Senior night: Iola wrestlers hit the mats.
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The Weekender Saturday, February 4, 2017
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Critical time for U.S. ag Economist addresses farm crowd By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
A rapt crowd of nearly 200, mostly farmers or those so associated, hung onto every word Monday night when Dr. Barry Flinchbaugh, legendary agricultural economist at KSU, gave his two cents on the 2018 farm bill. Southwind Extension Service and Allen County banks sponsored the event. Flinchbaugh titled his presentation “Ag Policy under the New Administration and New Congress,” and couldn’t resist a couple of subtitles, “Age of Uncertainty” and “Age of Trump/Twitter.” “I’ve been predicting ag policy for years,” he declared. “Never more difficult than under this president and Congress.” Flinchbaugh, 73, said in the administration of Donald Trump, “consistency, philosophy, logic, stability,
Man sentenced for child sex crimes By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Glickman, a Democrat, was Secretary of Agriculture; Congressman Pat Roberts, a Republican now in the Senate, chaired the House Agriculture Committee, and Republican Bob Dole was majority leader in the Senate. “I had the ear of all three,”
A Wichita man will spend the next 22 years in prison for child sex crimes. Alan Lee Greer, 33, was handed the sentence Friday by Allen Alan Greer County District Judge Daniel Creitz. In ordering the sentence, Creitz took the rare step of rejecting recommendations spelled out in Greer’s plea agreement, opting instead for a harsher prison term — the maximum allowed by the state. Creitz cited a provision in the state sentencing law, called the “double double” rule, in sentencing Greer to 330 months in prison for ag-
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Dr. Barry Flinchbaugh of Kansas State University spoke this week in front of a crowd of about 200 at Iola High School. REGISTER/BOB JOHNSON moderation — none of these words are in the lexicon of the Age of Twitter.” No industry is more dependent on the global economy than agriculture — “It’s a global economy whether Trump and the isolationists in Congress like it or not.” Flinchbaugh has been involved with agricultural policy for 50 years. His pre-
diction? “It’s in for one hell of a ride.” “In 1966, politicians in both parties put farmers first and partisan politics second,” he said. “Today, it is partisan politics first and farmers second.” An example: The 1996 farm bill was drafted in a bipartisan — and Kansan — manner. Dan
Free classes will help What’s next for downtown? develop untapped talent Tuesday meeting Humanity House plans to kick its “classes into gear” with a number of upcoming free workshops, starting this month. Tracy Keagle, director, announced the classes in a press release. “Not Your Grandma’s Embroidery” is a class running from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays, beginning Feb. 15. The class is geared for grown-ups, “will be full of laughs, and let you create something that Grandma probably kept inside her head,” Keagle said. Immediately following, from 7 to 8, is a basic sewing skills class. Debbie Higgin-
will examine square’s potential By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
botham will teach the basics from threading needles, sewing buttons, hemming and mending. Both classes run through March 8. Damaris Kunkler will of-
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the east underside of the span. The driver, Jayson Wessley, 52, Nevada, Mo., died in the crash. Kansas Department of Transportation engineers immediately deemed the bridge unsafe and closed it until part of the concrete See SPAN | Page A6
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Georgia Road span opens
Quote of the day Vol. 119, No. 69
6 p.m. Tuesday courthouse assembly room
ny way you stack it, Iola’s downtown business district is at a cross-
roads. With long-time merchants such as Town & Country, Ulrich Furniture and McGintyWhitworth shutting their doors, it leaves the downtown square with some “high-profile vacancies,” David Toland told the Register recently. And more may be coming as other merchants near retirement age. It wasn’t that long ago — five years, in fact — the square had 100 percent occupancy. Toland, chief executive officer of Thrive Allen County, wants to see something similar in the future. But how? With a constantly changing economy, where individual merchants must compete with discount chain stores and online shopping, it’s time to take stock in what Iola’s future might entail. To that end, Thrive is sponsoring a Downtown Iola Summit at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Allen County Courthouse Assembly Room. Anyone and everyone is invited, be it local property owners, retailers, shoppers or especially aspiring business owners. “It’s for anyone concerned
The Georgia Road overpass crossing U.S. 169 near Humboldt is once again open to traffic after it was damaged last summer in a truck accident. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
HUMBOLDT — The U.S. 169 overpass on Georgia Road, an extension of Central Street and a mile east of Humboldt, was opened to traffic Thursday. The bridge was closed following a fatality traffic accident June 13, 2016, when a highway transport ran off the highway and up against
Downtown Summit
Thrive Allen County is hosting a summit Tuesday to examine and discuss the future of Iola’s downtown business district. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
“I’m the oldest antique in town.”
— Norman Rockwell 75 Cents
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