Thursday, December 3, 2020
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Royals complete roster moves
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Beans are in
PAGE B1
IMS music students earn recognition PAGE A2
State reports increase in virus deaths TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas on Wednesday reported spikes in COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations as dozens of nursing homes experienced outbreaks and the state prepared to see that health care workers received the first available vaccines. Allen County has 85 active cases. The total case count rose to 402 Wednesday, up by 28 from Monday. Gov. Laura Kelly said that the state expects to receive the first of two vaccine doses for 23,750 people by the middle of this month if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorizes emergency use of a vaccine made by Pfizer. The FDA also will consider authorizing a vaccine made by Moderna, but doses of both would be rationed in the early stages and it likely will be months before a vaccine is See STATE | Page A5
Metal silos tower overhead at the Piqua Farmers Co-op. REGISTER/TREVOR HOAG
Post-harvest assessment: ‘We’ll make due’ By TREVOR HOAG The Iola Register
The beans are in the bag. Now that the soybean harvest is at a close, the Register sat down with Piqua Co-op general manager Kevin Day to get a sense for how the season went and beyond. “You don’t know what to expect when harvest starts,” said Day. “I’d like to have more bushels, everybody would, but we’ll make due with what we’ve got.” As of Wednesday, beans were $10.93 per bushel, which represents a quick and recent increase of about $3. (There are 60 lbs. in one bushel of beans.) According to Day, “Beans were kind of as expected. It wasn’t a bumper crop, but we didn’t have the conditions for a bumper crop, so I think most were pleased with what
Piqua Co-op general manager Kevin Day helps hitch up a load of anhydrous ammonia, which will be used to fertilize and prepare corn ground for the coming season. they got.” Regarding the Co-op itself, “our volume was down 20% as far as how much we received.
Campaign targets underage drinking By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register
Allen County students are using more alcohol and drugs than their peers across the state, according to a study from the Greenbush Education Cooperative. That sometimes occurs at parties and events hosted
by an older adult, who may believe it’s better to provide a location where such behavior can be supervised. Local organizations are targeting the issue of “social hosting” to discourage activities that encourage poor choices like underage drinking. “While some might believe
This billboard will soon appear near U.S. 54 and Kentucky Street. Vol. 122, No. 280 Iola, KS 75 Cents
that hosting a party at their house provides a ‘safe’ way for ‘kids to be kids,’ the truth is that adults put teens at risk by allowing parties with alcohol to happen, even if the adults take the car keys and make them stay the night,” Jessica McGinnis said. McGinnis is the Drug See SURVEY | Page A3
For the conditions we had, it’s not too bad.” AS OF Wednesday, corn
was $3.98 per bushel, and more generally Day said he thought “the price has been See BEANS | Page A5
Most of state’s nursing homes have battled virus By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN Kansas News Service
During a recent outbreak at Centennial Homestead in rural central Kansas, the nursing home had to wait five days for COVID-19 test results from a lab hours away. Dozens of Kansas nursing homes still wait three days to a week for overwhelmed labs to tell them if their residents have COVID-19. As of mid-November, 30 facilities had less than a week’s worth of N95 masks on hand. Another 100-plus didn’t have enough nurses. Nine months into a pandemic that has proven most deadly to older people, Kansas nursing homes tell federal regulators they’re still struggling to get the basic tools of defense. Perhaps most disturbing of all — as the virus rages
in cities, suburbs and rural towns — nursing homes simply can’t keep coronavirus out. Two-thirds of them have had confirmed cases among their residents. Things were bad enough in August and September, when Kansas long-term care facilities were fighting around 40 to 60 active coronavirus outbreaks (meaning two or more cases) at any given time. October and November brought a vicious surge of the disease. Now, in early December, facilities are dealing with more than 200 ongoing See OUTBREAKS | Page A3
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