The Iola Register, August 12, 2020

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Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Locally owned since 1867

Royals rally but still fall short

iolaregister.com

ALLEN COUNTY COMMISSION

Valuation drops by $2 million Commissioner Bruce Symes retains position after votes are canvassed

PAGE B1

Teachers who quit could owe districts PAGE A2

Joe Biden’s VP pick is Kamala Harris PAGE A5

By TREVOR HOAG The Iola Register

Commissioner Bruce Symes retained his seat by a hair after provisional votes were tallied at Tuesday’s county commission meeting. Symes received 353 votes to opponent John Brocker’s 345. County Clerk Sherrie Riebel was assisted by commissioners Jerry Daniels and Bill King in reviewing the votes for the District 3 seat. Commissioners also discussed the county’s proposed budget for 2021, and made

needed cuts with the help of department heads and assistance from auditor Rodney Burns. Commissioners also made a few new allowances for funding, such as for the Southeast Kansas Multi-County Health Department, who requested additional resources for dealing with the threat of COVID-19. Commissioner King said he had asked those in charge of departments to “hold it just as tight as we could,” given the economic situation. Commissioner Symes described that situation as “a

County clerk Sherrie Riebel reviews provisional ballots with commissioners Jerry Daniels and Bill King. REGISTER/TREVOR HOAG perfect storm of valuation and COVID.” The county’s assessed valuation is down around $2 million, from $148,771,236 in 2020

Lend me your ears By TREVOR HOAG The Iola Register

Monday night, around 50 farmers from the region met at the farm of Shawn and Kylee Geffert north of Humboldt to get a readout on the current status of the corn industry. Speakers from Kansas Corn told the farmers the industry is being hit by the current COVID-19 pandemic and how it affects world markets. Speaker Chad Epler lamented that “corn has been on life support all summer.” He said this meant farmers were mostly pinning their hopes on soybeans, but was concerned that this “isn’t such a good idea.” Speaker Josh Roe highlighted the opportunities in ethanol, noting how onethird of corn in Kansas now goes to make fuel. Roe pointed out the environmental benefits of ethanol, and said he now views gas stations as just as important as cattle operations when it comes to sustaining the corn industry.

to a projected $146,690,045 in 2021. Around half of the total See COUNTY | Page A6

What parents should know about virtual schooling By STEPHAN BISAHA Kansas News Service

er a book for students and teachers to learn about corn and corn-centered agriculture. Kansas Corn comprises

WICHITA, Kansas — Online schooling got off to a rocky start in Kansas, with teachers quickly piecing together virtual offerings. Parents complained about needing to be constantly involved while the work failed to engage their students. Now faced with sending their children back to a physical classroom this fall, Kansas parents are trying to enroll kids in the state’s virtual schools. Lawrence’s received more than three times as many applicants compared to this time last year, and Wichita Public School’s Education Imagine Academy filled up in a week. Kansas has had more than 100 virtual schools and programs for years, allowing students to learn at their own pace and keeping clumsy vid-

See CORN | Page A6

See VIRTUAL | Page A3

Kansas Corn CEO Greg Krissek discusses the importance of international trade and new markets. REGISTER/TREVOR HOAG

Erin Rios spoke on initiatives in K-12 education that Kansas Corn had been working on, and explained how those initiatives had been altered by online learning and COVID-19.

“Teachers are excited about teaching agriculture,” she said, “but they don’t have the funds or the resources to do it.” Hence Rios and others at Kansas Corn have put togeth-

Iola native digs out after horrific Iowa windstorm By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

MARION, Iowa — As the wind howled, Jennifer Horning couldn’t help but think of a similar storm she’d gone through about 34 years previously. The Iola native was at home during the lunch hour Monday at her family’s eastern Iowa farm when a line of severe thunderstorms blasted a swath across the Midwest. The storms sustained 60-80 Vol. 122, No. 201 Iola, KS 75 Cents

mph winds for more than 40 minutes. “Once it started, it just kept getting worse and worse,” Horning told the Register in a telephone interview. Horning and her husband, Neal, are among the tens of thousands of Iowans digging out from Monday’s storm, described by meteorologists as a derecho. Though their roof stayed intact, it lost most of its shingles, Horning said. “We had water coming in almost every

room in the house.” A nearby hoop building fell on one of the family’s tractors. Their machine shed lost part of its roof. Another nearby building collapsed on other farm equipment. A grain bin was moved about 300 yards. On top of that, nearly all of their corn and soybean crops were leveled. A team of insurance adjusters were scheduled to arrive today to help gauge the losses. “The crops are not good,” See STORM | Page A5

A hoop building at the farm of Jennifer and Neal Horning is toppled by a storm Monday. COURTESY OF JENNIFER HORNING

Services, Monuments & Events

620-365-2948

1883 US Hwy 54, Iola • feuerbornfuneral.com


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