In spite of a nationwide teacher shortage, the Iola school district has a robust group of staff working toward their teaching certification.
Board members on Monday agreed to a plan that would encourage those staff members to continue their education by helping them pay for their tuition.
Max Grundy wants Iola to walk with a bit more swagger.
“A little bit of pride is good,” he said. “I want us to realize how great a city we have and how much potential is here. That’s what I think about when I think about serving the city.”
Grundy is running unopposed in the Nov. 7 election for a seat on Iola’s City Council and will join Joel
Wicoff as a representative of Ward 2, the northeast part of Iola. Current council member Carl Slaugh is not running for re-election. And while it’s just his name on the ballot, Grundy is quick to point out that his time on city council will be a family affair. He and his wife Candice “do everything together. We’re a team, and we’re lucky we have that.”
Max, 46, and Candice, 41, have two children, Church, 13, and Ace, 11. The independent artists are ready
to give back to their new home. They’ve already made a splash, whether for their recent purchase of Iola’s abandoned water tower or their collaboration with the Iola Area Chamber of Commerce on two murals in town. (Two more are in the works.)
“Part of moving to a small town was about getting involved as much as we could,” said Max.
Candice sees it as part of her civic duty. “Public
See GRUNDY | Page A3
A grant from the Patterson Family Foundation will provide money for the effort. Jenna Higginbotham, curriculum director for the district, proposed the plan.
The plan would allow staff members who are working toward a teaching degree to apply for tuition reimbursement once they complete a semester. Money will be dispersed depending on the requests, so those who apply may receive only a partial reimbursement.
The district has several paraprofessionals who take part in college programs that allow them to continue working while also attend-
ing online classes to earn a teaching certificate. Others are furthering their education in other ways, such as someone who has a bachelor’s degree and is pursuing qualifications to teach.
The hope is to encourage others who want to pursue teaching but have limited funds, Higginbotham said.
Laura Caillouet-Weiner,See 257 | Page A4
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli warplanes hammered the Gaza Strip neighborhood by neighborhood on Tuesday, reducing buildings to rubble and sending people scrambling to find safety in the tiny, sealed-off territory as Israel vowed a retaliation for Hamas’ surprise weekend attack that would “reverberate ... for generations.”
Aid organizations pleaded for the creation of humanitarian corridors to get
aid into Gaza, warning that hospitals overwhelmed with wounded were running out of supplies. Israel has stopped entry of food, fuel and medicines into Gaza, and the sole remaining access from Egypt shut down Tuesday after airstrikes hit near the border crossing.
The war began after Hamas militants stormed into Israel on Saturday, bringing gunbattles to its streets for the first time in decades. More
Who knew Marty McFly was a Farm-City Days planner? The “Back To the Future” protagonist apparently played a role in the planning for the 2023 Farm-City Days Medallion Hunt, explained committee member Daren Kellerman.
It seems folks were unnecessarily worried there would be no medallion hunt this year, and that the medallion actually had been “hidden” in the future, to be found in the past — in keeping with this year’s theme “Travel Through Time.”
Confused yet?
Actually, the medallion hunt plans were added just this week to the 2023 fall celebration, which runs Oct. 20-
21 in downtown Iola.
“All along, there had been no plan for a medallion hunt this year,” Kellerman explained, noting former committee member Aaron Franklin — who had been in charge of the hunt for the past eight years — had retired from the committee following the 2022 celebration.
“We were gonna take a year off,” Kellerman said.
But when the committee
See FESTIVAL | Page A4
than 1,800 lives have already been claimed on both sides, and perhaps hundreds more. Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza hold more than 150 soldiers and civilians hostage, according to Israel. The conflict is only expected to escalate. Israel expanded the mobilization of reservists to 360,000 on Tuesday, according to the country’s media. After days of fighting, Israel’s military said Tuesday
morning that it had regained effective control over areas Hamas attacked in its south, and of the Gaza border.
A looming question is whether Israel will launch a ground offensive into Gaza — a 40 kilometer-long (25 milelong) strip of land wedged among Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea that is home to 2.3 million people and has been governed by Hamas since 2007. On Tuesday, a large part of
Allison Heim, a 2020 Marmaton Valley High School graduate and a member of the Connected Cats of Kansas State University, stopped by last Thursday to give the Spirit of K-State award to MVHS agriculture teacher and FFA sponsor Jacque Gabbert. Gabbert will select an MVHS student to receive a $1,000 scholarship. Gabbert received the award in front all students in grades 6 through 12. COURTESY PHOTO
Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood was reduced to rubble after warplanes bombarded it for hours the night before. Residents found buildings torn in half or demolished to mounds of concrete and rebar. Cars were flattened and trees burned out on residential streets transformed into moonscapes. Palestinian Civil Defense forces pulled Abdullah Musleh out of his basement together
See ATTACK | Page A3
Republicans angling to replace ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy were to vie for their colleagues’ approval Tuesday evening, as pressure mounts for Republicans to unite behind a leader with war breaking out in Israel.
Republicans remain deeply divided over who the next speaker should be, with no candidate emerging as the clear consensus. Without someone in the top job, the chamber’s business grinds to a halt, delaying work on pressing priorities ranging from domestic federal funding to aid for Israel’s military.
“It’s a scattergram. We are all over the map on the way forward,”
Representative Steve Womack of Arkansas said as he left a meeting of House Republicans at the Capitol Monday. “There are lot of free agents in there.”
The No. 2 House Republican, Steve Scalise of Louisiana, and Judiciary Chairman Jim
Jordan of Ohio, have been waging a two-person race for the top job since the House voted to remove McCarthy last week. The former speaker said Monday he’d return to the role if that was the will of the party.
Monday’s meeting was intended to be the first in a series for the Republicans to discuss their next leader before a party vote on Wednesday. Representative David Joyce of Ohio told reporters that he doesn’t believe much progress has been made on picking a candidate, meaning that negotiations could easily spill into next week, or beyond.
Speaker options Jordan has the backing of many conservatives as well as former president Donald Trump, while Scalise, who is battling an incurable but treatable blood cancer, has more support among the party establishment. The two have policy differences as well. Jordan opposes more assistance for Ukraine, while Scalise has supported it.
Others have called for McCarthy to be quickly reinstated given the conflict in Israel and the risk that neither Scalise nor Jordan can
get the votes for the speakership. McCarthy on Monday continued to play the part of the speaker, laying out a fivepart plan for responding to the latest Middle East crisis.
This was like the first session of marriage counseling. Everybody aired their grievances.
means that any candidate can only lose a handful of votes from members of their own party.
— Nick LaLota, New York Republican
Yet there were no signs that the eight Republicans who voted to oust him last week would reconsider their position. The narrow Republican majority
Representative Tim Burchett of Tennessee, one of the eight, said he could support either Scalise and Jordan but not McCarthy. He added that he thinks Republicans will unify on a candidate but didn’t have any “earthly idea” of when
Ottawa will now allow small-scale urban agriculture — a move designed to accommodate residents who want to raise chickens and to resolve a homeowner’s lawsuit over the right to sell fruit and honey.
City lawyer Blaine Finch said the goal is to let residents produce food in their yards without impinging on the welfare of their neighbors.
“Frankly, agriculture is one of the original activities in this area,” Finch told city commissioners at a recent meeting. “The city hall is built on the site of Tauy Jones’ wild berry patch … It’s as old as the community, if not older.”
The rules allow small-scale farming in neighborhoods, as long as it doesn’t create nuisances like bad odors or lots of customers visiting residential streets.
The change is a victory for Ellen Finnerty, a fruit gardener and as-
piring beekeeper who sued the city earlier this year.
She had been working on a backyard orchard for a few years and taking community college classes on beekeeping. Her goal is to sell fruit and honey at a local farmer’s market.
But Ottawa’s codes didn’t allow that. The rules banned people from running home businesses that involve animals. They also appeared to prohibit so much as selling a tomato grown in your backyard.
Not anymore.
The commission voted last week in favor of a suite of codes that acknowledge urban agriculture and set rules for it.
The new rules allow people to keep hens for egg-laying. They also set guidelines for beekeeping.
And the rules distinguish urban farming from other kinds of animal-related work. That means it will now be legal to take homegrown honey and eggs to the farmer’s market.
Some other kinds of animal businesses, such as at-home dog kennels, remain banned.
Finnerty was scared that the city’s previous rules put her at risk of fines or jail. She challenged the rules with representation from the Kansas Justice Institute — the legal arm of the Kansas Policy Institute, a small-government think tank.
Her lawyer argued the city’s rules violated
the Kansas Constitution, which guarantees the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Ottawa’s lawyer asked the judge in a filing to throw out Finnerty’s case. But the filing also signaled city officials were open to changing the codes. Now that the commission has approved urban farming codes, the institute put out a press release calling the change a victory.
Arrests reported Iola police officers arrested Cody Dugger, 31, Iola, for suspicion of domestic battery late Monday in the 500 block of North Second Street.
Drake C. Sellman was arrested for suspected possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, speeding and no proof of insurance early Sunday at the intersection of State Street and Madison Avenue,
officers said.
Officers arrested Jamie Lovette, 28, LaHarpe, for suspicion of criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct Saturday morning after a disturbance in the 700 block of North Walnut Street.
Officers arrested Curtis and Tammy Cloud of Iola for suspicion of domestic battery and criminal damage to property in the 300 block of South Fourth Street Friday.
that would happen.
Rules Change Republicans are also considering changing their rules to increase the threshold to nominate a speaker, said Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican. That would mean that a candidate wouldn’t go to the full House for a vote until the GOP is aligned, avoiding the embarrassing public battle and multiple rounds of voting it took to get McCarthy elected in January. She said there was also discussion regard-
ing changing the rule that made it possible for one member to call up a vote to remove McCarthy.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Monday called for “traditional Republicans” to join them for a bipartisan approach to governing in a statement on X, formerly Twitter. That’s not likely to be a popular idea among many Republicans.
Democrats are also unlikely to support restoring McCarthy.
They have complained that he reneged on a spending level deal he cut with President Joe Biden earlier this year and are displeased with his decision to launch an impeachment inquiry into the president.
They have also been critical of the former speaker for engaging with Trump so quickly after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by his supporters.
Representative Nick LaLota, a moderate New York Republican, said he thinks it will take two weeks of discussions among Republicans to land on a new speaker.
“This was like the first session of marriage counseling,” he said about Monday night’s meeting. “Everybody aired their grievances.”
Donna Houser reported on the book “Flight 93” by Tom McMillan for Monday’s meeting of Unity Club. Seven members attended at the Funston Meeting Hall. The book recalls the horrors and heroic acts of the people who were aboard the plane that crashed into an open field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001, when terror-
ists also attacked the Pentagon and New York City’s twin towers. The book is based on interviews, oral histories, personal tours of the crash site and evidence recently made public of that horrific morning including the revolt by passengers that saved untold amounts of carnage on the ground and likely, the U.S. Capitol.
Continued from A1
with 30 others after their apartment building was flattened.
“I sell toys, not missiles,’’ the 46-year-old said, weeping. “I want to leave Gaza. Why do I have to stay here? I lost my home and my job.”
The Israeli military said it struck hundreds of targets in Rimal, an upscale district home to ministries of the Hamas-run government, universities, media organizations and the aid agency offices.
The devastation signaled what appeared to be a new Israeli tactic: warning civilians to leave certain areas and then hitting those areas with unprecedented intensity. On Tuesday afternoon, the military told residents of another nearby neighborhood to evacuate and move into the center of Gaza City.
“There is no safe place in Gaza right now, you see decent people being killed every day,” Hasan Jabar, a Gaza journalist, said after three other Palestinian journalists were killed in the Rimal bombardment. “I am genuinely afraid for my life.”
Tuesday afternoon, Hamas fired barrages of rockets toward the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon and Tel Aviv. There were no imme-
diate reports of casualties.
The bombardments and Israel’s threats to topple Hamas sharpened questions about the group’s strategy and objectives. But it is unclear what options it has in the face of the ferocity of Israel’s retaliation and the potential of losing much of its government infrastructure.
Hours after Satur-
day’s incursion began, a senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri said the group had planned for all possibilities, including “all-out war,” and was ready to suffer “severe blows.”
Desperation has grown among Palestinians, many of whom see nothing to lose under unending Israeli control and increasing settlements in the West Bank, the blockade in
Gaza and what they see as the world’s apathy.
Al-Arouri’s comments suggested Hamas expected the fight to spread to the West Bank and possibly for Lebanon’s Hezbollah to open a front in the north. But despite some eruptions of violence, neither has happened on a significant scale, especially amid a heavy Israeli lockdown on West Bank Palestinians.
Continued from A1
service is part of being in a community. It’s not fair for people to sit back and complain about their leadership if they’re not willing to take on some of that. I think it’s everyone’s responsibility, if they’re able, to do their part and serve.”
The Grundys, who lived in California for 17 years before moving to town almost three years ago, see advantages to looking at Iola with fresh eyes.
“I think it takes outsiders’ perspectives to help people who’ve always lived here,” said Candice. “People need to hear someone from Colorado say ‘We came here for the trails, and your town is great.’ We really do have something special here.”
The Grundys are used to looking at things from multiple points of view. “We’re kind of
funny because we’re conservative and religious, but we’re also artists,” said Max. “We want to do non-conventional things while also caring for the city. We want to find that line between creative and responsible thinking.”
WHEN considering how to best serve on Iola City Council, Max dials in on listening.
“When I approached the city council about purchasing a water tower, they heard me out,” he said. “And I see my role as doing my best to hear people out, see what ideas they have, and find where we can take some chances.
“It feels like we’re
just at the beginning of something here. Iola is an old town with a lot of history. We love the story of Iola, and we love its past, but it also feels like a blank canvas.” Not afraid to try new ideas, Max hopes to cultivate the same spirit in Iola. While on the council, he hopes to find a certain balance. “How do you bridge the responsibility of someone like Carl Slaugh, who looks at every single expense, but also have crazy ideas and think big?”
MAX and Candice see lots of reasons to be optimistic about Iola’s future. “The Chamber’s been great. Thrive has always been great,”
said Max. Candice celebrates Iola’s new businesses and forthcoming drive-thru coffee shop along the highway.
And they have some interesting ideas of what could help draw people to town, mentioning a tattoo parlor, old-school diner, even an indoor version of the classic drive-in movie theater.
“We like the idea of promoting the town and want people to come here,” said Candice. “We care about Iola’s longevity. We want to see it thrive. It’s always going to be rural, and we need to embrace that. But Iola should also have a high standard of living.”
“If you’re a hustler, you’re one of us. We’re make-it-work people,” said Max. “I want people to shout loudly that they are a Kansan, that they’re from Iola. I want to help people make things happen.”
In hopes of blunting the bombardment, Hamas has threatened to kill one Israeli civilian captive any time Israel targets civilians in their homes in Gaza “without prior warning.” Israel’s foreign minister, Eli Cohen, warned in response that “this war crime” would not be forgiven. Israel, in turn, appears determined to crush Hamas no matter the cost.
The militants’ attack stunned Israel with a death toll unseen since the 1973 war with Egypt and Syria — and those deaths happened over a
longer period of time. It brought horrific scenes of Hamas militant gunning down civilians in their cars on the road, in streets of towns, and at a music festival attended by thousands in the desert near Gaza, while dragging men, women and children into captivity.
U.S. President Joe Biden is scheduled to speak Tuesday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about coordination with allies to “defend Israel and innocent people against terrorism,” the White House said.
The Israeli military said Tuesday that more than 1,000 people have been killed in Israel. In Gaza and the West Bank, 830 people have been killed, according to authorities there; Israel says hundreds of Hamas fighters are among them. Thousands have been wounded on both sides.
The bodies of roughly 1,500 Hamas militants were found on Israeli territory, the military said. It wasn’t immediately clear whether those numbers overlapped with deaths previously reported by Palestinian authorities.
In Gaza, more than 187,000 people have fled their homes, the U.N. said, the most since a 2014 air and ground offensive by Israel uprooted about 400,000. The vast majority are sheltering in schools run by UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.
I see my role as doing my best to hear people out, see what ideas they have, and find where we can take some chances.
— Max Grundy
Continued from A1
who represents the teacher’s union, said it might encourage teachers to stay with the Iola district.
“If we can ease their burden, it’s a positive. Why not grow our own and help as many as possible?” she said.
The goal is to offer the program as long as funding lasts.
options with LaHarpe Telephone Co. to potentially expand internet services to the stadium.
If that can be done at a reasonable cost, the district also could offer an internet “hotspot” at the stadium similar to other facilities.
Board members Tony Leavitt and Robin Griffin-Lohman asked Prasko and Superintendent Stacey Fager to first ask city leaders if the two could partner on internet upgrades at Riverside Park.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP)
— Kansas will designate Juneteenth as a state holiday, joining 28 other states and the District of Columbia, Gov. Laura Kelly said Tuesday. Kelly, a Democrat, said in a news release that establishing the state holiday “provides Kansans an op-
portunity to celebrate our state’s diversity and honor the ongoing struggles for racial equality.”
Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when the last enslaved people in the United States learned they were free. For generations, Black Americans have recognized
the end of one of the darkest chapters in U.S. history with joy, in the form of parades, street festivals, musical performances or cookouts.
In 2021, President Joe Biden signed a bill passed by Congress to set aside Juneteenth, or June 19th, as a federal holiday.
Continued from A1
learned just recently the Fun Time Carnival had pulled out of the celebration, “that was really a one-two punch to lose both the medallion hunt and the carnival in the same year.”
Committee members gathered for an emergency meeting to set up plans for this year’s hunt, which gets underway Thursday.
The medallion has been hidden on public lands somewhere in Allen County.
Clues to its location will be published daily, starting with Thursday’s Register.
As in years past, all medallion seekers must purchase a $3 virtual FCD button at farmcitydays.com. Anyone 3 or older must have a virtual button to be a part of the hunt. The deadline to buy a virtual ticket is noon Monday. Proceeds will go toward the 2024 hunt.
Because the medallion already has been hidden, Kellerman was unable to describe what it looked like.
“Let’s just say you’ll know it when you see it,” he said.
The finder will get $500.
KELLERMAN said losing the carnival “is a shame,” but it has unleashed a groundswell of support from folks in the community, with several supporters stepping forward to help fill the void with other activities or donations..
For example, Chelsea Lea of Miss Chelsea’s Dance Academy has planned a number of family games for the evening of Friday, Oct. 20, following the Allen County Farm Bureau picnic.
Allen County Regional Hospital also will host an ice cream social that evening.
In addition, Derryberry Breadery has music and other activities planned for the conclusion of that evening’s street dance, and for all day Saturday.
Mike Ford’s assort-
ment of inflatables will grow substantially this year, with attractions for kids of all ages.
Also added to this year’s mix are decoration, photo and coloring contests, open to merchants or residents alike.
For details, visit www. farmcitydays.com
Other Farm-City Days standards, such as the car show and parade, promise to be bigger than ever, Kellerman said, with a tractor show added to the mix. Additional musical acts are being added to the free stage for Saturday’s activities.
The 11 a.m. parade is still accepting entries, and will continue do so right up until 10:59 a.m.
Gov. Laura Kelly will designate Juneteenth as a state holiday, joining 28 other states and the District of Columbia to recognize “the ongoing struggles for racial equality.” FILE PHOTO about deadline?
the morning of the parade.
“We’d love to see some of the floats they used at Moran Days, or in LaHarpe or Kincaid, or Biblesta,” Kellerman said.
And without a carnival taking up two blocks of Jackson Avenue the week of the celebration, it allows more space for additional vendors, Kellerman said.
“We’ve been just amazed by the support of the community,” Kellerman said. “We’ve had folks step forward in all sorts of ways. What we’re trying to do is reinvest in the community that’s invested so much in us.”
The Patterson Foundation gave the district $150,000 for professional development. Higginbotham said she intentionally wrote the grant to be flexible, and asked board members to split it with $75,000 for tuition and the rest for other types of professional training. Those amounts may be adjusted as determined by need.
Stadium and recreation
Security at the football stadium dium and the future of other sports facilities also grabbed the board’s attention on Monday.
First, technology director Ben Prasko presented preliminary plans to post security cameras at the stadium.
The stadium has seen significant improvements in recent years but it and the football field also have faced vandalism. Two years ago, someone drove ruts into new turf on the field. Last winter, a group of juveniles broke windows and stole a microphone sound board.
Prasko presented a couple of options for cameras. The simplest plan would use “trail cameras” at a cost of $520. Board members wanted something of higher quality.
Another option, for $2,500, would install multiple cameras with wi-fi capability so they could be monitored remotely.
The problem is the lack of quality internet at the stadium. Prasko also is researching
SPEAKING OF partnerships, board members Dan Willis and John Masterson reported on two recent meetings between the school district, the City of Iola, Allen Community College and a group of citizens to address recreation facilities.
All of those groups have a need for better baseball and softball fields. Mayor Steve French proposed they work together to look at solutions.
The fields at Riverside Park are outdated and have a tendency to flood. Allen recently improved its baseball, softball and soccer fields but needs more.
The school district does not have its own facilities and uses either Riverside Park or Allen’s fields.
The meetings are still in the early stages.
Board members said they were excited about the momentum and the possibilities.
“There’s a synergy that starts to happen once you get people working together,” Masterson said.
Willis agreed: “There’s a sentiment that recreation is growing in this community with a new state park coming and the trails system.”
IN OTHER news, the board:
• Heard a report from Amanda Holman, agri-
Jenna Higginbotham, curriculum director for USD 257, gives a presentation to the school board Monday. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS
culture teacher, about her program. She was recognized last week by Kansas State University. She talked about the real-world skills her students learn and about a comprehensive agriculture test seniors take before graduation. Last year’s nine seniors all scored above the state average.
• This year, the district earned bronze-level recognition under the 2023 Kansas Can Star Recognition program for kindergarten readiness and social-emotional growth.
• Established a policy for out-of-district enrollment as required by the state. A new law will require districts to accept out-of-district students, provided the school has capacity and the student remains in good standing. Higginbotham reported the district has plenty of room for such students, but she does not expect many to apply. She reviewed what it means to be “in good standing,” such as meeting academic and attendance standards. School administrators will work with out-of-district students to keep them in good standing, Higginbotham said, but if a student is not successful they would be notified in May if they are not allowed back the following semester.
Even 72 hours after it started, the bloodbath perpetrated against Israel by Hamas — the death toll is 900 and rising — retains its power to shock. If anything, the sheer criminality of the largest act of terrorism ever against the Jewish state becomes more appalling as new details emerge. The slaughter of young people, reportedly numbering 260, at a dance party. Gunmen firing randomly at civilian vehicles, going house to house, looking for anyone to kill or capture. The agony of hostages, apparently ranging in age from preschool to the elderly, who have been spirited away to Hamas’s Gaza strongholds. If they live, they will be used as bargaining chips or human shields.
Also evident, as the initial shock abates, is the degree to which this audacious attack, enthusiastically praised and possibly orchestrated by the Islamic Republic of Iran, has upended a global political situation already destabilized by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
As skirmishing between Israel and Iran’s proxy militia in
Lebanon, Hezbollah, shows, the chaos Hamas unleashed will not be easily contained — and was probably meant to be uncontainable. These are perilous moments for the world. The task for every government with a direct interest and power to influence the situation is to counter Hamas’s terrorism, and those who sponsor it, with firmness — tempered by discrimination.
That is much easier said than done, of course. Israel has a right to defend itself, which, in this context, also means a right to take the fight to Hamas in Gaza, as the United States had a right to go after al-Qaeda in Afghanistan after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Support, solidarity and sympathy for Israel and its people, and condemnation of Hamas, expressed by everyone from President Biden to the European Union to the United Arab Emirates to Bono, U2’s frontman and international humanitarian activist, could be the Jewish state’s greatest assets. The Israel Defense Forces, embarrassed at being taken by surprise, has an opportunity not only to regain the military advantage but also — in limiting collateral damage — to demonstrate the moral difference between a terrorist group such as Hamas and a professional army.
The United States also enjoyed a wave of international support immediately after 9/11, only to see it gradually wane as this country’s military response, in Iraq and elsewhere, went beyond what could be justified. Understandably enraged as they are in this moment, Israelis would do well to learn from that U.S. experience. And this country can learn from what has just happened in Israel. One lesson has to do with the risks of disunity.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposed overhaul of Israel’s judicial system, supported by extreme right-wing parties but not a broad consensus of Israelis, now looks even worse in hindsight — given the distracting backlash it set off, especially among members of the country’s security and intelligence establishment. It’s not a precise analogy, but the seriousness of events overseas makes U.S. partisan conflict, or intraparty conflict, such as a fringe of the Republican majority’s recent ouster of now-former House speaker Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), seem a doubly wasteful use of political bandwidth.
“Dangerous” has accurately described the geopolitical situation since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. After Saturday, it seems
too mild a word. Mr. Biden and his foreign policy team had nurtured the belief that they could reset U.S. strategy based on great-power competition with Russia and, above all, China. The Middle East, meanwhile, could be safely de-emphasized, as undemocratic but U.S.-aligned regimes in Cairo and Riyadh helped “integrate” the region, possibly in cooperation with Israel; the Palestinian issue would be left on the back burner and Iran isolated. To all of this, Iran and the most extreme, most heavily armed of the Palestinian factions have just given their answer, the full significance of which remains to be seen but a fair summary of which would be: “Not so fast.”
Mr. Biden’s challenge now is to support Israel, and help it vanquish Hamas, while somehow preserving talks on peace and normalization among Israel, the Arab states and — inescapably — those Palestinian parties that are willing to engage. This is not quite the challenge he was planning for, and certainly not an easy one. And yet it is the challenge Mr. Biden must meet, if the United States’ broader power to influence global events is to emerge undiminished from yet another unanticipated crisis in the Middle East.
— The Washington Post
The state of Kansas is flush with cash. Gov. Laura Kelly announced last week that the Department of Revenue took in $42 million more in taxes during September than officials originally expected — a total of $991.6 million for the month. That number actually underplays the Sunflower State’s bulging bank accounts: Projections now suggest Kansas could be running a nearly $3.2 billion budget surplus by the end of June 2025.
That is good news. Kansas is not so far removed from the days of then-Gov. Sam Brownback’s notorious “tax experiment,” which strangled state revenues, forced public schools to tighten their belts and produced a voter backlash. At risk of stating the obvious, it is better for the state government to have a bit too much in its coffers than too little.
Now, however, leaders in Topeka face a serious question: What to do with all that money? We have some ideas. There
are three things the Kansas Legislature should do with the budget surplus — and one it shouldn’t.
• Expand Medicaid. Gov. Kelly has tried time and again to lead Kansas to join the 41 states that have used federal funds to expand Medicaid coverage to cover nearly all adults with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level. The Republican-controlled Legislature has refused to go along — and its leaders show no sign of giving ground. “Big government is not and will never be the answer to increasing health care access to Kansans,” Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins and Senate President Ty Masterson said in a joint statement last week.
Legislators should use the state’s budget surplus to help the lives of everyday Kansans. That means easing the burden of healthcare costs for the indigent, better funding for special education and reasonable tax cuts.
We disagree. Up to 150,000 Kansans would benefit from expanding Medicaid eligibility. Studies show that the expanded program in other states has reduced the number of hospital closures, particularly in rural areas. And importantly, polls show Kansans overwhelmingly want Medicaid expansion. Legislators should at long last listen to their constituents on this issue.
• Fully fund special education. State law requires Kansas to fund local schools for 92% of the excess costs of special education programs, but the state hasn’t actually met this obligation for more than a decade. That has forced school districts to divert money from their general education bud-
gets, straining the resources available for all students. But the Legislature earlier this year passed on Kelly’s $72 million request for special ed funding. This is another issue where partisanship shouldn’t be a factor. Republicans hold a 7-3 majority on the Kansas State Board of Education, yet in July the board unanimously endorsed a four-year plan to raise state special education funding by $86.6 million a year.
“We certainly have the budget as a state right now to cover this,” said Melanie Haas, the board chair. “It’s time we caught up.” She’s right.
• Smart tax cuts. Not all of the excess revenues should be invested in new spending programs — some of it should go back to the taxpayers.
In April, Kelly called for a one-time rebate of $450 to individual taxpayers and $900 to married couples filing jointly. That proposal found no traction in the Leg-
islature. Kelly is ready to try again, announcing last week that she wants cuts to property, grocery and retirement taxes. That makes sense.
• But not those tax cuts. Republicans tried and failed to pass a flat income tax during the 2023 legislative session. They have made clear that they will try again in 2024. We will see the details of the new proposal then, but flat taxes are inherently regressive: They put cash in the pockets of the richest Kansans while offering precious little to the people who need it most. One analysis of this year’s vetoed proposal found it would give $3,000 back to top earners — and just $50 to folks at the bottom of the scale.
The state is in a good position. The budget surplus means leaders can make choices from a position of strength. The priority should be to address the needs and pocketbooks of all Kansans. We’ll see if legislators are up to the task.
— Kansas City Star
In its support of Israel the U.S. must also work to curb the spread of violence
By TIM CARPENTER Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — Saline County appraiser Sean Robertson started with positive elements of the Legislature’s proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution capping real estate valuation increases on residential, commercial and agriculture property at 4% annually in a bid to slow skyrocketing taxes.
Robertson, representing the Kansas County Appraiser’s Association, told a House and Senate committee studying the amendment that passage by Kansas voters could bring stability to property values, reduce complaints about surging taxes and shrink the number of complex tax appeals. It would also impose a cap on the state’s imposition of the property tax on Kansans, he said.
Then, to the disappointment of several lawmakers, he delved into reasons the constitutional amendment was a bad idea.
Robertson said the change would create financial inequities among owners of similar properties because divergent levels of property taxation would become the norm. Property appreciating rapidly in wake of strong market forces would be artificially devalued for taxation reasons as valuations climbed a maximum of 4% each year. Owners of real estate dealing with stagnant valuations would be on the hook for property taxes pegged at
actual market value. The amendment could fuel lawsuits by plaintiffs convinced it produced a fundamentally regressive method of figuring property taxes, he said.
The Kansas Senate adopted the constitutional amendment 28-11 during the 2023 legislative session. The Kansas House didn’t take up the measure, leaving it until the 2024 session opening in January. An interim bipartisan committee was appointed so lawmakers could prepare a report on attributes or flaws with Senate Concurrent Resolution 1611.
If adopted by a twothirds supermajority in the Senate and House — there is no mechanism for a veto by Gov. Laura Kelly — the property tax amendment would be placed before voters statewide. The plan was to do that in November 2024, but the date could
be moved. A simple majority of Kansans participating in the vote would determine fate of the amendment. The original goal was to implement it for tax year 2025.
New construction or improvements to real estate would be exempted from the 4% valuation benefit. The measure as currently written wouldn’t suspend the ability of city or county governments to raise property tax revenue, because mill levies wouldn’t be frozen by the amendment.
Sen. Caryn Tyson, a Republican from Parker who chairs the Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee, said the goal was to deal with county appraisers who for years had overvalued real estate. Even if tax levies were unchanged, a simple increase in property valuation each year meant local governments
could generate new revenue. The increases, especially during the past decade, pushed homeowners out of their Kansas homes and into more tax-friendly states such as Oklahoma, Tyson said.
“The current system is picking winners and losers,” Tyson said. “They are being removed from their home because they are choosing between between food, medicine and taxes. The process is broken.”
‘How fair is that?’
Robertson, during his give-and-take with the committee, said a perfect storm of economic forces led to a frenzy of elevated real estate sale prices and higher property valuations for assessing taxes. The federal government funneled cash to individuals and businesses with onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Interest rates on loans were low and
savings rates were high, he said. And, he said, there was significant wage growth in the U.S. economy.
“The idea that people are being run out of their homes by the taxes is a concern that we need to address,” Robertson said. “How many of these people are not able to stay in their homes because they can’t afford the principle mortgage payment and the interest, the maintenance and upkeep, the insurance, the utilities and the taxes?”
Tyson said it was wrong for a Kansas homeowner to endure a property tax surge because neighbors to the right and left remodeled their homes, sold them to the highest bidder and forced the stuck-in-themiddle resident to absorb consequences of a higher valuation of that home.
Tyson put an exclamation point on her frustration: “How fair is that?”
Weskan Rep. Adam Smith, the GOP chair of the House Taxation Committee, said the Senate’s proposal to amend the Constitution had to be fully vetted to avoid potential problems with people gaming the tax system. He said the state should be wary of shifting tax burden from agriculture property, especially in rural counties, onto commercial or residential property.
It would be folly for the Legislature to leave the impression with Kansans voting on a constitutional question that passage of the amendment would reduce prop-
erty taxes, said Rep. Mike Amyx, a Democrat from Lawrence.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen my property taxes come down,” he said. “I want to make sure that what we’re doing is for the benefit of taxpayers in our state.”
Unequal tax burden
Katherine Longhead, senior policy analyst with the Center for State Tax Policy at the nonpartisan, nonprofit Tax Foundation, said state politicians often responded to anxiety about escalating property taxes by capping the amount of revenue collected through the tax, constraining the mill levy tied to the tax or limiting increases in assessed valuation of property. The Senate’s solution would involve the third option.
“It’s important to keep in mind that assessment limits do not protect homeowners from property tax increases attributable to conscious policy choices of local taxing officials or state lawmakers,” Longhead said.
In addition, Longhead said, passage of the amendment could be politically popular among current homeowners but render Kansas less attractive to future homebuyers due to creation of an unequal tax burden among similarly situated properties. A related problem was the “lockin effect” resulting from homeowners’ reluctance to move because they didn’t want to lose their preferential property tax treatment, she said.
The Iola High JV football team hosted Girard’s JV squad Monday. Clockwise, from top right, is Austin Crooks, #1, throwing a pass; Iola’s offense runs off the field; Mustangs Everett Glaze, #62, and Trevor Tatman, #66, go after Girard’s quarterback; Iola’s Jordan Kaufman, #21, goes around a Girard defender and Lucas Maier, #87, gets tackled by a Girard defender. The Girard Trojans won the matchup 21-0. REGISTER/QUINN BURKITT
sets to secure wins.
CHEROKEE — The Marmaton Valley Junior High football team played lights out defense when they defeated Southeast Cherokee on the road Thursday, 4220. “On defense we hit them well,” Marmaton Valley head coach Dan Uhlrich said. “We had many big hits. We need to wrap up better at times, but I saw many positives.”
The Wildcats (5-1) forced three turnovers, two interceptions and had a fumble recovery. The first interception came right before halftime when Marmaton Valley intercepted a Southeast Cherokee pass.
On the very next play, Marmaton Valley fumbled the ball back to the Lancers which they capitalized on and scored to put the Wildcats in a 20-14 hole at halftime.
Marmaton Valley earned their second fumble recovery on the opening drive of the second half when they jumped on a ball and swung the momentum in the Wildcats’ favor.
“In a close game this was another huge swing in our
way,” Uhlrich said. “With them not being able to stop us, we had the game in control from there.”
Marmaton Valley travels to Crest Thursday for their final regular season game.
“We respect the Crest program and look forward to this opportunity,” said Uhlrich.
THE Marmaton Valley Junior High volleyball team’s fought tooth and nail but only the C team came out on top over Southeast Cherokee.
The Wildcats A team lost to Southeast Cherokee in three sets, 23-25, 25-17 and 13-15.
Alayna Cook led Marmaton Valley with a team-high 11 points in the first set before Layla Cook scored a team-high 17 points in the second set. In the third set, Alayna Cook scored a teamhigh four points.
Marmaton Valley’s B team lost to SE Cherokee in two sets, 25-17 and 25-17.
Mary Burris scored a team-high five points in the first set while Kaylee Burris and Clara Ferguson each
See WILDCATS | Page B3
Marmaton Valley’s Kenna Boone receives a serve in a match earlier this season.
CHANUTE — Marmaton Valley’s JV volleyball team came in third place in their bracket and fifth place overall at a tournament in Chanute Saturday. MV split their matchups, winning two and dropping
two. The Wildcats defeated Field Kinley and Erie while falling to Independence and Anderson County. In their matchup with Erie, the Wildcats came back from 10-point deficits in both
“These girls put in the work all season and I am really proud of them,” Marmaton Valley coach Alyssa Blevins said. “They continue to improve each game.”
Marmaton Valley fell to Independence by scores of 25-19, 21-25 and 10-15.
Taylen Blevins led the Wildcats with seven points and two kills in the first set.
Elizabeth Lewis added six points and one kill. In the second set, Gabby Briggs had a team-high seven points while Lewis had two. Blevins added six points in the third set.
The Wildcats lost to Anderson County in straight sets, 18-25 and 23-25.
Emma Michael notched a team-high five points while Blevins had two points in the first set. In the second
See MVJV | Page B3
NYON, Switzerland (AP)
— The trend of reaching friendly agreements to pick hosts of the Olympics or major soccer tournaments without a contested vote continued in Europe on Tuesday.
European soccer body UEFA made winners of all seven of its member federations who were competing to be future hosts of the European Championship in 2028 and 2032. The four member nations of Britain
will co-host with Ireland in 2028, and an unusual Italy-Turkey plan was picked for 2032.
Final approval from the UEFA executive commit-
See SOCCER | Page B3
TORONTO (AP) —
Auto workers walked off the job at three General Motors facilities in Canada Tuesday after failing to reach agreement with the automaker.
Their union, Unifor, represents more than 4,200 workers at the plants. They had warned they would begin a strike if no agreement was struck with GM by midnight local time.
“We made some progress throughout the day, but sadly not enough,” Unifor President Lana Payne told reporters. She said the union was still speaking with the company, but there was “a lot of ground that needed to be covered.”
The action came after Unifor workers ratified a new three-year labor contract with Ford late
(Published in The Iola Register Oct. 11, 2023)
NOTICE OF PLACES AND DATES OF VOTER REGISTRATION
Pursuant to the provisions of K.S.A. 1982 Supp. 25-2311(c), as amended notice is hereby given that the books of registration of voters will be open at the following places: The office of the County Clerk, Courthouse, Iola; the office of the City Clerk, City Hall, Iola; the office of the City Clerk, City Hall, Humboldt; the office of the City Clerk, City Hall, Gas; the office of the City Clerk, City Hall, LaHarpe; the office of the City Clerk, City Hall, Moran; the office of the SCS, Iola; the office of the Kansas Driver License Department, Iola; the office of the South East Kansas Mental Health Depart-
last month. They are seeking a similar agreement with GM.
“This strike is about General Motors stubbornly refusing to meet the pattern agreement. The company knows our members will never let GM break our pattern — not today — not ever,” Payne said. She said GM was not meeting the union’s demands for pensions, support for retired workers and steps to transition temporary workers to permanent, full-time jobs.
General Motors Corp. said that while “very positive progress” had been made, the company was disappointed not to be able to win an agreement.
“We remain at the bargaining table and
occurs:
are committed to keep working with Unifor to reach an agreement that is fair and flexible for our 4,200 represented employees at Oshawa Assembly & Operations, St. Catharines Propulsion Plant, and Woodstock Parts Distribution Centre,” Jennifer Wright, GM Canada’s executive director for communications, said in a statement.
Payne said earlier that the union had a lot of bargaining leverage with GM because the factory in Oshawa, Ontario, is working around the clock to build profitable Chevrolet pickups. However, in her remarks to reporters she said “demographics,” presumably of an aging work force, were a major hurdle.
ment, Iola; the office of the South East Kansas Mental Health Department, Humboldt; the office of the ANW Coop, Iola; the Public Library, Humboldt; and the Public Library, Savonburg, Iola SRS office, during regular office hours.
At 5:00 o’clock P.M. on the 17th day of October, 2023 the books for the City/School General, will close and remain closed until the 8th day of November, 2023.
A citizen of the United States who is 18 years of age and upwards, or will have attained the age of 18 years at the next election, must register before he or she can vote. Registration closes 21 days prior to every election. Voters must bring Valid Photo ID with them to vote.
When a voter has been registered according to law, his or her registration shall continue to be valid until one or the following
(1) The voter changes residence, outside of their voting precinct boundary
(2) The voter fails to vote in two consecutive state general elections.
If any of the above has occurred, you must re-register. Any person may apply in person, by mail or telephone to the county election officer to be registered. Application forms shall be provided by the county election officer upon request in person or in writing by an individual applicant. Such application shall be signed by the applicant under penalty of perjury.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this 5th day of October 2023. Shannon Patterson ALLEN
Shake it off: Travis Kelce slips free from injury
Need another sign that Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift are simply meant to be together or “Tayvis” or besties or whatever it is they are?
How about this: the Kansas City Chiefs star tight end just spent Week 5 dealing with both a gnarly-looking sprained ankle and a needless dig from Aaron Rodgers the exact same way.
By ... shaking it off.
How’s that song go again?
“Players gonna play, play, play, play, play
“And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate (haters gonna hate)
“Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
“I shake it off, I shake it off.”
Swift may sing those
Continued from B1
scored a team-high four points in the second set.
MV’s C team was the lone victorious team took out Southeast Cherokee in two sets, 25-8 and 25-13.
Reagan Marshall totaled a team-high 11 points in the first set before Mary Burris scored a teamhigh eight points in the second set.
The Junior High Wildcats conclude their season Thursday evening at Crest.
words when she resumes The Eras Tour but it’s Kelce who’s living them word for word right now in front of our eyes.
Kelce’s day — and maybe season — appeared to be over late in the second quarter of the Chiefs’ 27-20 win at
Continued from B1
set, Lesleigh Cary had a team-high five points while Lewis added three points and one kill. Carr also went for two kills in the second set.
MV edged out Field Kinley in three sets, 25-19, 23-25 and 15-9.
Lewis and Blevins each notched a teamhigh seven points while Lewis had a team-high four kills in the first set. In the second set, Lewis recorded a team-high three points while Blevins, Michael and Briggs each had two points in the second set.
In the third set, Michael and Cary had a team-high three points while Michael had a team-high two kills and Carr went for two points.
Marmaton Valley knocked out Erie in two sets, 25-21 and 2523. Lewis had a teamhigh 12 points in the first set. Cary registered a team-high eight points in the second set while Carr went for three points and Lewis had two kills.
The Wildcats host Pleasanton and Chetopa on Tuesday night.
Minnesota on Sunday when he went down awkwardly without being touched and limped off the field, slamming his helmet and heading down to the locker room.
emerged from the tunnel just before the second-half kickoff. After standing on the Chiefs’ sideline for their first drive, he returned to action and played a key role in Kansas City’s fourth consecutive win.
See KELCE | Page B4Continued from B1
appeared inevitable after former bid rivals Italy and Turkey united under one flag of convenience in July. That deal took Turkey out of the Euro 2028 contest, where the team of five neighboring UEFA member federations — England, Northern Ireland, Scotland,
Wales and Ireland — was long favored to win.
The seven members “whose dedication, hard work and commitment have been duly recognized” were praised in a written statement by UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin.
The UEFA decisions followed six days after
another deal was revealed by FIFA to stage the 2030 World Cup in six countries on three continents.
That arrangement added South American neighbors Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay to their former bid rival, the heavily favored Europe-led co-hosting plan
of Spain and Portugal that this year added Morocco.
The 2030 deal allowed FIFA to fast-track opening the 2034 bidding contest reserved only for member federations from Asia and Oceania. That makes it look like a shoo-in for Saudi Arabia.
By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Sports Writer
The Senate Judiciary Committee announced it has scheduled a hearing on Name, Image and Likeness, and the Future of College Sports for next Tuesday.
Baker, the former governor of Massachusetts, took over as NCAA president in March and has been spending a lot of time in Washington lobbying lawmakers to help college sports with a federal law to regulate how athletes can be compensated for their fame.
Several bills have been introduced by federal lawmakers lately, including two bipartisan efforts from the senate, but still there has been little movement toward serious action on a issue that has been a topic of conversation since the summer of 2020.
“I do get worried about Congress micromanaging the rules of endorsement deals or transfer portals or compensation,” Sen. Chris
NCAA President Charlie Baker will address a Senate committee on the future of college sports. (LAURIE DIEFFEMBACQ/BELGA VIA ZUMA PRESS/TNS)Murphy, D-Conn., told members of the athletic directors’ association LEAD1 last month at a gathering in Washington.
Baker is expected to be joined next week by Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti. While college sports leaders have repeatedly said federal intervention that prevents college athletes from being deemed employees is the best solution for NIL, the NCAA is working on finally passing its own detailed rules.
The NCAA Division I Council last week introduced several proposals to bring transparency to NIL transactions and oversight of those who want to work with students. They could be voted on as soon as January and a working group is still discussing more ways to regulate NIL payments to athletes.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Linebacker Robert Spillane had just one career interception before Monday night, and cornerback Amik Robertson received just his second start in five games this season.
Both players were critical to the Las Vegas Raiders’ 17-13 victory over the Green Bay Packers. Spillane intercepted Green Bay’s Jordan Love twice, and Robertson made the game-sealing pick in the end zone to stop a three-game skid.
“One of the best interceptions I’ve ever seen in my life,” Spillane said. “Fifty yards down the field, to be able to contort his body, high point the football and end the game like that, what an outstanding play by a player who’s been gnawing at the bit to get on the field.”
The Raiders’ offense did just enough, with Jimmy Garoppolo completing 22 of 31 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown while throwing his NFL-high seventh interception.
Jakobi Meyers caught seven passes for 75 yards and a TD, and former Packer Davante Adams had four catches for 45 yards.
Love was 16 of 30 for 182 yards and the three picks. He has thrown five interceptions in the past two games.
“I’ve got to be better,” Love said. “I’ve got to take care of the ball.”
Both offenses struggled. The Raiders (2-3) gained 279 yards and the Packers (2-3) finished with 285.
“I thought our defense competed hard, enough for us to win the game,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “We’ve got to find a way to score points because I think anytime you hold somebody to 17 points, it’s enough to win football games.”
Las Vegas ended an eight-game skid against the Packers. The franchise last beat Green Bay in 1987 when it played in Los Angeles. Robertson secured the victory when he intercepted a pass in the end zone with 44 seconds left.
“I played receiver in high school,” Robertson said. “I’m an offensive player playing defense.”
The Raiders took a 10-3 lead into halftime thanks to 9-yard touchdown pass from
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young has made tremendous strides in her five years as a pro since going No. 1 in the 2019 draft.
Garoppolo to Meyers. Las Vegas had a chance for an even bigger lead after Spillane’s interception in the second quarter gave the Raiders possession at the Green Bay 7, but settled for a short field goal.
That kind of start was nothing new for the Packers, who have scored six first-half points in their past three games. They overcame a 17-0 deficit at the break two weeks ago to beat the New Orleans Saints, and last week outscored the Detroit Lions 17-7 in the second half but still lost by two touchdowns.
And, right on cue, the Packers opened the second half with Rudy Ford’s interception of Garoppolo. That led to AJ Dillon’s 5-yard touchdown run to tie the game.
Later in the third quarter, Green Bay failed to take advantage of a short field. Love found Christian Watson without a defender within about 10 yards of him. The 77yard completion — and a horse-collar tackle penalty — put the Packers at the 3. But Green Bay had to settle for a chip-shot field goal to go ahead 13-10. The lead didn’t hold up long. Josh Jacobs’ 2-yard touchdown run to open the fourth quarter put Las Vegas back in front.
“A lot of credit for
hanging in there and grinding it out,” Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said. “It was that kind of game the entire four quarters. Nothing was easy.”
BROTHER AGAINST
BROTHER
Give the edge to younger brother Anders Carlson in the matchup of kicking brothers.
Anders Carlson made both field goals for the Packers, from 37 and 22 yards. He is 7 of 7 on field goals and 10 of 10 on extra points. Two of the rookie’s field goals are from at least 50 yards.
Daniel Carlson, one of the league’s most reliable kickers, hit from 26 yards, but had a 53yard attempt partially blocked and a 52-yarder bounce off the right upright. He entered this game having made 24 of 29 career field goals from at least 50 yards.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS
LIGHT TORCH
The Vegas Golden Knights, with the Stanley Cup in tow, lit the Al Davis memorial torch before the game. They drew a loud ovation from the crowd, which chanted “Go Knights Go.”
The Knights will raise their championship banner Tuesday night before facing the Seattle Kraken in the season opener.
As a rookie out of Notre Dame, she was a dynamic and predictable drive-to-her-right, mid-range specialist. She averaged 9.7 points per game over her first three seasons and improved progressively each year under thencoach Bill Laimbeer.
But when Becky Hammon arrived, and assistant Tyler Marsh was added to the coaching staff, little did Young know her game was about to take a long-range turn. She went from being a 28.6% shooter from 3-point territory, to 44.3% the past two seasons.
“A lot of hard work, just trying to get better each offseason,” Young said after scoring 26
points in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday. “Spent a lot of time in the gym working on my game, but I have to give a lot of credit to Tyler. I mean, whenever he came here that really changed my game - my career really.
“The most obvious one was shooting 3s. I was able to tweak my shot a little bit last year and it’s made the biggest difference.”
In Las Vegas’ 99-82 win over the New York Liberty, Young hit 9 of 15 (60%) from the field, including 5 of 8 (62.5%) from beyond the arc. It marked the 15th time she’s hit for 60% or better from the floor, and 11th time from 3-point range.
After Hammon told Marsh what she envisioned, Young became his first project.
With physical attributes, athleticism and a strong work ethic already in place, he
immediately went to work on her shooting.
“From a skills standpoint, that’s more of the realm we paid attention to,” Marsh said. “With her mentality and mindset in place, we wanted to make her as efficient as possible. We spent countless hours in the gym, created a plan, worked on her form shooting, getting her shot off quicker and doing it so she didn’t feel uncomfortable.
“She just trusted me, Becky’s vision, and the work we put in, all of which helped establish a relationship moving forward.”
It goes beyond her offense, though, as Hammon and star A’ja Wilson pointed out. Young held New York sharpshooter and reigning 3-point champion Sabrina Ionescu to just seven points on
See WNBA | Page B6
Continued from B1
of big catches from Patrick Mahomes on a touchdown drive that gave K.C. a 27-13 lead, including the 4-yard reception in the end zone after his leaping, 14-yard grab withstood a Minnesota challenge.
“Pretty amazing,” coach Andy Reid said of Kelce’s Willis Reed moment, which came 48 hours after Kelce shook off Rodgers’ anti-jab digs with equal aplomb.
Proving he doesn’t just have Swift’s attention nowadays, Kelce was the target of Rodgers, the notorious anti-vaxxer who is recovering from an Achilles tear in his Jets debut and took a dig at the Chiefs star tight end out of the
blue last week, poking fun at Kelce’s promotion of flu and updated COVID-19 vaccines.
Rodgers said during his appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” that the Jets’ 23-20 loss to Kansas City in Week 4 was a moral victory in “that we hung with the champs and that our defense played well, and Pat didn’t have a crazy game, and Mr. Pfizer, we kind of shut him down. He didn’t have his crazy impact game.”
Kelce did have a team-high six catches for 60 yards, but OK, he didn’t score.
Rodgers has long been outspoken about COVID-19 and the NFL’s protocols that were in place in 2020-21, which he called dra-
conian and designed to shame players like himself who didn’t get the shot.
He acknowledged at the time that he possibly misled the public about his vaccination status and he missed a game, coincidentally against Kelce and the Chiefs, that season when he contracted the virus. The day after he was ruled out against Kansas City, he went on McAfee’s show and questioned the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines altogether.
A week later, he said on McAfee’s show and said he didn’t intend to fuel the divide over vaccines, adding, “I respect everybody’s opinion ... I’m not gonna hate on anybody.”
Adapted from an online discussion.
Dear Carolyn: My husband and I own a vacation cabin, which we have always encouraged my son and his wife to use on their own. This year, they were planning to visit us at the cabin for a week, then remain on their own for a week, which we were fine with. But recently, I learned that for the second week, they had invited my daughterin-law’s parents to stay there as well.
I am not comfortable with this; I’ve only met these people once. This house has been in my family for generations, and I don’t want strangers in it when I’m not present (it’s too small for all of us to be there at the same time).
I told my son that he and his wife were still welcome, of course, but her parents would have to make hotel accommodations for the week. He replied that he and wife now wouldn’t visit at all: They’d come to see us last year, and
they were due a visit to his wife’s family this year. Rather than ask her folks to stay in a hotel, they plan to skip us entirely and fly to her family’s home state instead.
Which one of us is being unreasonable? — Grinch-y?
Grinch-y?: Omg. You are, with confetti, party hats and an oompah band. Holy cats.
Do you have any grasp at all of how deeply you just insulted your daughter-in-law, her parents and your son by extension? The only way I can even imagine your getting out of this with your primary relationships intact is for you to call your son immediately, say you don’t know what came over you, you utterly lost your mind, and of course her family is welcome to stay in the
cabin.
You just declared your son’s extended family — his family — as untrustworthy strangers. They’re strangers to you, not to him.
I’m shaking my head so hard I might be concussed.
Dear Carolyn: Although I have a loving relationship with my adult kids, who live far away, it hurts me that I never receive gifts or even a card on my birthday or Mother’s Day. They call me, and they think that’s enough. Meanwhile, I faithfully acknowledge their birthdays and their partners’ with either a gift or a card and cash, and if we’re together, their dad and I always treat to a celebratory meal out. This year was my 65th birthday, and again all I got was phone calls. Is it time for me to stop sending them and their partners gifts? — Hurt
Hurt: Sure. Not to be punitive, though, which makes nothing better. Stop because they may not value gifts
MOSCOW (AP) —
Wall Street Journal
reporter Evan Gershkovich lost an appeal Tuesday to be released from jail on espionage charges, meaning he will remain behind bars at least through Nov. 30.
Gershkovich, 31, had a mostly blank expression as he appeared in the defendant’s glass cage in Moscow City Court in blue shirt, T-shirt and jeans. He marked six months in custody on Sept. 29.
It was the second time in less than a month he had appeared before a judge
to appeal an August decision to extend his pretrial detention through November. On Sept. 19, the court declined to hear the appeal, citing unspecified procedural violations.
The journalist was detained in March while on a reporting trip to the city of Yekaterinburg, about 1,200 miles east of Moscow.
The court proceedings are closed because prosecutors say details of the criminal case are classified.
Russia’s Federal Security Service alleged Gershkovich, “acting on the instructions of the American side, collected information constituting a state secret about
the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex.”
Gershkovich and the Journal deny the allegations, and the U.S. government has declared him to be wrongfully detained. Russian authorities haven’t detailed any evidence to support the espionage charges.
He is being held at Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, notorious for its harsh conditions. Gershkovich is the first American reporter to be charged with espionage in Russia since 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow correspondent for U.S. News and World Report, was arrested by the KGB.
the way you do, which would explain why they don’t give them for your special days. Meaning, maybe you’re giving them what you want and they’re giving you what they want. Pretty common, and easily solved by empathy.
Talk to them about it first, before you make any big changes. “Would you rather I stop sending gifts? It’s how I was raised to handle special days, and I love to get gifts and cards myself, but things seem to be changing.” More listening, less defensiveness, better connections.
And: Please value those currently undervalued phone calls, which are more precious than anything your kids can make happen with $6 at Target and a postage stamp. Don’t take my word for it, though; ask around, see how many people’s families don’t talk, don’t mark special days, don’t bother calling at all. I’ve got decades of mail on family estrangements. Your kids call. Good for them. Good for you.
ZITS by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman BEETLE BAILEY by Mort Walker
Continued from B4
2 of 7 shooting, including 1 of 5 from beyond the arc in Game 1.
“I think Jackie is just scratching the surface of how great she can be,” Hammon said. “She does so many things that help you win the game. She’s just one of those people that just keeps her nose to the ground. She’s a great decision-maker. She’s a big strong guard that has defense first ... if
you go back and you look at our games, go see what cuffs she put on, I can only remember maybe four or five times where a perimeter player got off on her. Out of 40 games, I’ll take that.”
Young’s growth in her five years as a professional has garnered a reputation of being a relentless twoway player, while also earning her a pair of All-Star nominations and the WNBA 2022
Most Improved Player award.
Her opponents know what she’s capable of.
“Obviously she’s scoring on different levels, being able to shoot 3, being able to get downhill ... a player that can affect the game in different ways and she plays aggressively and is able to score on multiple levels,” Liberty forward and former MVP Jonquel Jones said.
— AJ Allmendinger finds the pressure of racing at NASCAR’s top levels so intense that he once took a two-year mental health break.
“I struggle to believe in myself every day. It’s an ugly place sometimes,” Allmendinger said. “I always say I have the best life possible, and that’s why I’m miserable every day, because it’s wake up and, ‘What the hell are you going to do to be better today?’”
Those were Allmendinger’s remarks on Sunday night after he played spoiler by winning NASCAR’s playoff elimination race on The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He’s not part of the playoff field, but he is a fantastic road racer and the hybrid road course/oval at Charlotte has suited Allmendinger since the course debuted in 2018.
Allmendinger qualified second that year and finished seventh in the Cup Series race — and then walked away from NASCAR at the end of the season.
It was Matt Kaulig, the former quarterback at the University of Akron turned entrepreneur, who lured Allmendinger back into racing. Kaulig wanted to build a NASCAR team and figured Allmendinger could help him do it as a designated trophy hunter.
Kaulig in 2019 entered Allmendinger in five road course races in the second-tier Xfinity Series and Allmendinger won in the final start — at The Roval. Kaulig bumped him to 11 Xfinity races in 2020 and Allmendinger again won at The Roval.
Now he had Allmendinger hooked.
Kaulig persuaded Allmendinger to run for the 2021 Xfinity championship as well as five Cup races, where he’d once again be trophy hunting. The plan was genius and Allmendinger won five Xfinity races as well as on the road course at Indianapolis to give Kaulig his first career Cup Series victory as a team owner.
Kaulig became a fulltime Cup team in 2022 and used Allmendinger in 18 races before bringing him back for a full season this year.
The results have been underwhelming.
Kaulig launched at the same time as 23XI Racing and Trackhouse Racing but didn’t get its first win until Sunday and has yet to make the playoffs; 23XI and Trackhouse have five Cup wins each, 23XI placed two drivers in the playoffs each of
the last two years while Trackhouse was runner-up in the championship last year with Ross Chastain.
Allmendinger’s win at Charlotte — his third career Cup victory spanning 16 seasons, and fifth on The Roval — eliminated both Chastain from this year’s playoff field and Bubba Wallace of 23XI.
Allmendinger openly sobbed when he climbed from the car.
He turns 42 in December and within the last month welcomed his first child, a son, with his wife, former Mrs. North Carolina Tara Allmendinger.
So he’s not kidding when he says he has the best life possible. But as he’s done his entire career, Allmendinger internalizes and can
buckle under the unattainable expectations he sets for himself. He scored the job of his life in 2012 when Roger Penske gave him a Cup ride, but Allmendinger was barely holding it together 17 races into the season when he said he accepted a pill from a friend at a party in an effort to let loose.
Allmendinger failed a subsequent drug test and, although Penske fired him, it was Penske who helped Allmendinger land another job and even gave him a seat in the Indianapolis 500 the next year. When Allmendinger scored his first career Cup win in 2014 while driving for JTG-Daugherty Racing, and Penske and the Team Penske executives were among the first to victory lane.
