almost gave her my personal number. Anyway, or you could call me there too. And I would still get the for sure. You betcha. So um, yeah, they can call us and we'll give them the the form that way as well.
James Bell
Very cool. And what's the deadline? Again, if they want to get him signed up? November 30.
Mariah Legleiter
October,
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
October 30. Yeah. October 31. November 30. was last year. Yep.
Mariah Legleiter
So October 31. is the deadline for nominations.
James Bell
Okay, so get about six weeks. Yep. Don't wait, but get it in. Yep. Put together a little time
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
habit. But for now, you can be thinking of those Absolutely. Like, yeah, our past award winners on the website, right. Yeah,
Mariah Legleiter
no, but I think we discussed that at one point. So that might be something we can talk about.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Yeah. We're in the middle of trying to do some different updates to the website. So very cool. In between events and Facebook Lives. Benson. Yeah.
James Bell
I understand. It's hard to get to those projects. You want to do it. It's always like, Oh, I'll do it tomorrow. I'll do it tomorrow. And then it just never gets.
Mariah Legleiter
tomorrow never comes. Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
I don't think there's anything more fun than to have a member come into the office, or the opportunity for us to go out and celebrate and showcase a member. Yeah, that's that's the The ultimate joy that we have.
James Bell
Absolutely. And I imagine like yeah, if you have to choose between going to the celebration or setting and working on a website, I know what I would pick website all day long. No.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
They don't want me on the website.
James Bell
Strictly Mariah.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Yeah, yeah, that's good. Very cool.
James Bell
Well, before we run out of time, guys, we better talk about I know you've got some weekly events coming. Yeah,
Mariah Legleiter
we do as always, super busy week ahead of us. Today at noon at the venue at thirsties brew pub and grill at 2704 Vine Street we have the H yp connection lunch. Also today at 330 at the Welcome Center, we will have our monthly chamber board meeting. Um, let's see we also have a groundbreaking at the Ark Park for the leadership Hays class of 2020. One's storytime project that they're working on. And that's at 11am at the Ark Park. And then on the 22nd we have a ribbon cutting for the western Kansas Therapy Associates. They are wanting to they have updated their business name and want to celebrate that so that'll be at 11am 208 East Eighth Street Suite D in the James building. September 22. There's also an H yp lunch with leaders with Lavon geese of DSN Wk M that will be at noon at Paisley pear at 1100 Main Street and then we will wrap up our week with our chamber chat. Oh, we don't have a chamber chat. Do we
James Bell
know no chamber channels faded.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Yes. That just happened. Yes.
James Bell
News. No chamber chat this week. It has been or stay smooth. Stay tuned.
Mariah Legleiter
For more information.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Yeah, because I think we were trying to build that with one we are in so watch your email from it.
Mariah Legleiter
Yep. And social media will hop it out there.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Ellis County Sheriff Scott Braun and Graham County Sheriff Cole Presley explain the proposed Kansas constitutional amendment that would ensure the continued election of sheriffs across the state.
The latest Friday Night Finds from Mix 103.3 FM.
Play the song at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-UnzRM24IM
On this episode of the Post Podcast Thomas More Prep-Marian Alumni Director Wanda Billinger shares details of this year's Homecoming festivities.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Thomas More Prep-Marian has another homecoming celebration on the way. Alumni Director Wanda Billinger stops by to share the details on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Wanda Billinger
Homecoming is my Christmas. I love just seeing all the people coming back graduates and their families that just the camaraderie, but everybody's doing what's going on. It's just fun. No, absolutely.
James Bell
You guys have I'm just a I'm sure a regular slew of events for this weekend right
Wanda Billinger
we do we do. To start off our our bonfire is Thursday night at eight. They'll introduce the homecoming candidates and all of that kind of stuff. The SticO pick the theme of SOR s o ar and that stands for strength, ownership, acceptance and respect. For homecoming candidates are landing Rosina and Julian Juliana bio Ballman. Landon is the son of Travis and Jill worth class of 96, Rosina and Juliana is the daughter of Justin and Michelle Baldwin. Michael Hale and Jenna Schleyer. Michael is the son of Steven and the late Amy Hale and Jana is the daughter of Mike and Michelle 97. hurtle Slayer. Cade Harrison's Sophia Alan Kay is the son of j and Chris Harris. Sophie is the daughter of math class of 2001 and Lindsay is in the class of 2003 Steinert Ellen Jensen, brule and Janessa Peiffer Jensen is the son of Jeff class of 94 and Julie classic 96 Mater Brule. And Janessa is the daughter of Jay in the late Bobby Peiffer Garrett photo and the Aaron Shelby Garrett is the son of Brian class of 90 and Amy and Aaron is the daughter of Eric. Okay. Garrett is the son of Brian class of 90 and Amy photo. And Aaron is the daughter of Eric class of 92 and Kelly class of 1992. Photoshop Adobe. Those two are first cousins. And then this year we have picked Jean and Teresa flax are our grand marshals. Everybody knows them both. Jean was our football coach and idea TMP and he's now think He's the assistant principal at Holy Family.
James Bell
And then he was he was on with us. And then
Wanda Billinger
Theresa F Flex is a former teacher at Holy Family. So two very, very, very good people. They help us out with so many things. So I told you about the bonfire and then Friday we have open house at school and we'll do school tours. We'll be selling our TMP apparel also. So if anybody needs any clothing for the night, they can come out to school and buy it. Four o'clock is the parade lineup. 530 is the parade begins seven o'clock is the football game versus Scott city. And we're thrilled to know as of right now, yay. Sounds weird saying that. was played really hard. And then nine o'clock we have our individual class reunions. I won't go through all the world class reunions are big, takes too long. But if they want to call out to TMP at the Alumni Office, we'll be able to give those to that's also on our website. And I don't know what TMP website.
James Bell
I tell people nowadays, if you just Google's tip. Yeah,
Wanda Billinger
all you have to do. It's very easy. I can even do that part. We have those all listed. And this Your Honor classes 50, your class of 72, the 40 year class of 82. And the 25 year class of 97. My babies in that class. Oh yeah. It's 25 years. She's in her 25 year class for you and my son just turned 50 this year. So I'm feeling pretty old right now. We're doing we will we will announce our point of light awards this week, which I can't tell you that right now. But our other awards that we're going to be doing at halftime are the Distinguished Alumni Award. And this year's winner is dawn and Deb Klaus Dawn is the class of 69. And we're going to do the 21 year cause Gerald 78 and Rosie hemorrhage event. They got the distinguished alumni award last year they were unable to attend they had planned to do something in Colorado and they were doing our jack shrimp Spirit Award. And those awards are Keith words Shelton rents and Terry roath. They built my trailer that I pull my clothing around football games and stuff. And Randy 74 and Nadine 74 Gottschalk so that's what I got for homecoming. Very cool. So we have a lot of, you know, come out to school, we'll, we'll take him around and show him you know, the new all the new things going on. We're going to be they're starting gonna start a renovation of the third floor for the sixth graders that are be coming over here in this next school year. So a lot of things happening at school, all positive things so we're just working away hoping everybody comes back this weekend. Seems we have a lot of entries in the prayer pray it's gonna be long allow countries
James Bell
I You know, I like laundry.
Wanda Billinger
I do. It's crazy.
James Bell
I was I was talking to somebody just the other day, when I lived down in Oklahoma. I interviewed in a small town outside of the metro. And he'd grown up in the metro. And he he said something to me. He's like, when I moved here as a young man, it was very exciting to me to learn that parades are a real thing. Like when you grow up in a big city, and then probably even some smaller communities, too, but, you know, I think it's very special. We have the ability to do this parades, and they're so in haze, they're so well attended. And everybody gets so excited.
Wanda Billinger
You come down seventh, you turn the corner on 17th Street, and you look down and you're going, Oh, my God. I mean, it's just from there to the pool, to the swimming pool at the other end. I mean, it's crazy. But you know, these communities around here, like your basketball games in your football games for like, Ellis Victoria here. Everybody goes, there's nobody in town. You know, everybody's at the football games or the basketball games. I mean, it's entertainment, but you support everybody and it's just fun. Absolutely. It's fun when you play somebody that's close, like wrestler, you know, all those places, because we're so well attended on both sides. And it looks, it's great. The atmosphere was fun. Absolutely. Then our second thing I want to talk to you about is our military appreciation. This Following that is the following Friday night after homecoming.
James Bell
Okay, so this is the The weekend looks like September 29 and 30th.
Wanda Billinger
Right, right. We will have a dinner in the dining hall at 630. Anybody who was in the military, who attended TMP or anybody that has gone are the cadets rather SGMA cadets, and anybody who is a TMP grad who's in the military, you're welcome to come, we will have a supper. And they will hand out the the vets hand out the jerseys to the football players. It's really it's just, it kind of gets to the heartstrings. I'm emotional about stuff like that. So I really love that part of it. And then Fridays, the game and then we bring everybody in the military in their divisions, like if it was Navy, Army, Marines, all those we lined them up together and they marched out onto the field. And then we do a little program type thing. And it's just honoring them. Who wouldn't be for our military, we wouldn't be here. Absolutely. Pretty much. Pretty simple and whatever. But we really appreciate all that they do. And being rsj ma cadets being our school for so long as a military school just brings a little special that escapes us, I think.
James Bell
Absolutely. Yeah. And I love that you can honor the history of that. The Military Academy, you know, alongside the current kind of mission. We
Wanda Billinger
had a crack platoon back in the day who marched in Denver. I think also in Kansas City. They won national awards. Oh, wow. It was really special. That very cool.
James Bell
Well wonder anything else that we want to hit on before we go?
Wanda Billinger
Well, ice will be coming around the corner. I'll be starting to bug you. A couple of months I'll be out begging again. So the thing I seek to do best. Other than that, just thank everybody for their support. Come out. Have a good time. Haven't join us on our everyone's
On this episode of the Post Podcast Cottonwood Extension District agent Monique Koerner stops by to share updates from the district.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The Cottonwood Extension district has a new family and community wellness agent Monique Koerner stops by to tell us a little bit about herself and share some updates from the district on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Monique Koerner
I'm actually from Hays. I grew up here in Hays and I graduated from his high in Fort Hays State University. And I also have a Master's in Public Health Administration from so yeah, I'm a hometown girl.
James Bell
I like to hear that. You know, it Hayes is one of those special places. I think that folks that grow up here, like to eat a lot of leave, and then come back. Yeah, but stick around. And then also people like myself that discover Hayes, you know, college years, kind of stick around as well. It's just a special place.
Monique Koerner
I did leave for a little while I lived in Wyoming for about 10 or 11 years, and then moved back here in 2010, and have been here ever since. Before I worked for extension, I was with early childhood connections, I was the early headstart home visitor. And then I'm also a little late to league leader. I've been doing that for over 20 years. And I'm also an international board certified lactation consultant. And I sat for the exam in 2011. And I've been doing that ever since as well. Very cool.
James Bell
So you're probably already pretty well known in the community.
Monique Koerner
I hope so. A little bit anyway.
James Bell
That's awesome. And I'm sure that's gonna fit in well, with the family community wellness position here at the cottonwood district. Um, you know, and we want to maybe also talk about this because I think it's a good opportunity to talk about what this position is, and kind of like what your role is going to be as you're moving in and kind of you've been there now, what, a little over a month.
Monique Koerner
Yeah, I started at the end of July. So yeah, I'm still kind of learning as well. So I'm just trying to get out in the community and talk to people and kind of see what the needs are in those areas. As far as health and wellness, I am still trying to figure out some of my programming, but we'll definitely hit walk Kansas hard come spring, I'm excited for that I always participated on the other side of it. So now I get to, to kind of help spearhead that in our community. So I'm excited about that. I'm also doing a lot of training right now, as a new agent, I have a new agent class that I have to do. And then I'll get trained in some other programming as well. One of those things that we want to do is stay strong, stay healthy, which is just an extra exercise class for older adults just to help them stay strong and keep their balance and just, you know, if we stay strong and healthy and keep moving as we get older, that will just help prevent some of those things, falls and things like that, as we age. So pretty cool.
James Bell
You know, I'm curious, Monique, how much of this programming, do you get to determine or is it kind of just programmatic and you who you follow and to help spread the word?
Monique Koerner
Yeah, some of it, our signature programs that that K State provides. But really, it's it's up to me and then serving the community. So, you know, there's certain interests that I have that I can bring to this position. And I can tie those into some of those signature programs that que state has, but really my job is to bring to the community what our community needs. So and that can look very different, you know, with Hayes versus even Russell or lacrosse. The cottonwood district is Hayes and are Ellis County and Barton County. And so sometimes that can even look different between the counties and the districts. So
James Bell
I'm sure Yeah, I mean, he's, it's not exactly a metropolitan area, but it's a little bit more. I don't know what little less rural, I think you might say, then Barton County, I'm from down around that area. And the a lot of farm ground, a lot of really small towns down that way. Of course, great bends pretty good size, but still not nearly as big as Hayes.
Monique Koerner
Yeah, I think Hays Hayes has some unique qualities about it. And so we're definitely going to try to gear the programming to what the community needs. Very cool.
James Bell
Very cool. And one of the things I think that kind of is coming up here pretty quickly that we want to talk about is the family pizza night. What is this?
Monique Koerner
Yes, so family pizza night just kind of promotes the, the eating together as a family. Research has shown that that's really important for kids, just to have them have a sense of belonging and helps prevent some risky behaviors. So that's part of my job as family and community wellness agent is to help families be as strong as they can. And so there's actually a lot of benefits for kids to get in the kitchen and help help prepare meals. They can learn math skills, they can learn how to to follow directions they can, you know, just those social skills of being with their parents, sometimes you can get them to have a little more buy in with what they're eating if they take part in preparing it. So sometimes that can help with picky eaters. So lots of important benefits. So yeah, we're Papa Murphy's has donated some pizza crust, we got donations from the Kiwanis Club. And so parents can come down and learn about the benefits of eating together as a family, we'll have a handwashing activity. And then in the back room, parents can put together whatever kind of pizza they want. And then they can take it home and bake it and eat it with their kids.
James Bell
Very cool. Very cool. How do people get to sign up for that? Or is it all just come and go?
Monique Koerner
Now we need you to RSVP just so we have enough pizzas for everybody. So just call the office and Teresa will take your RSVP and then if you could stop by and pay for the pizzas, they are $3 each so pretty economical meal and just pay for that. Hopefully sometime this this week would be great. If we get all those in we've we've got a few more pizzas left, we've got a lot of people signed up.
James Bell
Very cool. Like to hear that. It's gonna be I'm sure a good time. When is that again?
Monique Koerner
It's Monday, September 26. From 415 to 6:15pm. Okay,
James Bell
very cool. Very cool. And we also want to talk about this coming up, go truck go, this is coming back. This is a really neat event I was telling you before we got on air, my little ones especially love this event.
Monique Koerner
Oh yeah, my kids always love the event, especially the little boys just getting on the big equipment and seeing the fire tracks and the ambulances and all that it's a great learning experience. And yeah, I'll have a table out there and be offering some information of things, some some things that you can do with your little ones, and also some nutrition information. And then we'll also have a story walk up. I picked that up yesterday. And so we'll have the story walk out there for the little excavator. Very cool.
James Bell
You know, I know we've talked about this in the past with some of the folks down there at the district, but maybe want to remind everybody what the story walks look like.
Monique Koerner
Yeah, so I've done a couple of story walks so far, in the short time I've been with the district, but it really just promotes literacy with the little ones. So we just take a book and we break it up and put it on like little signs like, like the for sale signs out in front of your house. And we just line them up and parents can walk along and read this story with their kids.
James Bell
Love that. My kid that's another thing my kid loves. And you know, I like it because he's he's very energetic. He's little my little guys a boy. And he loves to run around very much a physical kind of learner. But he can get he will, you know, get so excited. And we'll hop between one set of the pages and then he'll skip the next set. And that sort of brings in and incorporates that physical activity, but then also gets that benefit of reading which he could be about.
Monique Koerner
Sometimes it's a challenge to get the little ones to sit and listen. And so sometimes we think we, you know, we have to sit and we have to read a book from beginning to end. And it really doesn't have to be that way. Like you said we all learn in different ways. And so this incorporates that physical activity. Sometimes people need to move to help them learn. And so that's can be a great way to get kids interested in in books and reading
Students at Hays High have hit the ground running for the academic year principal Shawn Henderson stops by to give us an update on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Students at Hays High have hit the ground running for the academic year principal Shawn Henderson stops by to give us an update on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Shawn Henderson
we have several new teachers that have joined us this year. And it's always exciting to see the energy that they bring in. Also to watch our people that are already part of our team, welcome them in and make them feel like they are part of this great thing that is Hayes Hi.
James Bell
Love that, you know, it's it's gonna bring in a new energy and new kind of feeling when you have instructors in the beginning of the year and like new ideas and the collaboration and all that probably just to me seems like it would be I don't know, like a fun way to kind of kick off the year and move on into 2020 to 23. academic school year.
Shawn Henderson
Absolutely. And here's the thing. I mean, as an educator, there's nothing more exciting than the beginning of the year, right? I mean, get your new backpack, pick out a first day outfit, and come in and all those connections that are made, you know, our theme this year was engaged. And it was fun to watch that happen to watch our people engage with the students. And vice versa. We even had Open House on Monday evening and to get to have all of our clubs and sponsors out and to have parents come in and see our school. It's It's really neat.
James Bell
Yeah. And some exciting stuff going on in the district just in general. But we talked a little bit or we want to talk a little bit about this enrollment up as well. And you've got that new school coming here in the next few years is probably going to be like, Oh, my gosh, I want in there now. Right?
Shawn Henderson
Yeah, I think patience is going to be is going to be a real thing. But I'll tell you what, we have a great design team construction team, the district we continue to meet and talk about what this vision for the future looks like. So it's kind of fun, because we already we have feet on both, you know, on both ground here we are in the current school with the current people and we are doing all that we can. But we're also getting to plan for this new exciting thing that is on the horizon. And just knowing what impact that will make on not only our school, but the whole community is is really exciting.
James Bell
Yeah, with this increase in enrollment, is it? Are you guys like add capacity, or you still got a little room for them to get around? Okay,
Shawn Henderson
we definitely can feel the students, the the the extra people that we had last year, you know, we're up over 950 now. And we ended the year at about 888 last year. So we definitely have more students. And we have some teachers sharing some spaces as well. And obviously, but at the same time, it creates some new collaboration. You mentioned it earlier, and some of our new people are in those collaborative spots. And so it's been, it's been fun watching that happen. And actually, as we plan for the new high school, that collaboration and teacher spaces and how people work together to impact student learning. That's really where we're headed. So we're just we're getting there already. So
James Bell
love that. So what kind of stuff you guys you know, and I know, you gotta get into the academics of it all, but what kind of stuff goes on in the first part of the year to kind of ease into the rest of it.
Shawn Henderson
There's not much easing at the high school. That's okay, though. That's the energy that we like. And you know, it's so fun to walk down the halls and see the students dressed up. You know, today we have, you know, soccer and we've got tennis that's in town, we have the volleyball team that's on the road, we have cross country that's on the road this morning. So we've already got hundreds of kids that are out, you know, doing their thing just today, and that's a random day in the fall. Doesn't feel like fall, by the way, one day, we might get some fall weather, right. Yeah, I mean, that's, you know, and then Friday Night Lights tomorrow, highlighting, you know, it's never just about football, it's all of the things, it's the community. It's the brand new band uniforms, which we debuted last week, which was really cool. And the cheerleaders and the dancers and I mean, it's, it's everyone, and there's just nothing like it. Actually, we love that Friday Night Lights. So yeah, we just have a lot of activities up and running. And we've had a lot of success with our groups. And it's, it's fun to watch them thrive. And so that's really exciting.
James Bell
Very cool. Very cool. Anything on the academic side this year, that's kind of harder than usual, or is it just businesses? Businesses normal there?
Shawn Henderson
Yeah, it's businesses is normal. But you know, one of the things that we're really proud of right now is our CTE and pathways. pathways in the state of Kansas is a conversation about how do you get students out and into internships and turning their, their, their academics from school into future opportunities are both at the post secondary and, you know, training level and, and so we have a lot of those partnerships and we're, you know, growing those partnerships all the time. But you know, like right now we have 97 students that that are leaving our building that are in an internship. So when you see someone walking, a high school student like this morning, said, Good morning to one that was wearing scrubs walking in, because there's going to come a point in the day to day that they're headed over to the hospital. That's really, really neat for our students, and it's something that we want to build upon all the time. I'm,
James Bell
yeah, I like that, you know, and one of the things not not at all to get political here, but one of the things that came out of the student loan proposal out of President Biden's office is the well, how did we get in this mess, and we need to fix that. And you know, over the last few years, what I've seen, especially locally here is there has been an effort to not to dismiss or discount college education, but to right track those students and get them in the career fields that they want to be in and not necessarily skip college, if that's the way they want to go. But get them into a program or an internship or some sort of post secondary or post high school training that gets them where they need to be, without incurring a whole lot of debt and wasting a lot of time and things like that.
Shawn Henderson
Right. And I think, but the impetus for that has to start with what's best for this kid, what's their story? Where are they headed? And how do we get them where we're going for some of those students, it's absolutely college. And they should do that. For some of our students, they have a lot of skills and a skill set that communities need. And it could be in all kinds of things. And that's why, you know, within CK tech and Fort Hays and our other other partners, we are looking at the student and their story, and how we can support them in that. And then, as the community realizes, you know, we have these partnerships, we hope to expand that so that our students have those opportunities to say, this is what I think I want to do. But when they go out and have those experiences, they're like, yes, it's really what I want, or no, it's not. And then they can be very intentional with their parents as to what training they need. And I feel like even in the new high school, and we're looking at the plans and talking, those CTE programs, those are those are going to be prevalent, they are going to be seen, and kids are going to watch what other students are doing. And CTE is for everyone. And that's really that's, that's something that that we're proud of, and that we just continue to bolster in our school.
James Bell
Yeah, love that. And I would imagine, too, it probably helps in the effort to keep some of the students out here in western Kansas, whether it be haze or whatever, it down, you're listening to us. And there's that brain drain that we hear about all the time and those folks going elsewhere. And I think if we can train them to do the jobs that we need hear, we're more likely to retain them.
Shawn Henderson
Yeah. And some of it is just letting them know what the jobs are. Now, we often hear well, we're training kids for jobs that are not that don't exist yet. That's 100% True. But I think some of that is being a responsive community to say, we do have young people that have all of these skills and this opportunity, how do we create it to where they feel welcome to insert themselves into what we have. And I think that's, again, a partnership between the school the community, the institutions that support us, and, and we're having those conversations, and it's fun. I mean, especially if you start to talk about it in terms of the scope of a new building, and how the new building can assist that. Then it's, you know, and I'm a creative person. So, to me, those are fun conversations.
James Bell
Absolutely. Well, we've got just about a minute or so left, and we got to talk about this homecoming right around the corner, right?
Shawn Henderson
Yep. It is coming up soon. It'll be October 3 through the seventh, you know, we have two new StuCo sponsors, Luke Lundmark. And Alan Neill. And they've just done a great job. I mean, I think we have literally I think we have 193 students on on the docket force StuCo. That's how many students are involved. And so I feel like that student engagement and that level of school pride is really up in the morale is up. And so I just imagined this homecoming to be really great.
The Fort Hays State University Neuromuscular Wellness Center has a new person in charge. Luke Kriley stops by to tell us about himself and a little bit about the Center on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
at the Fort Hays State University neuro muscular Wellness Center has a new person in charge Luke Kriley stops by to tell us about himself and a little bit about the Center on this episode of the Post Podcast.
my new assistant professor Fort Hays State University within the HHB with his health and human performance. I'm a physical therapist by trade, I switched over to academia just this year. But I wanted to talk about some of the service based programs we have on campus, what we're in charge of is the neuromuscular Wellness Center. So essentially, what that is, is just think of it like a gym or miniature PT clinic, it's there to provide an accessible resource for community members who have neuromuscular diseases, if they want to work on physical fitness, functional mobility, quality of life, or just to stay active will serve those populations. A lot of the times when you have a specific disease that's kind of chronic in nature, and does not improve over time, just based on how the disease progresses, pathology wise, you know, you can only do so much physical therapy for someone's gonna have to pay for it, not just insurance. So if you get to a point where you meet your cap, you need to look for a place we're a good place to do that. What's nice is we're staffed by two full time faculty myself and then Macy Klaus, we both bring clinical experience, she's is experienced in cardiac rehabilitation and pulmonary rehab, I come a physical therapy background. And then we also have a lot of students, I get involved with the program as well.
James Bell
Love that, you know, I had the opportunity over the years to do some stories with physical therapists. And it's such an interesting kind of field. It's, it's, I think most people think of it as just an extension of like a massage or a yoga class class. But really, it's it's more in depth than that, right?
Yes, yes, absolutely. So, you know, within the world of physical therapy, most people come to physical therapy for pain. But one of the things pain does is it causes dysfunction, whether it's emotionally, physically, however you want. So those are the things we try to address. You know, if you come to us and say, Hey, I can't get swing my tennis racquet anymore, because my elbow hurts. What do I need to do we find a plan, we give you some interventions, some exercise stretches to help you figure that out. But there is massage involved. But there's a lot of other things as well. People just like to massage the best.
James Bell
Imagine that. So you said this is this is open to the community how to get involved? Or how do they take advantage of those services?
Yeah, so they can just get a hold of us anywhere at Fort Hays State University and they get a hold of me, I can give you my email or I don't have a phone number on me from my office. I don't know that quite yet. It just started. So
James Bell
fair enough. You know, and I've been here three years, I can't tell you my office line either sorry. But you're listening. Yeah, I just use my cell phone.
So it is $45 a month, you pay as a membership. And then you can come Monday through Friday, every single day, if you'd like to, we can give you different hours, we try to leave it open up for general hours in the morning. Because it's no longer staffed by full time position. That's faculty running it. The hours have changed a little bit, but we tried to be as flexible as possible.
James Bell
Okay, so is there you mentioned insurances? Is this covered at all by insurance? Are you guys strictly Okay, cash kind of service provider,
this is strictly cash service provider, we do not bill insurance. Now the neat thing is now, you know, say you do want someone to provide you with a little bit more guidance, supervision, because you're a big fall risk, you have these certain things going on, and you want someone maybe more than a personal trainer or a fitness expert, when you being a physical therapist, I can guide you through that stuff, give you the exercises you need, maybe do some hands on strategies. And the nice part is we don't have to bill insurance, so we're not restricted or limited by anything.
James Bell
Okay. And then I wonder if you want to talk a little bit about the role the students play in this? Because I mean, I it's obviously it's on campus, it's probably an academic kind of training exercise for them. But how does that all work together? Yeah, so
we use it a lot for professional development. And a lot of kids are going pre professional programs. So this gives them an experience to be hands on and actually see some people in the clinic with real disease real diagnosis, and then get to work with clinicians like Macy. And I,
James Bell
you know, historically, do the students always kind of have that track where they were seeing those hands on or is that relatively new kind of part of the field? It has
been going on for quite a while, I think they've had this for five or six years, somewhere along those lines, I'm not 100% Sure. But with myself being in the clinic, now we have a more clinical approach, I believe, we can start doing some more stuff to get them a little bit more specific into different tracks professionally that you want to take.
James Bell
Okay, you know, I'm just curious, what does a training track look like? Is that a standard four year program? Or is it kind of like a doctor program where they have the post secondary, and they have to do specialized training and all that to get certified or or
sure what I'm talking about physical therapy. So if you go pre professional PT at Fort Hays, you're gonna get your four year bachelor's degree, you'll have some specific prereqs you have to take and then after that, you'll go to a post professional or postgraduate school, which is going to be three years and you'll end up with a doctorate of physical therapy. So it's four years of bachelors, you apply to whatever program going to get into and then it's three years of additional graduate work.
James Bell
Okay, so yeah, that's like a doctor, as long as the training and lots of education I love that because that's who you know. You think talk about these things. And it seems like Google Now, everything is accessible, you can look it up, you can learn, you know, learn those exercises, but having that specialized training and having that people direct to you, probably when you're talking about physio, specialty, physical health, is a much better way to go. And having to have that training probably is invaluable to the, in the in the field,
right? Absolutely. And the nice part is they learn to work with patients and console them. So, you know, in the medical field, No, you go to see the doctor, you're gonna see the doctor for four and a half, five minutes, when you come see a physical therapist or with a clinician, you're gonna see them for 45 minutes to an hour. So there's a lot of personal one on one relationships, they start to figure out how to talk to different generations, you know, there's many years difference between most people they're going to work with, so trying to learn how to communicate, relate to them, not be offensive, and kind of find things they're interested in is a really nice aspect. They, they learned to develop their soft skills very well.
James Bell
Yeah. And you know, we're hearing more and more about that how important those are in almost every academic pursuit, but especially out in the workforce, having those abilities in those skills kind of translates to everything we do. Absolutely, you know, with this program as well, I wonder if you want to talk a little bit about some of the well, I don't know what what the right word would be. But some of the maybe the specifics, like what does the physical therapy look like? Or is it just so different for everybody that it doesn't take any sort of standard track?
Yeah. So you know, in general, we're going to be working on making sure people aren't high fall risk. So if you come in and say you have difficulty walking, we call that gait training. You know, if you're in a wheelchair, and you want to be able to get up and transfer move around a little bit, those are things we can work on. A lot of it is technique based, making sure you do it safely and appropriately and efficiently based on whatever you have going on. You know, the students like to work on the gait training, because it's interesting for them to see how different people walk to learn those different techniques. And the whole goal is to keep you more independent. So you're not having to go live in a nursing home or do something along those lines. We I mean, it's different for everyone, a lot of it's gonna involve the gait training, cardiovascular training, strength training, there's different balance technique techniques. We don't do a lot of hands on manual there. That's kind of not the point. But no, if that needs to be done, we can do a little bit of that too.
James Bell
Okay. Well, we get just about we've gotten under a minute left. I wonder if you want to share any last thoughts or anything else before we go?
No, I just say if you're interested, please try to get a hold of us. You know, I did not bring my contact information. So I'll get that to you, James. But you know, anyone that's really thinking about, Hey, I just want to get active, get involved, but I've got certain things going on where I really want to be supervised. We'd be a great place a great fit for you
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Cheif of Police Don Schiebler shares back-to-school safety tips.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
As students ease into the school year, it's time to be a little bit extra cautious. Hays Police Department Chief Don Scheibler stops by to share some tips to stay safe and out of trouble. On this episode of the Post Podcast.
you can definitely tell what's changed with the pulse of the community. For K State being back in session, Technical College, Academy Hair Design, all these students are back in town really makes the town enjoyable. That increase in traffic and school being session really gotta be very cautious with our driving, especially in those school zones, we have to remind people that a school is going to you got to slow down to 20 Going by the school districts, school areas, find that those fines are doubled. We just issued a $200 ticket yesterday for 17 miles over the school zone out 30 miles over the speed limit is just too fast, because kids out there on bicycles walking. So that's just a reminder on that day to slow down and make sure they buckle up and drive safe. But we were like having buddy back in town, it definitely creates more excitement for us.
James Bell
Absolutely. You know, I always like about the college. There's always that learning period for those new kids. And the one ways and I was there 20 years ago, and I'm sure I made it the wrong way more than once. But I've seen a few. Those poor kids, they always look so shocked when you're like No, no, no, you're going the wrong way. But I'm glad to hear that there's been real no major incidents or accidents least yet right?
No, no major incident, like you said that first month for us is Roya educational period, we try and educate people, a lot of communities a lot of I came from a town of 500 people what side of the street you parked on right didn't matter in Bennington, Kansas. But when they come here, we have to make sure they're parking the right way, going the right way on a one way streets and driving the speed limit wearing the seat belts. But again, just a little things. And at first, that first month truly is an educational period of trying to get people in line. So we have seen a bit of an increase. We haven't seen this in the past. We used to see a lot of house parties. But in recent years, we haven't seen house parties. But we're starting to see house parties with 150 200 people and I think COVID has eventually over to pandemics eventually over people were out socializing again. But we're seeing a lot of underage drinking. So we want to remind everybody yet to be 21 Make sure that everybody's aware that in the city haze, there's the public possession ordinance, even if you're 21, you can't be on a public street or public sidewalk with an open container. And we really encourage those people having house parties. So a couple of different things that we can do. They can number one, they can register their party with the Hayes Police Department, through the Student Government Association for the State University. That gives us a contact person gives them a party pack on some things to not to do during the party and how to be successful. But most importantly for us, it gives us a contact number for somebody to reach out to. And if we get a phone call saying hey, the party is too loud, can you do something about that? Well, supervisor would do we'll call that person up tape, we got to complain about your party, we need you to quiet it down. Most of time that works. And the police department have to go to the party then. So that's worked out very well for us. But if they don't, we have to go there and a person can be issued a citation for a loud noise disturbance. We're also having some morning NAFTA issues. A lot of times we have this big party and the next day you have this huge mess in the front yard. Going by and knocking on the door telling people we have to get that cleaned up. And for the most part, they're cooperative for that too. They're, they're good kids, they're just having a good time. And we just have to remind them that they're their neighbors. Now you have to be a good neighbor. So it's a it's a learning experience, and we appreciate them being here.
James Bell
Very cool. I like to hear that, you know, it will be so easy, I think for for any police department to take that adversarial role, but I like that you're kind of taking that we're a community partner, do the right things and we won't bother you just you know, stay safe and be careful and let us know what's going on.
And absolutely and those students are so important to our to our community. And we do see them as community partners we do see them as as part of our community. More importantly for us parents from across the state from across the country from around the world and send us their most protecting the most prized possession their children. And our goal is to keep them safe while they're going to school here and getting their education. And I start when we take that responsible very served seriously so we really have to make sure that we're being educational but holding them keeping them safe at the same time. So it works out pretty well for us. So
James Bell
very good. Well any other last thoughts or anything else you want hit on before we
go? No, I really don't. And then the fact that this reminder again, there's a lot more increase in traffic. Make sure that you slow down through those school zones. Let's buckle up. Stop the stop sign is because be extra careful. Forex people say it's successful
On this episode of the Post Podcast Your Voice Through Cancer event coordinator Amanda Long and Kate Armstrong, along with president and co-founder Judy Stegman discuss their upcoming craft fair.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Your Voice Through Cancer event coordinators Kate Armstrong and Amanda Long, along with co-founder and president Judy Stegman share details of the upcoming craft fair.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger discusses how the Chamber works to serve area businesses.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The Hays Chamber continues to be a champion for area businesses, President and CEO Sarah Wasinger stops by to share some of the details of benefits of membership on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Sarah Wasinger
Very often we talk about the different activities or events that we have going on. There's always a ton of those, there's always a ton of those Exactly. But kind of getting back to the meat and potatoes of what we as a chamber do to support our businesses and nonprofit organizations. Because I know we talk a lot about, it's not just businesses that can benefit but our nonprofits to have a lot to gain from being a vested member in our chamber. So one of the big things, obviously, that we've been talking about this last year has been the chamber blue of Kansas Association health plan. And so our Chamber members that are at the connector level or higher, actually have the ability to access that plan. A little bit later, we'll talk about one of our newer chamber member levels for childcare providers, they actually can access that plan too. So that's kind of kind of be a new benefit that we're going to be able to give to our childcare providers that might be listening. Oh, very cool. Yes. One of the other things that we talked about so much her businesses is workforce, and that job attraction is just really challenging and competitive right now. And so a back end, the end of June this year, we actually added the ability for businesses that are Chamber members to post their weekend job positions on our chambers website. So they can actually log into their account, copy and paste, whatever job posting, they already have available. It's not really recreating the wheel, if they're advertising that job in other places, why not do it on the Chamber's website, too. And we know that there's a lot of folks when they're considering moving to Hayes and Ellis County, that their first stop is actually our chamber website. And so if we had those jobs available on the website, that might be a good place for people to have additional visibility.
James Bell
Yeah, and I would think anybody right now looking for help, probably any little bit of assistance they can get is much appreciated.
Sarah Wasinger
Absolutely. And you can be as thorough with those job postings as you want to be or as minimal. You know, if you want to get your benefits package and things of that nature in there, you can also select a date range for when you want that job to be open. And then if for any reason, you get very lucky and you find that perfect person sooner than later, we can manually take down the job listing. So it's not being advertised past. It's needed a timeline. Very cool, very cool. One of the things that we also talk about on a regular basis is our hot deals. And so this is something the end of the year that we're always reminding our members, you know, make sure you use up those benefits that are a part of your membership package before you lose them by the end of the year. And so hot deals are a way for businesses to upload different savings or maybe tickets for an event that they're trying to sell. Or maybe just a new product or service that they're trying to get off the ground and running, all those different types of things. Maybe you're a nonprofit, and you're just looking to have board members, and you want that extra place to advertise that you're seeking board members, it doesn't necessarily have to be something that you're selling, it could just be another advertising tool, essentially, that you're already paying for within your membership. And if you look at his chamber.com, and then you look at the top right hand side of the page, there's going to be a hot deals logo. And so you literally just click on that, and you'll be able to access all of the hot deals that we currently have for our members.
James Bell
Very cool. I like going in there and I was clicking while you were talking. I didn't get there fast enough to see what you have out there. Because I always like to go and see because there's always some really cool stuff going on there. And oh, yeah, I don't want to I don't want to spoil it. But I wish it's mentioned this the like, pays Public Library wine and cheese fundraiser. We were just talking about this a little bit earlier. Yes, that's on there.
Sarah Wasinger
Absolutely. So it's like I said, it's a great way to just kind of talk about events, sell tickets, and things of that nature. Another thing that we'd love to do, and we talked a little bit about this a few weeks ago was our Community Guide. And so that is a piece that we utilize as a Chamber of Commerce to really market Hayes. We worked very closely with our Hayes Convention and Visitor's Bureau to put that piece together every year, we only feature Chamber members. That's a very big important thing for folks to remember. Because we'll actually have some people call and say, Hey, we want to be in the Cirrus Community Guide. Well, let's talk membership. First, we want to feature as many businesses as possible. But really at the end of the day, we are funded by our membership dues and non dues revenue. So that is why we solely focus on, you know, connecting our Chamber members to our community.
James Bell
Yeah, absolutely. I'm sure you would do it for free, if you could, but that's just not realistic.
Sarah Wasinger
It's not realistic. That's right. So we we in general love and want to support the entire business community. But at the end of the day, you have to take care of the hand that feeds you. And so that's kind of how we reserve that right for that.
James Bell
Absolutely. And, you know, speaking of that, yeah, I think a lot of times those Chamber members, they can kind of help each other out but just because of the commute already kind of sense of it all.
Sarah Wasinger
Yes, that's one thing that we actually talked about at the office that we've really been seeing a lot of lately, James is, you know, when we have members that are hosting a chamber chat or ribbon cutting, we are finding out that they're utilizing other Chamber members, when they're, you know, scheduling people to help, you know, have their food and beverages ready for their events and things like that. And we love that. It's really just a cross support of those who are, you know, there to invest their time with one another. So, speaking of events, that's obviously another huge benefit for our members, is our chamber will come in into whether it'd be a chamber chat, or ribbon cutting a groundbreaking for a new project, perhaps you are just needing to, you know, talk about an anniversary that you're celebrating and things of that nature, we want to come in and celebrate those big, special events with you as a chamber. Obviously, our group of ambassadors is a group of 50 men and women who it's their job to come to those events, and to learn about the products and services, or just in general more about what that business has to offer our community. And then they become the word of mouth advertising arm as well as our staff. And because they've gone to that event, they've learned about what your business can do. And they'll start being that referral system for you in the community. And there's nothing more powerful than that. And really, at the end of the day, some of our events and just getting more intimate with our members, by understanding everything that they have to offer, that's one of the largest benefits of membership is because we've now connected you to the rest of the business community that kind of is buying into and believing in the fact that we are stronger when we work together.
James Bell
Absolutely. You know, we talk about all day tech, get social media and all that kind of stuff interjecting into our lives. But a lot of times that old school, just kind of classic networking, that the big shaken palms, and having the face to face time really is what matters to
Sarah Wasinger
folks, really, it is so important. And, you know, I still think that we value the old way of doing things here in Ellis County. And like you said, just breaking bread with people, you know, spending intentional time with folks. There's nothing better than that. And quite frankly, it's probably the most rewarding part of our jobs is because we get to then celebrate the successes of our members and what's going on in our community.
James Bell
Very cool. To me, like going on in the community, you guys are always I see out and about, or almost every meeting, there's somebody there, it's usually you. But yeah, like sitting meetings, county meetings, you guys are also dialed in to all of those kinds of happenings as well.
Sarah Wasinger
Absolutely. So from an advocacy standpoint, you know, we talked about the things that happen in the background that maybe aren't quite as visible. And so us attending those meetings just really makes sure that we as an organization are plugged into the different projects and things going on. And so you know, for our members that do construction or things like that, you know, that gives us the option to say, Hey, have you seen the project that's going on here? Do you know that there's a bid going on over on this side of things. So again, just making sure that our government entities, they do a really good job, I believe, for the most part in choosing local contractors and things like that, to so long as they're available to do the work. I know that they were very cognizant about keeping our money local. So we very much appreciate and value that as well.
James Bell
Very cool. You know, there are some, also some tangible, I think financial benefits to being a chamber member, especially when you talk about some of the events that you guys do down there.
Sarah Wasinger
Yes, so we do offer discounts to several of our members for some of our kind of professional development programming. Um, so obviously, we partner very well with our Fort Hays State University Management Development Center. And so you can get a 15% discount by doing the programs through them. And there are a few throughout the year that that does not apply to you. But in general, you can get a discount, or bulk mail stamp for people who still want to do a traditional mail service for advertising or marketing. And sometimes that can be enough to pay for the membership itself. And if you're just even doing one mailing
James Bell
mailing gets ridiculously expensive, if you're a business owner out there, and you've never had to bike mail, things like the bill just it just you just watch it rack up, it's ding ding, ding, ding, ding. Oh, my goodness, one, how much am I spending on shipping out things?
Sarah Wasinger
Come see us. Dale Carnegie's another one of those great, you know, partnerships that we have our members receive a 15% discount for that. And then even Eagle meds flight service for if you need to be airlifted. You know, if the end for seeable should happen. You know, that's a good discount that you can access to so just a lot of different things that you can take advantage of. And we have discounts on the Community Guide, you know, that we were talking about, depending on the different level of membership that you have to
James Bell
Yeah, very cool. Very cool. Well, we got just a few minutes left and I want to hear more about this thing we talked about we stopped if I can get it out. The thing we started this segment with Yes. I want to hear more. You wanna hear more? I want to hear more about the gosh, now I've drawn a blank on the name of it is hoping you'd have it The membership packet. Yes, yes, the membership.
Sarah Wasinger
So the membership packet can currently be found on the Hayes chamber website. And you'll see it broken down into two different ways. We have a packet that describes and outlines our current levels for 2022. And then we also have a packet for 2023. So if you're maybe planning on membership for next year, but don't really know where to start, I would just encourage folks to go look at that membership packet there, the childcare level of membership is what you will see that's new. And then we have that community level that are new. And we really wanted to do a benefit that was good for our providers. And so we want to elevate how they're seen across the community, and really bring them into the business community as well. So that's kind of why our board has approved a special level for them. And that gives them unique benefits. And then our community level, should you not be a business per se, but you're just out there and you want to support what the chamber has going on. There's a level there for you too. And that gets you communication from the form of our weekly news blasts, as well as hard newsletter, and just in general, any text notifications or things that go out for events and stuff like that. So it's a great way to stay involved and still support the things we have going on.
James Bell
Very cool. Very cool. And you mentioned the events, we got to talk about this. You've got a good number of them going on again this week, right? We do
Sarah Wasinger
so our hy IPS will have an opportunity to learn about how to do grocery planning, reducing waste and saving money at their x y p event today. And that'll be at 4:30pm at the Hayes Public Library. And Natalie Clemmer on one of our committee chairs is going to be hosting that. And then we also have today, or excuse me Thursday, I think I had a typo there. We're going to be celebrating a another groundbreaking at the Ark Park with the Wonder Woman link. They have a new security project that they're going to be unveiling that day. So very excited. Please come out for that. It's a wonderful park. And this project is going to make sure that it's accessible for folks for years to come. Love that.
James Bell
Yeah, well, if you haven't, if you just haven't been down there yet, go by and check it out. Even if you don't, you know, get out and get into the splashpad. It's really cool just to see the work they did down there.
Sarah Wasinger
It's an amazing opportunity to enjoy our community that much more, that's for sure. And then Thursday as well. We have our H yp Third Thursday social that will be held at the Paisley pear, wine bar bistro and market that starts at 515. And then we finished the week off Friday with our chamber chat with DSN Wk is custom creations. And then at noon, we'll have our ambassador lunch at the Rose Garden banquet home catering on Friday. Very cool,
James Bell
very cool. I love the DSW case custom creations. I've been in there a few times. And I'm always so excited to see the products but then I want to spend more money than I actually should. Well, I
Sarah Wasinger
think the thing that's unique about them is every piece is original, it celebrates a good cause and it gives a different population the chance to hone in on some of their skills that they've got tapped away. So what's better? It's just lets us see something different every time
The latest Friday Night Finds from Mix 103.3 FM.
Play the song at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkll0StZJLA&t=67s.
School year programming is underway at the Hays Public Library as they continue to develop their technological resources. Communications Coordinator, Callie Kolacny stops by to share the details on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
Callie Kolacny
We always have good entertainment going on in some form or another. But I want to mention first, our foundation fundraisers coming up this Saturday. We've been talking about it for a couple of months now, but it's actually coming up this Saturday 630 to around nine tickets are still available, but not very many, we are almost at our max limit for our tickets. So if you still want tickets, you need to go ahead and either go to the library to purchase them or go online to Hayes library.org. And you'll see the little scrolling thing and click on the fundraiser and you can buy your tickets there they cost $30 apiece, we have had to have a change with our keynote speaker Marcy Penner from the Kansas sampler foundation. Excuse me, he was going to be here. But she for some unforeseen circumstances is not able to but we were very lucky to get Bob Dixon Bob Dixon was the mayor of Greensburg, after the tornado wiped out the town. And he's the one that helped really spurred the reclamation of of Greensburg and so I think he'll have a really interesting talk. And some I've had some friends that have seen him before. And it's we're very lucky to have been able to get him on such short notice.
James Bell
That's incredible. Yes, I've actually had the opportunity to myself to hear him speak and not not recently, I think it's been a number of years ago. But yeah, real interesting story and, and the work they had to do to put that town back together. It's just, it's incredible the planning and the forethought, but then also the work that has started to go behind it.
Callie Kolacny
Yeah, the direction that they took it into with being very sustainable. It's just really interesting. So we're excited. To have Bob Dixon come, we have will have a raffle a little bit of a silent auction. We've had some great sponsors and donations from a lot of wonderful people around the town. And so we're very excited. Yeah, it's gonna be fun night.
James Bell
Very cool. You know, I wonder real quickly before we talked about some of these other events, if you want to talk to us about why is the foundation so important to the library?
Callie Kolacny
Sure. The foundation is the fundraising arm of the library. So when we get donations and things and that goes through the foundation, it can be out anything from if somebody wants to, you know, give us $50, or write a check for any amount of money or some end of life planning types of things and trusts and stuff like that, that can all go through the foundation. We also have an account with the Heartland Community Foundation, so you can make donations to the his Public Library Foundation through them as well. And then that money goes back into the library for mainly non budgeted items, things, things that come up that we need at the library, but it wasn't something that was specifically planned for or budgeted necessarily. One of the things we've been wanting to do that we wanted to do was the bookmobile. Well, the foundation paid for half of the bookmobile the other half with thingies, Hanson Foundation. And so, our phone Foundation was able to without that money we would not have been able to have the bookmobile they also paid for and this was a budgeted item. But yet they were able to put money into the most recent renovation. And that was able to fund some of the you know, as you're doing a renovation, little things come up or you think, Oh, if we only had a little bit more money, we can make that a little bit better. Well, those kinds of donations from the foundation and from the Friends of the public library, those helped to get those things that were maybe just a little bit nicer, a little bit more fitting with what we needed at the library so that they're the ones that are doing things like that, by raising that money. And because they've spent so much money in the last couple of years on those big projects, we kind of need to refill those coffers. So that's a little bit about what the foundation fundraiser is about, but also just raise awareness that it does exist and why it's important to the library, because they can make all of those donations. Very cool. Sure.
James Bell
It's gonna be a great time.
Callie Kolacny
It'll be so much fun. Come on out, have some cheese and wine and little mini cheesecakes and lots of great conversation. Listen to Bob Dixon, maybe come away with some fun raffle prizes or something. It's yeah, it's gonna be a great time. Absolutely.
James Bell
Very cool. All right. Well, we got to move on because we got to talk about all these cool events. And this one, I'm curious what this is hummingbirds in Kansas. This is actually starting here in Boston.
Callie Kolacny
Yeah, this is today at 10 o'clock. And it's kind of a late addition. But we're going to have a man there to talk about the hummingbirds and their migration and habitats and how you can maybe attract them and when they would be in Kansas, so if you're curious about that, come on down to the library this morning at 10 o'clock. Also today we have our making sense of series continues, it's making sense of gardening, we'll talk more about seed saving. That'll be today at 530 this evening. Tomorrow, we have another program that we're just lucky to be able to get bicycling with monarchs. So the monarch butterflies, Sarah Dykeman, rode her bicycle over 10,000 miles, and followed the migration of the monarch butterflies through three countries. And she wrote a book on it. And she just happens to be passing through town right this week, and was able to stop by tomorrow at 530 and to talk about her experience, and she'll do a book signings. So if your sounds fascinating to me, I will definitely be there to hear about this. So that's tomorrow at 530, we are bringing back the cookbook club. So we'll take a couple different cookbooks each month and you can look through a make a recipe and come and share with the group that'll be on the third Thursdays at 11am. We've got a program on Saturday this will be before the foundation fundraiser, You've Got Mail, we're exploring letter writing through history. That'll be Saturday at 11am as part of our world language club, which is a new monthly program on the third Thursdays. We're gonna have Harry Potter night family night, we always do this every year. It's a lot of fun. This will be on September 29, at five o'clock, five, five to seven. So if you're a Harry Potter family, come on out and share Harry Potter family nights and then Oktoberfest at the library. We do our own Oktoberfest with a hot shots poker ban on the week, week and before the other Oktoberfest so that'll be on October 1 from 10am to 1pm.
James Bell
Very cool King enough poker? Oh, of course. Always good time. Like
Callie Kolacny
we're gonna have beer rocks. Yeah. Looks better than that. Yeah, sure. Cool.
James Bell
Very cool. All right. Well, I'm wondering about this the 100 books before high school 100 books before graduation. We talked I think very briefly about that last time, is that still going on?
Callie Kolacny
Well, this is a new thing, actually. Because we always we've been doing 1000 Books Before Kindergarten, that's been going on for quite a while. So now we're expanding it and trying to get the teenagers involved. So we're doing 100 books before high school. So that's for the middle school aged kids. And then 100 books before graduation for the high schoolers, you can register through Beanstack. So again, we're doing being stack, registering keep track of all of your books, and and win some prizes along the way. And just really trying to get you know, more than more interested in reading it can that can be a difficult age for them to be interested in it. So it's just a fun thing for us to do to try to try to spur them along.
James Bell
Yeah, absolutely. And while you're on your phone, download that Beanstack app if you don't have it, which is cool. Great. And you also use that frog to summer events. Reading stuff. Yeah. What's what you got a library I'm
Callie Kolacny
so excited about this. My we have a haze Public Library app, what you do is go to your app store, whether it's, you know, whichever kind of phone you've got, and download my Libra myl I BRL, Miley bro, and then search for Hayes Public Library. When you find that, then you'll put in your library card number and your PIN number. The pin number is your last four digits of your library card number. That's important I learned. Very important, you got to have that the last four digits of your library card numbers, your pin number. And through this app, you can then manage all of your library cards, say your family each you and your kids, they all have a different library card, you can put them all on the app. And it's so you can manage your all of your library card accounts. You can access the digital resources. If you like to read books through or listen to books through Libby, it's right there. You don't even need the Libby app anymore. If you like to use hoopla you still need the hoopla app. But if you find the book that you want, it'll take you directly to the hoopla app. You can also of course, search the library catalog you can place holds, you can place il l request. There's a digital barcode on there so that you can use in the building on the kiosk so that you don't need your physical library card necessarily. So if you happen to leave it in the car, and but you've got your phone, then you're good to go. It's it's it's a lot of it's great. I mean, it has everything that you could want pretty much for the library and you can access the library website, the event calendar, all of that through the app.
James Bell
I love that. And you know, I really like you guys are always so you're so tech forward and connecting all these things and hoopla and especially hoopla I love hoopla get in there all the time. But the digital resources and then to tie it all together into this like very cool and it's not intimidating at all. And if you do run into problems like like I did, you just contact the library. It's so super helpful. I don't remember the young woman's name that helped me out a couple of weeks ago but um, and she was great and very patient and I just felt like a fool because I couldn't make this work. And she's like, Oh, you just do this and this and this, but it was perfect.
Callie Kolacny
Well good. I'm very glad to hear that. But yeah, if you aren't sure how to download any of the the app or anything else hoopla things like come to the library, we would be so happy to help you. I helped a guy download the hoopla app the other day because he wanted to listen to the Hobbit. And that was the device that it was on. And so we downloaded it. He was good to go. It took very little, not even five minutes to get it done. And, yeah, when we want to help, we want you to have all access to all of these wonderful things that we have at the library.
James Bell
Absolutely. Now, there's one last thing we got, we got to talk about before we go this is early active reading, what is this about this is this kicked off already?
Callie Kolacny
Yes, it started in September. And it's a new program. And it's on Friday mornings at 11am. It's really for three to five year olds and kind of early elementary that aren't in school. And it's exercise the body and the mind. The other day, they were exploring the letter S and had big S's in tape on the floor. And they were using like little toy cars to trace the shape of the s things like that. So it does some physical movement, along with trying to work that into to the mind as they learn how to read and they learn their letters and things like that. So it's just it's a new program there. I also want to mention really quick tutoring, we do have our tutoring is back with the support, hey, students, and they're there and they're ready to help us generally from three to six. On Wednesdays, there's somebody there's that's at two o'clock. So if you want to bring somebody early than two to six, but they're great, they can really help with I mean, even even math, I mean, how many parents understand today's math.
James Bell
I don't, I can't help we had we had to hire a tutor because I can help my kids with
Callie Kolacny
math and you can get free after school tutoring at the library. If you want more information on it or to make an appointment, go to Hayes library.org/tutoring to go ahead and get on there to make sure that you've got to set aside time. But they also will do Watkins if they're not already busy, and they're upstairs on the second floor. All right.
James Bell
I love that. And what a cool program and such as such an asset to the community. You guys provide that for free. That's very cool.
Callie Kolacny
Yeah, we want to be able to make sure that we can help those kids in whatever the way they need.
James Bell
Awesome. Kelly, before we go, how can they find out more information?
Callie Kolacny
Sure, go to our website, as I've mentioned a couple times Hayes library.org You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We're also on tick tock now. Tick tock or give us a call 6259014
On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University Alumni Association engagement strategist Carolyn Tatro shares FHSU Homecoming 2022 details.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The Fort Hays State University Alumni Association is get ready for this year's homecoming, Alumni Engagement strategist, Carolyn Tatro stops by to share some of the details on this episode of the post podcast.
Carolyn Tatro
It's only got a month away at this point, right about a month away and really for homecoming for us. It's there are parts of it that are year round. But by the time we get to this time of year, we kind of can't believe that it's already around the corner. And we have some really exciting things planned. So I'm really looking forward to it. I know a lot of other people are too.
James Bell
Yeah, yeah, it's always a good time. And I know, you know, COVID kind of changed some things, you guys introduced some virtual events, and that seemed to go over really well just, you know, as we were having to deal with that, but a lot of back to normal kind of stuff. Um, you know, oh, my goodness, look at the list of thing. No, lots of stuff going on. Yeah, you want to give us some highlights?
Carolyn Tatro
Yes. So first of all, we had a record sell out of the golf tournament. So the golf tournament is currently sold out. It's one of our most popular events throughout the three days, which by the way, before I forget, October 6, seventh, and eighth is what we're talking about here for our alumni homecoming events, the golf tournament sold out in five days, which record for us. So we're excited about that. But we, we know a lot of people didn't get into it, but we you know, give us a call and we want to talk to you about it. Because there's a lot of other things that you can do lunch with Coach Brown is also happening that afternoon, which the golfers can participate in because it's during lunch. So we want people to come and have lunch with football coach, Chris Brown and and learn a little bit about game day routines, and learn about the team, that kind of stuff. So that'll be a really exciting event as well. And then I know later that evening, we'll have the bonfire. Hopefully Weather permitting knock on wood was a great event last year. So hopefully we'll get to do the bonfire again.
James Bell
You guys do that right there to the the west of the Alumni Center, right
Carolyn Tatro
right next to the Robins.
James Bell
The one that always floods.
Carolyn Tatro
Hopefully we're you know, we're again, month away. We'll see what happens. But the bonfire is always a big event when we get to do it. So yeah, very fun. Yeah. And then lots of exciting things planned for Friday. And we have a rather exciting slate of award recipients this year, our homecoming awards are always, you know, a really big deal. There are some of the most distinguished alums that we get to celebrate. And Friday is sort of the the big day to do that Friday and Saturday, we get to have lots of events to celebrate these award winners. So looking forward to that have people from all over the place that I'm looking forward to meeting in person, some really fascinating individuals that I think people want to meet.
James Bell
Yeah, for sure. You want to tell us maybe what some of those awards are? I know, I've seen them year after year, but I'm drawing a blank. Yes.
Carolyn Tatro
So we have four awards that we honor at homecoming. One is the Alumni Achievement Award is sort of the most prestigious for our alums via NIDA, Landrum and distinguished service awards are some of the others. This year, we are honoring four Alumni Achievement Award recipients and two Young Alumni Award recipients. So we've got alumni achievement, and NIDA Landrum Distinguished Service and young alum. And the this year, we have four alumni achievement, and two young alum award recipients. So very exciting people.
James Bell
Cool. Cool. Yeah, I'm gonna talk more about these events. But I am curious, like, how do those folks get selected? You guys drop out a hat or is there a vote
Carolyn Tatro
there. So we have a nomination process that takes place, December, I read around December in January, we open it up for about a month, but people are sending us names year round, you know, oh, I met so and so who's doing some really cool things that you guys need to know about. So we do collect names pretty much year round. Our Alumni Board has a committee that reviews these nominations. And then based on specific criteria, we they select who they believe should be the standout award winners for the coming year. So the selection is usually made end of January, sometime in February. So a lot of us are sitting on this secret for several months before we finally announced them in the summer.
James Bell
I can tell by your face. You know who they are?
Carolyn Tatro
Oh, yes, yeah. And we know we, we know who they are for a long time. And we usually release, we put out the press release in the summer. So, you know, it's it's maybe six months before we get to tell the public about it. But um, yeah, they're out there. And I think some people are very excited about who we get to celebrate this year. Very cool.
James Bell
Very cool. Well, moving back into some of these events. I mean, that's gonna be fun. That's again on Friday. I had it open in the morning, Friday morning, but lots of stuff going on that Friday afternoon night, right?
Carolyn Tatro
Yes, that's right. So Friday morning, we will have a meet and greet for these award recipients now I should say. So John Allen, who is a world renowned journalist in Rome, he will be unable to join us but we're So excited to celebrate him. And also Mike McCarthy, who's the current head football coach of the Dallas Cowboys. He's a little busy right now. So he's not going to be able to do it because I know he's he's got some things going on. But we're really excited the meet and greet will involve Judy billings, who's a lifelong nurse educator, Don Richardson, who's also a lifelong educator been teaching for more than 50 years. Tory blue, who is the current House Majority Whip in Topeka. She's great Ben native ran for office before she even graduated from Fort Hays, and then Brandon Penny, who I'm very excited to meet great creative mind doing some really cool things in New York for Saks Fifth Avenue. So it's, those four individuals will be at the meet and greet. And there'll be at the Alumni and Friends awards banquet on Friday evening, as well. So just a couple of different opportunities to meet them on Friday, they'll be doing some presentations in classes, mostly from the departments that they graduated from, but opportunities to speak to students, and then we get to celebrate them in the parade on saturday as well. So get to spend some time with them this week, that weekend.
James Bell
I love that. And you know, it's always so amazing to me. The I mean, obviously, we have a large number of alumni out there doing amazing things, but it always seems like you guys are finding new ones that you know, maybe the general public doesn't know or people that left years ago, and they're doing amazing things internationally. You're on the coasts. Yeah. And it's like an endless supply of amazing four days long.
Carolyn Tatro
I'm telling you even just yesterday, there were a couple people who came up to me and said, Did you know that so and so has a connection to Fort Hays? And it's, it's really cool to see some of these names that you're right, we just we don't always know that they have the connection to Fort Hays. And that's why we like to celebrate them with some of these awards, because it's just a really exciting time our community gets to see how connected we are to some people that are doing some really amazing things out in the world.
James Bell
Yeah, very cool. And to be able to celebrate and bring everybody together, or almost everybody in this case and, and hang out and get to meet those individuals. What a cool experience.
Carolyn Tatro
Yep. So a lot of those events, you can check out the full list of our events at fhsu homecoming.com. Now, I will say that is the website for our alumni events. There's a lot of other stuff happening happening on campus that week of Homecoming. So make sure you check out the fhsu website as well, but fhsu homecoming.com. A lot of the events that I've mentioned already, you do have to pre register for, but you can do that through September 29. So you still have a couple of weeks to do that. But we were very excited. And yeah, I can't contain it. Honestly, this is one of my favorite, favorite times of the year, just getting ready for all this and then watching it all come together and and seeing people come to the events is just a really great time.
James Bell
Yeah, I bet because I mean, you guys have to plan this for such a long time. There's so many moving pieces, and especially when with your events, and then the university events you got a whole has to coordinate together and to some degree and so many people make this event how happened it just you know, everybody gets together have a great time. But there's a lot of work in the behind the scenes.
Carolyn Tatro
That's right, and we participate with Oktoberfest as well. We're going to have an Oktoberfest tent out there, come out, meet people, you know, if you're meeting up with a group of friends, our tent will be a great place to do that. Sit down, enjoy the delicious food and the atmosphere will be out there both days too. So again, something happening pretty much every day, Thursday, Friday, Saturday through a homecoming so yeah, on on all the time.
James Bell
And Oktoberfest you also know that's separate, but it's the same. And it brings a lot of people to town to do that. But while you're there, come make the connection to Fort Hays, where you connect with Fort Hays and go check out the bit like if you've been on campus, holy smokes, it still boggles my mind. How much has changed even from the time that we were there, which was, you know, we're pushing in almost a decade, I think since we both graduated, but so much activity, physical activities there. And it's just, it's still it's great. It looks amazing. But it's different. And it's it's a it's fun to explore even I think some of those new facilities and buildings
Carolyn Tatro
it is. And we do offer, you know, we offer the opportunity for people to take tours of campus while they're out there as well. Even some of our awardees that I've talked to on the phone, I haven't been to campus in a long time is there going to be a chance for me to see, you know, this such and such new building or my building has been renovated since I was there. So you know, things are changing all the time. And they still are and so yeah, this is another just a great time for people to come see how things are different on campus and all the cool things that we get to do out there. Absolutely.
James Bell
Well, Carolyn, I tell you, we've got just about a minute left last thoughts or anything else you think that folks need to know before we go?
Carolyn Tatro
Well, again, just check out fhsu homecoming.com. We really encourage people to pre register for some of these events because they are going to fill up again lunch with Coach Brown on Thursday afternoon. So that will be October 6 That noon. Again, something we don't get to do all the time. So come and have lunch with the football coach Chris Brown, and then sign up for our alum. I award events as well. So you can meet some of these really cool people we have coming to town, September 29. That is the deadline for a lot of our registered events. Don't
James Bell
wait. Don't get you know what happens when you have a deadline like that. Always for me, people wait
Carolyn Tatro
till the day I wait till the deadline is right. Don't wait till the deadline, get it out, get
James Bell
your computer listening to us and probably at work. So go ahead and just take a minute to lock out. Get it in do it now. Yeah, no, it'd be a good time and hopefully you get a great turnout. And you know, I'll be around I always am.
Carolyn Tatro
Yeah, absolutely. And everybody, give us a call if anybody has questions, lots of stuff happening. So we want to be able to point you in the right direction.
On this episode of the Post Podcast USD 489 assistant superintendent Shanna Dinkel shares updates from the district.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
As USD 49 continues in the accreditation process, they are evaluating and enhancing their career exploration and tech education programs. Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Shanna Dinkle stops by to share some of the details on this episode of the post podcast.
Shanna Dinkel
Two big year for our school district in that this is our final year of a what was to be a five year cycle, but really six year with COVID apology are in there of accreditation, so we will send our information about our processes and and how we work for continuous improvement as well as the measures we have in place and the growth we've shown and that will go to the state board this year. And we hope that you know, we will be fully accredited. That's our anticipation. One of the measures, obviously state assessments is a measure in the academic measure that we focus on. But there we look at wider range, because our ultimate goal and rock as a district is a successful high school graduate. And that's so much more than just the academics, it's also admit socially emotionally, how students are and what support they need to be able to get to the academic piece. And so our families of third through 12th graders got an email or a text this week, asking them to opt in and allow us to provide a screener for their students on social, academic, and semi emotional questions. And so that came about because we had some new legislation this past year, which is requiring schools to reach out and let parents know what the tool is, which is very appropriate. And so I just wanted to kind of help explain why that text was sent this year and not in the past. But it is one of the ways in which we look at how students are doing socially, emotionally. We also look that though at attendance, attendance is so important. And then behavior course grades, but that sabres, that screening piece is just another layer in which we can just make sure that we have whatever support is needed for students to be successful. And again, as a successful high school graduate, from pre K, all the way up, everybody plays a role in that. So that was something that was sent out this week. But another big piece and, and one of the data points that really we need to celebrate as a district is the post secondary success of our students, you know, our ultimate goal at the state level is defined at 70 to 75%. Because, according to studies out there, 75% of our graduates will need some type of post secondary education, to to have a workforce, you know, here in Kansas or, or in the nation, those other 25% are also successful, they may be going to the military, they may be taking over the family business. So it's not to say that those aren't successful, but that's our target. And as a district, we're at 69.5% of students who graduate then a year, starting their second year out have been to some tech, Ed type thing or are enrolled in that second year of maybe a two year or four year university. So career tech ed is so huge, and we used to think about it in two groups of our high schoolers college prep or career tech ed. But really, we're all on a pathway to some career in after high school. So it's a large umbrella that really, it's all about career tech ed. And so we have some amazing things happening at our high school. Becky hicker, who is an assistant principal there, she and her team have worked really, really hard. We have career exploration happening. So just a few numbers is last year, we had 9060 students who were out in the community doing some career exploration this year, we have 97. And that wouldn't be possible without partners in the community, with businesses to allow our students to get out there. But it's such a necessary and important piece of students exploring what it is that is of interest to them that they might want to pursue. Post High School.
James Bell
Yeah, if that makes perfect sense because I you know, I think back to my college experience, and I had a pretty major shift mid college, and I say mid I was about four years in when I decided to change majors and have a scene that in advance, I may have made different decisions when I was 18.
Shanna Dinkel
Yes, and so we hope to even grow that. And at last year's class of 2220 22. We had 120 members who were pathway concentrators, so really it has a lot to do with what courses you take and how many, a lot of times students Are we actually enrolled in more than one pathway, but as we call them a pathway concentrator, it's how many they align within a pathway. But we're trying to expand the pathways next year. It's exciting that we hope to have a military and military military health pathway for students who choose to explore that. This year, we're starting our health science pathway. We're partnering with Hays Med, and a grant out of K u. And that's been excited. We have over 70 students who are in the intro to health career courses. And we know how important that is. There's just it's so exciting. And we have students who, you know, some of the NCQA programs that our high schoolers are involved in our Certified Nurse Aide, allied health, pharmacy tech, auto mechanics, so many of those things, we have students who go and attend Fort Hays on campus during the day, or taking online through NC K or Fort Hays on campus at Hays high. So really just you know, one of our core values is selling students on the possibilities and opportunities for their future. And that's really what it's all about. And it's not just something that happens in high school, you know, one of the resources that's available to parents, as parents, we, you know, we want to talk to our kids to about what it is, is of interest to them, there is a program called Higher paths, H AI, R e paths.com. And there were some grant money, and there's some amazing videos, and just talking points for parents, upper elementary are ready to just start thinking and exploring and seeing what's of interest. So lots going on. And again, it's that partnership with parents that the school wants to work with, because that's such an important role in what their student chooses to do post secondary, but good things happening. And like I said, are the 70, nearly 70% of our kids having some success after that high school graduation, that that's awesome. And we want to see that continue to grow?
James Bell
Yeah, you know, I love that I've seen this over the I don't know, I'd say maybe the last 10 years or so really an effort, and especially locally in all of the high schools from Fort Hays and CK tech, USD 49. And the Catholic schools as well to have that kind of overall focus on not pushing children into one thing, university education, but rather, what is it that you like to do? And how do we get you to a successful point there. And I've seen some of the USD 49 tech programs in action. And it is truly incredible. There's constant learning, not only with the students, but with the educators as well. And how do we better implement this? And how do we bring in new tech, and especially on the coding front? It's really just incredible to me to see.
Shanna Dinkel
Yeah, and you know, really, that is the purpose of T CTE is to support and empower schools, developing those pathways to lead students to whatever is post secondary. And a lot of times, we want to train them with that content, like we've talked about, but also can they work with others? That's that social piece? How do they feel about their learning emotionally? Where are they so it's all tied in with like, we talked about social emotional learning is such an important way, and why that's also something that as schools, we want to make sure that we work with parents and help support kids, because a lot of times, it's those soft skills, too, that we want to make sure whether it's growth mindset, working through things, overcoming some difficult situations. So lots of good things happening. And it's exciting to be here. And I look forward to our accreditation that we send to the state board, because I anticipate that we will be fully accredited.
James Bell
Yeah, get that check off. That's, that'll feel so good, I'm sure. Yeah. You know, I'm curious how much of this the shift in education to this kind of newer model where we were on the career track and the pathways? How much of that is the changing education structure? And how much is the changing world we live in? And I think about, you know, all the tech that, you know, I'm at the end of that age that when I was in, you know, my my kids school age, in fourth, fifth grade, we had a computer in the classroom, and it played Oregon Trail. And that was about all it did. You know, we had some typing tutors, but they're what they do on technology is so different and so much more expansive, and a wonder like, if you want to kind of help us, or help us share with us? Are we learning better how to adapt those kids to that world? Or are we learning a better rather how to educate them for that world? If that makes sense? Yeah, it's probably a
Shanna Dinkel
little bit of both. And you know, I think that's why it's important to even start exploring careers because there's so many things out there, our tech will eliminate some jobs and add to others. So we don't even know some of those things that are out there. Sometimes when we think about tech and students are, you know, devices are just second nature to them. As a system, we need to unlearn some of their habits of more just casual use of technology to really get into some specific I'm things with technology. So one of the things that's exciting with the bond passing, again, thanking the community for that opportunity, as we, you know, look at design, we really want to make sure that we're taking into account what our students need for the world beyond high school so that they're ready, including technology and those types of things. So I think it's a little bit of both, it's kind of like our kindergarten readiness, you know, that's another one of our measures for accreditation, we don't want to have students have to fit our environment, we need to know the needs of our incoming kindergarteners and create that environment that meets their needs, where they're at, and then moves them forward. Same thing, when we talk about career tech, Ed, what's out there, and then making sure that we provide that for students to move them forward.
James Bell
And I would imagine, too, at this point, you kind of have to teach students to be I don't know what the right word but able to adapt themselves to the business world because it changes so quickly, you know, like I think of jobs that didn't exist when I was in school that are now you know, top needed jobs and out in the workforce, that you wouldn't have the there's no way you would have the education for you have to educate yourself. Right.
Shanna Dinkel
And I think that's what we're hearing from businesses and again, are Dr. Watson, the Commissioner of Ed has been on tours across Kansas. And a lot of times we hear, we'll train them on those specific skills they need for this job. It's more of those soft skills, showing up on time, making sure that you're in attendance, having a good work ethic, growth mindset, working well with others, being able to express yourself, when written or oral communication, being a good listener. All those are things that through the different, you know, content and academic tying that all together because then at some point, yeah, it's hard to prepare him for everything that's out there. But just making sure that those basic skills are there so that they can adapt and be adaptable out in their environment and what they choose to explore next. Very cool. Yeah,
James Bell
sure. We've got just about a minute left. Any other last thoughts or anything else that we want to hit on? Before we go? You know,
Shanna Dinkel
I really think we talked about a lot. I'm excited to be it is a great year, we started off well, like you said, Superintendent Wilson share that last week and it's just a really good start and all the activities and the whirlwind is is picking up as we get here into September and and it'll fly by but we're just glad that we're able to work with students, parents, and again, thanking the community for all those career exploration opportunities they're giving our students because it really does make a difference.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Center for Life Experiences executive director Darian Schlegel shares updates from the center.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The Center for life experiences has a new executive director and some new programming on the way. Darien Schlegel stops by to share with us the details on this episode of the post podcast.
Darian Schlegel
So a little bit about me, I'm from a City, Kansas, I moved to Hayes to go to college, and just recently graduated with my clinical psych in the psych department in May of 2022. And then I was recently hired at CFL II this July. So I've been there for about a month and a half now.
James Bell
Very cool. Yeah, kind of settling in with Anna. She was a frequent guest on the show, obviously. And it's been several months before bird since we'd seen her that her last sign off, I think was, oh, goodness, May, June ish. And yeah, that transition happened to kind of wall in the interim. But how are things going?
Darian Schlegel
Good, good. Yeah. And kind of stepped off in May. And she's been helping out here and there for a while helping me get adjusted and everything like that. So it's been, it's been good. We're learning and starting some new things. And we're excited. Very cool.
James Bell
And, you know, I love that. Obviously, you know, you mentioned that you just got out of college, you're fairly young. And I think that's got to be a change, because and, and we've been there so long and really kind of made her own but to bring in that new ideas and the young blood, probably a little bit of a, I don't know, a nervous energy, but also excitement around there. Right?
Darian Schlegel
Yeah, it was definitely, I don't want to say intimidating because it has kind of a negative connotation. But, um, yeah, it was definitely interesting to step in the foot after, and has been there for so long. I mean, she helped found the foundation and everything. So it's cool to learn from her because she's so involved in she knows so many people in that community. So it's great to learn from her and just kind of take over in her footsteps, then, like you said, it's fun to start those new ideas, too.
James Bell
Yeah. And we're going to talk about some of the new stuff that this launched here in the are launching recent or soon. But before we get there, I wonder if you want to talk a little bit about just kind of the overall center for life experiences mission and what you guys do down there.
Darian Schlegel
Yeah, so CFR li focuses on helping people basically grieve and heal and talk about their daily struggles. It's a place where people can come and connect with others who have experienced similar experiences. We're all about just forming that support for other people, because a lot of people just don't have that support system around. So we're there to make that happen. Very
James Bell
cool. And for my understanding, I've never been affiliated with the groups, but just the years of talking with and it's a very informal, it's not not a counseling session, per se, it's, as you say, it's just it's a, it's something to help you get through the process and with others, that have also been through it. Yeah,
Darian Schlegel
yeah, it's a very informal process. We have groups in the evenings, healing after loss, healing after loss of suicide, and then Healing Hearts. And there's three separate support groups where people can come and just talk about their struggles and learn from other's experiences and just feel like they have a connection somewhere with somebody because a lot of time family members don't really know what to say, especially if they haven't experienced that grief themselves. So that's a place where people can really just be surrounded by others who have the same experience.
James Bell
Yeah, know what those groups, those groups that you've kind of inherited. are the timings in the day, same, the same on those meetings. Are those been adjusted
Darian Schlegel
yet, so they stay the same? Every month. So Healing Hearts, meets the first Thursday of every month and healing after loss meets the first and third Tuesday every month. And then halos, which is healing after loss of suicide meets the first and third Wednesday of every month.
James Bell
Very cool. Just still have the calendar on the website. Yes. Okay. CFE. hope.org. Yes. Okay. Cool. I was hoping I remembered that right. Very cool. Well, then, let's move on. And let's talk about some of these new things that are coming up. The first one I think we want to hit on a little bit is the John C lecture series. What is this?
Darian Schlegel
So the John C Lecture Series is where cflc brings in a speaker every so often to talk about different mental health topics and stuff like that. So for the Jhansi lecture series this month, it's happening in September 22. At the beach Smith are performing arts center on campus at Fort Hays, it's from six to nine. And they will be talking about suicide awareness and stigma that surrounds suicide. And they are bringing somebody in from Arts Otsuka and It's hard to pronounce. And they will be talking about this. And they partner with psych u, which is an amazing resource for mental health as
James Bell
well. Very cool. People are interested, do they need to sign up in advance? Or is any sort of fee on this? Or is it just come and go with it?
Darian Schlegel
Nope, it's just a come and go. We really encourage people, the community come, just learning here about suicide and stigma, because it's something we want to talk about. It is increasing in all of the population. So it's really important to know how to talk to somebody and learn about it, and how to combat the stigma surrounding it.
James Bell
Absolutely. Okay, and I have for my understand you've got some other new groups. I don't have them in front of me, but other new groups that are starting up, right?
Darian Schlegel
Yes, yeah. So we have what we call a support series. And so it's going to be roughly six to eight weeks of different groups. So the first one we're starting is called Fostering Connections. And this is going to be a six week group starting September 26, at five o'clock, where children the age 10, to 18 can come and really just talk about their life experiences children with experience with the foster care system. That way, they have somebody to talk to who have been in similar situations. And just so that they can talk to other kids who have had had the same experience. And then our next group is called the CF le book circle. And this is another four to six week group that's going to alternate every month with different topics. And our first book is gained something, it focuses around divorce. So anyone going through divorce, or who has already gone through it, and just want to be around other people who have the same experiences, again, can read the book and learn some things and all of that good stuff.
James Bell
Very cool. You know, I think about, you know, traumatic life events like that sometimes I think are even more harder to deal with than the loss of a loved one, just because it's, there is no loss, it's you know, that you're losing the relationship, but not losing the person. And that adds a whole nother layer of complexity to
Darian Schlegel
- Exactly, exactly. And I think cflc is wanting to talk about all the different types of grief, there are different branches. And like you said, you're losing that part of your life that you had a huge connection with. And so we'll be able to talk about that as well.
James Bell
Very cool, very exciting stuff. Is information for those available on the website as well.
Darian Schlegel
Yes, everything's available on the website. And we are updating our website as well. So hopefully in the next coming month or so people will be able to register for different events on there as well. So, so keep a lookout for that.
James Bell
Your website work. Never goes as fast as you want. Right? Yeah. Well, very cool. Well, there's anything else that you think the folks need to know about what's going on down at the Center for life experiences right now.
Darian Schlegel
Um, I just hope that you guys come out and visit us if you ever feel like you just need to talk about your life. We're here for you and we hope to see everyone
On this episode of the Post Podcast Sunflower Senior Solutions owner, Courtney Dale shares information about the upcoming Medicare enrollment window.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The annual Medicare enrollment window is just around the corner. From Sunflower Senior Solutions owner Courtney Dale shares with us some of the details on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Courtney Dale
It always gets here faster and faster every year. Kinda like Christmas. But speaking of that, you know how we start to see Christmas in the stores. sooner and sooner. It's the same thing with Annual Election Period with Medicare and people are already seeing the advertisements on TV and mailboxes are filling up and all that stuff. And the reason why is because of this time of year, and it officially is October 15. Through December 7, that window is the only window that a person can make changes to their prescription drug plan, or a Medicare Advantage Plan, which is not as common is as a Medicare supplemental plan for most people in the listening area. But those two things the prescription plan in the in the Advantage Plans can only be changed and adjusted during that window. However, as agents and brokers, we can start seeing the plans and all of their options and all of their pricing as soon as October 1. So we can start talking about them, and going over them with people as soon as October 1, which is less than a month away. And it'll be here before you know it. Sure. So very important time of year to kind of have all of your Medicare plans reviewed. And a lot of people do this religiously, a lot of people don't understand the benefits of having your plans reviewed. Just on the prescription side alone, there's a huge savings potential, especially for people who are paying higher drug costs for maybe you know insolence or blood centers or things like that. The formularies change every year. So the coverage changes and the different levels within the plan that changes so what you're on now, there may be something out there that covers your drugs better, and can save you you know, a few $100 over the course of the year, which is huge. Right now everyone is looking for ways to save money myself included. So that is, you know, that is the the main importance of it is to save money. Now on the on all of your other plans. So your Medicare supplemental plans and your dental vision and hearing plans and anything else you have that you want. Kind of a second opinion, hey, is this the right plan for me? Could I save money here? Could I get better coverage there? This is just a great time of year you have to have your prescription plan looked at it's a great time of year to just have a once over and have everything reviewed. And of course we do that complimentary We do not charge anything for our services to review your plan.
James Bell
Yeah, so I think why not? You know, you mentioned that, you know, this time of year is a good time for it, you kind of it makes me think about your time change, you know, time changes comes, you're supposed to check all your fire safety equipment, right? It's like that time of year to do it. So why not take advantage of the free service and see if you can save yourself some money.
Courtney Dale
Exactly. This again, you know, yeah, we kind of looked at a look at it as the end of one year. And how do we get straight for the start of the next year? We do again, we do the Medicare supplemental plans, we do Medicare Advantage plans. We do dental, vision and hearing plans. We also help people with their prescription plans. Of course, we also that's for people over the age of 65. We also offer insurance services for any age. And of course, the dental vision and hearing packages that any age. That's not just Medicare, Affordable Care Act plans are something that we also help with we started doing that a couple years ago, those new plans for the next year, they did change the tax, the tax subsidies. So if you have looked at them before, and you couldn't afford them before, you might want to take a look again, we can't look at those until November 1 for the next year. So if you're on one of those plans, again, great time to have it reviewed if it's if those plans are something that you've looked into or think that you could benefit from. We could take a look at those for you too. That is something that we do. Also we do a little bit of fixed interest rate investment products. Horse in the last year myself included. We've all kind of taken a little bit of a hit from the stock market, which we know is going to happen but a lot of people have kind of came to us and are interested in looking at more of a fixed rate product insurance product which we do those as well. And that's again this time of year is a great time of year to look at all that we have, you know, some fixed interest rates that are doing four and 5%. So if you have bank CD's or cash or anything sitting around, that's not earning anything. Great time of year to have all that looked at as well,
James Bell
for sure. Now, Courtney, I'm curious you for those folks that are maybe in that window, and they want to have this looked at with that window between October 15 and December 7. At what point? Is it too late? Or can you just go all the way up and to December 7.
Courtney Dale
On the Medicare side, it's December 7, on the Affordable Care Act plans. It is the end of the year, November 1 through the end of the year, or I'm sorry, Jane, it goes all the way through to January 15. On the Affordable Care Act plans. Now dental vision and hearing packages and any of the fixed rate insurance products and even Medicare Supplements. Those can be looked at and changed at any time during the year, the big push on October 15. And December 7 Is the prescription drug plans. And the Medicare Advantage plans. That's the only time of year that you can change those.
James Bell
Okay, so somebody went into your office on say, December 6, they could still get that in get those changes processed? Or would you have time to do that?
Courtney Dale
Oh, yeah, all the way we work all the way up till midnight on December 7. So in our our office hours change during starting October 1. We are available Monday through Saturday. So we do weekend appointments as well. Just we want to make sure to get everyone in that needs to have plans reviewed. So the best way to figure out how you can get in and book a time and we are booking appointments right now is cuz we can start, like I said, looking at plans October 1, call our office 785301 to 716. Or you can also book an appointment online. Sunflower senior.com.
James Bell
Okay. Well, Courtney, I'm also curious, you know, this time of year with you busy looking at all these plans? Are you still doing the informational sessions?
Courtney Dale
We do? Yes, of course, all over the state. So if you want to do a face to face workshop and get a refresher on Medicare education, if you're in the listening area, there's a good chance we're going to be in your area, we can also do a review face to face. We travel all over the state doing those reviews, and we actually have some dates and time set and locations. And so if you see one of those locations, you want to meet with us and do your review in person if you're not, you know, if you don't live in haze, we are all over. So that is also going to be available on our website. Sunflower senior.com.
James Bell
Okay, so yeah, head over there. Check that out. And that phone number again, Courtney
Courtney Dale
785-301-2716.
James Bell
There you go. Anything else? You think that the folks out there need to know before we go?
Courtney Dale
Oh, just you know, we can't stress the importance of having your plans reviewed enough. Even if you think you're in the right place. It's it's just not going to cost you anything and you might be able to save a few 100 bucks and didn't even know you were eligible for that. So we can't stress it enough. Just have your plans looked at even if it's not by us have somebody review your plans for the upcoming year.
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On this episode of the Post Podcast Mike Keller from the Care 4 Kids committee stops by to share information about the upcoming USD 388 Bond Issue election.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares updates on proposed childcare and housing developments in Hays.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
A proposed daycare and housing project in Ellis County topped the area's economic news this week. From grow Hays, Executive Director Doug Williams stops by to talk about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Childcare is one of the big three that rural America faces, childcare, housing and workforce and workforce. It's kind of tied to childcare and housing and Hays med through the receipt of some grants and things, it's going to put an on campus childcare facility, and I think up to 75 kids, I believe is what the the deal is. So that's awesome news, we have a huge need in our community for child care. And this will go a long ways towards helping that still a lot of work to be done beyond that. But it's big news and great news for Hayes man.
James Bell
Absolutely. Do we know it? And I gotta be honest, I'm not all that familiar with everything that's going on there as well. Do we have they have a timeline or anything in place? Or is this just a commitment to build the facility?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
I think I don't know what their timeline is. But I know they're eager to get going. And they want to put it on the fast track, whatever that really means in today's construction environment. Because obviously, when you have to build something, workforce and materials, and all those things are a challenge. But I think they they want to get started as soon as they can.
James Bell
You know, and I know I don't want to ask you to speak for them. But I just believe with the conversations that we've had about the childcare piece here in Ellis County, that probably this is a move that was really just kind of self serving, they needed their own staff to have that availability of child care. And we've talked specifically about the difficulties in medical, the medical field with child care, because you've got that weird schedule and, and rotating and all that.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, they have unique needs when it comes to childcare, because they are 24 by seven 365 days a year organization. And they I think at the end of the day, I don't think Hays med really wants to be in the childcare business. But they recognize that they have to control their own destiny and when when their employees cannot find childcare or a provider is closed or whatever that might be, that has serious consequences to an organization that has to take care of people and has to perform surgeries and all of the things they have to do if if their employees can't come to work. That's that's a huge problem. And so they, like many other organizations across the country have just recognized that they have to control their own destiny with this. They're going to put facilities in manage them, and make sure that they've covered their bases in that area.
James Bell
You know, and I'm curious if you want to speak to if they can pull 70 Kids 70 plus into that daycare, what kind of impact is that going to have across all of Ellis County?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, it helps. But if you know, Sarah Washington is on your show off, and she's heading up this childcare Task Force, believe they've identified a shortage of between six and 700 spots in Ellis County. So 70, or however many is that helps. And it certainly helps Hays med take control of their situation, we still have a large shortage of spots available for child care. One of the big challenges, not only just physical availability of spots, but affordability is a huge issue for different types of workers. When you're talking about anywhere from, I don't know, six today to $900 a month per child for childcare. That's quite a strain on somebody who's not making a lot of money. I mean, and a lot of our entry level jobs are filled by people who are not making a lot of money, but they still have children. And so that's that's the big dilemma is how do we serve those people?
James Bell
Now? Yeah, I think you say, the lower income, I think even middle middle income can be impacted you tacking on $900. If you got three kids, you're paying that every month. That's a bill. Well, at
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
some point, one of the one of the family, the one of the spouses cannot go to work. I mean, it just doesn't make economic sense. So they leave the job market and thus we end up with 2.3% unemployment and and people really struggling to find employees,
James Bell
for sure. No, we've also talked a lot about you're going to your proposal down there on the Hays med campus with the grandparents or the senior housing and then that would have a daycare component as well. I wonder is this part of or is this part of that conversation or is this completely separate? And that progresses or process is still going?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well that that process is still ongoing. We're still working on that project and actually have kind of put it on the front burner right now. We're trying to get some things going. And initially we had some conversations with Hays med because they were very Interested in the daycare component that we had proposed in the community center there on the property north of the hospital. But I think I think at the end of the day, they just felt that they had to move on this themselves. And they couldn't wait on anybody else. We still believe that this project were, as I say, we're moving it to the front burner. The combination of multifamily as well as patio home type construction for primarily targeted to retiree age people, not necessarily restricted to that audience. But then the community center would house the seniors Center, which is currently out by the airport right now. And then the childcare center would there would be a childcare facility there that would hopefully engage some of the retirees in a creating an intergenerational type facility that that could provide a unique experience for children with kind of grandparent type people helping out in there, hopefully some on a volunteer basis where we can figure out a way to maybe offer some lower cost childcare to those entry level workers, lots of details to kind of figure out in that model. But if if we can provide some incentives for a provider with a lot lower cost, rent, or whatever it might be to operate, maybe they can pass some of that along to some of the some of their clients, I guess I'd call them and, and provide some scholarships or something like that. That would be the ideal situation. The economics are difficult to deal with on that. But we have to do something to try and meet that need.
James Bell
For sure. Now, moving on into another big piece of news. This came out of the hay City Commission meeting last night, apparently, there's a developer that wants to put some housing into the Hadley center, correct?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
That's correct. David Van Doren, the owner of the Hadley center, was in front of the City Commission last night, he's applying for an NIH grant, which is a moderate income housing grant, that the state of Kansas offers, on projects that they that they approve, this requires the landlord to rent to people in the moderate income range of tenant, which means it's believe it's 60% to 150%, of the moderate income, family housing income for Kansas. So I believe it depends on how many are in the family and that kind of thing. This again, would probably be geared more to seniors, their one bedroom, a couple of some two bedroom units, and then some one bedroom units with a little study off of them, but a kind of unique offering and Hadley center, obviously, it's, it's built like a fortress. And they have a lot of amenities there, whether it's a beauty salon, restaurant, massage therapy, people, so all under one roof, you would have all of those things right there. And so he's he's trying to get that project going, it would be in the third floor, and it's about 31 Total Units that he is proposing to do. So that would be a nice project and and a nice addition to the community. And the first step for him was to get the city to approve the grant is actually given to the city. And then they pass it through to the to the developer. And so the city had has to approve a resolution, which they probably will they discussed it last night and at their regular meeting next Thursday, they will, I am sure approve that resolution and move it on so that he can submit his application.
James Bell
Yeah, I mean, without jumping too far ahead and talking about some of the benefits of this to the community. I mean, what's the chances or what's the process look like for him going forward? I mean, is this a sure thing? Or is this kind of what hope but hope it all goes through and works the way we want?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, it's certainly not a sure thing. The State of Kansas historically is allocated $2 million a year to the moderate income housing grant program. Because of some ARPA funds, and that kind of thing, this year, they've allocated $20 million. So they've got a lot more money allocated to it. They've raised the single award, they'll give I believe it's $30,000 per unit, or up to a maximum award of $650,000. This particular project would qualify for the maximum award of $650,000. But there is a lot of interest in this program statewide lots and lots of applications. There's also a backlog of previous applicants that did not get awarded in the past that are going to be based on my not understanding they're going to be looked at first on this first round. They're going to they're going to do this quarterly these awards this over the next year or so. So it's not a slam dunk by any means. But hopefully he'll he'll see that I know there are some other developers and In Ellis County that are looking at projects that are going to be applying for this, this grant. So we just hope we get our fair share. You know, we out in western Kansas, sometimes we don't always get our fair share, and we hope with this program we do. And actually, just one other item on that it is limited to counties under 60,000. And population. So the big counties are ruled out of this, this program. So that that does help us there as well.
James Bell
I like to hear that, yeah, let them do their own. Those giant those giant Johnson County and Sedgwick County, that's it's a different world, really, than what we deal with out here.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Pretty much pretty much.
James Bell
So you know, if this does come to pass, you know, 31 in apartments with that single bedroom kind of size, how much does that actually impact? And how much is that needed to fix the housing shortage we have here in Ellis County?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, it's kind of like the childcare deal to hospital every little bit helps. When I consistently say when we add inventory to the market, whether it be houses or whether it be spots in a childcare facility. It helps does it solve all our problems? No, it doesn't. But it helps you know, I, one of the things I'm going to talk about at our quarterly luncheon next Tuesday is the the shortage of housing that we have and what the housing study showed us that we just completed in June, the city did. And And essentially, it shows that we've got a shortfall, a hole of about three to 400 units in this community that we need to fill. And if we expect any kind of growth, say it, what I consider a relatively conservative 1% growth rate, we need to add 88 units a year, whether it be single family homes or apartments, we've been averaging 35 to 45 units a year. And that's what's gotten us in this hole. And so will 31 units. solve our housing issues? No. But it'll help. And, you know, obviously, within that whole housing structure, you've got the type of housing that's added to you're constantly having to evaluate what's really needed. Do we need one bedroom units for retirees? Do we need three bedroom apartments and duplexes and things for families? So what specifically do we need? And right now, I would say we need all of the above. But as we move forward, we're going to have to be more diligent and more studious and deciding what what niches Do we really need to fill?
James Bell
Yeah. And you know, there's so many of these projects going on right now. I don't know if you have like a total of how many apartments that are coming online here in the next few years. But we've talked about several of these, like the St. Joseph school and what's going on down there was near the old Washington School and this one. So yeah, there's hundreds of them coming up in the next couple years. Right.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
And maybe 100. Oh, I'm over estimate. Well, there are projects underway, certainly the Ellis estates project is 42 units, the vandoorne project would be 31 microgram project at fourth and four, it would be 33, or 36. So we do have a number coming on. But unfortunately, like child care in the same as housing, it is not quickly resolved, it takes time to build these things. And I know there's a project at the Presbyterian Church, that a new childcare facility is going to they're going to do some expansion, some work in there, that I believe is going to have 36 spots. And so we are adding to the to the inventory. It just takes time chipping away at the problem. Absolutely
James Bell
like that. Before we move on to this last bit of really cool news. You mentioned the quarterly luncheon down there that you guys are going to host to grow haze, I believe Thursday, Tuesday, Tuesday. At this point. Are you full on that? Are you still looking for some people to attend?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
We are full with physical attendees. Actually, we're we're over full. Always a few that don't make it for whatever reason. So we'll be okay there. But but it is going to be online as well. So look on our Facebook page, our website and you can see the link and you can watch it on a zoom, call or watch it online if you'd like to if you can't make it down or if if you didn't get your reservation in
James Bell
very cool. Yeah, you know, I regularly get to go to these in the course of my work and always interesting stuff. And this one I think's gonna be really cool because you get to delve into that housings. Stuff that we're talking about here.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Yes, column Belzer. assistant city manager is going to be talking about the housing study. And then I'm going to do a little bit of a talk about maybe some solutions and what we're trying to do about it.
James Bell
Very cool. Gonna be a good time. Now let's talk about this last thing. This is kind of a little bit of inside baseball here, but you guys got a grant. We've talked about this on the show for this upcoming microfactory project. Right.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
We did. We got great news last Friday, actually, that the Patterson Family Foundation, which is a foundation out of Kansas City, founded by Neil Patterson and I can't remember his wife's name. Neil was one of the founders of Cerner, which is the giant software vendor in Kansas. City. And he was from a small town somewhere in Kansas, and I can't remember where. But he, they created this foundation that is dedicated to improving healthcare, education and economic development in small Kansas and Missouri communities. And so we approached them, you know, that the microfactory, we got a $2.6 million base grant. But we know it's going to cost us three and a half to $4 million. And so we approached the Patterson Family Foundation with the idea, they really liked the concept of the microfactory, they're really interested to watch how this works, you know, they're really these don't exist, this is kind of breaking new ground. And there's a lot of people watching it, but they, they liked the idea. And they awarded us a $500,000 grant to be used towards the micro factory. And so that's going to go a long ways towards helping us get that done. And we are they are interested in watching it, because if if successful, they would like to replicate this and other communities across the state. As with the state of Kansas, there, the Department of Commerce is very interested in this as well. So the pressures on we've got to perform on this one, I was
James Bell
gonna say, I wouldn't want to be in your shoes on this.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
We'll get it done. I'm sure you will had you know, David Klingon, who's our Director of Recruitment retirement did a great job writing the grant for the base grant that we got from the state of Kansas, he replicated that with the Patterson foundation. So he's he's done a terrific job on these.
James Bell
Yeah. Now, we've talked a little bit in the past about the gap. You mentioned the funding a little bit, and there was some some money that you need to raise to put this project together. How much does this grant chip away at that? Well,
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
it covers more than half of the shortfall, we'll call it. We knew from the get go that we were going to have to borrow some money or acquire some additional funds above the base grant, we continue to look for those funds. We know that that, you know even though the tenants in that facility will be paying far less than market rent, probably less than half of what market rent would be it it will produce some income. And we would have some dollars to use towards paying back alone. But we're still we still got some grant applications out there and looking for other ways to finance the shortfall and finish it because like all these projects, where we're concerned that we may run a little over budget to just the way the world is right now. Yeah, how
James Bell
hard is that to even really judge these things? For anybody that's trying to build anything, I would think it's just kind of a roll of the dice
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
virtually impossible. You know, there's just so many factors that are into it. And and you find out that you can't get some particular material you are counting on the substitute is more expensive. And so what do you do? You just have to kind of roll with the punches and make it work?
James Bell
Yeah, no big transformers is a problem right now. Right? A huge one and transformers and water taps I think are both
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
just impossible. Supply chain still continues to be very restricted in certain areas, Transformers for residential construction, take a year to get the transformer for the microfactory they said was 60 to 70 weeks. Ouch. And so fortunately, we've got it ordered. And we do believe that that we may be able to Midwest energy may help us with a temporary if we get to that point and the permanent one still hasn't come in because they they do keep some on hand for emergencies, obviously, but they're for emergencies. So they they don't like to go out and use those but we we are. It's on order and we believe our construction period is probably a good year trying to get it done. So I think we'll be okay there. But you're right. There's just a challenge. Every time you turn a corner you hit another one. Yeah.
James Bell
Well, Doug, we got to get over the news and weather but any other last thoughts where we go?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Gosh, I can't think of anything else. You know, I It's been a big week. All good news. Join us next Tuesday. If you want to via zoom, check us out. I think it'll be interesting information for people. And we're going to just keep plugging
away
On this episode of the Post Podcast Heartland Community Foundation executive director Sarah Meitner stops by to share updates from the foundation.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The Heartland Community Foundation has opened four new funds over the summer, Executive Director Sarah Meitner stops by to share some of the details on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Sarah Meitner
It's been kind of a quiet summer, but we have added four new funds to our list of funds. And what that means is basically Well, these are all funds that we manage, they are all designated for something charitable. So a fund can be opened by an individual donor like yourself, or an individual business that has charitable interests, or an organization and we manage Oh, I think there's about 30 organization funds currently. And these are the nonprofits in town that we know and love the nonprofits that are serving the community boots on the ground. You know, ones like the heath Arts Council, the community theater, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, the Hdc, I'm forgetting a whole bunch, because there's a lot but but you get it, these are their endowed funds. And what that means is that it's money that's been set aside by them, or a donor for the purposes of being endowed and kept for later. So in their endowed portion, it is invested right alongside all of our other funds. And that power of investment allows it to grow. And over time, the more that it grows, the more that they can grant to themselves. So the other funds that we have, we make grants out of as an as an entity, our grants committee make grants out of, to any number of organizations that apply for a grant, when it's their own fund, the money only goes back to them. And they use the investment income on it as a as a as a budget item as a line item as a as a revenue income stream that's generally pretty consistent. And that's the kind of thing that a nonprofit can really appreciate. When it's hard to fundraise for things like salaries or rent or other operating expenses, stuff that's not like real glamorous and easy to sell to a donor to help to help raise money for. So for some of these organizations, that's a pretty big deal. And they depend on that, that money, whatever amount it is to help pay for the programs that they offer and the services that they offer. So we had four new ones added this summer. And I'm really excited for them because it is showing an interest in sustainability that is maybe new or a little different. So I want to tell you what those four are, and invite our listeners to visit our website at Heartland Community foundation.org To see the full list of funds, you know, they can see which other organizations have won with us. And they can donate right there on the website anytime. And they pick right who they want to go to. And they can leave a comment if they like and it goes right to that organization. So the four new ones. One was actually the Hays med Foundation. And there's this little different because they have their own I mean, they're an entire they're they manage their own funds that are endowed. However their designation their nonprofit classification is a little bit different. That makes it hard for them to take in gifts that are Ira rollovers or stock transfers, things that can be more easy or easily feasible or are performed through the through the Community Foundation. So that's what their fund is primarily going to be used for. And then it can, it can still be designated by a donor if it's for a specific department at the hospital. But we can accept those gifts that they previously have had difficulty accepting. So very excited about that partnership. Another one is the lift up wakeeney fund and it's our first organization fund in wakeeney. And it is the there's a group of very dedicated, hardworking community members who are doing their best to get their hands dirty and clean up Balkany. And they have started a fund so that they can invest in projects with it that are important to the long term sustainability of the community. And so I'm super excited about that. It's already over 20,000 in it. And so, you know, the more it grows, that one is actually partially endowed and partially kept in a reserve so that they can, if they have a project that is, you know, five to $10,000 they're not limited by only granting out that that investment income, they can actually invest some of the principle. The third one is the let's grow Victoria fund. And this is actually also a little different. It's a provisional Fund, which is thrown a whole lot of lingo out yet, but this is this is the group of folks that are in Victoria work Hang on the rest home project. So this is going to be used as their pass through their fundraising fun, their main pot of money as they are seeking donations and working to grow the money that it's going to take to make those construction updates and renovations to the former rest home. So that one, we have a fundraising goal and I can help support them in those efforts. And you know that when I'm so excited, that project is just amazing.
James Bell
I've got to write about that and speak with Jeff. And yeah, that's
Sarah Meitner
neat project and it and it sort of leads me to the the fourth one, the Atlas County Historical Society. I don't know anything about that. And they were just here, I just saw mantle even. But they, you know, they're gonna have a location, a satellite office or a satellite facility at that rest home. But they also have a board that's very interested in sustainability. And they reached out about an endowed fund something to show the community that they are here for the long haul, and they're willing to invest in themselves. So you know, it's all very cool. It's all very exciting. I know, there's others out there on the horizon. The only one distinction that I want to make because it is United Way kickoff time, and the United Way funds go to all of these organizations as well, the differences in the two and what we do and what they do, if they're I liken it to, they're more of a checking account, the day to day where the savings account were the ones for saving for later and for long term. So we need both both are so important, and the organizations depend on both. But sometimes it's hard for donors to understand the overlap. So there you go, tried to make it simple for you.
James Bell
That works. Very cool. Um, you know, before we run out of time here, we gotta hit on this as well, of grant applications. Are you currently in a window? I think last time you were here, you were wrapping up the window with your app.
Sarah Meitner
Yep, we are getting ready to launch our fall window. It opens September 15. Closes November 15. I had two calls already yesterday with prospective applicants. So the people are ready for it. They're they're getting hungry. They're waiting for it. So the good news is that that application, as always, is can be found on our website. And we've actually made it easier. We've removed about five to six questions that just made it a little bit longer or a little bit tougher to understand the questions I probably got called about the most. But you know, I'm excited about that, because it just removes a couple more barriers toward obtaining some some money for projects that these charitable groups really need. So look for that September 15. It closes November 15.
James Bell
Okay, and all that information, again, available on your website, right? It should
Sarah Meitner
be updated, but the application could definitely be found on their website. And all of those donor all of those fun names, those accounts are the full list is that our website as well.
James Bell
Very cool. Worst case scenario, they can find your phone number there, right. Always calm.
Sarah Meitner
Yes. And I'll tell them about all of our wonderful friends because we do have some, some really special and awesome What's it What's that again? Heartland Community foundation.org
On this episode of the Post Podcast Ellis County Historical Soceity executive director Amanda Rupp shares details of the upcoming Big Bang Firearm Exhibit Season Closing Reception and Family Day.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, USD 489 Superintendent Ron Wilson shares updates from the Hays Public School district.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
USD 489 has kicked off their school year and they're settling into a routine superintendent Ron Wilson stops by to share some of the details on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Ron Wilson
If you count my days, we've just completed two weeks, of course, we started in the middle of the week. So we're just on the next day of two weeks, one day.
James Bell
You know, I'm glad you mentioned that maybe that's a perfect way to start. Because I've always been curious. And this has been the way since I was in school. It always seems like it starts on Wednesday or Thursday. Is there a reason for that?
Ron Wilson
Well, there's not particularly reason that we we try to start on a Wednesday or Thursday, sometimes there is make some sense, you know, you have to consider that people have been off for a couple of months, sometimes, kind of just easing back into it is always a good thing for kids, especially younger kids, as they kind of transition from the summer, summer lifestyle to school lifestyle. And so when you get in that Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, it makes for a nice, three day increment that then you get a two day break and kind of didn't get back after it. So it's not always intentional, but it does make a lot of sense.
James Bell
Okay, very cool. So how has things been going the first couple
Ron Wilson
of weeks? Boy, it's really been awesome. I mean, things are starting to fill fairly normal, I always say the key to starting the school year is just finding our groove. And I feel like you know, I don't know if that's all we found our groove, as you know. And I say that because schools are probably one of the unique organizations, businesses, whatever you want to classify us as, because we shut down for for two months, two and a half months, and then we have to restart, which is very exciting in a lot of ways, because it's new, it's fresh, all those things that come with it, but also there's some other sides to it, when you shut something down for two and a half months and have to restart it brings on some other elements that sometimes creates a lot of work. But now things are good. And like I said, we're just trying to find the groove. And I think we're almost there and things activities are starting of course, and that makes it feel very normal. You know, of course, high school football kicks off Friday night, a lot of our other activities with cross country volleyball. Those have already started. Middle School has some activities tonight. So very, very normal things going on in our world. So
James Bell
very cool. You know, and you mentioned easing back into it. I think about two you've had some not a whole lot. But some staff changes, and especially in the school level administration, I think that probably those folks are taking the reins and kind of making that their own.
Ron Wilson
You bet. I think a couple, a couple of people, especially on our administrative side, we have Chris Romic, our new principal at Roosevelt Elementary, Chris was a school psychologist at Roosevelt. So she just moved down the hallway to a different office. But I think Chris will be a great addition that Roosevelt in a leadership capacity she's done has has a lot of experience and a lot of great ideas. And we're very excited about Chris being the building principal at Roosevelt Elementary. Also at our West Side school, we've had some changes this this summer, with the district taking on the role as the as the lead in that in that school. Previously, for the last many, many years. The district partnered with high plains mental health over the summer, we we decided that we would, you know, split and go a different direction with that. And Lindy McDaniel, who is Assistant Director for our special ed cooperative here in the district is taking on that role in addition to her assistant directors for the for the cooperative as well. And we're very excited because Lindy has a lot of background and working with kids and structures and things that we feel are important to adding to Westside school. So I think Lindy will be a great addition there as well.
James Bell
Very cool. Any other differences as we're going into the year that you think people should know about?
Ron Wilson
Well, you know, I don't know if there's, I don't know if I'll be able to pull all of them off there. All of them are fairly small or minor. One of the things that we did, but changes are what was always known as the Learning Center of Ellis County is now referred to as the Hayes virtual school. It was a small change, and it really doesn't change anything in terms of how we're operating. But we just really wanted to get the message out to people that that we do offer a virtual school sometimes when you say the Learning Center, people didn't really know what that meant and what kind of what actually went on there. And sometimes we were missing families that maybe wanted a virtual option. So making that small little change and calling ourselves Hayes virtual school identifies the people immediately of what we do and what we offer. So that's a minor change, but that's one thing that come was to the top of my head and thinking of some of the things that are different.
James Bell
You know, have you seen? No, no, we're, you know, but a full year out of COVID at this point or the worst of it anyway, and the lockdowns and all that, etc. Do you find that you still have a lot of students taking that virtual option? Or are you kind of back to normal or enrollment wise? Well,
Ron Wilson
I would say we were we have seen a return to to the majority of our students, of course, we still have students who do choose the virtual option. And that's definitely if that's what they feel is best for their family and their their students. Yeah, I think that's we want to be able to offer that. And so for the most part, I think we've we have most of our students back that we had pre COVID. And, you know, as far as enrollment numbers, our enrollment numbers are good. Of course, nothing is official until September 20. And there's so much that goes into an enrollment count. It's not as simple as UA on September 1, counting how many heads are in school? I
James Bell
think it'd be an easy process, but absolutely not.
Ron Wilson
It's, it's really fairly intricate. And lots of things go in to that in terms of weightings, what we call weightings in terms of what we offer to students and the additional costs that come with some of those things, in terms of some transportations and special education. Some those have received some help with meals at during lunches and those kinds of things. So there's lots of different things that go into figuring out your enrollment. But we'll be doing that over the next couple of weeks and September 20 is when we send everything into the state and then we kind of know what direction we're going for the school year.
James Bell
Yeah. And that really, that's just a function of funding, right? They have to know exactly how many students so you know how much money you're getting in. And that's a multi year complicated process that just kind of snowballs as it's going along.
Ron Wilson
Yes, it is. But right now, I would say that just headcount we're, we look really good. And we've we're, that's we're very optimistic about that. Now, I would tell you looking around the state, a lot of districts have have seen some decline in numbers. And a lot of that is just because as, as the state of Kansas has decreased in population in terms of, you know, burst live births coming into the, into the, into the state of Kansas. So we're, we're, we're, we're feeling fortunate that right now, our enrollment seems to be holding steady.
James Bell
Okay. You know, before we run out of time, I'm gonna hit on this. I think, as we're wrapping up the school year, last year, we were talking about the bond issue, and now we're past the summer, I wonder if you want to update us with any activity going on there with the as that process kind of moves forward?
Ron Wilson
Oh, absolutely. We're always loved to talk about the bond and the future of high schools and just the future for the Hayes community in the things that we're going to be able to see and experience together as this all comes together. Of course, this summer has been a lot of design work, we have spent a lot of work and basically focusing on the new high school at this point, with with the architect group, and have had lots of meetings with high school staff, including administration and teachers. We've did some work in terms of going around and seeing other schools that have have recently built new high schools that by our architect company, DLR. And so that was an exciting part of the summer. We've though like I said, we've had some design meetings where we, we've started the process of trying to put together what it's going to look like and what what's important to us, and what do we feel like our direction in terms of educating kids and Hayes and so some really great conversations this summer. And we're we're very excited, I think, as far as our community being able to see anything specifically that would say, oh, yeah, it started, I think we're looking at possibly as a target date of November that you'll start seeing some dirt moved out there east of the current high school. Of course, that will be the first piece and it's very important piece, because you got to get that foundation laid out exactly right. For the for to put a building that's going to be there for hopefully, 100 years or so that will take several months of of moving dirt and making everything the way it should be. And then we're hoping that we would see some actual construction starting in the spring. And then of course, it's gonna be a couple of years before that building is completely ready to move into but that was what we indicated during the bond. And I think everyone understands that, but it'll be an exciting piece coming coming down the road as everyone starts to see the future.
James Bell
Absolutely. So is that the that's the first piece the big focus, but I'm wondering, are you Is there going to be any work going on the smaller kind of side projects at the schools or is that just going to be it for now and then it all rolls behind it?
Ron Wilson
Now what you'll also see coming next summer, so just a year, just a little year, about a year from now is that you will will see some things being done and some of the other schools, the idea is that we'll do little pieces and all of our schools during the summers over the next two to three summers. And then of course, there might be some some different layouts as we, you know, as the as the new high school is completed, we move students out of the current high school, there will be a period where that building will be empty, and they will go in full force and do some things there. But of course, we'll be working on smaller projects that don't disrupt the the next school year and we that can be done during the summer. So yeah, there'll be lots of work going on for the next two to three summers.
James Bell
Okay. Yeah, I'm there's so many moving pieces. I just imagine that's a crazy, complicated process. It
Ron Wilson
is that there's some really smart people, it's not myself, that put this all together and figure things out. And I think it's, it's, it's really it's fun to watch. It's fun to be a part of, I think it's, it's, it's just something that it's just hard to imagine, you know, we can visualize it, but we don't really can't, but I think and going back to what I talked about with the tours, that's the thing that I realized, you know, and I had seen pictures and I've envisioned what it might look like but when I started walking in those high schools that had been built recently, kind of gave me goosebumps, to fit to know that our community will see something, something that's going to be looked very similar even maybe even a little better. And it's just it's unbelievable once cycles, souls
On this episode of the Post Podcast Thunder on the Plains organizers Shelby Doty and Jackie Lang share details about the upcoming event.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and vice president of marketing and communications Mariah Legleiter share information about the 2023 Community Guide.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and vice president of marketing and communications Mariah Legleiter share information about the 2023 Community Guide.
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On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays, Executive Director Doug Williams shares information about an RHID planned for downtown Hays.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Grow Hays, Executive Director Doug Williams recently presented before the Hays Board of Education about and RHID planned for downtown Hays, he stops by to share some of the details on that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Michael Graham rentals, proposing or is going to put in a apartment complex that fourth and fourth right behind the old Washington School location 33 or 36 units and he had applied to the city for a row housing incentive district incentive. And on July 28, the City Commission approved that and then it goes to a veto period for 30 days for the school district or the county can veto that act and stop that from happening. And so we're on the homestretch of that veto period and should be finalized like next week, and then he'll be free to start construction down there to get some much needed housing going in. Hayes. Very good.
James Bell
I like to hear that. Do you expect any of these? Well, first, maybe we want to talk about this? Why do you have to go to the school board and the county for that? Why can't he just take care. But well, the way
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
incentives work and the myths, I think a lot of people don't understand exactly how it works, a lot of a lot of people have the impression that it takes away the part of their tax dollars go to pay for these quote unquote, incentives. And that's really not the case, what it what it does, it allows the developer to recover some of his development costs, through the property taxes, he pays going into the future. So each year, the owner of these properties will pay property tax just like everybody else, but a portion of that will be routed back to them to pay for some of the street improvements, the underground, you know, sewer, water, electric, some of those kinds of things, that they can recover some of their costs on that through a portion of those tax dollars. The reason the city, the county and the school district participate in this process is because they're all affected by it. If if this incentive was not granted, they would get a portion of those property taxes that he would pay on an ongoing basis. So they have to say, Okay, we believe that the benefit of the additional housing is better for the community, then the property taxes we might receive on this project, not to mention the fact that without those type of incentives, the project probably wouldn't be done. So there's the trade off and kind of the bet that most governments make is that we are betting that we're going to this is going to happen, and in the long run, we're going to get our property taxes from it. And it's going to add much needed housing. And we're willing to give up a little bit along the way to make that happen.
James Bell
Yeah. Do you expect any of those boards to take issue? I know you I'd say you've been in front of the school board already? Do you? Do you see any? Anybody saying no, I
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
think I think they understand the need, I think they understand that the impact of them is really doesn't exist, it's not going to hurt their current budget. In the long run, they're going to get additional tax dollars from this asset that is developed in the community. So I don't anticipate any issue from from either of those organizations.
James Bell
Yet, really, I don't know. You know, as you talk about these, it sounds like it's a win win win. Everybody takes out of this deal. It's just delaying a little bit of tax revenue. I don't know why. Because it is sometimes contentious, when you set up an Rh ID or a program like this, people have that misconception that somehow they're paying extra taxes for it. Right?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
They do. And I think it is a win win. But you know, there are rules and regulations that have to be met their statutory UL requirements to get one of these, one of them being a housing study, in the case of an Rh ID, you have to have a housing study that shows you have a need for housing. Because not only is the you know, the local taxing entities are not receiving some dollars, but some of the state dollars are not generated. Some of your property tax that goes to the state is not generated in some cases. And so they have some requirements where you have to show a need, the Secretary of Department of Commerce has to sign off on these things. And then they you know, the local taxing organizations have to look it has to meet some criteria for them to so it's not like they're given willy nilly to just anybody that applies. They do have to meet some requirements. And in the long run, it is good. But there obviously are are those who don't feel any incentives or an order that nobody should ever get any incentives because maybe well, I didn't get any. But the case may be there's you didn't ask for any now they're available to anybody that wants to apply for him. Anybody that's willing to go out and do and invest, I believe the projected number that was put on the application for this apartment complex was three and a half to $4 million. Anybody that wants to go out and do that is more than welcome to apply for these incentives. And, and I'm sure that they would be looked upon favorably by the governing bodies.
James Bell
Yeah, it's really all about just developing what we need. Because we've talked time and time again, there is a massive need for housing here in Ellis County, and, and far beyond. But definitely here, notice County,
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
we certainly have a large need in Ellis County. Sometimes these are the things you know, development costs are extremely high. And in order to make it work financially, for somebody willing to put up that amount of money, and they've got to get some incentives anywhere they can.
James Bell
You know, on the flip side of this something else we've talked about, it's been in the news pretty recently, the microfactory project, I hear you have some, some updates there as well,
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
we are moving along, although you don't see it on the surface. But plans have been finalized. Architects are working with all the various entities that they have to work with mechanical engineers, structural engineers, civil engineers, all of the things that are going on to get that going. We're anticipating a groundbreaking sometime in October. And so we're excited about that with completion sometime by end of year 2023. And so we're eager to get going on the construction we're talking with, we've talked to half a dozen potential tenants in the building that may have an interest. And that's great, because we definitely want to use it as the incubator, it's supposed to be for manufacturers. And so we're making headway, it just never happens as fast as you would like. And we also are going to be in front of the City Commission asking for some industrial revenue bonds to help with that project that allows the developer which in this case, is gro Hayes to avoid the sales tax on the materials that are purchased to construct the facility, and then potentially a property tax abatement for a period of time to try and help us get on our feet with that project, get some tenants in place, and get it operating at a financial break even point, which is what our goal is also, the project, as you may recall, it's about a three and a half to $4 million project, the base grant from the state of Kansas was 2.6 million. So we're 900,000 to a million dollars short, we did get a nice donation of the land from Heart of America, but we still got a deficit that we're going to have to either raise some funds, or we're going to have to borrow that money. And obviously, it's important that we have some means to pay that back over the life of the building. And so we can get it going. So you'll anybody who watches the activities of the City Commission and and that kind of thing will see that application coming forward pretty quickly.
James Bell
For a building like that is there a lot of extra considerations you have to take to get that facility up and running, I'm just imagining all of the industrial efforts that are going to be going on in there probably require a little bit different layout and structure than a traditional commercial building
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
about a zillion when you're talking about a structure like that, that's going to be focused on manufacturers, all kinds of other considerations come into play things like getting product in and out of the building, you know, raw materials in and then finished goods out? Where are you going to store them on site? How thick does a concrete floor need to be? Because how heavy is the equipment that's going to be in there? How tall do the ceilings need to be? What type of electrical capacity do you need? Are there any specific heating and cooling and air handling situations that go on, it just goes on and on. And it's been I've been around the residential construction, pretty much all my adult life, but not a whole lot of commercial, but particularly industrial construction. And it has been an eye opener for me just a lot of things that I never would have thought that you had to consider and people that you would have to involve. And that's one of the reasons why it's expensive. You have to do things a lot differently. You have a lot more engineering expertise that you have to bring into the into the mix. And so it's complicated.
James Bell
You know, you mentioned you were talking to some organizations that might be interested in moving in there. I wonder, you know, is that is out quickly, is it going to be ready once the the facility is up and running? Are you going to be able to move those guys in immediately or is it going to be a little bit of a waiting period as you set up for those individuals?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Not really sure but our goal is To have these people pounding on the door wanting to get in and operating, when by the time it's finished, that's one of the luxuries we have, you know, we've got basically a year to year and a half here to find tenants find tenants that have similar type operations, one of the ongoing challenges will be one manufacturer is a kind of a dirty process generates a lot of hazardous smoke or whatever in their process next door to and I'll use an extreme example here, I don't anticipate this, but somebody who's doing microchips, you know, you you can't cohabitate with somebody having a dirty process with somebody doing a very clean process. So we think that, that our challenge is not going to be to find tenants, because I think we're going to have lots of people interested, it's going to be matching up those tenants in a compatible way that don't cause each other problems.
James Bell
Yeah, I'm curious, you know, can you kind of alleviate those concerns with construction, or is that something that's just gonna have to be like, oh, you know, what, you have to pass on some organizations, maybe,
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
depending on the organization and the kind of the opportunity that they pose, we may be able to deal with some of it through construction, you know, separation walls, or something like that. I think you and I have talked before, my original thought was, there would be these individual spaces with walls all the way and this would be your space, and this would be your space. But in talking with the experts in manufacturing, there are no walls planned to be inside that building, it will be open, you will have your space, you will do your thing here. But the guy next to you, you know, I don't know if it's a Wk RP in Cincinnati piece of yellow tape on the floor that you don't cross this space. And but there will be designated space for each operation. And they will, they will operate that space. And so things like air handling and the type of processes they're going through become critical to make sure those are compatible.
James Bell
Okay. You know, we've got just a couple minutes left, you've got some events coming up at gro Hayes I think we want to talk about right,
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
we do we have our think like an entrepreneur class, which starts on September 14, that's an eight week course it will be taught by Chris Munch. And always a good course, always a lot of fun, and always very worthwhile to anybody. You've been a past participant and and anybody who has an interest in owning and operate their own business, I would highly recommend it, I think we've got an early bird special for 100 bucks prior to September 1, to sign up. And after that, it's like 150 bucks, we feed you eight meals, you know, we feed you every time. So for the price of entry is just really cheaper than what you could eat for for that. And all the content is basically free if you look at it that way. And it's really good. And then we have our quarterly luncheon coming up on September 7, at Breece base where we're going to be calling Belzer, the assistant city manager and myself, we're going to be talking about the housing study that was conducted by the city of Hayes and came out in June. So a couple things going on in the near future.
James Bell
Very cool, very exciting stuff. And if you want to find out more about those events, we'll get signed up for that class and information available on your website,
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
website, Facebook page, call us, whatever you want to do, because we're we got a lot of ways to get that information. And we'd love to see a lot of people in the class and obviously a lot of people in the in the quarterly lunch and I think we've got 40 signed up already for that we got a capacity of about 45 So if you if you have an interest in coming call us to reserve a spot
James Bell
very good. You will also have the Zoom meeting link available right
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
put the zoom out there on our website and on Facebook. So if if somebody can't make it down, you can certainly join us on Zoom and and ask questions on Zoom. So join us that way if you can't be there in person
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Cottonwood extension district agent Stacy Campbell shares information about the impacts and resources available to ag producers during the ongoing drought.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The area drought is having an impact on area producers from the Cottonwood Extension District agent Stacy Campbell stops by to share some information for those dealing with the dry conditions. On this episode of the Post Podcast.
Stacy Campbell
There is a well it says thirsty cattle. We've got solutions. It's next Tuesday, August the 30th. Over in Russell County at the Blunden farms, there's going to be a demo and field day about kind of some alternative ways to get water to your livestock that are feasible, doable that have been done. Stacey Minson, who's our watershed specialist has put together that program, she's got some guest speakers, Hershel George, retired watershed specialist, but very, very knowledgeable on how to get some alternative water sources to your pastures is going to be speaking and I think they might have a little demonstration. And then they're also going to talk about management strategies for Johnson grass, haying, and grazing conditions, managing feed stuffs and drought conditions, even some incorporating some cover crops into livestock operations to save on feeding days. That's next Tuesday, August 30. Beginning at 830, and Russell County, at the Blunden farms, the directions are a quarter mile north of Fairfield road, and then 170/9 road if you've got and I guess you do need to kind of believe let them know if you're coming by calling or texting Stacy Minson at 785-769-3297. So that's 7693297 If you want to come to that demonstration and Field Day on on watering sources and some grazing drought management for your livestock next Tuesday on the 30th.
James Bell
Probably a very important topic if Yeah, yeah, even for a refresher, I would think probably a good idea. Yep. Yep, for sure. For sure. And speaking of water, yeah, the lack of thereof is causing all kinds of havoc for our producers. Yes,
Stacy Campbell
yes, because of the drought, you know, yields aren't going to be great on our crops. And because of that, there's probably going to be some leftover nitrogen phosphorus nutrients in the soil. So before farmers plant the next wheat crop, it would be very, very beneficial to take proper soil samples to see how much is left over, could definitely save you some money by knowing instead of guessing. And we have the soil probes, the the bags, the forms and everything. And we'll even mail them off for you if you'll take them and bring them back in. And if you've got any questions on doing that, give me a call, ideally, recommended to take two different samples, one from zero to six for your phosphorus, and one from zero to 24 for your nitrogen, sulfur and chloride. So for your before your next wheat crop, it's advisable to do that. And then you've got some time if you want for your summer crops you know, you can do that either after harvest this year or early spring but something that will definitely definitely pay big dividends each and every year by doing that and taking the guesswork out. And then yeah, because of the drought. No guys are worried about nitrates in their feed and their hay. Just remind them that even though you might lose a little bit of tonnage, I don't think you'll lose much. In the no the feed is short, but if you can raise the cutting height the cutting bar up, those nitrates accumulate in the typically in the very lower portion of the stem. So instead of cutting it to three inches, if you can raise that up to six, seven, maybe eight inches, you can sure reduce the amount of nitrates in your forages in your feed and your hay and then also we've got probes that you can come and borrow the hook on to a drill that you can probe into your bales you can bring that hay back in and will send it off to the Soils Lab at K State they can also test for nitrates and test for protein if you want and then you'll know what you have there and you know you can probably if it is still turns out to be high in nitrates even after raising the cutting height you know no one what you have you can if you have some low nitrate how you can always grind it in dilute it so that is kind of the deal is dilution is the solution. If you got high nitrate Hey, but you've got some low nitrate Hey, you can blend it together by grinding it and you can usually make that work so and then just a couple of key I guess pointers because of the drought, call cows wean early preg check those are all things that can help extend extend your feed stuffs in the in the grazing season. And then wheat variety selection that's coming up planting wheat we've got information on our website triple w.cottonwood.ksu.edu click onto the crops and livestock tab and then look under hot topics. We've got our local test body Information, the K State Experiment Station, we perform its variety test plots. Colorado State has a neat little decision tool that's easy to use. That is pretty cool, I would advise you to look at that. So we've got our resources there on our website for looking at your next wheat variety if you're looking at changing, getting a different wheat variety. And then lastly, I mentioned this before, but since we're in a drought, good opportunity to clean out livestock ponds, if you do that, it's advised to put the dirt on the backside of the dam, if you put it up by the pond, it's gonna go back into the pond eventually. So and then also, if it's leaking a little bit, if you'll pack it with a, with a sheep's foot roller, really, really, really well that will generally do it. But you can also take a soul texture test if you need to, if it is leaking quite a bit and see how much clays in that soul, we can send that off to the souls lab. And then that'll help you figure out if you need to add some, some some basically some salt. We've got information we could talk about that if you need some assistance on your pond leaking, and I'm probably about out of time and that's probably it.
James Bell
We're okay. I do have one follow up. How do they the producers out there? What's the easiest and best way for them to get ahold of you for your resources? Yes,
Stacy Campbell
just give us a call 6289430 Monday through Friday H 12. One to five we also have voicemail so I understand farmers work many many hours so if you think of something after five you know if you'll call it you should be able to get over to my voicemail and leave me a message or you can just leave the message with Teresa and she'll give it to me. email. My email is s Campbell with just one L so it's S C A M P as in Paul B is in boy e l@ksu.edu. But yeah, give us a call at 6289430 and then if you want to look on our website, just type in Cottonwood exten
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger along with Brookdale Senior Living Sales Manager Brandon Taylor discuss the impact and availability of retirement communities.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Senior Living Centers can play an important part in the area economy. From the Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger along with Brandon Taylor from Brookdale Senior Living stopped by to talk to us about that on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Brandon Taylor
The common misconception I hear around town is that all this livings in Hays are full, which is not the case at Brookdale Hayes. We do have openings for apartments for seniors here in Hays and I wanted to come on the air today, and especially highlight that.
Sarah Wasinger
So talk a little bit maybe about the types of people that you serve. And maybe some of the services that are offered that maybe are kind of special for Brookdale.
Brandon Taylor
Absolutely. So we we care for a wide variety of residents at Brookdale either some that we provide very little cares for all the way up to some that that we provide a lot of cares for as well. And so whether that be maybe helping with bathing, dressing, and helping the restroom, and we also do housekeeping and laundry, as well, and also med management form, too.
Sarah Wasinger
So you guys have some, and I always get the terminology. Incorrect. So what medical staff do you have on hand to help your residents?
Brandon Taylor
Absolutely. So we have two full time nurses that are always on call at our community, as well as our certified nursing assistants and our certified med aides as well that are always on each shift.
James Bell
Very good, you know, what I like about places like this, it's the escalating, you know, services that are available, but also the camaraderie, you know, you go into a facility like this one. And then people, you know, they're separated from their families to some degree, but they kind of build their own family. And they, you know, they get to know each other. And it's such a kind of neat experience to see that interaction, I think,
Brandon Taylor
yeah, absolutely. I'd say we all are a family, I'd say we're small enough to we only have about 33 rooms in our community. So we all get to know the residents very well. And just again, like you said, that camaraderie that you know, what's going on in their life, and they know what's going on in my life, as well as other staff members lives. Like for instance, I just got married. So they all were really excited to see my ring when I came back after the honeymoon. So things like that, make it really make it special.
Sarah Wasinger
So speaking of honeymoons and weddings, you guys actually have a couple of married residents there. Is that right?
Brandon Taylor
Absolutely. We do have we're going to are we actually have a couple moving in this Friday, actually. So we'll have five couples living with us at our community.
James Bell
Wow, that's amazing. I imagine that's a probably a much preferred living situation for those seniors than having to do this one thing.
Brandon Taylor
Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, especially now we can help them cook, we can help them do those things, they can still maintain their level of independence. And you know, we are in assisted living and we know not as skilled nursing facilities. So many get us confused with that, or nursing home. But what's nice at Brookdale is that they can age in place there as well. And so they can have physical therapy come in hospice commands, you know, depending on that level of care that they need. Very cool.
Sarah Wasinger
So you guys have a so beautiful kitchen area. And in a nice dining room. You have a very wonderful chef on hand today. You want to talk a little bit maybe about the meals and the food services that you guys have her residence.
Yeah, absolutely. So we do provide three meals a day with snacks in between as well. And we have an awesome Cook, Pam Burghardt, who used to own the rose garden here in Hays, so she really spoils up with us with her good food. I know I had some of her cake yesterday, actually, that was really, really good. And, and if there's something that a resident doesn't like that's on the menu, we can be have a standard side menu as well that we can make them you know, for lunch or dinner. So whatever they want to eat. So
James Bell
very cool. You know, Brandon, I'm curious if someone out there is listening, and maybe they're on the, they've been kind of thinking about doing a facility like yours, what do they need to know to take that first step to kind of explore that option.
So I would say come for a tour like so they can come see our place, I can show them the different rooms, they can meet the staff at our community and see if it's a good fit for them. Except the best way to get a hold of us is either calling your main number at 785-628-1111 and asking for myself, Brandon, and I love to talk with them more about their situation, um, just kind of depends on their, their, their financial situation as well. We are capped on how many Medicaid beds we have as well. So I have to take that into consideration. But for the most part, we're all private pay, there are other benefits so they can tap into such as if they're a veteran, they have benefits they can use for that or if they have a long term care policy as well, they can definitely start looking into that as well. And that's what I love to do is help these families through that process, um, to get them to become residents at our community.
Sarah Wasinger
Now you have an activity person. Do you want to talk a bit on the activities that you offer? There?
Yeah. Absolutely. So Lisa Olson is our activities director and she does an amazing job with our residents. They do a wide variety of activities, such as bingo crafts, they have an exercise class. And they do it for an outings as well. So they go out and do coffee, they go out to eat. I know this month, they're going to Dairy Queen. So I might tag along with them on that as well. They go to different stores, they go to Hobby Lobby, in different area attractions as well. I know they went to Wilson Lake, they go to all the Go overdrive by all the historic Catholic churches here in Ellis County, too. So just a lot of fun activities. But if there's something that they enjoy doing or enjoy doing, they should always incorporate that into what they do as well. They're
James Bell
very cool. Yeah, no, and not to put it in kind of a bad way. But I would think that the size you guys be in a smaller finding kind of facility helps facilitate some of that personalized, you know, meal service and activities where if you were in a much larger facility, it kind of just be go with the flow and do it do what's going on?
Yeah, absolutely. There are lots larger book deals across the country, you know, some that have hundreds and hundreds of rooms. And that's what I think is the most unique about us here in Hayes's week. So we're small enough that we get to know everyone, and that's what I feel like, it's so special about it.
Sarah Wasinger
And the nice thing is, too, is you know, if you have a family that wants to take the resident out for an event, or just supper or something like that nature to they've got flexibility to do that. So there's still a nice balance of having care at the assisted living facility, but also still having that quality of life with your family, too.
Yeah, absolutely. We do have a son that comes in and eats with his mom every day, so And even after hours, too, we have Hill members come in. And we also have residents that still drive to like said you can park your car, you know, at our community as well. So we do have several residents that take advantage of that.
James Bell
I love that. And you know, I hear this quite a bit and especially with senior women, that, you know, they're in that family home, they're in that home, that's, you know, five bedroom, six bedroom, and you know, it's not the right size for that stage of life. And I love that places like this kind of provide an option where they can, they can remain independent, but I have the services thereof when they need it. But also help them right size that home, which is great, as Sarah is we know, great for Ellis County to help get some families into those homes that they are looking for, you know, that maybe are on the market otherwise,
Sarah Wasinger
absolutely. Sometimes it's just too much of a burden to take care of a house that big, especially if you're by yourself. So this is a wonderful option. And I can attest to the fact that every single person had a big smile on their face when we were there at our chamber chat. And so the environment is definitely family friendly. It's warming it. It feels I'm very inviting. And I think any family would be pleased to kind of learn about the experience that they could have there. But definitely reach out to Brandon and give them a shout and see if that could be a good fit for your family if you're looking for that care.
James Bell
Yeah, very good. We got to talk about the weekly events but Brandon, do you want to share the contact information one more time somebody's listening and wants to wants to give you a shout. Yeah, absolutely.
So they can get the community to direct call. The number is 785-628-1111 or they can call my business cell directly at 785-554-2849. Very cool.
James Bell
All right, Sarah, what do we got going on down the chamber? I know you got a lot going on. I don't have the list this week. But I'm sure there's a lot of stuff there always is.
Sarah Wasinger
Well, I didn't want to run out of ink. So ribbon cutting today at clink scales elder law practice pa they are celebrating their new location. So come join us at 1407 Main Street at 3pm are hazy and professionals will have their MDC meeting on August 24 at 4:30pm at defiance Brewing Company's downtown location. Our chamber chat this week will be at Hayes Public Library at 9am at 12 five main street, and we are excited to wrap up the week with our membership lunch. It will be sponsored by you guys actually Eagle radio. And the topic is going to be the United Way of Ellis County kickoff. We love that partnership and know how much that means to you guys. So Erica Burgess, the executive director will be talking about how folks can get involved in supporting that campaign for this year. And I know that we have weekly events usually but because we don't meet with you until next week, Tuesday, a couple of events early on next week that we want folks to have on their radars. Our child care taskforce of Ellis County will meet next week, Monday evening at 5:30pm at the Welcome Center. If folks have not been a part of that group, and they want to be a part of that group. We are an open door we want people to get involved in that project. So please feel free to call me at the Chamber office at 785-628-8201 If you want to get added to that contact list and be invited to attend meetings. And outside of that our 34th annual education appreciation is next week Tuesday. So we are turning in RSVPs today, if for any reason educators out there in Ellis County did not give their RSVP to their administrator for their school. Please reach out to us we can make sure we have enough one they're fulfilled to serve everything and that'll be at Roseburg catering
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney recaps this week USD 489 Board of Education meeting with superintendent Ron Wilson.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Holy Family Elementary principal, Rachel Wentling and assistant principal Gene Flax share updates from the school as the year begins.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Holy Family Elementary in Hays has kicked off the school year, principal Rachel Wentling, along with Assistant Principal Gene Flax, stopped by to share some updates on this episode of the post podcast.
Rachel Wentling
Instead of going well feel like we're starting to hit that. That coasting mode. Good in
a routine. Yeah.
James Bell
Love to hear that. You know, we talked about this every year as you guys kick off the year, but down there Holy Family, you got a theme every year and I'm wondering this year, maybe a good way to start this is what are we thinking for this year?
Rachel Wentling
So this year, we are our virtue for the year is hope. And so we're using a scripture that those who hope in the Lord will soar on wings like eagles. So we're really focusing on that soar word, virtue of hope, but we're kind of using that soar as an image for the students to, you know, to really, you know, challenge them to rise up and to do the best that they possibly can to fulfill their potential. Then at the diocesan level, Mr. Jeff Andrews, our superintendent has been really focusing on the Lord, it is good that we are here. So recognizing that it's good that we're all together.
James Bell
Yeah, you know, it's it. Think about those kiddos now that are in like, first second grade, they're gonna miss that pandemic. And then those older kiddos that experience they had, it's gonna be so different. And of course, all of the educators are going to remember that. And and I would think there's, I know it's in my world. I just continually remain grateful that we're not dealing with that, as well, or, you know, continuing and hopefully never have to do anything like that again. But
Gene Flax
absolutely. I don't think people realize just how setback much of a setback those two years were, it was a huge, huge gap in there. And I think that personally, I've noticed that those kids that those young kids that weren't in school, aren't as receptive, maybe if they're the adults outside, as well as those that have been in school. But those that missed that first year. Really, it really affected. Yeah,
James Bell
I mean, the everything at that age is such a progression, and you have one little setback and not named a little setback, and this is a huge setback, but every setback kind of impacts the rest of their educational experience. You faces meet a lot. Yeah. Well, anyway, as on a more positive note. How's everybody getting back into the schools room? Enrollment? Looking good?
Rachel Wentling
Yeah, enrollment looks good. We have you know, we have openings throughout the building, but we have real nice class sizes and our preschoolers are starting today. We've got a nice group this morning getting started. So yeah, I feel like we're in really good shape this year.
James Bell
With with those preschoolers, I bet that's just a madness. Every year, my little boy, he's starting to send my preschool down to Tiger tots. And they're here to meet some of the other kids. And I just think about all those little four and five year olds, we get together for the first few times, and just the fun and excitement that is just permeated, but probably also a lot of nervousness with little kids. Right.
I think it runs the whole gamut.
Gene Flax
I think you find out really quickly, who's got siblings at home and who doesn't, because there is that pecking order, so to speak. And, and but it's exciting. And like some of those kids came in just thrilled this morning. Some of them came in a little bit apprehensive.
Rachel Wentling
Yeah, there's always a few tears. And I have to say that I am overly impressed with our kindergarteners. I thought our kindergarteners rocked it last week, they were we lunch is always the hardest part with kindergarten when they haven't done lunch before. And you know, I think By the third day, they were they really didn't need our help anymore. And that was I just was really impressed. They did a great job. So it's been fun, love, love watching them. Just their minds are just sponges and they just grow and develop and where they are at the beginning of the year. And where are they at the end of the year. It's It's amazing. I think that's why people who work in schools love working in schools because you just watch that growth and development and it it's a lot of fun. Yeah,
James Bell
it's just got to be tremendously rewarding to just every day is a new, every little benchmark or checkmark you get to get with those kids probably just warms the
Rachel Wentling
heart. Yeah, those light bulb moments are really important. And for
Gene Flax
me going into the classrooms on a regular basis, when they first learn how to read and Mr. Flex. Come listen to me and that's like said rewarding. I don't know if that's even the proper word. It's so fulfilling to me. And but it's fun. Like I said, watch him grow. Incredible.
James Bell
So yeah, you're into the first week he's kicking off his second weekend you're Back to School Bash and With can in conjunction with a TMP, right, how'd that go?
Rachel Wentling
Um, I was blown away with the event that they put together the number of activities for the kids was they had a blast. Mr. Flax was a little bit more over. I was with the volleyball scrimmage. I had a daughter playing volleyball. But I think you were over with the younger kids.
Gene Flax
Yeah, there were more bounce houses than I've ever seen. And my grandchildren is what through Him and through Him and through Him and through Him and, and, but there were activities for I think every age group basically and well attended excitement. And I didn't think it was extremely hot, which was a positive. So, but I'm not gonna lie to you. I was apprehensive last year of having this Back to School Bash. I had never been to one since I was not coaching. And so I had nothing to do with him other than coaching football. Right. It's that time. So but it's I think it's something that was needed to be brought in back in and a lot has been brought back hadn't I don't know if it's ever totally left. But the the way it's grown? I think it's really incorporated the whole both schools very well.
Rachel Wentling
Yeah, we are parents, they put a lot of pictures on our Facebook posts. We have asked them and it sounded like our our students had an absolute blast and my high schoolers, they had a great time too. So I think Job well done to Kim stick line and Joe rose with the TMP advancement office. They kind of headed that up. But Amy and Brian church are the hFB volunteers that kind of support the the grade school side and wow, they just knocked it out. It was great.
James Bell
Awesome. Yeah, we had Joe and Kim with us last week, and they kind of give us a little preview of that event. And it really did sound fun. And what I always love about events like that with the Catholic schools here in Hays is it's it's inclusive, it's not just your students or your you know, affiliations, it's open to the community. And that's something that I think is really special for Hayes, that we have two independent school systems that are really just so connected and concerned about each other in the community and work together. So
Rachel Wentling
well. Yes, everybody was invited. And we had a lot of community businesses and members who made it possible. So yes, it's definitely an inclusive event. It's for everybody to be there to really, you know, to kick off to celebrate the start of the school year.
James Bell
Very cool. And then we get to talk about this. You've got your parent info night that is coming up. Oh, looks like tomorrow, right?
Rachel Wentling
Yes, it is. Yeah, well, you know, every year we invite all the parents to come in, they hear a message from me, then we send them to their teachers. They get to hear from the homeroom teachers, the rest of us are just around to answer questions and be a presence to just help everybody, you know, get what they need for to kick off the school year.
Gene Flax
And it's really big for me, and the fact that Well, I think Rachel too, and the fact that a lot of these parents we had in high school at DMP when we were both there. And so just the reminiscing may be so to speak. Was it a lot of fun?
James Bell
I was hearing the other day about? Well, it was a matter of fact, it was it was my preschool instructor. She's on that generational gap where now she is taking care of little kids of kids that she took care of, you know, X amount of years ago, and I don't know it's gonna make you feel a little old. But also, it's gonna be like years old. And believe me, like, yeah, I've got I've got friends now that they've got high schoolers that are getting they're coming into college. And and I'm feeling that too. But it's got to be like, I don't know, how do you describe that feeling to get to that second generation and know that you've impacted a family at that point for so long?
They do grow up?
Rachel Wentling
Yeah. For those who don't know, Jean, and I worked together for 12 years at TMP, and we were assistant principals together for five of those years. And we were on discipline duty together. We were good cop, bad cop.
James Bell
I can't imagine which was,
Rachel Wentling
Well, I think it would switch depending on the situation. Sometimes I was bad cop. And I think we still do that from now even
we do. Yes.
Rachel Wentling
But um, we I would say I think Jean would agree with this, that it is one of I think our greatest blessings when our students, our former students, entrust their kids to our care. That is a a wonderful blessing to us. And we're so grateful for that and get to see them grow up and become professionals, you know, from when they were in high school. And you once again, it's just like the preschoolers and kindergarteners and those little kids watching them grow and develop. We love watching our former students grow up and develop and yeah, you know, it does the time I marches on. But I think it's fair to say I think we probably both still feel like we as young as we were when we started teaching. For the most part,
Gene Flax
I do feel younger. Now, it's more relaxed atmosphere for me than it had been for years. But I got the best of both worlds because I get to work with young kids, but I also have six grandkids in the school. So what a blessing. Absolutely.
James Bell
Okay, so this event coming up, tomorrow night, you're going to talk about update your policies and procedures and show them in the classrooms. But anything else that that you think that folks out there listening, maybe need to know about that event before? Rolling?
Rachel Wentling
Yeah, we love to see parents, we want to see you, we know that your child's education is a partnership with us, it's not, you know, us versus them, sort of, we want to see you there, this helps strengthen that relationship. And that partnership, our IT director will be there to scan parent fingerprints, if that's how they're able to get themselves into the building during the school day. So probably an important thing to have on record. It's one of those things you have to come in person to do, we cannot do that online. So he'll be there to he'll be set up. And we just love seeing parents have great conversations and answer questions. So please, please come We look forward to meeting with them.
Gene Flax
And our school can't function without the parent involvement, their volunteerism and stuff like that. And so it's an opportunity to try to coerce parents into getting more involved in their students education.
Rachel Wentling
Yeah. So it's, uh, yeah, that's a great night. Looking forward to it.
James Bell
Very cool. Again, let's kick it off. Does it does everybody need to be there at seven or is that a stagger can open house feel?
Rachel Wentling
Every we start at seven in the gym, and then all dismissed after my prep portion of the evening to their home rooms, there's two sessions. So if they have four kids in the school, if they come with two parents, they can potentially get to four homerooms.
James Bell
Okay, so make sure you there by seven if you're if you want to attend that by any and do attend, because that's going to be an important way to help kick off the year. Yes. All right. Well, we've got about a just under a minute or so left. Any other last thoughts or anything else we want to hit on before we go?
Well, we're one day closer to winter.
That's my hot blooded friend over there.
James Bell
So they're sneaking back up. I think it's gonna hit 90 today. Oh, is it was
Rachel Wentling
beautiful this morning. Wow. That I went out early this morning. Needed a jacket. That was great. Yeah. So going off in the evenings call is around the corner. Yeah. No, we're happy to be back in school. I think it's always I think letting the seeing the summer come to an end is always kind of a, you know, there's a sadness associated with it. But I do think that there's a certain amount of satisfaction when we're all back into a routine. The kids are doing what they're supposed to be doing learning and everything is back and right and normal again.
Gene Flax
I think the teachers are excited. I think the kids are excited. We're gonna have a great year.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Arts Council executive director Brenda Meder shares details of the upcoming Fall Art Walk.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares information about a Hays housing report.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
A housing study completed earlier this summer in Hays is about to be released and an upcoming Grow Hays quarterly luncheon will share some of those results. Executive Director Doug Williams stops by to give us a preview on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
We're gonna have our quarterly luncheon it's gonna the topic is going to be this housing study will be on September 6, September the sixth the day after Labor Day.
James Bell
Okay, very good. A lot of interesting stuff in here. And I don't think we're gonna get to even a fraction of it. But maybe I think maybe a good way to start is what's uh, what's the overview? Is it good news, bad news. So how we look at?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, I think it tells us what we already know that we have housing shortage in Ellis County or in Hayes. This is specific to Hayes, but it extends beyond Hayes and Ellis County. And it just kind of verifies that it talks about how we compare to other communities. We're certainly not alone with the our housing woes in Ellis County. But it also tells us why we have housing prices like they are which are higher than they maybe should be. But also, more importantly, looking forward, it tells us that what i The biggest thing I glean out of it is it tells us what we need to be building per year, at certain growth levels in our community. And the fact that we have put ourselves in a deficit of the number of housing units that we have, and how many we need to build on an ongoing basis.
James Bell
Yeah, that was one of the things that I was under is trying to find it in here. Because it's you know, it's a 50 page document. But I was trying to find the numbers, that it really it did seem like if we don't get on it now, and I know a lot of people are working on this, but we're going to be it's going to be a growing problem. If you don't take action now, which we've talked about over and over and over again in the segment, the actions come and it's just slower than we want,
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
why it's slower than it than we can afford it to be, is the problem at 1% growth. The city of Hays needs 88 new units per year. We haven't built 88 units in a year, we got close, I believe in back in 2013. Since then, we've been in the 25 to 40 range per year, which has created this deficit that we have, which I talk about from time to time, you know, we've got a three to 400 unit deficit in this community in terms of housing units, and that's single family residences, apartments and that kind of thing. And I have people all the time to me, Doug, you're crazy, there's no way that we're three to 400 units short, but the reality is we are. And what's that's resulted in is missed opportunity. We've had people that maybe wanted to move to this community or would move to this community, but haven't because we don't have sufficient housing. And then we have people living in substandard housing, that they really shouldn't be living in. And if they had alternatives, they would choose not to live in that housing. So you couple those two things together the missed opportunity, as well as the people living where they maybe shouldn't, as well as housing be more expensive than it should be. All of that is a function of supply and demand. And we don't have enough supply. And we have the demand for it. So we put ourselves in a tough spot. And we've chosen the worst time in the history of construction to try and work our way out of this problem. So it's a challenge, but we just have to figure out how to overcome it.
James Bell
Yeah, you know, one of the conversations I hear pretty regularly and this taken us out of the survey a little bit, but over and Victoria, about the right size, they've had a lot of seniors in big houses for five bedroom houses that would love to be in a smaller setting. But they don't have anywhere to go and they don't want to leave Victoria. So they're stuck in these houses. And then the families don't have the opportunity to move in and no constructions really going on in a large scale anywhere over there.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Right that that real problem in smaller communities. And appropriate housing is another thing that this this housing study tells us that retiree friendly housing, more affordable housing on the lower end, both are in strong demand. And we've got to figure out ways to meet that. Now fortunately, the one opportunity exists the state of Kansas has come out with some programs that are focused on communities 8000 And under, where they have some grants and that type of thing. And we're going to we're working on trying to figure out how we take advantage of those. But the other challenge is is builders and subcontractors that can can meet the demand. We these guys are as busy as they can be. They're They're backed up for months. And so the thought process of going in and starting new construction, when a framer may not be available or the electricians are backed up and that kind of thing. Make it a challenging building environment as well, whether it's in Hayes or Ellis or Victoria, or wherever, but we just we just got to figure out a way. You know,
James Bell
one of the other things that I thought was interesting in this is the the financial bet. And I mean that by household income to housing. And I wonder if you can speak to that a little bit? Or are we out of whack in that department as well? Or are we okay, here, no one's counting for that.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Now, we're housing is too expensive here relative to median family income. And so that's a problem. We don't have enough housing that is priced appropriately for the level of income that we have, and in many cases, so that's a struggle, that's also a function of supply and demand. You know, you can go back to that. And, you know, you I, I chuckled, when I sometimes read in social media that, you know, the realtors have driven the price up on houses, that's the most ridiculous thing you could ever think because they don't, they don't set the
James Bell
price to say yeah, like, well, they don't have any control over that, really, it's what people are going to pay. It's
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
the marketplace and supply and demand. And while we would like to think that that's not the case, it is. And until we add more supply to the market, this demand is going to drive prices up. Now, we've had another outside factor that's affecting our market as well. And that's interest rates have risen considerably over the last six months to a year. And that's making affordability more difficult as well, making new construction more difficult. And so just one more thing we have to deal with and try and overcome.
James Bell
Yeah, you know, you mentioned the interest rates. And that is something else I wanted to get into today, we heard a little bit on the news this morning. And our news breaks, there was a study come out or story by the New York Times, and they were highlighting the drop in the sales because of the interest rate. And it looks like I've got the number here. 5.9%. Last month, home sales dropped. And that's a national number. But I wonder how much of that is actually impacting local sales and real estate.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
What is and talking to local realtors, you know, last February, I think we had as low as maybe 10 homes on the market. Now it's more in the 40 to 50 range, I think. So that's a function of interest rates, certain people get priced out of the market, the challenge is they have to live someplace. And so they're just priced out of maybe buying a home. But that puts additional pressure on the rental market. And we have not added many new units to the rental market. We do have a project there St. Joseph school, you know, that's going on. And Michael Graham is putting in 36 units down behind the old Washington School, those will be rental units added to the market, we have a duplex here, a duplex there that are being added. And so that helps somewhat, but we haven't had anybody build a complex in our community for a long, long time, like what Michael Graham is doing, or even, we are talking to a couple of developers outside the community that are considering larger complexes, 80 to 200 units, which would be great. But they face the same challenges, they've got to find people to build them. And then they have to be able to build them at a price point where they can make it work. And unfortunately, that with construction costs where they are, that's difficult to do too. So there are no magic bullets. And there's no silver bullets in this situation. It's a challenge.
James Bell
You know, I'm curious, why don't we have more of those in Hayes hour and Ellis County, I would think, you know, I can think of two or three of those larger apartment units. But how can we have just built those over the years, like you see in some other especially I think college towns,
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
I think it's a function of the willingness for local developers, local builders to take on that level of a project, you know, a couple 100 units, you're talking, it's costing 150,000 plus per unit to build right now, some big muscle, if you're gonna build 100 units, that's $15 million, you're gonna build 200 units, that's $30 million at $150 per doors, that is the terminology they use in the industry. And there just aren't many local developers investors willing to take on that level of, of risk and that level of a project. And outside investors typically are leery of communities our size, we think we're larger community, college town, that kind of thing. But they're looking at Wichita, Kansas City and that type, you know, Lawrence, Manhattan, even for those type of projects, we have a hard time attracting outside investment. And so that combination makes it the fact that we just don't see many of them in our community. We don't see any of them in the last long period of time.
James Bell
Yeah, so I you know, I'm curious, we get it. We talked about the problems. Wait, how do we how do we move forward? How do we use the data that's in this the survey to push us into where we need to be?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, we have to have an organization, you know, part of our responsibility that I view is is driving Housing, Construction, driving things and understanding the programs that exist that the city, the county, the school district can offer like RH IDs, and some of these moderate income housing grant programs, and utilizing those tools, towards the construction of property and finding land, and property owners that are willing to sell at a price that will make these things feasible. We're working on as I said, we've got probably three or four different projects, I guess, I wouldn't even call them projects, I call them concepts, that at various locations around the community that that really, we would like to make happen. We're working with potential developers. But you know, of those three or four we're working on, if we get one to happen, it would be a great because they're challenging, they're, they're expensive, and they're hard to make work financially. Also working with not for profits, like heart of America and what they did at Easter, the technical college, that's that's a win win the the ultimate winner in that scenario are the people that are living out there, the homeowner, and we need to utilize not for profits, if we can for maybe apartment construction, where the ultimate winner is the tenant? You know, that's the type of construction we need to focus on. And we are it's just, it's just complicated.
James Bell
Sure. You know, we talked a little bit about the nonprofit's before we want to honor on air as well helping out with them. I wonder if you want to share the What's that? What's the role in those organizations? Like we've talked about a heart of America with your 22nd, Wheatland development, you know, how much are they going to be able to drive this in the coming years,
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
they need to be a part of it, they can't be the total solution, but they need to be part of it. You know, those organizations that are dedicated to community good, and are not necessarily profit motivated? You know, I look at, we've got an opportunity here, we've got outside investors who come in, and they're pretty much their motivation is profit. They want to make money, I get that that's, that's great. Well, I wouldn't be in business for long if you didn't, right. But the profits they do make, where do they go, they leave the community, the long term profits that they make, when they sell or whatever, they leave the community. And then you've got local investors, who they're, they're out this, they're in this to make a profit as well, again, that's good. And the good news there is the the operating profits and the long term profits that they make, they stay in the community, they buy cars, they buy furniture, they spend their money locally, that's great. And then you got the not for profits, who are not in this to make money, they're in this for community good. And if we can figure out ways to assist them with some of these programs, and if they're willing to take on some risk and projects, that can be a part of the solution as well. And we're absolutely working with those organizations like Heart of America, and trying to make some of these things happen.
James Bell
When I think it would be true as well, that those local developers, those local nonprofits, they're going to have a lot more interest in hiring local contractors, people locally, they can actually make the project come off the ground.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Sure. I mean, they're focused on the community, they're focused on community good, and, and that's great for the community, they can't be that they can't be the only solution. They just need to be part of it. And so that's what we're trying to do.
James Bell
You know, how much of this also is, is just finding that help finding those people to do that
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
work? Well, that's a big part of it right? Now. We hope we work our way out of that. And, you know,
James Bell
we build the houses, then we get more workers, then we can build the houses,
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
right? I mean, it's one of those kinds of deals, but we're gonna fight that for a few years here. I think I don't think there's any quick fixes to that. You know, everybody always says, we'll just get somebody come out of town to do that, you know, framing company from out of town. It's not that simple, because they're all busy where they're at, too. And there's, there's there's a lot of demand. But bit by bit, I think we can work ourselves out of this situation. We can add units to the marketplace. But it has to be a proactive thing. We do we did. It clearly has not happened on its own, just with the marketplace supplying this. We've got to be more forthright in our efforts to make this happen. Because just waiting for the market to correct itself has not worked yet. So we've got to we've got to force some things to happen.
James Bell
Okay. Well, Dave, we've got just about a minute left. Before we got to get over the news. But you can hear more about this at the quarterly luncheon. I wonder if you want to share with everybody like what do they need to do if they want to get involved and hear more about this at that event? Well, we're
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
going to post this study on our website at grow hayes.com For one thing, so they can go out there and read it and we'll put it out on our Facebook page. And then the quarterly luncheons, they're open to the public, we just ask that you call our office and And RSVP. So we know how many people to get food for. We can handle about 40 to 45 people. So once we fill up, we do fill up, but we ask that you do RSVP, you know, call our office to reserve a spot and, and we'd love to have a good cross section call and Belzer assistant city manager is going to be doing part of the presentation. I'm going to pitch in on some of the things that we're doing. So it should be pretty interesting, and we'd love to get feedback from it.
James Bell
Do you still do the online portion of that as well?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
We will we will do a zoom deal that we'll put out there and our website and Facebook page if some people want to attend the Zoom
On this episode of the Post Podcast Ellis County Fire Chief and County Administrator, Darin Myers shares tips for keeping safe through preventative measures.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
As Fort State University students move back into Hays for the upcoming semester, it's a good time to check those fire prevention measures. Fire Chief and County Administrator Darin Meyers stops by to share with us some safety tips on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Darin Myers
October 9 through the 15th is fire prevention this week, and state fire marshal starting to send out information in regards to what is going to catch capsulate this year, but I think time fire prevention week and just general fire safety topics is kind of a good thing to bring in, we got a lot of people moving back into the area for Fort Hays. And I thought it'd be good just to kind of mention is, you know, some of the new freshmen are moving into a new apartment new dorm, new fraternity sorority is just make yourself familiar with the place that you're living. Now, where the fire alarm panels are at how to activate the fire alarm, and one of the biggest savers lifesavers is smoke detectors. So if you're in an apartment, make sure you have them, they should be in every bedroom, in your in the residence, and then they should be outside of every living area, as well as on every floor. So make sure you have them. And then the second step is make sure they actually work. You know, if you can't reach them, you know, get you a broom handle or something and push the test button on there and make sure that they work and make sure the batteries are in there. And if not contact your landlord and get the batteries replaced. And it's the best thing that can happen in the middle of night. And the best way and the fastest way to detect a fire in the residence is having the smoke detectors in there.
James Bell
Absolutely. And what a simple and small measure. I mean, I'll give you an example in my home. Last time I moved in or not, I think it was the place before but I never tested them. They were there. They looked good. And I thought oh, okay, I finally after like three or four months oh my gosh, should hit that button. I did and it didn't do anything. There was no battery yet. There was no battery in it.
Darin Myers
Don't Don't don't assume that just because someone else isn't there before you that they didn't pull out the detectors or the batteries. Like you said. One thing to also consider nowadays, they always used to teach or we always used to teach as you change your batteries in your smoke alarms twice a year, every time you change your clock for spring and fall you replace your batteries. Smoke detectors nowadays, we're coming out with a lithium ion batteries that last you know, they're saying 10 years, we never have to replace them. But don't take that for granted that they are still working. If they you know their batteries do become faulty and they don't last always as long as you expect them to so you still want to test them. And you know, testing them drains the battery and it'll start chirping at you if it's not a full full alarm, but it will just do little chirps. And I'll let you know that the batteries are dead on. And to get the to get it either replace the battery or replace the smoke detector as well. And in the other piece to that is not just your smoke alarms, but your co detectors detecting the carbon monoxide, we get a lot of calls starting the city in the county, but throughout the nation about this time of year, not quite yet. But once it starts cooling down, everybody starts turning their furnaces on. And a faulty furnace or a hot water heater or stove can emit carbon monoxide in your home. And so it's nice to have a carbon monoxide detector as well. And make sure that those were actually working, some of them actually plug in down on the floor. But those those are are typically placed as was Frequenters. As often in your home as a smoke detector. Those are supposed to be just one on every floor. don't necessarily want them close to your kitchen or your furnace room though you want them separated more likely in your living area and sleeping area. But you don't want them close to those areas because when it is common to have carbon dioxide actually in your home at all times. But if they're too close to those servers like the the furnace, the sensors can actually become saturated. And then they can give you false readings and maybe not go off as when they're supposed to or go off too quickly because they're saturated. So make sure you have your smoke detectors and make sure you have your carbon monoxide alarms in your home.
James Bell
You don't want those carbon monoxide alarms to I wonder what's the best placement Do you want them high up near the ceiling Do you want to towards the floor I and I've seen it kind of everywhere in the in all the years that I've moved around.
Darin Myers
You're testing me on that one because I don't remember what the the vapor did stupid the the relation of carbon dioxide is to air if it's heavier or lighter. You always have smoke detectors up top because smoke rises so you just fold detectors up low. However, I've always seen carbon monoxide detectors, usually about a foot two off the floor and plugged into your your power outlets. And so it may be that it's best to have but you caught me on that one. I can't. I might be able to Google that while we continue to
James Bell
talk about you I think probably the most important thing is just have them in the house. Yeah, right. If it gets to a point where you're in danger, I would think no matter where it's at, it's gonna be beeping at you in one way or another. Yep. Very good. And you know, another question I had and when it comes to the fire safety in the home fire extinguishers, I've lived in places that have the little tiny ones I've lived in you don't they have the big full on ones, what's the what's the best recommendation there for you
Darin Myers
definitely have one just like.
James Bell
Again, the most important thing is have one Walmart and Home Depot may
Darin Myers
like us after this, everybody's gonna be running into the store and pick up some more. Yes, definitely have one one of the best place to always keep it to good places, but the best and the most common place to put it underneath your kitchen, sink your your base cabinet there. But an ABC fire extinguisher. And what an ABC fire extinguisher is it is acceptable use for three different types of fires a type A fire, which is natural, so woods and trees, and then Class B is liquids and Class C would be electricity. So you have that ABC that will lay this electrical fire grease fire. Or if you just light your fire on a stove, your pizza in the stove on fire, you can use it. So definitely have that. They usually make him there, they're about biggest size you'd probably need is they're about four inches in diameter. They make home versions at the at the store, you can buy as big as you want. Because it just depends on how much space you want to take up. But they also make an extinguisher specifically for kitchens, which is a class que so it's more designed for your kitchen fires. If you want to buy one of those there, they are a little bit more expensive than a regular ABC extinguisher though.
James Bell
Alright, for safety, what's the what's a few dollars for safety? Exactly. I always I always love to be more prepared. My my wife teases me all the time, because I'm always like about that stuff. But anyway, that maybe that's just me. Well, before we run out of time, we've got our shift gears here. You've got a Fire School coming up from what I understand, right?
Darin Myers
Yeah. So each year, well, every month actually. So the Kansas State Firefighters Association has host different fire schools around the state. Not every single month because we have a conference in April, which we actually just hosted the annual State Conference here this year. But here in September, the 10th and 11th. We're hosting the regional Fire School. And so I guess it's somewhat of an invite if there's any fire departments for firefighters that are listed in this morning. We welcome everybody to come out on September 10 and 11th. And we'll be hosting it again this year at the high school. While vehicle extrication class, we'll have some chief officer classes, some skills training, we'll have a live burn trailer. Then we're also we'll be cooking up the day before a couple of pork butts to be able to feed everybody for lunch. So we'll have some free food for everybody for the lunch period. But one of the neat things this year's our fire school that we got approved for is on September 10 and 11th. But you know, it's been over 20 years now since 911 happened and last year was the first year that Fort Hays started it but they started a memorial stair climb out of Lewis field. And we're partnering up with Fort Hays this year. So it won't be on the 11th just because it's a Sunday, but on September 10 That morning, registration will start out at the Fort Hays lose field. And for registration of the stair climb, because everybody registered and at 747 which is our time for when the first tower was hit. We'll start the stair climb. And if you just want to do a walk around the track or he can actually climb the stairs and they'll have it all set up on the on the bleachers that you'll be able to climb 110 flights of stairs in honor and remembrance of those who sacrifice their lives back on 911 of 2001.
James Bell
But are good you know what a powerful way to help remember all of those victims?
Darin Myers
They are they are I've never actually attended one, we usually send our firefighters because I believe it's good to let them go out and promote that and experience that and fire departments from around the state to around the nation that happens that weekend every year. And we usually send several most we've ever sent was about seven down to a one time down to the one in which top but hopefully we'll have quite a few area firefighters joining us this year and come out to Lucasfilm It's a free event. It's just a you got to put some blood sweat and tears into climbing, climbing the stairs and walking the track to to complete it.
James Bell
Sure. Do they need to sign up at all? Or is it just kind of a show up and be
Darin Myers
there just show up. You don't have to for the stair climb. We actually don't even have to be on the fire department if you just want to come out and take part of the event. It's just registrations at seven and we'll give it about 30 minutes. Everybody lined up ready to go.
James Bell
Very good. We've got about a minute or so left. I want to hit on this. I saw you guys driving around. I think you're probably heading to a fire. He got some new vehicles in the fleet, right?
Darin Myers
Yeah. Not too long ago since well, it's been a while since we've actually Been in near to visit but we did get a new fire truck. We ordered it actually last January so about a year and a half ago but with the production delays and everything it took to get the actual the chassis up to South Dakota where they built the truck. We finally got it and the fire department, the members of company five here in Hayes spent about a month training on it they had to go out and do driver training and pump training, draft training and a lot of drills driving it around and etc. To make sure that they were fluent with the truck driving it safely and then operating it during a fire so got it in it's nice it's a very nice truck. I appreciate the County Commission support letting us purchase it it was well needed it replaced a truck that was about 27 years old. And got it and service. It's out and about it's it's a neat truck the let the firefighters have a lot of input on it and it's kind of a new color scheme that will have county fire departments black over red so the top of the cab and everything is black and the bottom half is red and looks pretty sharp and like said I'm appreciate appreciative that we got it. The firefighters are liking it, enjoying it. And it's kind of neat because it's it's a 27 year newer truck, but it's simpler to operate and kind of stopped us a few times because we thought it would be more complicated. It was simpler than it was. So that's I guess that's good news.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University's Glen McNeil share some tasty facts about some of these favorite menu items.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
What do fajitas red wine and ice cream pie have in common? They're celebrated on the same day here in the US. For our nutrition, health and wellness segment Fort State University's Glenn McNeil stops by to share with us some of the nutritional implications of those menu items. On this episode of the Post Podcast.
Glen McNeil
National Ice Cream Pie,
James Bell
ice cream pie love ice cream ice cream pie.
Glen McNeil
And you know a lot of people when you say ice cream pie, think about you know, an Ice Cream Sandwich type thing. Okay, well, this is ice cream pie today, which basically means take a pie crust and fill it with your favorite type of ice cream, and then refreeze it and slice it up and eat it. Or you can do what has become popular over the years as you you can take a pie shell and you soften your ice cream. And then you can add things like Cool Whip and cream cheese to your ice cream and blend it real well put a little fruit in it and then put it back put it into a pie shell and make you a ice cream dessert item. Okay, but you know so it's it's just a different way to to bring a refreshing dessert. Okay in and a dessert most of us like is ice cream. So we have national soft serve ice cream day. We have National Ice Cream Pie Day we have national hard dip ice cream, they so make yourself an ice cream pie today. And the most popular crust from ice cream pie is what
James Bell
I would imagine like the Oreo crust.
Glen McNeil
Well, you're you're close it's the old style graham cracker crust. Okay, were you just crushed up graham crackers and mix it with a little bit of butter and then pack it into a form it into a pie tin or glass pie dish. You can use that or you can do the simpler thing today is just go buy them.
James Bell
That's That's my MO I just, well let's be real, I don't buy the I don't buy any of the shells or the ingredients I just buy pies.
Glen McNeil
And you know, it's it's a different way to sample into dry ice cream. Is that's that's all it is. But it's an opportunity to to celebrate it in an ice cream has some calcium. Unfortunately, real ice cream has more sugar and fat to it. You know, that's what makes it rich and smooth and creamy when you put it in the mouth is that that fat that's in that particular product. So just have to kind of one of those things that you work into your diet. And you go back to that occasionally. It's good moderation. It's good. So
James Bell
absolutely. You know, honestly, I can't remember the last time I had ice cream. It's been a while.
Glen McNeil
I would say probably last week for me. I had some oh gosh, oh, we stopped at a chocolate factory. And we're looking at all that I don't know how people could work in a chocolate factory, right? I really don't but at least we stopped at the Chocolate Factory. And they had we're just bringing out some mint chocolate chip ice cream and that's one of my favorites. So I had some mint chocolate chip ice cream had a small dip though. Instead of the large dip or instead of the two dip. You know I'm trying to be conservative a little bit and what I do in terms that process but enjoy it, you know, that's all part of what we do what we eat. It's different things that you want to enjoy and an ice cream has some value, you know to it that like I said it's got some calcium in it. And so we do get a small benefit from it. In terms of that process, I think I just dropped something. Okay,
James Bell
the headphones, the headphones fall down all day long, they get knocked over. No worries.
Glen McNeil
We go back you know we go back to here today and you talked a little bit about him this morning. And and basically it's it is a it's a Tex Mex dish is what we call it in and it's normally made with stripped peppers, and stripped meat and in in terms of that process or grilled stripped meat. So they do some people make it with ground beef, ground beef, but it's then it's more like a taco than it is here. And the thing about fajitas are they are a great way to add flavor, texture and color to the diet. Now the color comes from using red peppers and I like to use red peppers, green peppers, yellow and purple onions. Okay, and then I've also when I make the heat isn't home, I dress them a little differently because I like to use Squash. Squash him just for different flavor. You can use anything you want. Okay, traditionally there they were made from a kind of meat called the skirt and it's on the lower portion of the belly more towards the front. It is a well it's on. It's called a plate if you're, you know, in carving meat, which is the lower portion of the belly in towards the front, and it's a it's not very tender. You can cook it by stripping it and and treating it with seasonings and sometimes marinating it you can make it more tender, but it's one of the more flavor Over four pieces of meat on on a beef cow. Okay, so and you can buy a lot of that's what fajita meat is when you go to the store and buy it, but you can make it with chicken you can make it with shrimp, you can make it with fish, you can make it with any kind of meat protein source that that goes with that and it's just a great way to to do to serve a blended anywhere from a mild to a highly seasoned product and introduce some new flavors to people. Okay, it's you know, so it's kind of a nice cultural thing brings different food cultural items into what we do and what we eat.
James Bell
Yeah, you know what I like about fajitas kid friendly, because then you don't ache you can just kind of put a little bit a little bit a little veggies, a little meat on the plate and they can just fingerfood it and and what used to my house, the kids have always fajitas are a staple at my house. And they always enjoy just because of that it's easy for them,
Glen McNeil
it's very easy to to eat and fajitas to me is one of those things if you decide to go out and buy for us at a meal they are generally served on a large platter. Okay, and there's there's plenty of meat and vegetables there for most time. And then usually, you get a secondary platter that's got lettuce, maybe some pickled Guile, or diced tomatoes, then it's cheese, some sour cream that you can use to dress them up, I can usually get three meals out of a big heated platter. Okay, back in the younger days, I can get one meal out of them. Okay, nowadays, it's kind of one of those meals where I can go order fajitas. And at the same time, I get my meal, I asked for a take home box, and I take it and I just kind of cut everything in half and put it in and then I get my lunches out of it the next day. But it's a it's a great way to alter taste, you don't have to use just one form of protein source and someone's popular day or simply just vegetable fajitas no meat. And yet some you know some people just have to have that meat product in there. Okay, but I like just plain vegetable fajitas with with guacamole and different flavorings on them, because it's, it's a great way to bring those colored vegetables in, you know, to bring that mix of from my standpoint to bring that mix of water soluble vitamins and fiber into your diet. Okay, so they are good contributors to that process. So I would say go out and get some they're easy to make at home. You can buy fajita meat in the store already. Or you can buy some people use a flat iron steak to do it. Some people will take leftover roast, and strip the roast, cooked roast and then just cook their vegetables and blend the media in with that. So you can use leftovers in the product and it does impart and make things taste really good. So I would say you know, go get you some tortillas and just mix up a bunch of fajita meat vegetables tonight, and it's gonna be beautiful sit out on the deck and
James Bell
I need some Yeah, and nobody especially if you got one of those Blackstone's you got and cook, cook outside just do the whole thing outdoors?
Glen McNeil
I don't have one of those.
James Bell
I don't either. I have some friends that have one. They love them. Yes, I
Glen McNeil
know quite a few people that have them. And I really liked the outdoor kitchen style. Now along with the fajitas you could have a glass of red wine. Today is National. Okay, so if I get this right here,
nor day, is that right? I have no idea. Which is it is a red
Glen McNeil
wine. Okay. And red wine contains small amounts of vitamins and minerals. We know red wine today more towards the product, the antioxidants and the flavonoid compounds that are in red wine, a group of compounds you know that the health benefits when we look at helping control blood pressure, and what we see the alcohol and the rest of aerosol in the wine, okay, which is one of these antioxidant compounds that gives us these, these health benefits. There's information out there that regular consumption of moderate amounts of red wine gets you these these particular antioxidant compounds in them. And that can help lower your risk of colon cancer that can in for men, it can cause a slight reduction in chances for prostate cancer. You know it, there's some tie into consumption of red wine and type two diabetes these days, saying that a moderate alcohol intake can help to lower the risk of diabetes doesn't go curity factors or anything, but lower the risk. Now that doesn't mean if you go out and start drinking red wine today that you're gonna get all these benefits. These are long term benefits that come from consuming red wine. On the negative side, about 10% of the population has an allergy to wine and most of the wine allergies are a reaction to yeast or mold that may be in the product during the process or sulfites okay which which are naturally occurring compounds in red wine. So, you know we see some differences that that go on there. Other things that go with wine, it's got alcohol in it health benefits because the heart knows was relaxed, but can also cause some liver damage. Okay, when you consume any type of alcohol, you'll find changes in the liver. Okay, and the idea is to keep it moderate. And that helps to moderate those and then gives the body a chance to, to deal with those. So I mean, there's there's some good things and then you know, when you think of everything else that's going on with, with fajitas, and red wine and, and ice cream, we're back to school. Okay, our kids are back in school. So parents, grandparents, now's the time to think about if the kids come home after school, they're going to be hungry. Right, that's this sort of tradition, let school lunches are, are only designed to provide about a third of what's needed. You know, each meal is designed on that, well, you got these growing and active kids. So their chances are, they're going to become hungry during the afternoon and hungry when they come home. So have some snacks, look at things like healthy choice, not healthy choice, but a healthy choice style granola bar, the single serve yogurt packets about, they're about 75 calories, good rich sources of calcium, you can get low fat ones with Reser. Even better than that, you can get some that have fruit in them. And there are single serve packs that can be put in the refrigerator, you know, so you can do that. Apples, oranges, bananas, fresh fruits that can be put on the counter. Research shows that if those things are made available to children, as a choice, when they come home, they are likely to take them over less healthy snacks. So the idea is keep the fruit basket out there rotate the fruit in it. So there's different things, put some fresh fruit and you know, in the refrigerator, so they're gonna get into the refrigerator for that have some of those things around that? That are those healthy alternatives to a bag of potato chips, a bag of pretzels, you know that that type of thing. Now, those occasionally are not bad. But they have some of those things around. So there's lots of things to think about today. Especially as the weather is beautiful. You know, today in that process,
James Bell
yeah. And getting into the routines back to school, this i That's my house right now we're, we're kind of in that mode. One of our children went back the other one starting next week. And it's yeah, it's fun all of a sudden together, and we're recognizing like, hey, let's create these good habits while we're in that transitional period.
Glen McNeil
Let me let me remind you that it doesn't. It doesn't work, to have your children get out, get up and have you say, Okay, you need to eat breakfast, when you're not. Okay, children are more likely to eat breakfast and grow into eating breakfast on a regular basis. If their parents do. It's one of those follow example types of things. And then the choices, you know, if all you're going to have for breakfast as a cup of coffee, until they're maybe they're just going to want a beverage or something like that. Have a small bowl of cereal, eat a piece of fruit, no, toasted bagel, split a bagel with your kids, you know, a lot of different things that you can do to encourage them to eat good, good, healthy items.
James Bell
Should you eat breakfast? I don't I never eat breakfast.
Glen McNeil
Well, you know, the, there's a lot of discussion going on about about that. Probably the best answer, as best answer is what the term breakfast means. And that is to break the fast that you have had for an extended period of time. I think the majority of the information is going to come out and say it's a healthy alternative. It's the healthy choice a small amount of fuel to defeat fuel food to fuel you in the morning to bring your blood sugar levels back up from the lower portion that they become to put a small amount of protein in the gastrointestinal system that in the bloodstream will stave off hunger later in the day. People who tend to eat breakfast, a small breakfast, tend to snack less during the morning tend to feel better two to three hours after their app because they have fuel their body. So the answer is yes, you should eat something for breakfast, but I mean, it can be a cool piece of pizza is one of my favorite drives my wife nuts, cold pizza with mustard on it for breakfast.
James Bell
Oh yeah, had me tell the mustard. Oh, it's really good. And I love mustard, but
Glen McNeil
with yellow mustard. I mean, something we you know, it's like there's nothing wrong with having pancakes and eggs for supper. Okay, so it's just the it's just the idea of fueling your body. So yes, it's it is, you know, at least my opinion in many health professional opinions. It is a very good idea to eat breakfast. A lot of times it's called the most important meal of the day. And you think about it, it's that's a pretty long period of time from the last time you ate in the evening. Through the morning it forces the body to tap into all those stores well. It can help you stay more consistent with your blood sugar with By eating meals on a regular basis, including breakfast, which in turn helps to keep you from overeating later in the day. And for children, very important, because their blood sugar levels are low in the morning. And if they go to school with those blood sugar levels, an hour or so maybe hour and a half after they get to get to school, they have trouble concentrating, they have trouble being active, because of those low blood sugars and low protein levels in the bloodstream. So they should have something for breakfast.
James Bell
My children do. Okay, I'm gonna try. I'm gonna I'm going to incorporate in my diet and I'll let you know how it goes. Next time you hear
Glen McNeil
even, you know, like I said, You could do a cup of yogurt. You could do the pie like sourdough toast, with a little bit of olive oil on it for breakfast. That's good, but my favorite breakfast is take frosted Mini Wheats and layer the bottom of the bowl, one layer frosted Mini Wheats in the bottom of the bowl. And then on top of that about half inch of Raisin Bran. And then on top of that, I sprinkled some Grape Nuts or crunchy nut cereal, and then just enough to kind of fill in the gaps. And right on top of that he put some granola and then 1% milk on it. I put whole milk on it but my wife won't let me have anymore. Okay, and that's why my breakfast it's high in fiber. It's high in B vitamins. It's got good sources of protein in it and you know when I don't eat breakfast, that mid morning, I get a little grumpy. So it's good for me to eat breakfast now. I also like a bagel with some cream cheese on it or locks bagels you know smoked salmon on it. English buff and toasted English muffin with a little bit of either cream cheese or butter. And I'm a butter not margarine user and it's just because of taste. It's nothing health wise in terms of that. Or waffles with peanut butter and syrup. Have you put peanut butter on your waffles?
James Bell
I did and you know I think I think maybe you'd mentioned it to me a while back and I tried it is it wasn't my favorite but it's definitely good.
Glen McNeil
Yeah, you know, so there's lots of things that you can do for breakfast that that are there. Okay, and a lot of times we'll go we'll just buy a bunch of fresh fruit chop up fresh food big bold, fresh fruit in the refrigerator and a bowl that for breakfast is fine. So my breakfast you know rotates around but my favorite is that bowl of cereal. For that nets I grew up eating oatmeal for breakfast that I still like oatmeal I tend to like it more as a cold cereal that hot cereal these days but I still like oatmeal for that process. So a lot of good things we can do today especially garden fresh items that are coming out now we've been eating tomatoes we've been eating zucchini we've been eating not much to Keaney here but Sam lots of cucumbers love sliced cucumbers and he just keeps a big bowl of sliced cucumbers in the refrigerator and vinegar and water. Like that tartness that comes with the with the vinegar and just chop up put them in salads and put them in stir fry the other night so I liked it. My wife didn't but that's okay. You know we have different tastes. So there's a lot of things that you could do to to enhance the nutritional value of the food shooting. Very good. One last thing. You're a music guy. I am your music guy. What is important about August 18 in the music business in the 1960s
James Bell
You're gonna stump me.
Glen McNeil
You've always got all these cool trivia things. 1962
James Bell
I got nothing. I have no idea. Okay.
Glen McNeil
You know who Pete Best was?
James Bell
Pete bet you know the name. Sounds familiar, but I'm drawing a blank. Okay, you're stuck with me on how to he was the
Glen McNeil
first drummer The Beatles?
James Bell
Ah, yeah, there you go.
Glen McNeil
1862 on August 18 are right around that. August 18 is when Ringo Starr replaced Pete Best as a drummer. Very cool. Do I win the pizza?
James Bell
I can get Jackie. You'd have Dini called with mustard though.
Oh, well, I just put it in the refrigerator and the next day.
Glen McNeil
You know, on days like this. Just go out. Have a good day makes some healthy food choices and enjoy the weather.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Simpson Farm Enterprises manager Jed Simpson.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Ellis County Historical Society executive director Amanda Rupp and Museum Space Committee chair and trustee Mary Kay Shippers discuss recent developments in the creation of a satellite museum in Victoria.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger along with Rose Garden Banquet Hall owner Kim Barnes discuss the upcoming Education Appreciation Dinner.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The Hayes chambers educators Appreciation Day is scheduled for the end of this month from the Hayes chamber president and CEO Sarah wall singer along with owner and operator of the Rose Garden banquet hall and catering Kim Barnes stopped by to share some of the details on this episode of the post podcast.
Sarah Wasinger
We are so excited. Obviously, our Ellis County educators are a great group of men and women who do such important work to educate our youth in our county. And you know, the byproduct of their hard work is people being able to join our workforce. So we can't think of a better reason to celebrate at the end of this month. So it'll be August 30. And that's going to be at the Rose Garden, banquet hall and catering, the event will kick off at five o'clock and we will wrap up around 7am. But we would be remiss to not share all of the businesses that support this event. Without them this wouldn't even be possible. So I'd like to just give a thank you to M price bank and enter ces as well as Golden belt bank, Midwest energy, of course, Rose Garden banquet hall and catering, sunflower bank, thirsties, brew, Pub and Grill and Walmart. They are our premier sponsors. So they really kind of make sure that this event is wonderful for for our educators. And we also have a few other sponsors, Glassman Corporation, golden plains credit union, the Hays Convention and Visitor's Bureau and our wonderful women link, they actually contribute different things to their backs that we give away that night.
James Bell
Very cool, very cool. Some really good community partners, and I love to hear that so many are willing to help and step up and recognize our area educators. Yes.
Sarah Wasinger
And we would be remiss to not include our chamber ambassadors. They also help plan that event and will be there to greet our guests that evening, as well as our chamber staff.
James Bell
Yeah, absolutely. Love it. But you know, the highlight of the night I think is the teachers. Well, I guess the teachers, obviously.
Sarah Wasinger
But I know you're gonna say because I'm hungry, and I haven't eaten yet. Exactly what I was thinking. So we have Kim Barnes here she is the owner and operator at Rose Garden, banquet hall and catering. And Kim, I'm gonna let you tell us about the delicious meal but the educators can expect to enjoy that night.
Kim Barnes
Well, Sarah, we're happy to have the educators back again this year. Of course, we're going to feature 100 Pecan chicken. If you're not a fan of the sweet chicken, we'll have the country gravy on the side. So you can have your chicken fried chicken, or delicious loaded potatoes, vegetable rolls, salad, and of course, our delicious desserts.
Sarah Wasinger
And you guys work really hard to make that an extra special event. And I think you told us this year, there's going to be a dessert assortment, is that right?
Kim Barnes
That's right, we'll have all different kinds of desserts to choose from.
Sarah Wasinger
And I believe that we are also offering a cash bar at this event. Obviously, you know, it's the start of a school year, maybe it would be a great opportunity to have, you know, a nice beverage. Um, so we'll even have a bartender on hand to make some cold drinks. Of course, coffee, tea and water will also be available of course.
James Bell
Coffee, tea and water. That's okay, I guess but cash bar why? Well,
Sarah Wasinger
I mean, it's almost Kenny. So
James Bell
that's what I mean, like, not even sure why you'd mess with anything other beer in Ellis County, truly. But maybe that's just me. I suppose there's there's some wine drinkers out there got some beautiful wineries here in the area?
Sarah Wasinger
We do we do? Absolutely. Well, one thing that we love is working with our area administrators, of course, we could not put this event together without their help. And we appreciate the opportunity to bring our, you know, people who have been in the educational system for quite a while. It's great to, you know, see faces that you're already familiar with and reacquaint yourself with them. But also it's a nice way for us to introduce our new educator. So we work with each of the schools and Ellis County and they provide us with a list of names of people who will be in attendance who are new. And it's just a nice way for the new folks to kind of feel, you know, welcomed into the educational community for Ellis County, but also kind of meet some of their colleagues that they'll be working with throughout the year.
James Bell
Yeah, absolutely. You know, I was kind of surprised I was at an event for for the school. I've got kids in school here in the in the Hayes district and kind of surprised by how many new teachers they had. There was a lot of them there. And that's, I think it's excellent. We're bringing in that young talent. And even my daughter, her teacher last year was brand new out of college local, she'd been here at Hayes I've known her for a while but stepped into the role went through school and and that's awesome that they get to not only do that have those opportunities here, but then you guys putting on an event like this and exactly they get to meet each other and have that interaction outside of the school building, which I think is just so vital for the kind of the I don't know, what's the right word? Good feelings. Yeah. That's not it, but it will goodwill of the school. Well, no, not that either. But
Sarah Wasinger
I don't. Well, we'll keep going.
James Bell
Yeah, exactly. I'll be quiet. Let's talk more about food. Well,
Sarah Wasinger
I want we're gonna talk a little bit about rose garden here in a few minutes. But I did want to share we are doing swag bags again this year. And so those puppies are going to be full of a lot of wonderful merchandise and that our sponsors have provided. And the first 150 People who come that evening will actually get a swag bag. So if you want to make sure you get one of those bags, make sure you come, you know, right around the five o'clock time. And we also have some large cash prizes. And by large, I mean $500.03 of them. So that's a good way to start school year. And then chamber checks and school supplies. Of course, you can't have an education appreciation event without giving away some school supplies. We know our educators spend a lot of their own money to prepare their classrooms, and even get their extra time over this summer to make things right. So, um, hopefully we'll have a few folks who can win some of those goodies and utilize some of their classroom. Absolutely. Now, Kim, I want you to talk a little bit about the photo booth.
Kim Barnes
Oh, thanks, Sarah. Yeah, we have what's called the magic mirror photo booth. It's a five foot tall touch screen, photo booth, you can do digital prints, you can actually print off like a regular photo booth you see in a mall, we are going to have that setup for this particular event. There's lots of props take all kinds of fun pictures.
Sarah Wasinger
So we are going to our sponsors, of course are going to pay for the print. So they can even walk away with a nice photo with their friends that night if they want to.
James Bell
That's so cool. I love that, you know, I've been to a few weddings where they've done that, and they just love it. It's such a neat idea to commemorate the event to remember the event. And I don't know people get in that photo booth and they let loose a little bit slowly to have a little bit of fun. Well,
Sarah Wasinger
one thing I wanted to share with Kim, and just with the listeners at home, we work with Kim throughout the year, whether it be some of our ambassador lunches or a membership lunches, of course, this event, she really does go out of her way with her staff to take excellent care of us. And everything is set up so nice when we get there, um, for our events, and we just want to say thank you for the partnership that we have built together. And I think that might be a good segue to talk about all the different things that you offer at Rose Garden.
Kim Barnes
Well, at the Rose Garden, you know, we're a 14,000 square foot banquet hall, I've got the large banquet room and the smaller room, which is great for your big German weddings and anniversaries. But we also do smaller things, you know, birthday parties meetings, we can accommodate groups of any size, got a large dance floor. And of course, lots of lots of decor items, you know, for all those special events,
Sarah Wasinger
and you even done funeral dinners, I think and you host events throughout the week as well as that right. I think sometimes people forget about those events that happen in the evening during the week,
Kim Barnes
right. And we've even had a lot of options out there. It's just a great space for whatever event you have going on.
Sarah Wasinger
And I think she's even had toy collectors.
James Bell
I was gonna say that's my favorite. The one that sticks out to me is the toy show that's out there. And and from my understanding, they're there. they've outgrown the space because they're doing so well. But I love going down there for the toy show. It's a perfect venue for
Kim Barnes
that. Right. I think we'll have them here one more year. And then they've had to move on to a bigger space, but it's always fun to have them come out.
Sarah Wasinger
Well, Kim, I know that there are a lot of special occasions that happen in the fall. Do you want to talk a little bit maybe about Christmas parties or different things? And are you taking, you know, appointments first scheduling those out in advance.
Kim Barnes
I do have limited spots available for this fall. But there still are a few dates out there if you've got a wedding or a special event coming up. My phone's been ringing in quite a bit trying to get those Christmas parties booked. So give me a call as soon as you can. If you're looking to book a Christmas party, of course we'll have our Thanksgiving Day buffet again this year. We're looking forward to having everyone come out for that as well. And not only do we cater at our place, but we can we can travel and caterer at your place as well.
James Bell
Just out of curiosity cam How far do you go out? Is it just haze or can you go Ellis County
Kim Barnes
we've been the great Ben Ross center, Ross wall Keaney. We've been out to Shiloh vineyard. So usually about an hour is a good distance for us to
James Bell
- So most likely anybody listening if you need a gator rose garden banquet, all they're there for you
will take care of you love it.
Sarah Wasinger
So Kim, before we wrap up, you are on Facebook. So where do people go to pay attention to what you have going on? Um, because I know that you still serve dinners every once in a while on certain evenings throughout the month as well.
Kim Barnes
Right? We'll do takeout meals you can call and order your takeout meal. I do post that on Facebook first and it's Rose Garden event center on the Facebook and or you can always give me a call. We also posted on their size. If you're traveling down the highway, you'll see our sign and we'll post event sets coming up. Very cool.
James Bell
Love it. Love it. Yeah. One of those one of those things, one of those businesses in Hays I think everybody has little connection to everybody's had, you know, been to an event either at the building or had the food catered. And Kim, thanks so much for what you do for the community. Thank you, Sara. We've got we've got just a couple minutes left, we've got to talk calendar because you've got all kinds of cool events coming up.
Sarah Wasinger
We do so today at noon we have our H yp connection lunch, it will be at Thursday's brew pub and grill on their venue side. And Brandon Heinz is going to be our guest speaker. He is the director of the haze Public Library. And this men's lunch is sponsored by Glassman Corporation. And we also have the third Thursday social for the hazing professionals that will be held at the Paisley para wine bar bistro and market on August 18. So Thursday at 5:15pm. We're excited to have our Of course, our chamber chats on Friday at 9am. And we will be with the fhsu athletic auction at the Schmidt bagel indoor training facility. So they have a lot of great items up for grabs. And it'll be a great way to kind of get a sneak peek at those. And then last but not least, our ambassador lunch will be at Rose Garden banquet hall and catering at noon. Want to give a quick plug our deadline for folks to apply for chamber blue of Kansas, that survey window closest this Thursday. A couple days. If you don't participate in that now, you won't be eligible to join the plan at least starting off right away. We have over 23,000 people who are in the pool right now. And that represents over 1500 Different businesses across the state of Kansas. Wow, that's awesome.
James Bell
Huge, but no commitment right now signing up just kind of gets you the information. And it's
Sarah Wasinger
just a business employer surveys so it's a very quick process. Um, so if you're even just curious to see what the prices will come back as now's the time to get that survey taken and that is available on our website as chamber.com as chamber.com
On this episode of the Post Podcast Thomas More Prep-Marian's Kim Stoecklein and Joe Roth Share details of the upcoming Back 2 School Bash.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Hays Catholic schools we'll be kicking off their year with a Back to School Bash from the Development Office Kim Stoecklein along with Joe Roth stopped by to share some of the details now on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Joe Roth
The Back to School Bash presented by Astra bank and five was started about three years ago and it's just our way to celebrate the beginning of a new school year and help the faculty staff students and parents get it Scott excited for the upcoming school year. There's going to be activities for all ages, including a hot dog feed that's presented by Astra bank laser tag presented by Hermann physical therapy, there's going to be multiple bouncy houses for all ages, but sponsored by Jeff Pinkney, CPA and Danny Dinkle and Associates. There's a giant rock climbing wall that's presented by Diamond Jewelers and DW home improvement. the dunk tank once again is back and that is sponsored by the TMP StuCo. And the first 200 People at the Back to School Bash are going to receive a free snow cone, courtesy of sunrise agribusiness.
James Bell
Nice so many good community sponsors. You know this one of the things I love about the Catholic schools here in Hays is it's not you know, it's inclusive. It's everybody in and is supported. And I think even the folks over USD 49 help support it. And I love to hear that there's so many community sponsors helping you out to get the school year started off right down there. I love that. So again, I don't know if you want to share some of the details when when is this event.
Kim Stoecklein
It's coming this Friday, August 19. And we're starting it off at 545 Father Andy hammock, he is actually coming out and going to do a great blessing for our sports teams and for the grotto just started out and then we're actually ending it at 9pm with a phone dance party. So that's new to the bash this year. We have a big foam machine coming. So we're super excited about the dance party. Yeah, and it's dark. So it's gonna be on the phone goes in the dark glows in the dark, and the people will have glow sticks for everybody. So I'm hoping it'll be a lot of fun.
James Bell
It's gonna make some good pictures. I bet I
Kim Stoecklein
so yeah, I hope it'll be dark enough. And everybody will glow. So that's yeah, we're looking forward to that for sure. We still are looking for volunteers. So if anybody wants to get involved, please contact our office at anytime. And you get a free T shirt from God logo. So that's exciting.
James Bell
That's why I volunteer for things. Yeah. Volunteer, you get the t shirt. But that's very cool. If people are interested in volunteering, what's the easiest way for them to get a hold you guys?
Kim Stoecklein
They can call the advancement office and just ask for camera tmp.
James Bell
Okay, easy enough. Yeah, very cool. And then, you know, again, you know, like, with the Catholic schools, I say this and I already said this, but it's not inclusive. Correct? Yeah. Or it's all inclusive. Yes, everybody,
Kim Stoecklein
everyone to come enjoy this event. You know, it's free, thanks to our amazing sponsors and our support. So we don't want just our schools, we want everybody to come enjoy this, this great event. We're having some new bouncy houses coming from a different company this year, so it's not gonna be the same bouncy houses that you see all over. So we're super excited. Yeah. Very cool.
James Bell
Kids love those bouncy houses. Yeah, I drive by and it'll be like a birthday party. my four year old. He's always in the car. And he's like, pull over and I'm like, no, man that's on our bouncy house. So it's nice private party. Sure. But yeah, it's gonna be a lot of fun having those kiddos there? Yes. Um, and maybe for the high school kids high school kids can can they do bouncy houses, there's that tool? Well, we've
Kim Stoecklein
tried to kind of cater to all ages. So that's where the rock climbing wall comes in. I mean, this thing is huge. And they bring it in on a truck. So we're super, super excited about that. There'll be some Foursquare volleyball setup for them. So we try to have activities for all ages. So it's not just the little kids. So yeah, we're super excited.
James Bell
Very cool. Very cool. Well, you know, as this kicks off the year it was the school year started yet or are you guys going to class next? I don't really I don't remember the dates. I know USD 49. Starting soon, but I don't even know when and that's embarrassing to have.
Kim Stoecklein
So our Holy Family, the little kids, they started this morning, they have a half day today. We have some first students, our new student orientation for our high school today and then tomorrow will be their first official day with everybody in the school. So it's an exciting time. We love when the students come back and the faculty come back. It's just Yeah, it's a really great time. We're excited to start it off with a big bash.
James Bell
Absolutely. Love it. Love it again. This is coming up this Friday. 545 All right, phone dance party kicking it
Kim Stoecklein
off. prayer service kicking off we can do the phone dance party till the end because it's got to glow.
James Bell
Well, that's fair enough. Yeah. Alrighty, guys, well, anything else the public needs to know or that we want to talk about before we go.
Kim Stoecklein
I think that's it. We just want to thank all our sponsors. And again, the support from the community has been amazing. We couldn't do this without you. So thank you so much to everyone who's helped me
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University's newest Chief of Police Terrance Pierce shares his story and how he landed in Hays, along with Hays Chief of Police Don Scheibler and Chief Communication Officer Scott Cason.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares details about the upcoming Think Like an Entrepreneur series.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University Alumni Association engagement specialist Carolyn Tatro and Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director Melissa Dixon share information about the Community Cruise.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The Fort Hays State University Alumni Association recently partnered with the Hays Convention and Visitor's Bureau for a community cruise on campus from the CVB Melissa Dixon, as well as from the Alumni Association, Carolyn Tatro joins us to talk about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Carolyn Tatro
We had an outstanding opportunity just a few weeks ago to bring together community leaders and community members on to the Fort Hays State campus. So we partnered with the Convention Visitors Bureau with the chamber and grow Hayes for the first community cruise and think it was maybe three years right, Melissa, is I sound right? Correct. Yeah. So it was a it was yeah, it was a great opportunity. We probably had I mean, we had a couple dozen, there were a lot of people
Melissa Dixon
think, yes, this event started, way before I worked for the city as an opportunity to educate our newly elected officials on what our organizations are, what they do, how we're funded, and what our big projects are. And, you know, after COVID, we had to not get on a bus together and do that. So we would start out with a presentation of, you know, I'm the CVB. I'm funded by transient guests tax, and here's my mission. And each organization would go through that and just let those officials know what they do. And then we would all jump on a bus together, and we would drive around town and say, What's going on over here? What's that empty lot? What are your plans for this? And we usually would have somebody on that bus ticket, answer the question. And we would have a lunch at the Welcome Center, and then COVID. And so we hadn't done it in in years.
Carolyn Tatro
But I think it was awesome having them on campus. There were a lot of familiar faces that I knew that I had recognized, but a lot of people that I got to meet and really kind of here. You know, a lot of people had not been on campus in a while. And so it was definitely a different event than what kind of community cruises had taken place before.
Melissa Dixon
Absolutely. There's so many new buildings on campus in the past few years that I know, I know, our city department heads hadn't been in. So the guest list kind of looks like school board members, city department heads, county department heads. And that includes Police Department educators. So everybody got together and got some fantastic personal tours of the three newest buildings on campus. So we went to the officially wills Center for Student Success, which is gorgeous, so many little spaces to meet and engage. And then the new art building, and then the new Center for Applied Technology.
Carolyn Tatro
Yep, Applied Technology. Yes, got it.
James Bell
Nothing greatest, really, we'll need to get to get a cool name for that building.
Carolyn Tatro
It's a cool building, though it is a cool building. They're
James Bell
all they're all great. And what I love about this, and what I think probably everybody took away from this, correct me if I'm wrong, but a lot of the ways that we kind of teach our students especially that college age, are shifting, it's a little different. And it's more community spaces and collaborative rooms and things like that, that especially that fishery will center really helps, you know, happen.
Carolyn Tatro
Yeah, so much more collaboration, so much more hands on. And it really was important to us to make sure that our community was able to see that not just the facilities themselves, but what's going on in some of those facilities. And so I think for us, it was just really important because we, you know, we want everybody to feel welcome on our campus, not just students and faculty and staff. But you know, people who and first of all, I cannot tell you how many alums were in this group, what I asked at the very beginning, hands shot up all over the room. I mean, people were cool. Yeah, it was great. There were 4k State alums all over the place. And a lot of them really had not been back to campus in a while. And so being able to connect them back to the spaces, allowing them to just sort of explore what their campus looks like now. And we want everybody to be able to feel welcome on our campus so that they can come see all the really special things that we're doing.
Melissa Dixon
And now those people will be more comfortable. They'll say, Oh, I know where this is. And I know where I can park Exactly. And I know who to talk to. And what I love is sometimes you'll walk into space, and have an idea or an opportunity and say what if we work together on something like this? Because with my job, people call us all the time looking for meeting spaces. And when I walked into the officially Will's Senator, I said, Look at all these meetings. What if we could work together and so I think that's the ultimate goal is to find opportunities that we might not have thought of, for city and university county to work together.
James Bell
But there are really strong connections already in place between the university and I think some of the events and things that I've been involved with and one of the first calls that I always hear is well, let's See if we can get some students down here. Because they are a great resource workwise ideal wise, and engaging them in the community then helps keep them here.
Melissa Dixon
Yes, absolutely, thank you know, I
Carolyn Tatro
get on the soapbox all the time, when I was a student, I wish that I had taken more advantage of the things that this community offers. And I tell people now do not wait until it's too late. Whether or not you plan to stay in Hays, you will want to be engaged with this community, because we want you to feel like you're part of it. And I know how many people stay in Hays because of those community connections. And so it just really benefits everybody to have this relationship. And so this, I mean, and the city of Hayes gives back in so many different ways, you know, whether it's support or student scholarships, you know, there's so many different ways that we can really just build this relationship. And it's so important to the university as well. And, you know, it's, it's a very tight knit community, and everybody, you know, everybody knows everybody sometimes. But we're really just, you know, everything is kind of intertwined. Everything is interconnected. And so it's just important for us to be able to do things like this.
Melissa Dixon
And our goals are so similar. We all want Hayes to be the best it can be. We want people, alumni, students, employees, to fall in love with Hayes and stay here forever. So I feel like in the CVB, yes, our mission is to take care of visitors and market hates to visitors. But our long game is that those visitors will decide to live here. And so I feel like that's something that we work on together every day.
James Bell
Yeah, and I gotta believe, too, that, you know, the university helps. And especially, although the Alumni Association events and activities help bring those visitors to Hayes, and maybe even not alumni, but somebody's curious about the school and they say, Hey, I saw this, these new nice, neat buildings down on campus. And maybe you should check this out when they're talking to their youth, which then helps recruit for the university as well.
Melissa Dixon
Absolutely. That relationship is so important. With that, we have a committee, yeah, dedicated to it. It's called the town and gown committee. So town is the city gown is like what you wear when you graduate. And we're, we're a member of the International Town and Gown Association, because there's so many college towns that have the same challenges. And every year, we go to a conference, and we get together and hear how everybody else is, is solving their problems and, and we take notes on their things that are working. And we've actually presented on some projects there before. It's a great organization.
James Bell
Very cool. Very cool. You know, I wonder if you want to talk a little bit about, you know, after these events, what happens next, you know, what are we gonna do you get to build all that goodwill? And that, you know, like, Oh, that's cool. That's neat. But then what?
Carolyn Tatro
No, well, I laugh because there's just, there's so many different opportunities. Um, you know, we bring our graduates to the community, they, you know, they might find jobs around here, there's lots of different ways that they can benefit afterward. And then they bring those there kind of stories back to the university to help the current students and the other alums to kind of understand, like, here's where I have come full circle. So and I know, throughout the year, you know, there's lots of other opportunities to do this as well and other opportunities, not just for, you know, our elected officials like what we were doing for this community cruise, but my first of many pitches to come for homecoming, you know, it's an opportunity for anybody to be part of what we're doing on campus. We open it up to the entire community, people come from all over the place to see Oktoberfest and homecoming. And we have a lot of different ways for people to get involved for that entire weekend. So absolutely lots of ways that we can do this.
James Bell
Yeah, you mentioned homecoming, and Oktoberfest is one of those things. I think they're so intertwined that most people don't realize they are separate activities and events, you know, different people are planning different things, but it all happens kind of at the same time and together and works perfectly. Oh, always has it as long as I've been here. Don't want to curse it this year, but
Carolyn Tatro
Well, I will. Yeah, both both. People who have their hand in both big events really do a great job of putting it together.
Melissa Dixon
And this year is actually the 50th October so I think everything's going to be bigger and better. There's plans for they're going to try to break the world record for the world's largest beer rock. So don't miss that.
James Bell
You know, what's bummer about that? Cuz I had to talk to some of the organizers. All the spaces to eat the beer rock are full. They're done. Like I want to eat the beer rock I don't want to see it I mean seeing some school but it tastes good. Well, I'm sure it's gonna taste good. But anyway, we got about a minute left guys last thoughts or anything else we want to hit on? Before we go?
Melissa Dixon
I'll say something we're working on right now back to school picnic, which is They're really big town and gown collaboration effort where students are invited to come out to the quad and get to know student organizations that they can be involved in, and local businesses come out to meet them. And CVB is really excited to actually get the the ability to sponsor the meal this year. So we're excited to get down there and see their students too.
Carolyn Tatro
That's great. Yeah, one of the first opportunities for students to see the community is to see all the opportunities during the back to school picnic, it's one of my favorite events of the year, so I'll for sure be there. And then of course, like I said, we've got homecoming coming up. I'll be talking a little bit about this. You're in the next a lot about this in the next few months, but just some some more really great ways for people to come check out what's going on both in at Fort Hays State and pretty much looking forward to all of that.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with radio show host Mike Cooper.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Lisa Karlin Fort Hays State University career and internships advisor shares information about an upcoming career fair.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares insights from recent tours of Ellis County's largest employers.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Few of the largest enterprises in Ellis County have a significant impact on the area economy. Grow Hays, Executive Director Doug Williams stops by to share some of those insights on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Fort Hays State is the crown jewel of western Kansas, we got to tour the three new buildings to three, three newest buildings on campus. I was just blown away by what all they have down there, and how nice and just effective and what a wonderful resource those buildings are. To the art department, the technology department and the Center for Student Success and just amazing buildings. You just go in and you don't feel like you're in hate, you know, you feel like gosh, I shouldn't be in a metropolitan area, or huge university someplace, but it's right here and it's impressive. Yeah,
James Bell
yeah, I really like about all of the construction they've done because I was I was on campus there when they started with the with Hammond Hall, and kind of that whole process. I love that the new buildings the the the consensus, the goal is to make them look like they're part of the old campus. You know, there's an aesthetic there that I just I can't think of another college and I've ever been on to that really does that.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well they've done a terrific job of maintaining the limestone construction, you know, the same building materials and and the look and feel with with some modernization. And of course, the art area, they use the old power plant and being a lifer here in Hayes. I remember that powerplant, my granddad used to work there. And I used to go down there when I was a kid, and walk through there with him. And that was longer ago than I'd like to think. But they, they were able to restore that building, at least the exterior structure and things keep the bill brick and that kind of thing is really cool how they did that. So it they have done an amazing job. And we can be very proud of, of what we have there. And what a wonderful asset it is to western Kansas and to Ellis County in particular, to have that type of an institution there. It's it's just tremendous.
James Bell
Absolutely. You know, I love then it's and I know, it's not a haze, exclusive thing, but there seems to be just such an undercurrent here of people wanting to reutilize those historic structures, those old buildings and I love that we do that in Fort Hays is done that I think is in modern history, at least has absolutely much as they can.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
They have, you know, as I said, the old power plant they use for that the library's the next project with the grant that they recently received a $17 million grant, I believe it was, and they're going to be renovating the library, but I don't think they're going to be changing a whole lot on the exterior. I say that they probably aren't going to do a fair amount to it, but but they're going to maintain the spot they're going to maintain some of the the structure and things and so they'll continue that look and feel and and you know, really the only other a couple buildings on campus that aren't of the limestone, I think domanick Hall is, is maybe non limestone and things but I tell people this all the time I would I would compare our campus to any other anywhere really, in terms of the look and quality of a campus is is just really second to none. And I mean even big schools and, and division one schools and it's just an amazing place.
James Bell
Absolutely. And I love talking for hates, everybody knows I went for Hayes and big champion of everything they do down there. Well, I
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
went there to just not the whole ride. I got sidetracked along the way college algebra. As I told the group the other day, college algebra ended my college career. And however I told them in the Center for Student Success, they have an area for tutoring, and they bring in tutors. And it's a great spot where kids can come in and get the help they need. I'm sure something like that was probably available when I was there, but I didn't find it. And if I were to go back, I might have gotten through college algebra and continued my college career path. But that didn't happen. So kids have a much better opportunity today to utilize those resources.
James Bell
Absolutely. Hey, and I'll share this with you Doug. If you keep it between you and me. College Algebra. I took it six times six before I finally got
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
through sixth time's the charm.
James Bell
Everybody knows to I was in college forever. I was there for dang decade. It was amazing. Probably why I love it so much. Why
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
ever leave? Yeah, exactly.
James Bell
But, you know, four days, you know, and that's it. That's a showcase piece. And it's easy to point to that but you had some opportunity here in the last week to go through some of the large employers here in Hays and, and really kind of see what they do as well, right? We did
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
yesterday, Scott, the plant manager at EnerSys was good enough to give us a tour of intercepts and I had never been in there. That's one of the really cool things about this job I have is that I get to go in some places that I've never been. You know, I mentioned I've lived here all my life. I remember very well when it was traveling all and you know it was our Our largest employer at that point in time, but I was never in the physical plant. I've been in the front offices. So yesterday, we got to take a tour of the entire place. And wow, it's it's an impressive place as well in a different kind of way. Because it's hardcore manufacturing going on in there, you know, plant floor and Fire, fire deals, melting lead, and pouring lead into forms and then turning it into batteries, ultimately, big batteries and things. But what an impressive place and just shows we've got a lot going on here. I've had tours of brands, I've had tours of Glassman, we have some really impressive has. We had some really impressive businesses here that are doing some amazing things right under our noses. And I don't think we realize it sometimes just how impressive these things are.
James Bell
Yeah, absolutely. I was even I had a conversation with my wife not too long ago. And matter of fact, we were talking to nurses, we knew they make batteries, but like what they actually do, we don't know. And it is it's so easy to overlook those those major employers Hays med is another one here in Ellis County that really helped drive our economy, but they're kind of you know, you don't think about a lot of them frequently, maybe his med is a bad example. Because you do. Most people out there though
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
maybe higher profile in the community. But you know, in our system, we talked about this yesterday, they're kind of on the edge of town. And so you drive by that building all the time, but you don't really think about what goes on in there unless you have some reason to either know, somebody that works there or having worked there before. But it's an impressive operation. And they, they produce some amazing products to get used all over the world. I mean, these batteries, these are not your car batteries. These are industrial type batteries that are used for backups of telecom systems and computer data centers and that type of thing. Even utility companies use them nuclear power plants use them for their backup, because they want to have backup power if they have to shut down the plant for some reason or another. So these products are used everywhere. And they're made some I mean, they have multiple plants but least these are made right here in Hays America.
James Bell
I love that are we're literally, you know, building the things that are driving the world.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, at some level we are, you know, I know tronics makes parts for the the auto industry and for General Motors and the big car manufacturers and cross Of course, I'm not sure exactly what all they make products for, but their products are used all over I know. And RANS my gosh, he's, he's got airplanes all over the world. And he's been at it a long time out there, Randy and his crew and they do a terrific job as well. So pretty special stuff goes on here.
James Bell
Yeah. You know, from a truly economic standpoint, I wonder, you know, how much of our economy is driven by those large employers? And I don't know where you draw the line on large. But, you know, those are the ones who are most talking about
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
the end. You're right. The definition of large is always interesting. When I was back into computer business and working with IBM, they called small businesses, anything under 1000 employees. Those were small businesses. Well, they're not small to us. But those employers are critically important to our local economy, and they contribute a lot. You know, Fort Hays, state Hays med EnerSys has Glassman RANS, all of those cross, they all contribute a lot of dollars in employment to our community. Unfortunately, they're all facing the same problem right now is finding people. That's that's the real challenge. The biggest challenge that they face, you know, I'm talking with the Scott at an intercessor. He also talked about supply chain issues, you know, they have been challenged with supply chain issues and trying to get products and, and it's a process. So when you lose one piece of the chain of manufacturing something, it gums up the whole work. So it is some challenges, some challenges, but I think employer employees are their biggest challenge to find good qualified employees.
James Bell
You know, and that's something we talk about quite a bit. And one of the driving factors on that is housing here in the area. And from what I understand there was a reason how recent housing study done by the city of Hayes, I wonder if you want to share some of the insights from that? Well,
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
there was the city page recently completed a housing study. The document Institute did a housing study forum and in a company called rd G did a supplemental study. And it showed us basically kind of what we already know that we have a shortage that we have under built for quite some time. And it's put us in the hole in terms of available housing and thus our ability to recruit the workforce is challenging, because we don't have any place for him to live, whether it be a very white collar person that's looking at our community health care provider or a college professor, school team. Teacher, or somebody that's got a skilled laborer that's looking to go to work for one of these manufacturers that we're talking about, they have to live someplace. And we have not built enough homes over the last 10 years to meet the need. And then if we want to take advantage of this urban migration that's taking place over the next five to 10 years, we're gonna have to really ramp it up. So we have some real challenges ahead of us if we expect to continue to have any growth and do better than we have done.
James Bell
On that same note, though, there are some positive actions going on here in Ellis County that are designed to alleviate some of those shortages, right?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, we're obviously the heart of America development out and Tallgrass is 36 homes that will be added to the market. The Ellis Estates is adding 42 units to the market out there. And there's other projects that are in at least a conceptual stage. So absolutely, we're looking at solutions and trying to get new housing going. We couldn't have picked a worse time to try and build things. Because the construction industry has labor shortages as well, costs are higher than they've ever been escalating interest rates mean, we could talk all day about the challenges really doesn't matter. We've got to figure out solutions, because we've got to provide housing for people that might want to move into this area. So we're just going to have to do
James Bell
- You know, as we heard earlier from again, from the city leaders here on our City Commission recap on the show. There's another IRH ID that they approved to hear. But I guess yesterday
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
last night, yes, I didn't mention that in terms of stuff under construction. But Mike Graham is going to build 33 or 36 units at the corner of fourth and fort. That will add obviously 36 units, by my estimation, we're probably four to 500 units short, in our current housing supply. I say that because our vacancy rate is virtually non existent right now. And, you know, we've got about 9000 units in our community, a healthy vacancy rate would be five or more. So if you do the math, you come up with, you know, anywhere from three to 500 units that we could use. And it also would help other landlords be a little bit more motivated to upgrade what they have. Because there's no motivation to fix things, or to upgrade properties, or even to possibly knock down properties and put something new up, so long as you have a rental market where everything rents. And so if we can add properties to the market, we'll see some of that kind of thing take place. And that's a good thing that's healthy for a community to to go through that process. It's not healthy, to not have places for people to live when people want to move here. That's not a good situation. We need to resolve that.
James Bell
You know, we've talked about this so much. But I wonder if you want to put kind of a timeline on it. And I know that we we both frequently say this, it never moves as fast as you want. But I'm wondering at what point do you see that here in Ellis County, we might get past that kind of crisis point in the housing and move into that place where we're in a, at least a stable and positive looking outcome.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
I think even if all the projects we have on the board would occur, we're still two or three years away from getting to the point where we have adequate inventory maybe longer simply because it takes to a couple of years to take a project from concept to reality or longer to get things built. So we're still two or three years away from having any hope of resolving some housing issues. So it's going to be an ongoing thing for quite some time. Oh, we're gonna get there. We absolutely are.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Fire Department Deputy Chief Shane Preston stops by to share safety tips for the school year.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Keeping children safe as they go back to school this August is up to the entire community his Fire Department Deputy Chief Shane Preston stops by to share some safety tips on this episode of the post podcast
Shane Preston
are some parents are excited for school to start back up just in a matter of time of their hair and get back to the activities maybe it'll slow down a little bit. But, you know, school is coming just right around the corner. So some of the things we want to kind of talk about today some school stuff remember, you know, the school zones and you know, with increased traffic in those areas, obey the traffic, flashing signals and, and speed limits in those areas. And in those areas, just remember the kids are gonna be walking, riding their bikes or skateboards or, you know, whatever it may be, may not always be in the car with the parents. And just make sure you plan ahead all that extra time. You know, plan for it to be crazy. I know it is and I'm not a big fan of doing the whole drop off and pickup thing myself but if I can do it everybody else can do so just remember when you are picking up your child or dropping them off parking in the emergency vehicle areas Please do not do that that is that is for us if there is an issue there usually there'll be a sign there that says you know no parking emergency vehicles or it'll be a curb will be painted red in that area. So you know, there are designated pickup pickup drop off areas at the schools. But we also have kind of our own little spot where you know, if something bad did happen, we have a place to go.
James Bell
Yeah, and you might think well I'm only going to be there for a minute but in an emergency holy smokes that minute might be life and death for somebody and you don't want to be the one that's in
Shane Preston
the way and then you know everybody else trying to get out of the you know out of the way it just if you if you've ever done this school pickup stuff you know the traffic is kind of insane it's something you know everybody wants to get going and everything and then you throw an emergency in there and it just you know raises the stress levels up a little bit more and then people are trying to you know, get their kid but yeah, get out of the way and it's it it gets a little cumbersome. So just park where you should Yes. Remember we have crossing guards signals remember there's crossing guards that that do that the just like over here to a Laughlin we do have crossing guards there and and make sure you allow enough time you see them stop ahead you know let's get his kids moving so phones in the school zones you know if you don't need to be on it don't and if you do you know there's so many options now going hands free with your cell phone and you know things like that use those options if you need to be on it you know in the vehicle just good general practice to do that.
James Bell
Yeah, I think I'd heard and correct me if I'm wrong I mean we may know may not but someone somewhere I'd seen that distracted driving so cell phone usage is now the number one killer or the number one cause of traffic acts fatal traffic accidents over drunk driving.
Shane Preston
I don't I haven't seen that but it couldn't be wrong no I think I think it's right up there with it if it's not you know if it hasn't been taken over that that stat yet but you know the whole texting and driving and it's just even you know if you're talking on and you got it up to your you know your ear you're you're involved in the conversation and you're just going through the motions of driving instead of you know I need to be driving and be defensive and looking for things and all that so it really does take take take you away from where you need to be when you're driving
James Bell
and when you got little kiddos running around I mean it's they just pop up out and they do I ended up my my daughter almost got hit coming out school not not in haste This was back in when our previous location but thank goodness that driver was paying attention because she caught it like, right just this kid was popping under our wheels. I didn't know what she was doing. But she immediately took her back to our house and said you guys should have a talk with your daughter. And we did we did but you know had she been on a cell phone or been distracted at all it may have been a very different
Shane Preston
and also remember to we have young teenage drivers out there for high school who are going to be you know now driving, talk with them. If you have a teenager in the home, you know just work with them and you know make sure hey put the Phone down when you're driving, it's not that important. If it's not important and pull over Park, then use the phone you don't, you know, it's one of those. Because, you know, as a young driver, you don't want to be involved in an accident and might hurt another small child too. So but anyway, school buses. Now remember, you know, the school bus has its flashing lights on and the stop signs out. That means traffic stops both sides, both
James Bell
sides. Oh, so that's something that I learned recently, and probably you that taught me this. The segment's but yeah, both ways, you can't just stop if you're behind it, it should be a complete stop. That's
Shane Preston
correct. And, and the reason is, is because when the kids get off, they get out the passenger side of the of the bus, now they may need to go to cross the street. Well, that stop sign the flashing lights provides basically, you know, a school crossing guard type thing provides a safe zone for them to be able to get off the bus and go, you know, walk around in front of the bus and go across the street and get on the sidewalk and meet their parents or go home from there. Now, a lot of times, the kids just get off the bus, and they just go they don't pay attention to the, you know, the cars, traffic, they get snacks, a TV, video game, they want to go play or you know, whatever it may be. And so yeah, just be aware of that. And we do have, you know, not just school buses out in the rural communities, but we have school buses here in town in Hays that do drop offs, pickups and drop offs. So just remember, if you do have a school bus, stop in your area, make sure you plan around that to know where those are at. But teach the kid teacher if you have a kid that does ride the school bus teach him to play it safe. Stay five steps away from the curb. Always wait until the bus comes to complete stop and the bus driver signals for you to board the bus. So, you know, you know there's, the kids want to hurry up, jump on well, you know, the driver doesn't even have the door open and they're trying to get on you know, so wait wait for the vehicle to come to complete stop. And then face forward, you know, after finding the seat sit in your seat, you know, when I was in school, the school buses did not have seat belts. So you know, we were just we just wrote along. But we still had the same rules you sit down you face for you know you don't jump up over the seat to talk to your friend that's behind you or anything like that. So and then when exiting the bus, wait till it stops. Make sure you look in make sure you talk to your child about looking both ways across the street even though the bus may have its lights on the stop sign out and there may be some a drivers that stopped each year we do have an incident with a driver not yielding to the stop sign of a school bus. And you know, sometimes people get hurt and sometimes they don't. But let's just be aware of that and, and help help everybody be safe. And just reminder, the kids to be courteous to this to the bus driver and listen to their directions and and because the drivers there, they just want to we want to make sure the kids get home safely get to school safely. So that's that's their big push there. And lastly, I know we usually talk about it every time but we still have our smoke detector program. So if you do have any questions about a smoke detector or even a carbon monoxide detector, let us know and we will assist you in any way we can.
James Bell
Very good. Well, all righty, Shane, any other last thoughts or anything you want to touch on before we go? No, I
Shane Preston
just want to say it's a beautiful day out. I know it's a little cloudy or foggy but the temperature is great.
James Bell
It looks like 70 degrees, the little chart saying here and yeah,
Shane Preston
usually that's around you know, like two o'clock in the morning. 830 in the morning so everybody's going to enjoy the nice little weather we have here.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Cottonwood Extension District agent Stacy Campbell shares updates from the district.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
We plot test results from the Cottonwood Extension District have been released agent Stacy Campbell stops by to share with us the details on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Stacy Campbell
Monique Koerner just started yesterday as our new family community wellness agent here in haste. And she just started yesterday. So yeah, you know, you want to invite people to swing in and meet her or give her a call. But yeah, Monique Kerner is our new family community wellness agents that started just yesterday here in the Hayes office for the cottonwood district. And then there's, you know, a search on for two more agents for four H Youth Development agent and horticulture agents. So stay tuned.
James Bell
Very cool. Very cool. Yeah. When she gets settled in you tell her to swing on by. Okay. We'll do Yeah, we could still hit it. Oh, good. Great, great. We get some important things we're gonna talk about today. You, we just had the harvest got over. And then the fair, you had some results from the wheat, right?
Stacy Campbell
Yeah, yeah, we cut our you know, little little, I can say little, our wheat demonstration test plot that was south and west of town. And we've got those results up on our website. So if you just go to triple w.cottonwood.ksu.edu, click onto the crops and livestock tab, there's kind of some tabs over to the left, if you click onto that. And then under hot topics, I believe is where that's at. And that's a lot to remember. So one of the things I just kind of tell people anymore, if I'm if you just type in Cottonwood extension, and put comma KSU should be able to get our website to pull up and then just click on to the crops and livestock section. And you'll see should see the local wheat demonstration plot results there and also have some other decision aid tools there. There's a publication that extension, you know, updates annually, puts quite a bit of time and effort into it. Called they renamed it now. But in the past, it's been called the wheat variety, disease and insect publication and I forget what they renamed it. But that's that's useful to look at different ratings of wheat varieties for disease resistance, insect resistance. So that's always been updated, it's on there on the website as well. And then one other kind of cool tool that is out there that actually Colorado State University has, and I've got the link to it under the hot topics on the website is a decision tool to where you can do head to head comparisons of two different varieties of wheat. You can look at different locations. And and they basically have compiled all of the different Experiment Station results of wheat variety plots in the Great Plains that includes Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, Colorado, they've got all that data in there. And then they've got just a real simple decision tool, or like I say, you can do a head to head comparison of two different varieties and see which one, you know and it'll say, like variety X, you know, out yield a variety Why 55% of the time in 12 different trials. So it's a pretty cool little tool put out by Colorado State University. And the link is on the website there to look at that. And then you know, of course, we're We're hot and we're dry. We're probably in a drought. So was talking to our veterinarian, one of our veterinarians last week at the fair and he said yeah, cool cows are coming into the sale barn. So you know, guys are getting rid of some some cows, probably going to be some early weaning. And then I would encourage guys to also do preg checking, you know, early when they take them off of pasture here in the fall and get rid of those opens. And then one other thing just to throw out there. If they when they do cut their hay and I know the hay is not growing a lot because of the drought, but if they do swath and put it down, the tendency is to put that cutting bar pretty low two inches off the ground give or take a little bit, or nitrates accumulate in that lower stem of the plant. Because of stress and drought stress is often how we get nitrates. So if you can raise that cutter cutting bar up from say two inches to six inches that can really help Keith harmony, the range scientist at the experiment station one year and drop in a dry year went out there and did some hand clipping of you know, sorghum Sudan and and He clipped at two inches versus six inches. And I believe I'm just kind of going from memory that there was almost a 50% reduction in nitrates from two to six inches cutting height. So that's that's an impact. It's pretty significant. So and you know, this year, I think he's going to be short. So every bits going to count. So I know your tendency is to lower that to keep that cutting bar low. You're gonna pick up probably not pick up that much more tonnage, if you raise it up, you know, two to four inches and could sure reduce the amount of nitrates significantly.
James Bell
You know, and for us lay people that are out in the fields. Like what what benefit does that give you know long term I know we hear about nitrates quite a bit especially in water supplies and then right your drainage ponds, things like that.
Stacy Campbell
So high nitrates and forages can can actually kill lactating cattle. So it just just causes kind of a, it basically, gosh, hadn't thought about this for a while, but it kind of reduces the amount of of oxygen in the blood. So it can kill your lactating cows, if it doesn't kill them, sometimes it'll cause them to abort. So just trying to reduce those nitrates in our, in our feed is is very important. And like I say, nitrates accumulate in the lower part in the stem of plants, when there's a stress and oftentimes in our part of the world, it's because of drought stress, they're just the plants just really kind of shutting down if you will, and it's not really metabolized and what nitrates and has an in pushing them up for growth because there's not enough moisture there. It's hot, it's dry, they're just trying to survive. So they just kind of in a matter of speaking almost, you know, kind of kick into a hibernation mode if you will, and they're just not metabolizing those nitrates and utilizing them and so they're accumulating in that lower stem. So anything we can do to raise that cutting height on those drought stress plants can help reduce those those nitrates, you know, and, and cause cause fewer headaches down the road. I mean, you know, you lose a cow or two because of that that can pretty much you know, definitely dips into the profit or maybe wipes out any potential profit there was for the year. Thanks. Yeah, yeah, so and then one other little kicker our always mentioned soil sampling, you know, before you plant your next wheat crop, it'd be beneficial to go out and take a soil sample we sampled where we're going to put our wheat plant back in again this year and need quite a bit of nitrogen you know, we've we were able to fortunately have some good yields this year again. And so wheat definitely uses nitrogen. It's a it's a user a consumer of nitrogen. So if you've had some good yields, probably be beneficial to go out there and take two foot if you can get down there, profile soil sample for your nitrogen and see how much you're gonna need for the next for the next crop, whether it be wheat or grain sorghum, if it's grain sorghum, you can wait till you know next spring to sample for that. I guess that's the other thing is whatever its buys to sample kind of consistently at the same time of year. So for wheat, you know, you may be tight pulling samples in August 1 part of September, and then for your summer crops, maybe sample those in the in the spring. You kind of do that consistently. When you do take samples, you know the same time of year for those particular props. It's advisable
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Ellis County Emergency Manager Lyle Pantle shares information about an upcoming training exercise in Hays.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger, shares details of the 2022 Community Cruise.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Area officials will tour Fort Hays State University campus this week from the Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger stops by to share the details on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Sarah Wasinger
So for many people, they may not know what the community cruises and we're calling this one community cruise for today's edition, because we're doing it a little bit different format. So the community Cruise is usually when the downtown Hays Development Corporation grow haze, the haze Convention and Visitor's Bureau and the chamber and haze, of course, get together to take our elected officials and community leaders across town. And we show them all the different projects and things going on. Because there's been so much growth and development on the Fort Hays State University campus over the past several years, we thought how cool would it be to kind of re think that I did just a little bit this year. So we're inviting those folks onto campus today. And we'll have some presentations from our partnering agency directors that I just named, and talk about what things are going on within our organizations and some of the projects we've been working on. And then we'll also give folks an opportunity to just kind of visit with one another but such a neat event.
James Bell
Yeah, I love that. You know, and we were kind of joking. Some of us here in the office the other day about about these events, because it's kind of it seems like on the surface, you know, Hayes's let's be real. It's not the smallest of towns, but it's a small town. And like, what else could there be deceived? But then you think about and you actually get in on these things, and you get driving around. And absolutely, there's so much going on that you don't even recognize and you're absolutely right for his campus, holy smokes, talk about some work that they've done. It's like that's like a whole new campus from when I went
Sarah Wasinger
there. I know, I don't barely recognize that myself anymore. I'm like, this would have been really cool when I was going to school. So. But I'm so excited that our students in our community and those who come to visit us from out of state, really have such a wonderful campus to enjoy. So they do a great job, just highlighting everything. And Jason Willoughby has been wonderful to work with. And a big shout out to Melissa Dixon. She's kind of taken the reins for organizing this year's cruise with him. Lunch will be provided by the Fort Hays State University Foundation, so people will be treated to that. It is kind of an invitation event. So we do have I believe media invited as well to cover that. So I'm not sure if there will be a Post story about that. I do believe there will be well, there'll be a guy named James Bell.
James Bell
No, it's not me. I'm going to be here. I wish I could. I love going to those things. But you guys, you planned it too early. So next year, keep that in mind. early afternoon works better for me. Okay. Duly noted. That's the most important thing. It's can James go, can James. No. But there will be a haze poster story up there. Christina Janie, who's doing news for us this morning here on the eagle morning show. I'm sure we'll be getting that up maybe tomorrow or Thursday. So it'd be great to see
Sarah Wasinger
Perfect. Well, we look forward to seeing her. One thing I do enjoy. And what people should know is, you know, our elected officials work really hard to do a good job representing us. This gives them an opportunity to kind of be in the same room together. And there's something to be said about breaking bread with your fellow community leaders and elected officials and just making sure that everybody has a good idea of what things are going on in Hayes, I think when we can all be on the same page, and we can kind of get our gears turning in the same direction we can achieve more together.
James Bell
Absolutely. And you know, I think there's something to be said too, about the informal events. You know, when you're when you're only interact in these settings where you know, you've got business to do there's something on the agenda. You don't get to, you know, have fun and enjoy those people. And once you make those connections, and you have that ability, I think it you know, it serves the community better when those leaders are and maybe not friends but friendly.
Sarah Wasinger
Yes, absolutely. Well, ironically enough, I've been with the Chamber now full time since July of 2019. We were we usually do this event in April. And so I've not had a community cruise in my capacity yet. So this is my first one. Oh, I'm Melissa Dixon and I were both talking. She's like this might be the first one I remember. She said maybe I was a part of one. And I just don't remember, it was just so long ago. And I think this thing could be said for Doug Williams too. So we're definitely excited. So to our community leaders if we, you know, put our feet or miles or do something differently than what you're accustomed to give us just a little bit of grace as this is our first time putting this together.
James Bell
Well, and maybe maybe it's time for a little change, do a little different. Get some new ideas in
Sarah Wasinger
there. Maybe next year, we'll bring the best back and get the band back together and go tour.
James Bell
There you go. There you go. Well, Sara, before we run out of time, we got to talk about some of the events because you got a lot going on this week. As always, you always busy down at the chamber but there's some really cool stuff going on this week. Yes, this
Sarah Wasinger
week is jam packed with a wonderful selection of events for people to participate in should they choose Wednesday, July 27 at 4:30pm are hazy and professionals member development committee will be meeting at defiance this downtown location so definitely come and check that out. Thursday, July 28 at 1pm. We talked about this last week in greater detail but higher pass On the LS county educators roundtable we'll be going on. That's just a great way for educators to learn about higher pas and how they might be able to utilize that programming in their classroom. But event is free to attend. And it will be at brief space in the basement conference room. So if you plan on attending that, please be sure to park in front of the brief space location. And then we're going to be doing the same type of event at 3pm. That same day, July 28. But that will be a higher pass Ellis County Business Roundtable. So business owners can figure out how they can utilize higher pass to attract workforce, which obviously is something that everybody is struggling with right now. And it may not provide immediate relief, but it's definitely something that people can add to their toolkit to help them be successful. Yeah.
James Bell
And I would think anything you can get in that toolkit right now is helpful.
Sarah Wasinger
Absolutely. Any visibility is usually good visibility, as they say, in marketing. And then Friday, July 29, at 9am. We'll be having our ribbon cutting and chamber chat with the fhsu inaugural TGIF, so Tiger year on Friday Partner of the Year, and we will be hosting that at the sunflower bank North location. So please be sure to join us for that. And then since it is last week of the month, we'll of course be having our membership lunch on Friday, July 29, as well, that will be held at noon at Smoky Hill Country Club that will be sponsored by sunflower bank. And um to kind of round the week out for folks who maybe can't attend those roundtables. Kristin Brighton, who will be our featured guest speaker at those roundtable, higher pass discussions will actually be talking about hire pas in general and kind of sharing some videos with those in attendance. And they're really cool. They're called those Colker videos that we talked about last week. So be sure to register for that. Yesterday was technically the deadline, but I'm sure if you treat the staff really nicely today and call in before noon, they'd be able to get you in, um, RSVP.
James Bell
Very cool. Yeah. And that's, um, if you're interested, don't miss it. Because what it what a powerful and helpful tool for the community.
Sarah Wasinger
Absolutely. Well, all right, sir.
James Bell
Anything else before we go,
Sarah Wasinger
you know, just want to remind folks that that chamber blew up Kansas, we still have that survey window open. And this week is the last week for the survey for the childcare business survey that we have going on. So if you have not already participated in those and are interested in doing so, we would encourage you to visit our website to check those out.
James Bell
Absolutely no cost associated with either of those now, correct, right. Correct. But the chamber thing we've talked about this so many times, so I like talking about it, because it's what a cool benefit for the community. And but you need the people that have the interest, even if you're just maybe like, I don't know, get signed up for one of these sessions and do the survey and all that now, right? Yes, so
Sarah Wasinger
a little foreshadowing into next week. So next week, Friday, our chamber chat will be at the Welcome Center. We'll be talking about chamber blue of Kansas. So if you weren't able to check out the breakfast or lunch that we had to learn more about that. Come check that out and join us to learn more next Friday. Next Friday.
James Bell
Okay, good. 90 calendars. Interesting. Yep. Yep. And plus the Welcome Center. You go down there, it's a you know, every time I go in there, it's very welcoming, which I suppose is the point but everybody is always so happy when you walk in that building. I love it. Well, we're
Sarah Wasinger
going to have cathedral holding roast coffee there for folks as well as McDonald's breakfast burritos and sausage McMuffins. So even if you don't, per se feel like you want to learn more about insurance or you're good there. You should just come for a good meal and good conversation because we have a lot of interesting people that attend them.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, From the Hays Community Theatre, The Wizard of Oz director Wendy Richmeier shares information about the upcoming show.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares information about the impact of continued low unemployment rates across northwest Kansas.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Low unemployment rates across Northwestern Kansas continue to be a significant factor in area economies from Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams stops by to talk about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
workforce, it's probably our primary challenge that we face, because of the low numbers. Any business that wants to come here or wants to grow, or even continuing to operate struggling, finding employees?
James Bell
Yeah, and this has been, since I think, you know, we came back from the pandemic, we've seen these low numbers continue. But even before that, that the situation the unemployment numbers here, the rates were still under what we'd really like to see Weren't they
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
they were with or any number of years, and well, before the pandemic, all right, levels were below 3%, which is kind of when you have 3%, unemployment, the experts, that's that's low. You don't ever want anything less than that. Our number in May was 1.7. The month before that was 1.3%. And so very, very low numbers. And they were a little lower now than they were pre pandemic, but not appreciably.
James Bell
So I guess my first question is, what's causing it the follow up? How do we fix it? Well,
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
two great questions. And I wish I had the answers. It reminds me of a quote I heard the other day. Guy says, For every complex problem, there is a solution that is clear, simple and wrong. And that's what we see so much of today, I guess. I call it political speak. Everybody's got this easy answer. They say that, Oh, well, it's it's because the government gave out all this money. And people are sitting home and drawing all this money from the government. But that that's simply not what we see locally at all. It's a combination of things. So I think it's the pandemic did cause lots of people to say, Well, now's maybe a good time to retire. So we lost a lot of people out of the workforce to retirement more than normal. In our local situation, you know, we have 40, students have always provided a percentage of our workforce, the on campus students. And since the pandemic and even a little bit before, we've had a steady decline in on campus enrollment, so fewer kids on campus, and so fewer kids to work, because in spite of what many people think most students do work in one job or another. Childcare is a is a significant issue. We don't have enough childcare in our community. We've talked about that before. And I know you and Sarah watching her talk about that. And, and they they did a survey and they identified I believe 180 or something like that people who indicated if they had affordable and readily available childcare, they would reenter the workforce, or they would enter the workforce. So that's a challenge that we have. Our our lack of housing has caused us to not be able to have people move here, which could potentially enter the workforce. And, you know, when you take all that, and take the fact that now, the many workers who were doing maybe a primary level job or something like that have had opportunities to move up, it leaves a lot of openings in entry level jobs. And so as as the quote I gave said, this is complex, and there are no easy and simple solutions to it. It's multifaceted, and we have to kind of address all of them as best we can.
James Bell
Yeah, and it sounds like to me, you know, all these things you mentioned, the Sarah and the childcare Task Force. You know, we've talked about the housing quite a bit here, you know, all of these problems, I think, are on the radar and kind of everybody's working on the individual aspects of it to move that forward and kind of fix up the road
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
that we are there's there's a lot of people working in a lot of these areas. The challenge is none of these have quick and easy fixes. You know, it takes time to build housing. You don't do that overnight. It's a process of, at a minimum months and most likely years to deal with housing shortages. Same with childcare, you know, to find providers, and that's, that's a business that, you know, the business model is really broken, particularly with the wage increases that were that are occurring, and what people can charge for childcare. And at the end of the day, what people can pay for childcare, they don't match up. You know, somebody who's trying to operate a daycare center, if they've had to take their employees from whatever it is $10 $11 An hour or 214 15 $16 an hour. It was barely working before and it doesn't work at that. So that's a challenge. So lots of lots of challenges. Are all of them taking a fair amount of time to resolve? You know, we'd love to get more students on campus. But that isn't quickly resolved either. So it's just going to take some time to work through some of this.
James Bell
You know, I wonder if you want to speak to you in not so much maybe in Hays, but in kind of the greater Northwest Kansas region, the average age seems to be going up as well. And I think that's you mentioned, you know, pandemic, a lot of folks, they took that opportunity to go ahead and move out of the workforce retire, and, and they're not going to come back. But I wonder how much that plays into it and, and what we can do to help bring in that younger workforce that can, you know, contribute 20 3040 years still into the economic pool? Well, we
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
certainly have an aging population in Northwest Kansas, not quite as much in Ellis County, but in Northwest Kansas, we absolutely do. And yes, those people are leaving the workforce there, in some cases, leaving the area. And so we have to address that part of how we hope to address that is provide some retiree friendly type housing, that would cause them to move here and have Hayes as a potential destination. But that doesn't help the rural areas out in Northwest Kansas. And you know that one of the things I was going to mention on the unemployment rates, I've had people tell me, well, we you know, we just need people to, to drive into Hayes to work, lots of people do. But the unemployment rates in other areas in Northwest Kansas are just as low as they are here. And so it's not like there's a workforce out there someplace close, that's just waiting to go to work and wants to drive in. And then if you look at the cost of transportation today, you're not going to drive from 60 miles away, to take a nine or $10 an hour job, that doesn't make any sense, economically. And that's the same situation with childcare, you can't go to work for $10 An hour and pay $210 A week or $200 a week or whatever it is to have your child looked after, it just makes more sense to stay home. So more and more families, I think, have made that choice that one of us will stay home. And we'll just have to sacrifice some things. But we can't afford any other way. So it's not an easy situation.
James Bell
You know, one of the other things that you've talked about with us here on the show is the number of the opportunity, I guess I should say that we have here in Hays and Ellis County with remote work, people can now choose in a lot of ways wherever they want to live and still do their job. How much do you think impact is that having on the local economy, people that have found, you know, I don't want to say better. But maybe the higher paying jobs are something that works better with their schedule online, and are just not in the local workforce, because of
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
that absolutely has made a difference. And we benefit from that some to from the standpoint that some people are relocating here that work remotely. But it doesn't really help our job force, you know, our workforce. They're here, they're spending money, they're buying houses, they're buying cars, groceries, but they're not a part of our actual workforce locally. So yes, there are people who have, in addition to who have left the workforce because of retirement, they have left the workforce because of opportunities that exist to work remotely for companies that that they don't have to go into the office every day. So again, another another contributing factor to this hugely complex problem.
James Bell
You know, and the other thing that I wonder about this is, is is there a way that we can spend our way out of this, you know, can I've spoken to a number of especially restaurant owners and managers in the area that have had the by default had to raise those rates to do and get staff in there? Can we continue to raise that and work out of this problem? Or is that just going to in the long run make it worse?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, I think the the power, if you will, that has always been in the hands of the employer has shifted a great deal to the employee. And I don't know that that's going to change anytime soon. If somebody says they can't find a job right now, they're not trying very hard. There's plenty of jobs available and good jobs. Yes, some of them take some skills, if you're going to be a nurse, you don't just walk in and you're not a nurse or a health care provider, day one, but there's good jobs available. And it is going to it is going to be an ongoing challenge, particularly at the entry level. There just got to pay more. And, you know, when, when somebody can, I've seen all kinds of signs around, you know, like Walmart to somebody who wants to stock shelves and that kind of thing. $16 an hour. That makes it difficult for that restaurant owner or somebody who's traditionally hired people that if not minimum wage, someplace close to it. That's just that opportunity doesn't exist anymore. So their business model does change quite a bit.
James Bell
You know, and I think about those folks, too, that are you Maybe not, you know, a highly lucrative career. You know, I can think of several examples where money isn't the factor that people would go into the job for other reasons. But when you see numbers like that, I wonder if if people are actively disengaging, and they're saying, Well, I don't want to do my job, because I could go flip burgers for the same pay rate. Do you see any of that going on?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
I think there's some of that going on. Sure. I think, today more than ever, you know, and money as you say, money isn't always the only factor. It's never the only factor in a job, but it's a big factor. But employers are going to have to have a, a workplace where people enjoy been, and, and treat them well. And you know, the, as I say, the the power of the, the whole situation has shifted to the worker. And so they're gonna have to be treated better. And I think people who treat their employees well and give them a good work environment and a situation where people enjoy going to work are going to have a whole lot easier time attracting personnel than then people who don't. And so that has to be part of any business strategy is that we've got to figure out how we make this a good work environment and take care of these people, because they really are the greatest asset these businesses have.
James Bell
Absolutely. You know, and I wonder, too, do you see that? It's the same kind of impact, or the same thinking from the hometown, the local owned businesses and the big box retailers and restaurant chains? Or are they tackling the problems separately, or differently, I
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
think it's the same problem, I just think the larger organizations may have some advantages, because they have more resources, and can make these changes, and not have the impact, the dramatic impact that it has on a small business person. By the same token, I think most people would prefer to work for a local organization and have a little bit more flexibility, maybe a little bit better workforce, not all the the rules and those type of things that maybe sometimes come with a large organization.
James Bell
You know, in my experience, it's been about half and half as Yeah, some people really enjoy the structure of like a large chain, anything that comes from my background, everybody knows, I think I spent a good chunk of my adult years in restaurant management. And that's, that was interesting to me, because that's how I always felt, you know, like I'd much rather work for, you know, a guy, right in some major Fortune 500 company, and I've done both,
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
right, just to kind of depends on the individual, but certainly, larger organizations have more resources and can, in many cases offer better benefits and more money, in some cases, at least if they need to. Whereas the small business owner, many times, every two weeks, when they make payroll, they're they're sweating, whether they've got the cash flow this month to make payroll, and that's so if you increase your, your largest expense, which is always your people cost, when you increase that 1015 20 30% It creates some strain on the small business person.
James Bell
For sure. Uh, you know, we've got just about a minute or so Doug left, I wonder if you want to talk about before we go is there is are we getting close to a breaking point where things are gonna get worse? Or does it look like you know, in the next, man, again, I know and recognize it's not a quick solution, but things are gonna get better over the next year or two.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
You know, that's, that's a hard question to answer. They say the first step to solving a problem is admitting that there is a problem. And we definitely have done that we definitely have a lot of good people that are working on solutions. So I'm going to say it's going to get better. I'm an optimist by nature. So I believe we are going to see an easing of some of this. I think we do have a new normal, you know, the new normal is going to be that business owners have to treat employees much differently or in some cases they expect to keep up. But I think I think at the end of the day, we're gonna some of this is going to ease a little bit and find new ways to do things innovate. Overcome
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Arts Council executive director Brenda Meder shares details about the upcoming Summer Shakedown new and recycled art sale.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Hays city manager Toby Dougherty.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares area economic updates.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
doug071522
Fri, 7/15 4:54PM • 13:54
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
businesses, community, recruitment, situation, haze, ellis county, people, building, housing, recruit, downtown, square foot, couple, challenges, find, dealt, pretty, cost, workforce, area
SPEAKERS
James Bell, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
James Bell
Business Development and recruitment is an ongoing process in Ellis County. From Grow Hays, Executive Director Doug Williams shares with us some of the latest developments here in the area, on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
We're at kind of in the dog days of summer here where everybody's just trying to figure out how to stay cool. We continue to work on different things and have different projects going whether it be our, our microfactory, or housing development, or our you know, our retail recruitment efforts.
James Bell
Yet, I want to talk about that. Because one of the big things that's happened I think down to your organization this year, as you've brought extra staff in, you've got a couple of people now working for you that that's kind of their whole thing is is bringing in or analyzing and trying to recruit some of these businesses that hazing the the greater Ellis County region neat.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
It is we brought on two people this year, David Klingon came on in January. And his his focus is business recruitment, as well as retaining the businesses we have. And in James Robin joined us in June. And he's focused on business development, which is primarily entrepreneurship, starting up new businesses, as well as special projects, because we've got a couple of, you know, the microfactory, and housing developments and things that we're, we're working on, and we were stretched pretty thin. So we've got more resource now. And it's been really, it's been really good, we've, we've got a lot of things going. I wish I could point my finger at a couple of things say they're all done. But there are a lot of things in the works. So now we've got adequate resource to dedicate towards getting some things like that done.
James Bell
Love it. And as I say we've we've seen some businesses come into a haze in Ellis County into the last or in the last six months or so. And you know, that development seems to continue. One of the things we were chit chatting about before we got on was the need for space, though, which I thought was really interesting, because you brought up a good point, when you really come down to it, there's not a lot of available properties for a large big box retailer to come in.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, there really isn't, you know, and one of the things that large big box retailers look for particularly in small markets as they look for a second or third generation facility. Because the cost of constructing a new facility is just way too much in a community like ours. land prices on North vine are are quite high. And construction cost. Obviously we all know how high those are. And so the ability to come in build a new location and start up from scratch is a much different financial equation than it is to find a 20 3040 year old building and occupy it considerably different. My daughter in law who was from Pittsburgh, Kansas, she sent me a text last night and she said that Pittsburgh, Kansas is getting the marshals and then we'd love to have marshals in Hays. But they're going in at old goodies store, which is 2030 years old.
James Bell
And for those maybe younger folks goodies sold music, I think right? I think that's right. Yeah, I barely remember they kind
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
of like Hastings was here. Yeah. You know, an entertainment type store selling, renting out DVDs and selling what used to be the music the way we used to buy CDs or veers oldest may vinyl, or eight tracks, but they when they're going in that location and and just to give an example of the difference in what the rental situation might be those those buildings rent by the square foot, typically on an annual basis. So if you've got, let's just say 10,000 square feet, and it rents for $4 a square foot that's 40 $40,000 a year. Well, a new a new build would cost $20 A square foot or $200,000 a year. So it's considerably different. And so in some ways, we're we're victims of our own success and the fact that we don't have many empty buildings. And as a consequence it it's a different game we have to play to recruit people into the community.
James Bell
Yeah, absolutely. I know. This was one of the things that we talked about with the downtown Howie's Development Corporation. As they were working to kind of rebuild downtown and get more businesses that they had the same problem, they're virtually full.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
They are it's it's almost impossible to find a spot downtown. I know. We had a lady in the office here a few weeks ago that's going to be open in another business downtown. And it was not easy for her to find a spot. I mean, she had to look and and there's only one or two spots and one of them I think has some major structural issues that have to be dealt with. So that kind of takes that
James Bell
out of you.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
That's that's no fun when you hover the mouse and dealing with that. So until those are dealt with that that location is not going to work. So space is a big issue and building it does not Not an easy thing to do, it's not a lot unlike housing, you know, the cost to build housing right now is so high that it becomes a challenge to construct homes that are affordable. And that can fall into the right price range to meet a workforces needs.
James Bell
And it's not like somebody can just put up a building and have a business come in, because that cost of that piece is going to get in the way, even if someone else is trying to do that as a commercial venture. Right?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Pretty, you rarely see speculative construction of retail space, from the standpoint of a large building. Now we do have some space in front of the Hilton Garden Inn that is yet to be occupied, I know there's at least two or three different things going on there. And I think we'll see some activity in that spot pretty quick, with a couple of those slots being filled. But 2030 40,000 square feet, that's a that's a pretty risky venture to go out there and just put up a building, when you're going to pay anywhere from seven to $20 a square foot for the land. So if you equate that into the cost per acre, that's 300,000 to 800,000 per acre for commercial land, and then you put up a building that's going to cost 100 $250 A square foot, it just nobody's going to do that. On a if you build it, they will come situation in today's environment.
James Bell
So I'm curious, you know, what do you guys do down there grow haze to help alleviate the situation?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, we we try and work with existing property owners as well as the local government entities to find incentives that can bridge that gap. You know, the CID, which is a community investment incentive district allows a retailer to add sales tax to the current rate, and that that extra one to 2% that they charge can go back towards their costs associated with building a building or doing that kind of thing. So there's one at the mall, a 1%. Cid, so everything that you buy at the mall, has 1% added to it, which goes, you know, they've agreed to put towards the facility parking lot, interior improvements and that kind of thing. Same thing can be done with a new construction project. And that helps bridge that gap. But it's difficult, you know that those it's a challenging situation, there's only so many tools in the tools in the toolkit and, and it's a challenge to kind of make that all work. And that's, that's why retail development is pretty slow. Not to mention, the challenges that retail has overall. With online being so prevalent, and bricks and mortar being so expensive. The business models for retailers is changing considerably. And so that presents challenges to there just aren't that many that are looking to expand.
James Bell
You know, from a buyer perspective, if you want to support local, and you're in that situation where you can't find what you need. There isn't a retail shop locally that does that. What's the best option? How do people, you know, make the best decision for the local community? Well, or is there a good solution?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
It's a difficult solution. I mean, they if you can't find what you need or want locally, your choices are to go someplace else and get it or open up Amazon and order
James Bell
- We all know Amazon is you know, in terms of community support, not it's not a community partner there. They don't do they rarely pay taxes, they're just starting to get to where they're forced to do that. So that's kind of the bigger pieces like how do those how do we find businesses that support what we're trying to do here in Hays, Kansas or anybody ever in our listening area?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, we certainly feel that there are certain businesses where there is a sufficient market here that they could do well here. You know, I mentioned Marshalls in Pittsburgh, I think Marshalls or TJ Maxx, something like that would do would do well here. So we have to, and we're talking to these people all the time. And I think a lot of people think well, you just call them up and they just come here, that's that's really not the case. They know a great deal about our community already. And they have certain communities on their radar for expansion. And if you mitt meet these criteria, which are population numbers, the moderate income numbers, you know, all of those pull factor, which we have a very good pull factor, we have a wide trade area. They know all that. So they can plug that in and they can they can pretty much nail it on what their sales are going to be in a market like ours. So then it comes to what are our operating expenses going to be can we get our operating expenses to a level that make it work for us in that market. And then the last piece of the puzzle, which is a serious problem is workforce. Somebody comes down they need 100 workers. That's, that's a tough nut to crack because they aren't available. And so where are they going to come from? You're going to steal them from those existing businesses. And that's a difficult situation as well. So lots of challenges out there right now. But you just got to keep plugging.
James Bell
Yeah, and I know we you mentioned, we do talk about this quite a bit that the housing piece of this, there is some activity there that is looking to help that situation, at least in the immediate future, right, we've got some apartment buildings that are kind of plans are coming together? Well, there are,
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
we've got an apartment complex, it's been approved at the corner of fourth and Fort 36 units over the next couple of years. We've had, we had a couple of developers in town this week, that are considering apartment complexes in the community, and we and we need them. We've got single family homes, obviously, in the Tallgrass addition, that are going up. And that's, that helps. So the more inventory we can build, the better. We really believe that, you know, it is the old saying, If you build it, they will come. We believe that our community has so much going for it. And if we can resolve the housing situation, a lot of people will choose to locate here. And that will obviously bolster the workforce and help us recruit some other businesses.
James Bell
You know, I know there's no magic lever on any of this. And it's not like you're down there like, oh, we need a little bit more housing a little bit more retail, a little bit more restaurants. There's no way to do that. But you know, I'm curious, like, how do you how do you come to the conclusions? Or the numbers, I guess, is the real question to kind of keep it all in check. Because you know, you don't want too many workers to move into haze, you don't want to too few, you need to right spot for the business recruitment and all that. And it all kind of seems like it works together quite a bit.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Where it is all a balancing act, you know, I think we don't have the issues that some communities have associated with growth. We have had growth, but it's been slow, it's been steady, some of that is limited by our water capacity. You know, there are certain types of industry that we can't recruit because of the water capacity. That's a blessing in some ways and a curse in others. It just depends. But it is a fine balance. And it's never, ever going to be in sync, you know, there's always going to be parts that are that are doing well at a given time and in parts that aren't doing well. But a lot of a lot of what we are involved with now, I believe is not necessarily the recruitment of business. Yes, we do that. But the recruitment of people is just as important. There are literally millions of Americans that are looking to migrate away from metropolitan areas. They're expensive. We think housing is expensive here, we have no clue, no clue whatsoever. And there are millions of people that are looking to get out of the rat race, the traffic, the costs, the crime and that kind of thing. And we think we've got a great story. But we have to tell them, you know, they have to know about us. And that's part of what our imagined Ellis County group is, is to get this word out. We've got a initiative going on where we are getting our message out to the eastern slope of Colorado, we think that's a great area to prospect in and we've got the videos that we're showing them about people testimonials, basically talking about the quality of life here and that kind of thing. So recruiting people is just as important to us as pretty business at this point.
James Bell
Absolutely. And I'm sure you're gonna continue to help out with that.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
We'll do everything we can
On this episode of the Post Podcast Nex-Tech Wireless brand manger Tasha Eichman and Hays Chamber vice president of membership, Rhonda Meyerhoff share details about the upcoming Backpacks for Kids donation event.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Kansas Food Bank President and CEO Brian Walker.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University Alumni Association engagement strategist, Carolyn Tatro and psycology instructor, sports announcer and recipient of the 2022 FHSU Pilot Award Ken Windholz speak about connection and community.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
A big part of the Fort Hays State University culture is celebrating successes of students, faculty and alumni from the Alumni Association, Carolyn Tatro joins us with pilot award winner Ken Windholz, on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Carolyn Tatro
Couple of reasons that I invited Ken to be here with us. First of all he is well, he's a very well known voice around here, as I think many people who are listening might pick up on. But Ken was actually our pilot award recipient this year. So one of our commencement award recipients we selected, our committee selected Ken to be our outstanding faculty member of the year. And so we were just very excited to be able to talk about his story, his time at Fort Hays, and one of the things that I like to think, you know, when I in the time that I've been in this office, I've met a lot of alums and one of the most common threads among each individual alum that I've talked to is, everybody can pick out an a professor and instructor, an advisor, who kind of helped shape their time at Fort Hays. And so that's really why we like to honor our faculty in the ways that we do because they really helped shape the our students into outstanding alums. And so I'm really excited to be here. Ken is a instructor in the Department of Psychology. He's also as I mentioned, our PA announcer for football, basketball larks games, a well known voice around here. So thank you so much for being here with us. It's
Ken Windholz
great pleasure. Thank you, Carolyn. And, James, thank you for taking the time to visit with us this morning.
James Bell
Yeah, absolutely. It was great to get to hear a little bit about your story. And I'm excited to talk to you today. And congratulations on winning that pilot award. That's a big deal. Right
Ken Windholz
knocked me over with a feather. I'll tell you what, it was the most interesting thing because it's not one of those awards that you seek. I, I was in awe of the folks over the years since the 1970s, when the award was conceived and brought forward very impressed with some of the people who had wanted over the years, some of those people were my instructors and mentors, and teachers, and I held them in enormous esteem. And so it's not something that you strive for, and say, Well, one day, I didn't even dare to dream it. But it was a step by step process of being nominated. And I think that's one of the greatest privileges of being nominated by the students themselves. And it's a very humbling experience, to know that people value what you do, and that they take it to heart. And it puts even greater emphasis, I guess, on on the role that good instructors and educators serve in our society, and particularly here in our community. So I just I had hoped that I would be a good reflection of all of the incredible people who had, who had given their time and their passion to me over all of those years and, and that I would be somehow able to play that forward to today's students. And what it feels good to know that among people who are so, so caring, and so advanced, and who in fact, teach me in many ways, far more than I think I ever teach any of them. It's a real privilege.
James Bell
It's very cool. And I love that you talk about the you know, the continuity of it, you studied with award winners, and now you're bringing that legacy and who knows maybe one of your students 2030 years down the road, they're getting their own toy
Ken Windholz
would not surprise me in the slightest, because one of the great things that being an instructor at the university affords is to meet some of the most gifted people on the planet. I mean, these are folks who are curious, who want to know how life works and who keep people like me on our toes. I have a saying and I and it guides me every day that I walk into the classroom or certainly into the office and I mentioned it at the at the presentation ceremony back in May. And it is it's a quote that I don't really know who the who the author is several different people are attributed with the same with the same sentiment but it but it goes like this. A good educator teaches you where to look, but doesn't tell you what to see. That works for me. I can show people the things that I've been privileged to understand and recognize in my own education, my own career and how life works for me, and pass that along to folks But, but the real education comes when we enter that journey of our own self discovery and informational discovery and how that works for us. The only thing I ask in addition to something like you know, I can't tell you what to see is when you do see what you're looking at, tell me play it back so that I can learn. Also, from that standpoint, a good educators also a good student, we want to know, we're as curious as anybody else that we ever encountered in the classroom.
James Bell
I love that. And and as a journalist, I feel that, that that curiosity, it's hard to keep it. And I think for a good educator to really to be able to carry that through the career is a hallmark of what makes them you know, remembered and someone like yourself,
Ken Windholz
well, thank you. I mean, it's, it's a matter of, of how do I explore this life? I'm given the privilege the opportunity of this lifetime, how do I use it? Shall I use it in service? Shall I use it in gaining something of a material sort? Of? What should be? What should be? How should my lifetime be spent here? And I think a lifetime spent in, in service and in giving and playing forward is a life well lived?
James Bell
Absolutely. You know, I wonder Ken, if you might be able to share with us a story or two some of the accomplishments or something maybe that sticks out to you over your career as an instructor down at Fort Hays?
Ken Windholz
Oh, I you know, every day if I thought about this, you know what it is that I love about this place? And about this profession? This the opportunities I alluded to just a few moments ago to meet people who are as curious as I am, but who have a perspective that maybe I don't have who can share that with me also. That's the excitement I feel every single day walking into the classroom. Yes, you know, 689 weeks into the school year into the semester, things become kind of a grind, and you're facing people who, who may or may not be highly enthusiastic about being there. So the challenge is to go back to that bedrock, what's our motivation for being here, and to continue the process and knowing that this is not a sprint, it's a marathon. It's piece after piece. And this is the way life works. It's the way it works in the classroom also, but we look for a continuity, or at least I do, from moving from the overall perspective, here's why we're here. And these are the elements that that help animate that purpose. And so that's the piece that excites me every day of the challenge, how am I going to make this work? You know, I've gone through a number of phases in my life and in terms of how I've viewed the things that, that come my way things from which I can learn, and ultimately, I'll be able to pass along to students, this is more than just standing around lecturing and telling people what to think. But it's a mutual discovery processes. As I as I think we're understanding here. I used to view problems as problems. And then I evolved slightly to understanding them more as challenges because the idea of, of a problem was a little bit daunting. A challenge met, okay, am I up to meeting this requirement? What resources of mine can I bring forward to meet this challenge? I, I have found a way I think, thanks to the students that I know and have met and who, who, whose hearts and minds are open to next steps in their lives. That rather than it being a problem, rather than being a challenge, we look at it as an opportunity. So things that are set in front of us are really our opportunities to grow. How do we take advantage of that? That made all the difference for me as a game changer when I started understanding problems in my life as opportunities. I see students do James at our university, who in in some cases work full time, jobs in addition to carrying full loads that's incomprehensible to me, and lots of instil, make up the class and still do well still put in the time and the effort. In fact, I'm thinking there may be as many as six or maybe even 70% of our students who work in parallel with their class time. So the concept or That or the notion that we have students who are just privileged and sitting around all day long and living off of someone else's money or the or, you know, not earning their way in in kind is really a fallacy. At least it is a Fort Hays State. And I think it probably isn't many other places. These are hardworking folks. And it shows in their classroom and in their discipline, and it shows in their accomplishments, and so many of them do it in such quiet ways. In unrecognizable ways, I think one of my greatest joys in the classroom, is seeing a student and experiencing with a student, the occasion when they find their voice, when they move from that invisible. Don't look at me sitting in the corner kind of individual just let me get through this too, challenging themselves to moving into that difficult territory where they're able to voice an understanding and share a view and, and play it forward. For people like me. That's a that's a thrill that connects it all for me.
James Bell
That's very neat. Thanks for sharing that sir. We've got just just about a minute or so left, I wonder if we want to maybe wrap this up with the the way that alumni kind of feed into that same thought and as they go out. And we talked about this in the segment a lot how the Fort Hays alumni get out into the world and kind of share that attitude and those ethics with everyone.
Ken Windholz
Right? I you know, I'm local. I was born and raised here. I went down to the university when I was 10 years old and watched Fort Hays basketball in the Old Snake Pit the Coliseum and, and never had an intention of attending school anywhere else. But for Hayes. I don't know how common that is. But what I would encourage you I'm very familiar with with the plates and with the the policies and the grounds and all of those things. What I encourage alumni to do is come down, come and visit us take part in this process. Yes, we appreciate any generosity that you can offer to us, whether that be materially but but your own time. Come down and see what we do. Visit, walk through the campus see this beautiful place. It's an oasis of sort here in western Kansas and be a part of the university to the extent that your time and your resources allow. We want our alumni to come back and see what they have helped develop and be a part of the process as we're moving forward. They're vital to that
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams discusses water and its impact on the economy.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber President and CEO Sarah Wasinger, along with Lisa Karlin, Internship Career Advisor with FHSU Career Services share details about an upcoming job fair.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Former Fort Hays State University President Ed Hammond.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Roger Leigleiter and Allen McCoy share information about the upcoming McCracken Rodeo
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Hays Public Library director Brandon Hines.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Fire Department chief Ryan Hagans shares some safety tips while using fireworks.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares updates from the housing development at 22nd and Wheatland.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with southwest Kansas veterinarian Tera Barnhardt
The Hays Chamber's Educators Appreciation dinner may be months away, but the planning has already begun. Hays Chamber President and CEO Sarah Wasinger shares the details on this episode of the Post Podcast.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Cottonwood Extension District agent, Stacy Campbell shares information about the upcoming Ellis County Fair.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
As the wheat harvest kicks into full gear throughout the area, Ellis County Fair preparations are also underway. Stacy Campbell from the Cottonwood Extension District stops by to share the all the details on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Stacy Campbell
Well, of course, fair is just right around the corner. In July, like about the week of I think the 16th through the 20th is the main part of the fair. And so we invite the public to come on out all kinds of all kinds of advanced, you know, it's on the Midway, there's bands each evening, the beer garden, there's gonna they're gonna have the mechanical bull out there, James, you ought to come out and give that a whirl.
James Bell
I love riding a mechanical bull. Yeah, my favorite things truly true. I do. Yeah, if there's one around, you'll see,
Stacy Campbell
they've got one out there again this year. So you need to come out and check that out. So anyway, yes, please come out to the fair and kind of mentioning that the Market Week show, we always have that for farmers. And right now no harvest is going on. So if you've got some really good wheat, just put up, put some of it off to the side and a bucket, you can fill a ziplock bag later, bring it into the office or take it to the elevator, and we'll get that entered into the fair. And there's there's cash in there. There's there's prizes and cash for that. So we encourage farmers to enter though, wheat into the open class wheat show. And then also kind of one of the combinations of the county fair is when the kids at their pre at the premium sale sell their animals and the champion baked goods. And that'll be on that Saturday, I believe it is the 23rd of July. And we invite the public to come out to that there's, there's a lunch or excuse me a supper before at five o'clock, and then the sale starts at six o'clock. And James one of the neat things about that is if people just want to add some money on to a kid, I mean, they don't have to buy the animal or the baked good, but if it's the neighbor kid or, or you know, somebody that they know, in what to support them, they can just add some money on simply just go up to the clerk at the sale and say you would like to put $100 on to you know, John Doe steer or something like that. So you don't have to necessarily buy an animal. And then even if you do come out in one is really support the kids embed on an animal there again, you don't have to buy it, it's a premium sale. So you can literally, you know, be the winning bidder on on a on a pig. And then you do not have to keep the animal, the kid, we have one, two options. And then one of the options is you just give a premium price for the animal. And then the animal is the responsibility of the kids, they can take it back home, take it to the to the butcher or whatever. And then the other thing is most of these kids have gotten butcher dates set up for animals. So if you do want some meat to put in the freezer and you buy one, they probably have a butcher date set up for that animal and can get it to a locker and get it processed the way you want it. So
James Bell
very cool. That's what I was curious about. Because you know, if I wouldn't went out there, I wouldn't have any place to put an animal but some steak I could find some room for Yeah,
Stacy Campbell
right. Right. So yeah, in. And the other thing I mean, if you buy an animal and a lot of people know this, they probably come out and do it. But you don't, you know, you can always half it or quarter it, you know, quarter of a beef with with several other people and stuff like that. So lots of different ways to slice it and dice if you will. So yeah, come on out support the kids at the fair at the sale on July 23 At six o'clock. And just yeah, we invite the public to come on out to a lot a lot of different events. You know, there's a rodeo and, and I didn't bring a schedule many other things. And there should be brochures and posters around town and stuff.
James Bell
So yeah, I've seen those around town already. Are they going to get the wheat in before the fair survey and go out and enjoy?
Stacy Campbell
Oh, yeah, cuz wheat harvest is going on now. You know, we've had plenty of hot windy days. So that really drives the wheat down. So it's been it's been going, you know, kind of cloudy, humid days like this. You know, they may not get much cut today until the sun comes out and the wind starts blowing but the wheat harvest is going on. And yeah, I'm sure they'll probably, you know, unless it happens to start raining quite a bit, they'll probably be done here and another 10 days, two weeks, you know, at the most mentioning harvest just kind of wanted to mention to people here and in town that maybe you're going out to the country. Just keep in mind the columbines the grain carts just gotten bigger and bigger and those farmers literally can't see behind them if somebody is behind them, especially when they have to slow down and they've got to turn at an intersection or whatever. So please be very careful. You know, you're driving 50 6070 miles an hour they're doing 24 miles an hour. You can get up on them really quick and then they can't see you so just just be cautious about that. And I guess also talking about wheat harvest after the wheat harvest, you know, for farmers. As a lot of them know it's getting tougher to control some of these tougher to control weeds so I wouldn't wait too terribly long before you decide to spray your wheat stubble once the once you see some weeds, especially if it's Kosha fireweed or pig we'd probably get them sprayed when they're when they're small, it's going to be easier to kill them. And then another thing is just with these high high input prices, fertilizer this boy this is the year to definitely be taking soil samples. So in August or September before you plant your weak crop, you know I would advise taking a soil sample to see just how much fertilizer you actually need instead of guessing you know,
James Bell
and then dilute dial it in because you might be spending money you don't need to
Stacy Campbell
exactly exactly and it the price of sending off the soul samples and getting them is very inexpensive, it's a it's a great return on your time and investment. You know, I've taken those soil samples, you do need to take them properly we've talked about that, you know in a field it's recommended and there's been research to validate that that you need to take about 15 cores you know whether it be a 10 acre 40 acre 80 acre field, tin, tin city and 15 cores and mix those into a clean bucket and then put about a pint into a bag and then take it to the coop they can send it off to us soils lab where you can bring in and dust and we can send it to a soul slab as well. Very cool. And then I guess one of the things we've got time I've talked about it some but since we are dry and if your pond in your pasture has gone dry, this is a good time if you wanted to to clean it out and dig it out some one little tidbit that so a lot of people don't think of is to take that dirt and put it on the back side of the dam a lot of times you'll see them they clean the pond out and they just put the dirt 1015 feet away from the pond. Well where's that dirt gonna ultimately in backup at in the park? Right on Yeah, we get big rains, the cattle even trumpet and kinda you know all that stuff. So put it on the backside of the dam if you clean out your ponds and then if they're leaking, there's a soil texture test that we can send off some soil does take some coarse around the pond about six inches down. Take several cores about half a dozen, we can send that soul in and see what the texture of the soil is. If it has enough clay in it around 30% or more. But the ponds been leaking. You can probably prevented from leaking by this really packing it good with the sheep's foot roller which we've talked about. So it may just need to be packed well if it's leaking, a lot of people think they need to go put bentonite clay in that's very expensive. Yes, it can work but it's really expensive. But before you do that, yeah, get a soil texture test and see just how much clay you have in the soil. You may have enough to where you just need to really pack it well.
James Bell
Yeah, save yourself some money. Exactly.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares updates on their Microfactory project.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The microfactory project continues to develop in Hays Grow Hays, Executive Director Doug Williams that stops by to share the latest on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
This all started a few years ago with a group out of Manhattan called the technology development institute, Division of Kansas State University that focuses on manufacturing. And they put together a grant request for 10 locations across Kansas, that would be micro factories. And what those are basically incubators for manufacturers to start in, grow in and then move out that grant application was not successful. And so when the base grant became available in Kansas to build a stronger economy, I believe is what base stands for. We applied with that same concept for a 30,000 square foot structure, that would be an incubator for manufacturing companies. And we were successful in acquiring a $2.63 million grant for the construction of that facility. Since that time, we have received a donation of land from Heart of America Development Corporation at the corner of ninth and commerce Parkway, which is the lat directly between Glassman Corporation and the Army Reserve center on commerce Parkway. And that's where this facility is going to be constructed. We've also engaged a local contractor, commercial builders to assist us in building the structure. And we're working with an architect out of Manhattan on the preliminary plans and trying to get all the specifications and that kind of thing together. Essentially, it'll be a 30,000 square foot building built to it'll be manufacturer friendly, you know, high ceilings and accessible areas, capable electrical loads, and all the things that manufacturers might need to start their business and grow their business.
James Bell
Very cool. Very cool. So, you know, I was wondering if that launch day, I know this can sometimes generate some conversations and some questions. Did you have any good input or questions about the project there?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, I think that the first question everybody asks, well, who's going to go in there, and we don't have anybody specifically that we have committed to go in there, you know, we have a couple of prospects. Interestingly enough, the last Friday, when I wasn't here for our session, I was actually in Manhattan with at a meeting with the architectural firm, as well as the technology development institute. And they indicated to us that this is a relatively new concept and kind of the eyes of Kansas are upon us on this, a lot of people are watching this process and are going to be very interested on how this works. Because if it does, they want to replicate this in a number of other places across Kansas. The other thing they said, which was very encouraging to me, was that a lot of manufacturers, this is a big struggle for them finding a facility that's friendly to what they need, and a lot of may be willing to relocate to a community like Hayes, if we had the right facility for them. So that was encouraging. And a, they don't think we're going to have any trouble at all filling the space, their concern is that we're going to have to be fairly selective as to who we let go in there. Because the whole concept is, you want a company that's going to start in there and grow. But in a three, maybe four year period of time, they're going to outgrow it and need their own facility. And, you know, their concern is don't put people in there that are going to put down roots and want to be there for 20 years, because that's not the intent of this facility. So that's going to be a challenge for us. But one of the one of the benefits is that they're going to be in there at about half or less of what it would cost them to be in their own facility. Not to mention, a lot of the value adds that we're going to bring to them, which is some support from people like the technology development institute, the technology department at Fort Hays State, the SBDC and helping them develop business plans and, and all the things that go along with owning and operating a business aside from just space space is part of it, but there's a lot more to it than that.
James Bell
Yeah, absolutely. Do you know, you know, off the top of your head, like how much you might be able to cut down a business's, you know, startup funds with a project like this?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, if you just take a 30,000 square foot building and you divide it by five tenants, that's 6000 square feet per tenant. If a if a business was going to go out and build a 6000 square foot facility, they could spend upwards of a million dollars doing so. So that's one thing they don't have to do in terms and to build it. Manufacturer friendly. You know, cost more money than that. We're going to try and have some common areas like loading dock and some things like that that will help if Five businesses can use it instead of one. You know, that's we're spread out over five people. So it, it's a large reduction in what they would have to spend normally to get into business for sure.
James Bell
Excellent. You know, yeah, no, it's a manufacturing industrial. And that's a little different, a little new, as you say. But it, you know, it strikes me as the same kind of model as what we've seen in co working spaces, just like you did your very own brief space.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
It is similar to I mean, it is an incubator for businesses, just different types of businesses. And one of the things I talked about at the quarterly luncheon is that, that our community has traditionally been a white collar community, you know, we have the university, we have the hospital, we have USD 489, those are the three largest employers in the county. And those are primarily white collar jobs. We don't have a lot of manufacturing in our community, we have some certainly, but we don't have a lot. Part of that is because of the long standing challenges we have with water. In our community. Today, it would be there are certain manufacturers of certain types of businesses that we can't handle because of water. But we also have workforce problems. And one of the things the the microfactory allows with small manufacturers, as these people can grow incrementally. And it's not like somebody's coming to town and they need 200 employees, day one, they may need three or four or five, day one, they grow over time. And we can we can help them with the workforce grow incrementally instead of all at once. And that that I think is going to be very positive for our community because we just, we just aren't in a position right now to recruit a large employer, we just don't have the the employees to do it. And we're not alone with that lots of places are in that same situation. But certainly this is a better way to approach it.
James Bell
Yeah, and I gotta believe that doing it this way, you maybe doesn't save a lot of money. But it eliminates some of that risk. I think about a few years ago, Brian, Brian, after a right before the pandemic kind of kicked off, there was a business trying to move into Russell. And I don't remember the exact figures, but I think they got about a million dollars in economic stimulus money to help start that up. But because it was an expensive proposition they moved in. But they found that really, it didn't work. But that wasn't until after they had spent all that money and they tried to get there when they're like, this isn't going to be feasible. And if they had a facility like this, they could have maybe saved a lot of them funds,
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
I would think so yes, that was an unfortunate startup that didn't work out and a lot of money was invested in lost by the community. This, this is a different approach, this does start much smaller. And we don't know how the building might be sliced and diced, there might be one needs 10,000 square feet, there might be three others that need 5000, and then one that needs to that 2500. You know, we we don't know for sure. But we're going to have that flexibility. And it absolutely decreases the risk of all the people involved not only the business, but also us. At the end of the day, if all else fails, we're gonna have a 30,000 square foot facility that somebody can use and has value. So this is significant, the construction process will be good for the community in terms of employing people for the construction process materials purchased, all of those things will will be very positive locally. Very cool.
James Bell
So I'm curious that, you know, it's been a while since we've had any updates on this. You know, I think the last time we talked you were still trying to find a little bit more money to get this thing finished off or getting it off the ground. I guess maybe it was a better way to say it. I wonder if you want to share any updates there.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
As far as how we're going to pay for it?
James Bell
Yeah, there was a little there's a little bit of money left, right, because you got the big grant and the land grant. But now
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
we we anticipate a $3.5 million cost. And the base grant provided $2.6 million. The land donation was $275,000. So there's still a shortfall there. We have applied for some other grants, we haven't gotten a couple of them, but we're still applying for others. At the end of the day, we're either going to have to borrow the money and pay it back over time is probably what we would do. We will have revenue from the building from rents, they're going to pay as I said, they're going to be paying about half what they would normally pay but there is going to be rent coming in from that. And we're going to continue to look for other grants and other sources of financing to help pay for it. But worst case scenario we've we've got to it's a good thing. We have a lot of local banks that are willing to lend money on good projects and and we'll we'll borrow the balance if we have to.
James Bell
Absolutely and long term planning you do foresee this as being an not to money maker, but at least revenue neutral, right?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Absolutely. We it needs to pay for itself. And we need to pay for the operation of it and that type of thing. And the goal here and one of the reasons why Heart of America was willing to donate the $275,000 lot is because they own the 72 acres To the east of this current development, and they are in the business to promote commercial development in our community. And that's exactly where we would like the people that graduate from our microfactory to need facilities and wool will put in a facility for them where they can build their own, to the east there and some of that hard American land and, and this process just continues itself over and over again. That's the goal. That's what we hope happens.
James Bell
Very cool. I'm wondering, is there any updates on like, the timeline, the construction efforts? The is the building going up? I don't think anything started yet is it not started
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
yet. Still Still working on the actual specific blueprints and plans. I am optimistic for a lates, I'd say a false start. And we got two years from the date this grant is, from the day we signed the grant agreement, which should be in the next two weeks, we got two years to get this project done. That would seem like more than enough time, but things come up, you know, in this day and age of supply chain issues and that kind of thing. There's lots of challenges there. But we hope to start probably in the fall and hope to complete it. Nine months or so later. So some time about this time next year, I'd love to be talking about our grand opening and that type of thing. So very cool. That's our plan.
James Bell
Now the city infrastructure is in that lot already. Right? The water, sewer, all that.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
It is, that's one of the fortunate things is at Heart of America a number of years ago, put in the street, they put in the water, the sewer, electrical, gas, all of those kinds of things are there. That lot is in the economic development business, we call that shovel ready, which means it's ready for somebody to come in and and start doing some things. So that's another very positive aspect of it.
James Bell
Okay, you know, I'm curious, what other feedback did you receive about this facility at
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
the launch? And, you know, there's, there's lots of questions as to what's it going to look like? And how's it going to be? What's going to be inside? And how are you going to handle things, and some of that's still up in the air. And one of the things they that surprised me was the group of TDI said they don't anticipate there being necessarily any walls in there to separate one group from another. And that kind of, I'm having a little trouble wrapping my head around that. But they said, you just do the Les Nessman tape on the floor. And this is your space. And it does allow for if you've got larger material pieces or that type of thing, you aren't confined by wall spaces by getting it moved around and whatnot. So I don't know how that's going to work. That's that's that that was, like I said, I'm having trouble getting my head around exactly how that would work. In my mind, I had, you know, six different individual spaces with walls between them, each having an overhead door and that kind of thing. And that's not necessarily how this will be. So we're, we're working through some of that kind of thing. That's why we want to get it right on the front end, spend a little time on the planning side of things. So that we don't have to make a lot alterations later.
James Bell
Yeah, I mean, I can see that I can see like an error of kind of collaboration to you know, when you guys get to tinker into things and try to figure out problems where hey, maybe come over here and look at this. And then the next week he's helping with the other project
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
sure could be an end, a lot of this equipment that they put in there are very expensive and different types of manufacturing processes, CNC machines that are computer operated and they they do cutting and plasma cutters and that kind of thing. In the end. I just, I just hadn't quite visualized it that way. So it's going to be interesting to see how it develops. But the one thing they said down there, they said manufacturers are creative and they're resourceful. They're resilient. And they can he said to you wouldn't believe some of the facilities we have customers and operating out of he said this will be so much better than what they're trying to do. Because a lot of time it's it's in the guy's garage or a shop out back or just some space he can find someplace but certainly not conducive, and as efficient as it might be. If it was designed up front for that specific purpose. Sure.
James Bell
Well, Doug, we've got just about a minute left. Anything else you want to hit on about this microfactory project before we
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
go, I think just keep keep your eyes open. We're I was gonna go out and put a sign up on the on the lot, but it's a ways away from the street. I'm not sure anybody could see it if I put it up. But it's, it's between Glassman and the Army Reserve center on Ninth Street. And just keep watching. We'll keep everybody posted either on our website or on our weekly show with you as to what's going on or a Facebook page. And it's going to be exciting.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University's Glen McNeil shares information about fresh veggies on National Fresh Veggie Day.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Fresh veggies day is an opportunity to explore fresh veggies for naysay universities. Glenn McNeil joins us to talk a little bit about that. And more on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Glen McNeil
June 16. Every year is also national fresh batch.
James Bell
That's probably a little healthier than well,
Glen McNeil
very few people know that. Oh, because the first thing if you type in what is June 16, it comes up as national budget. Yeah, you know, nobody really looks any further.
James Bell
Exactly. I got my excuse for the day. I'm gonna go eat some fudge and celebrate today.
Glen McNeil
There's there's a few other things too. I'm not. Sometimes you so okay, I'm not a big fan. Butterscotch fudge. I like marshmallow fudge.
James Bell
I like yeah, the creamy.
Glen McNeil
Yeah, I don't really like nuts. A lot of people like nuts and fudge. And I do like to take fudge and take an old cheese shredder. Shredded real fine. Put it on ice cream, and put marshmallow cream on top of the ice cream. So yes, I do eat fudge. Okay, not a lot. I eat more fresh vegetables than I do fudge.
James Bell
And that's what everybody should do. Yeah, more vegetables than more than more vegetables than fudge
Glen McNeil
but nothing wrong with you know, eating some foods as we've always talking here. Moderation and all things you know, include a little bit of everything you like in your diet, in essence, what you eat, but at the same time, focus a little more on the more healthful items like vegetables and being national fresh vegetables. You know, that's the kicker in this is that encourage people to eat fresh vegetables. We have frozen, which are excellent quality, we have canned, which are very good quality. Okay, we have dehydrated vegetables these days, which are they fit well in soups and things like that, that you want to make that have a lot of liquid, but it's still pretty hard to beat the taste, the texture, the mouthfeel of fresh vegetables, you know, so So that's, that's a big one. When we look at it. There's four, there's lots of vegetables. I mean, the list, depending upon how you categorize things is huge. But there's four major types. When we look at vegetables, we've got root vegetables, okay, and root vegetable would be what's the root vegetable, always think of potatoes. Okay, potatoes is an example of a root vegetable, because what you're actually eating is part of the root. In most cases, you're eating the starch, which is the sugar the plant has stored for continued growth. So that's in so when it comes up the next year, it will come up so that root vegetables is basically it's the underground part of the plant that we consume. Okay, and many of them are I mean carrots is a standby that vegetable, beets if you if you like beets turnips,
James Bell
I was I went to the farmers market the other day and talking with a couple of vendors, I know there and they had some beats. And I don't know that I've ever had them. They but they pushed him on me and said you got to take these home and try him because if you if the only thing you've ever experienced, it's like pickled beets, you might not be a fan, but there's so many other things you can do with them. Yes.
Glen McNeil
Sweet beets. Excellent. Make in terms of pickled beets is not not that difficult to do. So you know, that's, that's what you you get with those onions fit into root vegetables you know, of course and so, so we get that root vegetables are okay, since they're a vegetable they are plant product. They do contain they're primarily starch, but they do contain a small amount of protein. But what's big today is red vegetables contain no gluten. So you'll see root vegetables advertised as a part of a healthy free gluten diet. Well, they never did contain gluten, they don't contain. So that's that's really not not a big deal. Red vegetables, overall good sources of vitamin A. Many of them are good sources of vitamin C. Of course, they're they're great sources of fiber, which can benefit all of us and many of them have high potassium value, which is good for the heart, okay and circulation and I mean muscle contraction, another group of things, okay. Then then we have what we call the cruciferous vegetables. Most people know the cruciferous vegetables as gas formers. Because when you eat a surface festivals, your body tends to produce a lot of gas. Okay, they're, they're a rather large groups are the diverse, most of most people think of broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, okay, when they think of the cruciferous vegetables, which you've got kale, you've got bok choy, which both kale and bok choy can easily be purchased in grocery stores these days. And they're kales like a leafy product. But bok choy is a type of cabbage that is not quite as, say bitter as regular cabbages and it's more in the shape of celery than what we consider to be head of cabbage. It's really easy to work with brussel sprouts. Good Good what not too many people around here eat but when we lived in in Kentucky and when my son lived in Louisiana collards were big and you hear used to hear collard greens well, okay, they're also greens and they're also cruciferous vegetables. It's a it's a bitter type of leaf that you cook kind of long lines of spinach. Okay, and in terms that depends on what you do with it, watercress, things like that, and I did bring you since it is fresh vegetable today. I did bring you a cruciferous vegetable out of my garden. Okay, I'm not much of a garden out of my garden that I have been. We have been eating ready. And just to show you that it is oh wow festival. I picked it right before we came and I washed it
James Bell
was washed so I can eat this wash. This is a good looking.
Glen McNeil
It is a what
James Bell
is it? Well, I think it's a radish, sir. Okay, it's already circular. To judge your radish. It
Glen McNeil
always depends on it depends on how you plan them and when you pick up Yeah, as to how they grow.
James Bell
Yeah, I've never had a fresh garden radish. I love radishes. I'm gonna try it. I'm gonna bite into our air.
Glen McNeil
Now, everybody listening Did you hear that crunch when he brought it into it? Okay, that vegetables should be what we call crisp tender. They should have a Christmas and a crunch time. Now what do you think of my radish? That is a spicy radish. Yes it is. I like that. That's the good part about the variety that that I planted in. Anybody can go radishes I have a tub that is two feet by four feet. And I filled it with garden soil and I put roses in it and I've watered and I grow radishes in my little tub. As I go through and I pick out a row I just dropped more seeds in and then I pick out a row so I didn't have to fill up a whole bunch of the garden I got it in a spot that's full sun can water you know the watering can easy to groove so growing many root vegetables is not a difficult process. You simply have to have something deep enough that allows the root to to develop good carrots grown in my in my radish garden could only be about maybe two inches deeper than that. But yeah, so radishes are now these cruciferous vegetables are lots of different colors so they add variety to your diet in color. Okay, as you look at that thing and so many some of the root vegetables do this to cruciferous vegetables, good sources of both vitamins and minerals, especially one great mineral is white is folate, okay, which is good for ourselves is as we age, especially good for developing fetal cells, regeneration of cells, folate or folic acid. So the cruciferous vegetables are high in that there also many of them are good sources of vitamin K. Okay, which is the vitamin, you know, Vitamin K does a lot of different things in the body. The biggest thing that most people know is that it helps with blood clotting. Okay, so you know, we have that particular process. They've got vitamin C in them, they've got some vitamin A in them. They're also the group that's biggest in what we call the phytonutrients. And we've talked about phytonutrients and phytochemicals here before and these are, these are not nutrients like vitamins and minerals. They're chemical compounds. They're plant compounds that our body uses for its benefit. They give us some anti carcinogenic properties, they, they help deal with antioxidant, they help ourselves recover. So they're used in metabolism, but they're not vitamins and minerals. So it's kind of a different type of thing that we do. Many of the cruciferous vegetables can help lower inflammation. Okay, so you know, we find that and again, again, they're rich in fiber. Okay, so as you eat both root and cruciferous vegetables, they can help you feel fuller, consume less food overall. Right? And they have some natural sugars in them, but not not a lot. That is cruciferous vegetables are often called gasp producing vegetables. And what causes that and people and especially when you look at broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. All the time. I can't eat that good. Yes, me. Yes. Okay, well, that comes from a sugar, right? And it's a sugar called raffinose. Right? It is a sugar that not very sweet. We would really use it for anything else. But it's, it's part of the carbohydrate structure in the plant. Right the plant uses it stores it uses it for growth, we do not have the ability to convert raffinose and use it for energy by our body like we can sucrose or or table sugar or glucose, blood sugar, we can't do that. So what happens is the raffinose stage in your gut, right? And it goes pretty much kind of through the stomach, a little bit of activity in the stomach passes through the small intestine bacteria starts to operate on it gets into the large intestine. And what the bacteria in the large intestine does is it breaks everything else down and we get the last nutrients. Well this bacteria in this nice warm, moist environment feeds on raffinose and produces large amounts of gas Yes. So you have gas and you'll feel bloated. Now, most of the time, gas from these types of products is non odorous. Okay? And it's very difficult to control the release of the gas because it's like, Okay, here's a small pocket of raffinose going through the intestinal going through the large intestine. And this bacteria sees it jumps all over it, breaks it down and produces gas very quickly. Okay, so you feel bloated, and you got to release it. So I can't use to say, Grandma toots. My mother consumed a very high fiber diet, just health wise and Yes, Grandma, you know, achieve always left. So, you know, we find out and we see that so, you know, we read vegetables, cruciferous vegetables, then we have a big category called greens. Right? And greens are
James Bell
everything else. Well, that's what like lettuce and I
Glen McNeil
put they're called greens because they're, well, green primary. Yes, yeah. We're primarily grant make sense. Okay. So in in a way, you could say that radish has greens on cook those radish tops, we really wouldn't want to they're kind of bitter. You know, so we want to do that. But, you know, when we look at greens, it's, it's collard greens, which are also part of cruciferous for root vegetables. It's just eating the different parts of the vegetable. Okay, and that's where the Greens come from kale, mustard greens, chard, bok choy that the Chinese cabbage fits in that too. So because you eat different parts of it. Okay, so when you eat the top, you're eating the greens, when you eat the bottom, you're eating the right. And you can't do that with all vegetables. Okay, you can do that with some but you can't do that with all this. Okay, there's another product out that's been out round for years generations known as rocket and it's actually argument. Okay, and it is it's a leaf off of a product or a plant that how do I say this? It's got a mustard. If you ever mix mustard and pepper together and toss in a little tiny bit of white vinegar, it's kind of what it tastes like. So it's sweetened bitter at the same time. It's used as a topping for salads. We don't most people don't buy much of it. You probably have to go ask for it here and I don't know whether anybody would have okay from from that. And then you're good right now. Got in your yard field over there and pick some dandelion greens. I have
James Bell
a friend he swears by dandelions he loves He says they're great for the soil. They're great for you. You can eat it all and he doesn't eat a lot of them I don't think anyway but but he loves growing them he will plant his yard with dandelions.
Glen McNeil
You can harvest dandelion greens and that's fine you just got to be make sure if you're gonna go somewhere and pick him that nobody sprayed anything Yeah. Okay, so yeah, red vegetables cruciferous vegetables and greens. Okay, then we have the last and there are other categories these are the four major categories I like that it's a group called Nightshade. Okay and people have heard of nightshade vegetables and the most famous of all the nightshade vegetables and not even a vegetable Oh yeah. The most famous of all nightshade vegetables is not even a vegetable in in many and not I want to say Mideast What do you call it mid times you know back in the old days of castles and kings and fives. Okay, these were thought to be poisonous. They're red and color.
James Bell
Radishes No I'm just kidding this tomatoes I know this one.
Glen McNeil
But you know what? Tomato tomato is a fruit.
James Bell
Okay, because the seeds are on the inside right since grow it
Glen McNeil
comes from blossom. And it's different on how it comes from the blossom. Okay, it goes behind and the seeds the the meat of the product surrounds the seed. When that happens we actually have a fruit okay, that fits in that category. So we have fruits and vegetables that fit into the nightshade group. Okay, and the nightshade group has its its name because many of them are very flavorful. Okay and whatever they are, and they are products that tend to grow better overnight that they do during the day. So the name nightshade came around came around what because they thought there was some sort of an holy thing going on with this plant where it would grow overnight but would grow during the day like all the rest of the plants are growing right so became a Nightshade. That's, I mean, that's folklore. sure that when they do grow better at night, if you ever watch your check your tomatoes or anything, you get up in the morning and there's blossoms all over, you know or something like that. These products grow better as temperature cools down, and then they reserve their moisture for the day. Now nightshade vegetables eggplants an example of a nightshade vegetable potatoes are actually an example but it fits in many other categories. Probably the most recognized one today are peppers all the different varieties of peppers fit within the nightshade vegetables. Now there's also one that most people don't think about and that's tobacco. Okay, but oh yeah, we don't eat tobacco you can try
James Bell
I'm curious now what tobacco actually tastes like if you're eat some well it's
Glen McNeil
it's not a fruit. It's not a vegetable. It's a nightshade plant. It grows better through the night. Okay, so but it fits I always thought that was interesting. I don't eat okay for that. Now the other thing about nightshade plants is that they contain most of the nightshade plants contain some form of what we call an alkaloid. Okay, and out alkaloid? How do I want to put this? There are chemicals similar to proteins but a little different? Okay, and they're high in nitrogen. Okay, well, that's the nitrogen composition. With everything else that's in this alkaloid that has an effect upon the human body. Okay. And, and what we find is they're kind of medicinal, we can make a lot of medicinal things out of Morphe is made from a nightshade alkaloid. As an example of what we fit in there. Quinine is another product that fits into that. So we, you know, we see this and so as this goes on, we find that some of these alkaloids also fit into the phytonutrients category, where they can give us some protective aspects against cancers. So it's, I mean, it's good for us and in terms of that, but it can also be bad for us. If you get too much they can cause headaches. They can cause bitter taste in foods and cause gastric upset, nausea, diarrhea, and in most cases, you can identify when a a dark colored plant gets this potatoes are famous for this. You pick up a potato and it's got green circle or green spots all over people who say Well, that's sunburn tomato. Oh, yeah, it's kind of a suppose. But what that is, is that contains because of the chemical interactions that have occurred, that contains an alcohol alkaloid called solid, the green part of the tomato, that's what can make you sick. Okay, so if you ate lots of green potatoes, now, you could peel that part of the skin into potato, lay and cut it away and use the rest of the potato and that's fine. Now, you're not going to get this from eating one or two green potatoes, okay, you'd have to eat quite a bit or you'd have to eat quite a bit of a of a vegetable that's showing this process. So those are our four main categories that we look at when we buy when we fix vegetables and so for this, okay, and I brought you a fresh vegetable from my garden. Okay to show you how much I appreciate you and also when I appreciate you so well thank you but I wanted somebody else to teach you one of my hot radishes. Yeah, it's good. So first first step in using fresh vegetables. Make sure once you buy or pick are not bruised or damaged. Look them over carefully. Now it always drives me nuts when you go in and people are feeling all the with all the different vegetables and everything but you know you don't want things that have soft spots in them and they should be firm all the way round. This color slices that type of thing. Don't buy him if they're bruised or damaged. Second thing is clean. Wash your hands with soap and water. Then wash your vegetables right your vegetables off with water. There's all these vegetable rinses and washes out there you can use what what most of the science tells us is there not a whole lot better than water. In terms what many of them are is they're really really heavily diluted bleach. Okay, so the even if you read some off of those, you still gotta rinse them off with water. So just make sure you rinse them off good. And actually a little vegetable brush like I pulled out of ground I get a little vegetable rush put it in some running water and brush it off and slice the top off at the bottom and it's ready to eat. Okay from from that process. So watch that. Alright Third, when you go through this process, when you shop, okay or when you go to the farmers market to buy, separate what you purchase. Here we get into also into the preparation. We've talked in here a number of times about cross contamination, keep fresh vegetables away from raw meats, raw poultry, raw anything, handle them separately. Go to the grocery store watching when they get their groceries they put the most of them are very careful about it. Sometimes they aren't. They put the chicken in the bottom and then dump in the fresh vegetables on top of it. I always say at what my meats in separate bags. I want my chicken in one bag, my beef and another bag. I don't want anything else in the bag with bags, things like that at the grocery store. keep them separate at home. Okay, don't use a cutting board for raw meats. And then put raw vegetables on your cutting board. Okay, and then serve. Just be safe you know, watch for the content elimination. Cooking is the same thing. Now cooking with vegetables. You want vegetables to be what we call all dented. Chris, tender, green, fresh green beans that are cooked until they're mushy and fall apart or overcooked. A lot of people like them that way but they're over cooked. Okay from that so boiling, steaming boiling, you know for a short period of time steaming, microwave, great way to go. Okay when you're cooking fresh vegetables if you're gonna cook, and many times cooking helps break down some of the raffinose Vegetable so it will help make cabbage less gas producing. It will, it will in many cases cooking vegetables creates milder flavors within the vegetables. If you've ever fresh broccoli and cooked fresh broccoli, there is a definite difference in the taste. Okay, of those two products, even if they're both annulled, right. Okay, step five, chill things. If you bring a bunch of vegetables in the garden from the garden, or bring them home from the store and you wash them off, put them in the refrigerator, bag them up, you know, wrap them in a towel bowl, with water out, whatever, put them back in your frigerator keep them chilled, just helps prevent any bacterial growth or anything that can occur around them. And most fresh vegetables that are chilled, still have good flavor. Some of the flavors get a little bit better as they warm up kind of like cheese. Okay, but some still still do that. And then I'm gonna go back to when in doubt, throw it out. If you're not sure how old it is, if it's sat out on the counter for a vegetable dip or something for a couple of hours, good idea to pitch it, you know, because of contamination you're dealing with a raw food product here. Okay, so you just want to do that. You know, if you've had something if you're not going to cook it if it's been in contact with raw if you're going to serve it Ron it's been in contact with Rami you messed up, well cook it don't kill the bacteria, okay, you cook it but be very careful. And we just tell people do that around around holiday time. Fresh vegetables cleaned, put in the refrigerator will keep for many will keep for a week and maintain their freshness. I always put my radishes in a bowl of water and set them in the refrigerator and they'll stay crisp and fresh for about six days. Okay, they don't last six days because I eat them all. Okay, but you know, in terms of like that, and I, I don't think you can beat the flavor of many of the fresh vegetables out there to take a green or a yellow pepper and just wash it, see it, slice it up and stack on it. Now for a lot of people that's a lot of spice, but I think that that makes a good taste. And then nothing better to me than ever daily onion, peeled cooldown peeled, sliced it nice big round pieces. And then you put a piece of sharp cheddar cheese on top of their daily onion and sharp cheddar cheese, or just eat an onion like an apple. People don't like that. lettuce leaves. You know, if you're looking for a way to lighten sandwich meals, lettuce leaves make great replacement for bread. Oh yeah, I love doing that. Cook a hamburger patty and put your hamburger patty between two lettuce leaves and, and whatever whatever else you want it and it really makes a nice little pocket and the same is true with camis leaves. So lots of fresh vegetables. They're coming into their own. You know I look my cucumbers. My cucumber plants have got little cucumbers on them about two inches long already. My tomato plants are covered in blooms but no, no tomatoes yet. By being planets are growing. It's early for beans I plant. I'm trying I've never planted beans before. So I played in pole beans this year. So I got these big pots scattered around the yard being planted poles sticking up and up. That's how I garden I don't really have it all in the ground, I think big pots and bends around. That works. Yeah. So it works but Grow Your Own go to the farmers market, buy them into grocery store. They're, they're great, you know, and he's right now you can go into grocery store, you can buy a platter of clean vegetables, you know fresh vegetables that you can snack on. And they make great snacks for people. Absolutely. I hope people enjoy them all summer long. You know, just be smart, be safe. Eat the ones you really like and occasionally buy one you've never had before. Look, look up how to prepare it. Okay, that's always important. Sometimes the vegetable preparation is not as standard as we think. And then sample it. You know, and if you don't like it raw, chop it up. Toss it in the skillet, a little olive oil on a top little onion with salt and pepper crack couple eggs in it. Sprinkle some cheddar cheese on it. And you got a nice little mix of vegetables you did like most with eggs and cheese you do like There you go. So have a great summer.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Miss Kansas pageant executive director Stephanie Harris.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger shares information about as upcoming informational childcare meeting.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Arts Council executive director Brenda Meder shares details about the coming Hays Summer Art Walk.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Heartland Community Foundation executive director Sarah Meitner shares details of the Youth Action Council.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Public Library communications coordinator Callie Kolacny shares information about upcoming activities.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays City Band director Matthew Rome stops by to share details about the Hays City Band.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University President Tisa Mason and Chief Communications Officer Scott Cason share information about campus over the summer.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Fort Hays State University Police Chief Ed Howell
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger discusses Chamber Blue of Kansas, an BlueCross BlueShield of Kansas product, being evaluated for potential implementation for members.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares updates on housing and other developments in Ellis County.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Ellis County Historical Society curator Adam Conkey and intern Molly Banks share information about the George Sternberg gun collection, currently on display.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Ellis County Sheriff Scott Braun shares information about riding UTV's on Ellis County roads.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Mike Beam.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares information about the need to fund quality of life projects in Ellis County.
Summer weather is here. Hays Fire Department deputy chief Shane Preston shares tips on how to stay safe on this episode of the Post Podcast.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, USD 489 Nutrition Services director Jessica Younker shares information about the upcoming USD 489 summer lunch program.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Hays USD 489 Superintendent Ron Wilson.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Cottonwood Extension District agent Stacy Campbell shares information about the upcoming Wheat Plot Field Day.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The Cottonwood Extension Districts' Wheat Plot Field Day is coming up next week. Agent Stacy Campbell stops by to share all the details on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Stacy Campbell
On June the first next Wednesday, we're having our annual wheat variety demo plot field day the location has changed. It's not in its place that it's been for over two decades north of Victoria. It's actually going to be a little south and west of Hayes. Neil got chalk is put out the variety plot helped us do that this year, which we very much appreciate. So yes, next Wednesday, to what the June first starting at 6pm. In the evening, like it's always started. The location of the plot is if you turn at the 183 Bypass right at the where the Experiment Station is on 240 a fuel go south to 3.3 miles to mangia road, and then hanger right go west two miles to 220th Avenue, and then just turn on to 20th and go south a half a mile and you cannot miss it.
James Bell
Probably just follow where all the cars are right? Well, hopefully,
Stacy Campbell
like I was just telling you now that it's rained, and that's great that it has, it's my lope it's getting to be Milo planting time. So there's probably gonna be a lot of planners roll in next week. So we'll see what kind of turnout we get at the at the field day. But if anybody's got the time and wants to come out, we've got several varieties, quite a few new varieties. They keep saying that anymore. It seems like the wheat breeders, both in universities and in the companies are cranking out quite a few new varieties each year. So we have several of them in our plot to talk about our wheat specialists will be there. And also our small grains cereal or small grains. Plant Pathologist Kelsey Anderson Onofre will be there and talk about diseases which this year with the dry weather, we haven't seen too many. But still she'll kind of give a a recap or a reminder of some of the diseases that that are out there. And so there's always you know, some some good discussion there and always time for questions for our producers. And so yeah, we invite in you know, and then that could be landlords, too that don't farm but have got ground and tenants They're welcome to come out to next Wednesday, June the first at 6pm. At mangia Road and 220th Avenue at that intersection, just go south a half a mile. We do ask that you I have never asked to do RSVP. But we do ask that we would appreciate it if you'd RSVPs. By this Friday, or even if you're not for sure yet. But come Tuesday morning you decide to come give us a call. So we kind of got an idea for numbers on on feeding. We have a four H club that's doing doing the mail. Oh, very
James Bell
cool. And that's a free meal. Right?
Stacy Campbell
It is a free meal.
James Bell
So there's a good reason to go out just for that. Yeah, I
Stacy Campbell
probably should have brought that my list of sponsors. But we've got quite a few sponsors, several of the banks and so forth here in the county that are always real good about donating to that. So we appreciate them. And so anyway, yeah, everybody's invited. So hopefully we'll see some folks next Wednesday at 6pm.
James Bell
Very good, very good. Well, I know that, you know, you mentioned there's not a whole lot going on down through the extension district right now, this was kind of the big thing, but anything else you want to hit on before we go. Um,
Stacy Campbell
you know, I had kind of mentioned in a newspaper article recently and stuff with this dry weather. If ponds continue to stay dry, you know, I hope they don't, but if they do, it's an opportunity where guys could clean out some of their farm ponds, you know, make them a little bit deeper through the years, you know, dirt sediment gets back into them. Great opportunity to do that if the ponds are dry this summer. Also, if you've got any that are leaking, you can do a just take zero to 60 inch course in the pond area where it normally is and you can bring that soil and we can send it off for soil texture test. If it comes back to having close to or 30% Clay, basically it should pack well enough to hold the water not leak he does probably need to do a better job of packing it's recommended to pack them with with the sheepsfoot roller. And not every farmer has one of those but I think there's some scattered around the country where a guy could get hold of them and you got to really really pack it well. To where basically it's called rolling off or when you take that sheepsfoot roller off of there you really can't see the imprints anymore that it makes.
James Bell
Okay, you know, we talked about that. I think last time you were here that sheepsfoot roller and I'm sorry I was gonna look it up see what it looks like because I'm super curious what that tool actually looks
Stacy Campbell
like the big roller Packer but it's got those the big metal knobs that stick up about I don't know probably
James Bell
a teenager. Oh, yeah. Sure. Okay.
Stacy Campbell
Yeah. So that really helps kind of pack that in. So that is one of the keys that we've had one person that just put up a pond and a couple of years ago and it wasn't holding water and they made the comment. Well we ran you know the scraper across a lot but they didn't do a sheep's foot roller so it was dry. We sent this Soil offer texture test, it came back at exactly 30%. So it's like if you will just pack that with the sheep's foot roller. You know, I'm pretty confident that it will hold water now. Okay, yeah, they did that. So it'll be interesting to see, I think they dug it out some more. That's the other thing if you dig them out then you start to put a little bit dirty and only put no more than six inches at a time and then pack pack pack pack pack and then if you got to put a little bit more in no more than six inches at a time and then pack pack pack again with that sheepsfoot rower. So and I'm not an engineer or contractor I've learned a lot because of this one person and, and trying to help them so you know, it does kind of just make sense that you you know, if you've got enough clay in your soil and our soils have, you know, definitely have some clay in them. So, if you've got a leaky pond, we can share sin, some soil offer soil texture test to see what percentage clay and if it's kind of low, maybe in the 20% area. A lot of people think let's add bentonite clay to it. Well that's the most expensive way to do it. There's rock salt can actually do that. And rock salt is pretty plentiful here in Kansas. You got the salt mines and Hutch and think won over by in Rice County, or yeah over and a lot Rice County Lyons, Kansas. So I think you know, you can get rock salt, rock salt, excuse me, shipped and probably to put that on and we've got information about how to do that. If you don't have enough clay in the soil and get it packed in there. Good. But definitely the cheaper option than the bentonite clay is to use rock salt. If if you don't have enough clay in the soil, for that toe for that soil to be able to hold that water and not leak in your farm ponds.
James Bell
Interesting. Yeah, very cool. Okay. All right, sir. Well, it's good to
Stacy Campbell
see if they Yes, thank you. Yeah. And also, I guess, call us if you're planning to come to the weight plot field day that's 62894306289430. If you're planning to come give us a call by Friday, if we'd appreciate that
On this episode of the Post Podcas Ellis County Historical Society interim director Amanda Rupp shares the latest from the Ellis County Historical Society.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger stops by to share information about their upcoming Dale Carnegie training.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The Hays Chamber's, Dale Carnegie workshops are coming up in early June. President and CEO of the Hays Chamber, Sarah Wasinger stops by to share some of the details on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Sarah Wasinger
When I first started at the Chamber almost three years ago, mind you, back in June of 2019, I was able to go through the Dale Carnegie class on the front end, starting at the chamber. And it was quite frankly, one of the most wonderful professional development personal development opportunities that I have ever had. And looking at, you know, a unique job as the chamber presidents Oh, it was just really a good opportunity to really hone in on better communication skills, and really kind of understand how I can, you know, really stop and pause and listen, and really hear what other people are saying and understand what their needs are. And that's really been one of the biggest tools I've used in my day to day jobs.
James Bell
That's awesome. Yeah, I'm looking at kind of the class notes here. Confidence, competence and enthusiasm is what they're practicing. I love that.
Sarah Wasinger
Yes. So if you are the type of person that maybe you're not extroverted, you're introverted, but your job requires you to maybe push yourself outside of your comfort zone couldn't imagine what that's like, I don't know, do we have jobs like that?
James Bell
We may, we may be a public faces of the community? Yeah, well, I
Sarah Wasinger
would say that this is that opportunity to put yourself outside of your comfort zone, you know, it's not just a traditional sit in your chair, you know, from 830 to five o'clock training session, you're actually getting up, you're interacting, you're moving around, and you're going to have to prepare, you know, a couple of minutes speeches here and there. But the cool thing is, is that you're sitting in a room of people that are in that exact same place that you are, you know, they're testing their comfort levels. They're not, you know, probably speaking at the public level on a daily basis, either. People that were in my class ranged anywhere from people in the banking industry, we had folks in education, agriculture, you know, just essentially people that were in the marketing filled, business related, you know, competencies, it really had the gamut of people who, you know, would benefit from this class. So, we also had the opportunity to act out skits, which I'm not one that is very creative, but really, they put you at ease when you're in the class. I'm Amy Gross is actually the facilitator. And for people that listened a couple of months ago, we actually had her on to talk about the class that we had back in April. So she does a great job. And it's my understanding that Tasha Iseman from Nex tech wireless is going to be last year's guest, um, graduate facilitator this year. So she's going to come in and kind of help and keep the class engaged and keep everybody on their toes.
James Bell
Very cool. Very cool. Yeah. And I was gonna say, I remember that interview. And for those out there listening, want to go back and listen to that you can find that over the post podcast, I'm sure that's there. Over at Hayes post.com. But the I love that. The exactly you you kind of alluded to this a little bit. But this really this class is not for just business professionals or Chamber members. It's for anybody you there's something that you can take from this, no matter what your job position or life experiences.
Sarah Wasinger
It is absolutely so the thing I like about this course is when we started back in 2018, kudos to Tammy Walbrook, excuse me my predecessor, she's the one who brought this opportunity. And so this is just a really nice way for people to have amazing, you know, communication training, but you don't have to travel away from haze. That's the value of it, right? So where you as you would normally travel out of town for, you know, three to five days for a training like this. You get to have it right in your own back door. We're going to actually have it at the venue at Thursday's. And that will be on June 7 14th. And 21st classes will start from 8:30am and go until 5pm
James Bell
Very cool. Very cool. Yeah. And, you know, first off the venue, what a neat little place. I I've had some meetings in there and I love it. I think that's one thing we still probably need more of venue spaces here. Nice. But anyway, the travel piece of that absolutely to get this world class training. I mean, normally you'd have to go to Wichita, Kansas City to do this but you guys bring it right here to the people in Hays. I love that.
Sarah Wasinger
Absolutely. You're not paying gas prices, you're not paying costs to stay overnight in a hotel. You're staying right here in Hays. And, you know, you don't have to be paying us to take the class we have in the past have had people from other communities and counties travel into town to take it. So registration information can currently be found on the Chamber's website. We do have fliers, essentially, that will be coming out. While I guess if you go back as far as I think our February newsletter will have a Dale Carnegie flyer in each of the month's newsletter so definitely go check that out. If for any reason you can't see that. Feel free to call us at the Chamber office at 785-628-8201 and either ask for myself or for Rhonda and Mariah M, we're giving her that some of that information too. So, we will do our best to get you all the information you need. And more than anything, too, we would be happy to connect you with Amy gross, the facilitator from Dale Carnegie at the Kansas heartland.
James Bell
Okay. Now I'm curious, do you have to be a chamber member to get in on this?
Sarah Wasinger
Absolutely not. Now, there is a cool benefit to being a chamber member. However, we will give you a 15% discount for being a chamber member. When you register through the course, there is a code on the flyer at the Chamber's website. And of course, they'll Carnegie will verify that all those who register with that code are true Chamber members. One thing that we haven't talked about is there are three books that come with this training. And I actually, I feel like I use one of the three on a weekly basis, if not more. So the quick and easy way to effective public speaking, I actually read that one, before going on stage at the Chamber banquet my first year. And I think had I not done that I might have just, you know, maybe gotten really red faced and paused and not knowing what to say. But that book really helped me with some personal competence. Just being able to speak in front of you know, 400 of my peers across town, and then how to win friends and influence people and how to stop Worrying and start letting. I think that even though we look at Dale Carnegie as the concept for professional development, and they've been doing this for over 100 years now, the principles still really do remain true. I think the thing I love the most about the books is it gives you a lot of different stories that kind of illuminate some of these different principles that we talked about, to where it's easy for you to internalize as your own self within your own experiences. And you can kind of really pull from a variety of examples for those.
James Bell
Absolutely, yeah, I highly recommend those books. I've never done this class, but I've read those books, or at least a couple of them. Yeah, I don't remember exactly which ones. But yeah, well, I gotta pulled up here, just aside the titles in front of me on the on the web. And they're like, they're $5. I mean, what a what an investment your future, if you don't want to take the time at this, at this point in your career to do a class like this, please read those books,
Sarah Wasinger
at least read the books, they're amazing. Um, so a few of the other things that you will learn in this class are creating a safe and caring environment, managing stress and minimizing worry, obviously, everybody is doing a lot more, with a lot fewer staff right now. So, um, who could benefit from that one, and then energizing and engaging listeners, that's sometimes very difficult, because we consume so much information on a daily basis. And so just making sure that the message that you're sharing is really being taken in by your audience. And then I think the thing that I love the most is building trust and persuading people to take action. So a lot of times, maybe we have that fear point that, oh, maybe I shouldn't act, maybe I shouldn't do this. Because I'm worried about what the possible outcome might be. I think this class really helps you guide your own internal thought process, and really helps you feel comfortable maybe pushing the envelope in certain instances when you wouldn't, you know, not in a bad way. But you know, if you see something that could yield from some positive change, it gives you the courage to act on it.
James Bell
Very cool. Yeah. And that's one of the things that I see that, I don't know, it kind of digs at me a little bit is the lack of action. And, and especially, and not not anyone here locally, but around the state in other locations I've been in, I see these towns, and I'm thinking like, goodness gracious, what we've got all these cool things going on in Ellis County, why aren't they doing it here?
Sarah Wasinger
Right. So I think you have to ask yourself that question, you know, are you okay with the status quo. And I think part of what Dale Carnegie teaches you is that, you know, we can be proud of the foundation and the roots that we have, that have built us to be where we are today. But we also have to owe it to ourselves to look forward to, you know, what our futures really need. And one of the questions that I love the most that people will learn about in this course, are, what's the worst thing that can happen? A lot of times, that's the thing that makes us worry the most is we're worried about the worst thing that can happen. Well, if you can identify that elephant in the room, what's the worst thing that can happen? A lot of times, it's just doing nothing. And so doing something is always better than doing nothing. And it takes courage to try different things. And I feel that our county, as you've pointed to James has been very successful as of late because we've been willing to try some different things. And we know that in order to grow, we need to shift a little bit of the way that we've done things in the past. And I'm very proud of our community for doing that.
James Bell
Absolutely. lots lots to be proud of here in Ellis County, and Hayes specifically. We've got just a few minutes left, I want to make sure we were telling people again, how do you get registered for
Sarah Wasinger
this thing, so they can go to Hayes chamber.com and access that flyer, so they can go to the news and announcements tab and under our newsletter, link there. They can just click on that. There's an actual link in the flyer itself they can go to and then if they have any issues, registering there or getting that access discount code to work, they can call us at the office and we'll be happy to put that in there and want to make sure folks do now may 31. So next week Tuesday is the deadline to register for the class. And so if you have any questions beforehand, you know, we'd be happy to connect you with other graduates of the class. I know that many of them are always willing to share their experience with others.
James Bell
Absolutely. And I have never heard anyone that has taken this class have a bad thing to say about it. Not a single person. That's incredible to me. And I've known quite a few that have been through that. Absolutely. All right. Well, Sara, before we run out of time, we got to talk about this. You got a lot going on this week. Well, we always do. It's always busy down the chamber.
Sarah Wasinger
So Wednesday, we have Gracies corner at fhsu Memorial Union, that'll be at 4pm. I'm Grace these corner is actually their new pet line of fhsu Tiger gear that you can purchase for your four legged friends. Oh, that will be kind of exciting.
James Bell
The first dog gracious. Took me a second but yeah, the Masons dogs.
Sarah Wasinger
And then Wednesday as well, we're going to have our H yp MDC meeting that will be held at defiance at 4:30pm. And then Thursday, we're going to have a lunch and learn with the Wild West festival. And it'll be at the press at noon, and lunches available for $12. Such a great opportunity to learn how you can get involved, and an event that really hits almost every corner of Hayes, that we have a lot of people that come visit us that week. So I know that they are definitely high in demand for getting some volunteers and help for that. So if you have an inkling to learn more, as well, as you know, hear some music while you're there, and volunteering. That's a great opportunity. And then Friday, we're excited to have our chamber chat with cathedral roast, and they are going to be at the downtown Pavilion at 9am. We're going to learn about what Jeff Broll has been doing with his new coffee business, as well as talking about the downtown market that will be kicking off that weekend. And then finally, we're going to have our monthly membership lunch at Smoky Hill Country Club that will actually be this Friday at noon. And leadership Hayes will actually be our topic that they can use as a response. So if you're curious to see what our leadership Hainsworth has been doing for their class project, it's a great chance to get involved
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University assistant director of admissions Hugo Perez and Fort Hays State University Alumni Association engagement strategist Carolyn Tatro share information about the upcoming Hispanic College Institute.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Arts Council executive director Brenda Meder shares information about summer events at the council.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Gardener's Supply president and CEO Cindy Turcot.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares information about the hiring of a director of business development.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Grow Hays has recently expanded by one more team member in order to help continue on in their mission. Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams stops by to talk to us about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
An interesting year with adding people.
James Bell
Yeah, maybe we should talk about that first before we talk about the new new hire because you do have a new hire from a wider No, it was it about six months ago or so you brought on David King and
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Queen joined us January 3, this year, director of business recruitment and retention and spend a great job has jumped right in. And he wrote the grant for the microfactory that we got. He's got all kinds of I say all kinds, but he's got a lot of prospects he's working on in terms of organizations, companies that may be looking to expand and Hayes and so we're in Ellis County. And so he's doing great, but we still had some additional needs. And that leads us to where we are today.
James Bell
Very cool. Very cool. Yeah, I gotta say this about David, before we move on to the new guy. Immediately, they have seen him around, I see him everywhere. He says like, it's like, I think he may be sometimes he's following me because it seems like every event I'm at, he's also there, and participating, communicating and, and just being I think it really good representative of the organization.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, actually is following you, James. So you bear watching. But now, he has been very active, he's getting out into community. And he's, he's he's doing what needs to be done. And as I say, we've got we've got more prospects in the pipeline now than we've ever had. And, you know, recruitment of businesses, it's a numbers game, the more you have in the pipeline, some will fall through, you know, most will fall through. It's it's a, it's a rejection game, but you'll get your fair share of them. And that's what we're working hard to do is get our fair share of them.
James Bell
Very cool. All right. So let's talk about this, this a new position. First off, I'm coming into this with absolutely no information. So what is the position
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
where the position is director of business development, and special projects, we like long, complicated titles that grow haze. But essentially it will be his focus will be primarily in the areas of entrepreneurship, business creation, which is the first item in our mission of business creation, business, retention, and expansion and retainment. And then business recruitment, and James Robin, will be joining us in June, the first or whatever day that is, that's the first Monday of June. And he will be in that position of business development and special projects, in part because of this microfactory. That's a big project. And we need somebody looking after that and making sure that the construction phase goes well, but then we also, you know, we have to fill that building when we get to that point. Once it's complete, we want it full of serving its purpose as an incubator for manufacturers. And so he will be involved in that as well as some of our housing initiatives and, and have a lot of areas that he'll be focused on.
James Bell
Very cool. Very cool. And you know, if that name sounds familiar, it sounded familiar to me too. But I had to look it up. It didn't immediately strike a strike my memory, but he was a long term, longtime office staffer with Senator Moran, right. He has
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
been he's he's been a district representative for Senator Moran covering I believe it's the Northwest 18 counties in Northwest Kansas. And that has given him I believe, a really good feel for small communities, rural communities like we are and like, our county is in terms of the struggles that they have, and some of the programs that might be available that federal programs as well as even state programs for small communities like ours, that we can take advantage of. So I think he I think his background number one is as the district representative for Senator Moran will serve him well. Number two, he born and raised in western Kansas in the Sharon Springs area. So he has a good understanding of, of what's going on and has that western Kansas work ethic that we like to see and it's so good to have. And so a lot of positives with James I'm very confident he'll he'll hit the ground running and do a lot of good for us.
James Bell
Yeah, that's awesome. You know, you talk about those the extreme western Kansas of communities and they think about the struggles they have and how they compare to some of the things we're dealing with. And oh, my goodness, like, if you can come up with some helpful ideas out there. That's going to be just a easy implement implementation here. I would say
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, that's one of the other areas that I hope to focus on in the future is that even though we are, you know, our, our coverage is Ellis County, we can't be insensitive to what goes on around us and other counties and the struggles that they have. Because those people come to hate they shop and Hayes, they buy cars and Hayes, they go to Fort Hays State, they go to events, and they do have a lot of struggles, you know, depopulation is a real struggle for them. aging populations is a struggle, you know, they have, they have all the same challenges that we have with workforce with housing with childcare. So, if we can help in those areas, I think in the long run, it benefits our community as well. So more and more we look at the region versus just Ellis County, you know, obviously, our focus is Ellis County, we want to do as much as we can here. But we we can't be insensitive to what goes on around us either. Yeah, and
James Bell
you know, in in recent months, years, maybe even I've been hearing a lot more about that collaborative nature. You know, it's, it's, it seems like even professionals, businessmen that have been doing their industry or in their industry for a long time, are kind of coming to that realization that it's no longer that competitive nature out here in western Kansas got to be collaborative one. And I wonder if you want to talk a little bit about how a position like this helps build that. And especially with the entrepreneurship piece, because, you know, again, a lot of conversations I'm hearing is the things that we want out here in western Kansas, they're not going to come to us, we have to build them.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, that's right, you know, creation is a big part of what we are focused on and what we need to be doing. And that's going to be a big part of what James is going to be responsible for. And, yeah, I mean, we we have to help are, we do have to look at it regionally. And we do. And that's, that's one of the reasons why James was such a good fit is because he has such a good familiarity with these 18 counties out here, as to what goes on and what their challenges are. So and, and he knows, and, you know, hopefully he understands the federal programs that might be available, as well as how the system works, you know, government in general, if you if you get into the middle of it, it can be overwhelming, as to okay, we've got this program and this program, and this program will What's that mean to me, and you need that person that understands that that can kind of guide you through that. And that's, that's what we're for. That's why when a prospective business is coming to town, we're kind of their first stop, because as they look for, okay, what programs might be available to us what, what infrastructure needs are we going to have, we're the ones that can guide them through that and, and as we expand and look at Western Kansas as a whole same kind of thing could be the case, a lot of these small communities. They can't afford full time economic development people. I mean, they just can't. So if we can help in some areas with some of the smaller communities, that that's great. And, you know, we can't be so proprietary and so focused on Oh, it's only what's good for hazer it's only what's good for Ellis County. You know, I always I say all the time. What's good for Hays is good for Ellis, Victoria Manjaro Chinchin. By the same token, what's good for Alice or Victoria or Manjaro? is good for AES. Because we need people. And so if attracting them any way we can, it's what we need to be doing.
James Bell
You mentioned, many of these smaller counties out here in western Kansas don't have that elk economic development staff. And I wonder if you want to talk a little bit about that as well how important organizations like grow Hayes in especially with the recent growth that you guys have accomplished down there, how important it is for groups like yours to continue to stimulate economic development?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, it is important and and we fortunately, in Ellis County, we have the resources to engage full time professional economic development people, a lot of counties don't. I've been watching here recently and it's it's there's just a procession of people in different positions out in western Kansas communities that they have an economic development director for a while, but then they move on to something else or they retire, or they're just part time or you know, they're they're part time they work for maybe a a local utility, but they also do economic development on the side, you know, the organization allows them to do that. But the problem with that is they just don't have the opportunity to focus enough time and energy towards what the whole process is. And I particularly see that with housing in some of these rural areas. I mean, they have real challenges, and we do too, but we're able to make some strides and and solve some of these problems, but they they really have an uphill battle. And so I think long term, that's something we want to explore is how we can help Additionally, in some of these smaller communities where they can maybe have some sort of a consulting arrangement with the Ellis, our organization, and we could maybe provide some of those kinds of services, we do have the creda organization, the western Kansas, Rural Economic Development Alliance. And that's a group of Eiken of counties and cities and economic development professionals, all through the western half of the state, that participate in this organization. And they're a resource for each other. And it's a great organization. But sometimes it takes a little bit more than that takes actually boots on the ground to do some of that. And over time, I think we'll we'll be doing some of those kinds of things just out of necessity.
James Bell
You know, on the flip side of this, I wonder if you want to speak to folks out here, I know there's there's there's I think everyone would agree a pretty independent streak and the folks that live in western Kansas, and I think some of them feel that maybe organizations like this that grow it's it's it's I know, it's not a government organization, but it's quasi governmental, you do get government funds. I wonder if you want to speak to that, you know, why? Or how the growth of organizations like this aren't necessarily government more a local effort?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, certainly, one could argue that as organizations like ours grow, and we do get some government funding that, you know, we're, we're one more thing that is on that list of things, it get funded by governments. And, and as I like to think, you know, it needs to be a good investment by the local governments in what they're spending and what their return is, you know, that's why every year we go before them and tell them what we've done, and tell them what our ask is for the coming year, and what our plans are. And, you know, it's up to them to decide if it's been a good investment or not, I certainly think it has locally for all the communities in our in our county, but that's what the elected officials are there to do and make that assessment. But if, if, if we're not there to do it, it simply doesn't get done. You know, that, that company that wants to locate here that wants to go through the process of asking for some economic incentives, or knowing what programs that might be available for him. The reality is that if there's no if we're not there, either the city or the county, somebody's gonna have to hire it done. And they still won't be looking at things as broadly as what we are and the number of services and things that we offer. So but yeah, I hear you on the growth thing. And, you know, part of this, the adding of these two people is, anybody that knows me knows I'm not a spring chicken. And there will come a day where I'm not going to be doing this anymore. And norburn Our organization needs succession planning. Well, when this when James is in place, and David's in place, you know, we'll have a much more secure succession plan, whatever that is, I don't know that it even be either one of them. But whatever that plan is, will be much more solid than it would have been if it was just me doing everything. And if I go out and get hit by a bus or something like that, that would have been problematic. Absolutely.
James Bell
We've got just about a minute or so left. I wonder if we want to share details. When is Jim Seaton started down there,
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
He started June 1, or whatever day that is the first Monday in June. He's, he's I'm, I'm confident that had a little bit of a conversation with Senator Moran. And he's, while he hates to lose James, he feels like it's a positive move for James. You know, I think James James is failing is what he's indicated to me as he'd like to make a difference on a local level versus what he was doing on a federal level. I think you can see the results a little easier on a local level and, and I think he's excited about that. So he starts on June the first and we'll get him going and we'll get some getting acclimated to some projects and some he'll have some definite things he's on his to do list and relate star to partnership, whether it be our youth entrepreneurship challenge, pitch it events, try spec, the Speaker Series, whatever.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber vice president of marketing and communications, along with Advisory Council chair Tom Graham share details of the upcoming Street Dance scheduled for June 17.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Symphony in the Flint Hills' operations manager Kelly Tastove.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University's Glen McNeil shares details of the benefits and risks of taking in some sun, on national May Ray Day.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
As the weather gets warmer, more people are sure to be enjoying the sunshine. This May Ray Day, Glen McNeil from Fort Hays State University share some information about the health benefits of sunshine and some of the dangers on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Glen McNeil
Devil's Food Cake. Yeah, I brought that up. I heard you talk about it.
James Bell
I did. It's Devil's Food Cake day.
Glen McNeil
Yeah. So I want to quiz you now. Because I know you read some things. You're looking at me?
James Bell
I'm I'm nervous. Because all I know I know is it's made a choice. It's called Devil's Advocate. Well, that's a good one. I'm gonna say because it's not angels. fruitcake, it's the opposite. That's probably wrong. I'm sure.
Glen McNeil
That may fit somewhere. But that's not the reason that goes along with that the food history. It was popularized in the 18th century. And at that point in time, deviled was a word used to describe foods in general, that were very dark, rich, spicy, and then had chocolate in them. Okay, very chocolatey food. So a chocolate cake like that people had referred to as a sinful cake. Well, then the food term came in and it became Devil's Food was a sinful cake because it was so rich and chocolatey. And people participate in it so the name became devil Devil's Food Cake became popular in the United States in the 1900s. Okay, moved moved, basically to Europe from here. And it's pretty stable now. And of course, now you can go out and buy a box of deviled foods cake and, and it's it's made from that. But they're, they're originally were two varieties that finit fit into that. Both of them are still with us today. One of them is the very chocolatey dark colored cake that we refer to as the devil's Devil's Food Cake. Can't quite get that out. The other one is a cake that a lot of people eat and that's red velvet cake. I love red velvet cake. Yeah, original cry. Okay, my aunt used to make red velvet cake for all the holiday events. And she would hide one toothpick in it. Okay, and whoever got the piece with a toothpick in it didn't make any difference. Whether it's kids or adults, they had to clear the table and do the dishes.
James Bell
Oh, I thought it was gonna be a pro. No, it was oh, it was not worth
Glen McNeil
- So people used to when she would cut the cake. Everybody's looking for the toothpick. And some people even got wise the adults got wise first and they would take a fork and they go through the pieces of cake before. Be sure they didn't take that one. But she always did that. That was always kind of fun. You know, at the holiday times for that. And when we look at it, red velvet cake and devils fruitcake very similar textures. Very similar cakes, except for the color. Okay, red. Devil's Food Cake uses cocoa powder, which is a process it's called Dutch cocoa powder. It's a process process by which they make a richer, less Outland chocolate. So it has a more natural flavor. A you know very smooth texture which red velvet cake. Those two. The main difference between the two if you were to make them at home or make them from a commercial recipe, is that red velvet cake has buttermilk in it. Okay, it tends to give it a little bit more acid flavor. In fact, he has some home recipes have you add buttermilk and then a small amount of vinegar to make it even Tangmere originally when they made the the difference between the two is they added how would you get the color in a red velvet cake. Couple 100 years ago what would you use feats beaches.
James Bell
I knew that one Okay, cuz like because I you know, gross. You think it's gross, but it's actually comes out
Glen McNeil
of beaches, actually, for many, many years was used as red food coloring for for lots of things. Of course, today we got commercial food colorings, it's cheaper. It's easy to use, but they use beet juice and the beet juice in the buttermilk or at that point in time, just the soured milk. That's where vinegar and milk came in to mix the two together give it that sour flavor. Well, the beet juice has soured milk is what makes the difference between red velvet cake and the devil's food cake. So go get your box. Make your cake or if you really want to. There are lots of very simple cake recipes over the internet that you can get are a lot of families have a favorite Devil's Food Cake or a favorite red velvet cake and in terms of that and probably the biggest thing I can tell people these days if you want to try making one from scratch, spend the extra money and get yourself a box of cake flour. Okay cake flour most most homes have are all purpose flour. chairs just as it says all purpose cake flour does not form as as hard to sell. Okay doesn't form as hard to sell it has different levels of of gluten in it and different levels of starch in it and say all purpose flour does. Or bread flour were bread flour has lots of natural gluten in it cake flour has very little. So you get a you get a very nice round soft, tender Aircel and your cake and that's where that sponginess comes from.
James Bell
Interesting. I didn't even know cake flour was a thing, because big I've made cakes but well most
Glen McNeil
people use all purpose flour and most recipes will tell you to sift your all purpose flour, but you can even buy pre sifted flour and by sifting your flour you and you incorporate more air to it and you break up the starch based on the flour a little bit more. So you get a finer granule cake flour is like a pre sifted lower lower protein flour that you can use. It comes in a smaller box, it's not as large but most homes have all purpose flour because you can just do anything with it. Right you know that you want. My other thing today is now that food and cake which just because I like cake, and you brought it up, he doesn't like it. I don't know if I've ever met anybody that doesn't like certain types of cake. Yes. And the other thing has a little bit to do more to do with health. All right. And we always kind of go about you know, what are the days today? What are the different types of things we can do? Do you know what today is healthwise? I do not okay, it's called today is called National. May Ray de may Ray de may Ray day. Yes. Okay. Okay. And national may Ray Day is a day that is designed to encourage people it's not a real widely known one. But it's out there and it's May 19. And it's it's a day to encourage people to go out and enjoy the sunshine. Oh, okay. Okay, makes sense. And also it comes in May and Ray is our names involved with the person who pushed and identify this day, but they call it national may rainy day. So the big thing today is benefits of being in the sun. Now being in the sun today, low caution, supposed to be really hot. Okay, and and we know you know, when you get out and really hot and you want to make sure you're well hydrated. So whether it's water or decaffeinated product that you're drinking, or what's popular with the kids these days are these no sugar, Gatorade, no sugar, all sport, no sugar, whatever, they drink them just just like water, but you know water, water is fine for the process. And what we see so you know, the idea is get out in the sun. Sunday sunshine, vitamin is di D, okay? Sunlight, ultraviolet UV lights to the Sun penetrate your skin, okay, the epithelial near the outside layer of your skin, they convert a form of cholesterol, because a form of cholesterol to change goes to liver and gets converted into vitamin D. Okay, and, and so you get then you get the benefits of vitamin D, good healthy bones, okay, good for all of us doesn't make any difference what their what their age, some association with vitamin D is helping in, in dealing with bacteria within the body on the skin, that type of thing. There's information out there that talks about good levels of vitamin D can help lower your risk for cancer. Now, this doesn't mean you go spend the day in the sun, you're not going to get cancer. That's, that's not it. Because we also know that spending too much in the sun, time in the sun can lead to certain types of melanoma skin cancers. So you gotta get a balance here. vitamin D helps to regulate blood pressure a little bit. And some people will tell you that it can improve your sleeping habits depending upon how much you get a lot of things about vitamin D that are really good benefits there. So that with the sun and the bright sun, you have to have about about 60% Well 40 About 40% of your skin exposed to direct sunlight to get the benefit. So you're wearing a pair shorts and a short sleeve shirt, you're fine. Okay, you're gonna get the sunlight that you need. Now also, depending upon the time of the year, you know, as the Earth tilts on its axis in the sun, the time of year during the summertime, we get a lot better benefit from sunlight vitamin D, than we do during the winter. And we can store vitamin D. So you get out in the sun, you build up your reserves of vitamin D and that helps you get through the winter. Okay for that process. Now, the other side of that is you want to be careful if you're in the sun, especially if you're fair skinned. As you age I mean all of these things we hear about all the time about this Be careful of sun, wear clothes, wear clothes that cover your arms and legs, okay, then that cuts down on your skin exposure, okay to the sun, but if you're very sensitive, you want to do that or you want to spend a limited amount of time in the sun to be able to get the true benefit from it. wide brimmed hat Good idea. Most people, you know, have a tendency to sunburn on their cheeks, sunburn on their ears. Okay, a wide brim hat protects that. And if, if you're like me, unlike you, the top of my head has reached a point where I need to wear a hat. You know, never I used to have a thick head of hair and I never wear a hat. Okay, but I've reached the point where I, I wear a hat. And so that wide brim hat face, face and ears gives you that protection, light colored clothing that will breathe fits into that, if you the recommendation for the last few years has been sunglasses is a good idea to help protect your eyes. Okay, something that can help block the UVA and UVB rays, sunscreen. You'll find various things and recommendations on sunscreen. So I'm going to hit the broad spectrum in this and say you should be at least you least using the sunscreen and 50 Sunscreen of 15 will protect you from around 90 to 92% of those ultraviolet rays up to a sunscreen of say 30 which blocks or higher which blocks up to 97% of those UVB rays. So you know, that gives you protection and sunscreen really is kind of a relatively modern thing when you look at that and, and use for protection. I don't know if you use it.
James Bell
And do you might see I've got a little peeling still on my arms from being out on all weekend. Wish I had to use a little bit more but absolutely I used to not know I didn't either. But it's it's a necessity now.
Glen McNeil
Yes, it is. And especially with young children, and I put it on my ears and my nose and my cheeks. I think my arms may be past that point, you know, and my legs are white all the time. That doesn't matter. But I have a son who's very, like very light skinned. And so he puts it on all all the time and I have a son who's dark skinned, I don't even knows what it is, you know, he just walks outside and turns brown standpoint. So various difference that goes in those. And if you're going to be outside for a long period of time, you're gonna go watch kids baseball game or soccer game wide brim hat sunscreens Fine. Get a sun umbrella, take an umbrella with you. Outside of the fact that gives you shade when the wind blows through that small amount of shade. You may feel cooler, you know, but there's some benefits to do that. So and then the other part of it is which I think is great this time of year. The irises are in bloom. Peonies are in bloom everything else. So you get out and you look what the sun gives us. You mentioned the green grass, everything greens that comes up and it's really beautiful. So may Ray day for your health. Get out enjoy the sun but enjoy it in a positive healthy manner and it gets you outside. So you know, I don't know what else to say go on a picnic. Plant, plant flowers, plant flowers, plant flowers, I like flowers.
James Bell
Trees. Yeah, and some trees trees are good
Glen McNeil
too. My wife and I don't necessarily agree on what flowers should be. But you know, I've learned so long as we can get lots of colors I'm okay with planning whatever there is and, and already I didn't do it too much. I started really got into it about five, six years ago, you know and I put out a few garden plants and had these things scattered all over the yard and it gives me about an hour to two hours of work every day to 10 my flowers, my three tomato plants to cucumber plants. I mean those things and get outside but again Outside, enjoy it. So go enjoy
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares thoughts on the economic impact of the USD 489 bond issue.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The Hays USD 489 bond issue that passed this week will have significant impact on the area economy. Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams stops by to talk about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast. We had a bond pass this week, we're going to talk about some of the economic impacts on that good and bad. But first, from what I understand you just got back from a pretty big trip, right?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, I did, there was a western Kansas delegation that went to Washington, DC to visit our elected officials and talk about what's going on in our communities, what challenges we have and potentially what they might be able to do to help those issues. And so we had, I believe they're about 42. And all from Hays, Dodge City, Garden City, Great Bend, liberal. So had a good group. And it was a good trip. Awesome.
James Bell
Although I think for my understanding you you left behind the mayor, he's still sitting up there and try to figure out how to get back to
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
I guess I'm not 100% sure that he was supposed to go to San Diego, and I don't know where he ended up. But he bears constant watching, that's for sure. Because you just never know where he's gonna be.
James Bell
For sure. Yeah. Just they were they were scheduled to be on this morning. And we got that word for last minute. They're still traveling. So okay,
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
yeah, I think we had to go to San Diego for business reasons. So I don't think he's still in DC, unless he wasn't able to get on his flights or whatever. But who knows. But it was a good trip, we were able to meet with some of the representative Mann's staff. And then we also got to meet with Senator Marshall and Senator Moran, and talked about Essential Air Service and things like that, those kinds of issues that that impact our community that they may have some bearing on. And then we talked about a lot of issues that they they don't have any direct impact on our housing situation on our childcare situation, workforce. But we did talk about those things and make them aware of kind of what's going on in our communities.
James Bell
Very good. Oh, and what kind of reception when we were they were they pretty taken aback? Or were they did they already know this? So this was just kind of filling in the details. While
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
they know most of it, you know, they spent some time out here, they know what's going on. Sometimes it's just good, good to get on their turf and talk with them in their environment. And so, but we did share some things with him some concerns that that exist in our communities. And, you know, Hayes is not unique when we talk about childcare when we talk about housing, when we talk about workforce, all of those things are all communities are facing those, not only in Kansas, but pretty much across the United States. Absolutely.
James Bell
And we owe as we talked about here, on the on the segment to the collaboration, the working together figuring out these problems, you know, so we're not it's not the competitive us versus them. It's we all got to get through this. We do.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
And it takes a lot of people involved. And it takes some time, unfortunately, never happens as fast as you would like.
James Bell
Absolutely. So moving on to this bond issue. Speaking of things that are going to take a while. It's past, we got the we got the go ahead from the voters to go ahead and revamp some of the schools build a new haste High School. I wonder what your initial and first thoughts are on the economic impact of this thing as it's moving forward?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, as I said before the bond issue, it's my belief, it's our belief that schools are critical infrastructure to a community. And as we work with companies, as well, as individuals who are looking to relocate to our community schools play an important role in that. And I can tell you that we have any number of retailers, you know, 610 12 that we talk to on a consistent basis. And all of them have been keenly interested in what's going to happen with that bond. I'm not saying that now that we've passed a bond, all these people say, this is where we're going to go, and this is what we're going to do. But they have been concerned about it. And they have had the attitude that if we're not willing to invest in our own community, why should they? And so, and the reason they're concerned about it is they have to have a workforce, they have to attract and retain a workforce and schools are important when it comes to a workforce as his housing as his childcare. You know, all of those things are critical aspects of attracting a workforce. But schools are an important part. And I know consistently Hayes Medical Center has struggled to attract physicians, when they look at the conditions of our schools, other health care providers. And the retailers we talk about that we would like to get into Hayes, we'd love to have more retail than we do. Schools are of concern to them. So you know, I said prior to the to the bond vote that there is a cost of not passing the ball On that I believe over time is greater than the cost of the bond. And the cost of the bond is high, no doubt about that. But not passing, it would have put us in a difficult position when we start talking about recruitment of people and businesses. And it's a good thing. That's fast now, now, it's up to USD 49. To execute. I know, not everybody supported it, not everybody thinks it's a good idea. But from an economic standpoint, I will be very positive for our community.
James Bell
You know, you mentioned people move in here and the workforce piece, which I think is on a lot of the business owner minds here in Ellis County. But one of the things that was pointed out to me was the online rankings. And when you go to online rankings, so if you're looking at maybe job boards, job postings, and you see something and he's like, Oh, hey, that looks interesting. The first thing you're going to do is look at Hayes. And if you have children, schools are going to be important. And what was pointed out to me it was if you go to several these ranking websites, where should you live kind of websites, the high schools were D's and F's. And it wasn't based on the education because I think everyone understands, we have a great education system here in the district. But the facilities drag that score down. And I think that'll automatically cut off a lot of people, when they were looking at thinking about hate.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, I agree with you, we do a great job of teaching kids, we just haven't provided a very good learning environment. And when you when you read the data, and it suggests that in the next 10 years, five to 10 years, there's going to be 20 million Americans who choose to relocate away from urban areas. And they're going to look at the choices that they have, because many in almost all those cases, their remote workers or their retirees, and they can decide where they want to go. And so and these are a desirable demographic that we want to recruit to our community. And so we're competing with lots and lots of other communities for these people. And we have so much good going on, and really very little, that's negative, but the schools were one of them, and it's a big one. And so now that we can say we check that box for people, I think we've got a much better story to tell them we did before. And the one before was good. It's just we didn't have all the boxes checked, but I think we do now. So I think that'll make a difference as well over the next five to 10 years in our ability to attract people to our community, whether tase Ellis Victoria, wherever it might be, we've got a better story to tell now.
James Bell
Very good. I'm also curious about your thoughts on the impact, you know, the short term impact because they're going to be spending a lot of money building the schools and doing the construction work. And of course, there's everything that goes along with it. There's the administrative work and the architectural drawings and the all of that that's got to have some sort of impact on the local economy, right?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
It absolutely does. I mean, obviously, local contractors will be involved in the construction of the schools and the improvements. They hire people, they pay wages, materials, a certain percentage of them, I don't know what and I don't know what we can supply locally, but a lot of those materials will be supplied to the projects from local vendors. And so it will have a positive economic impact for our community, you know, that the $143.5 million is doesn't go out out of town and never come back. I mean, a lot of that is spent locally, to create those jobs to build those buildings. It creates jobs, heating and cooling people, plumbers, electricians, all of those people will be participating in some of that spending. And it will have a positive economic impact from that standpoint, as well.
James Bell
There's another piece on this that I've heard people talk about, and that's the the the folks that will be running this whole thing is a Kansas City based company. And I think some folks were kind of I mean, maybe annoyed is the right word, but they had concerns that it wasn't a local group that took on the project on in whole. And I wonder if you want to speak about that because there are some really good reasons why someone say like Glassman here, maybe couldn't do that right?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, the size of the bond eliminates local contractors from being the general contractor, you know, there are no local contractors that can bond $143.5 million job. That doesn't mean the local contractors won't participate just means that a larger contractor has to be the general contractor, I believe the manager at risk or whatever the term is. And so that is one aspect of it. The other aspect is you know, DLR Group, which is the architectural firm. And I've had people say, you know, do you they questioned them in a lot of different ways, their motivation and their, their capabilities. And you know, they built hundreds, if not 1000s of schools across the country in the world. I mean, they're a large organization. They do this all the time. There's nobody locally that that has that level of expertise. So you have to bring in those type of resources to make this thing happen and manage these projects. And you know that they'll do a good job, I have no doubt. I mean, this is this is what they do. And I have a lot of trust and faith in that organization. And NAB Holtz, who is the general contractor, and then our administration locally, you know, some people have questioned their ability to handle this type of stuff, and I just don't see it, I see a very engaged, capable group of administrators at USD 489. I think it's gonna go well, yeah, there'll be some hiccups. There always are
James Bell
always gonna Yeah. I mean, it's dealt with construction understands that. Yeah, exactly.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
I mean, nothing ever goes quite as planned. But you just you just roll with the punches, when that happens, and make it make it happen. So I have a lot of confidence that this will come off and three years from now, or whatever that timeframe is, we're going to look a whole lot different than we do now.
James Bell
You know, I wonder maybe two there's, there's a piece that I've been hearing a lot of rumblings about on this thing, and it's the even supporters of the bond friends of mine people are speaking to were very supportive. And they they voted yes. They weren't happy to share that they had voted yes. But they did have concerns about the way that the planning was going. So I wonder if you want to talk a little bit about that, why these why some of the fine details are now being considered after the vote after the fact after the election, because that was their thing was like, why are we voting on we don't know exactly what we're doing until after? Why is that?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, it's because you, you can't nail down all those fine details without doing a tremendous amount of work. And spending a significant amount of money with architectural drawings and actual, the actual nuts and bolts of a project, you know, no school bond anywhere that has ever passed, particularly this magnitude. You ever knew everything about what exactly was going into each aspect of it prior to the bond passing. I mean, that's part of the planning and the design phase, you have some broad ideas, you present those broad ideas, you pass the bond, and then you dig in on all the details, doesn't mean it's going to cost more doesn't mean that anybody's got any ulterior agendas. It just means that you can't know all those answers before you actually pass the bond and, at that point, are willing to invest the money to nail down all those details. And it's a significant amount of money. I mean, I don't know if any, if you've ever seen James, the plans for a large building that goes on, but there, it's a roll of hundreds of sheets, technical drawings, and that just doesn't happen before you commit yourself to doing that stuff. You never spend that much money before you even knew that something was going to pass. So that's very much the way these things work. It's not unique to our community at all. It's just the way this process works.
James Bell
You know, on the cost piece, I wonder if you want to talk a little bit about that as well. For my firm, but let me let me back that up. The way that some folks seem to approach this was that the cost was not locked in when we talked about the 143 point 5 million. Yes, that's what we voted on. But that doesn't mean it's actually when it goes what it's going to end up costing the district in the end the taxpayers here, I wonder if you want to speak a little bit to that. Is that a real concern? Or is that just maybe under misunderstanding the circumstances?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, as my understanding the manager at risk has said is not going to cost more than $143.5 million. And so, and they're only going to bond $143.5 million. So that's that's all they've got to spend. So they've got to come in within those parameters. Now. None of us has a crystal ball. We don't know what the future looks like, specifically. And so there may be adjustments and whatnot along the way, I have no idea what those might be. But the hard number is 143 point 5 million. That's what the taxpayers agreed to do. They agreed to have a new high school to have the improvements to these middle school and junior high or the grade schools and that kind of thing. And so those numbers are pretty much locked in stone. It's not like this could go to 170 million, because we just the voters had not approved that. So they've looked long and hard at it. As I said, these people do these kinds of projects all over the country all the time, they know what costs are going to be and it won't be over $143.5 million.
James Bell
Okay, now there's one last piece on this we got to talk about and this is an impact that I think everyone can agree on taxes now that we voted on this are gonna go up and that does have some negative and positive impacts on the community and wonder if you want to speak to those.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, that's the Tough part nobody wants their taxes to go up including me including the superintendent to USD 49 I'm quite sure. But we sometimes have to make investments and the only thing I'll say to that is that I hear a lot of our taxes are way too high and Hayes
James Bell
highest taxes in the country right here in Hays Kansas. I've heard
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
that's simply not true. You know, our mill levy is the second lowest in the state of Kansas by like two hundredths of a 10th compared to Overland Park. So our tax our mill levy is not high now our valuations, I will be the first to admit our real estate valuations are higher than a lot of places. But this this, the same house in DOD city or garden city, as in Hayes, their taxes are higher than ours by a significant amount, even though their valuations may be a little bit lower. Their mill levies are considerably higher in our mill levies, 110 or 109, point something Mills garden or dodge cities 181. And people all the time say, you know, we're tired of these comparisons and that type of thing. But when you say my taxes are too high, you begged the question, compared to what I mean, what do you base that on? And, and I've heard people compared to maybe other states. But that's really difficult to compare to other states, because taxing systems in other states are much, much different. They may have higher income tax, they may have different types of taxes that are charged. So it's really difficult to compare from state to state, but within our state, we can compare and we're we compare very favorably in terms of our mill levy versus everyone else's. Now, the real estate values, that's a that's a component of supply and demand, we don't have enough supply. And as a consequence, the demand is high and values have run up. We're trying to fix that by adding more inventory to the market. But unfortunately, that didn't happen very quickly. You know, we've got the houses going in the Tallgrass second edition, there's what 18 to 20 of them under construction right now, every little bit helps, we've got apartments going up, that'll help but it takes time to do that. But in time, if we add inventory, we will we will see valuation soften as opposed to continue to rise.
James Bell
Very good. And I'm sure a lot of people are excited to hear that.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well you know, I don't have a crystal ball either. So I can't guarantee that but I do know if we had enough supply, we'll even out this balance of supply and demand and properties will not sell for way over the list price and that type of thing like they are now on occasions. And that's not really healthy environment for anybody but the guy who's selling and moving to someplace else. But then again, he's faced with whatever those values are
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Thomas More Prep-Marian principal Chad Meitner shares information about the upcoming high school graduation as the end of the year approaches.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Thomas More Prep-Marian is getting ready for their graduation, principal Chad Meitner stops by to share with us some of the details on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Chad Meitner
It's the end of the year craziness. But yeah, nothing out of the ordinary. We have our last days of school, the 18th of May is our last day at TMP, Marian. But actually the seniors get out May 16. Couple days hopefully will bonus for them. Junior High gets out May 17. One day early. So yeah, it's starting to get to that last week.
James Bell
Very cool. And we're gonna talk a lot about that. Before we get there, though, last time, or maybe it was two weeks ago. I know either way, though. The ACE auction wrapped up. And from what you were telling me just right before we went on, it went really well this year, right?
Chad Meitner
Oh, yeah, it goes, it goes well, every year and this year was no exception. And it's, you know, within a lot of economic factors that we all hear a lot about we there's always a question mark, how's it going? How well will it do this year compared to past years? And, you know, we're still getting in bills and donations. So we don't have final numbers. But it's, it's really looking good. And it could possibly be one of the best ever, which is exciting.
James Bell
Yeah, I love to hear that. And I, as I already mentioned to you just a little bit ago, before we got on Erin, we were talking to Sarah earlier in charitable giving right now is is kind of a hard thing for people to do. So it's amazing to hear that people stepped up and really helped out the Catholic school during that HBase auction, because that's one of your big fundraisers for the year, right? Yes, it's
Chad Meitner
for our operations for any capital needs. You know, that's how we have to tackle it. And so for people who've always been so generous, near and far, we just continue to have to just say thank you with humble gratitude, because it's a great school, it's a great asset for our community. And it wouldn't be possible without so many people pitching in what they can, you know, some give a little, some give a lot, but it all helps us achieve our mission.
James Bell
Absolutely. So as we mentioned, we're gonna talk a little bit about the year we got, well, gosh, you say, what was it the 16th?
Chad Meitner
Yeah, for the SR 16. Like, one week away?
James Bell
Yeah. What so how's it how's the year went this year,
Chad Meitner
it's been a great year. I mean, of course, it's been a more normal year than the last two, because we've just been able to go about our business without any anything the out of the ordinary particularly. And so this senior class, who's a class who's seen, you know, the, they were sophomores when they lost their their spring like every other student did in the spring of 2020. And then they were part of last year where it was masks for most of the school year. And so this year, it was kind of coming out from all that and more of a celebratory feel, which is good because teenagers tend to not always be the most positive optimistic personalities. And so for them to be so grateful and thankful and take advantage of the opportunities they had is refreshing because we as adults know that you need to be thankful to appreciate those gifts that you're given to make life more enjoyable. So yeah, one week left and well there's a lot to squeeze in and that week, but the graduation will be May 22. So basically a week from this coming Sunday, and they we have to do finals they have to do we have award ceremonies, not just for the seniors but for all junior high and underclassmen students as well coming up this week and concerts and and of course spring sports don't stop they're still rolling all the way through till even Memorial Day weekend. So busy, busy time.
James Bell
You know, I I'm curious. And Pardon my ignorance. Everyone knows I'm not much of a sports fan. I wonder what sports you know, the day you have down there at TMP during the spring? I know baseball is probably one of them. Right? Basically,
Chad Meitner
we have quite a few for school our size, which is which is great for our kids, because you can come to a small school and get engaged in a lot of different ways. And that's I think that's part of the recipe of our success is that the kids almost have to get involved in that pushes them to to better themselves and get out of their comfort zone. But yeah, sports got baseball, softball, we do have a girl soccer. We have boys golf in the spring girls golf in the fall. We have track and field. What am I missing? I think that was everything. So lots of different activities in junior high they have track and field where basically entire student body goes out. Always, school days when we have Junior High track meets is interesting because you only have about 30 kids left in school and the rest of them are at the track meet. But again, those those keep the kids busy and gives them a little reprieve when they can get outside when the weather cooperates and get away from the schoolwork a little bit and just be with the friends and working out and being outside.
James Bell
No, absolutely. Yeah, and that's exactly this year. So it's just been so rough because of the weather has been crazy unpredictable. It's always unpredictable out here but it's been even this year, even a little bit more.
Chad Meitner
I feel like the wind even for Kansas right I think the wind has been even a little above average for us this time of year and early on. It was really windy but dry. but it was still so windy that we had to postpone a lot of events. And then we did start to get some rain, which was much needed. And we're thankful for that. But those that rain did also postpone some events. So we're going to, we're trying to squeeze them in as much as we can here this these last weeks is if they weren't busy enough. But it's good. That's what the what helps us wrap up this school year and style is that everybody can have these these opportunities to show what they can do and have a good finish to the school year. And this graduating class, this the class of 2022 is every year, it's interesting, because each class has their own personality. Well, this class it was, the word that pops to mind is just work ethic hard work this, these kids work extremely hard. And, you know, I look at just the academic is one metric of that this class has just under half of the students have a 96% or higher GPA. That's the equivalent of a 4.0. So when you almost have half of your class, get a 4.0. That, that shell that tells you a lot about how hard they work, because academics is not all about how smart you are. It's about organized. It's about good parenting. It's about our curriculum at TMP, Marian. And it's about how hard these kids work. So we're I'm excited to celebrate the class of 2022. Because of a lot of things, in their, their willingness to work hard is one of them.
James Bell
Yeah, that's incredible. And especially considering what you mentioned a little bit ago, everything that that class had to deal with, over the last four years to build come. That's, it's, it's incredible. I can't even imagine, like how proud everybody is of that group.
Chad Meitner
Yeah. And to think, well, maybe there's a big drop off, the very worst GPA is 82%, which that comes out to over 3.0. So, you know, you could argue maybe grade inflation, but you know, these are the same teachers we've had for quite a few years, these teachers care about kids, but they're not going to let kids just pass on by with gaps in their understanding or gaps in their, their study skills. So, you know, I said it's combination of the curriculum, good parenting, and then just great work ethic. And it's, it's fun to see see him have success and hope that translates into success after high school.
James Bell
Absolutely. You know, and for those kiddos that are wrapping up the year, they got to come back I imagine this time of year, they're thinking about all of those things that they accomplished and got out of their way. And then but also thinking about that break. And then what comes up next year as well.
Chad Meitner
Yeah, everyone thinks about the break. And that's our theme this year has been finished strong, particularly for the seniors, because they're the ones that get the senior itis and you know, they've got the most to feel like celebrating. But everybody too. It's like, okay, we've got a week. But that doesn't mean we're done. And you know, a lot of times you get students say, well, well, gosh, there's only like three days left? Can we just not have school, we're not doing as much as we usually do. And it's like, well, there's got to be a last day at some point, no matter when that date is you're going to come up to it thinking can't we just finish. So you've got to get to the finish line. And you know, finishing strong is, is what you will be most proud of a couple of weeks down the road than if you just skip the last couple of days and don't do your work. And then you spend the whole summer looking at how you dropped the ball there at the end. And we don't want that we want them to enjoy their break. And how do you do that you finish strong so that you can really enjoy the break and be proud of what you've accomplished?
James Bell
Absolutely. Again, you want to share those dates, the graduations coming up. I've already forgotten. Yeah,
Chad Meitner
that's may 22. It's Sunday, May 22. The Baccalaureate mass, which is a big part of our graduation ceremony is that Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, and that is at 2pm, on the 22nd. And then we have graduation in the Fieldhouse at 4pm. Two hours later. So everyone is of course invited if you have a graduate or know the families of a graduate, come to the field house and celebrate with us. And there's parties all the weekend before Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the of the weekend. And then we'll have project graduation, which is our safe party site for our seniors. That night of graduation, the 22nd. And we'll have activities and games, they're going to be over at the fort, big shout out to the fort for helping us host our seniors on that night. And we'll keep them busy all the way till two o'clock in the morning. And after that weekend, even an 18 year old will be exhausted. I'm pretty much guarantee that
James Bell
absolutely. But well any other last thoughts or anything else you wanna hit on before we go?
Chad Meitner
No, just you know, again, it's it's such a privilege to be in this community that supports Catholic education and education in general. And we're so we're so excited to be finishing up the year but please come out. If you can't do an awards night. We have the concert, the band concerts, the choir sings and then we have awards after that. So It's a nice evening of just celebrating all the students accomplishments from academics from faith formation to leadership, sports, all those things. It's a great time of year tiring, but it's it's worth celebrating. These kids have done amazing things and we all should be proud of
James Bell
Thomas More Prep-Marian is getting ready for their graduation, principal Chad Meitner stops by to share with us some of the details on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Chad Meitner
It's the end of the year craziness. But yeah, nothing out of the ordinary. We have our last days of school, the 18th of May is our last day at TMP, Marian. But actually the seniors get out May 16. Couple days hopefully will bonus for them. Junior High gets out May 17. One day early. So yeah, it's starting to get to that last week.
James Bell
Very cool. And we're gonna talk a lot about that. Before we get there, though, last time, or maybe it was two weeks ago. I know either way, though. The ACE auction wrapped up. And from what you were telling me just right before we went on, it went really well this year, right?
Chad Meitner
Oh, yeah, it goes, it goes well, every year and this year was no exception. And it's, you know, within a lot of economic factors that we all hear a lot about we there's always a question mark, how's it going? How well will it do this year compared to past years? And, you know, we're still getting in bills and donations. So we don't have final numbers. But it's, it's really looking good. And it could possibly be one of the best ever, which is exciting.
James Bell
Yeah, I love to hear that. And I, as I already mentioned to you just a little bit ago, before we got on Erin, we were talking to Sarah earlier in charitable giving right now is is kind of a hard thing for people to do. So it's amazing to hear that people stepped up and really helped out the Catholic school during that HBase auction, because that's one of your big fundraisers for the year, right? Yes, it's
Chad Meitner
for our operations for any capital needs. You know, that's how we have to tackle it. And so for people who've always been so generous, near and far, we just continue to have to just say thank you with humble gratitude, because it's a great school, it's a great asset for our community. And it wouldn't be possible without so many people pitching in what they can, you know, some give a little, some give a lot, but it all helps us achieve our mission.
James Bell
Absolutely. So as we mentioned, we're gonna talk a little bit about the year we got, well, gosh, you say, what was it the 16th?
Chad Meitner
Yeah, for the SR 16. Like, one week away?
James Bell
Yeah. What so how's it how's the year went this year,
Chad Meitner
it's been a great year. I mean, of course, it's been a more normal year than the last two, because we've just been able to go about our business without any anything the out of the ordinary particularly. And so this senior class, who's a class who's seen, you know, the, they were sophomores when they lost their their spring like every other student did in the spring of 2020. And then they were part of last year where it was masks for most of the school year. And so this year, it was kind of coming out from all that and more of a celebratory feel, which is good because teenagers tend to not always be the most positive optimistic personalities. And so for them to be so grateful and thankful and take advantage of the opportunities they had is refreshing because we as adults know that you need to be thankful to appreciate those gifts that you're given to make life more enjoyable. So yeah, one week left and well there's a lot to squeeze in and that week, but the graduation will be May 22. So basically a week from this coming Sunday, and they we have to do finals they have to do we have award ceremonies, not just for the seniors but for all junior high and underclassmen students as well coming up this week and concerts and and of course spring sports don't stop they're still rolling all the way through till even Memorial Day weekend. So busy, busy time.
James Bell
You know, I I'm curious. And Pardon my ignorance. Everyone knows I'm not much of a sports fan. I wonder what sports you know, the day you have down there at TMP during the spring? I know baseball is probably one of them. Right? Basically,
Chad Meitner
we have quite a few for school our size, which is which is great for our kids, because you can come to a small school and get engaged in a lot of different ways. And that's I think that's part of the recipe of our success is that the kids almost have to get involved in that pushes them to to better themselves and get out of their comfort zone. But yeah, sports got baseball, softball, we do have a girl soccer. We have boys golf in the spring girls golf in the fall. We have track and field. What am I missing? I think that was everything. So lots of different activities in junior high they have track and field where basically entire student body goes out. Always, school days when we have Junior High track meets is interesting because you only have about 30 kids left in school and the rest of them are at the track meet. But again, those those keep the kids busy and gives them a little reprieve when they can get outside when the weather cooperates and get away from the schoolwork a little bit and just be with the friends and working out and being outside.
James Bell
No, absolutely. Yeah, and that's exactly this year. So it's just been so rough because of the weather has been crazy unpredictable. It's always unpredictable out here but it's been even this year, even a little bit more.
Chad Meitner
I feel like the wind even for Kansas right I think the wind has been even a little above average for us this time of year and early on. It was really windy but dry. but it was still so windy that we had to postpone a lot of events. And then we did start to get some rain, which was much needed. And we're thankful for that. But those that rain did also postpone some events. So we're going to, we're trying to squeeze them in as much as we can here this these last weeks is if they weren't busy enough. But it's good. That's what the what helps us wrap up this school year and style is that everybody can have these these opportunities to show what they can do and have a good finish to the school year. And this graduating class, this the class of 2022 is every year, it's interesting, because each class has their own personality. Well, this class it was, the word that pops to mind is just work ethic hard work this, these kids work extremely hard. And, you know, I look at just the academic is one metric of that this class has just under half of the students have a 96% or higher GPA. That's the equivalent of a 4.0. So when you almost have half of your class, get a 4.0. That, that shell that tells you a lot about how hard they work, because academics is not all about how smart you are. It's about organized. It's about good parenting. It's about our curriculum at TMP, Marian. And it's about how hard these kids work. So we're I'm excited to celebrate the class of 2022. Because of a lot of things, in their, their willingness to work hard is one of them.
James Bell
Yeah, that's incredible. And especially considering what you mentioned a little bit ago, everything that that class had to deal with, over the last four years to build come. That's, it's, it's incredible. I can't even imagine, like how proud everybody is of that group.
Chad Meitner
Yeah. And to think, well, maybe there's a big drop off, the very worst GPA is 82%, which that comes out to over 3.0. So, you know, you could argue maybe grade inflation, but you know, these are the same teachers we've had for quite a few years, these teachers care about kids, but they're not going to let kids just pass on by with gaps in their understanding or gaps in their, their study skills. So, you know, I said it's combination of the curriculum, good parenting, and then just great work ethic. And it's, it's fun to see see him have success and hope that translates into success after high school.
James Bell
Absolutely. You know, and for those kiddos that are wrapping up the year, they got to come back I imagine this time of year, they're thinking about all of those things that they accomplished and got out of their way. And then but also thinking about that break. And then what comes up next year as well.
Chad Meitner
Yeah, everyone thinks about the break. And that's our theme this year has been finished strong, particularly for the seniors, because they're the ones that get the senior itis and you know, they've got the most to feel like celebrating. But everybody too. It's like, okay, we've got a week. But that doesn't mean we're done. And you know, a lot of times you get students say, well, well, gosh, there's only like three days left? Can we just not have school, we're not doing as much as we usually do. And it's like, well, there's got to be a last day at some point, no matter when that date is you're going to come up to it thinking can't we just finish. So you've got to get to the finish line. And you know, finishing strong is, is what you will be most proud of a couple of weeks down the road than if you just skip the last couple of days and don't do your work. And then you spend the whole summer looking at how you dropped the ball there at the end. And we don't want that we want them to enjoy their break. And how do you do that you finish strong so that you can really enjoy the break and be proud of what you've accomplished?
James Bell
Absolutely. Again, you want to share those dates, the graduations coming up. I've already forgotten. Yeah,
Chad Meitner
that's may 22. It's Sunday, May 22. The Baccalaureate mass, which is a big part of our graduation ceremony is that Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, and that is at 2pm, on the 22nd. And then we have graduation in the Fieldhouse at 4pm. Two hours later. So everyone is of course invited if you have a graduate or know the families of a graduate, come to the field house and celebrate with us. And there's parties all the weekend before Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the of the weekend. And then we'll have project graduation, which is our safe party site for our seniors. That night of graduation, the 22nd. And we'll have activities and games, they're going to be over at the fort, big shout out to the fort for helping us host our seniors on that night. And we'll keep them busy all the way till two o'clock in the morning. And after that weekend, even an 18 year old will be exhausted. I'm pretty much guarantee that
James Bell
absolutely. But well any other last thoughts or anything else you wanna hit on before we go?
Chad Meitner
No, just you know, again, it's it's such a privilege to be in this community that supports Catholic education and education in general. And we're so we're so excited to be finishing up the year but please come out. If you can't do an awards night. We have the concert, the band concerts, the choir sings and then we have awards after that. So It's a nice evening of just celebrating all the students accomplishments from academics from faith formation to leadership, sports, all those things. It's a great time of year tiring, but it's it's worth celebrating. These kids have done amazing things and we all should be proud of
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays High principal, Shawn Henderson shares information about the end of the school year at Hays High.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Hays High is getting ready for graduation weekend. Principal Shawn Henderson stops by to share some of the details on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Shawn Henderson
On the night, we had our big athletic and academic awards night. And what a great time to come together and really see all the great things that our students are doing. It's really fun to see.
James Bell
Yeah, you know, as we're wrapping up the year, I wonder if there's any particularly notable things that come to mind that you want to discuss with us before we move on and talk a little bit about the graduation ceremonies coming up this weekend?
Shawn Henderson
Well, you know, I have an interesting perspective, because I'm the new guy, I always say I have the new guy card, it's just part of part of being the new principal. And so my new guide card is going to wear off soon. And that's great. What it means is, is I've got some perspective, I got to see what, what our school is all about. And what it's about is some really great people and great students, great teachers. And, you know, it's just there's a lot to be proud of. And again, going back to Monday night, that's when you can smile and say look at the scholarships. Look what these students have done. Look what the accomplishments have been. And it's really humbling to see just the amazing thing our students are doing. That's awesome.
James Bell
And some of those students so seniors, they're wrapping it up today, right?
Shawn Henderson
Yeah, really wrapping it up. They did a great job this morning. I have to brag on him in a world where you could Google senior pranks that would be not wonderful. Our students were in the parking lot. They were playing cornhole. Spikeball, I think is that the one that hits off the little trampoline? They're smiling. And, you know, I just, I think that's real. And then they cleaned up after themselves and went right to class. I mean, again, just, we're just proud of them. And I have to say, too, I am the new principal. And I'm also a dad. So I have a senior that's graduating as well. So this will be my first graduation with Hayes high, but it's also I get to be the dad too. So that's exciting. Wow. Yeah,
James Bell
that's a that's got to be just an emotional jumble.
Shawn Henderson
There's a lot of truth to that already got some pictures. So she wanted to take a picture this morning. So anytime the kid asks that you, you roll, so
James Bell
absolutely, absolutely. So yeah. So let's talk a little bit about graduation coming up. I believe that is this Sunday. Right? It is
Shawn Henderson
Sunday. And it is. So we've got Sunday at 130. And it's going to be right there at Fort Hays, our great partner who allows to us gross Coliseum. So yes, Sunday, May 15 2020 to 130 will be our graduation. Very cool. What
James Bell
do people well, you know, what do attendees expect in that event? Is it is it going to be similar to years past? I know. And again, as you mentioned, COVID kind of threw everything into a cocked hat for a couple years. But back to normal this year. Right? It is
Shawn Henderson
yeah. And we're excited to have everybody, everybody back. There are no restrictions in terms of seating or anything like that. We'll, we'll be there and we'll be ready to go. We are trying something new. I think that's kind of neat is the band is going to play basically, in the program that I'm looking at. Right, right in front of me, it says various selections, Prelude concert. So kind of neat. So for 20 minutes prior to graduation, we'll have our fantastic band plan music to kind of set that tone, which I think is really neat. Namely, because I used to be a band director before I was a principal. The more band music, the better. But yeah, so I think that I think that will already add kind of a neat feel to the event.
James Bell
Absolutely. And then again, is it just the standard kind of graduation you got? You're forgetting the name of it like the the class leader, the valedictorian, valedictorian speeches, and, sorry, go ahead. Oh, we
Shawn Henderson
don't have a lot of speeches like that from students that traditional Hays high is that the students select a speaker and this, this hurts Miss Diane Mason, which is actually really cool, because Diane is retiring at the end of the year. And so the fact that the kids picked her I think is really neat. So to kind of bookend her her career here, she's going to be our, our speaker, and her addresses called what the rabbit knows. So I'm excited to see, see and hear what she has to say. But yeah, it's kind of fun.
James Bell
Yeah, that's interesting. And I love that. So, you know, I don't know her. But most assuming she has been a longtime teacher at Hays high. Yes. That's really cool. I know, like a lot, a lot of schools that a lot of the kids, they all they like to shoot for the moon and think about the famous people, the celebrities and to come and talk but to select somebody from inside the district that that's going to be like it personally rewarding. Yeah, I
Shawn Henderson
think it is. And, and I know she's excited about that. And I think like I said, I think it'll, I think it'll be good for our kids to, to hear her and to, to go out that way. Which I which I think is great. Very cool.
James Bell
You'll probably be sharing a few thoughts too, right?
Shawn Henderson
Oh, yeah. Not too many. But there'll be there'll be a couple. Yeah, a couple of thoughts there. My way I have to smile too is I'm looking at this program. The class model motto is I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22 So Taylor Swift ah, matter of fact, I think when the graduations over or that's what they'll hear is Taylor Swift. It's just kind of fitting for the class of 2022. Yeah, absolutely.
James Bell
All right. Well, what else? Do you folks need to know about the graduation? Or really just about the year in general?
Shawn Henderson
Oh, you know, I, you know, first of all, we're excited that there's gonna be a new haze high school built, so won't dive into that other than to, you know, say thanks, and an appreciation for the community. And I think that's really going to be fun. And even honestly, watching our seniors take part in that and be a part of that civic operation to go vote was was really neat to know, I think it's been a really good year. And I think we've had, you know, going back to these students, you know, we have 26 students, you know, again, on the danger, Hansen, over $330,000 in scholarships, just from that one, one operation alone. We've got students that are going into collegiate athletics and activities, we have folks that are going to be moving on to the armed forces. And like I say, you know, the word I always say is humbling. It's humbling to see what a whole community supporting in and working and helping our students, and then it's this time of year where you you take a step back and say, Wow, look at look at what they've done. So
James Bell
yeah, yeah. Love this time of year. Yeah. Although it's busy, right. It's busy, busy, busy. There
Shawn Henderson
is no doubt it's busy. Yes.
James Bell
All righty. Well, sir, yeah. Any other anything else you want to talk about before we go?
Shawn Henderson
No, I just think it's been a great year. I want to say thanks to the community for again, I will be putting away my new guy card soon. But I just appreciate the opportunity to be the leader of this this great school. Just so proud of the work of our amazing educators, staff and students and community that rallies behind them every day.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Public Library communications coordinator Callie Kolacny shares information about the library's upcoming summer programming.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, USD 489 superintendent Ron Wilson and public relations director Chrisy Crough. Public Relations speaks with Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney about the next steps follow the passage of a district bond issue.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The USD 489 bond issue has passed. Now the district's work begins. Superintendent Ron Wilson speaks with Hays Post reporter Christina Janney about that along with public relations specialist Chrisy Crough, on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Cristina Janney
We're here to talk a little bit about the USD 49 bond that passed on Tuesday night, the $143.5 million bond passed with 53% of voters voting for the bond. In addition, almost 60% of voters approved a half cent suit, hey, city of hate sales tax that will help pay for the bond. Good morning, Ron and Christie, how are you?
Ron Wilson
Great. We're feeling good.
Cristina Janney
So what do you think the passage of the bond means for the future students and staff in the high school districts?
Ron Wilson
Well, I think what what it means I think, as we've looked at this whole process is that it's people have said, we want to invest in our kids want to invest in our educational staff, and we want to invest in our community. And I think that's really what this means is that they said, This is important, and this is what needs to happen in the community. Hey, so from looking at all aspects of it, we're, we just feel that it's going to be a great thing for Hayes for a long, long time, and really gonna pay it forward.
Cristina Janney
So the voter turnout on Tuesday was 38%, which is pretty high for a special election. Were you pleased with the voter turnout?
Ron Wilson
Yeah, extremely pleased that we said from the beginning, that, you know, we always felt like we had more support than opposition, as long as we could get those who supported the bond to go out and vote, we felt like we could get this accomplished. And I think 38% is a, if you look at the history of bond votes, it's pretty high number. So I think that's exactly what we set out to do. We got accomplished.
Cristina Janney
So what are the next steps in the bond process?
Chrisy Crough
Yeah, so the next steps will be to meet with the staff on each of the schools, teachers, administrators, kitchen staff, coaches, all that sort of stuff to go over exactly what needs to be done in those buildings, they know better than anybody else, because they're in the building. So they will have the input on that. They'll work with the architects directly. And then they'll go back and forth with the drawings and see what happens, the high school will be the first, the first building that is that's done that's focused on, and then we'll move through the other buildings after that.
Cristina Janney
Just to remind people, so the main tenant of this bond is that we're build a new high school, and then the high school will be renovated into a middle school, and then the current Middle School will be renovated into an elementary school. Roosevelt, and often schools will also have some renovations and additions. And then Wilson will close as an elementary school but still be repurposed for district needs. And Rockwell will be closed completely, and west side will be moved. So do we know when we're going to be able to break ground on that first building on the on the high school?
Ron Wilson
Yeah, well, that's That's the million dollar question, though. You know, like Chris, you mentioned, it's right now, it's just a lot of conversations. We've got approximately a year of visiting with people getting what we feel is the best design, will the architects will draw design will get estimated cost then and always be going back and forth. I would hope. I mean, I don't hold me to this. But I would, I would hope we would be breaking ground a year from now. Or maybe sooner. But I think tentatively we're probably looking at an April May, breaking ground for from the new high school.
Chrisy Crough
And I spoke with Sorry to interrupt anybody here, but I spoke with Dr. Last night, we were talking about it. And they were saying that the civil engineers will be out there looking at the ground where the new high school will be built out looking how it slopes, looking where the electrical could go looking at all of the different logistics of it all to make, you know, just before they start really building and designing everything.
Cristina Janney
And for people who may not know the high school, the new high school will be built to the east of the current High School on ground that is already owned by the school district.
Ron Wilson
Yeah, that's that's been a blessing to have already had district owned property throughout this process. And the district purchasing that that additional property, probably way back in the 70s was was just a great foresight for our community.
Cristina Janney
Through this whole bond process. We've talked a lot about How having those two buildings the new high school and what will be the renovated middle school being in close proximity how that'll benefit students? Do you want to talk a little bit about that,
Ron Wilson
I think it just opens so many doors that we currently don't have open because of just the location of the high school, middle school, I mean, naturally, the big thing is, we're going to have an auditorium for our high school, as well as our middle school, the high auditorium will be actually housed at the new high school, but it will have easy access for our middle school students who will be utilizing that for performances, to just walk across their campus, to the to the auditorium and, and whether it's a band concert that evening, they'll be able to practice and then utilize that for the evening performance. So Well, I think it's just those are the things that are that seem logical, but then there's just so many avenues where, you know, what, even high school kids coming, and we're gonna have some things working with maybe some middle school kids and things like that, that just opened doors that we've never even considered. And I think that's what's exciting about this whole proposal, athletic services, of course, that's really something we're gonna have athletic surfaces out there on the on our campus, which will be available for middle school and high school student athletes. And I think that that is something we're really excited about.
Chrisy Crough
And to add to that, the middle school, which will be moving into the current high school will have the career and technology classes that they don't have right now at the current Middle School, solely because of space. So they will get those the woods and the metal shop and the the electric car, you know, all of that sort of stuff will be in there that's already in the high school, but now the middle school students will be able to access that.
Cristina Janney
So is there an estimated completion time for the high school building?
Ron Wilson
Yeah, I mean, the estimated timeline is that we're we're hoping to move our high school students into a new building in August at the start of school in August of 2024. That's, that's our target date. We'll also target to have all of our other schools renovated by August of 2025. Now all that information can be found on our USD 49. website, under timeline, under the bond information. So yeah, if you have any questions about timeline, be sure to check that out.
Cristina Janney
I don't we're several years off from the consolidation, and the closing of Lincoln school. But do you want to talk a little bit about how the redistribution of students will work when that happens here and a few years out?
Ron Wilson
Sure, I will be adding sections to each elementary to one section to each elementary, that'll that'll be the increase, that won't, you won't see a huge increase in each building, but I think that's it, we'll, we'll evenly distributed among the three elementaries that will remain in our district and, and give us some, you know, functionality in terms of, of spacing and space available. And when people were still district of choice, meaning they parents get to choose where their kids go to school. So, having that additional space just gives us that functionality to make sure we can we can definitely meet those requests, as best we can.
Cristina Janney
I know through this bond process, some people have expressed some concerns about the increased traffic on 13th Street when the new high school is constructed, what steps will the school district and the city be taking to address that issue?
So, once Well, obviously, prior to we kept saying once this passes, we will do that, but now it has passed so we can actually speak of it in present tense, but we will meet with the city we will do traffic studies and see exactly what needs to be done how the flow of traffic will work. We have looked into some grants that there that are out there that can help with the with the cost of it because we do know that there will be additional traffic we do understand, you know, we will have to stagger start and dismissal times to help with the flow of traffic but it will be addressed as far as what it is at this point. We don't know once we really look into it, but it will be addressed and and make it function out there.
Cristina Janney
So Christy and Ron, are there anything else that you would like to add or let the our listeners know about the bond now that it has passed?
Ron Wilson
Well, I think the thing is that I want to make sure everyone understand is we're we're really proud of what we do and USD 49. But with the passing of this bond, I think it's it's about how proud we can become on what we can become with with the passing of this bond. It's just gonna Oh Put some things that we have. We've dealt with for a lots and lots of years. And it was it was, it was a tough process. I mean, it's it was been a lot of work and a lot of dedicated, committed people in our community who came together and really rallied together to make this happen. And I'm I'm just appreciative and feel very blessed to be have been a part of that. You know, special shout out to Chrissy Crowe for what she's done for, for getting the right information out, helping educate our community, on really what was was done and what was what is needed. And so we're we're just, it's been a, it's been a really a tough process, but also kind of uplifting in a lot of ways, because we've all learned how together, you know, when people come together, how we can get things accomplished.
Cristina Janney
I know, there's been a lot of discussion about the high cost of maintaining some of these older buildings, which Lincoln by the time this project is completed will be 100 years old. So is there hopes that some of the capital improvement, many that's been having to be spent on maintenance and fixing older buildings will be able to be directed towards other projects?
Ron Wilson
Yeah, that's, that's the thing we're really excited about, because we haven't had a lot of flexibility in our capital improvement spending. I mean, it's basically we've been spending dollars base to keep keep the boat on the water and not have it sink. And so when by passing of this bond, we're going to we're going to take care of a lot of those needs. And that's going to free up a lot of capital outlay funds that we can now look at some of those special projects that the board wants to prioritize and, and really do some really great things for our schools.
Anything else?
Ron Wilson
I I'm just just, hi. I'm extremely excited. Bill really blessed that we got this done. And it's been, it's been a long haul but it's gonna be well worth it and it's gonna pay forward for lots and lots of years.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber vice president of membership Rhonda Meyerhoff shares the benefits of Chamber Checks as graduation gifts.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
It's graduation season and that means graduation gifts, Hays Chamber vice president of membership Rhonda Meyerhoff says chamber checks are an excellent option. She joins us to talk about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast. First thing I got to know how the golf tournament go last week.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Oh James. Oh, it was wonderful. So everyone knows we had plenty of rain last week. So that the Greens even the fairways were they're not watered. They were beautiful and green. A disappointment might be the the ball to get bounced further ahead when he hit it. So that might have been a Debbie Downer. But a golfers were so happy. It was an absolutely beautiful day. I had fun telling people when they commented about what a beautiful day it was that I said it was their chamber hard at work for them. No, gotta take off we can get but no, it was a beautiful day. Absolutely beautiful day. We had 36 teams join us. And that was great. So that was two teams per hole. And they all seem to have a really good time. Spirits were high. I think people were so excited. For one, maybe they were ready for a break from the rain, which I will never complain about rain.
James Bell
Yeah, you weren't. But sometimes you just got to I know what he did. And we need it. We need it. But oh my gosh, it brings it down. Oh, I'm ready for some stuff. Ialso remember though, Dan and I were very young in our marriage. And we lived in Lincoln, Kansas. And I remember that summer, ranchers were having to haul their cattle off to someplace else other states, because there was no rain. So there wasn't enough grass for their, their cattle. So ever since then. I mean, I was a farm girl, I realized how important rain was. But that that really sent a signal to me that we should never complain about the rain. I don't know how well I would fare in another dirty 30s. James, I'll be
fair enough.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Yeah. No, it was absolutely a beautiful day. weather wise, the sun was out. golfers were happy. The patio party went over? Well, the online auction did great. And we had three lucky winners, who I still haven't found out who they are.
James Bell
They know they know they've got the prize.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Yes. And they're they're picked up. So no, that was great. I actually had to leave the event a little bit early to get down to Wichita to listen to my son grandson playing his first piano recital. So the only reason is that yeah, yes. So it was a great tournament, I would know more about the tournament. But Mariah and I are manning the office. This week, Sarah's in Washington, DC with the western Kansas delegation, talking to our political regime out there and trying to make a difference for this part of the country. And so we're really excited about that for her to represent us. But yesterday morning early, we got in the First Order was for about $5,000 in chamber checks. Wow. Our largest denomination is 20 fives, so you can check. And then we got another order for $2,700 in chamber checks. So we ended up doing chamber checks for most of the day. And that that subject just didn't come up. So yeah, and we were excited to get that order.
James Bell
I was gonna say that's a good problem to have. I mean, although it's a lot of writing of checks.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Well, you know, those are, those are all all done, they're stamped and Oh, you just gotta like rip them apart. And well don't make it sound like it's just a simple process. James. Well, I don't know.
James Bell
The only only experience I have with chamber checks is I get them and I give them to the clerk at the store and I get my stuff. Yes, as far as my goes,
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
no, they're pre printed and numbered with our own wonderful printer here in town with Northwestern printers, and they're numbered there. But then they have to be stamped with Sarah's signature. And moralists. God bless her heart took really good care of us before she left only I don't know that she was planning on that big of order, which we are again, very happy about. But yeah, it's folding them stuffing them in the envelopes and getting them already. And I am so paranoid James, when it comes to people's money, I counted once and then I counted twice. And I counted a third time as I was stuffing envelopes. You know, gosh, we got that done. And so we have a lot of happy winners from from all the things that were going on at the time. Ultimate? That's for sure. Fantastic.
James Bell
Love to hear it. Yeah. And yeah, absolutely it was what a beautiful day. I don't think could ask for better weather.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
No, no, not at all. But you know, speaking of chamber checks, James, that's a great way to give graduation gifts, multiple checks that we prepared yesterday. Not all of them were for students a large quantity of them were. But what we need to stop and think, is that money will stay local. The one place where they can't be spent, people can't cash them into their bank account. So that money needs to stay local. And almost $8,000 A little over will stay in Haynes and help our local businesses,
James Bell
not not just once, but then again, yes, because it's cycles. Yes. And I don't reserve shared with me that number one point. I don't remember where it is, but it's in she's currently good with all that. Oh, yeah. It's like a steel trap up there. But yeah, it just keeps going and going to go on. Yeah. Helps me for weeks and months.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Oh, absolutely. And we need that here in Hays. You know, they can be spent at any chamber member and it helps them to pay payroll tax as then, you know, helps helps them pay employees and, and their, the rent on their building or any all of that. It just really helps. Plus, it's really nice. Because as as someone who's giving, you don't have to worry about getting it to the right store that they like to shop at. So you've taken that worry away. Plus, they're just fun.
James Bell
Yeah, you know what I like about him. And Sara blew my mind a while back with this number. But there's over 400 chamber businesses. Yes. So it's, I don't even know where all 400 of those businesses are. And I was counting because I couldn't come up with them. I had to drive around account. But you've got an incredible assortment of places you can spend those?
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Absolutely, absolutely. Restaurants. We probably don't want any young high school graduates to go to bars yet. But maybe college graduate could go. Yeah, but there's trash shops. There areas in town that a lot of them. The hallmark store, just there's a lot. Yeah. So there's a wide variety of what people could do, absolutely will restore options. Yeah, there's a lot. So they come in denominations of 510, and 25. So one of the orders yesterday was mainly a combination of 20, fives, and 25. And then $50 bundles, and the other one was $15. Set. So we were able to put a 10 and a five together. So and don't be afraid of those small numbers. It's just that many more times that people get to use the chamber check. Oh, now so and it works just like a check for the businesses
James Bell
or if you're not familiar with the check, because I know a lot of younger people don't really have that experience. It's just like cash. Really?
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Absolutely. Absolutely. So that's really fun. So what we would like to ask people is, if they're going to have significant orders, to please let us know, a day or two ahead. It took Ryan, I quite a bit of time to figure out that yesterday. Again, we're happy to do it. But we would rather not have you have to wait around for us as we prepare all of that. Give us a heads up and then it can be ready when you come in to get them and pay for him.
James Bell
Sure. Yeah. Easy, efficient. Love it.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
It is very easy and efficient. You know, James, today's a big day.
James Bell
I was gonna say we've got just a couple minutes left. We gotta get this in. Yeah,
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
big day today. Today's the last day that you can vote for the USD 49 infrastructure and the sales tax issue. You know, regardless of what your political views are, or what side of this coin, you're flipping on, get out and vote. That's the main thing, vote. You know, we have a lot of veterans and a lot of young men and women now fighting for our country to give us these freedoms. So take advantage of this freedom. Get out and vote. Yeah, so today's today's lot seven o'clock. I
James Bell
believe polls close today.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Is that what time it is? I voted early.
James Bell
Every day, every day. I said I told my wife told my co workers here I'm like, I'm gonna go vote today. I'm gonna get it in and get it done. And then I didn't and here we are on the day. I'm gonna get it in today, though. Oh, good. Absolutely. I always I always vote. I had the early voting to me. I like it because it's convenient. But it's one of those things that mentally at least for me, I'm like, Well, I can still do But later I can still do. I'm a procrastinator, you see?
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Well, and I in I work in a building where everyone's talking about voting early. And so that helped me this year, or usually I'm in the same boat you are. I'm going to go do it. But there always seems like something better to do. But gosh, today, James, but your voice be heard.
James Bell
Absolutely. Everybody get out there and get and the turnout already. I don't know what the number is. But I know it's been an incredible early turnout, far surpassing any of the previous bond attempts. And I think just really good turnout in election in general for for Ellis County so far. And
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
that's great. We shouldn't have that maybe this will be a start of something new. I would love that. And what by new I mean that people will start voting more often reinvigorated.
James Bell
Yes, absolutely. Yeah. Well, Rhonda, I tell you, Oh, we got to get over to news and weather. But any other last thoughts real quick before we go?
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Thanks to those who support the chamber and thanks to those who came out and played golf with us, who donated prizes who voted at the online auction all of that it was a large community working together and we sure do appreciate everything everyone does for the chamber. Thanks
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University chief communications officer Scott Cason shares some of the achievements from FHSU during the year.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares information about the Heart of America Development Corporation's land donation to the Microfactoy project.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The Heart of America Development Corporation has donated land for the Hays Microfactory. Grow Haye, Executive Director Doug Williams stops by to talk to us a little bit about the Heart of America group as well as that factory project. On this episode of the Post Podcast.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
we had a donation of the land that the microfactory will be located on Heart of America development owns some property out in the commerce Parkway area surrounding Glassman corporation that development is one that heart of America developed and, and they were good enough to donate the lot at the corner of ninth and commerce Parkway to us to construct the microfactory on so that was that was great news.
James Bell
Absolutely, yeah, and these guys have been when we talk about the heart of America, and we're going to talk a little bit about today even, but they really are helping the community. And that's kind of their goal, right to help bring these projects to the marketplace, or heart of America,
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
which was started back in the 80s by a group of visionary people and visionary businesses who contributed some money and raise some capital and purchase some land out on what is now South commerce Parkway by the airport and started basically an industrial park. And they constructed the Sykes building early on and rented it to Sykes and they've been very active in commercial development for a long time. And you know, about a year and a half ago or so they got into the residential development as well with the Tallgrass second edition to the east of the technical college. So their their mission basically is to promote community development in Ellis County. And they have done a terrific job of that over gosh, almost 40 years.
James Bell
Incredible. We want to talk about some of the details of what they do and what they bring to the community. But let's talk first about this microfactory. We talked about it again a couple of weeks ago. And really it from from my recollection, the concept is kind of a co working space, but for industrial efforts, right?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Basically, that's the concept. It's an incubator for manufacturing companies. And we received a base grant from the state of Kansas part of the ARPA money for $2.63 million to construct this 30,000 square foot micro factory, it'll be divided into 564, we don't really know yet, because we don't really know who's going to go in there. But it'll be split into sections. And we will we will offer it to prospective or existing manufacturers who are have a, maybe a guy's got a great idea, but he just doesn't have the room to operate and be efficient in his to develop his product, or a bigger company that wants to get a development of a new product off site. And they want a space to do it in. That's what this will be designed to do. It'll be constructed to be very manufacturer friendly, meaning there'll be a loading dock, there'll be high ceilings, high doors, the kinds of things that a manufacturer would need large electrical capability. And so hopefully, the concept is that we offer this at a at a bargain basement rent to these people for a few years. And then they develop their product, they grow their business, and then they move on to their own building, hopefully in the heart of America development where there will be some additional lots and and we roll the next one in. So it's a it's kind of an endowment for a long, long time. And we hope to really enhance the manufacturing capability within Ellis County because this is an area that we don't have an awful lot of we do have some manufacturing in Ellis County, obviously with the EnerSys and Hess and cross manufacturing and several others, but we don't have as much as we would like to have and typically with with manufacturers come good paying jobs. And, of course, workforce is the issue right now. But it hasn't always been and won't always be. And so we need to keep developing companies that are going to employ people and pay good wages.
James Bell
You know, and when I think when when, until very recently, we started talking about this microfactory project I when we when I thought about, you know, manufacturing, I thought about some of the companies you talked about, like Hass, or Rand says those giant companies that do employ a lot of people, but I've also come to realize that there's a lot of small manufacturer small entrepreneurs out here that maybe here's a great example down in lacrosse, the guy that they developed the flame throwers for agricultural use, you know, it's probably not huge operation. I don't know how many people work down there, but I can't imagine it's, you know, more than 20 or so. And this is a perfect project to help bring those people to Hays where we've also already done such a great job on the white collar side.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Exactly. We need to promote manufacturing small manufacturing become big manufacturers. I use this example. If you looked at what they and has his operation in 1990 or 91. relative to what it is today. We want to find the next Dan has who can come in and has an idea or a concept and start developing products need some space to do it in needs some assistance perhaps in going through a patenting process? or what have you, we have a relationship with the technology development institute in Manhattan. And that's what they do they prototype products to help an inventor or a manufacturer patent those products. And so it'll be it'll be the incubator for that type of thing. And we're looking forward to it. I think it'll I think it'll have a big impact over a long, long period of time in our community, because it'll be a building, it'll be there for 50 plus years, for sure.
James Bell
Yeah. And, you know, I think it might also, and correct me if I'm wrong here, but help offset some of those manufacturing operations. Like I think about meat processing, the things that we can't bring to here because of either the geography or in this case, you know, water issues.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
One of the reasons that we don't have a lot of manufacturing in Ellis County is because of some water restrictions. And so some things are just not going to work well here that are large water users. So small manufacturers make more sense. They're typically not big water users. And if we can diversify our economy with multiple small manufacturers, I take that over one large one, you go down to like Salina And historically, they've had large manufacturers down there, Philips Lighting, the what is now Kubota, Tony's pizza, I mean, they manufacture pizzas and food and that type of thing. And Kubota manufactures farm equipment and things and, and they employ, like 1300 people and those type of operations, we're not really looking for that we wouldn't have the workforce to meet that requirement either. But we can sure build our own and then gradually put companies in there that will go from two or three or four employees up to 15 or 20, and then hopefully, move out onto their own building and end up with the two or 300.
James Bell
You know, going back to the heart of America piece on this, you know, that organization, I'm kind of curious, like, how do they come to the decisions to fund like, I like a project like this, like did the land I think you said that they already own the land, or they just donated it to you. But you know, even thinking about the residential project, like how do they make those decisions?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, they have a board of directors that looks at projects and keeping in mind their mission to promote community development. And they see that, you know, that's why they purchased these land purchases they've made both on South commerce Parkway as well as the heart of America edition, by Glassman Corporation. They look for ways that they can promote growth and development. And so a couple years ago, we visited with them and we said, you know, we, historically they had been a commercial developer or industrial developer, you know, they've had land for that use. But our comment was, you know, if we don't solve our housing problem in Hayes, we're not going to have any employees to go into those commercial enterprises. And they were good enough to step up to the plate and invest a lot of money into this housing development, which is going very well so far. So it's turned out well, but so they they have been open to look at different things, but at the bar at the base of it all, is that their interest in community growth and development in our community, and and they've really stepped up in any number of occasions and done that.
James Bell
Yeah, I you know, I wonder how normal is this in municipalities, especially out here in western Kansas, where they have an organization like this a nonprofit that kind of helps spur that economic growth?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
I think it's, it's fairly normal in different ways. A lot of times the municipality itself will own an industrial park, the city will make an investment or the county will make an investment in an industrial park and develop it and, and put the infrastructure in place so that companies can come in there and, and build a building and start less common with a not for profit, like heart of America. The beauty of the heart of America deal is we've we've partnered very well with the city. You've got gro Hayes, Heart of America and the city of Hades or the city of Ellis or wherever it might be that jointly work towards these things. And that makes it a lot easier to make some things happen when you when you've got that many people with a vested interest on a positive outcome.
James Bell
Yeah, and we've talked a lot about the collaborative efforts between you know, Hayes and Ellis County and Ellis County in trigo. County, and really the whole area and everybody has to work together to make this thing work, or we're all going to be in troubled long run, right?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, absolutely. I mean, we're all joined at the hip in one way or another. I know each community has their own issues. Each community would like to have their own growth and some retail and some jobs and whatnot, I understand that housing. But at the end of the day, all of us are in this western Kansas ecosystem for lack of a better term. And what's good for Joaquina is good for Hayes. What's good for Hayes is good for wall Keaney, you know, or Ellis or Victoria or Russell, whatever it might be. We are very closely tied together.
James Bell
Yeah, no, I don't think we really actually talked about this, but the heart of America or the heart of America, the group, are they just a MOS county or just hates
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Ellis County? Okay, so their mission is to promote development in Ellis County. And they've they've helped way back when I think they had some role in the wheelchairs a Kansas move to Ellis. When they expanded from I believe lacrosse to Ellis, I was a little before my time in this position. But they were they were involved with that, as was our organization. And so Ellis County as a whole, they they want to promote development throughout Ellis County, and they don't go outside the Ellis County borders, but they do it. They do go beyond the Hayes borders for sure.
James Bell
Okay. And again, as part of that collaborative effort, you know, what's good for us is good for Phillips County and Brooks County,
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
believe it is?
James Bell
Well, you know, Doug, I don't really have anything else on the heart of America thing. I wonder if you have any other last thoughts or anything else we want to talk about in terms of that microfactory project?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, you know, I think for people to understand it better, we've kind of described what it is, the financial piece is somewhat interesting, you know, the state of Kansas, Department of Commerce put out these base grant applications and we and 417. Others applied, believe they granted 33, so we're very fortunate to receive it. But the project is about three and a half million dollars. And so the state wants a match from the organization is doing it. And in the case of gro Hayes, they wanted to match it from us. So of 26%, which is about seven or 800 $900,000. And factor that into the fact that we don't really know where construction costs are for sure today, because it's really a moving target. That's why a donation like the land donation from Heart of America is so important because we're going to scramble to to come up with that additional match money, we may be able to get some grants, we may be able to borrow it, whatever the case might be, we felt it was too important not to happen, when we've got the opportunity to get this amount of funding from from a grant from the state. We're just going to make it happen. And so we've we've dug in and done that, and we're in the process of applying for some other grants and that kind of thing. And, and hopefully those will come through but we're, we're burning our ships on the shore on this one, we're going full speed ahead and going to get this thing constructed. And we'll figure out how we pay for the rest of it. At that point in time. We've we've established the funds, it's just a matter of where they come from and how we do that. And so we're excited to get going on it. As with all projects like this, it's slow to get started. And you've got to get architectural plans, you've got to get bids, you've got to get all kinds of permitting and that kind of thing. But we're eager to get going and keep keep watching it ninth and commerce Parkway, it won't be real quick. But I'm hoping maybe sometime late summer, early fall, you'll start seeing some activity out there. If nothing else, somebody with a bulldozer moving around dirt to get the site ready.
James Bell
Yeah, I love that. And it's a two year timeframe. It has to be done in two years. We need to be done in two years. Yeah. You mentioned the base grant that put that together. That was an interesting list. And we've got just about a minute or so left, a minute or so left. But I wonder if you want to talk about that. I thought it was kind of surprising the projects that they chose to fund out of this thing
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
little bit. You know, it was if you read the the requirements for the grant, it was primarily to be economic development. And I think many, many applications were for infrastructure. And one could argue that infrastructure is economic development, but I think they were looking for more impactful type things. His direct economic development, was also heavily skewed, which probably comes as no surprise to eastern Kansas. I think Johnson County got maybe half the funds, perhaps. But nonetheless, you know, there was great interest in it lots of applications. We were very pleased. I think we had the right project. We put in some applications for some other projects, too, that we did not get. And so in in hindsight, when I look back, I can see why the microfactory was appealing to them because it's pure economic development. You know, when what what develops out of that facility will employ people and provide good quality jobs and that's what at the end of the day, that's what's really important.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Center for Life Experiences executive director Ann Leiker and board treasurer Alan Scheurman share information about the search for a new executive director.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Center for Life Experiences Executive Director Ann Leikder is ready to pass the baton to a new executive director. She talks to us a little bit about that, along with board of directors treasurer, Alan Scheurman on this episode of the Post Podcast.
I am looking to retire after well, 20 some years with the Center for life experience as their Executive Director, 30, semi 30 Some years as a social worker in this community, and in a variety of different ways. But yes, I'm looking to take take a little take some time. And so I also bring in some new leadership to the my position. So at the Center for life experience. So that's what Alan is here to talk about today. And, and how someone who might be interested in my position and apply for that, and those kinds of things.
James Bell
Okay, well, Elena, and I do want to talk to that talk to talk to you about that. And we want to get there here in just a minute. But first, before we talk about that, I wonder if you want to kind of maybe talk about what like a day to day operation, you kind of don't know the right word, but you know what I mean? Like, what do you do every day?
Well, I am I am responsible for the day to day operations of the Center for life experience, and facilitating this different support groups and groups that we have healing after loss for loss of an adults in your life, healing after loss of suicide for families and people who have lost someone to suicide, Healing Hearts for families who have lost a child, and then healing kids hearts, which we had just at the end of March for children from seven to 12 years old. So I'm responsible for kind of coordinating and facilitating all those kinds of things as long as well as making sure we get our bills paid and making sure we welcome people and talk to people. And we will be continuing our support groups. We have Hughley Gutierrez, who's going to be continuing with our to facilitate the support groups for this summer, and she has been doing a super job and with me, and we're and she graduates and will be moot be in doing that, like I said, for the summer as we are as the board is searching to fill my position. So and it's not my position, but it's exciting. It's helping people to cope. The main mission mission is helping people to cope with grief and loss, and the challenges, life challenges that go with that, because there are a lot of them. So and so we'll be continuing in full operation all through the summer. And I'm presuming I'm going to be around now and then helping through the transition. But going to, to AG, I'm turning the big seven zero this year. And so time to take a little time to travel and do some things from just for the fun of it. And for myself and volunteer some in the community and just keep active.
James Bell
Yeah, I'm sure I'm sure there's no slowing you down. Even in retirement, you're gonna be just as busy as ever, but, and I take this opportunity to thank you for everything you've done. I know that so many people in the community have been helped by your services and, and everything that you guys do at the Center for life experiences. And thank you so much for all of that. And, you know, as you're moving into retirement, I told you off air to hopefully you pop in once in a while and keep us caught up on what's going on. Oh,
I you know, I have loved every minute and been so honored to meet and walk with the people that that the center has reached out to and and it's so wonderful to see the center also have having grown and welcoming more people. And you know how work the community is learning that grief and loss is a normal part of life. But there are some challenges with it. And we need to know, people need to know they're not alone. They have other people to help them walk through that and and to grow and to move forward with their life not move on but move forward and not forgetting. But you know, honoring their loved ones.
James Bell
Absolutely. So I'm curious and again when Oh, how does this search go? For somebody that's been in that position as long as an ima Ajit, it's probably going to be a challenge to find somebody to replace.
We don't know how that's gonna work out, and has just done an incredible job in this community, helping people and helping start and continue the growth of this organization. She's just done an incredible job for us. She's so empathetic towards people, and continued to provide her expertise and skill level along with her past life experiences as well. So we're so thankful for her leadership, when we move forward in this as well. And we hope that she can continue to help guide us somewhat off and on, we'll see how that all works out at this point in time, we're actually looking for to replace her and I know that's an impossibility, but we'll see what we can do, we hope that someone will step up and possibly take on responsibilities that her passion that she had towards this type of an organization, she has done an incredible job for us. And that's what we're looking for, for some of this passionate, has the skill level and life experience that might go along with that to help lead this group because we obviously we need someone who's dedicated and passionate about doing this type of work.
James Bell
Absolutely. You know, in a practical way, I imagine it's probably a social worker background is what we're looking for. Right?
Absolutely. And I think that's, that has to be a portion of the requirements so that we can move forward with it. One of the things when we do if you have any kind of that type of background, please send your resume and cover letter to emily@cflc.com. If Ellie, hope hope.org.org, sorry. But yeah, we need that type of leadership. And we look forward to anyone that has that type of passion towards the groups that we have currently in operation. And we're not afraid to expand, but we need someone that's willing to take on that type of organization, that type of passion that goes along with it. Sure, sure.
James Bell
Yeah, imagine that, again, it's probably a pretty specialized skill set that you would want to lead these groups, I would imagine, because it is kind of a delicate topic, sometimes
as trauma base. And many times it's people don't understand until you've gone through that process. And everyone will go through that process sooner or later live, if you live long enough. That's interesting. Interestingly enough, I mean, it's a it's an interesting topic to cover. And I've been fortunate enough to have been a member of this group in a couple of different ways. And I've been very thankful for that I've been very blessed to have been part of this group. And so I appreciate it every day, which brought me to the border eventually. And I'm thankful that they still want to keep me on the board.
Very cool, we have a really good board of directors to work with. And I really appreciate all of them, and want to encourage anyone and I think even social work psychology, anything in the human services area that that has some education with it, is what the board is hoping to look for. So social work is a nice fit, because of our skill set. But there are a lot of other there are some other areas too, that the that person can have their education and and have that capacity to, to understand, especially life experience is is helpful.
James Bell
Yeah, I would imagine I give you just Alan, as you say, if you haven't had that experience, it's probably hard to lead someone else through it. It
really is. But I think there are people that have that commitment and ability, I think there a lot of their education and their background leads them towards that type of a group setting and being able to work with people. And I think that's the main emphasis when we look at people what they can or cannot do, they need to have that type of passion towards that type of work. Okay,
one of the advantages to my position is that there is some flexibility in the hours that my position can work. And so if you have children in school, or whatever, and there are a few times during the week, when we have our support groups into the early evening, and so, you know, then you adjust your schedule, and we have a terrific office manager assistant who helps with all the other Emily and who does a great job with other things. So it's a it's a great organization to be a part of, and doing well.
James Bell
Very good. And when you know, I wonder if you want to talk a little bit about timelines, are you accepting applications now?
Absolutely. We'll be happy to take any applications that are said to us, we'll review them. Our board is actively sending out feelers at this point in time, both to the university here in town and to Other places to provide us with possible interested parties.
James Bell
Okay, so no real set time on when you want somebody to be in the position just going to look until you find the right person,
we hope to find the right person. And I think that's the most important part. I think, yeah, we could set timelines, but we need to be reasonable about it. We need to make sure that whoever takes his position that fits the agenda and the operation that we're currently leading and see if they want to proceed forward and expand upon. So very
James Bell
good. More information on the website
at WWW dot c, f L II hope i'll lowercase that org.
James Bell
Okay. Now, before we go, we got we got talking about this as the organization continues on, there's always more work to do. And you're you got an event coming up here a little bit later on this month, right?
Yes, for after 20. Some years, we're still continuing during the memorial day time to do the avenue of pinwheels in honor of children who have died and this is held at Mount Allen cemetery in the children's area. We've also been putting pinwheels in the area of the St. Joseph's cemetery, the children's area as well and at mandolin it's in the children's area. We put anyone is anyone in the communities Welcome to bring to come, we will have pinwheels. And then they can will have a tag that you can put on that pinwheel to say who the pinwheels in honor of. And that stays up through Memorial Day. And so you'll see we've had up to 7580 or more pinwheels in honor of children in our community who have passed, and we do a little dedication ceremony. We all get together. About seven o'clock at Mount Allen on we're going to try for the 24th Tuesday the 24th because we always seem to get into a heck of a hate hailstorm. The one we try this at the first day. So we've said we'll do it the 24th at seven o'clock. And if there's bad weather we're going to try for Thursday the 26th. So and you can call our office for more information at 785-259-6859. Well, we do with like I said, we will have pinwheels, the the group members will be there. It's a way to acknowledge a child of any age that a family has lost and it's and then we get together for some homemade treats as well at the center or right across the street. Very cool. So I want to encourage anybody to come and you don't have to be quote unquote, a member or anything. It's open to anyone in the community.
James Bell
Okay, again, that's may 24, seven o'clock, right. Okay. Well, as long as the weather cooperates.
Hopefully no, nothing dropping down from the sky. Other than good if it's it might be rain, and we'll take that
On this episode of the Post Podcast Sunflower Senior Solutions owner Courtney Dale shares information about their services.
Transcript:
EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
There's never a bad time to have your Medicare coverage evaluated Sunflower Senior Solutions owner Courtney Dale joins us to talk to us a little bit about that and more on this episode of the post podcast.
Courtney Dale
So just a brief rundown of some of our Senior Solutions and what we do and who we are, we are an independent insurance brokerage. And when we started this out about seven or eight years ago, I think it's eight, I say, seven or eight, but I need to go back and double time flies. Time flies when you're having fun. What we do is specialize in Medicare. And so that's how we started and that is still our main focus of products. And so what that means is when somebody is going on to Medicare, we help with the education process, we show them where to go and what to do to enroll in their Part A and B. And then aside from that, we kind of take it from there and help them enrolling all of their supplemental insurance plans, which would be plan G's Plan F, Medicare Advantage Prescription plans, which is the Part D, dental, vision and hearing. So we take it from the point of once they enroll in their A and B we can help someone with every single plant they would need beyond that. What we've done over the years is diversified the products that we offer, and we it's basically just been on a demand basis. So if somebody asked, Hey, do you do this? Or can you help my wife with this? Or can you help my cousin with this? The more questions we get asked about certain products, we go out and we find a solution. So we've added on the Affordable Care Act plans and short term medical plans that sometimes is a huge thing to help someone bridge the gap with a spouse, if one is aging into Medicare, and one is not yet. So we do those. So we we do help people with health insurance that are under the age of 65 as well. We also in the last year have added on long term care. That has been something we've been asked about so many times over the years. And it's a huge growing need. Everyone wants to secure their space, if you will, as far as how am I going to pay for long term care expenses, there are really I'm not going to say inexpensive because that type of insurance is not cheap, but it's not as crazy as it once was. So we do offer some long term care solutions. We also have several different options for life insurance. And that means anything from an annuity to term life insurance to final expense, we offer all of those things. So basically, anything related to health and life insurance we can offer.
James Bell
Wow, that's awesome. You know, I think when businesses like yours develop you, you've really had to Yeah, I think you kind of alluded to this, but you really had to do kind of grasp onto those things because people were asking and needing them. So those services, right?
Courtney Dale
Right, right. So if somebody says, Hey, can you be and we're constantly adding on contracts, that's the beauty of being a broker. So we don't work for just one company, we work for all of the insurance companies. So if somebody says, Hey, why'd we we kept getting asked about long term care. So what we did is we went out and shopped and compared and found out who has the best long term care, and we contracted with those companies and added that product line on we also offer, we can we can get someone coverage in all 50 states, we are not contracted in all 50 states. But if somebody has this has happened, actually quite often. But if somebody has a, let's say, aunt, uncle, cousin sister that lives in Iowa, we can do one of two things. We have a huge network of agents that we can refer someone to we can find someone in that state or two, we simply just go out and get contracted in that state and write the business ourselves. So we do have solutions for pretty much everything. We work really hard at never having to tell someone, no, or I'm sorry, we can't help you. And we we are very, very, very rarely does it happen that we can't help someone with something.
James Bell
That's awesome. That's awesome. And speaking of helping people, you know, we talked about this pretty regularly. When you know this time of year, you're there's not a lot of changes you can do to your regular plan. But if you have a supplemental plan, you can have that analyzed anytime. And you guys do that. Right?
Courtney Dale
Right. So the thing that people don't realize, because there's such a huge emphasis and so much media about open enrollment and Annual Election Period, which is October 15 through December 7. Everyone thinks that that's the only time of year that you can change your plan that only applies to prescription plans, and Part C Medicare Advantage. But if you have a traditional Medicare Supplement whether that's the plan G or a Plan F, you can have that compared and you can actually change it at any time during the year. There are a couple of qualifications that you have to meet as far as health qualifications, but they are, you know, what you think is a major health issue to an insurance company probably isn't. So it is we do recommend that if you've had some rate increases, or you simply want to just save money on your monthly recurring payments that are going out, especially health insurance as a huge expense for pretty much everyone. Let us compare it costs nothing, there's no obligation. And like I said, you can switch those supplements around at any time during the year. A lot of things that people one thing that a lot of people do not understand about Medicare supplemental plans is that they are standardized coverage. So one insurance company can't offer more or better coverage. Plan G is Plan G is Plan G, it doesn't matter if you're with company ABC or company XYZ. If you have a Plan G, you all have the same coverage. So the deductibles the same coverage is the same. They're all accepted everywhere that Medicare is accepted. However, price varies greatly between the carriers and of course service. And we only want to work with companies that offer great service. But there's a good chance. I mean, we do this all the time. We switch people around all year long. And people save anywhere from 2030 bucks a month, we've saved people upwards of $100 a month, but you never know until you have it compared. Yeah,
James Bell
absolutely. And you guys do that pretty regularly. And not only do you compare those plans, but you do workshops, so people can learn more about this, right?
Courtney Dale
Right we have if you are in the listening area, there's a workshop near you. So get on our website. And check out our listing of events, dates, times locations, sunflower senior.com is going to have a full list of that. You can also schedule an appointment on our website. Again, that's sunflower senior.com. Or you can call our office 785301 to 716. Perfect,
James Bell
Courtney, any other last thoughts or anything else you want to hit on before we go?
Courtney Dale
Nope, I think that's it. James, of course. You know, everything we do is complimentary. We do not charge fees. I think everyone who listens to us on a regular basis knows that but just in case you're new, we do not charge anything and there's no obligation to have your plans looked at and compared.
James Bell
Absolutely take advantage of it. Why not? Right. Right. Courtney, thanks. So
Courtney Dale
normally, saving money is something we all want to do right now.
James Bell
Absolutely. Absolutely. prices going up. Let's let's trim from the other side. Right
On this episode of the Post Podcast president and CEO of the Hays Chamber Sarah Wasinger, along with president and CEO of the First Care Clinic share information about the upcoming Chamber Golf Tournament.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The Hays Chamber is putting the final touches on their golf tournament set for Friday, President and CEO of the Hays chamber Sarah Wasinger, along with President and CEO of First Care Clinic, Bryan Brady, join us to talk about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Sarah Wasinger
So this week is like the week. It's golf tournament week, which also means it's our silent auction week. And we have her scare clinic who is sponsoring that silent auction this year for us. And we are so excited about that, because it helps us do a lot of nice things, including showcase all of the wonderful auction items that have been donated by our chamber member businesses, and even a few non chamber member businesses. Because this is the one event every year that we allow those folks to participate in our events as well.
James Bell
Absolutely. No, I do want to get this out of the way. You sold out on the golf tournament. Right? We have but your team's 30 teams. Oh my goodness, that's a lot to manage. But you've still got tickets for the patio party, right?
Sarah Wasinger
We do. Okay, great. Do so the cool thing about that is tickets are $25 each, it comes with a fiesta taco bar. Let me get that right. So it's literally a day after Cinco Demayo. So we thought that might be a fun play on what's going on. And then we also have a margarita that comes with that too. So you can get to enjoy a margarita out on the patio, some tacos, and have a chance to play the Plinko board. And that Plinko board will come with some great prizes too. So we have anything from T shirts to nice coffee cups to some sunglasses, you name it, you can win it.
James Bell
Very cool. Very cool. I love that. And you know, honestly, when we've talked about this a little bit, what an exciting event for the community to be able to get together and really celebrate businesses and everything else going on.
Sarah Wasinger
Exactly. So we, of course are excited to have we do have a special guest just dropped in. How are you, sir? Construction?
James Bell
You timed that perfectly? You Oh, yes. What a mess right there at that intersection? Oh, my goodness, I have to do that every day. It's terrible. How are you sir?
Bryan Brady
I'm doing great. Thanks so much for having me.
Sarah Wasinger
So Brian Brady is the president CEO at first care clinic. And as we shared, they are our sponsor for our silent auction this year. So Brian, tell us a little bit about you guys. And what you offer at first Care Clinic real quick. we'll segue into that.
Bryan Brady
Sure. So first Care Clinic is what we call a federally qualified health center. And what that means is we take care of everybody regardless of their ability to pay regardless of their insurance status. And we're really proud to do that. And grateful we can do it for the AES community.
Sarah Wasinger
And they've been a well, well trusted chamber member for quite some time now. So and Brian actually also serves on our chamber board of directors. Next year, he will be our board chair. Oh, very cool. Excited
about that, for sure.
Sarah Wasinger
So, Brian, you guys obviously are playing I think I'm a golf tournament too, right?
Bryan Brady
Yes, I've played in that. Almost every year since I've been in Hays. It's such a great event. We have a great time. And looks like we'll get to great weather tomorrow or Friday as well. Yeah, we
Sarah Wasinger
were looking at that and very excited knock on knock on wood. So one thing that is fun of note, we actually kicked off the Auction yesterday. So ours is a little unique. We start that on Monday morning at 8am. And then that online auction will run until Friday at 3pm. So we actually had the auction link that will go out today in our newsletter, but it can also be accessed online. So feel free to contact us at the Chamber if you have any issues getting onto that link.
James Bell
Very cool. And what what an amazing assortment of items during that auction
Sarah Wasinger
over $13,000. And we're actually getting closer to $14,000 as we speak and shut up. Ah, we're adding a few things here at the last minute. Love it.
James Bell
We're talking about some of the things I'm looking at the list and I figured you would
Sarah Wasinger
come to my office because it looks like the auction actually blew up in there. And it's very fun. We have a plethora of gift certificates from our chamber member restaurants and obviously some good eat options there. So you have to feed your family. So you might as well go online and check. Check those out for sure. Absolutely. One of the other things that we're really excited about is we got a ridiculous amount of coolers this year. And they're also interesting in their own right so we have a couple of Gatorade slash KJ hot coolers, and those were donated by Pepsi Cola. I've got a fully stocked Coleman cooler that is full of neat swag items from five broadband 60 cord Polaris Northstar cooler that was donated by BLS motorsports. And then we've also got some tools, speakers, adult food, beverage and food baskets. So those are really neat because you can kind of buy those. Maybe Mother's Day gifts. Think of Mother's Day.
James Bell
Is that coming up soon? It's I'm just kidding.
Sarah Wasinger
Well, the nice thing about our auction is of course we bring all of our items to Smoky Hill Country Club, because many of our golfers do bid on those. And so whether you come to the chamber office throughout this week to look at those items through noon on Thursday or if Do you want to come down to Smoky Hill Country Club and peruse those? You sure can. But you can pick up the items after we close the auction at three o'clock. So you would have them technically in plenty of time to celebrate Mother's Day. Very cool. We have some unique experiences this time around as well. And we were very excited. President and Mason fhsu has provided a dinner for for at her home. We also have for fhsu All sport general admission tickets for the 2020 to 2023 football and basketball seasons. A couple of new ones that we are offering from the chamber this year include our 2023 chamber banquet dessert sponsor. And you might be asking, what is that Sara? Well, you get two tickets to attend the event. We're going to put you in the program, you'll get plenty of advertising leading up to the event and after the event. And what that sponsorship does is allow the chamber to help offset the costs of the dessert at the event.
James Bell
So neat idea.
Sarah Wasinger
I love it. Yeah. So Rhonda came up with that one. So it was a
James Bell
Rhonda. That was a little bit sooner.
Sarah Wasinger
That's It's amazing Sandra kudos. And then we're also going to have a couple of tickets that are VIP tickets actually for the 2022 Wild West fest. So very exciting for that. And then another unique item that we're offering for next year is going to be our 2023 Plinko patio party cocktail sponsor. We've gotten a lot of good feedback already that folks are excited to have a cocktail out on the patio with their meal on Friday. And so we're going to of course, as well give that opportunity that will come with a couple of tickets to attend next year's event. Awesome. Brian, are there any items that you plan on bidding on?
Bryan Brady
I haven't looked through the auction yet. But don't tell my wife there's an auction.
Sarah Wasinger
Okay. I'm gonna just Facebook message earlier that
James Bell
sounds like you just found your next Plinko patio pot party cocktail sponsor right there.
Sarah Wasinger
We also have a couple of other awesome items, we have some men's and women's Oakley sunglasses that are donated by EMI specialists associated and Hatton Montero family eyecare has also donated a pair of designer glasses that are Kate young brand. And then you can also bid on different items that are related golf like haste municipal golf course has a round of four for golf. So just want to make sure that people go online, we have some pictures uploaded. And we do have descriptions of each of the items there. I'm starting bids are open, of course right now. And then we have, you can set a max bid if you want. So let's just say you're not good at keeping up with stuff. You can put what you're willing to pay for it. And then as long as no one else bids more than that. You can actually technically be the winner
James Bell
meet. Yeah, I think so many groups that do the do auctions ahead to move it online. So I think everybody at this point had a little bit of experience with an online auction. But
Sarah Wasinger
I think the chamber was kind of a trailblazer in that they've been doing the online format for quite some time since the start of the tournament. So and then of course want to give a shout out to Avalon of Hayes. They are also our big sponsor for our Plinko patio party.
James Bell
Yay. Thanks to them. Yeah,
Sarah Wasinger
next Tech wireless, where would we be without them? There are the actual tournament sponsors so grateful for everything that they do to help us and put on a successful event. And then a final shout out to our ambassador team. And they've gone above and beyond and helping us get some prizes for the raffle for the auction and all those other cool things.
James Bell
Very cool really takes a village to put this thing together. Huh, it does. So
Sarah Wasinger
we've been planning this event since probably February. And I think everyone's ready for a good afternoon to relax and enjoy the day. It's here. It's here it is here.
James Bell
Alrighty, well, we've got just about a minute or so left any other events going on. And this is probably taking the bulk of your week up. But I would imagine get ready for this.
Sarah Wasinger
So for the remainder of this week until noon on Thursday, we are still celebrating childcare provider Appreciation Week. And so we still have probably about 25 appreciation backs and a handout. So if you didn't make it down yesterday, please feel free to stop by our office. If you're a childcare provider. Obviously you're offering care during the day and you can't get away feel free to send someone on your behalf to get your care package for you. We also have leadership pays tomorrow at 830 at the Welcome Center. We'll be celebrating in the carpentry house at NCQA Technical College on Thursday at 10am. Our H yp networking and Engagement Committee will actually meet at 1205 at the Welcome Center on Thursday. And then of course Friday is Game On work around the country clubs so we won't be in the office the office will be closed
On this episode of the Weekend Setlist host Jeffery Leiker details events around the Hays area this weekend.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares updates presented to the city of Hays during this week's commission meeting.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Grow Hays can often act as a point of contact for business owners in Ellis County Grow Hays, executive director Doug Williams stops by to talk to us about that and more on this episode of the post podcast. We had the City Commission recap a little bit earlier on the show. And one of the things that came up was user apparently you were at their meeting last time. We're gonna talk a little bit about that today. Right?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
We are and I was there.
James Bell
Good stuff. Well, good and bad. I think Sandy Jacobs told us.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, mine was all good. There was some bad there are some challenges. But yeah, challenges.
James Bell
That's a better word for it. Because I mean, we talked about this all the time. There's there, we all know, there are some opportunities here. And hey, so we've got to take on and also some amazing things going on.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
That is true. And we I wouldn't say that it was all good what I talked about, but most of what I talked about was positive, you know, our microfactory housing, that type of thing. And that there was a group of childcare providers at the at the meeting last night, and Sarah was singer who's leading the childcare Task Force spoke and gave an update and, and childcare is certainly a challenge for our community.
James Bell
Yeah, almost unbelievable numbers that we were hearing this morning about parents in need, and students that are children, I guess that can't find a spot.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
That is true. And it you know, that ties back into much of what we do, which is workforce. And if if one of the parents can't work because they have to stay home with the children, because they either can't find childcare, or it's too expensive for them. That takes out of our workforce. And the task force has done a survey which has identified a large number of people that would go back to work if they had childcare. So it's an issue. We're not unique, you know, like many of these problems. It's all over the country that childcare is a challenge, but particularly I think, Kansas, because we actually have some, some pretty antiquated regulations that limit the number of children that can be taken in certain situations. And that just makes the problem worse. So we have some challenges in that area.
James Bell
Absolutely. You know, I we did hear about some of the action and activities that are going on locally to address that problem. I wonder if you have any insight on on the bigger picture, the state level stuff? Or if you've even if they've even really done anything with that in the last few weeks? Well, I
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
think there's discussion. You know, a lot of it comes if you talk to, if you talk to childcare providers, the ratios that they have to maintain based on how many children they can look after, at certain age groups and how that affects. If you take so many infants, she can't take some others. So age, children, just just different things like that, which I think that is being looked at that the state, the Kansas Department of Health and Education, I guess is who supervises that. And when you look at Kansas, compared to many other states, the ratios here are, are pretty prohibitive with, say, the number of infants that the number of providers per infant, I believe it's four to one under 18 months. So if you look at the economic aspect of a daycare center or childcare facility, they can take four infants per employee to provide that service. Well, they can charge, let's just say three bucks an hour. For those for infants, maybe that's $12 an hour, and to hire someone to take care of those kids. And that kind of thing may be more than that, not to mention payroll taxes, and that kind of thing. So it's a it's a broken system, because of these ratios. And I understand, Katie, he they, their primary concern is child's safety as it should be. But there's got to be a happy medium in there someplace. And I think when I last look, Kansas was a one of two states in the United States that had that stringent of a ratio requirement. And so we really, you know, they need to look at that, and I think they are.
James Bell
Okay, well, and I looked forward to see you know, what, what results come out of these discussions and what actual action we can take to alleviate some of this need, because it sounds huge. But I wonder if you want to speak about some of the other updates that you gave the city last night? Well,
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
I told him about our microfactory project, you know, we got the base grant, and we're proceeding along with the try and get arrangements made architects engaged to get that project started. That of course, is the 30,000 square foot building that we intend to construct at the corner of ninth and commerce Parkway. And it'll be split into either five or six different areas for upcoming or startup manufacturers who we hope to you know, it's to be an incubator for them. They go in there where they operate for three to maybe up to five years, perhaps trying to get their product established and grow their business. And then we roll them out into a facility of their own, and we roll the next guy in. So it's it's one of these deals that will, that will serve as an endowment for our community for a long, long time. And so I explained that to them and what our plans are there. We hope to get started sometime this summer, on the construction of that we have two years to get it constructed in under the terms of the grant we received. But we hope to be up and running well before two years. So we're getting started on that. I talked about housing, we talked about the apartment situation last week, a little bit in terms of the number of apartments that are being constructed in the area right now. And then also discussed the tall grass addition, the fact that there are currently now there are four homes that are owner occupied, they've been completed and the owners have moved in.
James Bell
so fast that didn't happen. I mean, we talked about how long it takes to get these things to happen. But that actually seemed like it happened overnight. It seems like
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
it it was back in, you know, the fall that they started construction on these and, and so they I give the contractors that are building out there all the credit in the world, because they have had to overcome a lot of obstacles.
James Bell
And we heard about some more of those obstacles that are coming, or at least for one of the builders, I think that they said they wouldn't be able to start the next set until July.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, well, yeah, I mean, the if you go out there, and I encourage everybody to do so. There are eight basements that are in the ground right now. But the framer who the contractor uses is tied up on other projects and can't get to it till probably June. And so there they sit for 30 to 45 days, that just adds to the construction time, it just adds to the time that that home is going to be available for somebody to move into. But we've got activity going there's there'll be four completed in the next 30 I actually another six completed in the next 30 days. And then these eight are going to are already started that have basements, the other contractors plan to start another 11 this summer. So that developments going to be built out pretty quickly. I'd say by year end, you're going to see lots and lots of houses out there. Excellent.
James Bell
And that really ended Sandy Jacobs talked a little bit about your I say famous kind of workforce needs pyramid that you go around the community and share. And that's that's the bottom. So to help us kind of get to the spot where we can develop those other things. And that's really something else we want to talk about today. There's been an effort that you guys have made, and really, I think done a great job within the last few months of promoting Hayes's story, and getting people out here. And we talk a lot about this remote workers, they can pick wherever they want to go. And we hope Hayes is one of those places. But I want to talk about that. As your organization grow Hayes's the Economic Development Group, and connections with so many other organizations, I wonder if you want to talk a little bit about someone that maybe is looking at Hayes from the front range of Denver, and they want to start a business here, what resources are available to
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
well, where they're starting place, obviously, if they want to start a business, we have an E community loan program where we can provide funds to a business startup, they have to involve a bank as well. And that and we've we've actually got a couple of we're meeting today on one application for a business analysis. And we will probably be funding a portion of that one. And then we obviously we kind of know where the sites might be available what either space or building site might be available. So we assist them in that regard. And then we can connect them with all the other resources that they may need. The Small Business Development Center on campus can help them with business plans. We can direct them to the northwest Kansas Planning Commission and some of these people who can help them with some SBA loan things. So we're kind of a connector, we if they start with us, which we hope that they do, we can help them find the resources that they need, and show them why Hays is a good place to come if you're going to start up a business, or why Hayes is a good place to come if you just if you're a remote worker, and you can live anywhere you want to live. We've got a great story to tell here.
James Bell
Absolutely. You know, I wonder if we want to talk a little bit of the details and some of those other organizations. I know network Kansas is a big one that you guys partner with a lot and I think they provide some of those resources for potential business owners or entrepreneurs as well.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
They do they're a great partner for us. They're a great resource for across the entire state. They do fund are a community loans. So we work with them and if once we have a loan committee local made up of local people, but once we approve a loan, they send us the money to provide to the borrower and integrate new twist on that is that network Kansas was able to get a grant from the Patterson Foundation. And now, up to 20% of what a borrower, the loan amount from us is available to them in in form of a grant. So if some are our loan limit is $45,000, if somebody qualifies, and if they meet the requirements of the of the grant 9000 of that comes back to them as they don't have to repay it. So that's a great deal not to mention the fact that our interest rates are typically around prime rate, so typically going to be lower than they would expect to pay elsewhere. So it's a great program, I encourage anybody that is starting up a business or wants to do an expansion to to contact us on that. And network. Kansas also does our youth entrepreneurship programs. And they sponsor a lot of entrepreneurial activity. So they're a great organization and a great partner.
James Bell
Yeah, you mentioned the SBDC, down on the Fort Hays campus. And I wonder if we want to talk about this as well. I think really out here in Hays, we've generated this culture of entrepreneurship, that really, I think kind of maybe starts there on the campus and permeates the entire community. But if you're someone that's looking for that kind of place where you can connect with those folks, Haze is a great place for that right?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Or it is now the campus, obviously, they're they're very focused on entrepreneurship on campus with the Faulkner challenge and and Hanson Hall are both very entrepreneurship focused, the SBDC that's Rick Felton Berger leads that group, and they're very good at helping a person take an idea and getting it on paper, because you know, a bank, they always want to see it on paper, they want to see your business plan. And, you know, I've always said, a business plan is one of those necessary evils of starting a business. Because the second day, you're in business, everything changes, and you can kind of the business plan may not be as appropriate, as applicable, as it was, when you thought you were gonna get started. But it is, it is something you have to do. And Rick does a great job with working with prospective business owners or business owners who are wanting to expand to actually crunch the numbers and put the components of the plan together, so that the bank can look at it and understand what you're trying to accomplish. And, and it's more likely to fund a deal. Very cool.
James Bell
You know, I wonder if somebody out there is listening, and maybe their local, maybe they are out on the front range or somewhere else in the country. But if they're listening, I think and man, I think he's might be a place I want to check out what's the best and easiest way for him to get those economic resources? Is it just calling or checking out websites? Or a little bit of both?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, a little bit of both. But certainly calling our office is where we start. And that's as a connector to these resources, we're going to, we're going to ask him some questions about what they're trying to do and what their resources are and what their background is. And then from that we can direct them into and put them in the right direction, get them in touch with the right people. We don't do it all we do some of it, but we don't do it all. But we do know who does. And that's the key. And we can save people a lot of time and grief, I think if they would call us and allow us to help them connect with the right resources.
James Bell
Yeah, you know, I think about all those business owners that I've known over the years that when they launch their business or launch a new operation anyway, they try to reinvent the wheel. And I think oh my gosh, guys get go to get the help that is out there. That's what it's for.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Yeah, and we don't charge anything. SBDC doesn't charge anything, you know, this is all free stuff. So why not take advantage of the resources that are available to you, and can ensure your success?
James Bell
Absolutely. Well, Doug, I tell you, we've got just about a minute or so left in the thing else that we want to hit on before we go?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, I think, you know, we talk about brief space all the time. But brace space is the microfactory for office workers. You know, we have space down there and it's really going well down there. We do still have space available for some people if they want to come down and check us out. The usage of the facility just keeps getting more and more the meeting rooms and the various our podcast station and all those things that we have for resources for people. So as always come down, check us out. We'll give you a tour and maybe it'd be the right spot for you
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser recaps this week's Hays City Commission meeting with city commissioner Sandy Jacobs and city manager Toby Dougherty.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
city commissioners discussed ongoing opportunities and concerns in pays. At their City Commission meeting this week as Post reporter Becky Kiser recaps that meeting with city manager Toby Dougherty, as well as City Commission member Sandy Jacobs, on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser
There were excellent discussions last night Sandy have several things going on and recurring in the city and some situations that perhaps the city can help with. One of them was a report actually an update from gro Hayes, Executive Director, Doug Williams talking about what that organization is doing. And actually Doug will be talking to James a little bit lower or later this morning. So we don't want to steal his thunder. But he did have some really interesting things to talk about housing. And that's something that's been a priority for the city in recent times to get more of it. And it looks like we're in a pretty good place right now.
Sandy Jacobs
The momentum is going in the right direction. I'll say that I don't want anybody to think that we need to stop thinking about it. Because there's so much going on, but grow Hayes has and I won't steal his thunder either, because it was the kind of a good news bad news night last night. And he certainly had good news on everything. The housing that's going on in the Tallgrass second edition, the RFID. We did last night, the other buildings that are going up, I think Toby checked how many actual were in construction recently, it was over 100
Toby Dougherty
Your construction and or permitting were about 160 units. Wow,
Sandy Jacobs
that's a big deal. That is a very big deal. And so the we're answering it, developers are stepping forward, the difficult thing that's happening, we have a developer in the Tallgrass edition that's ready to put in eight, and put eight more basements in while we were informed last night, his framework can't start until July. So it's and then then you worry about getting the bit the stuff you need the wood and the concrete and everything else that you need, because everything's backordered. So it's kind of a good news. Bad news
Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser
is we should also explain that and Doug, if you're ever around, Doug, and I'm sure he says it all the time is when he's talking to James is that this foundation of what builds communities and attracts people to haze or other communities, you've got to have housing to begin with before you get people here to accept jobs.
Sandy Jacobs
Absolutely. And it's the basis of his triangle. And as he says, he carries that everywhere he goes. And I think we've all pretty much got that memorized. But he, he he and his organization. And I want to give credit to that board that has given him the liberty to keep moving forward and doing things and encouraging. Because that hasn't happened before with this strongly with economic development. And I've known it for a long time. This is the most active we've been with an economic development director for a very long
Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser
time. Well, I know over the past few years haven't covered a City Commission, there have been concerns by the City Commission about it, feeling like you know, you're just not doing anything for Should we continue to fund you. And you have seen a big difference. And in fact, last night, I think it was you Sandy, who mentioned that we as Doug said, there is an additional position another person there who really has made a difference in what is happening.
Sandy Jacobs
David clang and has just been outstanding. When Doug hired him. He didn't have any economic development background, per se, but he had a lot of big box background. He'd been with some big box businesses, but he understood retail, he understood the environment. And he was very gung ho to make things happen. And as Doug announced last night, they actually, David wrote a grant that actually was awarded for 2.6 million and I don't want to take that thunder. So
Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser
Oh, okay. Well, that's good news tokens, right. I mean, we're talking about over in the heart of America area, correct. On the east side of town.
Toby Dougherty
Yes. For the single family homes. We're talking on the east side of town. We do have some infill projects going on the former Washington school that's been converted to apartments.
Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser
Are they actually not hiring? renting out now? Is that what
Toby Dougherty
I've heard? I know there is an open house sometime early next month, early next month? Yes. I think maybe the 12th or 13th Air landing
now. Right. And
Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser
the St. Joseph former school I am and I've seen, you know, some people going in and out of there. So they're hopping around in that building now,
Toby Dougherty
right, that'll be converted to 12, moderate income housing apartments. And then we have, as Commissioner Jacob mentioned, the RH ID for another 34 units. That will be behind Washington School. And that'll be coming coming later in the year. So we have a lot of stuff in the works right now.
Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser
Let's talk about the RH ID we heard from Finance Director Kim Rapp. And there's always a little bit of a smile on everybody's faces because it is a very long process to make this happen. And just regulations that the city has to fall
Toby Dougherty
it's it's state statute, you know, whenever you whenever you abate taxes for anybody, and that's what this is a tax abatement, it is a redirection of taxes to help fund a development. And so whenever that happens, there is a A lot of due process built in, there's a lot of public opportunity for input. And so it it, it delays the process. So there are publication requirements, there are public hearing requirements or public notice requirements. And that just all adds time to the process. I think it's needed because you shouldn't be able to abate taxes without adequate public input. So it is just a lengthy process. And I think Kim, the finance director said, we should be completed in August if the commission follows the calendar as presented. And then the developer would have to go ahead and start start construction.
Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser
Another portion of this as he mentioned last night is there has to be justification shown that there is a need for housing and he talked about the housing survey that was done by Fort Hays State stocking Institute.
Toby Dougherty
Yes, that was completed late last year. And it shows an overall lack of of a need for housing in almost all categories. But the types of housing that the archer ideas last night is going to consider as the top of the of the of the needs for housing, so it is definitely the most needed.
Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser
Sandy The another thing that's part of Doug's Famous Pyramid is childcare. You know, many parents, if not most, are working these days and they need childcare. And at the quote that came from Sarah Wah, singer of the Hayes chamber, who has helped had this childcare Taskforce, one of her quotes was childcare is in a market failure nationwide. I mean, it's just not Kansas, and Hayes is everywhere.
Sandy Jacobs
Well, and you agree, Becky, and it is everywhere, no matter where I travel, I hear the same stories. The only the many good things are happening, though, to try to relegate what's happening there. There's many different entities out there trying to find ways to incent people to begin childcare to start new chalker Whether it's in their home or or a childcare center. We have we have wonderful facilities in Hayes now wonderful homecare. And I think one of the very most important things I heard last night other than we have 800 kids in this community that we need to find childcare for that was important. But we had a wonderful contingency of child childcare professionals in our in our audience last night. And I think that's really important to understand. They made it very clear, they're not babysitters, they're childcare providers. And I think that isn't it, I feel differently, you know, if I'm looking at the process of that job as a childcare provider versus a babysitter. So I think that was important. But there is also part of all of the surveys we've come up with and in Sarah and her group have just done an outstanding job with this. They're really moving through this and they will make a difference. We have 151 people in this community that said in a survey that they will go back to work if they can find childcare for children, and they can
Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser
and that's, you know, again, it just kind of is this circle because it just about anywhere you look, you see businesses in Hays with signs up on their marquees hiring now. So you know that that just shows it's also Toby something again, it isn't just what's going on locally, there are a lot of regulations, and that the that the daycare providers last night talked about that come from the state, if not the feds, but especially the state that make it kind of difficult to do this in your home. And not everybody's really able to do that
Toby Dougherty
difficult and and sometimes not profitable. So you're not running on high profit margin, I think I think that was one of the prevailing ideas that came out last night from the childcare providers who were in the audience was that they're not getting rich off of this. They are getting by at best, you know, most of them seem to be doing it because they like to do it. And they enjoy it. And they they want to provide the service. So the profit margins are small, it's very difficult. It is a highly complex regulatory environment. Even if you're a single person shop. It's a it's a highly complex regulatory environment. So it's difficult to get into and maintain.
Sandy Jacobs
It is and I think I mean, there are so many things that we really don't even understand. I was saying earlier to Becky, if we don't say it, nobody realizes it's happening. We have no room, no room, we have childcare providers last night, they said their waiting list is three years, their first opening they have is three years from now. Every single one of them has upwards of 2530 on the waiting list. Wow. So I mean, it's it is it is it's getting dire I will say that and because it affects so many areas of the community,
Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser
one of the stearic talked about some of the things that they've done and and things that they would like to accomplish and ideas that may come into play, one of which is childcare centers, as opposed to someone who's doing daycare in their home. It sounded like some of the daycare providers feel like that might be more of an expensive option for some of their clients if they chose to do that. Maybe not super practical, but I don't and I don't have kids so I don't know but it seems like to me if we had things like that and businesses offering childcare you in their building would be helpful. I
think there's some of that being looked at right now.
Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser
Can the city help in any way?
Sandy Jacobs
We don't know. But are we looking? Absolutely. And I think that was made clear to everybody last night. We don't know what we can do, but it is on the table, and we will be having discussions about it with this group and others.
Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser
I like what you said last night. The city wasn't giving just lip service. You were you promised to the daycare providers that we are looking at. Toby I wanted to give a shout out to when we heard our progress report from assistant city manager. He noted that our parks director Jeff Boyle recently was acknowledged for his work out name is an award named after somebody that has been very had been very active in our haste community.
Toby Dougherty
Yeah, it was named after Jim Strine. Jeff Boyle, the parks director received a forestry award at Arbor Day celebration a couple of weeks ago, and well deserved if there's a bigger advocate for trees in in Hayes and Jeff, I don't know who it is maybe Jim shrine. But you know it Jeff does a good job. We have a tree nursery that was also shown in the progress report last night. Jeff is very good at finding properties around Hayes out in the country where there are cedar trees and other types of trees that can be transplanted to city facilities. And we have a tree spade and it just does a good job. You know, we don't have a lot of trees in the High Plains out here. So it's nice to continually plant those trees and see them grow. And
Sandy Jacobs
everyone if somebody's taking a tree down here with
Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser
these they, you know, I think that's really that's really neat because a lot of ag people don't like those red cedar trees, but they're good in town for a windbreak and didn't we put some out sports complex to
Toby Dougherty
go Yeah, sports complex golf course we have them all over the place. And I would like to put a plug in for the tree rebate program. Yes. You know, if you are replacing a tree or planting a tree, you can go on Hayes usa.com and look in our parks department. They'll have the brochure for the tree rebate program where you can go to the city clerk's office and ask for it. We'll give you have $50 to help pay for the cost of your tree. And if you have a certain species of tree that is diseased that needs to be removed. We'll actually give you a little money to help you tear that tree out and then give you some money to help you replace it.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with K-State president Richard Linton.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Fire Department chief Ryan Hagans shares tips on staying safe during spring and summer.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
As summer approaches new fire dangers also pop up paced Fire Department Chief Ryan Hagen's stops by to share with us some ways to stay safe this spring and summer as well as share updates from the department on this episode of the post podcast that we hit on this a little bit last month the fire hydrant testing was going on. I think that's still kind of wrapping up in it.
Ryan Hagans
Yeah, it's still going on, we usually start that the first part of March because he knows well as I do. Springtime in western Kansas, flip a coin on the weather conditions. It's either gonna be nice, or it's gonna we're gonna have some cold weather. So we we just kind of picked march to get started on that so we can get it wrapped up before water restrictions kick in place. We're probably about three quarters away done. So we go around and pressure flow test every hydrant in town to make sure that they're working properly and kind of helps out to our water resources department by getting water quality back where it should be.
James Bell
You know, I It's funny, you mentioned that you guys were over in my neighborhood the other day and did it and the the water went from it had kind of a murky gun, a fishy taste to that super chlorinated taste, is there backfill in the lines? And then now Yeah, absolutely. There's quite a bit better than a headache. And even really,
Ryan Hagans
it's just the water moving throughout the town. Yeah, it definitely improves the quality.
James Bell
And it's always good to have those ready and know that they work. If you're in an emergency. That's not the time you want to find out, hey, we don't have the proper pressure here.
Ryan Hagans
Right. And so we want to make sure that the hydrants themselves are in good, good condition.
James Bell
Yeah. Speaking of being prepared for emergencies, you guys recently conducted your the FFA Turner FAA. Yes, fire training.
Ryan Hagans
On April 20. We conducted our annual our live burn requirements which are for AR f f, which is airport rescue and firefighting. That is training as mandated, like I said, by the FAA, and several years ago, we partnered up with the DoD City Fire Department and they they'll send anywhere between eight and 12 other staff up to join us as well. So that's a it's a good time it's an all day event but it's it's good training hot
James Bell
that's what I went out there one year maybe not this last one but went out there one year to photography you guys working out there and holy smokes the the that simulated airplane fire you can feel it from so far away. And I can even imagine and all that gear, how hot that is. Even on a nice day.
Ryan Hagans
You get the gear on then you go inside the plane and all that heats just trapped in its little warm.
James Bell
Yeah. Let's see what else you also did some. What is this fact training?
Ryan Hagans
Yeah, that was put on by Fort Hays State. And yes, and Debbie K. Fact was dead for a first responder art, collaboration and training. It was a four day event and what it does, it was a good interaction between how do how to interact with people with some cognitive disability. So we really enjoyed that. All of our guys have went down narratives and all that we had so much fun with the DSM Debbie Kay clients, for Hey, students, it was a good time.
James Bell
Very cool, very cool. I know you guys really love to be out in the community and make your or be a positive presence in the community. And you got some events coming up to that kind of a center on that day idea as well. Right, right.
Ryan Hagans
Earlier this week, Lieutenant Tim de tree, was invited to speak with the Hays High School jag class, which that jag J G stands for jobs available for graduates. He did an excellent job, I was up there with him and watched him do his thing. And just did an outstanding job and I think he is going to try and go back again next week.
James Bell
Very cool. You know, I remember as a kid, I had a desire to be a fire firefighter. I think a lot of kids do and it's really cool that you can go in there and interact with them and maybe help keep that dream alive a little bit.
Ryan Hagans
You know, was one thing that was interesting. When they were getting this all planned out, you know, they got it. How do how do you get involved in the fire service and Lieutenant d3 That gave a chance to tell his story you know, and what what led him into it? And it was it was it was good to hear it I got to witness his journey also but it was as good hearing his side of it. And as the kids I think really appreciated him sharing his story.
James Bell
Absolutely. And as picking up kiddos bringing back the front door Fridays we were talking a little bit before we got on here I got to bring in my four year old down there check out the trucks because what a cool way to interact with the department
Ryan Hagans
Yeah, every starting in May through October the third Friday of every month 7pm to 9pm we'll be down in the apparatus Bay down there station one 1507 main doors will be up stop on by this for a quick drop into are we be glad to have anyone everyone come by.
James Bell
Yeah love that. and it is that time of year that you know, the weather's getting nicer school is coming to an end those kiddos is going to be out more and more, aren't they?
Ryan Hagans
Oh, yeah, we just want to monitor but just be paying a little bit more attention. Obviously the weather's turning Nice. Kids are going to be outside riding bikes running down the sidewalks out in the parks. Yeah, we can get to some days the winds not blown, though beyond about even more. This one reminder, buddy, it's that time here. Let's be on the lookout. And it's a crazy thought. But here we are about to wrap up another school year. You know, just be prepared. Once again, graduations are coming up. So we'll see an increase in traffic throughout the community.
James Bell
Absolutely. And you know, with the weather warming up to people will be out celebrating cooking barbecues and parties and all that as well. Right? That's
Ryan Hagans
right. You know, this is if you haven't already, but a good reminder to make sure that that barbecue grills in good clean working order. Gas Grill, you have no leaks and everything. Just reminded Don't, don't try barbecuing in the garage unless you got some really good ventilation, but it still can build up carbon monoxide. So we want to just want everybody to be safe and have a good time.
James Bell
Absolutely. And if you're on a road trip, right, you need to be maintained on that vehicle.
Ryan Hagans
Oh, that's that's for sure, too. We don't want to have anybody break down alongside the road. So if you got a good family vacation planned, now's a good time to make sure that vehicle is go get checked over. That way you know your road ready? Absolutely.
James Bell
Already, sir. Well, we've got just about a minute or so left. Any last thoughts where we go?
Ryan Hagans
Yeah, we still have a funny smoke alarms to give away. If you're interested in that program, and to see the qualifications for that. This give us a call at the office at 628730 glad to help you out.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University choirs director Terry Crull shares information about upcoming university concerts.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
For the State University choirs are preparing for their last show of the academic year. Director Terry cruel stops by to share with us a little bit about what they're going to be performing and when, on this episode of the post podcast
Terry Crull
and of the year concerts Yep, we're preparing last night the orchestra and I worked on our last piece. The Hayes Symphony Orchestra is the company my choirs on Frances pool onx Gloria, beautiful setting. And then hey, Symphony Orchestra will play. Very famous piece. Hector Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique are very cool. Yeah, great piece, very picturesque, kind of the start of programmatic music where you tell a story with it, too. So they've been working hard on it. It's a it's a, it's a big bite for them to choose, hey, symphony orchestra, but they're working their tails off. So it should be a fun concert Sunday night 730 and beach Schmidt, free to the public.
James Bell
I love that all of the concerts down there Fort Hays and you see me down there for almost every one I hit drag my kids down there probably two or three. It's such a great assets of the community to have those free concerts. And, you know, while it's not quite could not quite professional level, those students sure get darn close.
Terry Crull
We think we think our kids are on the road to that if that's their career choice. And we hope people will come and hear it and say, Wow, those kids got some stuff going on because they do they work hard. And a lot of talent fun to work with them every day. So
James Bell
yeah, it seems like this year you've had you had a really great group. I mean, every year is good. But this year, I don't know. It seems like there was just really a few field
Terry Crull
trip like two why kind of bonds a group together. So he developed a spirit of esprit de corps that it's really fun to see they're working hard. No complaints in that group hardly ever. I mean. That's that goes to the concert choir and our bands and our jazz groups to Brad just gave his last performance. He's given up the jazz bands, turning them over to our new percussion and band instructor Ryan Pearson. So
James Bell
young guy I don't know, guys
Terry Crull
just out of graduate school. He's been here a year on part time, and now we hired him full time. And his wife was out. They did their joint recital. He's a percussionist, of course, she's a clarinetist. She played amazingly well, too. And I think they bought a house and hey, so hey, they're coming here.
James Bell
They're here. They're stuck. Yeah, very cool.
Terry Crull
Pass the bond issue they'll have a nice new school for when their kids get there. Yeah, well, we'll see how that goes.
James Bell
But But yeah, so suddenly, so is all this piece is going to be set with the orchestra is just
Terry Crull
the orchestra is grand finale concert, and every other year we join them for a combined orchestral work. And the concert is called voyage to France because Hector Berlioz for the orchestra and Francis Poulenc for the choirs, and we did his Gloria wants 10 or 12 years ago, was a guest conductor. Dr. availa Allen or soprano is doing the soul. The soprano solo work three of the six movements. So we'll start off with that plonk, Glory acquires behind the orchestra. And I bail out front and meet conducting. And then after intermission the symphony fantastic. It's 5055 minute work as long five movements but it's great story. If you know that piece. It's about a artist in France who goes into a drug induced trance and has this horrendous dream. When they first played Symphony fantastic. It caused a riot. I mean, they had to bring the police in because they really aren't used to that kind of grotesque in your face music you know, some of the harmonies some of the blasts of sound. The famous DS era that you hear do you do at the beginning of shining Jack Nicholson movie is a is from that work? The big brass sound. So it's a big orchestra, powerful orchestra. And the Poulenc is just sublime. I mean, it's beautiful melodies, great harmonies by the choir, they've had fun working on it. So we're excited. 730 Sunday night, voyage to France, free to the public. Love it. Love it. To the public. Do we say free to the public? Be free to them? Well, I don't know. Yeah. Military. I'm not used to this hour later time I spent the hour calling my 3200 listeners tell them I'm on at 845 instead of 740.
James Bell
Yeah, there's a little bit different but but, you know, I also I wonder I count how much work has to go into put in one of these shows. And, and everybody knows, I think that you know, I was a music student. So I was on the band side. But for choir, you know, of course, the band side there's that little bit of rivalry sometimes Right, like, they have that
Terry Crull
advantage of, you know, being able to pick stuff up more quickly. Although they have the disadvantage of not having all the parts in front of them, I'm singing a choir music, you've got the soprano part there as well as your tenor part or whatever. And when you're a bassoon as long as you have as your part in front of you, so you've got to listen hard and work beforehand to get familiar with the work so that you know how your, your part fits with the other parts. So there is that but yeah, the orchestra has been working, I think six rehearsals for this concert, which isn't very many four pieces complexes of the symphony. Fantastic. We even the choirs have been working while since our spring concert, which was March 10, I believe. So 340 minutes, 45 minute rehearsals a week and and to learn that it's in Latin. So the language presents a challenge, although it's pretty common Latin. So a lot of the kids have some of
James Bell
like any Latin is common lap, rock breaking in Latin
Terry Crull
text. I mean, Gloria in Excelsis day, I mean, every Christmas time. So they haven't had too much trouble with that. Poulenc is a little bit post romantic, a little bit modern, 20th century and that his style is classic in form. But his harmonies are more colorful, and lots of use of the woodwinds and the horns. And that's a great orchestra. They work so well. Brian buxted is our orchestra director, he's done. marvelous job at getting that orchestra, you know, up to snuff, so to speak, and, and playing consistently. Well always enjoyed their concerts. So
James Bell
yeah, and he was I think, correct me if I'm wrong, but he came in right before that pandemic, right. And then
Terry Crull
a lot of big concerts with them. Since he came in right at the end of that, yeah, so this year has been his debut year, I guess you could call it and they've done some great stuff. Of course, they have their children's concert in Halloween. We got that again next year. On Sunday, whatever, October 3 Year 29th, or whatever is close to Halloween. It's always a fun event. There'll be with us under cathedral concert next year, which was December 11. The strings Anyway, do some combined work with the choirs and then they always do their grand finale concert with some large works like this. And then every other year we joined them. So next year, I'll do my own masterworks choral concert with the choirs, and he'll do something with his orchestra. I don't know yet if he's got programming ideas, but for this year, it's voyage to France. Very cool. Again, it's Sunday at 730. Don't miss free,
James Bell
free and free no excuse not to go.
Terry Crull
No excuse not. Yep. NBA Playoffs aren't anywhere close to the end yet. So who's watching those? I didn't even know that was going on. Honestly, other in the early stages, you know, 28 teams that make the playoffs out of 29 teams. Oh, yeah. So yeah. Everybody makes up like not to select. But anyway, I watched when it gets down to the semis. There you go.
James Bell
So well, already. Certainly anything else you think folks need to
Terry Crull
know? Well, the last week of classes, the percussion ensemble will have their concert, and the bands will have their concert? Oh, let me see. What's the date? I think it's Thursday, which would be the 12th nor the fifth. So we exam week. Yeah, that's the last exam. So the fifth will be the band's concert. And I think the night before and Wednesday, the percussion will be in beach Smith. And those are all free as well. So wrapping up the year yeah, kids are excited the ball teams are trying to make the playoffs softball and baseball got a few those kids in my class. I gotta get to here in a few minutes. So it's always exciting at the end of the year when the weather turns nice guy. I wish we had some rain to soak us down a little bit good, but at least it's windy. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, in Kansas with my big motorcycle on the road with those windy. Oh, yeah. So always good to be with you, James. Thanks for having me on. I appreciate it. So he's kind of like, Hey, we got a contract this week. Can I get on tomorrow or the next day and you always accommodate me. So thanks a lot. I love your music program. I know you're a student there percussionist were Yeah, I was. Yeah. So you enjoy. Did you happen to come down when Ryan gave his faculty recital
James Bell
didn't I was I was wanting to I was so
Terry Crull
remember, he's fun to watch to kind of dances up there. My wife turned to me and said, you know, you could lose some weight. If you were a percussionist. He's going to workout Oh, yeah. So having been an athlete, I know that sometimes. I work just as hard in certain aspects. You know, we'll have conditioning that it didn't was a basketball player. But you work hard when you sing. We could play an instrument because
On this episode of the Post Podcast Cottonwood Extension District agent Stacy Campbell shares information about upcoming events.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The area extension districts are getting ready for wheat feel the plot days cottonwood extension district agent Stacy Campbell stops by to talk to us about that and much more on this episode of the post podcast going on. But we want to talk about this first. We've been talking about this here on the go morning show for the last few weeks. This is the tractor farm safety course. Now this week, we haven't been talking about it because the deadline had come. Yeah, but you say there's a few spots left. You're gonna squeak some more kids. Oh, yeah.
Stacy Campbell
Yeah, we can squeak some more kids in right. We put the deadline was last Friday. But you know, you kind of gotta have a deadline. I mean, we will still take more kids. Yeah. For that we actually call it hazardous occupation, safety training and agriculture. The acronym is hosta. But basically, yeah, tractor farm safety course that extension service offers every year around the state. For youth that are 14 to 15 years of age, if they're going to be working for somebody on a farm, especially other than their parents, or even if their parents I believe are in like a corporation or partnership. by federal law, if they're 14 or 15 years old. They're supposed to take this tractor farm safety course we have at this Saturday in Hill city, I'm going to be going, I am going there to to teach so I can gladly haul any kids that still need to get signed up and go to that. Very cool. And it was if I remember, right, it's like $10. Yeah, it's just $10. Right? In the end, yeah, I actually people's state bank, out of Hoxie is one of our sponsors, so that with them sponsoring, it's help reduce the cost. And then there's a manual that the kids get, actually, it's a big manual on loan that will take back, but they could still get registered, we just encourage them to do that today. Tomorrow, they can call the extension office at 6289430. For that tractor farm safety course this Saturday in Hill city, it is an all day event. And like I say, I'm gonna go so I can gladly haul any kids that that need to go. Very cool. Very cool.
James Bell
But that's just one of the many things you've got going on down there this time of year, right?
Stacy Campbell
Well, yeah, it's kind of always there's always, it's always busy. There's always something going on. Of course, we'll have the fair coming up this summer. And that's already on our books. And we're working on it getting the last of our judges and superintendents and you know, working all the details out on that. But also, we plot field days will be coming up here in May. Our first one is in Barton County on Monday, May the 23rd, starting at 830 in the morning, and the 23rd is a Monday, that's not a good time to be having a field day first thing Monday morning, but that our specialists have those all over the state. So they're quite busy. So I worked with them this year and said, Sure, I'll take Monday, I'll take the the bad day to kind of have a field day on Monday morning. But in Barton County, it's going to be Monday, May 23, at 830. And you know if which of course, I'm sitting here talking to Ellis County, folks, so they're probably not too interested in that one. But the next one is in Ellis County, and it's going to be on Wednesday, June the first. So that's Wednesday, June, the first will be our annual Ellis County wheat demonstration or wheat variety plot field day, it's going to be in the evening at 6pm. We do have it at a different location. It's south and little west of Hayes at mangiare and 230th Avenue. And we're going to kind of do the same thing. We'll have a meal afterwards. So we do ask that you RSVP that's appreciated by Tuesday, May 31. For our wheat Demonstration Field Day on Wednesday, June the first and then our number is 6289430.
James Bell
Very cool. Very cool. You know what those wheat field days I imagine a lot of the folks are listening probably either they're their producers, and they already know these events are happening and they're going or they're not. I'm curious, you know, is there is there any benefit for those that aren't maybe producers to check this? So
Stacy Campbell
I mean, it's a good question. Actually. Sometimes we have a landlord's you know, they're not farming the ground and they have it rented out, but sometimes they'd like to come and listen and hear what's going on and, and just kind of visit with other farmers and stuff they know, in all oftentimes, you know, landlords may be in what's called a crop share leasing arrangement with their tenant to where they actually get a percentage of the crop. So it is good for them to try to you know, stay up on things and understand about diseases and insects and, and the new varieties and things like that. So yes, we welcome anybody to come to those to our wheat demonstration plot field days and yeah, sometimes we have landlords come to those. Very cool. Yep. Well,
James Bell
what else could have going on? Well, one of the things I
Stacy Campbell
might mention is just kind of did a newspaper article about it. But unfortunately, since we're, we've been dry and looks like we may continue to stay that away. So quite a few of our farm ponds are getting pretty dry, if not already dried up. So this is a good opportunity to if you need to clean that farm pond out to do that. If it's leaking. I would advise you After you've cleaned it out, or maybe before you clean it out, you could take some soil course around on the pond area about zero to four to six inches down and you can bring those into the extension office, we can send them off to get a soil texture test. And that soil texture test will tell how much clay is in the soil. So if your ponds been leaking, I would advise you to do that. Because if it comes back and it's got close to 30% clay content or higher, you can alter I mean, you can take care of that leaking problem after you've cleaned that pond out by just really really packing it well with what's called a sheep's foot roller. I mean, that's really what needs to happen. So if you've got enough clay in the soil, but the pond is leaking, take a soil texture test, bring it into the extension office, give us a call, we might be able to help you there in that, you know, maybe it's just the deal where you really need to pack it really, really well while it's dry. And then that may take care of any leaking problems. And you don't have to go and try to dig a new pond. And then there's some products you can use to put into the soil, but they get kind of expensive. So that's why I encourage folks to clean out their farm ponds. And then if they're leaking to do a soil texture test, also when you're cleaning them out, sometimes people don't think about that it's very advisable to put that dirt that you're taken out on the backside of the of the dam. Because sometimes you see of just they clean it out and they put it all kind of around the pond. Well, where's it going to ultimately go down the road? Yeah, it's gonna go back in we hard rains and the cattle and stuff. So put it on the back of the dam, okay. Plus your dam usually needs a little extra work and some in some, you know, dirt work and things like that to shore it up. So anyway, if you if you want some more information about that soil texture test for your leaking pond, give us a call at the extension office 6289430 We can gladly send that soil land and do that just recently had somebody do that. It was leaking. We discovered that it had I think exactly 30% CLAY So it was dry. So they got that sheep's foot roller on it and packed it really good. So I'm anxious to see once it fills up if it won't leak anymore. I suspect it won't. Yeah, very cool. Yeah. Yeah.
James Bell
Well already, sir. Well, we got less than a minute left. Any
Stacy Campbell
other last thoughts where we go? I think that's it. Yeah, the tractor farm safety courses this Saturday and Hill city. If you got a kid that's 1415 years old got to be working on a farm they need to take the course they can still get signed up. Just give us a call today at the extension office 6289430 We'll get him signed up. I'm going to it so I'll gladly take any kiddos with
On this episode of the Weekend Setlist host Jeffery Leiker details events around the Hays area this weekend.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger, along with vice president of marketing and communication Mariah Leglighter, share information about the search for the Chamber's next administrative assistant.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The Hays chamber is on the hunt for their next administrative assistant from the chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger along with Vice President of Marketing and Communications Mariah Legleiter stops by to talk to us about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Sarah Wasinger
Our dear friend Marlis Fletcher, she's our current administrative assistant is taking a position at a chamber member location. So we are actually in the process of looking for a new administrative assistant.
James Bell
Okay, well, I mean, okay, well, this is great. She's amazing. And it says over here, and you guys, there's no replacing her?
Sarah Wasinger
Well, you know, they say everyone's replaceable, she just holds a very special place in our heart. She's literally the glue of our office. And she's that first point of contact when people come visit us at the chamber. So definitely will be difficult to replace her. But we feel like we have a pretty fun team. I mean, I'll say that I brought Mariah so she could actually validate if
James Bell
you're the boss to say like, yeah, we have a great time at work. Everybody loves me.
Sarah Wasinger
I can I paid Mariah extra, she'll say nice things.
Mariah Legleiter
It has been, it has been fantastic. Um, the last, what, five months, six months has been just, it's gone by incredibly fast. I've learned so many new things. And I've just gotten to dip my toes in a lot of different aspects of the community. And I've gotten to talk to a lot of different people and learn new things. And it's just been really fantastic. And, you know, working with Sarah, and working with Rhonda and working with Marlise has just been fantastic, too. I mean, they're fun. I don't think I've had a day that I haven't laughed, probably for half the day. I mean, it's it. Yeah, it's a great environment. And it has been fantastic.
James Bell
Very cool. You know, and I got to imagine much like kind of my job here. It's one of those positions that it changes everyday, it's a little different.
Sarah Wasinger
Yes. If you don't like what you're doing just sneeze and you'll be doing something different. Yes. That's for sure. Yeah,
Mariah Legleiter
I would like to say it changes by the day, but sometimes it's by the minute.
Sarah Wasinger
Wow. But we get to work with a lot of wonderful people, I think the biggest thing that I wanted to communicate about this position is we are in a very special place in our community that we get to impact a lot of different things by the work that we do. And so it's not just how you get paid by the benefits. But I think internally, the paycheck that you get to sign right at the end of the day for doing things like addressing child care, helping get the school bond passed, all those different things, the work that we get to do on a daily basis, supporting our local businesses, advocating on their behalf, really desperately your bucket.
James Bell
So yeah, and I think you know, especially for young folks, when I say young, I'm thinking younger than us, we're Sarah, we're about same age, Mariah is clearly younger than
Sarah Wasinger
obviously, she has less wrinkles.
James Bell
But for younger folks, it's a lot of it's about that it's about the difference you can make in the community paychecks are great, and everybody you know, at the end of the day, has to make money to live. But you know that that sense of belonging that the ability to make a difference is tremendous.
Sarah Wasinger
Absolutely. So I just wanted to kind of point that out. Um, you know, we did talk about Marlis being the glue for our team. And that's very much true, I'm just kind of wanted to give a glimpse as to what maybe the average day looks like. So obviously, you're the first point of contact when coming into the office. Um, she Marlise currently does a wonderful job answering the phones. So this person would help be that first point of contact, we have chamber checks, of course, and this position would kind of manage that program, and assist in doing the bulk of processing those orders for folks, when they come in. We do have a software called chamber master. It's kind of our database that we use to track our Chamber members, excuse me, I've got a frog in my throat this morning, that they would be taught how to utilize that system to kind of keep track of different events and things of that nature. Obviously, we're very event driven at the Chamber, because about 45% of our total budget comes from the income that we earn from those events. So they would definitely help us assist and organize and coordinate those things that we have going on. Whether it be an appreciation and appreciation the banquet, so and then of course our regular events that we have to like chamber chats, ribbon cutting and some membership lunches, they'll help get those things on the calendar for us and make sure that we're not overlooking any important details.
Mariah Legleiter
Yeah, we, um, you know, working working at the Chamber has been really fun. And being able to work with Marla. She's been really organized and really great. And I feel like that's also something that that's really important to this role is just being really organized and being able to keep us kind of organized and help With our calendars and just kind of do those, those things for us and keep us on our toes as well,
Sarah Wasinger
yeah, someone who's an effective communicator and fearful of a fast paced work environment would definitely probably thrive in this position. So,
James Bell
and correct me if I'm wrong, too. But we have we, as I've watched the you fill positions like Moriah, here over the last few years, the job is kind of also tailored to the individual, right? Because it's a small team, there's only the four of you folks down there. So it kind of builds around that skill set that they might bring in, right?
Sarah Wasinger
Absolutely, we definitely want to make sure that people are fulfilling their purpose. I'm at the chamber. So we had this defined set of job descriptions. But if there's a passion that someone brings to the table that maybe we haven't considered or done before, and they're going to be a part of that team, they're going to be given the opportunity to give feedback to help really guide and mold the purpose of our direction going forward. Okay, cool.
James Bell
Well, we got to probably talk about some of the specifics here, because it is pretty, some pretty good list of benefits that come with this job.
Sarah Wasinger
Absolutely. So some of my favorite things are, you know, we pay full coverage for a single person's insurance. So that definitely is a strong benefit right now, because the cost of health care is significant. And we also have the 3% retirement contribution match. And one of my favorite things is a flexible work schedule. Mariah, you're a young mama, do you want to talk a little bit about that.
Mariah Legleiter
So we actually open at 730 Every morning, but I can't drop off my kid at school until 730. So they've been really, really great about working around that schedule. I'm able to drop Olivia off and then go straight to work. And I mean, it's been seamless, like it's just worked out really, really well. And yeah, we, anytime Olivia Has anything at school, or if there's something in the community that we need to go do, as long as you know, we're communicating with each other. And that comes back to that good communication. As long as we're doing that, then we make it work. And it's very flexible. It's been really fun.
Sarah Wasinger
Work life balance is a very important thing that I always want to provide for my team. Because I feel that the more that you can take advantage of enjoying your family, the better position that you are to be effective at work. So that's definitely something that we've tried to champion over the past couple of years. Another thing that is wonderful too, speaking of family time is our paid holidays off. We have New Year's Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, the day after Thanksgiving. So if you want to shop local, you can do. And then hint hint, wink wink there. And then also Christmas Eve New Year's Day, we actually get that full kind of week and a half off, and from our chamber board of directors. So we also accrue sick leave on a regular basis. And after six months of consecutive employment, you earn one week of paid time off. And after one year, you get two weeks of paid time off. And then of course every year after that, I think five years you get to move up. But that's definitely something wonderful just so you can have that work life balance. Like I said, it's really nice to be able to enjoy the time away with your family, and then be refreshed and come back ready to work.
Mariah Legleiter
And I know that you know, talking about the week off, um, that was super, super helpful for us. Because then you only had to find one week while the kids are out of school for Christmas break. You only had to find one week of childcare versus two weeks of childcare or we can you know, two and a half weeks. And it just made everything run so much smoother. Oh, I bet yeah.
James Bell
One thing we hear it's Oh,
Sarah Wasinger
yeah, we're working on an issue. The biggest thing I would take away though, too, that surprised me I think the most about this job is really the friendships that you make, and the connections that you make that are truly lasting. And I've met some of the most wonderful people that I've ever met in my entire life just by working at the chamber. And so getting to work side by side with people who are like minded and want to make a difference in our community has been so empowering and just a blessing really,
James Bell
very cool. Now, before we run out of time, we should probably tell people, you know, if they're interested how they can apply for the position.
Sarah Wasinger
Absolutely. Thank you for nice segue there, James. So they can call the chamber office that 785-628-8201 If they want to ask specific questions, we would request that folks who are interested that they email, Hey, CeCe at Hayes chamber.com with a resume and a cover letter. And then we're asking for at least three references, not reference letters, we would be happy to call and get the references from those folks over the phone. But yeah, the information can be found on our chamber website at Hayes chamber.com/news-announcements. Very
James Bell
cool. And while you're there, check out all the events you guys got going on this week because you do have a lot going on, right?
Mariah Legleiter
Oh, yeah, we do. So tomorrow, April 27. At 4:30pm There's an H yp MDC meeting at defiance the downtown location on Thursday, April 28 at noon, the is going to be a ribbon cutting for the Kiwanis Club at the Welcome Center. If you RSVP to Sarah at Hayes chamber.com There is going to be a lunch served for that one, but we need a headcount to let everybody know or to know how much food to make. Also on Thursday at 5:30pm, the H yp is having an X yp event at Siena's massage, education and retail at 106 West wealth. Alyssa Owens is going to be talking about self care. Friday, April 29. At 9am. There's going to be a chamber chat for the TMP Marian ace auction at 1701 hole Street,
Sarah Wasinger
and that is one of their biggest fundraisers for the year and talking about the importance of quality schools and the facilities that we have a wonderful opportunity to support them and all the good work that they do to educate our area's children. Absolutely.
Mariah Legleiter
Yeah. And after the chamber chat on Friday, April 29. Well, during the chamber chat at 930 will have the Dale Carnegie self awareness, insights on personal leadership and workshop at the Rose Garden banquet hall and catering 2350 East eighth and Friday, April 29. At noon, we will have our monthly membership luncheon at the Rose Garden banquet hall and catering at 2350 East eighth.
Sarah Wasinger
And one final plug tomorrow is administrative professional state. So if you have an administrative professional like our Marlis Marlis if you're listening we love you and thank you. Please make sure that you thank them for everything that they do to support your organization your business
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays USD 489 Superintendent Ron Wilson recaps this week's Board of Education meeting.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The Hays Board of Education voted this week to allow Russell to join their Special Education Cooperative superintendent Ron Wilson chats with us about that. And more as we recap, this week's Board of Education meeting on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Ron Wilson
Hays is the host district for a special edcooperative, which is a combination of school districts of LaCrosse, Ellis, Victoria and Hays. And we we provide special ed services for all kids in this area. And provide services at all those all those other districts as well as Hays. I think we've we've entered we have we've started this conversation probably, I would say over two years ago with the Russell School District, their unique to the in the state of Kansas is that they are a kind of a standalone Special Ed service in their own just district. And that's pretty rare in the state of Kansas. Usually, there's cooperatives that are established in different regions. And so they reached out to us we've had conversation for two years, of course, there's lots of things that you have to consider, you know, when when inviting someone into a cooperative, because, of course, there's additional costs that will come with that. But also, we felt like it also gives us some additional stability, Russell would be the second largest other than Hayes in that cooperative once they join ours. So it does give us some stability in terms of just kind of spreading the cost out across to everybody, and maybe reducing some risk for some of our smaller districts. So through those conversations, that's where we have proceeded we now have finalized all the districts have agreed for Russell to enter the cooperative. And now it's just kind of a in a sense of three year plan to finally get full implementation. We'll start adding pieces in every year. different pieces we've we've been working with them in the from providing gifted services for the last few years. So we've already kind of started that those steps, but we'll continue to add pieces each year. So we're excited about the possibility of adding Russell on I think it's good for the cooperative, it's good for our district in terms of, of just not just being the big guy on the block and taking on all the risks sometimes.
James Bell
Sure. You know, and I was actually because I do cover the Ellis Board of Education meeting and I was there when they voted on on this measure as well. And one of the things the the big concerns that I heard there was was exactly that is the cost what if Russell has a particularly as a student in and particularly that that requires a lot of funding? And exactly that they came to the conclusion that yes, maybe that would hurt them in a short term, but the long term, everybody will kind of benefit from this partnership.
Ron Wilson
Sure. And I think it's also just being able to provide those kinds of services that sometimes we don't necessarily need that that one service in a particular district all the time we can, we can spread those services across all districts and with some travel, and those kinds of things. And the location is close enough, it gives us those abilities to do that.
James Bell
Yeah, I was gonna say historically, this this program has been or this coop has been relatively enjoyed by the districts. I don't know that there's been any real concerns in the years that I've been covering the school board. And I
Ron Wilson
think our history is we've had a very strong Special Ed cooperative, who have provided some great service to our kids who have some disabilities. And so I think we can be proud of that. I think Kyle Carlin the director has done a really good job and in continuing that tradition. So what we're we feel very fortunate, and we're really excited to have Russell be joining us here and in full, full implementation here in a few years.
James Bell
Good. And I look forward to hearing some more updates is that partnership comes to fruition. Moving on here, the we did talk or they did speak about some other things last night, one of the things that I thought everybody would like to know about is they are adding in some security cameras. I think this is maybe the last piece of upgrading those security at some of the entrances at our schools here, right.
Ron Wilson
Yeah, this is and this you know, that's the world we live in, we just expect to have video of almost everything that that happens. And I think that's important. And so we started an upgrade last year, we did three buildings last year we did the high school, the middle school, and Roosevelt Elementary. This is the last piece we will be adding in all the remaining schools in our in our district to have cameras. That would be Wilson, a Laughlin Lincoln and west side. And so of course, you know, we have cameras currently in all those locations but they're are approximately and we don't really know. But they're, they're pushing upwards to 20 years old, forever when he asked about something like, yeah, technology has really improved. And so we found that out just this year with putting in the new cameras that haze high haze, middle and Roosevelt, just the improvements that have been made. So this is just the last piece. And we think it'll always it's always helpful to have cameras to, it's not necessarily always to protect against crime, sometimes it just helps us be aware of where everyone's at, and what's needed at certain times. So
James Bell
yeah, and that was I thought it was really interesting from the the tech director for the district, he was there speaking about these cameras, and was talking about that resolution, that clarity. And I was just imagining situations where, you know, not necessarily thinking about worrying about people coming in. But that situation where it's two kids and they're picking on each other, or whatever it might be having that resource there, I just, I imagine is super helpful to help clarify the situation and address it correctly.
Ron Wilson
It really is. It's kind of it's, it's really amazing how we've been able to sometimes we might get reports about something happening. Many times, we're able to look at cameras, and we can say a lot of times we can verify that it has happened. But then sometimes we can say, well, this is what we're seeing. And we're not seeing that. And sometimes that also clears up so it sort of works both ways. Definitely. And like you mentioned, the clarity is just unbelievable. With some of this new technology that they've put into surveillance cameras. Very cool.
James Bell
There was something else last night that I thought was kind of interesting. And there was a the board kind of talked about and clarified their position on therapy dogs in the district. I imagine that's probably not an everyday occurrence that we were having to deal with something like that. But I thought it was pretty cool that they were able to clarify that situation and talk a little bit about that. You bet.
Ron Wilson
That is something that I think, you know, it's not necessarily new, I think we've had animals in our schools for various reasons. But what we're seeing is more requests for actual therapy animals that provide a lot, not necessarily in terms of they of course, they provide comfort for an individual, but they also provide some stability in terms of when the maybe they become dysregulated, and things like that. And so we've had some requests here in the district recently, and then it seems to be increasing. And as we looked into our board policy, in terms of how to handle therapy, animals, we didn't really have a distinct policy that really kind of clarified some of the things that are important in terms of making sure an animal who comes into our building is vaccinated and, and has some training and things of that nature. So last night, we just visited with the board about putting in a policy that will just help us kind of guide us through how we how we can handle and administer the use of therapy dogs in our school setting.
James Bell
Very cool. Then I think the last thing we want to talk about today you are the board brother voted to re up into the Kansas Association of School Boards, they they went through with our annual membership. And then they also that provides legal services to the district. And I thought this was kind of a part of a bigger conversation during the meeting about the the lawyer for the district and how that all works. I thought maybe you wanted to clarify because one of the comments that was made, I think last night, but maybe even by a community member was Why pay for a lawyer if you're going to join this legal membership group? And I don't know, I maybe want to clarify all that.
Ron Wilson
Well, I think yeah, that was that was a public comment. But on the on the Kansas Association for school board, we we do pay a fee $2,300 for the Legal Assistance Fund. And that's, you'd be surprised how many times we did call them specifically just on school related matters. Now, when we call them we're not getting in depth lawyer work. It's not they're not reviewing contracts and things of that nature. And sometimes, that's where, you know, having our own school lawyer and with what the district has had in place for many years. Were a lot of times we're utilizing those more for contract language, working on specific personnel issues that our district may deal with from time to time that sometimes need some legal assistance. So there is the need for both. And I think that's important to understand. It's it's worked well for the district. I think it's kept us out of legal issues that have cost the district in the long term. So I think it's something that I'm happy that the Board approve the KSP and we do appreciate what Mr. Jeter who works has worked for the day st for many years and what he does his service to the district. Very good.
James Bell
You know, I thought about I frequently get into a conversation. My wife, she's an educator and I college educator. So I always tease her about well, you know, you're really only on campus three hours a day. And that was kind of the same tone that was was discussed with Mr. Jeter was, well, you really only at the meetings a couple hours a month, but really the work, the time invested. That's happening behind the scenes, right. It's not just going to the meetings.
Ron Wilson
No, absolutely not. He we, as as a district administrator, I'm visiting with him many times on issues throughout the app the month and, of course, many times I've sent him documents that I've asked him to weigh in on and he's helped us in numerous times to just help us navigate through some things and our world has become very legal. And so we it's definitely a benefit to our district. Very good.
James Bell
Oh, well, sir. We've got just a few seconds left. Any other last thoughts or anything you want to hit on before we go?
Ron Wilson
No, just early voting started yesterday and then we continue to ask people to get out vote, bond issue. Final bond, election day is May 10. Looking forward to the results that come from
On this episode of the Post Podcast Thomas More Prep-Marian advance director Troy Ruda shares information about the 2022 ACE auction and dinner.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The Hays Catholic Schools Ace auction is firing up this week advancement director with Thomas Moore prep Marion Troy Ruda stops by to talk to us about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Troy Ruda
Yes, and we're excited this year, because for the past two years, let's see, two years ago, we canceled all together and went fully online. And then last year, we tried to bring just a small group of people back together, but the auction was still online completely. And then this year is the first year that we're going to be a full in person auction with a portion of it being online and a portion of it being in person and the oral auction that that folks are accustomed to. So it's gonna be fun to have it. Welcome everybody back into the LBL in your Fieldhouse, very cool. I
James Bell
love that. And you know, it's it's so neat to me, as you know, we're all kind of coming out of the pandemic, to hear about all of these organizations are these things like this fundraisers that have really kind of embraced the digital along with the in person?
Troy Ruda
Yeah. If you would have asked us three years ago, would we ever take the auction online, we probably would have said, Heck, no, it would have been a hard no for us. Because it was so successful the way that we were doing it. But the circumstances forced us into a response of learning how learning how the online auction can work. And it turned out really well, I don't know that we'll ever go back to the full in person auction where you have to be there because this is able to let so many more people become involved around the world if they would like to. So it didn't, it just all of the supporters can come out. And so the online has its, you know, we learned something in the last couple of years on on how we can, how we're going to be able to go forward in the future with this auction.
James Bell
Yeah. But you know, in the but the online to me, it never takes away from the excitement, the energy of doing something in person. So let's talk some details, right, because people are coming back and you've got some tickets still available for this event, right?
Troy Ruda
We do. There are a few tickets left to attend the in person auction, which begins on doors open for that at five o'clock on Saturday, at the Albion, your Fieldhouse there on the campus of TMP Marian. So if you would like to attend those tickets, the general admission seating is $100 per person. And that gets you a bid number to be able to bid on the oral auction items, as well as your dinner and beverages for the evening as well. And then finish off the evening with cinnamon rolls that are made by our kitchen. And there's also some fun games and things that throughout the evening that you'll be entered into, to win some prizes as well for attending. So if you would like to still attend, you're welcome to you can contact our alumni office at the school, and they'll get you set up with tickets.
James Bell
Very cool. Very cool. So you know, overall, you know, maybe we should back this up a little bit. This ace auction, it really is. It's one of those things that we talked about this all the time on the Catholic schools report how important these fundraisers are, because this is operating costs. And, you know, it's you guys do amazing things for the community and for the schools that you need these funds to keep it going.
Troy Ruda
Yeah, so there's two components to the auction. And it does benefit both Thomas Moore prep Marion as well as Holy Family Elementary, a portion of the funds that we raise will go to the operations at Holy Family. So when you support the auction, you'll support both schools. And so the two components of the auction are the operational fund itself, which is going to be the ticket sales and what and the the revenue that's generated by the items and the raffle tickets and those things and then everything that pretty much everything that's outside of the item was item number 60. Item List. Item number 60 is what raises funds for capital need of the school that are outside of the general operating budget. And we can talk a little bit about what that is this year. So traditionally, the auction will raise with both of those components over $700,000 for all of the things that all of the things that are going on. So it is a major. It is a major component of of our schools budget every year.
James Bell
Wow. Yeah, I want to talk about that. I am 60 though because that is such a cool program every year and you know, I'm curious what this year what what that's going
Troy Ruda
towards Well, I before before we talk about this year. I'd also like to talk about a big success that we're going to have coming this summer that started last year's auction. Last year's auction was to raise funds to begin repaving the the roadwork, the roadways at the school. It's an extremely expensive proposition. To raise to fund the entire project of the roadways would be about $1.7 million to do all of the parking lots and the driveways there. So we were able to raise money for phase one through last year's auction and see if worth on. Our maintenance team is putting up a banner today that we'll see from Wall Street that says coming coming summer of 2022 the first phase and so right after graduation you'll see machinery out there tearing out the entrances of 17th Street and Hall all the way past the field house and then making the round and going all the way down to on Victory Road to where we connect with a Laughlin. So that's going to be a huge, that's a huge thank you and a huge success for the funds that were given last year at ACE item 60. It always takes us about a year's lag, because we can't go forward with contracts and things until we have the funds raised. So once we get the funds raised, and we know that we have those, then we can go out to contractors and get the project actually scheduled. So it's about a year lag from when we raise the funds to when the project is going to start. So this year, we will be in advance of moving the sixth graders from Holy Family Elementary to TMP in the fall of 2023. We need to add classrooms to the junior high floor to accommodate the approximately 50 or more students that will be bringing into the into the junior high. So we will be using we will be renovating an unused wing of the third floor of the school. It used to be the dorm rooms where the Capuchin Franciscans lived when we had residents on campus. Since the captions moved out that wing has been unused and it's still the it's still the dorm rooms that they slept in. So now those rooms will all be taken out and three new classrooms will be added. And the existing restrooms that are there will be renovated into a new boys and girls restrooms. So that's pretty exciting for this year, because not only are we going to be able to welcome those sixth graders onto our campus, we're going to be able to have a little bit of room to move around at Holy Family that's busting at the seams. As well as, as those sixth graders are going to be able to have that junior high experience, which is going to be pretty, pretty fun to see them over there and they're ready by the time they get to sixth grade at Holy Family, they're ready to they're ready to go. So it'll be really fun to welcome them. The other great part about the item number 60 Is that when you give $1 to that that dollar turns into two, because we do have matching funds available from the DOJ on albino Dreiling trust, and they're matching all of the gifts that go into item 60. So your $1 becomes two your $100 becomes 200 so you can do double the you can make double the gift with their double the impact with your gift item number 60.
James Bell
Yeah, I love that. That's so great for for the school and for the county as well.
Troy Ruda
So we're you know, if if the funds are available, we'll begin some of the demolition work this summer. And then the completion of the work on the classrooms next summer at the summer of 2023.
James Bell
Awesome look forward to that. You know it's funny in the huge conversation right now in Hayes's is the USD 49 bond issue and, and how expensive it is. And it I think, for a lot of folks, when you when you put dollars like that on on on just projects like fixing the roads, it's like Holy smokes, I know, no wonder we talk about such big amounts, because it's just so expensive to get anything
Troy Ruda
these you think three classrooms, right. And it's not like you're building a whole new building with three classrooms and two bathrooms, it's estimated at over $492,000 Just to do those three classrooms. And it's just to do that now. It's everything is incredibly expensive. But you know, there's no signs that it's gonna get less expensive. You know, two years ago, two, three years ago, almost now, when we had a project to build the Learning Commons. I mean, all it was was tearing out and building a room, right? Building a big open room, in theory. It was it was approximately the same amount as it's going to be to do three classrooms. And that was almost three years ago. Wow. So there's no sign that it's going down.
James Bell
All we can do is help support things like the ASR.
Troy Ruda
That's exactly right. And you know, these are just great things for for the for the mission of, you know, of Catholic private education. And it's one of the great things that make Hayes great is the diversity of education that we have in our, in our city. Plenty of success to go around.
James Bell
Absolutely, absolutely. Well, anything else folks should know about this ace auction before we go? Yes. The
only other thing that I want to say is, raffle tickets are still available, as well. The raffles are a huge part of the auction for $100, you can get a ticket to win a nearly brand new car from autoworld a 2022. I believe it's a Hyundai beautiful car. So $100 will win your raffle ticket. There's also two $5,000 drawings. There's, I believe, to $2,000 drawings, or maybe just one $2,000 drawing and for $1,000 drawings. So you can purchase your raffle tickets if that's the only way that you can be involved in the auction. That's a great way to do it. And the raffle tickets are always, always a great thing for us. The other thing too, is that the online auction will be available to preview starting today, later this afternoon. So later this morning, we'll have it online, you'll be able to go to Hayes Catholic schools.org Just click on the menu and you'll see ace 2022 Click there and it'll take you right to the auction. You'll be able to preview all the items and register stir yourself with a bitter number. The actual online auction to be able to start bidding on will be this coming Friday, at nine o'clock, we'll kick that off with a chamber chat there at the field house. And we'll have an open house all day long. So anybody that would like to come out and see the items in person that they're bidding on their welcome to that we'll go, I believe until five o'clock on Friday. The other cool thing that we're going to do is if you come to the open house, and you would like to see the area that the competition's used to live in, it's an area that most people were never allowed to go into. And so if you would like to see that area, that's going to be turned into the classrooms, we'll be able to take you over there. And we'll have an open house in that area, as well as what's going to be renovated. So that's starting at nine o'clock on Friday, we'd invite anyone to the campus that would like to come. And then the other thing I want to mention is if you have bought a ticket to attend to the auction, you do not need to register yourself for the online auction. We'll do that for you. And you'll get a text message on on how you can with a link you can click right into so you have the same bidder number for the online as well as the in person. It's taken care of. Yeah, I love that. Yep. So we're excited. It's gonna be a busy week. But it's one of those things I told. I told the team over there in the advancement alumni office today as like, you know, this is the week that you get to enjoy the fruits of your hard labor. It's gonna be a hard week and it's gonna be a lot of hard work. But every once in a while, I'll step out and look at the great successes and look at how amazing of a project this is. And look at the big picture rather than just faced with the challenges all the time because if it's it's a really hard week, but it's also should be a really fun rewarding week.
James Bell
Absolutely. Very good. Again, more information. If you're curious about that on the website, right?
Troy Ruda
Yep. Hays Catholic schools.org Just click on menu
On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University instructor, Jessica Phelan shares information about stress and nutrition.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Stress and nutrition can go hand in hand to impact health from Fort Hays State University Health and Human Performance instructor Jessica Phelan stops by to talk to us about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Jessica Phelan
I was really excited to talk about stress and nutrition. This is an area that I think right now, I don't know about you guys. But as school people, we're having some stressful moments, we've got graduation, there's prom, we're wrapping the school year up, which is so exciting. But you know, that does come with some positive and negative stress as well. So I thought today, we could just talk about stress in relationship with nutrition in general. So yeah, I
James Bell
know, in my world, and absolutely, I think for just about everybody, it's a busy time of year because if you've got a parent or even if you're an aunt or uncle, oh, my goodness, so much school stuff going on, and music performances and downtown arts things and all kinds of good stuff. But I know that yeah, in my world, as soon as that starts to hit, it's we're grabbing for the pizza. You know, we're getting the McDonald's, we're getting the chicken nuggets, the the health or the food, that's not necessarily the healthiest
Jessica Phelan
for you. Yes. So love that you brought that up. So whenever I think about stress and nutrition, I think about it in kind of three ways. So the first that you said, when times get stressful? What do we choose to grab? Well, if you're like me, I'm dropping my coffee, my pizza, you know, the easy and quick things. And so here's the thing that's completely normal. And you know what you got to do what you got to do. But, you know, there are a couple of tips that you guys that I would love to share with you about, you know, how do we plan for those stressful moments. And so, a couple of things that you could do that I've actually been doing lately, which has been really, really fun, is I am fortunate to live in a town where I have siblings close by and you know, my family close by. And so it was about a semester ago, I called my sister and I said she, she's a teacher, too. And he said, I need some help, I'm stressed, I'm grabbing these things, I'm not feeling like good, it makes me feel, you know, kind of kind of gross when I'm eating that way. And so we started to actually assign days where we share meals. And so a kind of a take home tip for you is if you are a college student, or if you're somebody that you have some support in your town, one thing that you could do to potentially help with that relationship of, you know, when I'm stressed, what do I grab those convenience things are set up some shared meals, we've been doing this where I think I cook on Tuesdays, my sister cooks Mondays, and let me tell you, it has been changed my world just to know that, you know, I really have some time to think and plan out a really nice healthful meal on Tuesdays, and my sister does the same for Mondays. And then my brother and sister in law. And my parents also do too. And so it's been really fun. And I was thinking about this before it came in. And you know what if you're a person that maybe you have one family, and you don't have the accessibility of a sibling, you know how lucky that I am, somebody that you might be able to do is in your family unit event. So say you have husband, wife, you've got an older kid, say let's make this really fun. And let's assign one day that we get to cook. And so that person kind of takes that responsibility for the day. We've been doing that lately, and it has just been like world changing. Fabulous. So that's kind of a suggestion for maybe, you know, when you're stressed, and you're trying to grab something quickly. Let's have a game plan and plan. Yeah,
James Bell
so thinking ahead really is and yeah, you have to have those connections too. But, you know, I think that's maybe true, kind of in a lot of stressful situations, right. With planning, you can alleviate some of the stressful parts of the situation.
Jessica Phelan
Yeah, absolutely. And I think to that, healthy doesn't have to mean fresh, like, you know, there's like this continuum of balance, right, where, you know, you can still eat well, and use those conveniences. And so I always like to think about, you know, my time as it's so valuable. And sometimes we just don't have the time or to pre plan. And so, you know, frozen foods are great, don't discredit those canned foods are awesome, too. And so I think that that's one part is that not being quite so rigid that you can definitely, you know, use those conveniences to your advantage as well.
James Bell
Yeah. And then if you have to grab some fast food now, and again, that's really you know, it's the moderation piece. It's the not doing it every day that really gets people into trouble.
Jessica Phelan
Absolutely. Another way that I really like to think about stress and nutrition, and this is a kind of a relatively new area of study, I would say is does what you eat. So is your nutrition going to increase or decrease your stress?
James Bell
That's exactly what I was curious about looking my little I drew a little circle chart here as we were talking, because I was what I wanted to know about is like because I imagined it does worse you feel the more stressful you're going to be and then the worse you feel, then you're doing it again and it just gets it's a cycle,
Jessica Phelan
isn't it? Yes. And so I'm so excited you brought this up because this is something that I find so interesting that if you know if you are feeling stressed and you're thinking okay, what can I do? I don't have more time in the day, I can't eliminate these things. Let's look at our diet, that might be a stress management technique, which I think is just radical to think about that if we can potentially choose things that are more helpful, your fruits, your veggies, dairy products, lean proteins, you know, everything that you've been hearing for forever, if we can start to potentially eat more healthful, would it help with stress? Would it help with mental health, depression, etc. And right now, evidence is low studies are still being conducted. But man, there are some really exciting evidence that suggests Yeah, Heck, yeah, if we can start eating well, then maybe that could potentially reduce your stress. And so that could be a potential technique, for those of you that are really feeling overwhelmed right now. That that are maybe having some mental health type of issues that if we can change our diet, it might potentially help us to feel better. Yeah. So cool.
James Bell
Yeah, have an impact, at least I mean, and why not? I like to think of it in terms of well, what's the worst case scenario you eat better? Maybe you get a little bit better shape? It's it? No, there's there's no losing in that situation?
Jessica Phelan
Yeah, exactly. And, and that's the thing is, the best that we can do is just try. And so I always like to talk with my students, and I'm in the classroom of, you know, it's a tough nutrition is tough. There's a reason that, you know, I pursued this area, because it was something that I struggled with, too. And then over time, I think that you just become better at it. You become better at understanding, you know, what's happening in my body. And when I eat that food, how do I feel? Does that make me happy? Do I feel bloated, and sluggish? Because I don't know about you, it's we're getting ready for summer, I want to be outside more, I want to feel good. I want to have less stress. And so yeah, I think that that's another tip that I have actually is, you know, if possible. If you're feeling overwhelmed, or feeling depressed, try to grab those fruits, those vegetables first and then reevaluate, see how you feel, instead of eliminating maybe some of those fun treats, just crowding the good, and then see where that takes you. Because here's the thing, it's all about moderation. Nobody's perfect. And I think the best that we can do is try.
James Bell
Absolutely. You know, I'm curious too, about the nutritional aspect. And Glenn is always we talk a lot about this in this segment, you know, the the fat soluble vitamins and how important they are to keeping yourself healthy. And I think, you know, this, a lot of those convenience foods that we think of their nutrient deficient, there's not a lot of good things there. And I wonder if you wanna talk a little bit about that, like, how does that impact wellness as well?
Jessica Phelan
Yeah, sure. So I like to think about our diets as this really integrative process of looking at, you know, what's your, your environment? Like? What are some social factors that are gonna influence what you eat. And at the root of that, though, we have to make sure that we're getting those essential nutrients. And so we know we have these macronutrients that provide us with energy that are really positive, those are your carbohydrates, your fats, your proteins. But sometimes those vitamins and minerals are overlooked. And it's overwhelming. If I'm going to be completely honest, it is overwhelming to think about where are all these vitamins and minerals located? And how do I get those in my diet. And so I was talking with my sister who again, she's another educator, and I said, when in doubt, eat your dark leafy greens, choose fruits and vegetables, from, you know, all colors of the rainbow. And when you're doing that, and you're listening to your body, you're gonna get those vitamins and minerals in. And so even when you're trying to, you know, do things at a convenience, if you can, try to pull in those, you know, richly colored fruits and vegetables, those lean proteins, because those are going to help you with your micronutrient intake. So your vitamins and minerals. And over time, if you can do that, then those are going to help with your general functioning. So your health preventing sicknesses, how your metabolism works. And so those are also a major and essential part of just being healthy in general. And so, you know, there's a lot of science that goes behind micronutrient metabolism and how they interact with the macronutrients in the body. But my best advice for just the layperson and my students and how I like to think in my head is eat variety, moderation, have an adequate diet and try to be balanced. So those are the four things I like to remember. Righty moderation, adequacy and balance.
James Bell
Easy peasy. Easy peasy. You know, we've got, we've got just a minute or so left here. But I also wonder about, you know, one of the things that I have a nutritionist friend and she's kind of trying to guide me down this the same path that we're talking about today. And one of the things that she is quick to point out is it's the activity pieces, well, if you eat better, you're going to feel more energetic and you're going to you're likely to move more, which is another benefit of delimiting stress. You sure is a helpful way to help mitigate that stressful feeling, I guess I might say
Jessica Phelan
Yeah, absolutely. So in HHP a we are are incredible supporters of just movement. And so I love to just say just, you know, try to move as much as possible. You know, in your day, if you can go and go on a short walk for five minutes to your car to grab something and come back to your office, that's going to improve your mood. When you're exercising, it makes you happy, it releases these happy endorphins. And it that's gonna help with your stress relief as well. Also, if you can get outside with your exercise, that's a good double bonus, because you have the vitamin D, and it just makes you feel good. And so I think what is so fun about this topic is that there's so many interrelated parts that really, if you want to start to become healthier, and reduce that stress, be active, try to eat a little bit better drink your water, you know, have conversations with your friends, there's so many things that are interrelated, that anything that you do is really going to help your stress levels. Activity is so powerful and movement is so powerful for your energy, your happiness, fighting off chronic diseases, you know, there's just so many benefits that if you can, you know, in your schedule in your head, trying to plan those 510 minutes. Research suggests that 10 minutes of activity three times per day is sufficient in order to improve your health. And so you know, I was talking with my mother and I was we were just talking about how sometimes it's hard to fit that in and when went to research and found that yeah, if you can just do 10 minutes so 1010 minutes of activity three times per day, that's still going to give you as much benefit as if you were exercising for you know a long long bout. You know anything is better than nothing and it is going to help reduce your stress in the long run.
James Bell
Excellent and moderation small bits. Make the difference Exactly.
Jessica Phelan
Little by little and hey, we can all be healthier.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Early Childhood Connections director Donna Hudson-Hamilton shares information about enrollment.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Enrollment for next year for the Early Childhood connections is underway. Director Donna Hudson-Hamilton stops by to tell us a little bit about that. And more on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Early Childhood connections we are located out across from Hayes Hi 2501 easterton Street. And we serve families prenatal to age five, we have a variety of programs in our prenatal to three age range, we have parents as teachers, which is a home visitation program that is open to anybody that would like those services. And then we also have an early headstart program. And within that program, we have a home visitation, we partner with some family childcare partners to provide services children to children. And then we also have a center based program there where children come every day. And then in our three to five program, we have our preschool out there, we offer full day sessions out there. So we're serving children, um, you know, at 330. And then we also have a home based option. We also do provide services in outlying counties. So not only do we serve Ellis County, we serve rush, Russell and rooks county as well. Very cool,
James Bell
very cool. So you know, if you're a parent out there, and you're kind of like, again, like me, and you're thinking, Oh, my goodness, what am I gonna do with my kiddos next year? What's the process to start that either enrollment or getting more information from you guys? Well, we
have just launched a new online enrollment process. So if you are interested, you can go to the USD 49 website, and then click on the schools and click on early childhood connections. And right there, you're going to see a green button that says enrollment information. And you can start your enrollment right from that, right there online, we've really tried to make it a lot easier for families to get enrolled. So we've moved to this online process. Another piece that has really changed for us is that especially in our three to five suit, children that are aged three to five, is now we're going to be able to serve more children age three. And so if you're looking at enroll, enrolling in that program, the guidelines have now changed so that we can serve children. Three and four year olds that have are either eligible through a single parent, a teen when the child was born, if either parent is lacking a high school diploma, if the family is eligible for free lunches, if the child does not speak English, or if they're migrant status, so that has opened up for us this year. So I really encourage families to they're not sure if they would be eligible to give us a call, and we can kind of walk them through that.
James Bell
Sure. Oh, no. Is that the only or I can't think of the word qualifications maybe for the kiddos or is there others as well? Well,
that is that is the requirements for eligibility. Now also housed in that building is the USD 49 for PE preschool, and that is open to anyone. And so that is an option that's also available out there. The other option is at no charge to families.
James Bell
Very cool. And you know, and I do believe, correct me if I'm wrong, but there are some spots open in the paid version of the preschool because we I was on the phone with him the other day, like it? Yes, but not very many. There's only a handful
of spots. I sometimes think oh, I'll wait to August to get my children enrolled in I just wanted to put it out there. Now is the time now's the time to be thinking about getting getting everything set for August now.
James Bell
Absolutely. You know, and I am curious, we've heard a lot in the recent months about the lack of daycare here. Yeah. I mean, does that extend to early childhood connections as well?
Well, where where it impacts us is is that we do especially for our program for prenatal to age three. We'd like to partner with some family childcare partners. And that has been difficult for us just because of the decrease in the number of family childcare partners. I'm on the childcare task force that we're trying to encourage more individually It was to look at that as a profession and help support them. Because we have had a significant decrease in child care in our area.
James Bell
Absolutely. And you know, it is great that I love to hear that you're on that committee as well. It's it's been one of those things that I've seen kind of grow and expand and, and really being being tackled head on by some of the interested parties here in the community.
Yes, it is a need for this area. And and we are working hard at trying to find resources, not only to start a childcare, but also workforce to make sure that we have the people to work in that and that they can make a livable wage and doing that. Absolutely.
James Bell
Now, before we run out of time, Donna, we got to talk about this too. What about those kiddos that are starting to age out of your services or similar services here in the areas?
Well, I just I know that children or parents get a little nervous as their children start to enter kindergarten. So I just wanted to let them know that on our website, we do have a section for families for children that are transitioning to kindergarten, and on that you're going to find say you're going to Lincoln our Roosevelt Elementary you will find a little notebook on there that has the pictures of of the staff there the playground, the lunch room, anything you might want to look over with your child. We also have activities on there how to help your child prepare for kindergarten, we have books on there that you can audiobooks that you can read to your child so we just have a lot of resources as your child moves into kindergarten if if I just want people don't know just check it out. There's there's things there for them.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares information about the ongoing apartment construction in Hays.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Over 100 apartments will open soon in Hays, Grow Hays, Executive Director Doug Williams shares with this that impact of those apartments on the housing market and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
turnkey properties LLC has brought forth an application for an Rh ID, which is a rural housing Senate District, which is a program that helps pay for some of the infrastructure and that type of thing. These type of projects and it's a, it's a 36 unit apartment complex, at the corner of fourth and fourth, which is right behind the old Washington school property. In South Hays, it will be 36 units for buildings with nine units each if I've got my math right, so much. And they will be both one and two bedroom units with garages and multi storey with garages on the main floor, because it's in the floodplain, you have to do some things a little bit differently. And so there will be garages on the main ground level, and then apartments above. So a good project and should be should be a very positive addition to that part of town.
James Bell
Yeah, very cool. Very cool. So you know, RH IDs, we've we've talked about these a lot. And I think it was maybe two or three segments ago, we talked about kind of all of these tax incentive districts, but this one that gets seems to be getting used pretty regularly here in Hays,
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
it is it's, it's a good tool for a developer to use to try and recover some of the infrastructure costs that they have to incur in putting in a development. So that can be sewer water, Electric Gas, some other costs are eligible to be recovered, and it's recovered through the tax increment, meaning today, the taxes on that property are zero, it's been a school, when that apartment complex is complete, and it's probably 36 units, you can just take that easily, probably times $100,000 per unit, that's $3.6 million dollars, the property taxes are going to probably be 30 to $40,000 a year, well, a portion of that can come back to the developer to pay for some of those infrastructure costs until he is recovered his costs on those. And so it's a good program really doesn't cost the taxpayers anything. Because it's all based on the creation of taxes and not taking any of the property taxes that are currently in place. So it's a good program, it encourages development that we badly need. And so he was taking the first step last night with the City Commission next Thursday, they will adopt a resolution to start the process of acquiring that RH ID designation, which is about a 90 day process, it has to be approved by the Kansas Department of Commerce, it is in approved by the city that we have to bring forth the housing study that shows the need, which we have a say that shouldn't be too hard. That's not That's not a tough requirement to meet. And then we have to get that it has to go to the county in the city, or I'm sorry, the county and the school district, both of which have to approve it as well. So it's a process that has to be gone through, but we're confident that it will happen. And we'll see some activity down there sometime in August or September is when the plan would be to start.
James Bell
Yeah, you know, I really like on these deals, it seems like everybody is willing to accept that the RHA D programs are are a necessity. And to me, it's a win win win. Because just as exactly as you say, it's not taking away tax revenue. It's just using that tax revenue to offset the cost of the infrastructure and everybody or nobody's losing any money. It's all it's all net gain.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, that's That's correct. I mean, the only way that you would say that, that it's a loss of any tax revenue is if you think that this developer would do this project without this particular incentive. 99 times out of 100. That's not the case, they would just not do it, because it doesn't make economic sense. So these things have to be put in place to allow them to recover these costs. And these are, these are things that are going to be in existence for decades, you know, the infrastructure, for example, the heart of America Tallgrass addition that those streets and the sewer and the water that'll be in place for a long, long time. And it really cost the taxpayers nothing. Because the development just wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for these incentives. And this this program for the developer to recover some of these costs. So they're good programs. They don't take any existing tax revenue, and they're accomplishing what they're they're set out to do, which is to provide housing in a market in a market that's much needed. And that's why they send in the application to the Department of Commerce, because they assess whether or not you You truly have a housing need. Now we, we can say this is obvious, and it is here. But still they go through the process of making sure that this isn't something that's been given when there really isn't a need for this type of housing.
James Bell
Okay, you know, also we talk a lot about, you know, housing, like homes, but the apartment piece is something I think that it kind of is been maybe overshadowed by that lack of available homes for sale. But this project is just one of many that are going on. And I think if I'm let me check here, oh, yes, the there's over 100 or nearly 100 apartment units that are about to be completed here in Hays, right.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
There are there there are, I think 102 or 104 units that are either currently under construction, or that will be started in the near future. This been 36 of them this project at fourth and fort, of course, right in front of it is the Washington school renovation that Oberlin property group is doing. And that's 14 units. And they're there right at the end of that I believe they're having an open house here in the next week or two,
James Bell
I was gonna say I think I was speaking to somebody in the community not too long ago, who had toured one and said it was just a amazing apartment, maybe a little bit on the pricier side for a college student. But what a great location.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, the good news, I guess for that is that they're not eligible to rent to college students, Oh, those are income regulated apartments and they to hit the income qualified and to hit the price, the demographic that they have to appeal to it's not students that people have to be non students. And they're, they rent below market rate to certain amount, that's one of the factors to that program that the developer has to comply to is they have to rent them below market rent for a certain, I think believe it's 15 years, in order to get the tax credits that they got that allowed them to construct this thing, but I'm eager to see it, I haven't seen it. And that's a great repurpose of a building that in a great location down there by the aquatic Park and that kind of thing that that really should be good. And then there are other projects around town as well, Ellis estates on 33rd Street, that's a project that geared towards retirees and seniors, they've got 42 units under construction, if you've driven over there, as of late, you can see the steel starting to come up out of the ground and a lot of activity over there. And then there's a couple of duplex projects in town going on to so it's over, I counted, it's about 102 or 104 total units going up right now or in the near future will be being built and we we have a strong need for nice apartments in this community, we don't have enough. And consequently, it that does drive rents up, you know, real estate, housing markets are supply and demand based. And when you don't have enough choice, you know, rents go up. If the demand is high, and the supply is low, that's what causes rents to go up. So if we add some supply, it should soften those rents a little bit and give people some choices.
James Bell
It helps to on the the home buying piece, right because those folks that we talked about a little while back about your housing rehab program, and the housing that might be eligible for those programs are just getting rented right now there because there's such a need that they're just rent, they're turning them out. So I wonder if you wanna talk a little bit about that as well how that might affect the overall housing picture?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, you know, when you add inventory to a market, whether it's rental property, whether it's new homes, it does free up other property. And that's the argument that everybody likes to make when they when they say that the $225,000 is not an affordable home. Well, that's very subjective, everybody has a different opinion as to what is affordable. But the reality is, when that $225,000 home is completed, and somebody buys it, they probably have another home, that they're moving out of maybe for 125 or 150, or whatever, they may move out of an apartment that somebody can then rent and that opens up. And so when you add inventory to a market, you soften the pressure on these upward prices of both the cost of housing in terms of buying as well as renting. So inventory added to a market is a very good thing. Now it's it's always a challenge to balance that because you you really have certainly I've been in the other side of that as a landlord and it's not a fun place to be when there's nobody to rent it and rents are continually dropping and and you know that that's you've got a payment to make and you don't have enough rent coming in to make that payment. That's not a good situation. So we strive for that balance but we're way out of balance right now with way too much demand and way too little supply of both apartments and homes.
James Bell
How long you know, with this 100 units coming on, how long will the impact take to really kind of, as you say, you know, soften out even out across the, I don't know, Ellis County, I guess you might say,
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
I think that we've got so much pent up demand that it's going to take a while, you know, we've got these 100 units that are going to be constructed. But it's going to take a couple of years to get these constructed. We've got 10 homes in the Tallgrass second edition that are nearing completion. Actually, a couple of them are closing, I think this week, I was told by the builders, the others will be closing pretty quick. And there's another 14 or 15 that are going to be you know, if you go out there right now, there's a lot of dirt flying around because they're digging basements and putting in basements. So there's going to be another 1516 homes constructed in the next six months. So that that will help add to it. But I think we're still a ways away from meeting the demand as well as the opportunity for people who are looking to relocate into our community, we're still not even with all these apartments. And with this construction going on, I don't believe we're still getting to the point where we need to in terms of having sufficient inventory in our market to meet the demand.
James Bell
Yeah, you know, you mentioned those builders, we were Are you are kind enough to host a tour with the city leaders down there. Oh, I think it was maybe two weeks ago now. Yes. And I happen to go down there. And I got to the opportunity to talk to a couple of those builders. And yeah, they were more or less saying many lots as we can get our hands on, we're ready to go.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Yeah, the challenge right now is, you know, we had 36 lots in phase one. And there's 29 of them are spoken being going to be built on right away here. And so we're trying to get the engineering done for the next phase of 18. Lots and hope to start that this summer. But I know we're gonna run out of lots, I can just see that before we can get the next phase up and going. But we're going to try real hard to get there before we do run out. But at the pace of things are going we're going to run out a lot. And then we're going to be wishing we had done more to begin with.
James Bell
Yeah, I'm wondering, you know, I know, there's always stuff bubbling under the surface that you can't talk about, but are there some similar projects kind of in the works or, and I know, there's there's also the private construction going on as well, in Ellis County, right, a little bit of
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
that the challenge with the private construction is that they build one at a time, typically. And this is the first time in, I would say 40 years that I have seen in our community. And I've been here for all of them, that I have seen a builder building at this scale like they're doing in the tall grass edition, you know, we're eight at a time six at a time. We haven't seen that for a long, long time. So we're starting to see some some that are building the way that builders need to, to hit certain price points, you know, they need to build at scale, you build them one at a time. And that that doesn't. You can't get any economies of scale, any efficiency. But if you've got eight of them in a row, you can make a deal with your foundation guy. And he just comes in and does all eight of them in a row. And then your framework follows him man and building more in the way that they do and metropolitan areas. In terms of building scale. Yeah,
James Bell
you know, you drive towards the Denver on i 70 used to see him break rows and rows of these houses, they're cookie cutter, they look exactly the same. Well,
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
not not really what we're after. But we're certainly after, you know, some scalability and getting some inventory to the market. And that to when when you can buy a brand new house for $225,000. That's absolutely going to cause some of the other inventory to have to soften. Just because people always like new. Same with apartments, people like new it makes sellers of homes have to step up their game and maybe do some updates before they sell it makes apartment owners have to clean theirs up and have their you know, maybe do some maintenance things that they don't have to do right now. Because they rent either way, there's no choice. So if we can add some inventory to the market, that will be a very good thing.
James Bell
Yeah, you know, and again, going back to the tour of these houses, I don't think we've got to talk about this yet at least not on air. I was really impressed with the builds on all three but also the take the three builders had were so very different. And it I mean, they're all kind of a similar size. But the very different have a very different personality in the builds. I think
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
I agree. You know you've got some with basements, you've got some without, you've got different floor plans different ways they have finished it out. And so and that's great that diversity in the options out there is terrific. That way we can appeal to you know, maybe a family who has a growing family who wants some more room so that a basement might be important for future expansion. They're not finished but at some point in time they can finish the basement and add some additional living space. They're the one the basement houses have egress windows and the things that you would want in a basement but by the same token, the slab homes are all zero entry. So Though if you've got somebody that is older, that doesn't want to deal with steps and that kind of thing, they've, they've got us an option for them too. So lots of options out there. That's going to continue, I think they're going to continue to see some slab, some basements, different types of floor plans, the one thing they all have is at least 1000 square feet and at least a two car garage because we want to get the cars off the street, as opposed to lots of street parking, which makes it a little bit difficult on those streets to go up and down when there's cars on both sides on the street.
James Bell
But again, really good homes and I think, are you planning on another tour out there where people might go check those out in the near future?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
I'd like to that I'd love to have a public open house out there. The problem is that they're all sold ahead of time. And so once people are wanting to move in, I hate to traipse people through, you know, three fourths or 90% done house because it's it's hard to see what it's really going to be like when there's no countertops or the flooring in in yet or what have you. But I'd love to get ahead of the game where we could have a public open house and people could really see what's happening out there. Because it's it's pretty cool. I mean, I have not taken anybody in any of those houses out there that have thought that this isn't a good thing. You know, I think everybody that went through from the city, the county or anywhere else school district thought that hey, this is this is badly needed. And this is a great development. Absolutely.
James Bell
Well, Doug, I can tell you, we got to get over the news. But any last thoughts before we go?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
I just I just encourage people to drive out by the Housing Development at 22nd. Wheatland and see what's going on because it's impressive. And also keep an eye on these other projects we talked about as they go up because they're going to be exciting. They're going to be great addition star community
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Kan. 110 District Rep. Ken Rahjes.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Arts Council executive director, Brenda Meder shares information about the 2022 Hays Spring Art Walk.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The Hays Spring Art Walk is on the calendar for later this month and there's going to be a lot going on. Hays Arts Council Executive Director Brenda Meder stops by to share with us the details on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Brenda Meder
The Smoky Hill art exhibition is in its 53rd year, and it always opens as the anchor of the spring Artwalk. So that's an amazing day because our Smokies pretty spectacular. And it's going to be pretty spectacular again this year. And last year having moved the spring Artwalk with the the kind of the the chaos of scheduling that happened during the pandemic. We put it on a Saturday, there's a lengthy audience, but we found out that a lot of people really really enjoyed the more leisurely pace they enjoyed, they had more time to see everything including going down to the college, they enjoyed being able to also patronize and frequent the retail establishments, the restaurants, coffee shops and breweries in downtown Hayes. And so it's like we're gonna we're gonna give that a shot again, and let people just really relish and enjoy everything that is about you know, arts culture in our downtown over the course of that day. And that is on Saturday, April the 30th from 10am to 4pm. So a week from this Saturday, Saturday, April the 30th. And there is just a wealth of everything in addition to the to the Smoky Hill exhibition, which is the state's oldest juried Fine Art competitive. I think I counted I probably am missing some, but there are at least two MFA thesis exhibitions big important shows, you know, with wonderful bodies of rich contemporary artwork, but I mean, they put a lot on the line when these masters students are doing their MFA show. That's a big deal. And they bring out they bring out all the stops, and both crystal Hammerschmidt and Tanner Hoffman will be having their crystals it'll be down at the moss Lawrence gallery, Tanner's will be at our annex. And I think I counted four or five BFA exhibitions. So students who are finishing their their undergrad, their bachelor of fine arts programs, they, the visual artists, they need to mount exhibitions, or at least should for fulfilling all their requirements. And between some places on campus, both the Taylor Gallery and the Robbins center at the public library. And I think another couple of places, I think there's at least four if not five, BFA exhibitions, and then there's also just a variety of community artists and professional artists, and photography and programs that allow organizations like options, Big Brothers, Big Sisters and Janis campaign, those three important community organizations will be having features out that are, you know, arts and culture based, like Big Brothers Big Sisters is going to do a display of creative things that have been done by these collaborative partnerships. So to bring some awareness to get people excited to see what kind of things it is that people engage in, and quite frankly, just a great showcase for some of the great creative fun things that some of these pairings have done together. And there's, for instance, in the Chestnut Street building, which is where they're housed out of. And so you've got a little bit of everything that goes from North Main, the style stand center, which is where Janice campaign is located all the way to seventh in main Dallas County Historical Society, which is hosting a wonderful two photography exhibits one of them, one that Dr. Laura Wilson from Sternberg Museum is doing with some sort of abstracted photography that has to do with the natural world, and various scientific components that they're working with out there. But it's creating art out of these very unique, almost micro views of interesting things. So that's going to be fascinating. And a whole bunch in between including defiance brewery has been really wanting to get on the art walks for a while. And so they are going to be hosting a body of work that we still have from Gordon Sherman, with some frank nickels pieces in there. So anybody just going there, as a matter of course on Saturday will see things in there. But other folks may just want to migrate down that way. Because again, you've got six hours on Saturday. I do want to remind everyone that I mentioned the campus exhibitions, they are just 10am to 2pm. But otherwise, everything else is 10 to four, we've got a new art car that's going to be over at the Pavilion. I'm so excited. It's called spellbound and a gentleman who just moved to Hoisington from Trinidad, Colorado, an incredible artist, but also an art car enthusiast. He's organized tons of them all over the country. He has a couple of them. And this one is covered in in fabulous artwork and a gazillion scrabble tiles in phrases and words and quotes and statements. There's places on the cars where people can do their own, you know, make their own words and phrases and contribute to you know, with the Scrabble tiles, but it's covered. It's awesome. And that will be over there as will be a ceramic show and sale from Fort Hays State students that was very popular last spring over at the Pavilion and John makings from Great Bend will be back with his handcrafted drums. So we'll have three interactive drum circles at 11am 1pm and 2pm. There in the pavilion, and then another student coming from the performing arts, Danny Zhang will be having sort of his graduating undergraduate special, or I don't know if this is his masters, but his special jazz concert showcase performance. That'll be at three with Brad Dawson, Josh Duran and Spencer wheat corn, so no slouches there. And so that'll just be a wonderful free concert at three. And speaking of concerts on Friday night, we have our opening events at the downtown pavilion will be the Fort Hays jazz band spring outdoor concert, and it will be the final time that the jazz bands will be under the direction of Brad Dawson. He's still here still going to be doing music, but he will be conducting the jazz bands as the director for the last time in this wonderful open air concert at the Pavilion at seven o'clock on Friday night the 29th. The same night that the Encore series has their final program of the season. And of Green Gables the ballet, of course, there are tickets that you need to purchase for that. But I thought it was exciting that on that, you know pre Artwalk nights sort of the pre event, we've got these two amazing performing arts events. And this information that I've just shared is not on our website yet it will be on our website this weekend. And it's just a nice eight and a half by 11 sheet of information, easy to print out. So be watching for us on Facebook and our website because this will be available to you for the entire week before the Artwalk happens. So you can plan your attack and not miss a thing. But it's going to be a really, really amazing event. The Smoky Hill itself will run through June 4. So if you do have to miss the Artwalk weekend, still take time to come and see the smoke because there will be our amazing artwork there in so many different styles, genres and sizes from artists all throughout Kansas. And we will be dispensing $3,000 in cash awards. Don't know yet who's getting those. But that's something that'll happen right before we open. So a lot going a lot going on there. Good event.
James Bell
Yeah, excited for that. But that's just a fraction of what you got going on here because it's this time of year, the kiddos wrapping up their school year and I know you specifically especially love to be involved in
Brenda Meder
some stuff. We love working with the schools and getting involved with the kids in the schools. The schools love it. We try to bring things to them as often as possible. Just some of the things like today is high school art day. So we know there's some people out there that love seeing that and there's a few people who do go down and traipse around gross Coliseum. That's where all these I think there's something like 64 high schools represented I think I saw on Fort Hays website. This is Fort Hays, our high school art day. So it's not a haze Arts Council event. But we will have hundreds of students who will be visiting the Hayes Art Center to view our current exhibition for which it's the closing day of the Fort Hays State University departmental showcase faculty and graduate and undergraduate students that we've got there. So we'll be hosting tons of them today. Tomorrow, I'll be hosting about 1000 Kids in beach MIT for an outreach that we are doing with the Encore series for fourth and fifth grade students from 12 different elementary schools in our area. And then on Sunday, the day after the Artwalk. We have our big creative writing award ceremony. invitations have gone to the schools hopefully they've come on with winning students, families to know about that. Just a reminder, I've because I think there's almost 100 students from kindergarten through seniors in high school in both pose and poetry. In fact, I know your wife was one of the judges for us again this year. The English department is so kind and generous with their time to serve as the judging panel. And because it's 13 grades of you know, three to four places because we do a lot of honorable mentions in both prose and poetry. So about 100 young people will be honored and recognize so about 300 guests in the ballroom on Sunday afternoon for that. And then from Sunday, May 1 all the way through the end of the week, we have a residency with Che and Leslie Katie laughing matters that amazing, wonderful duo. In fact, on Thursday night, may the fifth Anyone is welcome to come to the Hayes Public Library at 630. Because Jay unless they will be doing their public showcase. We want to make sure everybody can see them, even if it's adult soup aren't part of the school systems because there's nothing better and more entertaining, and more professionally well done than Jay and Leslie Katie's laughing matters performance and famous figures finals are going to be on Friday May the sixth in the Beechman Performing Arts Center. So that kind of overlaps during the week that we've got these residencies with J and Leslie Katie. I also want to remind people that are wondering about our summer classes, we will be having our summer class program again. And we are working on getting things arranged. We know we'll have theater classes we know we're going to have classes in two and three dimensional art. We'll have a stained glass class again, things are looking good for another one of the Sternberg outreaches with those critters classes that we have. But those classes will not be ready for for public review and enrollment until probably the middle of that first week in May. It takes us a long time to get those together because all our teachers who are amazing people fit us into their schedules, they value this, they want to do it right. But they have a lot of items they have to check. So it will be the middle of that first week in May before you will find this information on our website, or announced through our Facebook page. But yeah, so just tons of stuff. Oh, and then I just want to give them a plug. Finishing the weekend, I talked about the performing arts that kicks off on Friday the 29th. And then Saturday, the Artwalk itself Sunday, not only will there be the creative writing award ceremony, late that afternoon DSM Wk is inviting to the public to their event with Jay and Leslie Katie, we're helping to serve some of their specific clients and constituents Sunday night at 730. Again, free because of their sponsorship support, the amazing Hayes Symphony Orchestra will be having their final concert of the season at 730 in beach, MIT. So this amazing, wonderful rich community has no shortage of different areas in the Visual Performing and literary arts for people to be engaged from the youngest of children, through the most senior of citizens, and throughout the community on campus. And I just want to remind everybody to keep your eyes open for that, again, if you follow us on, on Facebook, the Hayes Arts Council, we try to share as much as we can for not only our events, but events that happen for other elements of the community as well. So be watching and looking for that and definitely come out. It's all free on Saturday, April, the 30th 10am to 4pm to just enjoy the best and the most exciting that our community has to offer in the most wonderful environment possible.
James Bell
Absolutely. You know what else? If you want to find out more, I always like to talk about this, you got your website,
Brenda Meder
we do. And there's a lot of stuff on our website, even exhibitions that close, but you just want to sit around and look at artists, you got nothing else going on. That's up there. The famous figures videos from last year still there, they'll be there till we get this year's up. And in fact, it gives me a chance to give a plug to Tiger media network is going to film everything for us this year. So even though we get to go back to a live competition on stage and beat Schmidt on Friday, May the sixth people will be able to watch those videos, all the videos of them after the event on our website. It'll take us a little while to get them up there. But yeah, there's so much on our website, the exhibition that's up now if you don't get in since it closes today, every single piece and every artist that's featured in there is up on our website. There is information on those people so that you can really understand where they're coming from their backgrounds and their views as they make their art and yeah, a lot of stuff on our website. And it you know, I'm always afraid I'm not getting as much up there but it's already full so what the heck
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber, president and CEO Sarah Wasinger along with vice president of marketing and communications, Mariah Leglighter stop by to talk about the importance of shopping local.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Choosing to shop local can have a significant impact on the local economy. From the Hays Chamber, president and CEO Sarah Wasinger along with vice president of marketing and communications, MariahLeglighter stopped by to talk about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Sarah Wasinger
It's been a while since we've really focused our message on the radio of shop local. And I think you hit the nail on the head, there are so many big events coming up Mother's Day is just around the corner this weekend as well. Or no, sorry, three weeks from now.
James Bell
I don't know why you're looking at me, I have no idea.
Sarah Wasinger
I'm thinking about the golf tournament. And that golf tournament, Friday leads into Mother's Day weekend. So I'm already there. I'm at the time, but too much. But no. So we've got a lot of important and fun things coming up. And our business community does so much to support, whether it be our local schools, our sports teams, our arts programs, and things of that nature. And so just a good reminder to slow down. Um, instead of pushing, instead of going online and clicking a cart online, we want you to go push a cart somewhere in Hays somewhere in Ellis County, where that tax base that you're paying for your goods that you're purchasing actually goes back to reinvest into your community, our roads, our schools, our infrastructure, things that help us have good quality of life here.
James Bell
Yeah, you know, and I, there's been a couple of situations real recently with myself, where I've realized that things that I were buying online, you can find locally, and, yes, slightly more expensive, um, but it's just so like, not even enough to really make it a consideration. But I found that it you know, it feels better, because you're out there. And you, you know, when you when you lay down that $10 bill for whatever it is, it's supporting the local community.
Sarah Wasinger
While there was a statistic back in 2017. That said, for every dollar that is spent in haste, it reads circulates an average of seven times. So think about the power of $1. And how many dollars we spend on a daily basis, we have to talk a little bit too about our cost of gas right now. Right? So for people that are considering shopping out of town, because they just want to go someplace else, you have to add the cost of your gas in your time into that trip, as well. And when you look at the cost savings that you could have by just staying here in Hays, um, it really adds up very quickly.
James Bell
Yeah. And for those that are in those towns that scattered around here in Hays, I know Hayes's your your deal, but you know, think like Ellis Victoria, those little small businesses there, same kind of deal. And this was, especially in the Victoria, you were at that meeting where we heard that, you know, they really want to support the community, it's a vocal and, you know, almost tangible desire there in the community to keep that money locally.
Sarah Wasinger
Absolutely. So I think the more we reinvest in ourselves, the more we help ourselves. So I'm just thinking about those businesses again, that, you know, I was surprised, we looked everywhere in town for a couple of items for the chamber A few weeks ago. And finally, I just said, You know what, we can't find it here right now. But let's just see if they can order. So sometimes, maybe you don't actually see the item on the shelf, but give that business owner an opportunity to share with them what you're looking for nine times out of 10, they're going to be able to find something for you and probably get it in just as quick as if he would buy something from the evil word amazon online. So when I hear people talking about Amazon, I just want to beat my head against the wall, because Amazon is not investing in our schools, they're not supporting local initiatives, and making our community a special place to live work in place. So please, please, please keep that in mind as you are making your purchasing decisions this spring.
James Bell
Yeah, absolutely. You know, and I think to about, you know, in the, in the historical kind of nature of shop local, you know, at least in my head, I still think about supporting those local business owners, you know, the main street businesses and not going to those chain stores. But even when you if you have to make the decision between going to a chain box store here in Hays, and going to Amazon, the chain box stores still better in terms of supporting the community.
Sarah Wasinger
They are, you know, they, Mariah, I think you have some, you know, we've been talking a little bit about this, and the actual chamber office, you know, Walmart, I think this was two years ago, give a very wonderful donation to the ark Park. You know, it's not just the mom paws, it's everybody that comes together in our community to make a big difference. So we don't discriminate between smaller big businesses at the chamber. We support them and love them all, that they're local. And we're our job is to make sure that people keep that in mind when they purchase.
Mariah Legleiter
Absolutely. And like you said, I mean, that was something that kind of surprised me is that you can go in and if you can't find something that you're looking for, you know, just talk to the owners and usually they can get you what you're looking for just as kind of a deterrent to go to evil Amazon.
Sarah Wasinger
And we talk about it too, you know, just planning in advance. I think our society has become very good about instant gratification. And delayed gratification can be something you can do with as long as you're planning ahead. So, um, just make sure that if you're looking for birthday presents, like we talked about this wedding presents, graduation, Mother's Day, all those things you know, just put Ain't ahead and you can make sure that you're supporting your community while taking care of the people you love all at the same time.
James Bell
Absolutely, you know, and a great way to do that we've talked about this before, but the chamber checks, get that and whether or not you're using them, or giving them as a gift that ensures that that money is going to be used locally.
Sarah Wasinger
Well, if you're like me, and your mom and dad literally, like buy everything they need themselves, and don't give you the opportunity to buy them something for them, just to say thank you, um, chamber checks, do you make a great option because they can be spent at almost 500 locations, you know, across Ellis County. And, you know, that's a great way to make sure that that money is staying local chamber checks can't be used and other communities. So that's really the big benefit. They spend like cash, and they don't expire. So you can take them in at any time and go ahead and use them to purchase whatever you want. So and the nice thing is, is, you know, because they have that choice, and that flexibility, the sky is really the limit. And you know, whether they want to go out to eat at one of our wonderful restaurants, that's a chamber member, or just do some shopping or maybe get gas or groceries. They're all options.
James Bell
Very cool. You know, and I like that too. Because it's, it's one of those things, you know, when I think about gift cards, right? Gift cards are can be so handy, but also so annoying. Because if it's something that's not local, you got to think about it. Like I'm trying to think of a restaurant that is not in haste schlocky Sovran slide forgot a gift card to schlocky is it to remember to take that with me all the time. Or remember that I'm going to be stopping in schlocky wallum in Salina later this afternoon. So I should grab that gift card. But a chamber check, you choose it anywhere. Exactly. And for the experiences, I love that, you know, it's not just the shopping, it's the you know, doing things as well, you could use those for
Sarah Wasinger
Absolutely. So just a friendly reminder, chamber texts do come and 510 and $25 increments. And if folks do want to make any orders for their upcoming gifts and things of that nature, if they can just give us a call at 785-628-8201. We'll go ahead and get those orders ready for you. That way we can make sure that they're I'm ready to pick up when you come by the office. Oh, quick and easy love. Very easy. Yes. And we do also include a brochure. We tried to have our brochure be as up to date as possible. But the best way to figure out and which businesses do take chamber checks is usually by visiting our website, Hayes chamber.com. And clicking on our membership directory.
Mariah Legleiter
I just updated that shop local brochure. So it'll be updated for about three days about how long that lasts. So what's a good thing though, that
James Bell
means businesses are coming? Joining up? Yes,
Mariah Legleiter
absolutely.
James Bell
Well, guys, we want to get into this too. There is there's a lot going on. Now. There's always a lot going on down the chamber, but this week, especially Holy smokes.
Mariah Legleiter
We were just talking about that on the way here. Today. We actually today, Tuesday, April 19 at 10am. We have a ribbon cutting at my town media. They are a new member at 1105 East 30th Street Suite. See I've heard that's on the north side of the building. Tuesday, April 19. At noon, we have the H yp connection lunch at thirsties venue Wednesday, April 20 at 8:30am. We'll have the leadership Hayes group at the Welcome Center. Thursday, April 21 at 8am. We'll have the downtown dialog Friday, April 22. At 9am. We will have our regular chamber chat over the USD 489 Bond opportunity at Rockwell Administration Center 323 West 12th Street, and on Friday, April 22. At noon, we will have our monthly Ambassador luncheon at the Rose Garden banquet hall
Sarah Wasinger
and a few quick clarifications. We will have Joseph Glassman, he is the president CEO at Glassman Corporation, he will be our guest speaker for the hrrp lunch today. And the downtown dialogue event of course is sponsored by the downtown Hayes Development Corporation. And they always had that event down in the basement at breathe coffee house. So um, it's a great opportunity for us to get to sit down with the downtown business owners. And one final point of note is today is a big day. And for people who have possibly been paying attention to the USD 49 upcoming bond election today is voter registration deadline. So if you have not already verified if you're registered to vote, you can go to 489 bond.com There's a link to verify that you're registered.
James Bell
Very cool. And it's not hard to get registered, just sit down to the county chamber or the county whatever that what's the building the administration's county administration center, yes. And get yourself registered if you're not even for this election or for the next one.
Sarah Wasinger
Absolutely. And a friendly reminder to folks to that this week and next week and they can still purchase raffle tickets in our Avalon of Hayes and CO patio party tickets that are in conjunction with our golf tournaments. So always a lot going on and as always make sure that you check out his chamber.com/events for all of our upcoming them and that's what we have
On this episode of the Post Podcast Holy Family's Race for Education co-chair Taryn Crawford shares information about the upcoming event.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The Holy Family elementary race for education fundraiser is quickly approaching. Co chair Taryn Crawford stops by to talk to us about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Taryn Crawford
Actually our 18th annual raise protein fundraise. Wow.
James Bell
Yes, racing must work. I guess I
Taryn Crawford
Yes, yes.
James Bell
So let's just start off with the basics. What is the race for education fundraiser?
Taryn Crawford
Basically, what we do is, we send out flyers for sponsorship to friends and family of our students on behalf of our students, and just trying to raise funds for our general operations at our school. So the funds are imperative, but the kids, people can either send in a flat donation, or they can donate the students to the students on how many laps that they run, it's in one eight mile lap that they run or walk around. And so that's how they raise the funds. Okay.
James Bell
So it's like, when we were kids, they had the the get on the bikes and would do the similar thing. Well, what am I trying to think? What's that called? It's like that for life or jumping for life. Yeah, bike for but was the bike for life. I don't know. It's
Taryn Crawford
like it might be. And most people actually now instead of doing the per lap, say send us flat donations, which we love, but the kids get so excited about the per lap. So on that day, which it's Friday, this year, the 22nd. They go out, they raise for about an hour, and try and get as many laps as they can for people that have donated on further prolapse.
James Bell
Simple and easy, but very cool. Very important. And I like you know, you mentioned that the fundraiser it's for general operations, I don't like to talk about this with any of the fundraisers down there at the Catholic schools. It's exactly as you mentioned, it's for operations. It's not for trying to, you know, put in a fancy new pool or something like that. It's actually what keeps education going. And right,
Taryn Crawford
if we schools, it's not fun, money, it's imperative, it's very, very important. It keeps the lights on at the school, it's a part of what keeps a little thumb to school, I should say. And this year, our goal is 60,000. In years past, we've our goal has been about 50,000. But last year, we were able to raise 62,000. So he's over 62,000. But so we raised our goal this year to 60,000. And I will say the flyers have been going out, we've been getting lots of donations in we've been tallying our dollars that we've raised so far, we have 38,000, so far this year, wow. But we continue to receive donations. So if people would like to donate, they can go to Holy Family pick up a form in the office, or they can go to HFP hayes.org. That's the Holy Family website, and click on our race for education page. And they will find a form there that they could fill out and send in. We like this fundraiser, because it's a way for kids to ask family and friends that aren't necessarily in our community to help donate because they're able to send these all over the United States. I mean, the world really if they wanted to, but they can send them to, you know, people as far away as they want, and we get funds in from people from far away, because they love their they love their students.
James Bell
Well, sure, sure. And you know what I also think, gotta believe that for those kiddos, it's a it's a kind of a fun way to be involved in this process. Because you know, it is important that everybody steps up and does a little bit of work. And what a great way to take some ownership of your education. Absolutely.
Taryn Crawford
They get so excited. They love it.
James Bell
Now, I am curious if anybody's wanting to actually, you know, watch the kiddos run, is it open to the community? Or is that close to the school because it's a school?
Taryn Crawford
You know what it's absolutely, I mean, if you want to come and watch, they raised just right in the parking lot at Holy Family. So you can drive by and Honk if you want to. But if you want to come and participate, you're more than welcome to come and walk with the kids. It starts at 830 is the first race that's for our fifth and sixth graders at Holy Family. The next time slot is 945. That's our littler ones a preschool, kinder prep kindergarten, first grade, and then at 115, after lunch, second, third and fourth. And they all just run for an hour.
James Bell
Very cool. And again, you said that this Friday, right is this Friday. All right. So if anybody's out there listening right now and they are do want to get involved again to donate or whether it be the five donation or find a student to sponsor what's the easiest way for them to
Taryn Crawford
do so. I think the easiest way would be to go to the website and look up that form yourself. But like I said, you can go down to Holy Family's office or give Holy Family a call and let them know that you're interested in donating we can direct you the right way.
James Bell
Very cool. Yeah, I tell you every time I call down there, no matter who picks up the phone, Oh, he's so helpful. Right. I love it. Well, all righty. Anything else that you think folks need to know?
Taryn Crawford
Just that we are so thankful for? Any type of contribution whether it is Just in prayer and thoughts or if it is a monetary donation we appreciate any, any thought towards our school and our students and what we're trying to do here
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Jonathan Zweygardt recap this week's Ellis County Commission meeting with County Commission chair Butch Schlyer.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Hays Post reporter Jonathan Zweygardt recaps this week's Ellis County Commission meeting with commission chair Butch Schlyer on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Jonathan Zweygardt
not a huge meeting last night by any means handful things on the agenda. And kind of the the one thing I guess we'll start with the budget discussion, because that's going to be something that you all talked about last night. And it's going to be a continued kind of process through the next several weeks and months. And I know, a week ago, Commissioner, Rutherford County Administrator, Dr. Meyers kind of laid out the the calendar. And then last night was the first opportunity to kind of start to direct how the commission would like the budget to look. And I guess that's kind of where we start. So it's an opportunity for the commission to kind of lay out their vision for what the department head portion of the budget budget and elected officials looks like,
Butch Schlyer
right? Last night, we were to start to give them direction on what the budget should look like, and what department heads elected officials should try to do with their budgets. And of course, as I reflected on that, through the week, our budgets are going to go up, we know that going in. And they're gonna go up because we had additional personnel, we added, I believe our IT department added a person we added an assistant to our admin administrator, we've we've increased a clerical position from halftime to full time and we just increased an appraiser position for three quarter time to full time. So we know that personnel wise, we're going to have an increase. And we know given the inflation on things, we are going to look at an increase in supplies and increase in equipment. And on top of that everyone has had their homes valued at a whole new level, mine went up 19.4%. So that just going to impact people's wallet and trying to make sure people are aware that what what we definitely came to a conclusion last night is we want the department heads and elected officials to bring in a budget that they believe they need to provide the services necessary in their departments. And that includes their supplies and their equipment, we know the cost of fuel is going to go way up. That's even going to be real hard to budget for. But But looking at that, it just comes down to a matter of what we can do with the dollars we're going to get. And we're going to pull them. And we're also looking at trying to increase money into our public works department for road and bridge projects. Currently, we're allotting one mil for Bridge Park project, specifically, which gives us about 450,000 a year that we had one bridge failure on the saline river this year, that costs us $900,000. So we feel like we really have to put more money back for that. And then addition, as we look at personnel, we have been giving them the same cost of living increase that Social Security recipients get, we don't know where that's going to fall either. So the budget, we're going to look at where the budget kind of comes in at and then see where we can best to reallocate funding resources wherever we need.
Jonathan Zweygardt
It's interesting to talk about so road and bridge Public Works and the revival of a old fund to now make two funds where there's a highway fund road and bridge fund that, as you mentioned, is funded $400,000 each in each fund. So combine $100,000 A year ago, but as you mentioned that that won't replace a bridge. I mean, if we have, and we have some bridge that bridges that are extremely old and the county is structurally deficient is a is a is an interesting term, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's actually you know, going to fall down tomorrow. It's just a tech, technical term. But there are bridges that the county and rows of the county has to look out for in the future. And so it's important to start to set money back in case there are big projects, big failures and bridges,
Butch Schlyer
right, like I say with that one bridge failure versus $900,000. And that should be finished up here this year sometime. But it when a bridge fails like that it does cause an inconvenience to the users of that bridge. And this bridge that did fail. The oil industry is really harmed by that bridge failure. They have a big detour they have to go around.
Jonathan Zweygardt
And I know that something that with the road and bridge, the road tour coming up next week. That's something with that we wanted to hit on Well, let's keep talking about the budget but obviously that's an opportunity for the commission next week. was part of a special session to take a look at some of those bridges, right?
Butch Schlyer
They do take our the commissioners around and shows the various projects that are going on and the projects which we may be facing in the future. And that's always an eye opener.
Jonathan Zweygardt
When you look at the budget budget process, we talk about some of the unknowns, the inflation, the price of fuel, the cost of health care may change as well. You talk about the direction that the Commission talked about last night and keeping it as you know, make sure you keep the services that you want. That's something that as you've been a part of the commission that the you guys have, really, I don't want to champion to the right word, but making sure that you keep the level of services that we have in Ellis County at the level we have,
Butch Schlyer
right? Well, well, county government is governed by statute from the state. And the state really tells us what we're going to provide with most of our departments, there is an exception with just a couple. But we have to provide certain services for departments, and with with the elected official departments, we have to provide them adequate funding to provide those services or else they could come back and take us to court on those kinds of issues, which I hope that never has to happen. So it can get. We've had budget sessions in the past, I'd got quite intense.
Jonathan Zweygardt
And I know to you being a part of the Commission, as part of the discussion for the sales tax, and it went past and the Commission, you can only through the sales tax or tax directly a certain portion of that specifically to one which the commission elected to do health care, which we can talk about in just a moment, but also then kind of earmarking saying, Okay, we have a percentage that needs to go to road and bridge. And that probably goes more to what we were talking about earlier, too,
Butch Schlyer
right? Yeah, that what we've done with the with the portion for road and bridge, is we did take out a bond for certain projects. And as as we start down that list, if a project is overrun, comes in more than it should have or what we anticipated, then the list just gets shorter. So list doesn't go away. It just shortens up and we have to make a new list next year. And I
Jonathan Zweygardt
know Darrin County Administrator, Dr. Meyers talked about it a week ago with the sales tax and how much that has helped on the budget, with the being able to fund the health through that. And then also with Raja road and bridge. So that's a big part of the success that the budget has had for the county.
Butch Schlyer
Right. Without that sales tax, Ellis County would have crashed and burned, we would have had to have layoffs service, whether it had been curtailed, probably would have had to cut hours for existing staff, it just wouldn't have been a good outcome at all.
Jonathan Zweygardt
I'm curious to in your position with the as the commission chair, and with kind of those numbers and understanding that that will sunset in 10 years, obviously, under 10 years now. But and looking at it as far as who knows what happens the next time you go to the voters? Is there also that way in the back of your mind that you have to find a way to set aside money and and start to make sure that you don't get back in that situation? As before.
Butch Schlyer
We're trying to build up the reserves for it for the LS County.
Jonathan Zweygardt
Yeah, I'm curious. That was something that you guys kind of talked a little bit about last night. Right. And so any particular reserves, we talked about Rowan bridge, but is there any other than that you think that you want to highlight as far as from your chair?
Butch Schlyer
Well, our reserves, our capital equipment fund, just our cash carryover balance. And anything we can build up to help sustain this, should we not have quite the revenues we think we need is going to help and maybe get us by a year. If we run into a situation in eight years where our sales tax doesn't pass, we're in bad shape immediately. That's that's just going to be that effective.
Jonathan Zweygardt
And obviously, that's something that Darren had pointed out and you see an ad budget, and there's some things that you just can't control, as we talked about before. One of the things that came up last night. So your director was talking about outside agencies, and as a whole, those are agencies of the Commission and the county of funds. Is there anything as far as director that you're talking about with them that, that you think that won't be related? As far as well.
Butch Schlyer
We we talked about the outside agencies or the agencies what just enhanced quality of service or quality of life in Ellis County. And we talked last night, we just wanted to see them bring in pretty much flat budgets. And as we look at our county budget comes in, look at the subsidize agencies that will determine if we're going to increase decrease or allocate different agencies within those outside agencies different funding, so it's something we just got to look at the big picture when we start getting the pieces put together
Jonathan Zweygardt
and This is going to be a process that will go all the way to September because there will definitely be an increase in the budget. And so that takes an extra step. Yes, absolutely. So I know we'll be talking more and more about that. So we look forward to having more of those types of discussions. Anything else from last night, it's a meeting that kind of stood out to me, we got an update from the health department. I think that was something with Kim mareel, the Director of Health Department talking about a couple of different things
Butch Schlyer
we did, we did send the health department back to the governor's Public Health Conference, the whole staff went, they closed up the department for a few days, it sounded like it was very beneficial for him. We have completely redone the health department as to what it was, when I retired, we brought it back to that same level with with an administrator directly into the department, running things on a day to day basis, instead of having us split administrator, that just doesn't seem to be working well. So I think our health department is kind of getting its feet back under him. They're looking at expanding some programs with the maternal child grant, as well as with the family planning grant. So that's all helpful. And then they're trying to find ways to spend some of the COVID grant they had with with some remodeling and some signage and things like that. So we'll see how that turns out. Yeah, I
Jonathan Zweygardt
know, that's something that I think we'll definitely be hearing more about as far as maybe a little bit of a different look. And it's because of safety issues that have been brought up within the departments, that new location is not new anymore. It's been settling for a while, but that's something that I know that the the remodel and kind of making it a little bit safer, and then also more efficient. Right. Absolutely. And we'll look forward to hearing more about that. I know Kim presented last night and as you mentioned some COVID money that has to be spinner. It it goes back to the federal government. So I think the odd the, basically the understanding was this is your chance to use that money or you will never get it again.
Butch Schlyer
But you have to lose it according to certain contingencies. So sometimes that can be hard to sort it all out.
Jonathan Zweygardt
Very good. Well, um, that kind of wraps it up. I know, there was, as you mentioned, an approval of a little bit of a change in income, kind of some of the positions there through the appraisers office. That was some personnel change a little bit and then more about the Katherine township that was one of those that was out for dissolve nine, but it looks like that some folks have stepped up and decided that they want to keep their township running. Yeah,
Butch Schlyer
I guess according to the county clerk if they don't file the budget or the proper reports, we can dissolve the township and the Catherine township I believe it was decided they didn't want to do that. So they got some offers. We got everything renewed last month. Great.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University associate professor Whitney Whitaker shares information about the John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Downtown Hays Development Corp. executive director Sara Bloom shares details about the Kansas Main Steet program.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares information about the Hays microfactory project.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
A spark grant from the state of Kansas is going to allow Grow Hays to move forward with their microfactory project. Grow Hays, Executive Director Doug Williams stops by to talk to us about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
It was an exciting week, the Kansas space grants were awarded on Monday, I believe it was. And the bass stands for building a stronger economy. I believe that this was $100 million, that the state of Kansas was putting out for grants to people who applied and fit their criteria. These are funds that came down from the ARPA, federal funds, post COVID infrastructure type bill. And so the Department of Revenue wrote some specifications for grants that they would be willing to do that they had, I believe it was 417, or over 400 applications totaling 1,000,800,000 1,800,000,000, for this 100 million. So clearly, there was a huge demand. But we were fortunate enough to get a, a grant for microfactory, which we've been working on for a while. And so that was terrific news.
James Bell
Yeah, I want to back this up a little bit, because I do remember, we talked about it on this segment A little while back, but this is one of those projects that I think it was kind of flying under the radar. And I really I kind of want to ask this and not in a bad way. But I don't think this grant we we really didn't expect to get this great. Did we? Well, we always expect well, I know you want the you applied and you hope but
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
You know, we you just never know in these situations, you hope you put forth a good proposal, David Klingon, who is our new Director of Recruitment and retainment put together a great grant proposal explained it very well. And so but you never know, when you send them in, there were at least five grants submitted from Ellis County, we submitted a couple a couple other people submitted a couple. And I think there was one other one that I'm aware of. And this was the only one in Ellis County that was awarded. So we were we were happy about that. In looking at the criteria, it was it was very much economic development driven. And many, many of the applications were infrastructure related streets, roads, that kind of thing. And we put one in for infrastructure as well, and the Tallgrass edition. And it was clear by the awards that they didn't do a lot of infrastructure stuff, they they really narrowed down projects that were economic development related. And that's what this microfactory really is, is a long term economic development engine. We hope it's an incubator for manufacturers. And so I think that's why it received the attention it did and got the award.
James Bell
You know, I want to talk about this kind of a facility in detail, the one that's proposed here, but, you know, this is really something I think that's kind of new to the industry, you run the brief space down there, that co working space and for office, kind of jobs. But, you know, I haven't really heard anything about this kind of a microfactory concept isn't relatively new.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
It is at least as far as I know, I've not seen much of it out there. But it makes a lot of sense. Just like brief space makes a lot of sense. It's an incubator, in this case, and microfactory is an incubator for manufacturers, this, this building will be a 30,000 square foot structure built to the specifications that manufacturers need, you know, tall ceilings, large overhead doors, the opportunity maybe to put in a overhead crane of some sort, or what have you. And this 30,000 square feet will be sliced up in five or six areas of five to six to seven, you know, it might slice and dice a little differently depending on who goes in and what you need. But we will offer it to a small manufacturer or an existing manufacturer who has a new idea and need some space to develop that idea. A small, maybe an inventor who has an idea for an invention but just needs some space, as well as some assistance to bring this product to market. And then the hope is that they they go into this space at a considerably reduced rate of rent, they develop their product, build their business and outgrow it so that we can then build them another building and have them expand into that and then move the next guy in where they were and so that's the concept we're excited about it i think i think it's got good opportunity for the community and and I think it'll be really good.
James Bell
Yeah, absolutely. And I think for Hey, specifically we've talked about this in the past Hays is primarily a white collar economy and this can help maybe drive some of that opportunity space that we're that we have here in the region.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well absolutely Hays in our our three largest employers are the Medical Center, the University and USD 489 Was your primarily white collar office type jobs. We have some manufacturing obviously with inner sis and Hess and cross and size wise and and what Not but we don't have a lot of manufacturing. And this is an area of opportunity for us and an area that we believe we need to grow this part of our economy in an effort to kind of diversify things and have a broader range of of job options in our community. And so this will be a great opportunity to do that. And we need some more manufacturing here. And this, this should we hope, over time, provide that opportunity to grow some manufacturers.
James Bell
Very cool. Now, I know, location, and a lot of the details have yet to be worked out because it really was kind of a conceptual plan when the grant was applied. And now you've got the money now, we have to actually make it go. But I don't know if you want to talk a little bit about some of those specifics on this project that will be the people will see is it's kind of coming to fruition.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Sure. You know, as you say that the easy parts over now we have to actually execute and make it happen. But the proposed location is at the corner of ninth and commerce Parkway, which is just to the south of Glassman Corporation, that's an area owned by heart America development and has had seen some activity out there lately, there's been a couple of lots sell out there. And, and this is on one of those lots that they have available. It's about a five or six acre tract, which will house this structure nicely and would even add allow for some potential additional development of structure if need be. It's it's a great location from the standpoint that it's easily accessible to highway 40. Right down the street is on day 70. So it's a great spot for shipping things in and out and that kind of thing. And, and so we think it's a great spot for it. timeframe, this has to be done, doesn't have to be done. But the guidelines require about two years. So within two years, we need to be have this project completed. That's a bit of a challenge. Because right now as an example, there's about a 12 month lead time on metal buildings. So you know, the process, we've got to get some architectural drawings done. And then we've got to start the construction process bidding on the construction process and things, order the building, put the slab in and those kinds of things. So we'll be busy for the next couple years getting this done. But it's very doable in that timeframe, we just can't doddle on a lot of things.
James Bell
Yeah, and, you know, I'm curious, like, what does that process gonna look like for air review even thought this far ahead. For those people that are interested, you know, like, you know, say, I've got an idea for a new broom, and I want to move out there, what do I do?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, you contact us to begin with that that's the good part of a two year lead time or a 1218 monthly time as well we're constructing the facility, we can be looking for prospective tenants, and they can be ramping up and figuring out how much space they would need. Because in a building like that, you can divide it really any way you want to divide it, it could be, theoretically, if you had the right opportunity, it could be one person could take half of it, I don't see that happening, I'd rather have more small spaces. But when you've got 30,000 square feet, if you've got five, you know, if you divide it up by five, that's 6000 square feet per tenant, which is a fair amount of square footage. So just depends on kind of what happens. But that's that's the as I said, the nice thing is, we'll be able to be looking for those tenants while we're constructing the facility. And really how you how you split it up inside is one of the last decisions you have to make. And you can even leave it open until you have somebody that needs a certain amount of space, and then you just put up a wall. So it's a pretty simple process at that point in time. But so if anybody out there has an idea or is a small manufacturer that needs some additional space and is looking to do some things, we'd love to hear from them, because we'd love to figure out how they might work into this space.
James Bell
Excellent. You know, I'm curious to what about businesses that maybe are looking to relocate to this area? I think about there was a project over in Russell a couple years ago to bring a hemp processing manufacturing, they made the equipment and they were building it there in Russell, is that going to be helpful for those kinds of businesses to move into the region as well?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, certainly could be, you know, a lot of times those people looking to move and make that kind of a move are going to be larger. So they may need more space than what 6000 7000 Square feet might offer. But definitely somebody who's in a community or out in another location that that needs some space and would be willing to relocate. We'd love to talk to them as well.
James Bell
Do you think to that folks might utilize this space as a way to kind of collaborate even like a no. And again, I think I think of that brief space model that co working space and it's such it's such a cool situation that's happening down there as you're seeing more and more businesses that are kind of firmly you know, using that spot, it's not a temporary space, it's their office space. So I wonder if that's gonna happen there as well,
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
I think it could I think you could get complementary businesses out there. You know, if you look at to Wichita, which is very heavy manufacturing community because of the aircraft industry and whatnot. There's a lot of small businesses that that make this particular widget for an airplane, and then it has to be attached to this next thing. And there may be two manufacturers side by side who, who work closely on a complementary product. So I could see that happening, for sure.
James Bell
Very cool. And you know, and I think the last piece on this, so we didn't really talk about it's the the funding piece overall, because two and a half or 2.6, from the state that covers a giant portion of the overall cost, but you still got about what 800,000 to go right.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
And we do. And that's going to be the challenge. But we've we're working on making sure we've got that covered, we obviously had to show that we had the funds to do this to cover our match to begin with. And so we've got a couple of sources for that. But we're also exploring other sources. So we've got it in place. But that's not to say that we aren't looking for alternative ways to fund that portion of the project. And, and I think we're, we've got a pretty good story to tell. So I think a couple of our other sources will be helpful to us and bridging that gap and making this happen.
James Bell
Very cool. Well, we've got just about a minute left, Doug, any other last thoughts or anything else you think folks should know about this project? Is it starting to kick off?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, just take watch, we'll keep people posted on our website on Facebook and that type of thing. And in terms of when we get started and where we are in the process. I don't think you'll see a lot of activity on the actual site for a while yet probably six months, maybe but maybe sooner, but just we'll try and keep everybody posted. And obviously if there are prospective tenants out there that are looking for space, and we'd like to utilize this opportunity. We'd love to talk to him.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Hays USD 489 Superintendent Ron Wilson.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University Alumni Association director of engagement Carolyn Tatro and board chair Mike Slattery share information about giving at FHSU.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays High principal, Shawn Henderson shares the latest from USD 489.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Hays High continues to struggle with this space and aging facilities. Principal Shawn Henderson stops by to talk to us a little bit about that and more on this episode of the post podcast. As we've heard from some of the other principals here on the go morning show, there's a pretty big problem with space in the district. Right?
Shawn Henderson
Exactly. And I think that would hold true for sure it hits high. And that's kind of the thing that we've really been talking to everybody about is space and beyond space, even just how space works in terms of how modern learners learn, and really what industry is asking us. And that's about having students that know how to collaborate, they know how to innovate and work as a team. And to do that you've got to have a place for them to, to take care of those needs, and to engage in that kind of learning, which is really important. Yeah, you know, I
James Bell
think I saw a picture pretty recently from Hays high. And it was it was students working in the hallway, because there's no place else for him to work.
Shawn Henderson
Yes, and that. And really, that's a very common sight for us. When you look at how schools are handling those spaces, now, there are different types of classrooms, different kinds of spaces allocated for the kind of learning that's taking place for our teachers to replicate that now. They're, they're sending them to the hallway. So it is very true. When I talk to people, there are always students lining the halls, and it's not the old school model of you're in trouble, go to the hall. Otherwise, I'd have a whole lot of people in trouble. That's not what this is. This is this is a place to give kids an opportunity to collaborate, which again, comes from industry, and that's the skills they want those kids to have.
James Bell
Yeah, you know, we hear about that quite a bit too. The the desire 20 years ago was to send everybody to college or big goes to college gets a four year standard degree. But now we've we've learned that those those those hands on skills, electricians, the plumbers, the tech jobs, are what's in real high demand. And so yeah, so what you're saying is you guys are responding to what is needed out there in the world world. Right. And,
Shawn Henderson
Yeah, and it is, again, it's listening to industry, and it is understanding, and I appreciate that you said that, because it's true. There's not just one path for students, you know, we talked about things at the high school level called individual plan of study, and what we're talking about is your path, you the student and what what your skills, what's your interest, we gauge those interests, we, we, you know, have curriculum for that we get them out in the community. And that's something that we are continuing to expand, we want our students to get the skills that they need, but then to go and put them to use in our community and to learn those skills partner with business. Because really, that's what's going to set them apart when they go out. And they try to join the workforce. Yeah,
James Bell
no, you know, we hear quite a bit the the quality of the education isn't necessarily determined by the facilities, I wonder if you want to talk a little bit about this in specifics, how they actually do get impacted in specific ways. Like I think of my high school experience science labs, I went to an older school, I went to a school built in the 20s. And at the time, our science lab was virtually non existent. And I don't know the status of your facility. So it's just an example. But I wonder about, like, the ability to teach those skills that are needed in a facility now that is pushing, you know, 40 years old in haste highest case,
Shawn Henderson
right? And you look at our teachers, and you think about the term, they're doing these things in spite of the limitations that they have. And then you look at our dynamic staff, you look at the kind of people that teach our young people in this community and you think, wow, what if they were able to have the kind of space that they need, so that those barriers are not in their way, and that you know, as someone that is the leader of that environment, it's really excited to think about making sure that they have that space and they have the tools that they need, because then they are going to be able to maximize that environment for those students and try to remove some of those barriers for them. And that's exciting I think for the educators it's exciting for the students it's exciting as a parent you know, I have students in school myself that you know, what does that look like for for them to have exactly what they need so that they can they can grow
James Bell
you know, I wonder if you want to talk about a little bit maybe this how this compares Hayes high to some other districts in our league?
Shawn Henderson
Yeah, I mean, I think the thing is, is that you know, the if you start to go around the the Western you know, are the wack right and so you start to look at what the other schools the Dodge City, liberal garden, great Ben, you look at it, it is it, you know, facilities, you look at the the kind of practice spaces they have the kind of learning environment they have. And, you know, the truth is, is our parents, our families, they're on the road, they're on the road a lot. And it's not even just so much about the schools in our conference, you know, families that have competitive sports and competitive even all the things that that families are doing now. They they traveled to a lot of places, they see a lot of schools and they understand the condition of the facilities, not even so much the condition but just the Um, what those opportunities are that they can see with their eyes just visiting those towns in the schools. And, and that's something that I that I think that Hayes can really consider and think about in terms of what we have here. And I think that's a question worth asking for sure.
James Bell
Absolutely. You know, we've also heard a lot about missed opportunities, conferences or sports. I don't know, things. Everybody knows, I'm not much of a sports guy. But I think about, you know, all those opportunities that as a school we could have if we had the space to do so to bring people into haze. You want to speak a little bit about that, right?
Shawn Henderson
Yeah, certainly. So you're talking about regional level events, you're talking about events where the the Keisha, they call and they say, Would you be willing to host that? Well, it's always an honor to host for Keisha events because it brings great, well, to be honest, it brings people to the community. And that benefits everyone. But when we don't have the facilities that can hold those events, because there are stipulations from the state, of course. And then when we're not able to do that we lose out on revenue for the community, we lose out of people coming to see what Hayes is about. And it's unfortunate. And you know, another example for us, that's the easiest to show is we just we truly do not have an auditorium, not to not to the type that that students utilize now. And it would be something that would go across, it would be all students K through 12. The community that tends to be that place in the community that so many things happen, whether it's an assembly, or it's a concert, that's a talked about spaces we simply don't have that is one that is off. For us. We just don't have that. And we lose out on a lot of things from a curriculum standpoint. And then just from an opportunity standpoint,
James Bell
absolutely. You know, I was I was right before going on air I was telling you last night, as a matter of fact, I was at a or Tuesday, I guess I should say Roosevelt had their program at 12 St. auditorium. And I think there's no better visual for some of the facility concerns in the district, that Wall Street auditorium that building, it doesn't look good. And if you're, as a parent, and especially somebody coming outside of the district, if you're in that building, I think it just screams to something needs done.
Shawn Henderson
Yeah. And for us, it's it's a part of the curriculum to we have students that are that are incredible performers. But it goes beyond that. It's the stagecraft, it's the people that want to be involved in quite frankly, what you do, right? I mean, those are the kinds of things that we want to provide those opportunities, that that really, we have so many kids a cross section of kids that could use that space. And, you know, whether it's a stage craft class, that's a drama class, we would not, we do not have a place for that right now, there. You know, it's not even in our building. And again, yeah, I think that's a, that's a true example of that. Yeah. And
James Bell
going back, again, to kind of what we were talking about, at the onset of this, you know, those tech jobs, those jobs that we don't even that don't exist today, we don't know what they're gonna be. And that's what the students that are coming into the highest high now are going to be doing jobs that we can't even imagine. And it's going to require development and infrastructure to make the make those career potential opportunities happen.
Shawn Henderson
Correct. And we want to be responsive, we do not want to provide any barriers or roadblocks for our students, because quite frankly, when they there, it's a competitive world. And they're going up against students that have, you know, similar experiences, or, and we want to make sure that we have the tools in place for them, so that they can be competitive.
James Bell
And again, no knocks against any of the educators, I think that almost everybody I speak to, I think would agree that USD 49 has some of the best educators in the state of Kansas, if not beyond.
Shawn Henderson
Oh, absolutely. And again, I go back to what I said at the beginning. It's, it's, it's what they're doing in spite of what's in front of them, you know, they're just some barriers for them. And then if you start to remove those barriers, and give them the kind of space allocation that they need, I really like to think about what what they can do, then then they can flourish. And I think that that's important as well.
James Bell
You know, I think the other important piece of talking about facilities and maintenance in the district is the upkeep, then that's something that is heard pretty frequently. You know, why? Why didn't the district take better care of Hays high when we built it 40 years ago? You know, I don't know if you want to talk a little bit about that, you know, from a financial standpoint, the challenges that come with trying to upkeep a building that is now 40 years old.
Shawn Henderson
Right, and I think it's a fair question, you know, is, Are we maintaining the buildings and, and I've heard a lot of great analogies and people that know me, you know, I use them all the time. But at my age, I'm simply not the same person I was when I was 16. Just not as not as fast and not, you know, not as quick on my feet and, and the truth is, is that It doesn't matter how hard that we upkeep something there, age is real, it's going to come into play. We have people that work tirelessly and decades of, of people that have worked really hard to provide an infrastructure and they do a great job. But the infrastructure grows in age. And when it does, it creates issues that have to be solved. And that includes dollars and cents. And I think something that that we want to make sure that we realize is, is it's not so much that the facilities haven't been taken care of. It's that time is a real factor. And, you know, that's why this conversation of when when is it time to upgrade? When is it time to build new? When is it time to change that infrastructure so that we are preparing for 50 years from now? I think that's that's the question that's in front of voters. And it's the right question to ask, and we hope people do. And we hope that if they have questions that they can ask, because, you know, that's the thing, I recently helped my daughter registered to vote, and it was the same conversation I had with her that I would have with anyone is that, you know, it's an incredible civic responsibility to be able to do this. And that's the conversation I had with my new 18 year old. And, and just like I would tell her, you know, you've got to decide you've got to be educated on this. You've got to know what what you know what your decision means. And then you you've got to vote. And that's, that's what I would tell her. And really, that's what I would tell anyone. That's my hope is that, that people know what we're talking about, ask those questions and get out and vote. Absolutely.
James Bell
Yeah. And I think one of the great things that I've seen with this, with the district and the committees that are working on this bond issue is the amount of information that has been put out there is truly comprehensive, I think it's really a pretty good job. And there's a town hall, they've had some of these meetings already, but a town hall coming up to that, where you can go in if you're curious about this and learn more about the issues and ask questions directly some of the people that are in the know
Shawn Henderson
Exactly. And that's going to be on April 20, Hayes Middle School in Hays High School are going to come together at six o'clock. And yeah, again, we would welcome anyone to come in and ask those questions. And because again, as we have an opportunity to share, and to take time to answer those questions, I think that's when people feel comfortable with the decision that they're making. And I think that's appropriate.
James Bell
Absolutely. Well, anything else that you want to hit on or any other last thoughts before we go?
Shawn Henderson
No, I mean, hey, this is a great time of year. We're hoping spring comes around. It's taken a real slow time to get to spring, but there's always some nice high activities out there. We've got the music students going to call me today for state, large group got all kinds of activities going on in the spring would love to see people out. It's good to support our students.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University Rodeo team members Brent Hornbuckle and Jessi Ross share information about the upcoming FHSU rodeo.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
For a state university set for the rodeo this weekend, team members Jesse Ross and Brent Hornbuckle stopped by to tell us a little bit about the festivities on this episode of the post podcast.
Brent Hornbuckle
Seven o'clock each night, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Thursday,
James Bell
Friday and Saturday. Now, if I remember correctly from the last time, you folks were here, the rodeo grounds, it's a little different now. Right?
Brent Hornbuckle
Actually, we are doing it at the Phillipsburg.
James Bell
Okay, so you're back out at the fairgrounds or at our rodeo arena at the college. Okay, see, this is why you gotta you got a clue straight out here. I don't know what's going on ever. So did the college Thursday, Friday, Saturday, seven o'clock, what are people going to see during the events?
Jessi Ross
So we'll have a mixture of rough stock and timed events. So there's bucking horses, ball ride and barrel racing, and a bunch of team roping and calf roping. Just a little bit. Everything.
James Bell
Fantastic. Yeah, that's what I love. You know, and that's the great part about rodeo. Right? It's it's a diverse, and you get to see all kinds of different showmanship.
Jessi Ross
Yes, it's definitely a thrill. It's never boring.
James Bell
Absolutely. Now, are you guys ready to go coming up this Thursday?
Brent Hornbuckle
as of tonight, we will be one more day of practice. Yeah, one more day of practice and prep. So excellent.
James Bell
If folks are wanting to go out there and see the events, what's the easiest and best way for them to do that? Did you have to get tickets? Or is this offering?
Brent Hornbuckle
Well, the you can buy advance tickets, which will save you a little money, you can pick those up at Orleans Vanderbilts and the Memorial Union on campus. Those tickets around you $8 for adults $5 for kids. And then if you do want to just come out to the rodeo at the gate the tickets for adults are $12 and the tickets for kids are eight and kids five and under get in for free. Okay, and that's per night, per night. Okay?
James Bell
All right, very good. And then so you know if for folks for those out there listening people like myself that aren't super familiar with rodeo Jesse knows who I'm talking about last time she was here I told her all about this. I don't know anything about rodeo you know what, what kind of expectations should people have going into this? Or is it just show up and have a good time?
Brent Hornbuckle
I wouldn't have much expectations and then show up and have a good time because you never know what's gonna happen. You could see really good runs, you could see pretty crazy wrecks and or you could see everything run smooth. You know, it's a rodeo, you can't ever plan for about anything to happen. You just hope for the best.
James Bell
Very cool. What do you guys have to do to get the grounds ready or is it is there really anything involved in that?
Jessi Ross
Well, we have to set banners you know, prep everything. And for the barrel racers out there. You want to get that ground really good. So in the past, we've had some pretty sketchy weather, but this weekend is looking beautiful, so we're hoping the ground will stay good antastic set everything up.
James Bell
What kind of weather is ideal for this? Are you looking for like that mid 60s Low breeze or do you like a little rain or overclass? How overcast? What's the best
Jessi Ross
Personally I'd like it sunny and 75 everybody bye. But you know in Kansas Beggars can't be choosers so you kind of have to plan for a little bit of wind but definitely not rain and snow.
James Bell
Yeah, no snow snow never is good for sports. Any sports I don't think unless you're a skier All right. Well, guys, I know you've got to get over to the bowl. Any other last thoughts or anything else we want to hit on before we go?
Brent Hornbuckle
No, we just hope to see a bunch of you out there and come support the Tigers. Very good.
James Bell
Again Thursday, Friday and Saturday seven o'clock on the Fort Hays State University rodeo grounds.
Brent Hornbuckle
Yep. Doug Phillip arena. It's on the golf course.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Police Department communications Lt. Jeff Ridgeway shares information about the department's dispatchers as they celebrate National Public Safety Telecommunicators.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The Hays Police Department is celebrating their dispatchers during National Public Safety Telecommunicators week Communications Lieutenant Jeff Ridgeway stops by to talk to us about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Jeff Ridgeway
Just a week of giving thanks to our dispatchers are 911 operators across the nation. They have a job that typically goes without, you know, I can't say they go unnoticed, because they are very much a key part of first responders and I will one calls and even the administrative calls. So this is just a week to be able to just say, Hey, thanks, thanks for taking that call answering the call being that life link and helping getting resources, those first response resources to where they need to go.
James Bell
Yeah, you know, I think it was maybe a year or two ago, you were kind enough to take me down into the dispatch center. We were working on a story. I don't know if the story is now but I was really taken aback by kind of the the professionalism of these folks, but also the stories that I heard, you know, of being that first first responder, and it's really, you know, they are kind of, in some ways behind the scenes, because he's on the phone. But some of the things that they have to deal with are just as heavy and serious as what you would think of as a street officer, right?
Jeff Ridgeway
Well, the people calling, these are some low points in some people's lives, they are in crisis, desperate need for help, just from a wide range of aspects eating anywhere from people who are contemplating taking their own life to crimes that just occurred, whether it be a robbery a homicide, or, or, or even something, perhaps not as critical as as you know, hey, my dog got out of the backyard, which might be critical for some, you know, so they definitely get a wide range of phone calls. And whether it be through the 911 system or just a non administrative or the non emergency line. They are definitely that first point of contact with the public safety agencies and are just able to route the the assistance that's needed redirect people to where they need to go or or just be that lifeline when needed.
James Bell
Yeah. Well, and they also have to deal with people like me calling down they're asking questions all the time. What was this? We heard sirens will tell us about it.
Jeff Ridgeway
They have they have a good filter system? So they know. Absolutely.
James Bell
Always professional, but also always. What's the word I'm looking for? Not correct. But you know, direct to the point very direct.
Jeff Ridgeway
Yeah, they, you know, we have a limited number of like 911 lines, we've only we've only got 5 911 lines in the county that come and of course, we serve for the whole county here in Ellis County. So when you have just a limited number lines, they're very, pretty much say we gotta get off the phone because somebody else might be needed next. So they're very mindful of that concept. Yeah.
James Bell
So you know, what is this? What are we doing this week to help kind of recognize those folks?
Jeff Ridgeway
Well, just as an agency for us, we're just kind of getting a couple extra treats and give him some thank you cards and stuff like that, you know, buying them lunch, dinner a couple times this week, getting some ice cream, and just doing some different activities like that just as appreciation. They've kind of come up as a team, they've came up with special themed days where they're kind of getting to relax a little bit not being in their their normal, uniform expectations and being able to dress down for example, today, it's kind of America Day, so they're wearing America style thing. outfits, and then tomorrow will be their favorite shirt day. And yesterday, they were dressed up with your favorite sports. So I mean, just different things for for everyday this week. As we just again, our focus is just to make sure they understand that they're appreciated. They are definitely kind of forgotten at times. But they're very much a very critical part of our emergency response system.
James Bell
Oh, absolutely. Yeah. And again, that first first responder, right,
Jeff Ridgeway
yes, absolutely.
James Bell
So you know, I don't know if we want to talk a little bit about kind of how that all works and kind of the jobs down there in the communication center. Because, you know, it's been what I think about two years now since the Hayes Police Department took over the responsibilities of running the center again,
Jeff Ridgeway
Well, actually the Hays Police Department has well, You're correct. The Hays police department in the city of Hays is operated for many years and the county has provided the equipment. It was prior to a couple of years ago it was their own department within the city and it got combined back down to the police department. And you know, in 2021, they answered over 70,000 phone calls down there. Over 11,000 was being 911 calls but so they they're constantly getting a lot of phone calls down there. We serve and dispatch for 10 public safety agencies in our county five law enforcement for fire and of course, are county wide EMS. So they're constantly being busy. And one of the really needs information was looking back at some numbers from last year is our dispatch staff are able to answer 99% of the 91 calls within 10 seconds of it ringing. Wow, that is just an outstanding ability that's much, significantly higher than the national average of about 90%. Or that's national standard, I should say. So we're definitely doing really good in that aspect. We just have a phenomenal staff down there that is committed to their job committed to the the the role in making sure they can provide that service to our community.
James Bell
That's incredible. You're looking for a couple more to join the ranks.
Jeff Ridgeway
At the moment, we've got two openings that we're trying to get filled. We've got a couple of candidates that are going through our process and but we're always looking for a good, good dispatcher.
James Bell
You know, I'm curious what you think about police officers in general the physicality the build a rundown somebody or the, you know, the quick action, quick thinking, you know, what kind of skills that does a dispatcher need to be effective at that job?
Jeff Ridgeway
All right. You know, that's, that's a real tough question. I'll try to get that answered here. But from, from my observation, the ability to think fast, limited information, deal with unusual problems, just some common sense is probably the most common or most needed. skill set is just having that ability to, and, of course, he's always the doesn't hurt if you can stay calm when someone's upset on that on that phone. And even if they are redirecting their anger, you know, at the dispatcher and unfortunate it happens at time. So just being able to manage that that are definitely valuable skill sets,
James Bell
I would think there's a pretty heavy tech component kind of involved in there, right. And especially right now, when you're redoing your system down there.
Jeff Ridgeway
We just went last month ago, we spent transitions to a new computer aided dispatch software program and some other software that that the long term goal will make the I believe will make the job for our dispatchers easier. And so we've got four consoles in our 911 Center, that the average six monitors on each console. So there's a lot of screens, a lot of information that they're able to see lots of stuff coming in. So there is a bit of a tech skill set. They're working with the different software and stuff. But again, all that's intended to help them one, be able to do their job easier and give them access to the resources and information. Not only does the dispatchers need, but then that they can relay to the first responders you're out in the field.
James Bell
Yeah, even before when I was down in there, the amount of information at their fingertips is actually it's it's mind boggling to me what they can access. And I can't even imagine what this new system I've got kind of an inkling of what it does.
Jeff Ridgeway
Bringing in a new employee, I feel like without counting them, there's like 20 different resources that we have to set up the user profiles and give them access to ranging anywhere from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to the FBI to various intelligence resources that we're able to provide them, again, the goal being there that they can read that information on to the first responders.
James Bell
And I also thought it was it was pretty cool. They had, they had some entertainment going on, they had a TV show playing as well, because there is there's those times I imagine in a dispatch center where you're you're got a little bit of a lull, but then it's like you got to be ready to go on a moment's notice
Jeff Ridgeway
Definitely has its ups and downs, there's moments of where the phones don't ring, perhaps more often than the early morning hours. And so there are moments where there are that downtime. And so to help get them through that downtime, we do have some opportunities, or we got a couple TV screens that are up on the wall, just they typically just have the video going they normally don't have much audio there. But but they all recognize that even though that's there, that phone rings, that's that's your focus on that. And it's a quick transition over and they're never seen there being an issue as far as not getting things done that they need to get done. And but you just have to recognize that it's not constant all the time something go go go there is some downtime. So to help break up that those downtimes we do provide some alternatives to help them.
James Bell
Yeah, and I had to imagine it helps keep focus because you know, if you're zoning out, I think that would probably be the worst kind of situation just sitting there waiting for something to happen at your desk. You know, you have to be in that mind frame at all times. Right.
Jeff Ridgeway
I mean, I don't think it's fair to expect anybody to just to sit there for hours and during those quiet times and just wait for the phone and you've you've, I mean, there's other tasks that they have that they'll take care of too, but I think we have realistic expectations on that aspect.
James Bell
And I think, you know, Jim, generally across the city, I think everybody recognizes the tremendous work that they all do down there.
Jeff Ridgeway
Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. Well,
James Bell
I'll tell you, we've got just about a minute or so left. Any other last thoughts or anything you want to hit on before we go?
Jeff Ridgeway
Well, again, I just want to express an appreciation to our staff down there, they're a great staff. They, even when we've been short handed over the last couple months, and they'll come in on their days off to help cover if someone is ill. It's just a great team that we've got down here and I really, the community has, I feel very lucky to have such an awesome staff that we have here. And it's really it's really great to to be able to work with such a great crew and a great staff and know what the expectations have the skill set that they need and translates very well into our first responder system. Very effective at what they're doing.
On this episode of the Weekend Setlist host Jeffery Leiker details events around the Hays area this weekend.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber vice president of membership Rhonda Meyerhoff and administrative assistant, Marlis Fletcher stop by to share information about upcoming Dale Carnegie training sessions.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The Hays Chamber has a couple of Dale Carnegie leadership training sessions coming up in the near future administrative assistant Marlas Fletcher as well as vice president of membership, Rhonda Meyerhoff stops by to talk to us about that and more on this episode of the post podcast.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Marla's has taken the session. So she's still currently smart. I'm not.
James Bell
Well, you're getting in on this round. Right?
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
I am very cool. Yes.
Marlis Fletcher
Yeah. You're excited about it? Yeah.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Yeah. I'm very excited about it.
James Bell
Yeah. And I know, this is one of, you know, Sarah is the president and CEO down there. She loves Dale Carnegie's, she's always talking about these things.
Marlis Fletcher
Yeah, it's a great, great experience. And we've actually got two different workshops coming up. The first one's April 29, from 930 to 1130. It's the same day as our membership lunch. So you can sign up for this. It's self awareness, insights on personal leadership. And then right after that you can, and it's $50 for Chamber members and 60 for non members. So anybody can come. And right after that, you can come to our membership lunch, so it's same place just starts at noon. So you're right there, and you can hit both. Both things at one stop. Yeah, convenient. But they do. This is just a one day one. And I've never been to like a one day one. But you know, this one is you're going to be able to learn techniques to enhance your self awareness. So any training that Dale Carnegie, Carnegie puts on is good. But I'm especially excited to be able to go to this one.
James Bell
Yeah, because I think we've talked about the the longer training sessions, a bit of a one day event, because I think about like the time commitment involved in in taking a long session. You know, maybe not everybody has that. But I think everybody could carve out an afternoon. Well, it's
Marlis Fletcher
930 to 1130. Morning, you know, it's the morning and then yeah,
James Bell
don't show up in the afternoon, because you will you will miss the event.
Marlis Fletcher
You will. But yeah, that's pretty cool. Yeah. So then after that, we're having the June 7 14th and 21st. It's Tuesdays for three consecutive weeks, we're having the full Dale Carnegie training. For non Chamber members, the cost is $1,995. But you get a 15% discount if you're a chamber member. So it is from 830 to five, each of those days, they do break an hour for lunch on your own. And this is the one I took. And I really, really enjoyed it. I learned a lot about me, I learned a lot about how to deal with people. You do get three books. And I have them in front of me. And one is How to Win Friends and Influence People
James Bell
the classic right? That's the one that started it all.
Marlis Fletcher
It says over 30 million copies sold. But I bet you it's probably more than that
James Bell
it does the cover looks and not say it's an old book, but the cover looks like an older version. So I bet it's considerably higher than that now,
Marlis Fletcher
I bet it is too. And then How to Stop Worrying and start living. And who wouldn't want that? Yeah,
James Bell
I was just gonna say like, maybe looking to borrow that one.
Marlis Fletcher
This one, Sarah. Sure. And then the quick and easy way to effective speaking.
James Bell
Ah, very cool. I could use that one as well, I think here on the radio. Oh, you do pretty good. But
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
yeah, it's been really interesting, though. Because people that have taken it just, I mean, they go back to it and go back to go back to in their workplace and their personal life. Right?
Marlis Fletcher
That's right. Like, I actually have somebody in my life who had taken that does not live in Hayes. But they took it from the same. He took it from the same people. And he has a very good job. And he claims that he got his job because he had the Dale Carnegie training while he went through his interview well, so
James Bell
yeah, it's gonna be the kind of stuff that, you know, I haven't been involved. But I imagine that the stuff that is discussed and talked about and it's actionable, it's, it's not and I think maybe people will balk at the price, because it is a hefty price tag it is but what you're gonna get out of it, you're gonna build us in any job for the rest of your life.
Marlis Fletcher
Oh, personal and professional. So, you know, each each session each each of his chapters you he has different principles. And like the first principle that you're going to learn if you read How to Win friends and influence people is don't criticize, condemn or complain. And you know, that's a pretty good life lesson there itself. So it gives you it gives you it'll give you instances where different things have happened and how this person handled it or should have handled it in the book. And it's it's just a really interesting learning experience. Yeah.
James Bell
And getting in it's actionable content, right. It's not, you know, it's not like a lecture on how to be leaders. or do leadership? Well, it's stuff you can take and actually use
Marlis Fletcher
apply, apply. That's before
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
you, you know, one thing on here that I'm really anxious to apply. I'm getting it that wonderful age where people's names sometimes elude me. But that's actually that doesn't
James Bell
happen to everybody all the time, because I was gonna say, the listeners here on the show can tell you, every once in a while I forget the news guy's name like I see him every day.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Well, one of the things that you'll work on is the process to recall names and facts. And I'm really, I'm happy about that. Because I've told friends, if we go somewhere, and I don't introduce it, it's because I can't remember the other person's name. You know, it's just yeah. So that is for sure. actionable. It's so embarrassing. When you can't recall someone's name.
James Bell
But better. I mean, and in your world, though, how many people do you interact with an average? I mean, you're just all over the place. And there's so many people you want to you want to remember every name, but sometimes it's
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
one of those individuals isn't important. Personal. Absolutely. They deserve to be called by the right of the right name. Yes, yeah. So yeah, that's three days,
Marlis Fletcher
it is three days, June 7 14th, and 21st. And it's really all day 830 to five.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
there last year, there was a group that came up from Dodge City, Kansas.
Marlis Fletcher
There were they all worked at a it wasn't a feedlot, but it was something cattle related. Yeah. And they were fun. We had a lot of fun with them. Very cool.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
You know, yeah. And you talk about actionable items. You know, just strengthening relationships. We all think we might be good at that. But sometimes you used to do something so well that you forgot to do it anymore. And I don't know if that makes sense. But I'm old enough that, you know, things that you used to do, you just kind of let slip off the radar, because something else came in and took its place. Sure. Um, so that'll be that'll be good to look at that. And, you know, just all the different things that I saw Marlis grow a lot. In taking this.
Marlis Fletcher
It does, it gives you a lot of confidence, you know, to speak to a person that you don't know, or in public, it just gives you a lot of confidence. I felt like this has confidence, competence and enthusiasm. But I really felt like the competent. The confidence was the big one for me.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Yeah, you know, and James, yeah, a price tag, not cheap. But for, for our own Chamber members. You know, we surveyed them, that was still yet when Tammy was at the chamber. And one of the things that our businesses wanted is, they wanted to be able to provide training for their employees, but not have to send them to salon to which taught Kansas City to Denver. And so that's part of the reason why they brought Dale Carnegie here. So what I would like to share with our local individuals, yeah, there's a price tag, but you're gonna get to save on gasoline, your hotel, you're gonna get to save even more time, because you would spend time traveling to these locations. So that's more time out of the office. So there's actually a lot of good reasons why to take it here. Why to take it local, and put some money into your people. Surveys will show too, that employees really respect a business more and their employer more if they feel like they're valued, and that they have put some money back into the person, aside from their wages, invested time and skills. Yeah, absolutely.
James Bell
And, you know, and talk about a time when when keeping and retaining people is paramount. I mean, everybody is looking for help. And right now, if you're losing employees, you've got problems.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Absolutely. You know, and if you want to look at succession planning, maybe you're in that middle age group, and you're kind of thinking that someday, you'd like to retire, maybe it's your own business, maybe you're at the top and CEO or president or whatever, or some other position. What a great way to start grooming the next person coming in. By having them do some of this training, and actually preparing them to take on leadership within your within your company or your business. You'll not only gain from this succession planning, but you'll gain during the time that they're there supporting you while you're still there.
James Bell
Absolutely. You know, and I will say this I have spoken to I don't know how many over the years people that have been through these training classes and I've never heard anyone say my I didn't feel like it was worth it. They everybody that comes out of this has has just nothing but positive to say,
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
well, and I'm excited to get to take it because when they do the Dale Carnegie quotes, I might be able to do one too.
James Bell
Oh. So you know, we've we've run out of time, we should tell everybody like how if somebody is interested in participating in one of these sessions, where do they do?
Marlis Fletcher
So you can call us at the chamber, and we'll give you the information, the phone number is 6288201. And we'll we'll send you the the sheet on it. We can email it to you.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Yeah, we'll send you a registration link to and, and get you going. We'll help you through the process. If there's questions, we'll do the best we can.
Marlis Fletcher
And we have it in our newsletters. We've had it in like the last two newsletters, I think so.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Yeah. And those newsletters that our listeners want to know, all of our newsletters are actually online. If they go to Hayes chamber.com Go to News and Events tab at the top, go click to the right. And there's a section that's newsletters. So James, they could look in the March newsletter or the April newsletter, either one and learn more about both of these subjects that are coming up. Individuals maybe don't receive the newsletter.
James Bell
Sure. Yeah. And you know, like and that online interface is so slick. i We still have we always have the paper version floating around. But I love the online. And plus, you can always reference it no matter where you are. You're on your phone, you're at your desk, you're at home, you can just click over there and get all the information you need.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Yes, exactly. And it's easy for us to share.
James Bell
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Well, all right, guys. We got just about a minute or so left, what else you guys got going on this week.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
All righty. We are going to be having a ribbon cutting already at 10 o'clock this morning. We are going to celebrate, there's been a turf project out at Hayes rec on their their sports complex fields on the northeast quad. And we're going to be doing a ribbon cutting. We believe that's going to make a huge change and then being able to have teams in every weekend, spending money in haste and helping the economy but yeah, we're gonna celebrate with haste wreck on that with at the bagel, Schmidt sports complex. And then on tomorrow is going to be Mental Health First Aid training. And that is the free of them. But they do want to know if you're going to be there that so if you'd like to attend that call the chamber. And that event is from eight to five tomorrow, and it's going to be a brief space. And there's also on Thursday, then H yp advisory council meeting at the Welcome Center that starts at 515 April 14. Also, you know, James, one of our big projects that we're working on that I think will be ours forever, and we're happy about that is childcare and so it's going to be in Victoria, and it's the prospective and current childcare provider meeting. And that will be from 630 to 730 at the ELMS conference room 613 grant terrace. And then I want you all to know, we are very blessed Friday the chamber team has off. They don't have us work on Good Friday. So we get to have that day off and and go into work Friday things with our church family. So that's what's going on this week.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Jonathan Zweygardt recap this week's Ellis County Commission meeting with County Administrator Darin Myers.
Transcript: EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
This week's Ellis County Commission meeting was a busy one. Hays Post reporter Jonathan Zweygardt recaps that meeting with County Administrator Darinn Meyers, on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Jonathan Zweygardt
We're gonna talk a little bit about yesterday's meeting. And then also, obviously, with kind of some of the fire dangers, your position as the fire chief, we can talk about that as well. But as far as the last night's meeting, kind of the busy meeting from last night, so that had a couple of presentations and a couple of different things. We'll kind of chat about some of those last night DSC Wk with Jerry Michaud, their director, and then presidents and then also with access. And when Chris came before the commission yesterday, I was kind of curious, they kind of, you know, providing their annual update to the commission, talking about obviously, with TSN DVK. staffing issues a big deal. I didn't know if there was anything in particular that kind of stood out from their presentation yesterday, as they gave a report to the commission.
Darin Myers
I think there's several things that point out, that if you look at the commission meetings for the last several months, as well as the ones that are coming up, last year, in the budget cycle session with the Commission, they had requested all the outside agencies who with funding from the county come back and kind of give updates periodically throughout the year. So that's why you're seeing a lot of them at the commission meetings, explaining where they're at with their organization where the funding has went to and where they've kind of progressed and, you know, coming out of COVID what their plans are. And last night DSM Wk Jerry gave a pretty good update on where they're at. Seems like a similar problem. There's not enough workers and they're not being paid, not being paid enough, and how are we going to figure out how to pay them. But there's also I think, the biggest point that really stuck out to me, and they have individuals out there, I can't remember how long the waiting list was. But they were on that waiting list individuals for over 10 years now waiting to get services from DSM Wk, not just because of the funding, but because they don't have the level of supporters within their organization to take care of them because they can't find that in the workforce. So I think that was the biggest thing that stuck out with the SW K. And it's it's an important service to our community, but all of Northwest Kansas for the entire area that they serve.
Jonathan Zweygardt
You said he said since 2012, and I think it was commissioner Schleicher asked, you know, Is it money? Or is it staffing and Jerry said if if we found a whole bunch of money, we'd still have the issue because of staffing. And, and you're the county is right in that kind of same boat, it seems like everybody's dealing with staffing issues. Yep. And then also with access, the County Commission works with them through grant support, because the large share of their funding comes from grant support through k dot and the Commission, a lot of times, it's asked to just sign on for supports through grants for access.
Darin Myers
And one of their biggest grants that they get for their funding source. track a lot of things from the amount of people that they transport with their their their set fees are from the state, how many miles they drive, but a lot of their funding comes on at 20 Grant, or if they get $20. And matching funds here locally, for instance, from the county commission, that can eat up 20% of what they get. They get the other 80% from the grant from the federal government. So it's a smart investment of money that there's a need for that public transportation throughout the county. And I was surprised by their rates $2 for an in person drop or in town drop off and $4 anywhere in the county. And that's in line throughout the entire state, which is us amount set by the I believe k.is What he said, so significantly cheaper than taking a taxi or an Uber. And sometimes the services of those larger vans for the people in need of those types of services for wheelchair bound and such are so great option. And we need that for our community.
Jonathan Zweygardt
And I know you kind of hit on it with the presentations. You know, this kind of leads into that last line item on the on the agenda from yesterday is the budget forecast. And, you know, there's a lot of numbers and a lot that goes into that. So but this is the start of that conversation that commission is hearing from these different outside agencies that the Commission partners with and provides funds for. And that's kind of, you know, along the line with this budget process, which you're just now starting for, believe it or not 2023. And so that kind of is your reasoning, why and, and kind of going into that.
Darin Myers
Yeah, the budget cycles, it's a little bit shorter this year, the process is a little different than we've done in the past. But the commission, you know, one of their things that they had really emphasized last year was if we're giving outside agencies those funding, we'd like to know where it's going and so that way it's justifiable and understandable to the public of those taxpayer dollars going to help organizations like DSN Wk or High Plains mental health or economic development with grow haze A lot of those have immediate results and impacts coming back to our community for those, those dollars that we give them.
Jonathan Zweygardt
I know last night, speaking of the budget kind of laid out, so with the Commission, the schedule of how the budget process will go, and I know next week, which I assume will spend a lot of our next couple of months talking about the budget through August and into September for 2023. That he kind of laid out the the schedule, and so next week, you'll kind of get maybe more of a direction as far as how the commission wants to go with department heads and kind of their direction for them.
Darin Myers
Yep. So we spent a little last night I know, you couldn't see the numbers on the screen. But it was basically just how that the lines progressed on if you made a change with salaries or if you made a change with valuations, you made a change with health insurance or a combination of both. It shows you on how inflation and change in how services are going to impact the impact of over the next 10 years, a lot of that is the sales tax that was passed back in 2020. Once that expires, come 2030. The county is right in the same financial piece that it was back before then. So it's not that we emphasize what the commissioner has made sure we're making smart choices now not necessarily for 2023. But what's 2033 look like? Make sound investments now spend the money where it needs to be now. So that way we're looking at what 2020 or 2030 2033 looks like. And yeah, those kick off the budget process next week. With the information we shared last night, hopefully there'll be able to individually think about it and make some discussions, we have a have a discussion next week at the commission meeting as to what direction they'd like to see the department heads and elected officials put in their budget for for next year.
Jonathan Zweygardt
And like I said, I know we're gonna be talking about this, you know, until September, but you talked about those numbers. And I thought it was interesting to see how different things change and you made the comment, you're talking about inflation, and valuation, healthcare. If one of those changes, you know, even just a salaries, for instance, if you if one of those things change just a percentage plus or minus, it makes a great impact on, you know, not only next year, but also there 10 years from now. But also what happens if two or three of those things are four or five of those things change that, you know, while we don't know what the future looks like, you know, that's still important to make good financial decisions. Because of the, you know, there are some things you just don't know you can't control. And so that's something that you said the commission has to look for.
Darin Myers
Yeah, one of the easiest things that you can look at when you look at a forecast like that is you can look at the history and guarantee almost everything you buy now is more expensive, or everything you do now is more expensive than it was when you were a kid. So nothing's ever gonna get cheaper 10 years from now, hardly anything's gonna be cheaper than it is now. And just look at the gas prices two years ago, we were under $2 an hour. We were pushing. We were on vacation two weeks ago, we paid the highest at 486. Out in Illinois. So a lot of those play big, big impacts on the budget and all those little pieces combined. Make make up a big portion of where we need to look out into the future and just be smart with those dollars that way. We're just more financially sound.
Jonathan Zweygardt
And there were a handful other things we wanted to quickly hit on but one of the things that I was gonna ask because I think you brought it up last night, the mill levy, when was the last time that the Commission raised the mill levy, obviously, it changes due to valuations. And there's some things outside of the Commission's control. It just happens because that's how it works with valuations. But as far as a real middle of a change, you know, when the last time that happened by the Commission was or that commission.
Darin Myers
I had it on piece of paper last night I look back for the last 15 years and 15 years ago and there's a big misinterpretation with the mill levy extra is everybody thinks that the mill levy sets the budget and that's not necessarily the case. It's a combination of what your valuations are for your property compared to what the budget is. And then that kind of helps determine what the mill levy is. Valuations go up your budget stays the same your mill levy goes down. If you're if your mill levy goes up, your valuations go up, your taxes go up so there's so many different pieces to that. And then you also got to look just for instance, the city Hayes, believe the overall mill levy is 110 mills. The county collects 100% of that, but we don't keep hardly any of it. You have about 40 mills that goes to school districts you have 25 or so mills that goes to the city Hayes Ellis County is only 36. And then you got the fire district on where yours at Sometimes if you're over an LLC that LSP Levy, so we're only the Ellis County government is only about a third of what you pay in your property taxes for the city Hays residents. A little bit less than in the others because the mill levies are different analysis Victoria. But yeah, it's it Where's actually changes more, we basically focus more on the budget. So if our budget say this year is 24 million, they basically give us the direction that yeah, we would like to see the budget stay the same, because we have no impact on what the valuations or the evaluations or what the homes are come across is what the markets doing. Everybody knows what the market is in Hays right now. There's no homes for sale, the homes are selling 10 to 15 20% higher than what the appraised values are. And people are paying that price when those prices go up supply and demand. Low supply the demand is high that people pay more. Eventually our appraisals by state statute have to catch up to that. So the middle of has basically been the same essentially for the last seven years. It's it hovers we can't keep it essentially the exact same because the valuations changed the budget changes which changes the mill levy, but it's it's been I think I said last night, the last seven years, there's only been six tenths of a mil difference from where it was seven years ago, which in the overall grand scheme of things when your overall mill levy for the city Hays area. It's 110 Mills, seven tenths of a mil is pretty minimal.
Jonathan Zweygardt
Yeah, very good. Well, I'm sure talk about that more as the budget process just getting started for 2023. A couple of other things yesterday, the HVAC work and the admin center already underway with Glassman corporation that was just kind of a final approval last night for the commission.
Darin Myers
Yep, the US that I believe they prove that work and the purchase order back in February. So they're getting started on that. And it's going to be about a nine month process. Working through going back to how salaries and the workforce are shortages, it's the same thing. And in the supply arena, there's about a 20 week lead time, I think 20 to 24 week lead time before we get a lot of the equipment for that so they got a lot of prep work cleaning, replacing some fan coil units throughout the building some rooftop units. There's a lot of work that goes into that. So though, you'll see Glassman down the administrative building for the next nine months quite a bit.
Jonathan Zweygardt
Very good. And I know there are a couple of other things but you know, before we get out I wanted to make sure obviously in your role as the fire chief, you repeat to the weather before we got on and you know today's another Dangerous fire weather day and it looks like with the lack of moisture in that 10 day that you know we got to kind of keep an eye on that for the next handful of days after dealing with that before as well.
Darin Myers
Yeah, I know when you're asking me about speaking about this this morning you had a couple of people knocking on wood last night that nothing pops up. We've been fortunate last week with three or four days of fire weather last week that we didn't have anything locally we had some smaller fires. We also assisted out of county on a fire up in Brooks county but it's happening all around us still it's just not hit home yet. If you didn't see last week at that fire North Norton up in Nebraska the volunteer fire chief up there was killed in a car accident because driving through smoke and hidden one of the other fire vehicles very unfortunate so my my guess my thoughts and sympathies out to that would fire department up in Nebraska but here we are again a week later. At Red Flag Warning today it looks like it's going to proceed for the next several days the burn ban in the county is still in place. So there is no outside burning, except for what's allowed within the burn ban. And like you said I looked at the weather because I do that about about every day and you know how the weather changes in Kansas but the next 10 days there's chances for moisture but as I showed you the highest chance was 40% sometime over the weekend but he said point 04 inches and then the way the wind blows that'll be gone within two hours after the wind blows when it stops raining. So for the next 10 days it doesn't look like we're gonna see any good chances or moisture but hopefully, like I say as the weather changes we'll get something sooner than later. I don't like having the Birdman in place I like it off and getting plenty of moisture but I just hope everybody's careful out there. tire chains up on your trailer so they're not dragging don't throw your cigarettes out don't do any outside burning recreational chimineas firepits anything we we have fires that actively start back up in the wind that had been out for two weeks from brush piles and people burning trees and branches. So that's that's kind of why that burn plan is in place right now and even after a little bit of rainfall because those those winds can torch up a fire and Start things but if you see something, don't be afraid to call 911 If you have something call 911 Immediately, the faster we get resources out there, even if we've come to find out there's nothing on fire there's no issue at least we got to help them. There's no harm in turning people around in the past week, get people there is the faster you'll be on top of things and less damage and destruction.
On this epidsode of the Post Podcast, Hays Public Library communications coordinator Callie Kolacny shares the latest from the library.
Transcript:
EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell It's a busy spring as they get ready for an even busier summer at the Hays Public Library, Communications Coordinator, Callie Kolacny, and he stops by to share with us the latest from the Hays Public Library on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Callie Kolacny National Poetry Month. And we really liked poetry at the library. So we've got several programs coming up. We had the Kansas Poet Laureate at the library last Saturday, so this past weekend to do a poetry reading and that went really well. It was really great to have him here in Hays, and then coming up on the 18th. So next Monday is haiku poetry days, you can come and present some haiku poetry listen to other haiku poetry that will be at five o'clock on Monday, the 18th. Then we also, of course, have our annual poetry contest. This is the 22nd year for the poetry contest, it will be on April 22, at 6pm. In the last two years, because of the pandemic, we did an online version of this, but we're back to in person now. So you will bring your original poem, and you can only do one poem. So bring your original poem, please bring four copies of that poem. Present that at the library. It'll start at 6pm on the 22nd. And it'll be judged and the winners will, there'll be some prizes for the winners, all poetry that submitted will be printed into the journal mirrors, which is a journal of all the poetry. This is for ages 16 and older, as I said, one poem, one original poem, and come and join us on April 22. Evening of your don't write poetry, just come and listen and find out there's amazing poets in this community.
James Bell Truly, truly, there is, you know, I So are they gonna, if you if you're wanting to participate, then when do you have to read the poet poem out loud? Or to the group? Or can you sneak
Callie Kolacny in and just sneak it in? I think that they want you to present it. I don't know if that is an actual requirement or not. I didn't ask that question. So I'm not positive on that. I think that the the goal is to have you present your poetry, and also bring other poetry because there'll be a period of time when when everybody's done before the judges have decided that there's gonna be an open mic. So, you know, bring some other poetry, whether it's yours or somebody else's, just bring some other poetry to, to read and entertain.
James Bell Yeah, very cool. And you know, if you ever been to a poetry reading, I know, I know, when I think about it. I think about poetry readings, I remember back to college going through sent some really dull stuff, but these are, these are fun. My wife, who's an English teacher, you know, she works with the English group down there, and they do poetry stuff all the time. And they just have a blast. It's crazy how much fun they have.
Callie Kolacny Yeah, I mean, some of its serious. Some of it's funny, you just never know what you're going to get. So it's very entertaining.
James Bell Absolutely. And again, that's coming up on April 22. At six o'clock, the Haiku Poetry Day.
Callie Kolacny April 18. Yes, at five o'clock. Very cool.
James Bell You've also got a for those kiddos. I think you're in contests coming up, right?
Callie Kolacny Yeah, we are partnering with cost of the High Plains. April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. And so we decided to do a coloring contest just to recognize this month. And so we are providing the, we're the location where you pick up the coloring sheets, everybody's going to do the same picture. And then we'll have three age groups, zero to five, six to 11 and 12, to 18. And so you pick up your sheets, you have to have them returned to the library by April 22. And they will be displayed at the spring Artwalk on April 30. There will be winners classes, providing gift baskets for each of the age groups, for the winners in those age groups. And it's just it's a great way we love to partner with community organizations. So we're very proud to partner with Casa on this project.
James Bell Yeah, that's awesome what and when you talk about an impactful and worthwhile organization who Casa those the what they do is is tremendously demanding but also very, very much needed.
Callie Kolacny Yes, very much so and so and that you know, they're right across the street from the libraries though it's a great partnership with them and so we're really happy to work with them and hope that we get lots of people come come pick up your the coloring sheet it is you find them on the second floor, there's some of the children's desks and some of the why a desk and come pick them up. Just make sure that you have them returned by April 22. So that we can judge them the next week and we'll have some winners and everything will be announced later that that next week.
James Bell Very cool. Very cool. Well now moving on into some of the regular events going on. I love these these making sense of and you got a pretty cool one coming up. Oh goodness is this tonight?
Callie Kolacny Tomorrow? Tomorrow? Yep. Tomorrow making sense of mushrooms with professors Mike from professors is going to be there to talk about the mushrooms that they grow, figuring out how to teach you how to grow them, how to cook with them, just different things you can do with mushrooms, so making sense of mushrooms, with professors will be at tomorrow at 530. It'll be at the it's at the library, not at professors. And that's a library. So yeah, that it'll be a fun these, these programs have been great. And they've been well attended and so excited to have another one, we are going to continue them through the summer as well. So we're, we're excited to have more of these programs. So that'll be tomorrow night at 530. And then we're having DIY seasonings on Thursday night at six o'clock. So you can learn how to make your own seasoning mixtures and things like that. We'll have our painting class. So that'll be April 19, at 6pm. So that's next week, then we're going to have a viewing of everything is illuminated, followed by a discussion on April 24. At 6pm. It's for this month is also Holocaust remembrance. And so this is a program that is based on that. So everything is illuminated will be followed by discussion by Amber nickel. She's the one that did our Ukrainepresentation.
James Bell She joined us on the show here last week.
Callie Kolacny Yeah, and the Holocaust is one also one of her areas of expertise. So she will be in following are leading that discussion of that viewing. We will have a family storytime on April 23 at 10 a m, that's a great opportunity for people who are working during the week and can't come to storytimes with their kiddos, this is a nice Saturday for them to come to a storytime that'll be again April 23. At 10am. We also have the as I said, the spring Artwalk will be April 30, we'll have some that's going to be another Saturday all day come and go thing throughout downtown Hayes. So we will have some jazz music for an hour at 130 to 230. So you can come and enjoy some jazz music at the library while you're doing the spring Art Walk. Of course, Star Wars Day May the fourth so we always do something for Star Wars days. So we'll have some kind of a program at four o'clock on May the fourth and then we've got a program, the Hayes Arts Council is bringing this group to town laughing matters. And they're going to do a presentation at the library. It's a variety show, that'll be on May the fifth at 6:30pm.
James Bell Awesome, awesome. You can find about more about these events, you have a really pretty cool calendar on your website, right?
Callie Kolacny We do we have a great calendar on the website, just go to his library.org. And up at the top, there's events and then go to the calendar. That's the one that's updated all the time. We also have these our program booklets. And, of course, the the one that we did, it was January through April. So it's you know, almost the end of that one. So put together the summer one is more of a magazine style, it's a little bit bigger than the other ones have been because we have a lot of programs coming up in the summer. So that will be coming out later this month. So be on the lookout for that. And that is also available on the website. So you can you can still find the one that's for this current time period on the website. But then this new one will be on there as well.
James Bell Very cool. You mentioned the summer is coming up, are you going to have your Beanstack challenges coming back as well are the summer challenge.
Callie Kolacny You know, some people just call us, you know, summer reading, but it's more than just reading. So we kind of call ours the summer challenge. It is coming up registration will begin may 1, and you can register through Beanstack or at the library. But you do have to register in order to be eligible to win any of the prizes. So we'll talk a lot more about this next month. But do want to let people know this is coming up. You can register beginning meet may 1, if you need help with the Beanstack in the online things, just talked to the staff at the library. We know how to do this, how to get you set up, we'd be happy to create your account for you. But it's gonna be a lot of fun. The theme this year is oceans of possibilities. So a lot of things about oceans, which is not very, you know, common around here, obviously. But it's fascinating. And it's interesting. We're doing a big project with the Sternberg museum as well. So I'll have more information on that next month. So just be ready. Be ready for summer challenge.
James Bell Very cool. Look forward to hearing about that one. Now. We got a holiday coming up. Is it gonna affect your hours down there at the library as we do close?
Callie Kolacny For Good Friday, we close at noon. So this coming Friday, we will be closing at noon and then we will be closed on Sunday for Easter. We will be open on Saturday though so you can still come on Saturday but close Friday at noon and all day on Sunday.
James Bell Okay, so make that note. If you're looking to head down to library Friday and Saturday, you're gonna have those limited hours. All righty, Kelly, well, we've got just about 30 seconds or so left. If people want to find out more about what's going on to library what's the best way for him to do so.
Callie Kolacny Follow us on social media. I try to post a lot of stuff on social media about what's coming up. So Facebook, Twitter and Instagram just look for his public library. Also, the website has lots of information. He's library.org. As I said, you can get those event calendars and just other things on the website. And if you need information you want to talk to somebody 6259014 Is the phone number happy to talk to you
James Bell Very good Callie as always thanks for joining us great to see us.
Callie Kolacny Everybody have a wonderful Easter.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares information about the recently completely Imagine Ellis County town halls meetings that solicted feedback from Ellis County residents about their ideas for the future.
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On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University associate professor of History Amber Nickell shares the background and history behind the recent hostilities in Ukraine.
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On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University associate vice president for Student Affairs Dennis King and Hays Academy of Hair Desgin owner Len Melvin stop by to share information about their new partnership program.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger talk about internships with the chamber's Fort Hays State University, Dane G. Hansen Foundation intern Avary Huff.
Transcript James Bell
Internships can be valuable for both businesses and students. Hayes chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger along with their Fort Hays State University, Dane G. Hansen, intern Avary Huff stopped by to talk to us a little bit about internships and Avery's experience that the Hays Chamber on this episode of the post podcast.
Sarah Wasinger
Oh, you had a pretty unique place that you came from before you join our chamber. Do you want to talk a little bit about your experience last semester before we jump into some other things?
Avary Huff
Sure, Sara. So last semester, I was actually studying abroad in Spain. Wow. I was there from the end of August to the middle of January. And I really got to learn about tourism in Spain since that is my major. I was really putting it into that real word world perspective, and also working on my Spanish. So had a blast over there.
James Bell
I mentioned it's hard to not have a good time hanging out in Europe.
Sarah Wasinger
Yeah, absolutely. A lot of good fish. I wouldn't call the fried sardines. Good fish. But we talked a little bit about that. Like, what was the weirdest thing she ate the definitely the best food over there.
James Bell
I think you may have been going to the wrong restaurants, just fried sardines. But that's very cool. That's very cool. Um, so yeah, you're over here at the chamber. Now, what does an intern do at the chamber.
Avary Huff
So I've only been there for a couple of weeks now. But I've been helping with all the events that have been going on, and just really getting out into the community, whatever's on the calendar for the day, I'm there to help and figure out how I can be best assistance in the office as well.
Sarah Wasinger
So for in another thing that we did, because it's kind of the beginning of the year. So obviously, our board financial reports are approved a month delayed. So Avery even got to experience creating the month by month budget report with me this last week to Yes, we did was very exciting.
Avary Huff
Um, it wasn't the most exciting event I've worked on. But it was definitely a learning experience.
Sarah Wasinger
But we tried to give Avery the opportunity to really witness the gamut of what goes on at the chamber. So obviously, yes, events are a very big part of what we do to feature businesses, but really giving her some ability. The big part of her job will actually start here very soon, because we're going to start preparing for our golf tournament, which is our biggest fundraiser of the year. And that might be a good segue to the question that we were just talking about in the car. What was one of the things that surprised you the most about your last couple of weeks at the chamber?
Avary Huff
Um, there are two things. So the first thing that surprised me is that most of the Chamber's budget does come from dues. So based on dues from members joining, that's how we're able to host events throughout the year, and then also the fast paced environment that happens at the chamber. I don't think I didn't realize that I wouldn't just be working in an office all day. You're really getting out into the community. There's always something going on 24/7
James Bell
Absolutely it sir about that all the time. You guys are always always out in the community almost every day. There's an event that you guys are at, or asmuch running around us.
Sarah Wasinger
I do you think I'd be you know, like a slice for life goals right there. So I just need to go see one of my members to workout.
James Bell
And we've got some new, we've got some new workout options coming up from what I understand as well do we do I'm sure that I'm well, I'm not sure. But I'm imagine that those new ones are going to be Chamber members as well. We have a meeting with them. Okay. Well, now I've jinxed it.
Sarah Wasinger
We'll talk about that when it happens. There you go, there you go. But one of the things that is very important to you that I think a lot of people don't, maybe they have some trepidation for being in a business that has a intern, it doesn't really take a lot of energy, the biggest thing is to make sure you're incorporating them into the day to day, give them a variety of ways that they can be involved. And I think so many times people are like, well, maybe I just don't have time to bring that person along. But Avery, I think has some information to share just based on her experience so far, but this is not your first internship.
James Bell
Is that right?
Avary Huff
No, it's my third. Okay. Wow.
Sarah Wasinger
So why do you recommend internships to students and businesses.
Avary Huff
Um, for students, I would definitely recommend internships because it's a lot different from the knowledge you're learning in the classroom, you actually get to go out and apply it and see how it might not be exactly the same as what you have learned from your professors. So you really just get that real world application of those topics. And you get to learn all those skills to make you more marketable as a student looking for jobs once you graduate. So that's really exciting for this internship opportunity. And then as for the business side of things, I would recommend internships for businesses, because not only are you investing in members of your community, and growing their skill sets, but you're also getting another extra helping hand so they'll help increase your employee productivity throughout the day. And then you really just get to have a fresh new perspective on things because interns are usually students, so they're exposed to different things. They're not in the workforce. So they have different outlooks on things and can definitely bring new ideas to your business.
James Bell
Yeah, and you know what, over the years, I've had some different roles where I've worked with interns, and one of the things that just to speak to that a little bit, one of the things I love is when they bring in like the latest in, because you're in the classroom, you're hearing the latest in academic research in your field, whatever the field might be, and you're now able to bring that directly to a business owner. I mean, that's a resource that they probably don't have time for otherwise.
Avary Huff
Exactly. Exactly. It's a fresh perspective. And it's a real asset, because they are learning that information. It's fresh on top of their mind, and they're able to apply it at your business.
Sarah Wasinger
And specifically speaking about the Dane G. Hanson program, I think that a lot of people forget how affordable it is for the business. It's a $500 investment for about 240 hours. Yeah, 240 hours. So I mean, if you do the math, I mean, I think James is trying to do the math.
James Bell
I came up with a four nine or something, I couldn't do the math, talk either. But no, that that is that's an incredible amount of help and support, you can get $400 That's a pretty good price. And you know, it's a win win. I you know, I mean, I love the Win Win Win situations. And this sounds like exactly.
Sarah Wasinger
And I do have to speak to the fact that when we interview, so each business gets the opportunity to interview, you know, anywhere between four to five students. And each of the students that we interviewed as a chamber staff, we were just blown away from so I mean, you're talking about, you know, the cream of the crop when you're looking at the Dean Johansen interns. So you're getting someone who's already essentially pre vetted by Fort Hays, they know the caliber of the students that are putting into that program. And so it is, you know, kind of like hiring that hidden gem, because you're getting that opportunity to have that fresh perspective that Avery was talking about. But also just, you know, some extra hands on the ground. Yeah. And what better way to give back to a student who might want to find a job in Hays because they love it so much, you know, so it, it can help us build our workforce.
James Bell
Exactly. You know, that I was gonna say that was one of the topics that was discussed last night was keep retaining people here. And what a great way to do it. You know, I imagine like if we got somebody here at Eagle radio, and they they enjoy the position, and then a position is open, like, if that's an obvious choice, and then we know we're not losing them to Denver or Kansas City or salon or wherever.
Sarah Wasinger
Absolutely.
James Bell
Very cool. Well, you know, I just I'm curious, is it just college kids that come through Fort Hays for this program, they don't look for any the high school. So it's it's a imagine you have to be at least a second year college kid to be able to apply? Apply them.
Avary Huff
Right. So the internships are open to all the Fort Hays students. I'm not sure if you're able to do it your first year, maybe the second semester of your first year. But other than that they're open for all the students to apply for.
Sarah Wasinger
And we do also have a haste High School intern Reese liker that we have at the Chamber currently right now too. So I know there are high school opportunities for students. And I think those are usually reserved for seniors as well, since they have a more flexible schedule. But um, yeah, definitely. If you're a business and you have questions, we would be happy to answer those for you. And I know I'm Career Services at Fort Hays State University, obviously would welcome phone calls to learn more about the program.
James Bell
Very cool. Very cool. Well, before we run out of time, sir, we probably should talk about the events going on this week, because you've got a number of things going on. Again, as usual,
Sarah Wasinger
We do. So, our HYP Advisory Council retreat will be this week, Thursday at 5:15pm at the Welcome Center. And Friday, we are very excited. Speaking of Fort Hays State University, our chamber chat will be the tiger gear on Friday, that will be at 9am. At Professor sandwich shop and more, we do have it under good authority that they're going to be drawing for some sweet Tiger gear that day. So you might want to wear your Tiger Gear to that one, as well as just maybe be ready to get a new cool new shirt or something.
James Bell
I love Tiger gear. I need you not to
Sarah Wasinger
We bleed black and gold. Exactly. It's I mean, it might be scary in the medical professions. You know,
James Bell
There's such a vital part of the community and what a cool program to help that, you know, connection.
Sarah Wasinger
Absolutely. And we would be remiss to not remind a few people that chamber checks are always on sale at the chamber. And Valentine's Day is just around the corner. So if you don't know the right gift to get your sweetheart, they can be spent at nearly 500 locations in Ellis counties. So it's not a bad idea. Yeah,
James Bell
There's some beautiful spots downtown. Well, there'd be the spots all over Ross County. But yeah,
Sarah Wasinger
restaurants
James Bell
When I'm let them pick the gift that they want. That's right, I found that that is usually just the easiest thing to do.
Sarah Wasinger
Stay out of the doghouse by a chamber check. or multiple again, another win win win. That's my man. And then the only other thing we really wanted to share was congratulations to our USD 489 School Board for their approval of the bond issue to be put on the ballot in May, our chamber is actually going to be hosting two different opportunities this month specifically, to give folks the opportunity to learn more about what will be included in the bond issue. So superintendent Ron Wilson will actually speak to our HIV connection lunch group on February 15, at noon at thirsties. HIV members if you have not signed up for that lunch yet, please do so today if possible, and then February membership lunch will be February 25 at Rose Garden banquet hall and catering and that was sponsored by Golden Belt Bank and he'll be speaking at noon as well. So definitely make sure that you come ready to learn and he'll be able to ask questions or answer questions.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Arts Council executive director Brenda Meder shares the latest from the Arts Center.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Kansas housing Emergency Rental Assistance program executive director Ryan Vincent.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares the latest from Grow Hays.
Transcript
James Bell
The economic future of Ellis County is up to all of us, Grow Hays executive director, Doug Williams stops by to talk a little bit about some of the initiatives going on in the area concerning economic development on this episode of the Post Podcast. The first one I think we want to talk about, and this was this is topical, this came up last night at the city commission work session, they're talking about a sales tax initiative, as part of their bond issue you want to, before we get into it, just tell everybody a little bit if they don't know what what this entails,
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, obviously, the USD 49 is exploring the possibility of a bond issue to build new schools or improve the schools we have. And there are a couple of ways they can pay for that they can do a bond issue, and that can be levied via property tax, or they can do a combination of property tax, and also, with the city's permission, and with the voters' approval, put it out a portion of it on a sales tax. And so they were approaching the city of Hayes about the concept of a half a cent sales tax locally, within the city of Hays or 49. District, I'm not sure exactly how that works. But that would be a half-cent sales tax levied for 10 years. And the proceeds from that sales tax would go towards retiring the bond issue, along with property tax and that kind of thing. And they illustrated what the property tax would be on a typical home in Hays with the sales tax in place, and then without the sales tax in place.
James Bell
Correct me if I'm wrong, but they tried to do this on the bond issue about eight years ago as well. Right. And if I remember correctly, the sales tax piece did pass it but the Bond didn't.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Right. And so it was moot at that point? Because you've with this one the way they explained it last night and I don't want to steal USD 49 stander, I know they come on here as well. But I'm sure we'll be talking the way they explained it last night was it if the sales tax would pass and the bond issue wouldn't, the sales tax would not go into effect. If the bond issue passed, and the sales tax did not the bond issue would still pass and be carried out. And they would build the new schools and make the improvements and that type of thing. So but the sales tax would be conditioned upon the bond passing? Sure.
James Bell
Now, I think we've talked about this enough in the past, I think both of us I think our opinions are pretty clear that generally, whether it be this bond or a different bond or some way or another, we're going to have to fix those facilities. But what I'm curious about is your thoughts on is the sales tax, a good way to do that? Because I think about the trade area or the 1.7 pull or pull factor that we have for the local economy. I wonder, do you think of that impacts that?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
I think it is a good way to do it? Does it impact that maybe a little bit. But if you look, the thing you have to look at is regionally how our sales tax compares to other places where people would go and shop. And we're right in line, even with a half a percent bump, we were below our peer communities in western Kansas, in central Kansas, before the city, the county passed their half-cent sales tax that took it from 8.25 to 8.75. This would take it from 8.75 to nine and a quarter. Still within the norm of communities our size, so I don't see a lot of harm in that. And it would soften the blow for the property taxpayers have within USD 489. So I think it's a good way to do it. There will be some complaints from remote areas and local areas. You know, I I just because it's a sales tax doesn't mean you're not going to pay something, you're just gonna pay it in smaller increments and that kind of thing. And so but that, you know, as we've talked many times before, and we will many times in the future until this is playing itself out. We have kicked the can down the road as far as we can kick it in regard to our schools, and we have to do something. And this is a good way to do it. It makes it more affordable for the typical taxpayer. And, and it does spread the cost of those schools over some other communities of which, you know, when we pay our state property taxes here, we pay for other community schools because they get some funding that we don't. So it's not like we're picking on everybody from out of town. We're just kind of leveling the playing field. And I think Ron Wilson pointed that out last night.
James Bell
Okay. You know, I think about too, you know, part of the discussions that I've heard is, you know, the facilities, we don't have the facilities we need to do, you know, tournaments and things where we'd bring groups of people in and those kinds of events. You know, they do have a regional impact. I think about people stopping for gas in Russell or walking on the way here, hopefully, they spend their money here. But you know, they're going to some of those folks hit those little towns coming into Hays.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
They are and then more people we get into the community for all types of events, the better, you know, potentially fills up hotel rooms that people buy gas, they buy dinner, they maybe go and buy things at Walmart to the mall or wherever they shop and Home Depot. So activity generates additional dollars and facilities help that for sure. And then just the general overcrowding situations we have within our schools right now, you know, we're over capacity in a couple of them. And, and, and the fact that the way people, the way teachers teach and the way kids learn today is much different than the traditional classrooms. And unfortunately, we're still stuck in that traditional classroom mode because of the facilities we have. But yeah, I think I think all of that would add to economic activity for the area.
James Bell
Yeah. And we talked about this in the past, I mean, the economic impact to these bonds is is huge, both on the front end of the people, we can't get into Hayes, because of the status of the facilities or the way that they look. And, you know, into the future, that workforce, the how that all comes together into one thing, and it's all not good if we can't get people here?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, exactly. It's a key component of our economy and our local community. And, you know, we have to make investments. And as I said, Didn't will continue to say, in my opinion, the cost of not passing a bond is far greater than the cost of the bond itself. And I think if we look at what the consequences are if we don't pass a bond and improve our schools, we will suffer accordingly. And it's harder to quantify for sure. But we will suffer and we will end up, in the long run, paying more than what we're paying for the actual bond term.
James Bell
Now, I know I imagine one that this is going to be one of the topics of conversation of this town hall that's coming up on Monday, the Imagine Ellis County, town hall, right, get the right word. But that's gonna be an opportunity for folks to come in and talk about issues like this, right?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
It is, Imagine Ellis County was formed to try and take a look at Dallas County, what we want to look like in 510 2030 years, and to identify areas where we may have some challenges and as well as identify our strengths. And we have spent some time talking to business owners and community leaders, organization leaders as to what their challenges are, and, and obviously, educational facilities come up all the time, as does housing, as does childcare, and workforce and all of those things. But now, we're trying to engage the community members to see if they have any specific thoughts and ideas, basically. And so that's what our town hall meeting is about. We want to share what we have found from the business community and the organizations we have talked to, and then also get feedback from community members as to what they would like to see what their vision might be. And put those two together. So this is our first town hall meeting, we plan to try and have them in Victoria analysis in the coming months. And then we're putting out a community survey this summer, that will try and address some of these issues and get input from the community. And so we're kicking it all off Monday evening from 530 to eight o'clock at the Hilton Garden Inn. And we would like great attendance, we need feedback. So I encourage anybody to attend, we'd like you to register at either our imagine Ellis County Facebook page, we've got a link or the Grow Hayes, Facebook page, or call us or what have you. If you don't get registered, that doesn't mean we don't want you to come because we would like you to come out as well. But we're trying to get a headcount because we're going to feed you.
James Bell
Hey, do you know how many people have signed up already?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
I think we're somewhere between 40 and 50. Maybe know something not bad. But we'd love to get 100 people there, we really would we want feedback, the more the better. And you know, no ideas necessarily too small or too crazy. We're trying to keep you know, a blank slate and see what we can come up with. So I would encourage anybody that has an interest in Ellis County in our future to come out and offer their input.
James Bell
Yeah, this is a wonderful opportunity to do so because I can't have you know, all the places I've been over the last, you know, 25 or so years of my professional life. I don't ever remember a community doing something like this, like asking people to come together and tell us what do you want our community to be? And I think that's just huge. And I hope that a lot of people take advantage of this and just breaking down the doors come Monday night to share their ideas and thoughts.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, we hope so too. You know, I think it's important that we get feedback and that people get to give us their thoughts and their ideas as opposed to you know later on saying, well, nobody asked me what we're asking, you know, we want to know. So hope, more people, a lot of people can come out and we look forward to a productive session Monday night.
James Bell
Very cool. And the other thing we want to talk about we hit this up a little bit last week, I think, well, I should, I think it was our main topic of conversation, the housing report that's coming up, you've set a date on that, I believe, of the 15th, that's coming out, right? That's correct.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
And I don't want to oversell this, it scares me a little bit that we've talked about it too much. But this is our just our look at the 2021 housing activity and what happened in our local market in 2021, kind of what's happening so far in 2022. And just comparing it to years past and, and highlighting the fact that this is a serious challenge that we face with housing. Now, the city will be coming out with a housing study, in the next few weeks or months, or sometime here soon that the docking Institute is performed. And that will dig into more of the long-term aspects, it'll look at population trends and that type of thing. And, and our, our report will do a little bit of that, but it'll be more time specific to what's going on right now. And, and in the immediate past. Whereas the housing studies typically look at, you've got this many people in your community, you've got this many homes, if you grow at this rate, you need to build X number of homes and, and that's all valuable information. But it may not be completely applicable to what's going on right at this instant. And so ours is going to look a little closer at that, and try and identify exactly what's happening right now where our shortfalls are and what challenges that's producing because it is producing some significant challenges locally.
James Bell
If I remember correctly, the number was hh 14 houses for sale and I was counting.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
The other day when I checked, there were 12. And five of them were in excess of $499,000. So really seven houses, so seven houses. And so the problem with like reports that look back as an example of Wichita State provides the local real estate, realtors with data. And it will tell you that at the end of last year, there were 40 homes available. Well, the metric they use is either active or active under contract. So at any one time, there may be 20 to 30 homes in our community under contract waiting to be sold or closed. But that doesn't mean somebody coming in today who's going to go out and they want to relocate here and they want to go out and look at homes, they've got basically seven to look at unless they want to spend over $500,000. Now that doesn't count for sale by owners and some things like that. And there are some of those, this is just Multiplus data. But the bottom line is we just don't have any inventory at all. And that's one of the reasons why we're working feverishly out in our Tallgrass edition, you know, with getting some homes built, because for every home out there that's built potentially, somebody buys that and it frees up their house becomes available on comes on the market. And so we have to add inventory that way, and we've got 10 of them under construction out there right now.
James Bell
There's a pretty long waitlist for those already isn't there?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
There's a lot of interest, I'm not sure. The builders, I'm not sure they're really wanting to sell them right away when they're under construction, because that creates a whole set of circumstances where that becomes kind of a custom home. And when you're building at that price point, it's very difficult to do a custom home for that where you start having people that want to change where this wall is, or add this or do this differently. And it becomes much more labor-intensive for the builder. So they're resisting, I think, to some extent, selling them ahead of time. But there's tremendous interest. I've had them tell me 20 3040 people have expressed interest and wanted and, and so we've got 10 under construction, and I think we'll have another 12 Under Construction within 30 to 60 days. So I'm hopeful by year-end, we could have 25 homes available out there and be working on the next phase, which is the streets and the sewer and the water and that kind of thing for the next phase, which would be another 27 to 35 Lots.
James Bell
Wow. Yeah, that'll help. And there's and we talked a little bit about this last week, too. There's some development up north going on private development, as well as I think over-analysis or some homes going up and in a program over there as well. Right.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, we're working on some of those, but there are Ellis estates, I believe that's 40, 32 or 40 units that are going up as an addition to that development and we're still working on our concept for the retiree community north of the hospital on that large tract of ground at that location and, and we feel like that will serve a very critical demographic of 55 and older community. So we have a number of we have an aging population If we don't cater to them with housing solutions for their needs, they're going to go someplace else. And so we want to make sure that we retain those people as well as be attractive to people that are looking to relocate from rural communities, communities or urban areas, that we've got good solutions and housing, it really does all start with housing. If you don't have that, you just can't go on to the next step. You can't recruit, retain or recruit a workforce, you've got to have housing. And so that's why we spend so much time working on it.
James Bell
Okay, Doug, we've got under a couple of minutes left, but I know you've got an article coming out or an article that you're going to send to a he's post anyway, want to talk a little bit about that.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
I'll talk a little bit about that. And it's certainly nothing earth-shattering, but it goes to this concept of what we need to be doing here and growth. And I hear a lot of people come to me, I have friends and that kind of thing we like he's just the way it is. And the title of the article is we have to grow to stay the same. And my point in the article is simply our trade area is shrinking. And we're growing at a dismal pace and haze, you know, point one 7% per year, the last from 2010 to 2020. We're not keeping pace currently with even what we're losing in our trade area. So as a community, we have to be really focused on growing our community at a minimum faster than we're losing people in the outlying areas. Now, some of those people are moving here and that kind of thing. And that's all fine. But we need to be cognizant that, you know, Nothing ever stays the same. But in this particular case, if we want to attract new retail, and we want to keep the retail we have and we want to keep a lot of the things that we currently have. We have no choice but to grow and to pick up the pace a little bit and what we have done in the last 10 years. And so we're really focused on that. And that's another reason why housing is so important.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University assistant rodeo coach Guy Forrell and team members Jessi Ross and Kamryn Smith stop by to talk about the program as the spring semester is underway.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and Hays Public Library communications coordinator Callie Kolacny share information about the upcoming Legislative Coffee sessions in Hays.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares information about the upcoming 2021 Ellis County Housing Report.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser recaps this week's Hays city commission meeting with vice-mayor Michael Burgess and city manager Toby Dougherty.
On this episode of the Weekend Setlist host Jeffery Leiker details events around the Hays area this weekend.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Hays Symphony Orchestra director Brian Buckstead.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Cottonwood Extension District agent Stacy Campbell shares information about upcoming programming.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney speaks with U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) about a variety of situations facing Kansas and the nation.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Has Humor emcee Jeff Leiker shares information about the upcoming Four-county wildfire relief show.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Hays Med president and CEO Edward Herrmann.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney speaks with USD 489 superintendent Ron Wilson about the proposed USD 489 bond plan presented to the Board of Education at their regular meeting this week.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Holy Family Elementary Annual Chili Supper and Bazaar co-chairs Ryan Pfannenstiel and Jessica Acosta stop by to talk about the event, scheduled for Jan. 30.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger, along with Imagine Ellis County committee member Ryan Benton share information about an upcoming town hall.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares information about the upcoming Imagine Ellis County committee town hall.
Transcript
James Bell
The Imagine Ellis County committee has set up a town hall to solicit community feedback, Grow Hays executive director, Doug Williams stops by to talk to us about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
We're having this meeting on February 7, at the Hilton Garden Inn, from 530 to 8 pm. And it's a town hall meeting that's put on by our Imagine Ellis County committee. And this is the committee that was put together a large group of cross-section of the community, very diverse in terms of age group in terms of occupations and backgrounds, to try and take a look at where we want to be in Ellis County 510 25 years from now. And we're in the input gathering state where we're trying to get feedback from the community. And that's what this town hall meeting is part about is to get people from the community to come to this event and tell us what they'd like to see what they think Ellis County should be.
James Bell
Yeah, and you know, this is kind of what we talked about quite a bit the economic development here in Ellis County. But as the committee starts firing up and starts having events like this, really what kind of feedback are you looking for? I mean, are you wanting to know what we're looking for in retail, what kind of sectors we need to build on? Or is it really just open to whatever you think, Ellis County might be in 20 years 30.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
It's kind of all of the above, we initially brought in the larger employers' business in the business community, and have them each give five minutes on what their strategic plan is, and where they're headed, and what their challenges are. And, and we've gone through that we've heard from them, there are some recurring themes, and all of those things. And I'm sure there'll be some recurring themes and from the public in general. But we're kind of taking this to this next step where we want to hear from the general public, what they would like to see how they feel about things. And it could be retail for some it could be, you know, better-paying jobs for others. And the ones we hear time and again, you know, housing, and childcare, and workforce, and all of those kinds of things. But we don't have any preconceived notions about where this might lead and what people might come up with. We're just eager to get input. And that's what it's all about.
James Bell
And I understand, you know, as little incentive for people maybe to go if you want to share an idea, but try game ideas, not that great. Can we give away some free food right?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
To feed everybody? Does that always hopefully helps a little bit, get people to come and participate? So hopefully, that increases attendance and people come and give us their thoughts. Yeah, you know, I think we want to keep it positive, but we're not we want to look at what some of our our weaknesses might be as well, I think in the community, because we know we have some every community does. But we really need people are to participate. This summer, we're going to do a community survey that we're going to send out the docking Institute has been contracted to do a community survey, asking some specific questions of as many participants as they can get, as to, you know, some of the things that people would like to see what they would like to what they would like Ellis County to look like in the future.
James Bell
Doug, I'm curious, do you know when the last time that something like this was either attempted or done in haste? I know that the Imagine Ellis County committee has been around for a couple years now. But what kind of got derailed with COVID. But previous to that, as there have been similar efforts?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, this, this committee comes out of the strategic doing process, which is a process that the Hansen Foundation has supported across western Kansas, where they have had, they got a facilitator who comes in and hosts a meeting like this, and lots of ideas come out of that this is this Imagine Ellis County group came out of that strategic doing initiative. And it's it's similar in what it does this just bores down into more specifics, you know, they imagine or the strategic doing sessions are really broad-based, you know, nothing's off the table, nothing. You know, just what would you like to see, you know, do you think Ellis County or rooks, county or wherever they're holding needs, needs a theme park, you know, something like that, just to let your imagination run wild? We're kind of honing in on some things right now and trying to be a little bit more specific. Okay, what can we do in our community, that's going to make it a better place to live. And yes, it's going to be broad in some senses that it may include retail, it may include housing, it may include lots of different things, but we want to make sure that we're addressing those things and find, you know, come up with some what might be some great ideas. So I would say that to answer your question that Strategic Soing was kind of the first event that I'm aware of, and that was probably three or four years ago. And this has kind of been the ongoing effort from that initial event.
James Bell
Okay. You know, in the economic development word world, I'm kind of curious how important our strategic sessions like this, because I think of other cities that, you know, have seen like a pretty good explosive growth over the last few years where Hayes's relatively stagnant in its growth and the county in their region, I should say, are losing people. So they're not even seeing growth. Does this really make an impact on that? Or is this just a kind of cherry on top?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, we hope it makes an impact on that. I mean, we're, we believe that we have an amazing community and a great place to live, we have a lot to offer, whether it be companies that might move here, whether it be the local companies that want to expand, or people that want to retire here, people that want to relocate here, because they work remotely. But we have to identify the type of things that people want, and see what we can do about delivering those type of things. If we want to be successful in those efforts, and in attracting people and keeping people in our community.
James Bell
And as we've talked about in the past, this time, right now, there's so much urban fly, people are looking for, hey, cities, like Hayes to move to. And if we can get everybody involved and start to develop those ideas, we could see some potential economic development in a really big way in the next few years. Right?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
I think we can I mean, I've read different statistics. One of them is that there's 20 million people in the next 10 years will migrate away from these urban areas. They're looking for places to go. If you watched, there was an episode on 60 minutes last week, and a lady named Karen Kimbrough, who was the chief financial officer, chief economist for LinkedIn, which is the largest job hunting site, that there is online. She said pre-pandemic, one in 67, of the jobs they had posted, was for remote workers. Today, it's one in seven. Wow, that's a huge transformation of the workplace transferring to knowing that they have to accommodate people in different ways. So one in seven jobs now on LinkedIn is, for a remote worker, they'll let you work from anywhere you want to work. And that's huge. And so as these people look to flee the urban areas, as you said, and find a different type of life. We have to look as a community, what do we have to offer because we're in the competition, and they can go anywhere, right? They have the skills, they now can work remotely, so they can choose where they live? Well, how do we make sure that they choose here, at least some of them, obviously, we don't want 20 million, but some of them are some share of them are willing to come here. And that's why things like housing, that's why things like schools, that's like things like safe communities and activities in the community and, and that type of thing make a huge difference. And so part of our job within grow Hays as economic development organization, but also within this Imagine Ellis County committee is to identify the things that we need to put in place for this community to be able to attract those people because as I say, all the time, you know, I have lots of people say I like hate dislike it is we want to stay the same. And my response to that is we have to grow to stay the same, because our region is losing people. And so we have to increase in population, just to stay the way we are much less to grow and have more activities and more choices with retail or whatever it might be.
James Bell
Yeah. And to dig a little bit deeper into that. Something that I hear pretty frequently is is the pull factor in Ellis County, or I don't know, maybe it's in Hayes, but it's a 1.7 1.8, I believe, which means that for every dollar spent here, we're getting point eight from outside of the community.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
That's correct. We're typically in the top three in the state, the county or pull factor, and then Hayes's about the same. And that's important, but we're we're slipping a little bit in that area, because other areas have done a better job of developing retail, and we have some shortcomings in that area. So we've got to do better. But our pull factor is still critically important. And we're still ranked very high. And but we've got to have, you know, as our as our region, our trade area shrinks, we've got to make it up someplace or will not have that typo factor for very much longer.
James Bell
Yeah. And you know, the other piece of this on the remote work that I think about is, you know, unlike any other employer, if you're employed in Ellis County and you spend that money in Ellis County, that movie's just or money is just circling around. But if you're employed by Amazon, let's say, and living in Ellis County, you're getting money from other places and bringing that into the community. And as for my understanding, that is just going to be vital going on to the next 10/20 years.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Sure, we want to we're an exporter, if we can get those kind of people, we're exporting labor. Basically, we're bringing in money from the outside. These people are buying homes, they're buying cars are buying groceries, they're buying appliances, and everything else. And they typically have great jobs and make a good salary. So that's exactly the type of people we want coming into our community. So it's critical that we identify what's important to them, and then try and meet those requirements.
James Bell
Yeah, you know, I'm curious if along with the input from the local community, is there any effort with this Imagine Ellis County committee to get that feedback from people say, from Denver, or the front range that are looking to move into a more rural setting?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, there is part of our marketing initiative. And we were fortunate to receive a grant from the Schmidt foundation to do some marketing, and part of that is going to be specifically targeting people on the eastern slope of Colorado, we, we believe that's fertile ground for people looking to relocate. And so we've got some marketing efforts, we've created some quality of life videos about what it's like to live in Ellis County, not only in Hays, but also in Allison Victoria, the smaller communities around the county, and to try and show them that we have a great quality of life here. We have lots going on, and we have a great place to live. And so but that's all great, but it's not if they don't know it. So we've got to let them know what it is. And that's what these videos and other methods of advertising are being produced to get to these people and help them understand the quality of life that we do have here.
James Bell
Absolutely. Well, Doug, I tell you, we've got just about a minute left. Anything else on this that he thought you want to share?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Well, I just I hope everybody you know, as many people as possible come out, we are going to feed you. It runs from 530 till eight o'clock at the Hilton Garden Inn on February 7. We will kind of go over what we've done so far. And then we're going to just kind of open it up to people and get their input we want input. We don't have any. As I said, we really don't have any preconceived notions. We have some recurring themes that we continue to hear and we know about but we know there's some things that people have on their minds that we're not seeing. So we're eager to get good representation out and tell us what they think. Very good
James Bell
Free to attend but you are asking for registration in advance right? Just say of a meal count, right?
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
We would like you to register ahead of time. If you can't get that done and at the last minute find out you can come out, go ahead and come out. But if you can register that be great. You can do so on our Facebook page, the Imagine Ellis County Facebook page, call our office, email us, however, you want to do it but we look forward to having a big crowd.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Downtown Hays Development Corporation executive director Sara Bloom and director of events and operations Allie Glidewell shares updates from downtown Hays.
Transcript James Bell
The Downtown Hays Development Corporation is getting ready for a busy spring season. Executive Director Sarah bloom and director of events and operations, Allie Glidewell stops by to talk to us about that on this episode of the post podcast.
Sara Bloom
What are you talking about? First? We got a whole list?
James Bell
Well, yeah, I thought it was kind of a slower time a year. But then I'm here. I know you guys actually are getting prepared for a lot of things going on. I think we got to do this chronologically. Right Valentine's Day. That's the first thing coming up.
Allie Glidewell
Yeah, sure is.
James Bell
What are you guys going on for that?
Allie Glidewell
Sure. Well, it's kind of something new and different that we're trying to do just a promotional thing for businesses. But know that a lot of people spend money downtown, spend gifts, spend money for guessing their loved ones. So what we've done is we put together three baskets. And when you spend money in downtown, you can bring your receipts into us, whether that's paper or you know, I know a lot of square receipts go virtual. But bring that to us will stamp it and you can enter to win a basket will draw it on Valentine's Day. And there's all sorts of I mean, almost every single store is represented in those baskets. We
Sara Bloom
had so much fun shopping, we picked, what Tuesday when it was 60 degrees outside, we walked all over downtown. And we're talking from like reds all the way down to Indigo and breathe and all the things in between.
Allie Glidewell
Yeah, super awesome. So we spent a little bit of money in every store to put together different baskets. We got stuff from even like the baskets themselves, or from the ark. We went everywhere. There. I mean, there's great things we put together a little men's basket that's got Gosh, soaps and goodies and all sorts of Thai
Sara Bloom
and mugs and coffee and trees and all sorts of stuff. Yeah, that's and that's just that. That's just the men's baskets, toothbrush and a really nice electric toothbrush for my smile. Yeah, yeah. So if you give love to our downtown businesses, you could have the opportunity to get the so we'll be posting pictures of those baskets later today along with that promotion. But essentially, starting next week, if you shop downtown, bring in a receipt, and it doesn't matter if it's for a $3 coffee from breeze or a $3,000 couch from furniture, luck. Bring your receipts in and you can enter to win one of these baskets and we'll draw Valentine's.
Allie Glidewell
Yeah. Because we love you. Yes, amazing. Well, it's fun.
James Bell
So you can the interim all the way up until Valentine's Day, so that Friday before Friday before okay.
Sara Bloom
Or like bringing in your receipts from the weekend on that Monday. Valentine's is on a Monday and we could draw
James Bell
on a Monday this year. It is
Allie Glidewell
okay that Monday, we love Monday.
Sara Bloom
That means you have all weekend to spoil your love. That's what that means. I suppose that's true. Yeah, yeah, yeah, maybe we do Monday at the end of the day. That way you can bring in your seats. Have coffee yet.
James Bell
It is still pretty early in the morning. It's especially talking about like Valentine's Day and all the craziness that comes along with that.
Sara Bloom
And it's not that far away. We are at the end of January already.
James Bell
It's sneaking up on us only 22 It's it's firmly here.
Sara Bloom
Well, it's pretty cool Valentine's I would watch our Facebook page and other downtown business Facebook pages because I know there are a lot of Valentine dinners and events being planned right now and you have to make reservations right now specifically the strand and the Paisley pair are already booking very quickly for their Valentine
Allie Glidewell
audience always has really great deals around this time too. And they book out so
Sara Bloom
far. The new Brickhouse Spa has some ones going on. So be watching. We'll try and share as much as we can, of course, but just be aware that there's some really wonderful stuff happening in downtown makes it easy. And Halo it is a partnership going on. All sorts of stuff.
James Bell
Awesome. Yeah, you support your loved ones. Or shows love to your loved ones, I guess and support downtown Hayes at the same time. Exactly. I love that. Very cool.
Sara Bloom
Yeah. Also happening this weekend is the winter sidewalk sale. We did not go chronologically, but there are several businesses that have their winter sidewalk sale going on. Specifically couture has like 75% off simply refine, are all participating so check that out.
James Bell
And I think we're gonna have decent weather this weekend. So it'd be a nice day to walk around and I think I'm gonna check a hole 35 today. Yeah, not nice today. Today is nothing better than the last two days it is currently eight degree by the way. Yeah, no, it looks like Saturday. Well, not not great, but mid 40s so decent weather is gonna be nice and sunny anyway
Sara Bloom
there's no wind that's what a beautiful day that's walkable.
James Bell
five mile an hour winds. That's doable.
Allie Glidewell
It's great down there.
James Bell
You know and
Sara Bloom
actually buildings will block anyone that might be Oh
James Bell
yeah, you always get that that nice buffer down there. But you know I already do this Saturday morning. You guys know this, but pretty much I take my kids in this what we do we walk down to On Hayes, we go when we hit different shops, they've got their little favorite hit spots they like to hit and we get some lunch at one of the restaurants down there. And it's a great time. And you see so many people down there even when there's no events going on. There's always people walking around and it's it's it's just a fun, energetic time to do it. And a third, some sidewalk sales on top of that, and it's just over the moon over the moon. That's what we're
Sara Bloom
saying. Believe it or not, I did not know that you walk downtown every Saturday though. I'm not down there every I usually at a basketball tournament or a baseball tournament.
Allie Glidewell
So to be fair, we're walking around downtown all the time.
Sara Bloom
It's true. Time down Saturday morning.
Allie Glidewell
Their weekend is his community theaters. It's showtime. It's a fun new thing that they're putting on that'll air on Friday and on Saturday, but the community theater has all sorts of Valentine's things coming up too. So if you want to support a really, really fun cause, go give them a show. They're always exciting.
Sara Bloom
ks.com Yeah. For tickets.
James Bell
Yeah. Yeah, we had the director for this one. Cheryl Glassman come in earlier this week, I think. Yeah. Sounds like a really fun show. And I last time I talked to him. I don't know for sure. But they still had some tickets available. So if you're interested, well, it's Friday. I guess you probably need to get him today anyway, but but don't wait because they might sell out. So get them if you're interested.
Sara Bloom
Yeah. And Kylie Frey at the fox.
Allie Glidewell
Kylie Frey at the fox. Yeah.
James Bell
That's rodeo. She's a former country, right? Yeah, rodeo. Yeah, I don't know what I saw. It's, uh, yeah. It's really good. But it's kind of a little bit genre bending, I
Sara Bloom
think, Oh, 20? Is that what you're saying? Yeah, yeah, you
Allie Glidewell
might say that genre bending sounds way cooler. And I just came up with it. I like that. That's why you're good at the job, James.
Sara Bloom
What else is on your list? What else do we want to talk about?
James Bell
Easter, you got to do some Easter stuff, too. I mean, that's a little bit down the road. But
Sara Bloom
like your face, you can't see your face. But we're very excited for
Allie Glidewell
Easter. Easter is going to be very fun. We're hoping to incorporate a lot of different stores and just put something on for the kids. We don't have all the details yet, which includes, you know, the full format or a date. But we had a great brainstorming session yesterday. So look out for marketing on that something was eggs and something with candy. Yes, candy and children come downtown. It's gonna be a good time.
James Bell
Really, you get those two things together, and you're gonna have a good time no matter what.
Sara Bloom
Maybe even cupcakes, I don't know, there's a lot of brainstorming happening. But something will be happening in downtown for Easter. So be watching our Facebook page for that. And then Allie had a great another great brainstorming session last night with our downtown Hayes market vendor. Yeah, we had
Allie Glidewell
our little end of year meeting to talk about everything that went really great or things that need tweaking, and we want to kind of vision board in 2022. We're really excited, they're all very passionate about what they do. All of our market vendors are very excited to come back already. They were working their calendars for day one and figuring out you know, different promotions, especially for some of the bigger days like National honeybee day or what to do during Oktoberfest weekend. So it was really, really great. The markets gonna kick off October 28. And then go every single Saturday, maybe? Yep, May 28. So sorry. I was thinking October 20.
James Bell
Of course, October.
Sara Bloom
Definitely the last Saturday of May
Allie Glidewell
springtime. Yes. And it'll still run 730 to 11. Every day. We're gonna have all sorts of fun things going on all the time. But stay tuned to our Facebook page for that as well.
James Bell
Very cool. Yeah. And you mentioned a couple times now. But absolutely. If you want to stay tuned into what's going on to downtown Hayes, you guys do a really fantastic job of keeping that Facebook page updated. It's an easy and efficient way to do it on the website as well. You guys have the calendar. And it's all right there in handy. And yeah,
Sara Bloom
yeah. And we kind of mentioned it too. Even if it's not an event organized by the DHDC. Office, we would love to promote it for you. Let us know anything happening in downtown. If it's if it's a benefit to downtown, it's bringing foot traffic and attention to downtown. Let us know we'll try and get it on our Facebook page. We'll get it in our weekly newsletter, we'll get it on the website, at least the events calendar, let us know how we can help promote what's happening in downtown Hayes, whether it's out of our office or not, because I support the community. But that's kind of it. We're working on a lot of things, but those are the most pressing.
Allie Glidewell
It is a slow time of year, but it just leads a lot of room for game planning.
James Bell
Yes, and that's you know, that's what I love about this time of year. It's all the ideas it's the energy it's thinking about, you know, all the stuff that is going to be going on and you know, as we as we warm up in the spring, and I love it because just the planning bit and then the excitement starts to build and you get to talk about things like the Farmers Market, which is going to be
Sara Bloom
a next month we'll be telling you in brews tickets go on sale.
Allie Glidewell
There's all sorts there's all sorts of things all the time.
Sara Bloom
But yeah, always check the Facebook page. Always check downtown, he's calm. We've got a great Instagram. Lots of new businesses are opening it downtown. We just celebrated the fort opening. We're going to be celebrating the bloomin barber lounge opening soon. Lots of changes, and it's all very exciting. Yeah.
James Bell
Absolutely. And, you know, and this is part of what we were talking about before we went on air downtown. It's it's full. I mean, it's not you know, if you remember if you're if you're listening, I can't imagine a lot of people that are listening haven't been in downtown Hays in the last couple years. But if you haven't, like come and check it out, because it is the the the energy is just so incredible. And there's this this attitude of just building and fixing and, and driving business and I love it. I don't know what else to say.
Sara Bloom
Thanks for getting excited about it. We're excited. It's great.
James Bell
Truly. Alrighty, guys. Well, any last thoughts when we go?
Allie Glidewell
Downtown hayes.com Thanks for supporting
Sara Bloom
local shop downtown. Downtown. Downtown.
Allie Glidewell
Love downtown. Stay on the lookout for the Valentine. Yes.
Sara Bloom
Yeah, we're very excited. We're like, well, maybe we can change our names on.
Allie Glidewell
Yeah, maybe we can when we will give ourselves basket but they're really great and we want them to. We want to win. We picked out everything. They're very curated.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Heartland Community Foundation executive director Sarah Meitner shares information about the new Emergency Relief Funds.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Cheryl Glassman shares information about the Hays Community Theater's upcoming production of It's Showtime.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Meteorologist Dan Holiday.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Public Library communication coordinator Callie Kolacny shares information about the upcoming Friends of the Hays Public Library annual meeting.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares potential impacts of the USD 489 bond issue proposal.
Transcript James Bell
As Hays residents consider another USD 489 bond issue Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams says school facilities are a key factor in recruiting people to the area. He talks to us about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Doug Williams
Particularly in this day and age where we have lots of people moving around the country. You know, there's studies that say, in the next 10 years, 20 million people will migrate from urban areas to more rural areas. And these are people that can work remotely that have good jobs and have, they're skilled, and they're looking for alternatives other than the rat race in the city. So they're, they're looking at alternatives. And when they look out, across the country, one of the key things that this demographic looks for is schools, you know, when you talk to people, you know, talk to people all the time in urban areas, when they move to a different neighborhood, the first thing they look at, are the schools. Mm hmm. And that's what these people are looking for, as well. And we feel like Hayes has so much to offer. And we've got a great story to tell, until it comes to the physical condition of our schools. I think our quality of education is very good here. But the physical condition of our schools has been neglected for far too long. And so we have no choice but to do something about that. Because we're in a competitive world. And if you look at lots and lots of other communities, they have made the investments in their school systems, and we have not.
James Bell
Yeah, exactly exactly what you're saying. And you know, I think about I saw some comments on when I was on social media. And it was folks basically, kind of lambasted saying that no peep, nobody would make that decision based on the schools, nobody's going to move to Hayes, because we have good schools. But I think to your point, people do make that decision if they're going to move and I think about myself, for example, if I were to leave this job, I would work probably online and could pick anywhere in the world. Anywhere, right? And the schools would be I've got a couple nine year olds and a little one about to get into the school district. That would be the one of the first things I would look at.
Doug Williams
Sure, it's very important. And I think those people who don't think it is, could spend a few minutes talking to the human resources department at Hayes Medical Center, or Fort Hays State University who are trying to recruit health care providers, or college, college professors, or even our school system, trying to recruit or keep teachers, those teachers that do a really great job. How long are they going to stay here, when they have to work in the kind of conditions that some work in and they're really nasty, you know, some of our situations are, are not good at all. And you know that the thing I continue to harp on is, there's a cost of not passing a bond. And I argue that it's far higher than passing a bond. Yeah, you can, you can quantify what $140 million is, and it's X number of dollars for a homeowner per month, blah, blah, blah. It's more difficult to quantify the cost of those lost opportunities, those people that didn't come to our community, those businesses that maybe chose not to expand here, because we don't have the type of school system that can recruit people to our community for labor force and that kind of thing. So there's a high cost of not doing what we need to do, not to mention the fact that it gets more expensive every year.
James Bell
Yeah, and this is something I've shared, we were talking a little bit about this right before we went on air too. And I've shared this story, one of the initial bond issue, guys that was helping spread the word on this one on room when the first bond issue went through seven, eight years ago now. But that's exactly what his point was. He was he was a conservative guy. And he said, Look, I don't like spending money, and I don't want to increase my taxes, not one penny, but every year we wait, it just is going to cost us more. And that's what we've seen. So the bond issue then was I think about 108 100 9 million, and now it's 143, I think is the lowest of the three points, I could have that wrong. But that's an increase in materials cost and the cost of labor and all that, etc. associated expenses.
Doug Williams
What absolutely is, you know, I've lived here all my life. And I remember the bond issues that they attempted to pass in the 60s and 70s. And I believe there were four failed attempts before they passed the $5 million bond to build Hayes high to give you some idea of what cost to the bond that built Hayes high and I think 1978 is when they passed the bond was $5 million. But through the 60s and early 70s, they had a number of failed attempts. And if you go back and look at the plans of the original high school they were going to build It's incredible what it contained. But then we went through the inflationary 70s And that kind of thing. So what we ended up with at the time was was nice, but it cost a lot more in the end than what that initial bond issue cost would have been. Had they has to the first go around. And we're kind of in the same situation now, and certainly in an inflationary time, there's all indications that, you know, we're dealing with some inflation, for sure, and materials and that type of thing. And so, to wait, it's just going to cost more later. And I continue to say, schools are critical infrastructure, no different than roads, no different than a sewer, plant water lines, you've got to invest in those things, if you want to have a productive community, and it affects all aspects of the community, seniors, young families, singles, you know, our local economy will suffer, if we don't invest in our schools and our infrastructure.
James Bell
You know, one of the big things that we spoke earlier with on the morning show here earlier this week, and with our USD 49, report, we talked about the space. And I think that's another key component of this is, you know, our schools right now are basically maxed out with the number of children we can get in them. And if we want to have any sort of growth, we're gonna have to put those kids somewhere.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
That's exactly right. If you look at them and that's, that's my real challenge, my frustration with some of the social media things is that people don't look at the numbers, they just kind of spout off. And don't, don't think this through or don't educate themselves, because I've heard him say, you know, hey, size, enrollment is dropping? Well, that's not true at all, if you look at the numbers, and if you look at the capacity that was designed for, were about 150 kids over what it was designed to hold. And we think we're going to have some growth, we want to have some growth, no, we're not going to be Denver, or, you know, a large urban area, but we want consistent steady growth in our community, we need to have it if we're going to be the type of community that we'd like to have. And so space is a huge issue. And we've got to deal with that somehow or another.
James Bell
Yeah, you know, you can I know one of the big arguments that I hear pretty frequently against the bond issues has been, well, we didn't take care of it the way we should have. And I think there is some we've talked about that a little bit in the past, there's, there's some truth to that, but the space thing you can't get around it, there's no other way. And you know, I've seen it, and I always encourage people to go into the schools and check it out yourself. I've seen the lunch rooms, as they're shifting around at 1015. In the morning, I've seen, you know, teachers teaching out of closets. And that's just not a good, you know, again, a should go back to your point earlier, those educators I think, are gonna be really questioning the decision, do I want to stay in this district, and you know, you teach in a closet for two, three years in a row? I think anybody to have that kind of mindset.
Doug Williams
Sure. And we live in a society where talented people have lots of choices. You know, we're in a tight labor market all across our country. And if somebody is a good teacher, they can go get a job anywhere, you know, they can, they can teach wherever they want. So if they don't have a decent, good conditions with which to teach, they're going to go someplace else. And they and the whole, you know, they didn't handle the funds appropriately before, you know, I don't know, maybe they did. Maybe they didn't, I suppose there are some arguments that they made poor choices in the past where they spent the capital outlay money and that kind of thing. But that's irrelevant. Today. I think we have a good school board, I think with this vision committee is committed a large group of committed smart people. I think our USD 489 staff is smart, committed people, we got to trust them. You know, at some point in time, we can't be sitting back playing armchair quarterback all the time and saying we should do this, you should do that. When you don't really understand the situation. You know, we've got to trust these people that they're telling us the right thing and that they have the community and the school district's best interests in mind. And we need to act.
James Bell
Yeah. You know, I'm glad you mentioned that, because that's one of the things that I think in this particular conversation, I've seen that this seems to be going well, is that a lot more people are involved. And they're interested in like, there was a bond meeting a couple of days ago, there was a fairly substantial crowd. And I remember in the first bond issue, you know, again, 578 years ago, you go to those meetings, and there'd be nobody there literally nobody. So I'm curious, you know, what you're hearing from, like business leaders about that, you know, is the tide kind of turned a little bit? Are more people supporting this? Or is it still going to be an uphill battle?
Doug Williams
I think it has turned to some extent, I think that the real challenge I have seen in the past is that I don't think anybody disagrees that we need a bond. I mean, I say nobody there there are those out there that disagree and are not going to vote for it under any circumstance. But I think it has turned I think people recognize that we do need a bond. And most of what I hear is positive. So I think we are headed in the right direction, at least I hope so. You know, you're always going to have a vocal minority are going to voice their opinions and that's great. That's what this country saw about. But I think by and large people recognize the need and We this time I hope is different and I hope we can get something done. It's critical to our future that we do.
James Bell
Okay. Well, before we run out of time, there's one other thing we want to talk a little bit about today. And that's some construction going on out towards, well, gosh, I don't know the roads but out east of town.
Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams
Commerce Parkway.
James Bell
There you go.
Doug Williams
Heart of America has a development near Commerce Parkway, where Glassman climate control is that area behind Glassman climate control on Ninth Street out there. That is been out there for a long time, 20 years 20 plus years with some lots and things out there for commercial development. And we've had two lots sales in the last few months to local businesses who are going to do expansions out there. And we've got some interest in a third lot for a potential construction project for some factory microfactory project. And so some good activity out there good to see some local businesses, make investments and expand. And I think there'll be 2022, you'll see a lot of activity out there that be to the east of where Glassman Corporation is just off of commerce Parkway. So that's good news. Great to see.
James Bell
Yeah, absolutely. You know, I wonder he, when businesses make that move, you know, and that's I don't know, that's out of city limits, right. Is there a is there an impact to like tax revenues or anything like that to be concerned about? Or is this is an all kind of good thing? Because it really it's not like a big move. It's in an expansion, of course, is always a good thing.
Doug Williams
Well, expansion is good. And let me correct. That is in the city limits. So okay, that is annexed into the city, they do have access to city services, water, sewer, that kind of thing. Fire protection. So that is why they made that decision where they're going is it isn't a city. Gotcha. So it's all positive from that standpoint, because both of these organizations operate in existing buildings that pay property taxes. They're building new buildings, which will add property tax revenue to the tax rolls. So it's all good. Plus, I'll expand and employ more people. So I don't see any downside to this one.
James Bell
Okay, win, win, win. Love that. Are you gonna tell us the businesses. You can't tell us, can you?
Doug Williams
I will soon, not right now.
James Bell
You always have the best information is what you can't share.
Doug Williams
Always.
James Bell
Love it. Well, it's very good to hear that, you know, that's happening. And I love seeing expansion out there. Because, you know, to me, that's one of those areas, one of those regions that can really use that it's kind of underdeveloped, I think and you know, and I didn't realize that had been out there that, that for that long,
Doug Williams
It has been that those lots were developed quite some time ago, and it's time there was some expansion out there. It's a good spot with, as I said earlier, it's in the city limits. It's got access to city utilities. Part of America also owns 32 acres directly to the east of where these are. So the game plan would be just continue going east and find some other organizations to either come in or expand out there and keep it going.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Ellis County Sheriff Scott Braun shares information about protecting animals during cold weather.
Transcript James Bell
With winter weather well in place in the area, Ellis County Sheriff Scott Braun says it's time to think about those animals that are outside. He talks to us about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Scott Braun
We've got a lot of animals out there, this is about the time when we start getting a lot of phone calls from concerned citizens and, and a lot of times, it's justified. But I just want to touch on what's required by state statute doesn't mean that you can't go above and beyond, it just means that this is the minimum. So by state statute, they have to have shelter, they have to have water, and they have to have food. And so we get a lot of phone calls from, from concerned citizens about not having those things, and we do do those checks on a regular basis, if we receive them. Unfortunately, we cannot make them take them inside, if they meet all those requirements, and it's been pretty cold, I would encourage those people to take their dogs inside and animals to, to make sure they're safe. You know. But as far as an enforcement action, we can't take any unless they're not meeting one of those standards. So a lot of people are, are concerned with that. And when we leave, we kind of leave sometimes with a feeling that we didn't do anything, it's because we just can't, and I want to explain that to the people and and we do encourage you to call in if there are those concerns, and we'll definitely take a look at it for sure.
James Bell
So that's got to be difficult to not be able to, you know, take that action, because I'm sure you know, any of your deputies, you know, dog, cat, whatever is out there, and it's cold, and you just got to walk away, that's got to be rough.
Scott Braun
Yeah, it is, you know, and again, it's extremely cold in animals are really tough there, you know, but at the same time, you know, they get cold, like everything, like we do. And so if we can give them that safe environment, I would encourage people to do so. But I can't make them do that. Yeah, so I have a husky at home and stays outside most of the time. But when it was really cold, put him put the dog in the garage, got him out of the wind, even though they have a dog house. So that type of thing. And, and that dog loves the cold. So
James Bell
I was gonna say Huskies are like the one you don't have to worry about. They'll go play in the snow all day long.
Scott Braun
Oh, yeah, lays in the middle of the pile. So so I get that. But we were just concerned with the extreme cold and we have a place to put him so we put her inside and just getting up there in age. So it wasn't a big deal. So I encourage people to do that. So the other thing I'd like to talk about is talking about the cold. You know, we're traveling right now we're gonna have some extreme colds again on Friday, I believe it is coming in. Yeah, I'm hearing zeros. Yeah. So make sure your batteries are good to go. Make sure you have a blanket in there. Possibly a heat source if you can, make sure you have a cell phone charger. And also let people know I know, we're so used to being on the road and talking and those types of things. But let people know your plans, maybe the road you're going to take, if you're two couple hours later, something like that. contact law enforcement. And we'll run those roads to look for them. We'll put an ATL out to try to locate that vehicle, make sure they're safe. Sometimes things happen. And we want to make sure that no one freezes. So make sure you have gloves and hats and a heavy coat. Maybe throw some coveralls in there if you have them, those types of things and just be safe and try to stay with your vehicle if you can do not get out and walk unless you can see a farmstead or something close by if you're running those roads, but obviously cell phones work pretty well. But everything fails. So take some precautions.
James Bell
Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned that. Because this is something I'm teaching my kids as they're growing up in this world of technology, and they've always got access to the internet, they've always got a cell phone in their hands. If that's not always the case, and those old school precautions that we used to think about 2030 years ago, are just as relevant even though most of the time unnecessary.
Scott Braun
Yeah, it doesn't hurt to put it in your trunk. It's there, you know, it's not like it's gonna cost you any more fuel to haul that around. Right? So I would encourage you to do so. And again, make sure people know the route you're going to take and in approximate time that you're going to be there that will help us and where they're coming from. So And last but not least, I know that we've heard a lot about this. The fires up north that started out west and worked away through Russell County. I want to recognize the Rural Fire Ellis County rural fire and those other agencies that came in to assist during the fires. I also want to definitely thank our dispatch center, all of the staff that was working the amount of call volume that they received and that was overwhelming. I tell you what, they are all true heroes for What they do, and they kept us safe.
Yeah, obviously, the best outcome is not having it happen at all, but unfortunately did and I'm with you. It is amazing how the community pulls together. Law enforcement, first responders, just in general how counties that were not affected by we're sending people by the groves to help help with those fires to get them out and protect farmsteads and homes. There were obviously some buildings damaged in that but I tell you what our rural fire people were trying to save homes for the for our farmers and there were homes lost and unfortunately, we lost the life too. And that's really sad. But in overall think it could have been a lot worse and I think everybody did an outstanding job and I just want to thank you.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with District 111 Representative Barbara Wasinger.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University president Tisa Mason and athletic director Curtis Hammeke share information about university sports during the upcoming spring semester.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger introduces the new vice president of marketing and communications, Mariah Leglighter.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Jonathan Zweygardt checks in with Ellis Co. Public Works director Brendan Mackay.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Thomas More Prep-Marian principal, Chad Meitner stops by to talk about the start of the spring semester.
Transcript James Bell Thomas More Prep-Marian in Hays is set to kick off their spring semester this week principal Chad Meitner stops by to talk to us about that and more on this episode of the post podcast
Chad Meitner Ready or not, it's time to get back into the swing of things. Our teachers are actually an in service training, as we speak, are working hard to prepare for the kids who come back tomorrow. So I doubt any students are listening this early. But if you are, I'm glad to hear you're already up and about Adam, you're getting ready for tomorrow.
James Bell They're not up. I wouldn't be up if I was them anyway. No, no, no, no, but that's very cool. You know, and we talked, you know, as you were wrapping up the semester, bad or no back in I think late November, and things are going pretty well in the school year. Right. I mean, overall.
Chad Meitner Yeah, yeah, we've talked a little bit about, you know, it's still the pandemic COVID issues, but yet, it's much more manageable. And I would say a light version of what we had in 2020 21. school year. So it's, it's yeah, things are rolling right along. And it's into that point where you don't have to think about all those things that can go wrong. You're just more focused on the routine things that are happening, like, you know, we're getting ready has school starts up tomorrow, we've, of course, the activities quickly follow. We'll have wrestling on Thursday, and in basketball starting on Friday, right away this week. And that's good, because you never want too much unstructured time for any of us, especially for our teenagers and our students who who do better when they're interacting with each other and doing activities.
James Bell Oh, sure. And especially Yeah, you know, I feel like those the athletics, you know, all of the activities kind of keep you busy. But the athletics, especially for those athletes that are that they hit that downtime, they kind of like, Oh, what do I do with myself, you know, and it's, it's really easy to just like, let it slide. And then you got to fight your way back into conditioning.
Chad Meitner Oh, if you've been in out for sports at the high school level, you know, that that Christmas time period where you're just all you do is kind of practice but then you're also celebrating, so you're eating a lot of rich foods and sleeping late. Yeah, coming back to get in the swing of things is a little bit of a shock. But once you get back into it, it's nice. And it's the fun time of the basketball season. I think it's when you start getting in the league games, and it's a little more exciting. So the kids will have home games to go to little kids to the big kids, they all come out and it's nice to get in the Fieldhouse and have some excitement to get together again.
James Bell Yeah, absolutely. But it's not just athletics, you've got some, you know, the academic activities kicking up as well, right?
Chad Meitner Oh, yeah, those those will kick in as well. We've got chess team, our chess team pretty much competes every Saturday, which that's a sacrifice in itself. If you think about it in high school and junior high, given up you're not every Saturday, but during the season, almost every Saturday to go compete. And of course, there's still a lot of online tournaments. It's kind of a holdover from COVID that I think people like because you're not having to travel as far. Sometimes we travel all the way to Lawrence or which Topher tournament, so there's still some in person tournaments, but they also still do a lot of virtual tournaments in our schools. So they have won this Saturday, scholars bowl that's kicking off as well. They've had some early season events, but the scholars bowl kick right and get right back into it. They have a tournament in Hutchison the JV does next Tuesday. So yeah, whether you're athletics or academics, it's time to get back and focus on that and get into that routine. Very
James Bell cool. And you guys have some, some extra curricular kind of special events coming up that we want to talk about as well. A march for life, I believe is coming up. Oh, here in a couple of weeks, right.
Chad Meitner Yeah, that's a that's a big deal. For us. It's an annual pilgrimage, I'd say because it's, it's yeah, it's an experience. It's like a field trip. But it's also kind of a spiritual growth activity for our kids, right to say, we're put on this earth to not just be about ourselves, but to be about our community and our fellow man. And so that's an opportunity for the kids to get on a bus together, go on a long bus ride, which you know, us older folks, maybe don't think a long bus ride sounds exciting, but for the kids to get out of Hayes to get out of Kansas, to go see a part of our country to do it as a community. And then to do it for a good cause to say, hey, we're out here to support life and all of its stages and all of its forms. And so they'll head off to DC they'll get on the bus on January 19. And they'll get back on the 23rd that Sunday and then jump right back into school. Very cool.
James Bell And what are like a beautiful time of year to go to DC I mean, I know a few we're out you're out there in July August. Well, yeah, I mean, oh, hopefully but that he that humidity out there who?
Chad Meitner Yeah, who gets you? Yeah, as long as you don't get like a big snowstorm coming in DC is a beautiful place even in January. Sometimes you get some mild, sunny days and it's beautiful and so the kids get to go out in March. See a lot of the sights that that you see on TV and that are really important to the history of our country. And so it's an educational, a religious, a community activity all in one. Awesome.
James Bell And I think we also want to talk a little bit about this. The monarch, Fred Day is coming up later on in January, right?
Chad Meitner Yeah, actually two days. So this is a big piece of news for anybody who's got a fifth, sixth, or even seventh and eighth grader, who is maybe in the running to attend Thomas Moore prep Marian. A lot of times if if they're not already attending Holy Family, they might be considering where they're going to go to high school or junior high. And so this is the day to come check us out to come meet the teachers to meet some of the other students. We run them through different activities, get them exposed to some of the sights and sounds of our school, and hang out with have lunch. And so it's just a great way there's it's no commitment, right? Like, if you come to monarch for a day, you're not signing up to attend. But it's a great way to come in and see what it's all about and decide, hey, this is what's best for for my child. That's why we exist is to help the family raise their children in the faith and in those academics. So yeah, the dates for the sixth and eighth graders, if you've got a grandchild, or a child who's in the sixth, seventh, or eighth grades this year, on January 14, we will host them, all you have to do to sign up is call the office at the school, six to 56577. And let us know their name and their age. And we will get them signed up. We'll pair him up with in a small group, and they will have a great time. Fifth graders, it's never too soon to start thinking about hey, what your future is. So fifth graders have a day special for them on January 21. Same format, eight to noon, we can get kids their transportation, we can help get them back to their school, their current school after lunch, so that the family doesn't have to take off work. Come pick them up and take them back. We can handle that with our buses and our Suburbans. Just again, let us know at the school at the office and we'll sign him up. Perfect.
James Bell Yeah, get in there. Check it out. I mean, this and one of the cool things we always talk about here we are on the Catholic schools report is that sense of community that you mentioned, because you guys have just it's such a it's a tight knit group. And, you know, the faith pieces there. But it's also you know, it's just a it's a tremendous celebration of locals coming together and I just I love the admin atmosphere and the attitudes down there at both TMP and and holy family.
Chad Meitner Yeah, we want to we want to strive to welcome everybody and like, right our faith is leads us to say we want to treat everybody with dignity, respect, and we would love to have folks come to our community. It's not a closed community by any means. If you don't know anything about TMP, Marian or haze, maybe you're just recently in the area. We would love to let you get to know us a little better, because we think we've got a lot to offer. Absolutely. It's an incredible educators standard as well. Oh, yeah. A fantastic staff and faculty. You know, we're pretty blessed because a lot of those folks, they're doing it not just as a job to get a paycheck. They are doing it because they believe in the mission. They they believe that God has called them to do what they're doing. And what what better person to have teaching your children than someone who's in it fothose reasons.
James Bell Absolutely. Well, sir, we've got to get over to news, weather and sports but any last thoughts before we go?
Chad Meitner No, but just we're excited to get started. I hope everyone's had a great Christmas season and looking forward to hopefully some nice nose that give us moisture but that keep the roads clear and stay safe.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with Kansas 110th District Representative Ken Rahjes about what is and is not happening with wildfire relief efforts.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Fire Department chief Ryan Hagans recaps 2021 and shares updates for next year.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Cottonwood Extension District agent Susan Schlichting speaks about her years at the district as she prepares for retirement early next year.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams talks about the organization's recent 2021 recap.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger shares information about the upcoming Chamber Awards Banquet.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University's Glen McNeil stops by to talk about holiday eating habits.
Transcript
Glen McNeil
In the McNeil house. Usually prime rib and then either ham, or sometimes a turkey that goes along with it. My wife likes really likes Turkey. But usually and that started with my mother years ago. I mean, I remember growing up that was Christmas dinner and so we've kind of my family side of the family has kind of stayed with that. So we generally have prime rib and either mashed potatoes, real mashed potatoes, not dried mashed potatoes, which are real mashed potatoes, but you know, yeah, it's not the same or twice baked. I love that really preferred twice-baked that takes a little more time and these days times important because family comes home our Christmas is gonna be this weekend. So our kids get to spend actual Christmas with all their in-laws. Last year we got him to share you know, it's kind of one of those trade-off things. They were all here for Thanksgiving. So you know we did that. So we have usually a primary oven then ham. Like I said mashed potatoes or twice-baked potatoes, or my wife makes this really list cheesy casserole, which I kind of liked that more so than anything else. But you know, you always have to remember that. I am the lessor in this when it comes to deciding what we have because the grandkids tell Grandma What they like now. And that's the main one there. We usually have like a seven-layer salad that Terry has made for years and it's lettuce and peas and salad dressing, Manny's based salad dressing and cheese and it's very good from that process. And of course, green bean casserole. You can't have a holiday without green bean casserole.
James Bell
See, I'd fight you on that one. I can't stand this stuff. I can't I can't do it. It's one of those things. I can't even look at it. It makes me kind of cool.
Glen McNeil
See, I love mushrooms.
James Bell
And that's the trick, I think.
Glen McNeil
Yeah, my favorite soup is mushroom soup. So has those in there. The green beans are okay, too. But we generate that and then we do freshly baked rolls. We've always done a fresh-baked bread that goes along with it. And then it kind of depends on you know what, what Terry's thinking about what she may want to do. A lot of times it's fresh broccoli seems to go well and my family likes fresh broccoli sometimes and broccoli cauliflower, carrot mix. You know, we we do that. The kids all get grape juice it also I'll get a glass of wine. Of course, you know how that part goes. And then leading up to that, of course, you know that you're doing all that preparation leading up to that we do like many families do is, is we sort of have our hors d'oeuvres, we don't really lunch, we middle the day, middle of the afternoon Christmas Day, so about 10 o'clock in the morning outcomes the what I was thinking about this morning, which is the summer sausage that sliced the cheddar cheese, the pepper, jack cheese, couple different varieties of cheese, crackers, you know all of those good things. And then of course, you feel guilty. So you also have you know, he also we also have some vegetable plates out and we make a taco dip, we kind of do all of the things around Christmas, based upon and Thanksgiving is pretty much the same way and so's Easter the foods that the family likes the kids like and the foods that my grandkids like It's like most people holiday season tends to congregate around the kitchen. You know and you and you visit while you're fixing meals and doing those types of things. So we try to be reasonable in what we do. And like we've talked about in here a lot moderation. Try to include some of those favorite holiday things that are a little bit high in saturated fat and cholesterol, balanced those out with some of those healthy alternatives. And then throughout the day, I try to work a little bit of all of that into my daily intake. But I think it's important that the holidays that we focus on the foods that bring us together and keep us together and the memories that are around that particular food. My mother's recipes, Terry's mom's recipes, recipes, Terry and I've built together for different things and so it just makes a friendly environment to build the food around. That's the holidays, I think. And we'll slip a little bit in there and we'll use that word moderation. You know, some of the secrets about holiday eating, and I'm sure like most people holiday eating has started for me last week, you know, you go somewhere, and there's snacks out and beverages out. And so it's Christmas. Yeah, and all the parties and all the events and those things and, and so you have to practice that, those little keys that we talked about that when you go somewhere, you know, you, you want to show your appreciation for Westerners. So you want to sample the things that are made. So you start with a small plate, okay, you know, if you had a choice of sizes, you know, different planets, pick the smallest one, and then fill the smallest one, one layer and take your time, support it with a beverage, you know, non-alcoholic beverage is good, you know from that. But if you do that with a small plate, there's less of a tendency to eat large amounts. Because you feel psychologicaly you feel more satisfied as whatever you put on your plate, that you've consumed them, and that plates empty, it's empty. And if you take a large plate, or if you graze, so to say, without a plate, you tend to consume more. And so that plate can help you in that process. Yeah, and what
James Bell
You mean there is your you actually want to put the food on, not just stand there and kind of Munch because then you don't really, your brain doesn't know how much you had.
Glen McNeil
Right? If you've, we've talked about this before, and I'm a watcher, right? I likey nobody will do that. But I also like to watch other people, you know, whether it's in the grocery store, or you go somewhere and, and there's an event and people are eating, you're snacking. And what you really notice is the people that don't use, in essence, a little bit of a crutch, like a plate, or something to put their food on, they eat considerably more, and they continue to eat constantly. It's not like they take a plate and they move away, but they stand there and it's a little bit of this, a little bit of that, and then they're back to this or back to that they're always in action around the food. So you can help yourself with your holiday eating by fixing a plate and then moving away from where the main component of the food is, you can always go back. But a lot of times that moving away helps you feel a little more satisfied, and you're less likely to eat lots of food, so a large amount of food. So you can go back and eat a greater variety throughout the day when you do those types of things. And, you know, we talk about this time of year that we have a responsibility as hosts to offer healthy choices. So
James Bell
You don't feel that responsibility to my house. You're just gonna whatever junk I've got,
Glen McNeil
All right, some of us some of the responsibility. So we generally make sure that we have a great variety of fresh fruits and vegetables and, and, you know, different varieties of crackers or chips to offer. And you know, like I said before, yeah, summer sausage is great, the cheeses are great, the dips are great. You know, if we have one dip that may be somewhat fatty and rich, we have another one that maybe a salsa bass dip or something like that. So there are always those alternatives that you can offer. I doubt if anybody else, or very few people really ever think of that. When they come to our house, they think oh, yeah, just lots of food. In that process, so I think the holidays in relationship to food are, are very important, and especially what it brings to us in terms of memory and family and friendship.
James Bell
Yeah, and I think too, and maybe you want to speak a little bit to this for for folks that are so health-conscious, and I know some of these folks in my world, you know, they need a rogue cookie without counting it and tracking it and how much do I have to run to burn that off? It's okay during the holidays to maybe not be so conscious, cuz you can always pick it back up in a couple of weeks, you know, New Year new resolutions and, and burn all that off and get back in that prime shape. You know, without experience, throw caution to the wind.
Glen McNeil
Okay, it's it's the time to notice the wind a little bit more so to say which, you know, we had plenty of that yesterday. That was a terrible. But the fact is, yeah, if you're very, very health conscious about what you do, this is not the time to be doing that. Yes, remain health-conscious. Okay, and maybe you do a little bit of the calculations in your head or something, but it's not something to bring up in a group. And it's not a reason not to eat things. You can also do it a lot of times as what we refer to as sample, you can take a small plate, you can put small amounts of things on them. And because typically you don't have to eat the whole cookie. Right? Now you want to be careful in doing that, that you don't take a plate of food and take tiny little bites of everything and throw it all the way in front of your host. That's not a good process, you know, but the fact is that you can take smaller portions you don't have to eat everything you take, you can sample. And this is a time to relax a little bit. And I think what you're saying is relax a little bit and enjoy it. Don't worry so much about, you know, it's got 132 calories versus 108, it's got six grams of added sugar versus three grams of added sugar and all those, this is not really the time to do that. And you're only doing it for a very short period of time. Okay, and you're not going to come back after two weeks of Christmas, and deny yourself all this and exercise extensively hard to burn off everything you consumed. You want to come back after that period of time, continue your exercise the way it was, right, and maybe you for a very short period of time, you watch what you eat very closely to balance yourself back, most people are going to gain one or two pounds over the holidays, it's not going to take very long to get rid of those one or two pounds, once those extra holiday foods are not there anymore. So enjoy the season, enjoy what's put in front of you. Even though you know when you come back at the first of the year or after the first of the year, you're going to really focus on your life plan again. But it's a time to enjoy what's out there. And we should we really need you to know from a health aspect from a food and nutrition aspect with the stresses that have been around in the last year and a half. This should be a time to really sit back and relax and enjoy the types of things that we have always enjoyed. And to me foods at the top of that. You know that it brings in so many memories and so many aspects of comfort. It's really important to take some time to do that.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Heartland Community Foundation executive director Sarah Meitner stops by to share information about end-of-year giving.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Arts Council executive director Brenda Meder shares the latest from the council.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Cottonwood Extension District agent Susan Schlichting shares information about the upcoming 4-H Day with the Wildcat Women’s Basketball.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with Kansas Council for Economic Education president and CEO Jim Graham.
On this episode of the Weekend Setlist host Jeffery Leiker details events around the Hays area this weekend.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger.
On this episode of the Weekend Setlist host Jeffery Leiker details events around the Hays area this weekend.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Terry Crull, director of choral activities at Fort Hays State University, speaks about their trip to Hawaii to help commemorate the attacks at Pearl Harbor.
On this special episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman remembers Bob Dole with an interview recorded during his trip to Russell in 2014.
Dole died Sunday at age 98.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with Kansas Sen. Rick Billinger.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger shares details about a recently awarded leadership grant.
Transcript
James Bell
A recent grant to the Hays Chamber will help strengthen leadership in the area president and CEO Sarah Wasinger stops by to talk to us about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Sarah Wasinger
I don't know if you've heard but the chamber was awarded a leadership transformation grant from the Kansas Leadership Center.
James Bell
Oh, very cool. No, I hadn't heard about this. I don't know anything about this. What is it again.
Sarah Wasinger
So it's a leadership Transformation Grant, the Kansas Leadership Center is based out of Wichita, Kansas. And part of their focus is working with community partnerships to really expand leadership principles and concepts across the state of Kansas. And last year, our chamber was successful in receiving 46 spots for from them. And we're very close to utilizing all those spots up this year. And the grant that we wrote for 2022, however, we wrote a grant for 50 spots, and we were awarded those spots, which is very exciting. Nice. So leadership Haze is actually something that many of our listeners might be familiar with. It's a leadership program that was started by the Chamber, the Hays area, Chamber of Commerce, then, um, to really just help businesses and organizations help their folks that are maybe at the beginning of their careers in the middle or, you know, even the seasoned pros, bringing folks together to talk about leadership concepts, how we work together as a community to address issues, or needs, or just in general to kind of strengthen ourselves and better ourselves. One of the things that our leadership, hey, students go through is step one of the KLC process. And that is your leadership edge. And that's a two day course. And normally yours, we actually take the students to Wichita, Kansas for that, that because of COVID. Last year, we did that virtually. But we're excited for this year, because they're going to let us go back to Wichita and take them in person, again, awesome, they'll have a blended approach. So there might be some folks who still feel more comfortable doing things virtually. And that's okay. But we're very excited to have that in person capacity. Again, I can very much tell you that being an alumni of the leadership Hayes class, that the in person experiences I felt to be pushed me outside of my comfort zone a little bit more. And I was probably able to get a little bit more out of my experience with it.
James Bell
Well, sure. I mean, because it's human nature, I think you get uncomfortable and you've got the screen and all you got to do is close it or shut the camera off. And but if you're in the room is hard to you can't scrunch down enough to not get called on sometimes, right,
Sarah Wasinger
I'm not going to hide underneath that chair. But the exciting thing about this is we are actually in the window right now for folks to turn in applications. So I was just actually talking to Joe in the lobby. And this is really significant, because some of these trainings are actually worth $800. Wow. And so we're actually offering them to folks who fill out the grant application form for free, I'm really the only investment that they would actually have outside of of course, their time. And there is a workbook and a guide book that are used in conjunction with the course nicely enough, those workbooks and guide books are the same for all three steps of the KLC path. And so you really had that investment only one time. But December 15 is kind of the deadline that we're hoping folks will fill out those applications. So we've got a little over two weeks now. And it's a very simple application, we're just going to ask a little bit of information from you, kind of what you would hope to gain from the leadership course and why you're wanting to apply for it. And then as long as we have enough spots, we'll grant everybody their application. But if we have a certain amount of spots, we'll of course, look at different things like, you know, maybe putting a cap on a number of people per employer, or things of that nature. And we might also look at a few things to, you know, with this person, I'm taking this leadership course, perhaps set our community up to be a little bit stronger based on what they're doing. And you know, the different organizations that they're a part of. So that will all be taken into consideration. Our hope, then, is to actually have all those spots kind of identified and communicated back out with folks by the end of this year. And then I'm really we're gonna give everybody the opportunity to register for their courses by June 30. Our hope is that if we have them registered by that point in time, if anyone changes their mind and says, Hey, I applied for this, but my schedule has changed. I don't think I'll be able to take a course between now and then that gives us time as a chamber to make sure that we're utilizing all this 50 spots.
James Bell
Very cool. thought of everything. Oh, I get so organized down there at the chamber.
Sarah Wasinger
Oh, well, we try. Except for emails not coming through. We'll work on that.
James Bell
Well, that's probably our system. That's yeah. But very cool. Very cool. Well, um, so, you know, for now, is there a like a website? Or do you have more information on your website for this, if people want check it a little bit more detail?
Sarah Wasinger
We do so they can go to Hayes chamber.com. And then our news and announcements page, we've got our resources on the right hand side of that page. And there's a 2022 leadership transformation grant application. And for those folks who also kind of pay attention to our emails and get our news blasts, we'll be sending that out as well as another attachment in our December newsletter. So a couple of different reminders Coming out folks this way, and I do believe will anticipate doing a Facebook post to just to kind of give people another step to apply for that. But yeah, so they arranged like I said, between 408 $100. So it's significant value. And quite frankly, I feel like anytime you have a chance to better yourself, you should do it. A few of the things I did want to talk about is kind of the core concepts and leadership principles that KLC has. So they define leadership as an activity and not a position. And they share that anyone can lead anytime, anywhere, it starts with you and must engage others, and your purpose must be clear. And last, and probably most important, it's risky. So Leadership isn't always easy. And so we have to make sure that we are able to exhibit great patience and understanding with others. So I think those are all different concepts that I struggle with and try to improve on every day. And I'd imagine if I had those considerations and things I need a benefit from, and could improve on that others would, too. And so that's really kind of the why behind why we applied for the grant. And our hope is to continue to apply for the leadership Transformation Grant, year after year. So we can keep moving forward that leadership needle in our community, and give as many businesses and organizations exposure to those leadership concepts as possible.
James Bell
Very cool. Yeah. And you know, I don't know if you want to talk a little bit about this. But I think for a lot of people, when you when you hear that term leadership, you think about the old traditional style boss, you know, the coming down the mountain, somebody's telling you what to do. And that's not necessarily the entire experience and leadership. It's it can be at any level, it can be a, you know, an on any size of project, right.
Sarah Wasinger
Yeah, that's more management actually versus leadership. And there's going to be some great debate and discussion through the courses on that as well. Yeah, well, they're needed just at different times in different places.
James Bell
Yeah, exactly. Love it. All right. Well, Sarah, what else? Well, I think we got to talk about this. The childcare survey is out now. Ready, ready for people to take it? I've seen a couple different places that where you can get to that, right.
Sarah Wasinger
Yes. So thank you so much for bringing that up. Yes, we are working with the childcare task force of Ellis County and have constructed a survey that takes no more than 10 minutes, this survey essentially is going to help that task force to be able to collect data that really gives us a good vantage point as to what needs access for childcare in our community, how many spots we need, how many more providers we need, and then that committee will really assess, you know, how do we support the people who are currently providing childcare? And what things must we do to possibly incentivize others to do childcare because we, of course, have people looking for childcare every day. And we know that there's a lot of waiting lists going on. So the survey is important for people to understand, you don't just have to be a parent to take it, you could be a grandparent, you could be an employer, you know, you're going to know the needs of your staff. And if they're not coming to work, because they don't have daycare lined up, obviously, you can express that, you know, you know that this is needed in your community. So the more people we can get to fill that survey out the better snapshot we get, and we'll be able to start then applying for grant funds, which we can use to help incentivize and start identifying and addressing this issue in our community. So it's also critical, I will have that conversation window open through the end of December. So folks can actually go to our Facebook page to find a QR code. If they have a cell phone, they can scan that. Or there's our direct link on that, too.
James Bell
So funny story, I actually went and took your survey yesterday. Oh, thank you. And yeah, you're welcome. I was trying to figure out how I was going to scan the QR code with my phone because I'm on my phone. And I'm like, huh, and then I saw the link. I took me a minute, but they're both both way ways are right there in handy. It just yeah, you got to be smarter than me, I guess, to be able to get there quickly.
Sarah Wasinger
Well, you know, we wanted it to be as readily accessible as possible, which is why we gave folks both options. But yes, thank you for bringing that up as well. And again, our goal is to have about 1000 survey responses if we can, obviously we have about 20,000 people in Ellis County. So we know that there's going to be a need for us to collect data for the whole entire county, not just Hayes, because there are folks coming over from LSE and Victoria getting daycare spots served on here and Hayes and vice versa. We know we have some families that are going out of town to for sure.
James Bell
So everybody if you're hearing this, take a few minutes go find that survey and do it. It's really not a big deal. I think you say 10 minutes I think I did mine in five it's it's quick and easy. It's nothing. No no long form kind of questions. It's just put it that but the having that data is so vital for the green
On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University provost, Jill Arensdorf speaks about the direct benefits to the are provided by the university.
Transcript
James Bell
Fort Hays State University is more than just an education center for the region. It provides direct benefits to the community. Provost Jill Arensdorf stops by to talk a little bit about some of those benefits on this episode of the post podcast.
Jill Arensdorf
Obviously, the purpose of a Fort Hays State University and really higher education is to educate primarily our student population. However, we also have part of our mission to serve the public good. And many of our outreach programs and impact that we make in Kansas, specifically western Kansas, focus on what you called the impact of teaching and learning. And so I'll share just a few examples. And if you have questions about them, please please ask. But we have the fhsu Literacy Center. And that may be one that people aren't that familiar with, because it's relatively new is a partnership with the Hayes Masonic Lodge, and they're providing virtual and face to face helped area schools that need additional assistance in their reading skills. And this was really primarily due to the COVID 19 shutdown and some of the needs that came from that. And so this Literacy Center has, has risen and been created in the last year or so to provide that assistance that that students may need. In addition, you know, we've got great programs at Sternberg Museum and many people in the community and outside of the community and enjoy those educational outreach activities throughout the year. And then we have a gem in Great Bend with the Kansas wetlands Education Center. And that is connected to Fort Hays and folks might not realize that connection to Fort Hays and the educational opportunities that that provides.
James Bell
Yeah, that's something we talked about the events down there. And and I think that's one of those things. And I grew up near that region. I grew up in Stafford County. It is such a such a jewel down there. And it's really, you know, when you when I think about these events, you think about that drive, but my goodness, it's not that big of a deal, really, in the long run to get down there 45 minutes or so.
Jill Arensdorf
Yeah. And they've got I mean, they've got indoor and outdoor excursion activities and things going on all year. So I really hope that people can take advantage of that. You know, one other thing that if you drive through campus, many days, you won't see the maker van there but many days you will meet the maker van has programs for STEM. And so that maker van allows us to take our STEM show on the road so to speak, and and go into schools and communities to teach students about physics and science and using robots and the mobile planetarium and then our ever popular high altitude blond balloon experiments which go on pretty regularly throughout the year.
James Bell
Yeah, this stuff is so neat. I was I actually got to hang out with one of your Dean's Paul Adams the other day, the who's doing a robot session training session with some middle school teachers and may My goodness, how cool is this stuff? It's just, you know, and I'm pretty tech savvy, I'd like to thank but even the way that this is developing an education so quickly and rapidly, it's just It blows my mind.
Jill Arensdorf
Yeah, if we can get students excited about science at an early age through things like the maker band through things like Sternberg through things like the wetland center, they're more apt to maybe find that as a career path and passion as they choose higher education and a career. So I mean, there's obviously a reason for this outreach. And it's an important part of our mission at Fort Hays State University.
James Bell
Very cool. And that, you know, one other thing in that in that regard, we talked about the weekend center. I don't know that you want to talk a little bit about that one as well.
Jill Arensdorf
Yeah, it's relatively new. So this is a cooperation with USD 489. And the west central Kansas Special Education Cooperative, and several other regional school districts, and the Heartland Community Foundation, so a partnership with many entities. And it is a center where preschool and 18 to 21 year old transition programs occur where students are working with these populations preschool and then the 18 to 21 year olds, adults as they prepare to become teachers. And so it's just a, it's a unique new opportunity that for Hayes's has gotten involved in here in the local community, downtown, at the Hadleys at the Hadley old Hadley hospital, that Hadley building, and it has been a fantastic partnership thus far to create opportunities both for our students to learn but also to impact the community. Very cool.
James Bell
Yeah. And in schools, those economic are about I mean, educational opportunities are there's also some real economic benefits to having the university here and we hear about the Small Business Development Center and you know, Management Development Center as well. And I think that's a huge way that Fort Hays can help and especially right now with so many people going remote work and looking at those kind of things are working for themselves. It's got to have like a tremendous benefit on the area.
Jill Arensdorf
It is and you know, for higher education specifically for Hey, does make an impact on our business and economic development, as you said, and so, through the pandemic, and as we've come out of it, the Small Business Development Center and our management development center, have pivoted, and then they've grown from that and and have expanded their services and expanded the way that they're serving the western Kansas population. So I'll just give you a couple of quick examples. James, the Small Business Development Center for Hayes's the statewide host, but we also have a regional center. And so the numbers I'll share with you our regional numbers, for Hayes, the regional Small Business Development Center establishes and helps startup businesses. So lots of workshops and counseling services that can be done in person, but that also can be done remote now, because of our learning through the pandemic. And so this past year, the center has developed 78 workshops, assisted 124 established businesses in their regional area, which is primarily western Kansas, and then helped 14 new entrepreneurs launch business in this area, which is exciting for the economic drivers that we need to be as an institution and in our in our region. The Management Development Center is housed at Fort Hays State University as well provides lots of public workshops, the focus on customer service, managing people mastering business and communication software and applications. So really serving anyone that has needs in management leadership areas.
James Bell
Yeah, that's we talked about leadership earlier this week on the show and the difference between leadership and management and, and how that works and how it develops. And it is such an interesting field and Fort Hayes has been a leader, I think in in Leadership Studies and how that all not only academically, it comes together, but how it works in the practical world as well.
Jill Arensdorf
Yeah, you're right. Of course, I have some affinity for the Leadership Studies program since it's my home department. But the management development center that I think one of the beautiful things about that center, is that it utilizes expertise of not only our faculty, but business people and other people in the community that have a skill set that they can share with other folks. So they basically contract a facilitator. And then that facilitator uses their expertise to teach others about one of the areas that that we already discussed within the Management Development Center. One of the things I'll quickly mentioned, James, kind of connected to the business and economic development piece is an online bank management contest that the Robins banking Institute hosts each year, in coordination with Robins College of Business and Entrepreneurship. This institute actually engages community banks in Kansas, in this friendly bank simulation competition. So everyone likes a little healthy competition from time to time. And so this online bank management contest has been a fun way for the Institute in our community banks to compete and sharpen their banking skills as they compete.
James Bell
That's very fun. You know, it's one of the things I imagine it is, it is difficult to turn that into a fun activity. But that's a good time. You know, and the other thing speaking of, you know, the activity in the university helping the area, you know, a lot of ways I think the university just kind of generally makes life better out here, right?
Jill Arensdorf
Yeah, no, one of the things that I've always appreciated about living in western Kansas, and specifically now in Hays is that the quality of life is so good here. And our university contributes to that in a way that I'm certainly very proud of. An example of that would be the Herndon Speech Language Hearing Clinic, the clinic, His home is on campus, but the clinic is actually in its fifth year of providing mobile hearing screenings. This is a program sponsored again by the Kansas Masonic Foundation. And so in the last five years, the Herndon clinic, students, faculty and staff have actually provided over 830 free screenings in western Kansas communities, which is an amazing service. And it's amazing learning opportunity for our students who are in those programs. So that then when they're going out into their career, they have experience working in rural Kansas and rural communities and see the need out there and can help serve that need. Another example of just raising the quality of life in western Kansas is our Department of Geosciences is doing some research that's actually been funded by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to test private wells for contamination in western Kansas. So again, a great way for our students and faculty to connect to western Kansas communities and ensure that our water water is of high quality and is safe to drink and use.
James Bell
Yeah, because I mean, otherwise, those resources are harder to find. I mean, I've done some some water testing and I know you have to ship that off and it's, you know, it gonna be a few days where you're doing a locally, just quicker and easier and And again, they're great learning.
Jill Arensdorf
Absolutely. Do we have time to talk about more? Yeah. Okay. So as I, as I came over to the station today, I walked literally walked by the senior companion and Foster Grandparent Program Office, which is now housed in rare at call. These are programs for our local seniors that fill a need on our community for services for our citizens over 55. And so if you're interested in getting involved, we have a director that that would be very anxious to visit with with you if you're interested in getting involved with our senior companion and Foster Grandparent Program. And then we have just ongoing partnerships with the pace Public Library in our downtown art and event venues to host exhibitions and poetry readings and author book signings which all contribute to the quality of life in the community. And so we have lots of students in lots of different departments that are collaborating with downtown Hayes, to to raise, raise our appreciation, maybe for the arts, but also to allow people to participate in a unique way. this coming Saturday is another great event that we have, probably you've probably talked about, in fact, I think I heard about it on the radio on my way up here, the teaming up for Tots toy assembly that will occur this Saturday in the Department of Applied Technology. I can't remember James how many years this has been going on. But it's been going on for many, many years. 200 wooden toys will be assembled from start to finish for children ages two to six. And those will be delivered just in time for Christmas. But if you haven't, if you haven't ever been to that event, it's it's it's really powerful to go in and see the community come together with students and faculty to contribute in a meaningful way and also honor a former Applied Technology faculty member Fred Ruda, the toy, the teaming up for Tots toy assembly is named after him. And he started that program. And it's just a really cool way to get into the spirit of the season, but also to contribute to the community.
James Bell
Absolutely. Yeah, I remember even as an undergrad here, I think it was a student reporter for the student newspaper, and I wrote some stories with with Dr. Ruta when he was doing that program back then. Yeah, it's it's cool. And I love that it's been able to continue and even expand and grow a
Jill Arensdorf
little bit. Yes, yes, I and there's, I think they sometimes have more volunteers than they then they have toys, but but it's just because people find the work so meaningful. And so I believe this year, there's a team of students that's working with Big Brothers Big Sisters. And so they're connecting that project into the teaming up for Tots toy assembly as well. Which actually leads me to another example. Our university athletes, many of them serve as Big Brothers and Big Sisters are for the Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Ellis County programs spending their time with students that need to mentor in their lives. And so that's a way that our, many of our students and many of our faculty and staff are connected to youth in the community through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.
James Bell
Yeah, that's awesome. Cool program and and even cooler when you got to Fort Hays athletes, you know, leading the charge. Exactly,
Jill Arensdorf
exactly. I think I think in some ways, in some of those pictures, I see I think, impacts probably the Big Brother or Big Sister just as much as it impacts the little already cool. Yeah, very cool.
James Bell
Well, we've just got just about a minute or so left, we got to get over to weather. But any last thoughts before we go?
Jill Arensdorf
Well, James, thank you so much for this time that you afford to us on a very regular occasion to talk about Fort Hays State University. I respect our university and love it very much. And we have a very much a shared commitment to service. President Mason often often refers to this as the ethic of care. That's what makes for hasty different. And I think the examples we've talked about here, show that we really care about our students, our faculty and staff, but also our community and that that mission that we hold as high in higher education of the public good. speaks through these examples of outreach that we've talked about this morning, and we can talk probably for 30 more minutes and not cover everything. But as people get into the spirit of the season, I hope that you find a way to get connected to your community and appreciate the outreach that we all bring in.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Ellis County Sheriff Scott Braun shares tips on how to keep safe during the busy holiday shopping season.
Transcript
James Bell
The holiday season means increased shopping and increased risk of theft. Ellis County Sheriff Scott Braun stops by to talk to us a little bit about how to stay safe while out collecting those holiday guests. On this episode of the Post Podcast.
Scott Braun
You know, there's a couple of things we can do to protect ourselves. One, if we're buying gifts online, go to a reputable site, make sure that you're using some type of card or something that has some security to it, monitor your, your purchases through that. Get on some of those sites that will tell you if you have some things to charge to you is monitored closely. As we know scams go up during this time, this year will be no different than any other year, that will be a large percentage, a large percentage of fraud cases being reported to law enforcement to investigate the pretty difficult for us to do. Typically, they're out of our jurisdiction. But unfortunately, you know, the card companies are pretty good about working with people, but monitor that because they can get away from you pretty quick, cancel those cards, if it happens. Regards to gifts, you know, everybody's going to all of the stores around town or out of our community or wherever they might be. Make sure that when you're parking your car, that it's secure. Try to cover those gifts in the back. You know, it just takes a brief moment for somebody to break a window. Or if you leave that door open by accident, kids getting in and out. We're busy. We forgot, forget to check our doors and our kids. Did you lock your door? Yes, well, we all know that sometimes happens, right? And they take the gifts and it cost you some money. And we have some kids unhappy and so just make sure that you're covering those items up and securing your vehicle. And And ladies, please make sure your purses when you're in the stores that you're not letting them by themselves in the cart while you're trying on something or you're dealing with your kids. I know what happens. But please be cautious. You know, those increase every year also. And if anybody's been watching the news, we've been seeing a lot of that stuff in the eastern and western part of the states. Not in Kansas necessarily. We'll knock on wood on that. But there's been a lot of thefts from from stores, a lot of looting and things of that nature. And so unfortunately, that's a trickle effect. Sometimes we hope that doesn't enter our community, but we just want everybody to be cautious.
James Bell
Yeah. And, you know, I heard a story a while back about some booze, doing some shopping and turned her back just turned her back from home to grab the purse out of the car. And then somebody tried to grab it from her. And more or less.
Scott Braun
Yes, you know, and and that's a good point. I know my reaction is to fight that person or, or the ad and I and I get that I can't say that I would be any different. But you know, it is a purse. And I don't want anybody to be harmed, because there are some people that will harm other people to get that item. So just be careful with that. And you just got to be aware of your surroundings. When when, during this time or any time to be for that matter of fact, just be careful around your surroundings. And if you get that kind of funny feeling. Probably something not right.
James Bell
Yeah, better safe than sorry.
Scott Braun
Yeah. So you know, the last the other thing, and we'll kind of get off because I talked about it briefly of people traveling. Again, and I know I spoke about this a long time ago, but please have some precautionary items in your vehicle. Let's get some blankets in there. And let's make sure we have a you know, charger cell phone might have some type of heating item in there. If you're stuck, watch the weather in, you know, years ago, it may have been more difficult. But now we get weather notifications, they pop up all the time on our phones, if you have a smartphone, make sure people know when you're going to arrive approximately at a location. So if you're extended a significant amount, they can start making some phone calls and say, hey, my loved ones not here. Please keep in contact with them. But travel safe. Take a little extra time if the roads aren't good, because the last thing we want to do is have someone injured and and we do see quite a few accidents. There's a lot of travel during Christmas time. And our weather changes in Kansas as we know 30 seconds from now. It could be snowing, who knows? You know? Yeah. So just take a few extra minutes.
James Bell
Yeah. And you know, I was talking to some friends of mine that are a little bit younger, just the other day about this very thing. And they said well, we have a cell phone failing happens. Let's make a phone call. And I'm like, oh gosh, I remember growing up and you know, we lived in a real small town. So travel was part of our daily life 30 minutes, 40 minutes every day. And we didn't have any way of contacting so those those that like the candle in the can and the blankets and all that you know still lives in my trunk. But these younger folks, I think they rely on the cell phones and just think well if I get in trouble I'm going to call but sometimes in service There's situations, you're going to wish that you had some way of staying warm, at least till somebody gets there. And you know, if you're stuck, pros are terrible, whatever it might be.
Scott Braun
You know, technology fails us. And maybe that cell phone's not working, or you were on an all day, and you're gonna make that last phone call. And for whatever reason, your battery just died and you're in this snowstorm, and you can't make that phone call. We don't know where you are, we can't get to you. So you're absolutely right, we've got to take care of ourselves a little bit. We got to make sure we have some means of staying for a period of time. I remember a few years ago, we had some pretty good it's been a number of years ago, pretty good blizzards where I 70 was shut down and, and we were having a hard time getting to people stranded, we actually had to call the National Guard and they started running up and down the road because they had the vehicles to do it. So those people sat there for a couple hours before we get to him. But the point is, is we've got to gotta have some precautionary things and it doesn't take anything, throw something in a bag and put it in the trunk.
James Bell
And just sit there for multiple years if you're like me.
Scott Braun
Yeah, correct. And you have it when you need it. So yeah, so just a few things to think about. And probably last but not least, I know we're probably close on time. On behalf of the Ellis County Sheriff's Office, we'd like to wish everyone a happy, happy New Year and Merry Christmas and I kind of turn those around but I think you get the idea. We want everyone to travel safely and want everyone to have a joyous Christmas for sure. We've had some tough years and everyone gets together as just a wonderful holiday.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Ellis County Health Services Director Jason Kennedy shares recent information about COVID-19 in Ellis County.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Arts Council executive director Brenda Meder shares details from the upcoming Winter Art Walk in downtown Hays.
On this episode of the Weekend Setlist host Jeffery Leiker checks in with Wade Richards, who is scheduled to perform in Hays this weekend.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Downtown Hays Development Corporation executive director Sara Bloom and director of events and operations, Allie Glidewell shares information about Small Business Saturday and more.
TRANSCRIPT
James Bell
As the holidays are quickly approaching the downtown Hays Development Corporation is getting ready for their series of events. Executive Director Sara Bloom and director of events and operations Allie Glidewell. stopped by to talk to us about a little bit what's going on this season on this episode of the post podcast.
Allie Glidewell
So right now we have the downtown dollar giveaway, which is going on participating businesses. So what that is, when you when you shop participating stores, whenever you spend their denote $1 amount, it could be $10, it could be $100. Depending on the store, you get a ticket, this ticket enters you to win in the downtown dollar giveaway, which is taking place on December 18, where you could win $1,000 or $2,000 in Downtown dollars.
Sara Bloom
and other great prizes are participating businesses.
Allie Glidewell
Yes, so that's going on that started that first weekend in November the fourth all the way through December 18. So you have so much time to gather bunches of chances to win.
Sara Bloom
And if you want to get at like the top of the pile and earn double tickets, that customer appreciation weekend starts on December 9 10th and 11th. When you shop at those businesses you get not one but two tickets every time you spend that minimum amount which ranges from everything from like $10 It breeds to $50 at Refine and Simply Charmed and
Allie Glidewell
It's 100 at the Furniture Look it's actually only 25 It's Simply Charmed, Breath, The Gamers Guild there's a ton of places,
Sara Bloom
So and lots of different ways in amounts that you have to spend. So yeah, check that out. coupon books are also happening.
Allie Glidewell
Yep. So many of those participating businesses also are selling coupon bucks or $10. But they have hundreds and hundreds of dollars in saving. So if you're trying to get some Christmas shopping done, but also want to earn tickets, the coupon bucks are great way to do that.
James Bell
Awesome win win win. Yeah, it'll relate. Yeah, and no wait for wins because it's a win for the community. Because you're shopping local. We're gonna talk more about that as well.
Sara Bloom
I mean, I think we promote shopping local all the time, especially in downtown Hays supporting your friends and your neighbors you're supporting the people that are supporting your auctions and your sports teams and your fundraisers, all the things.
Allie Glidewell
Great way to segue into Small Business Saturday, which is November 27, and the day after Black Friday. So we understand that you can't get necessarily every single product in downtown Hays or Hays America, we get that. But also, there's so much that you can't get so remember to keep your very small businesses top of mind this year, we will actually be doing a fun little giveaway the beginning of that week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday on social media where we're giving away a cute little tote bag and coupon books as well. And then Sara is actually gonna be going around on Small Business Saturday.
Sara Bloom
I'm very excited about this nicely. So we have partnered with brief Coffee House in downtown Hays. And if you don't know if you weren't at one of the parade, they have purchased a coffee mobile it's so cute. Very cute. So I get to drive around in the coffee mobile for three hours on Small Business Saturday literally yelling Thank you for shopping small Thank you for shopping downtown Hayes and giving away coffee and hot chocolate and cookies. So watch for the automobile. I'll be wearing a Santa hat and driving around and they will be very big.
Allie Glidewell
It does it reminds me something like a Dr. Seuss mobile. I just keep calling it the put put mobile.
Sara Bloom
We better lighten it up we better make it look pretty fast.
Allie Glidewell
It's going very fun. Yeah. And then immediately after Small Business Saturday, we have a Giving Tuesday campaign which is gonna start on November 30. So we our office did several things last year or this year that supported small businesses or the teacher program things like that. We want to do something to help the nonprofits as well. So Sarah contacted Redeem Design. If you want to finish those you can sure so.
Sara Bloom
With redeem designs, and basically said we want to sell something really cool that we can you have have support nonprofits so essentially they have created this really unique graphic T design. It has a bison it's a little hard on his chest. It says together we give which is the National Giving Tuesday slogan and then it's got 67601 which is of course our zip code on it. And you can purchase it in three different styles and three different colors so short sleeve T Long Sleeve tee or hoodie in black, navy or maroon. So we've got something for the Hayes Hi Pam, we've got something for P fans. We've got something for generic. We did make it a very simple design so men or women can wear it you don't have to worry about the soft pink. Yeah interview. Good luck. But essentially you can go to downtown hayes.com backslash Giving Tuesday. You can check out the designs now. But then we will the store will open on the 30th it will last for six days through that Sunday, December 5 And then you can select from a drop down every time you make a purchase and it will support a local nonprofit And we did not limit it to downtown nonprofits. Any nonprofit in Hays can get signed up for this. I think we have almost 20 signed up right now they have until November 29. To sign up was like, literally the day before we start selling these T shirts. If you're not on our list, you can still get on our list. And then hopefully, at the end of that week, we can write some pretty large tricks. And we loved getting to support the retailers and restaurants. And now we're excited to support the nonprofits as well. And if it goes, well, maybe this is an annual thing. Maybe we do a GivingTuesday shirt every year. But we're a 501 C three nonprofits reached out to us and asked what are you doing? And we thought, you guys are really smart. We should really do that. We should we should support ourselves, maybe. So we're excited for that. I'm 30th.
Allie Glidewell
Yeah, it'll be very cute. So that will end on December 5. December 3, though, so taking just like a little step back is our annual frost fest. Christmas tree lighting, which is very fun. Last year, our organization tripled the amount of lights on that tree in Union Pacific park next to the pavilion. So it's gonna be huge and beautiful. And they're actually already up. The city took advantage of all the warm weather. So the the lights are there. We're just gonna wait until the third to light it up.
Sara Bloom
Thank your parks department.
Allie Glidewell
Honestly, because they're the best. But we'll have a storytime from the library. There. They're a little chilly mascot there penguin will come down, read a story, his little book that they put out every year. We'll have little carolers Tiger tots are going to Carroll, which is going to be very cute. I'm very excited about that. Santa Mrs. Claus will be their breed again. We'll be giving out hot cocoa.
Sara Bloom
And the sunflower Clydesdales. carriage rides
Allie Glidewell
Are back baby. Nice. Yeah,
Sara Bloom
We're excited. That's so popular. Yes. They were excited a lot. We're really excited.
Allie Glidewell
We're always excited. If we aren't excited, we're not doing something right. Because we can't get excited about our own stuff. What are we doing?
Sara Bloom
Yes, but yeah, lots of things happening that night as well. Yeah, so
Allie Glidewell
that'll be from five to seven. But the Clydesdales the carriage rides are going to go until eight.
Sara Bloom
And the tree will actually be lit by our mayor at 6 pm. So make sure you're there before six if you want to see the lights turn on but we'll have activities throughout the night.
Allie Glidewell
Yeah, should be really good. The following day, that Saturday, December 4 Is the winter Artwalk. We are we do not organize, just promoting.
James Bell
We had Brenda on actually this week, Brenda Meder from the Arts Council. we talked a little bit about this. So yes, well, yeah, shouldn't be in tuned in on that one. Hopefully,
Sara Bloom
perfect. But we'll be hosting a winter craft fair and market in conjunction with the artwork that's inside the fox, you can sign up now if you'd like to be a vendor for just $25 runs from 9 am to noon, check it out. There is a Facebook event already. You can sign up with Fox. They're the ones accepting the payments in the forums. Yeah.
Allie Glidewell
So that should be really fun.
James Bell
Yeah, very cool scenarios, super small business.
Sara Bloom
Those crafters that you know, that's equally as important and also pay. I mean, they're still paying take sales tax as well. They're still supporting the economy and putting money back in our community. So yeah, equally as important.
Allie Glidewell
Yeah. December 9 is our customer appreciation weekend that Sarah was talking about where you get double tickets. Again, just keep shopping local.
Sara Bloom
And if you're listening to this in your business, we highly encourage you to get signed up for the process parade as well. We'll be back on to talk about all of the events happening on December 18, which include the parade and movie nights and stuff at the library. But right now, we need you to sign up for that illuminated parade and get excited that we're back in person this year, because we weren't last year and are back in person. They should again, once again, we're very excited to be back in person and to bring the fastest parade back.
Allie Glidewell
Yeah. Yes. So if you have any questions about registration for the parade, like feel free to go ahead and reach out but it's a story Christmas night is the theme. So it should be very, very live up this year. Very beautiful, very fun. I love that.
James Bell
It's like that's, to me. Frost Fest is like the epitome of living in Hays. When it comes together. You know, it's just it's a beautiful celebration. It's it's not commercial. I mean, there is some commercial aspect to it. But it's just a great way to get the community together. And there's always the hot cocoa and the I don't know, it's just It warms the heart warms my heart anyway, I can't speak for anybody else. I love
Allie Glidewell
We love it too. Also, if you want to volunteer for the frost fest parade, if you want to help guide traffic, maybe judge a float, helped you registration, things like that we have we have corn and a movie night, Movie Night, all sorts of things. Feel free to reach out because we love it when the community gets involved.
Sara Bloom
That's the case. In any event, we are always looking for volunteers whether you want to sit on a board or a committee or just volunteer that day. Get involved. We love seeing you downtown and helping out and we really try to make it worth your while and we do Yeah, we usually have pretty good freebies for our volunteers to try to use. Yeah.
James Bell
Very cool. Well, guys, we got to get over the news. Any last thoughts where we go?
Sara Bloom
Shop local, think downtown first downtown, he's calm. We're on Facebook. We're on Twitter, we're on Instagram, all the things check us out and thanks for supporting local Happy holidays.
James Bell
Have you excellent Yeah. So Thanksgiving are all the holidays. Oh, it's ever except for Halloween is gone. My kids very sad about that he doesn't care about Christmas for Thanksgiving he just wants to
Sara Bloom
Trick or treat was amazing. Just thanks for everyone. That was awesome.
On this week's Weekend Setlist host Jeffery Leiker checks in with Santa and his plan in the area.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University's Glen McNeil stops by to talk about cooking and eating a safe Thanksgiving meal.
Transcript James Bell
Small steps can help keep food safe during the holiday weekend, Glen McNeil, from Fort Hays State University stops by to talk to us about that on his nutrition health and wellness segment on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Glen McNeil
We are a social people, you know, they call social animals we are because we like to get together. And one of the things that generally happens when we get together is food. Because food shows comfort, it shows love, it shows respect, you know, it shows that we like and enjoy the people we're around. So we offer them something, and then that encourages them to stay for longer periods of time. And, and visit and so you know, we have a lot of food and holidays and, and a lot is what tends to be there and it tends to be around quite a bit. And since you know we're off, so to say work, or we're with family, we tend to spend a lot more time sitting in the same locale. And that's when we find more snacking going on. And a lot of times, especially when you look at Thanksgiving, somebody does a really good job on making a particular order or a particular dessert or whatever that that food item it is. And we as individuals feel whether we acknowledge it or not, we feel a little bit of responsibility to eat something of everything. Now, except me, I don't eat sweet potatoes. So I don't like sweet potatoes. So how can you not okay, well, we'll talk that would be a whole two or three days.
James Bell
We got to know the story behind that.
Glen McNeil
Well, they're good for you. Okay, we're good for well, they're good for you in the fact of like any potato, they're good for you if you just eat the potato. But when you put all those other toppings and sweets and marshmallows and brown sugar, you sort of take away the good from it, and they're good source of vitamin A good, they're good source of beta carotene if you skins are a good source of fiber. So you know all of that I know that I just don't really like sweep. So okay, why do you do that? And I guess that's true. I tell my wife that. So she makes it every year. And they she says they're good. So I'll buy into that. But in other words, we we feel a responsibility to eat something that people repair to show that. Oh, well, thank you for bringing it. Yes, it's, it's good. Yes, I respond to the love and time you put into that food product. And so at Thanksgiving, of course, you know, it's traditional Turkey in a traditional meal. So first thing is, if you have not yet been to Turkey, good luck. Okay, they're tough to get right now the stores have them. Prices are up a little bit. We haven't seen any of these fantastic Turkey sales we've seen in the past, but kind of like everything else that's going on right now. It's tough to get items and products like that. So if you haven't watched turkey for, you know, a week from in essence a week from today, probably got to get your shopping done, okay to do that. And then if you're going to cook your turkey, next Thursday, take it home and put it in the refrigerator. Okay, don't put it in the freezer, it's gonna take a while for that to thaw out. Right. And we usually say about seven days, okay. And depending upon the size of the bird, you know, if you get a, if you get a, you know, a 15 to 20 pound bird, it's probably gonna take about seven days, in the average refrigerator, when you put it in the refrigerator, put it on a pan, put it on the bottom shelf. Okay, make sure there's no raw food product or anything below it, just in case those juices would have to spill over the pant would spill over the pan a little bit because like any poultry, you have the concern of salmonella, okay. But they're usually you know, in a plastic case or whatever. And part of the reason it takes so long for them thaw out, they're big. They're frozen all the way through, and you leave them encased in that wrapping. Okay, you don't want to unwrap it and put it in the refrigerator laying out, you leave it in case in the wrapping. So that kind of traps some of that cold in there in that process. So give it a good, I mean, now's a good time to put it in there. Give it seven days or so to thaw out. And if your refrigerator is not one that gets opened frequently, it may take a little longer than the recommended time that's on the turkey or the information because the temperature of the refrigerator doesn't go up and down very much. Terry and I learned that a few years ago with the kids all gone. You know the refrigerator doesn't get open as much as it used to. So it takes an extra day or two for our turkey to thaw out. So ours is sitting in the refrigerator now getting ready for we're going to host it next weekend. So we're giving it about 10 days to get good and thought out and you're okay so long as it sits in there and thaws. Depending upon how you're going to cook it then that that has an effect to the popular method these days is deep frying your turkey. Biggest key when you deep fry that Turkey is make sure it's completely thawede out. Okay, there's no water and there's no ice crystals. Ttapped in the cavity of that Turkey, because if there are, you're going to get a, not just a foaming of that oil, when you put it in there, you're gonna, you're gonna get a little pop that goes a big pop that goes along with it. And that the immediate thaw of that moisture coming out through the cavity where the neck is causes that oil to shoot up. Okay, and so it's very dangerous process. So it's a good idea to make sure it's really thought out, you know, open the cavity, take the giblets out of there, there in the giblets and make sure the cavity is somewhat dry and thought out on the inside. If your bird is not completely thought out, okay, you can thaw it out under running water, don't put it on the counter, you can use a microwave. I've never been real fond of, of using the microwave to thought that big of an item. Okay, in terms of that, but she thought under cold running water, you don't throw it under hot water, because that causes part of the bird to come up to a warmer temperature. And if there's bacteria present, it may allow some minor growth there. So you just put it in a pan big enough that it can stay submerged in, let the turn the faucet on cold and get it full, get that pan full, and then turn it down to just a little bit of a dribble so that the water continually runs off of it. And you'll find that it will fall very quickly. You know that that water is considerably warmer, it's cool to the touch, but it's considerably warmer than the bird. And so that will thaw your bird out relatively quickly. Okay, I mean, it's not super fast and don't use hot water. Okay, from from that process, and then it comes down to how you're going to cook it, whether you're going to smoke it, you're going to barbecue it, you're going to bake it in the oven, you're going to defend fry it, you know, I don't know whether never I've never thought about air frying, full size Turkey, but I suppose you could do it these days? Probably a little bit, it's probably a little bit big and thick. To actually air fry, you could use your air fryer, I suppose if your oven has an air fryer in it, you could use it to crisp the outside of the turkey. Okay, I don't know, I have not researched that part hadn't thought about that. And the other reason that brought up is we just our oven of 30 some years died. Oh, so we had to replace it here. And we got one with an air fryer in it. And you know, I hadn't thought about that. But you know, we're usually not big on that. If you do not have a $2 stick thermometer, go by. Right it is worth it. And it'll tell you I'm not going to say temperature. What I'm going to say is right on that thermometer, it's going to say Turkey. Okay, you cook it until it reaches turkey. Alright, until you reach that point get out. If you buy one that has one of those pop up thermometers in it. You know, the little pop up stick thermometer is when the birds done it, it pops up. I still say go get you a stick thermometer. And it's a you know, they're about five inches long with a dial on the end. And don't do not I had a friend of mine one time called me says Glenn I went out bought one of those thermometers, but it's just I don't understand it, it melted in the oven. Well said they're not designed to be used some of them. That's a pretty special thermometer, not the $2 one not to $2 one and he said oh, okay, but you know, put it in, I usually encourage people to put a right in the center of the breast, okay, and the largest part of the meat, make sure that that is up to temperature. When you take that bird out of the oven or out of the fryer or whatever, let's meet continues to cook for approximately five minutes, the temperature will continue to rise for approximately five minutes after you take it out. Now you can take it out and what I think is good, you take it out, you cover it with some aluminum foil, and you put a towel on top of it and you just let it sit there on the pan for about five minutes. So many people take it out of the oven set on the table and slice it right away. Wow, look at the juices run that's going to be so good. And then what they find out is it sits there for a while it gets dry. Okay, well, the meat, the protein that cooks when you cook protein, meat butter is forced out of it. And then when you let it sit and as the temperature starts to drop, some of that water is pulled back in. So then when you slice it after about five minutes, yes, you're still gonna see some of the juices run. But your meats gonna be more tender, it's gonna be juicy from that standpoint so that that's a good process. Recommendations these days if you're going to stuff your turkey you know whether you make your stuffing or you use stovetop or whatever it is you do, smart thing to do is cook the turkey when it's nearly done, okay stuff or wait until it's done and then put the stuffing in it and let it sit in there for that five minutes or so and absorb some of that taste. Problem is that sometimes in the cavity especially the bigger birds, the as The juices cook out of the turkey during during the heat process, they get absorbed by the stuffing, sometimes that stuffing doesn't reach 165 degrees. So you have a little bit of an issue there. So that you know, just the safe thing is to fix your stuffing separately. And then stuff your bird if you want, but most people I know now just make a pan of stuffing and put it on the table. You know, and of all things left over after Thanksgiving.
James Bell
Yeah, yeah, I mean, who doesn't?
Glen McNeil
Well, some people,
James Bell
I well, I don't want to associate with them. People I'm sorry. I'm sorry, folks,
Glen McNeil
Kind of like sweet potatoes. Some people don't like stuffing, you know, leftover stuffing. So you know, if you're going to do that make your bird so you know, you can display it. And it looks really good in terms of that process in which you're going to do. So we've got turkey and we've got stuffing and then you know, cranberry sauce, if you really, if you want to go along with it, you know make it and some people make their own cranberry sauce or they buy real cranberry sauce or, you know what's popular is the jelly cranberry sauce and they can that's the good stuff. That's the good stuff. You know why it's the good stuff. For sugar? Yeah, there we go. So that's, that's one of those things you want to be a little bit careful with about how much you're going to consume as a commercial product, it does have some more sugar in it. And whether you do mashed potatoes or twice baked potatoes, or just plain baked potatoes, you know, that's that's up to you and how you fix them and fresh and to get the most nutritional value out of your potatoes leave the skins on. Now a lot of people don't like mashed potatoes with the skins on him. But you know, that's the the fiber component component of the potato, that's also the little little piece in there between the skin and the potato itself where the true nutritional value is. And, and I understand that, I mean, I like my mashed potatoes to be real fluffy and soft. And you kind of don't get that if you leave the skins on that process. But I know some people who basically bake their potatoes first, and then peel the skins off and make mashed potatoes that way gives a different tastes a little bit different texture, and then they fry the skins and eat the skins later, you know, as a snack later in the day. So there's a lot of things that you can do. Remember, the two hour rule, okay, from the time you put it out, two hours needs to be after that two hour time period, it needs to be broken down into smaller portions put in the refrigerator or the freezer, you know, because the longer you leave it out there past that two hour time period, the longer it's in that danger zone that 40 to 140 Danger Zone for bacterial growth. And that's true as appetizers you set out ahead of time. You know, if you set things out ahead of time, like you know, we like to put cheese and crackers and vegetables and dip out kind of the first thing in the morning. So those things to snack on, you know, while you're fixing the dinner and everybody's The kitchen is the center place because everybody's around the food the kitchen in the dining room, you know, so we have those kinds of snacks out you just want to be careful that you don't leave them out too long. I know it's it's it's tough to throw food away. So you always kind of need to watch the times a little bit and and some things that are smoked or fermented you know, can last a little longer because they're in essence they have enough preservatives in them but I always remind people that the two hour time limit you know just when you get past that that's the real safe side can go somewhat past that but usually with a and especially with colds and flues on the way up COVID still around. The fact is you don't want to leave all that food out exposed so people can read on it. It's gonna happen you know, and hopefully nobody gets sick but but you want to do that. What else we need?
James Bell
I think that's it.
Glen McNeil
You're quiet today.
James Bell
Well, your have given us so much good information. I keep writing notes. I notice that you're just checking them off as I'm I don't even have to ask your just on it.
Glen McNeil
Desserts. You know, whatever your favorite dessert is. Mine's called butter finger dessert and it's made with pool whip and ice cream mixed together pushed, put on a graham cracker crumb crust, and then cooled it put on top and then crushed Butterfinger candy bars put all over it.
James Bell
I'd never heard of that. I would eat that.
Glen McNeil
My mother in law made makes it all the time. And my wife makes it and I just think it's. Pumpkin pie is okay, I like pumpkin pie tube of Oh yeah, it's got French vanilla pudding in it too. Okay, so by the time you're all done, and you get all that together, I really don't mind if nobody else eats any of it because it's really good in the refrigerator for three, four or five days, you know as the flavors plan but that's that's my favorite but we always have pumpkin pie and we have like a fruit pie and apple pie or a cherry pie that that goes along with it. And so you you know if you spend the time to bake them yourself. You can do those things ahead of time. Do what you can ahead of time so the The person in the kitchen also has the time to interact with everybody else. You know, that's, that's a key don't don't lock somebody away in the kitchen. But some, some people want to be, you know that, that their this is their meal to fix yeah playing the role of the host. And yeah, you know, this, this is their meal to fix this is in our house, this is my wife's meal to take care of, I can help if she wants me to go get something or peel some this or peel some of that, but, but she's in charge in charge of the meal and the food because that's something that, you know, this she likes to do now when it comes to Christmas, and we're doing primary ever ham or something like that. And that's my part. Besides we don't get along in the kitchen, you can believe that. She does things her way. And I do things my way, which we've just learned, you know, from that, so we get along pretty good. And I will admit, she's a better baker. Much better. I'd rather eat her cookies and pies and cakes than mine.
James Bell
Nice.
Glen McNeil
So you know, a selection of variety of foods and desserts and what goes on the probably one of the biggest things is just watch how much you eat. Remember, the key one of the keys is, the smaller the plate you use, the fuller, it looks with smaller portions, right. So if you're trying to moderate that, always think of it in this way, I'm going to take a small portion, because I can always take more, there's plenty there, I don't need to fill my plate up here, you know, and really do this, what I can do is I can have a small portion, I can leave a little bit of everything I want. And then I can go back and have more of the things that that I really want, what we run into so often holiday times is is is people lose the awareness of what they're eating, there's, you know, so much communication, people who see having a good time, we just don't think about how long we've been snacking, how many times we've dipped into the dressing, or you know, the the sauce that goes along with the chips that are out there, or how many different types of cheese and sausage we've had with the four different types of crackers that are sitting there before and after the meal, you know, all of that thing, we tend to get lost in it and, and that's really that's good for us to get lost. You know that social aspect is good. But you need to have a little bit of awareness and spread out your your food intake during the day, you know, you're going to eat a big meal. It's just hard to do with all that food sitting around. It's not do that. But then you also know that there's going to be things brought out for the afternoon while you're around. Okay, and then there's going to be that evening meal that comes back. And for many people, it's tricky. You know, okay, well that's okay, so long as when you're done with lunch, you get that turkey broken down into smaller packages, put it in the refrigerator, so it can cool. And then when you pull it out in the evening, it's safe to, to eat from that standpoint. So you know, you that's that's what you do in that process is be able to do those things. And a lot of people say that, you know, the best part of Thanksgiving is two three days afterwards.
James Bell
That's when my wife is she cooks way so much to eat way too much food just so we have it or so she can have it.
Glen McNeil
Well yeah, you can eat it after break it down into small meals, you know, and just watches things cool, cool things in your refrigerator properly, don't leave things sitting out. That's what you really want to be careful of, you know, you want to think of the meal and at the same time, you want to think of what what's going to happen the next few days or time period where you're going to eat all those leftover foods and enjoy it. I mean, that's that's pretty much what we want to do. Especially the way things have been the past few years, make your favorite foods, take your favorite foods along with you snack just be careful. And it's a good idea for the afternoon while you're watching football and you're doing all those things and you have those chips and depths and vegetables and all of those things set out have small plates for people to use. That will help them eat less than if they just go and dip
James Bell
Then you end up just standing there right watching.
Glen McNeil
So you put it on a plate then you move. People tend when they put it on a small plate like that they tend to move away from the food and then he eat what's on their plate now maybe they go back but there's less likelihood that they will consume more so you can help your guests you know in in terms of that.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber administrative assistant Marlis Fletcher and Nathan Rohr, from Rohr's Carpet Cleaning talk about Chamber Cheques.
Transcript James Bell Chamber checks from the Hays Chamber can make an excellent gift to keep your money, local administrative assistant, Marlis Fletcher stops by to talk to us about that in more on this episode of the post podcast, and I'm got a special guest with us today. I'm excited to see him as well. I'll let you introduce your friend here.
Marlis Fletcher So this is Nathan Rohr. And he is owner of Rohr Carpet and Sales. And he's going to talk to us a little bit about what they have to offer.
James Bell Very cool, very cool. I'm excited to get into that. So, you know, we were talking a little bit before we got on air carpet cleaning, obviously is a some that I'm interested in, which is weird, but we'll talk more about that. But first, before we get there. One of the things we're gonna talk about right now a moralists is shopping local. How important is this time of year, especially in Ellis County?
Marlis Fletcher You know, our businesses depend on us to shop local, we want to thrive in this town. And so, and we want our businesses to thrive. So let's keep them around and let shop local. And a good way to do that is come to the chamber and see us and buy chamber checks. Yes. Okay.
James Bell So we're going to talk about these chamber checks. We've talked about them in the past, but in case somebody is listening, like wait a minute, I don't know what this is, I've heard the term, maybe you want to tell us a little bit about what these things actually are.
Marlis Fletcher So they look kind of like a check. They come in 45, $10 and $25 increments. They spend it any chamber member business just like a checker like cash. If you buy $199 or less, there's a $1 fee. If you buy $200 or more in chamber checks, there is a $5 fee. They come with an envelope with a wire in it to tell you a lot of the businesses where you can spend that money. So we try to make it really easy and really nice. And that way you can give a gift and you don't have to pick something out for somebody that they have to take back you can just give them the gift and they can shop local and spend keep the money in a nice
James Bell Yeah, I love that. And you know, unlike any other thing you might do if you get a gift card to a restaurant, you know, chain restaurant at one of the big stores here or if you buy some online. That's great. But I mean as a gift, but also not local this way, it's it's guaranteed to stay right here in the community.
Marlis Fletcher It's guaranteed and you're not stuck at one. Like if you go buy a gift certificate to a certain restaurant, not that that's not a great thing if it's in haste. But this you can go to like a number of businesses and spend that money. You're not tied to just one certain business.
James Bell Yeah. I know Sarah has told me in the past how many members you guys have, but it's a lot. You know?
Marlis Fletcher It's around 500. Yeah. Okay. A little bit over 500.
James Bell So you got some options to spend this chamber check you do. That's incredible. It blows my It blows my mind. I think the first time she told me that I was like, what? How are there even 500 businesses in Ellis County, let alone over me and Chamber members. I love it. One of those Chamber members that we're going to talk to here is is Nathan right.
Nathan Rohr Yeah, thanks for having me.
James Bell So chamber checks, like, you know, you guys would have to take them but I guess the question is like, what what would you what would you use a chamber check for it roars carpet cleaning.
Nathan Rohr So we offer a lot of services. The first thing with the holidays coming around is we're offering 10% off gift certificates. So if you want to give the gift of a clean house for any family member or friends, you can come down to our store and we can give you a gift certificate and you get 10% off. You could use a chamber check for those. We are offering air duct cleaning specials, a new service we added an epoxy specials for epoxy floors. And of course we do our carpet cleaning and carpet sales that you could use the the chamber checks on for two.
James Bell Very cool what's in it? What's an epoxy floor? Um, yeah, that far out of the trends. I don't know what that is.
Nathan Rohr Yeah, so they're pretty new. You can do a lot of different things with them. You got your flake epoxies quartz, metallic floors. They're getting very popular. You're seeing them in some of the restaurant bathrooms. We've done a few garages, a few porches. They're pretty new, and they look really really cool when they're done. So you
Marlis Fletcher Can use those indoor or outdoor?
Nathan Rohr Yes, you just got to watch what type of epoxy you're buying them make sure that you're getting the UV resistance. The help that way it's not fading.
Marlis Fletcher So if I want to come down there and I want to look and see what different kinds of epoxy floors Do you have samples I can look at.
Nathan Rohr Yeah, so at our showroom at 722 E 7th I have a whole show room where we have it all broke down into our luxury vinyl plank flooring, our carpet sales, our epoxy flooring. And then we also have some deodorizers and different cleaners if you're wanting just a basic cleaner for your home on your carpets or hard surface flooring.
James Bell Very cool. You know and as we were talking a little bit before on air, you know what I think with your new With your basic service, your carpet cleaning service. But the time you know for most folks, you get the machine and the chemicals. And then you got to move furniture and do all that work you what you guys offer and I don't want to throw prices out there for him. But what you guys offer he, to me, it seems like almost a better deal. It's cheaper when you factor in all that other stuff to have a professional do it. And it's gonna do a better job. Oh, well, you're telling me right?
Nathan Rohr Yeah. So I always tell my customers you pay for what you get. You know, there's nothing wrong with using a Rug Doctor, but it's not gonna be a deep clean. Yeah, there's my system quick like
James Bell In between maybe like, if you're if you guys come out once a year, you do the Rug Doctor thing every six months or so. Right?
Nathan Rohr Yeah. So if you actually look into your carpet manufacturer, when you buy new carpet, it's recommended that the carpets cleaned every 12 to 24 months. So and everybody does that, right? Yes, everybody. And actually, when you buy carpet from us, we give the first carpet cleaning for free, you just have to use it within that period to help keep your manufacturer's warranty. And our carpet cleaning machines get up to 200 degrees. So compared to when you were in a rug, doctor, you're not going to get near as hot water, so you get a better sanitizing effect out of your cleaning.
James Bell If it's relatively quick to you guys, I think go into a house and you're there for a couple hours maybe?
Nathan Rohr Yeah, I mean, depending on the size of the house, it usually if it's just a few rooms, you know where something we can do in the morning compared to a whole house may take us till you know, three quarters of a day or depending on the house, it may take us all day. But if you call me I can definitely you know talk about it. The other thing is we also have fans available to rent. So if you're worried about slow drying, I do run out my turbo fans to help speed up the drying process.
Marlis Fletcher Very cool. Very good. Thank James You don't have to haul it to your house and then holla back.
James Bell Yeah, really that's that's where it comes in. You know, for for some folks. I'm sure it makes sense. And maybe some folks do like doing it. But that's really where the value comes in is the time because you're doing that on your own. Oh, my goodness. Yeah, it could. You're talking about half a day, three quarters of a day. It will take me a full weekend. Yeah, doubt.
Nathan Rohr Yep. Well, we definitely have the equipment that we're set up, you know, where we can go in and do a job, click quickly but efficiently and make sure that your carpets look great when they're done.
James Bell Very cool. Okay, well, guys, we've got just another minute or two left. I don't know any last thoughts. Marlis. Do I know I know. There's no real events going on this week because of the holiday now at the chamber.
Marlis Fletcher So yes, and we're actually close Thursday and Friday, but we'll be back on Monday and we'll be there tomorrow too. So we'll be here today and tomorrow. We're closed Thursday and Friday and back on Monday. So come by some chamber checks.
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney recaps this week's USD 489 Board of Education meeting with superintendent Ron Wilson.
Transcript James Bell USD 489 will soon be soliciting feedback from the community for an upcoming a bond issue campaign. Hays Post reporter Christina Janney speaks with USD 489. Superintendent Ron Wilson about that and more as they recap this week's Board of Education meeting on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Cristina Janney Well, one of the things that was discussed last night that's been kind of hovering around Headstart for a while, is the federal mat vaccine mandate. The board finally approved a policy that was going to give guidance to those employees. You want to tell our listeners a little bit about that? You bet,
Ron Wilson Christina. You know, I think it was back in September where we, we received a letter from the Office of Headstart and this only applies to our all our employees' audit. This does not apply to all of our USD 49 employees who work in other buildings, but the office of a headstart is requiring that all of their employees get vaccinated by January 1. And so we have been working since September to try to put together, some guidance for employees on how best to handle this. And so Donna Hudson-Hamilton, who is the director of ECC, along with her team spent a considerable amount of time putting together a policy just to help navigate this kind of uncharted territory for us in terms of staph vaccinations. And I think what they did was they put together a policy that gives everyone opportunities to, you know, do what they feel is best for them. And so we are requiring vaccinations However, within that policy, we are all also offering a medical exemption or a religious exemption, should they choose not to get the vaccination. So I guess all in all, it's it's a good thing. It's like I said, this is something we've not dealt with, as a school district. It's not what was approved last night is not a board policy that will continue for district employees, but it will continue for the ECC employees, as long as this mandate is in place by the Office of Head Start.
Cristina Janney And Donna Hudson-Hamilton, who is the director of early childhood connections, who this is affecting, said about there's about 90 employees that the mandate will affect in the number of roughly fit for about half of those have received all vaccinations at this point.
Ron Wilson Yes, that's the information that we've received. You know, going forward, we anticipate there could be some that choose to get the vaccination or we hope that those that don't will file exemptions, either religious or medical, and will be able to go forward and continue as is.
Cristina Janney And it's also my understanding that there will be no test-out option for anyone who is not vaccinated. You're either vaccinated or you're you have filed for an exemption.
Ron Wilson Yeah, that's that. And that, once again, that is not a district policy. That is what the office of Headstart has indicated for their employees. And so it's kind of a unique situation because we do employ every as a district, USD 489 does employ these DCF employees. But the funding comes from the federal division to help support the Early Childhood Development Center.
Cristina Janney So will employees who do not wish to comply with the vaccine mandate? Will they have any opportunity to be reassigned elsewhere in the district?
Ron Wilson You bet we have, we've made it a statement to all the employees out there that we're going to work with everyone, should someone not meet the exemption list, we'll we'll try to find the spot within our district that that maybe they can work and not have to have a vaccination. So we're gonna do everything we can to keep employees working. And that's that is a priority for us. And it's a priority to have our full staff out at ECC.
Cristina Janney If you want to read more about this. There's a story up on the Hays Post this morning about that. Moving on, I think there is another important thing that the board discussed last night, and that was a survey being released to the general public about some possible bond options. Can you tell our listeners a little bit about that?
Yeah, I mean, we're we're getting into a little more in depth in terms of what we're looking for. out as far as scopes of work for, for the bond issue, and once again, we're just looking for feet more feedback. As we move forward throughout this process, we have spent considerable time working with the community group that has met since the summer, about once or twice a month on, depending on what month it is. We've met with educators many times throughout the same period as the administrative group. And we've, we're really, we've worked so hard to try and whittle down and build this scope of work, which we feel are our most important needs in the district. And so now, what we're asked we're going to do is we're going to put it together this survey, and we're going to get it out in into our community. And so we'll be sending that out here, the first of December, we just appreciate everyone's feedback, of course, also won't be just a survey of as the only feedback opportunity or first event for the community to start commenting and giving us feedback, we'll start December 15. That will be at Rockwell Administration Center on December 15. And that will take place in the auditorium. And I think it'll be a great opportunity just for everyone to look and kind of get an idea and ask some questions if they do.
Well, nothing definite has been decided on any scope or any specifics. But do you want to talk a little bit about some of the options that will be discussed in that survey?
Sure. What many options and just like you said, none of the options are what we know was going to happen, we have just listed about seven options. And I don't know if I'll be able to pick all of them off the top of my head. But all of the options are just themes that have risen to the top. As we have progressed since starting this back in June. And working with the community, the educator group and the administrator group, these are there are certain themes that have risen. Of course, one of the options as we've that has risen to the top is that Lincoln Elementary is a school that's 100 years old, has a lot of needs and how we can move forward without Lincoln as one of our schools. So we're looking at possibly that as that could be an option to close Lincoln Elementary. We've we've talked about re-purchasing Hays Middle into an elementary school, and looking at how we could move students into there. And then possibly in a combination of, of even maybe looking at how we could move Hays metal, whether it's moving them out to Hays High School and looking at a new high school or building a new middle school and repurposing. You know that Hays High for some for some future needs. So lots of different options. Another option that is out there. Of course, Wilson Elementary is a great school. The one thing that if you look at our facility score scorecard of the school's Wilson Elementary, as far as educational scoring, it scores low. And it's basically because of space Wilson is a very small school, it would take a considerable amount of money to add space. And so there is a thought that maybe we could move Wilson and Lincoln students into the middle school, and then figure out what we can do with the middle school because of course, the middle school is our is a nemesis in itself because we're just squeezed at the middle school. And we definitely need more space at the middle school. So it's a combination of a lot of different things. We're just we're asking for feedback. And what we still don't know what's going to happen or what's going to be what would be brought to the board for consideration. But we're this is just the process and just throwing a lot of ideas out and some of them will stick and some of them won't.
Cristina Janney Yes, and that's going to be available sent out to parents through your online alert system is going to be available on social media is going to be available on the district website online. So it's not just parents or teachers that get to take this survey. It's anybody in the community.
Ron Wilson Yes, we want to give the opportunity for everyone to comment and give feedback. And so yes, if you like I said last night at the board meeting, if you have any type of social media, you will have the opportunity to see this, this survey.
Cristina Janney Run. Is there anything else that you wanted to talk about in terms of the bond issue right now?
Ron Wilson Well, I think the thing is from a bond perspective, you know, I, I feel really good about where we're at. I think it's it's been obvious that there's been a lot of support for, for, you know, a need to support the bond. It's been 30 years since Hays has passed a bond issue. I, one of the things that I do want to highlight is last, at last night's board meeting, we spent quite a considerable amount of time talking about some of the great achievements going on academically and within our district. And it's just, it is amazing how we're doing this with really a very condensed space, and we're packing kids in and we're really not we don't have opportunities to do some of the things that we really feel would be beneficial to student achievement. And so I think it just be another piece where we could just push our district further moving them to greatness.
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger speaks about the new Childcare Taskforce for Ellis County.
Transcript Sarah Wasinger
We have a very important community topic that keeps circulating. And it is so critical that we started addressing this before things get even much worse than they are already. So absolutely. Childcare.
James Bell
Childcare.
Sarah Wasinger
Yes.
James Bell
It's a problem. And we were talking right before we went on air. Oh, you provided me some numbers.
Sarah Wasinger
I did.
James Bell
Startling numbers, terrible numbers. Yes, it looks bad.
Sarah Wasinger
So in 2019, we Child Care Aware of Kansas are a chamber member, they work across the state to help connect resources to childcare providers. But also they try to connect families with childcare providers who are looking for them. And the point in time survey that they do every year is usually January 1, the last survey that they did showed that we have in 2019, the extent desired capacity meets potential demand was 64%
James Bell
Sixty-four. That's the number that blew me away. And it's right there on top. And I'm thinking oh my gosh, I don't think it's any secret that we haven't need for more daycare here in Ellis County. But I mean, that's slightly over a half the need.
Sarah Wasinger
Yes. So the other alarming fact is that we've lost 16 childcare providers since that same point in time count. And we have been meeting so the chamber in Hays, Kansas has started a Childcare Taskforce for Ellis County, we had our first meeting of the last week of October, we just had another meeting yesterday, actually. And this is just the discussion that we're having on how do we start to address the needs for childcare in our community, because we know they're vast, we're very excited, because we have a lot of different partners that we have kind of connected with. And in a short time already. So um, we have parents who are a part of that, obviously, Child Care Aware of Kansas, and they're a part of that conversation to early childhood education providers, we obviously would be remiss to not have childcare and daycare providers. So we have several folks representing them too. And then of course, our school districts need to be a part of this conversation, because obviously, they have a big role to play in the education of our kids and possibly have resources that maybe we haven't considered yet. Or if there are ways that we could partner further. We talked just before we got on air to James on legislative process and how our regulations in Kansas, are so stringent in comparison to our cohorts across the United States. And we have Barb Wasinger our representative from the 111th district has started to be a part of that conversation too, from the get go. And she's taking note, um, during these meetings and trying to very much listen to the challenges that are shared from a daycare provider standpoint. And, you know, we talked about, you know, as a childcare provider, if you have a shower in your house, obviously, you have to have a bathroom to be a childcare provider.
James Bell
You can do it hope so.
Sarah Wasinger
Yeah, you can't have things like shampoo or conditioner within five feet reach of children. And those are just some of the things that you know, you scratch your head at, well, why is that the case, you know, if you have your own kids in your home, you're not going to put the shampoo and conditioner out of reach. If you have a pet dog or a cat, you can't have the pet food on the ground for the pet to eat during the day. So these are just some things that make you scratch your head. And for our childcare providers. I can't imagine what they must be going through when they share some of their concerns on the issues that they face. And, you know, that probably adds to the fact of why people don't want to be in that industry in the first place.
James Bell
I'm sure it doesn't help. But you know what I think maybe we want to speak a little bit about this. One of the eye opening things that I've had an experience with recently is these aren't daycares are not profitable.
Sarah Wasinger
They are not.
James Bell
It's really hard to make any money. And oftentimes, the discussion goes towards we need a facility we need a building. And that's not the problem.
Sarah Wasinger
Right. So facilities are usually the easier fix to a solution. It's finding the actual people to run them. So there are two different models for childcare. There's obviously the for profit side, which you scratch your head on all day long, because if people are finding a way to make it profitable, and we need you to be a part of this conversation number one, so please come find me.
James Bell
Yeah, if you've got the solution contact Sarah. Yeah, right away.
Sarah Wasinger
Yes, but number two, there is the not for profit model. And that tends to be where most of them are aligned. Because, you know, just we're limited on the resources that we have. So, obviously, this problem isn't going anywhere. So there's the daunting question, well, where do we start? We just had a pick a point and start. So the other people that have been a part of the conversation, and we have the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Heartland Community Foundation, The Hays Area Children's Center, of course, the city of Hays and Grow, Hays are a part of it. I know Doug has some things he's working on with his seniors facility that they have going on the north side of the Hays Med campus, which they are a part of the conversation to, and then Fort Hays State University as well as some of our local nonprofits. So those are the people who we've kind of pulled together as a chamber so far to start this discussion. Um, so if you can think of anyone else who maybe isn't represented in that list, who you feel would have strong resources and good conversation to add to what we're going through right now, please, by all means, connect them with us.
James Bell
Yeah, very cool. I like that everybody seems to be coming together and realizing that, hey, only worked by working on this with everybody, are we going to find a way out of this solution. And we should also mention, it's not necessarily just an Ellis County problem. This is a statewide, this is a national concern, too.
Sarah Wasinger
It very much is, you know, when we talk about workforce and how we as a chamber can support workforce, we know that there are parents out there who are actually paying for childcare before they even have a child in the womb. Staggering. We also have families that are driving from Stockton to bring their kids to Hays for childcare, and then they're going back and working a full day. And then they're coming back to Hays again, to pick up their children. So this is such a huge issue for, like you said, our whole entire region, I'm so we asked ourselves the question, well, how do we get a full grasp of what's going on here. So as a committee, we've been working with Bradford Wiles from the Kansas State Research and Extension agency. And they have done community based surveys all across Kansas. And he's working with our committee to put together survey questions specific to Ellis County, the hope is that we will have those questions and that survey finalized by the end of next week. And then we would as a chamber and community, roll those out. And for folks, the biggest thing that people need to keep in mind with this survey, we know that everybody's time is precious, however, we're not going to address this issue. If we don't get some concrete data for what our true needs are as a county. With that data, then that gives us the flexibility and puts us in a position as a county to start applying for grants and things of that nature that could possibly use bees to start incentivizing childcare. So this is a huge, huge opportunity for us. And if we don't start finding ways to make the finances work for these folks, we're gonna struggle.
James Bell
Yeah. So are these going to be these surveys mailed out? Or do people need to go get them from like a website or something.
Sarah Wasinger
So we will be doing this survey digitally, we will have essentially a QR code attached. And of course, we'll do a media release. And we'll be working with you as the chamber to hopefully be doing some extra promotion for that through your guys's Hays Post. But all the agencies that I shared, will also be sharing that data in that survey across their communication channels. And then ideally, we'll have that survey wrapped up by the end of December. We know that timing, there's no great time to try to get a survey done. We know that people are busy with the holidays.
James Bell
It's busy every day. Yeah, that's be real.
Sarah Wasinger
So we're ripping off the band aid and we're just gonna get it done. And then once we had that survey data that really puts us in a good position. So Dane G. Hansen Foundation has a significant amount of funding right now available to give to communities for childcare purposes, as well as USDA. And then I believe there are still some ARPA funds that are set aside for childcare for communities. So bringing that back to our workforce, if we can start getting childcare addressed, you know, maybe that flexes some people who aren't currently in our workforce, it puts them in a position to where they can come back and work again.
James Bell
Yeah, you know, that's one thing I wanted to ask about. Because we talk about unemployment, we see you know, every business in Hays almost seems like they're hiring. But if you don't have childcare, it doesn't matter. You could offer him $50,000 A year, $100,000, $200,000. You don't have childcare, you can't take the job.
Sarah Wasinger
Moms and dads need to feel good about where they're sending their kids for childcare during the work day. So and to be fair, I just want to give a big shout out. If you are listening, and you were at home, or you are at a center and you're providing childcare, thank you for what you're doing. I don't think people really have a full appreciation of all that is required to do that. So know that we're here working on things in the scenes and behind the scenes, if you will, and we do have a Facebook group. I do want to put a little plug in there. For Tori Ruder Thank you. She provides childcare here in Ellis County. She put together a child care task force of Ellis County Facebook page. So if you want to follow this conversation, and be a part of that, from a provider standpoint, by all means go find that group on Facebook. If you aren't able to jot that down, feel free to give me a call at the Chamber office at 785-628-8201. Or email me at Sarah S-A-R-A-H at Hays Chamber dot com. And we'll start connecting you with that dialogue.
James Bell
Excellent. And you know, I think maybe it's also important to mention you provided here I've got some of the survey questions. It's nothing, it's not, you know, complicated or hard. It's just a little bit of time to get that in to help everybody out.
Sarah Wasinger
That's right.
James Bell
Excellent. Well, before we move on, or guess anything else on that topic, before we move on, we got a couple other things we want to hit on there a little bit more fun.
Sarah Wasinger
Well, I did want to just share, we do want to make sure that folks remember on that and we are going to do the survey anonymously. So know that the information that you share is not going to be broadcast with anyone, your information will be just essentially pulled together with everyone else who fills out that data survey. And then the final reporting will be what we use to apply for grants and really start assessing where we go from here.
James Bell
Okay, very good. Now, as I mentioned, a little more fun. You've got somebody new in the office.
Sarah Wasinger
We do! Her name is Mariah Legleiter.
James Bell
Yay! And she is taking the Vice President of Marketing and Communications job, right?
Sarah Wasinger
She is. She is hitting the ground running already. And we are so excited for her, she is going to be a dynamo. Um, we, when Scott told us he was going to move on to Fort Hays State University, sat down and looked at it as a team, you know, what is our next step for that position. So um, she brings a very, very strong communications background with her. So we're very excited for her to join. Um, she has that video experience. She enjoys doing graphics and design. And she's really very creative. So we're very excited to have her start, and just be a full part of the team. So if you see a new face around, be sure to say hello to her and welcome her to the team.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with Hays City Commissioner and restauranteur Shaun Musil.
On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with KIOGA President Ed Cross.
Transcript James Bell
Fort Hays State University is set to celebrate Veterans this week, President Tisa Mason talks to us about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Tisa Mason
We're really excited. And actually, I would say a year or so ago, when the fabulous Senator Jerry Moran was on our campus, we talked about what we were doing with the National De-escalating Training Center, which we started actually in August of 2020. And we're a part of a national network that is definitely working on education to provide both in person and online, law enforcement professionals with some new skills in their toolkit and techniques to defuse potentially dangerous situations, which we know happens all the time. Or more often than we want. And not just with law enforcement, it happens in all of our lives. And so these are really, you know, great skills. And we're really excited about that. So this grant is going to help us as the $1.25 million grant from the Department of Justice, and really, Senator Moran was very instrumental in facilitating the awarding of this grant. So we're excited we're going to have on campus to celebrate his efforts and our ability to move forward. He'll be here on November 23, when we will, officially and ceremonially accept the grant.
James Bell
Love it. Um, is there? Is there an event planned yet? Or is it still kind of in the works a little bit
Tisa Mason
It is planned.
James Bell
Okay. Well, we'll keep an eye out for some details there. Um, oh,
Tisa Mason
4 p.m.
James Bell
Yes. Okay, there we go.
Tisa Mason
4 p.m. at the Fischli Wills Center.
James Bell
I love that, because officially wills what a perfect opportunity, if you haven't yet to get in there and see that new building that thing is amazing.
Tisa Mason
It's fun to have it there too, because it's about success. That's a building about student success. And this is about world of success.
James Bell
Absolutely. And from my understanding, you had some contributions that kind of helped technology-wise with that whole thing, right?
Tisa Mason
Well, you know, I'm a huge fan of our Teaching Innovation and Learning Technologies team, which are our instructional design teams that build and work with faculty on all our outstanding distance learning. And so the team that is working with the De-escalation Training Center, matched up with TILT the Teaching Innovation and Learning Technology so that they could create really immersive safe paced scenario based learning experiences for the people that will be going through this program. So again, we're I'm we're married, marrying, so to speak, rich content and skill building with a history of strong online learning platforms. And that's one of the things that we're really good at.
James Bell
Yeah, I was gonna say online education. When you think online education, at least in the Midwest, I think Fort Hays is always the top of that conversation. Oh, very cool. Well, moving on. Also, you know, it's we're coming up on Veterans Day. Oh, I think it's a, you know, week or so week and a half away from now. And you're going to be celebrating that as well down at Fort Hays State.
Tisa Mason
Yeah, I love the opportunity to say thank you to our military and of course, Veterans Day gives us the ability to do that, especially for those who are serving now. And we're going to have lots of activities on campus. Participants can see a flag in a poster display that celebrates our heritage with the connection to the military. We have a strong connection with military, military programs, and other ways that we work with our service members of whom we for whom we are very, very grateful for. That will happen in both the Memorial Union and Fishchli Wills Center for Student Success. We also have an opportunity to folks to leave messages in recognition of family members who have answered the call to duty. Again, very grateful I'm and the daughter and the sister of a veteran so it hits home with me for sure. On Thursday at 11 o'clock. We're going to host our annual Veterans Day ceremony on the quad side of the Memorial Union. And then at our outstanding we're going to win football game on Saturday. We will have a Military Appreciation and a Senior Day. I understand from Matt Cook will be managing horses, people and motorcycles for that game so it should be a fun football game.
James Bell
Very cool. Yeah, go out it very least cheer on the Tigers and help us celebrate those military professionals that yes, are very important to us. Every, all of us really. There's one other thing we want to hit on before we go. And that's, you know, the COVID thing. Fort Hays State, you know you guys have done a pretty good job. I think down there you we haven't seen a whole lot of activity there. But one of the things that I think is been huge in the news is the D-one schools, the vaccine mandates they are mandating, but Fort Hays is going a different way, right?
Tisa Mason
Yeah, we have not implemented a vaccine mandate. We did have an incentive program I think we talked about at this point, I think we are a little above approximately 80 percent of our faculty and staff. I don't recall the percentage off the top my head for the students, but I know that it's over 50 percent of our students as well. Most importantly, we have to be careful of our residential students, and isolation and our high has been well, it was three students till the other day, we're up to four students. But it's been very minimal. We've really done really well with people making local decisions. But what happened recently is the federal government said that they were going to put language in federal contracts. So research institutions are particularly going to have to make decisions about a vaccine mandate whether they wanted to do one or not, and turning down contracts from the federal government because there's a lot at research institutions. For Fort Hays State right now, although we have grants and contracts. At this point, we reviewed all of them, not one of them, includes the language. So we are watching, we are studying, if we get a contract that hasn't, we'll have a conversation about whether we turn it down or move forward. And our hope is not to have to do a mandate. It's really unfortunate, quite frankly, that we've been put in this position but so far, we're holding strong we do not have to mandate and we are going to continue with our excellent success on mitigating the spread of the virus on our campus. Another shout out to the doctors and Student Health and the faculty and the staff and everyone who has come together, our students to make our environment safe.
Transcript James Bell
Lincoln Elementary is set to celebrate Veterans Day this week. Principal Kerri Lacy talks to us about that and more. On this episode of the Post Podcast.
Kerri Lacy
Our school is going through a process called redesign where we're looking at how we do things at school and getting our community involved and our parents involved. And so we reached out to community members and we have several businesses that have adopted our classes. So I can name a few of those golden belt bank and Farm Bureau, the Hayes Police Department, Hayes, recreation taco shop, you know, if any other have others of you at businesses that would like to sponsor a class, you can sure just give us a call at our office and we would love to have you.
James Bell
Yeah, that's very cool. Yeah. And we talked about this a lot here on the go morning show, but the sense of community around you know, as county it's just I think, tremendous, but it really takes a village to kind of make these things work. And one of the things I think that we're gonna chat hit on here is the Fall Festival that you talked about, or that occurred, I guess, last week, right?
Kerri Lacy
Right. Um, instead of a Halloween parties, the traditional costumes, and costume parties and things like that. We a few years ago, before COVID, of course, we started what we call a Fall Festival. We invite community members to come in and share their talents with us. So there are several different stations around the building and the entire afternoon right after lunch. The kids rotate for about 20 minutes sessions and you know, we have ever this year we had Halloween bingo taco shop brought in the famous chili or queso and chips our kids loved that.
James Bell
Who doesn't like CCQ from Taco Shop, right. No, I think everybody in the region knows what that is.
Kerri Lacy
Absolutely. And if they are from Hays, and they come back to visit, that's usually one of the staples. Absolutely, yes. On the punch list. I agreed. Yes. We had the Fort Hays State discipled group Sternberg Museum, Hays Public Library, they did a story walk. Our girl scout group came in and they built pumpkin catapults and had little pumpkins that they were shooting across the hallway upstairs.
James Bell
Just the little ones not a massive like you see on the TV with a no. No, that would be cool. I think maybe next year, we should have them bring in a couple of big ones and we'll take them outside and see how far we can get them to go. So. You got if you're gonna if you're if that happens, call me because I want to be there to see that.
Kerri Lacy
Alright, I will try Lincoln home in school. They sponsored the missus Lacey, human Banana Split challenge. That was fun. They challenged me to name every student in the school by name. Oh, man. And if I could not do that, then I was in a banana suit. They could get chocolate syrup, whipped cream, sprinkles, cherries, and decorate me as a human banana split. Although I did name every single student in the building, you got them all. I got them all. That's amazing. But I still let them decorate the Oh, that was fun. And Midwest standard. She brings out their money machine, which is really cool. We put real money in there real dollar bills. And I always tease the kids and say, did you know want to get that $100 bill? And they're like, no, no, no, I want to go again. So we have the money machine, which is a lot of fun. And then we have a dance party. So pretty cool.
James Bell
Yeah, that's awesome. And that's, that's really cool that they those area businesses, they stepped up and helped make that possible. Because without those guys, you know, things like that really can't happen. Right?
Kerri Lacy
Absolutely. And it's really cool to have them connect with our kiddos. And when our kids see them out. You know, these people from the businesses, they see them out maybe it's shopping the Dylan's or something and they recognize them and they're excited. And they tell their parents that this is what happened. And they were at my school. And so it really is a partnership and it really helps out everyone. Very cool.
James Bell
Well, looking ahead a little bit. You've also got a veterans day of celebration coming up, right?
Kerri Lacy
Oh my gosh, we are so excited about this. This is the first time for us to try this. But on Tuesday, November 9 from 6 to 7pm. Back on our playground, we are having what we call a Veterans Day celebration for active military. Community members are all invited to join Lincoln students and their families for the celebration. We will have free refreshments. There will be a local food truck there for food purchases. We will have live music by 80 Proof Alice for that hour. It's really going to be a fun time. We are also at that time taking donations for the Fort Dodge Soldiers Home. They greatly appreciate those donations that are needed, you know non perishable food items and things like that.
James Bell
Ah, you know, I'm not familiar and I don't know that maybe maybe we want to share what is the Fort Dodge soldiers home?
Kerri Lacy
Well, it is, I want to say kind of a place where they can where soldiers can go and, and get help if they need it. Their families can get help if they need it. You know, we are not close to a commensarry type, you know, on base, things like that. So they have a place where soldiers can reach out and get the help for their families.
James Bell
Very cool. Very cool. So, you're looking for donations, or yes, you're looking for donations for the Fort Dodge Soldiers Home.
Kerri Lacy
Oh, yes. Okay can bring donations that night. You know, things like non perishable food items. Kleenex, toilet paper, dish soap, laundry, soap, T shirts and sweatpants. Usually large, extra large, double extra large, those can be brought that night or if you can't come that night. You can also drop those donations for the soldier house to Lincoln at any time.
James Bell
Very cool. Very cool. And I think one last thing we want to hit on tonight you got some going on as well, right? Oh, yeah.
Kerri Lacy
If you come out to the north McDonald's from five to eight, our teachers will be selling to cookies for $1 and then also the proceeds of all the food sales comes back to our school for this event, so it's called Big teacher night I think about every elementary school has big teacher night here and we love it that McDonald sponsors us every year.