The Iola Register, Aug. 23, 2023

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

HUMBOLDT — Layne Sterling is nothing if not empathetic.

Having grown up on a farm, Sterling is used to working in the broiling summer conditions.

“But at 50 years old, I’m starting to feel the heat more,” he said Monday. “When it’s this hot and no breeze, it’s pretty rough.

So he saves his most strenuous activities for the early morning or late evening hours.

He cut a field of alfalfa earlier this week, but decided to wait until it’s a tad cooler before baling and hauling it off.

Sterling notes he has the luxury of taking it easy by going indoors where it’s air-conditioned.

“But then I start feeling it for the cows,” he said.

Sterling, who farms on the outskirts of Humboldt, has taken several steps to protect his herd by splitting the animals to four different pastures.

Two pastures still have sufficient water. The other two, however, either have

Workers cope with heat

By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register

Alex Mathews and Clark Hendry, workers with Iola’s parks and cemetery department, started their work day at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday.

With the temperature at 82 degrees and climbing, they tackled the most physical job first: grinding a tree stump near the road. Temperatures were expected to top 100 with a heat index of 108.

“The afternoon gets pretty hot. It gets pretty wild sometimes,” Mathews said. How do they stay cool while working in the heat?

Both laughed.

“Stay hydrated,” Hendry said.

“If we’re mowing, it’s not too bad. You can get a nice breeze,” Mathews said. “But

when it’s still, it’s terrible. Hot and humid. Last week we had cool weather. Now, it’s blazing again.”

THIS WEEK’S heat wave — the latest round of what’s been a brutally hot summer — is another reminder of the importance of planning for the worst, Allen County’s Emergency Management director Jason Trego said. If there was a lesson to be learned from the July 14 storm that knocked out power for several days, Trego hopes it reminds area residents to be prepared.

What if you lose power?

Where would you go to cool down? What would you do with the food in your refrig-

See BROILING | Page A6

ponds that have dropped to wading pool levels, and filled with a stagnant, moss-filled muck — or ponds that have dried out completely.

Sterling and crew — including his 82-year-old mother Julia Sterling — hauls more than 1,000 gallons every other day to split between the two pastures.

Recent rains may have helped keep his corn and soybean crops looking decent, but they’ve done little to keep the ponds full, Sterling lamented.

“And these ponds were full this spring,” he said.

With little to no runoff, the stagnant water stands at risk of developing blue-green algae, which can be fatal to both fish and wildlife, he noted.

Sterling has had his water tested in years previously, but has not this year, in part because he keeps his tanks filled with fresh water.

THE MOST recent blast of summer has made life tough for everyone, especially farmers.

The National Weather Ser-

See FARMERS | Page A3

‘Get out of my house!’ Video shows distressed mother

By JOHN HANNA and JIM SALTER The Associated Press

MARION, Kan. (AP) —

Newly released video shows the 98-year-old mother of a Kansas newspaper publisher confronting police officers as they searched her home in a raid that has drawn national scrutiny, at one point demanding: “Get out of my house!”

Video released by the newspaper Monday shows Joan Meyer shouting at the six officers inside the Marion, Kansas, home she shared

with her son, Marion County Record Editor and Publisher Eric Meyer. Standing with the aid of a walker and dressed in a long robe or gown and slippers, she seems visibly upset. “Get out of my house ... I don’t want you in my house!” she said at one point. “Don’t touch any of that stuff! This is my house!” she said at another.

The raids of the newspaper and the homes of the Meyers and a City Council member happened on Aug. 11, after a local restaurant owner ac-

See RAID | Page A4

Clark Hendry, left, and Alex Mathews with Iola’s parks and cemetery department start their work day at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday to beat the heat. Temperatures were expected to top 100 as part of this week’s heat wave. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS

Layne Sterling envisions an “up and down” corn harvest for area farmers this fall. While some ears are fully developed, a lack of rain shows significant stress. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Video recordings show Joan Meyer, the 98-year-old co-owner of the Marion County Record, repeatedly demanding police officers leave her home. She died the next day. Search warrants used for the house and the newspaper office were later withdrawn due to insufficient evidence a crime occurred. KANSAS REFLECTOR/SHERMAN SMITH

Marmaton Valley’s FFA gets grant

MORAN — Marmaton Valley’s FFA Chapter in Moran was awarded $2,812 as part of the Grants for Growing program. The nationwide program, sponsored by Tractor Supply Company, provides grant funds to local FFA chapters to support the development or improvement of agricultural education projects that enhance the classroom

experiences for students through chapter engagement activities.

Marmaton Valley FFA plans to utilize the grant for the construction of an egg-laying production system.

The chapter will build a chicken coop and run that will house between 20 and 30 laying hens.

The eggs produced will then be available for purchase to help meet the demands of the lo-

cal community. The animal science classes will take care of the chickens and facilities while also grading and packaging the eggs.

The program provided approximately $870,000 to FFA chapters in 42 states. Funding is provided through consumer donations made during checkout at a Tractor Supply Company store by purchasing a $1 FFA Paper

Emblem.

The fundraising period aligns with National FFA Week in February. The National FFA Organization is a school-based national youth leadership development organization of more than 850,000 student members as part of 8,995 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Biden: Maui will get help ‘for as long as it takes’

LAHAINA, Hawaii

(AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday told survivors of Hawaii’s wildfires that the nation “grieves with you” and promised that the federal government will help “for as long as it takes” Maui to recover from damage caused by the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century.

Biden arrived in Maui 13 days after fire ravaged the western part of the island, killing at least 115 people. Standing near a severely burned 150-year-old banyan tree, the president acknowledged the “overwhelming” devastation but said that Maui would persevere through the tragedy.

“Today it’s burned but it’s still standing,” Biden said of the tree. “The tree survived for a reason. I believe it’s a very powerful symbol of what we can and will do to get through this crisis.”

Biden and first lady

Jill Biden got a closeup look at the devastation, seeing block after block of hollowed out homes and other structures, charred cars, singed trees and piles of debris as his motorcade wound through Lahaina. They spent most of their time in the historic town of 13,000 people that was virtually destroyed by the flames.

The Bidens lingered briefly on the tarmac after arriving at Kahului Airport to console Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, his wife Jaime Green and members of Hawaii’s congressional delegation who greeted them. The president and first lady embraced each of their greeters before they boarded the Marine One helicopter for an aerial tour of the damage. The Bidens also met with first responders and members of the community, and were briefed by state and local officials about the ongoing response.

Kelly lauds growth of 6,800 child care slots since mid-2022

By TIM CARPENTER Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — Gov. Lau-

ra Kelly said infusion of government funding contributed to an increase of more than 6,800 child-care slots in Kansas over a 14-month period following erosion of services statewide amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The expansion from May 2022 to July of this year included new positions at licensed daycare homes, group daycare homes, preschools, child care centers and drop-in programs. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported a 400% increase in applications from providers of child care from October 2022 to May 2023.

“We know the Kansas child care slot supply was not adequate before 2020, but our current numbers speak to our work to steady and rebuild child care availability across the state,” Kelly said.

We know the Kansas child care slot supply was not adequate before 2020, but our current numbers speak to our work to steady and rebuild child care availability across the state — Gov. Laura Kelly

recruiting campaign with information about child care assistance for families and how individuals could become a provider. Kansas suspended fees for applications and background checks in a bid to broaden services.

KDHE secretary Janet Stanek said the agency would continue to work with new providers to narrow the gap between demand and supply.

They also participated in a blessing of his visit by island elders. They had interrupted a weeklong vacation in the Lake Tahoe area to visit Lahaina.

Earlier Monday, the White House announced that Biden has named Bob Fenton, a regional leader at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to be the chief federal response coordinator for the Maui wildfires, overseeing the longterm recovery. It will take years to rebuild Lahaina, where just about every building was obliterated.

“We’re going to rebuild the way the people of Maui want to rebuild,” said Biden, adding that his administration would focus on respecting sacred lands, cultures and traditions.

Dozens gathered on the streets of Lahaina to watch Biden’s motorcade wind its way through the community. Some greeted the president enthusiastically, but others appeared to be waving their middle fingers at the motorcade. Other island residents held up signs urging Biden “to listen to the people of Lahaina” and to send more aid.

During a community

event at Lahaina’s civic center, Biden praised the “remarkable resilience” he said he saw during his few hours in the community.

The president also spoke, as he often does when addressing communities touched by tragedy, of understanding the personal weight of devastating loss and the slow and painful process of recovering.

Biden’s first wife, Neilia, and their 1-year-old daughter, Naomi, died in a car accident in 1972. He lost an adult son, Beau, to brain cancer in 2015.

“When things look the most bleak, that’s when we need faith,” said Biden, who spent 70 minutes after his remarks speaking with community members.

Biden has faced criticism from some Republicans, including 2024 Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, for saying too little during the first days after the catastrophe.

The White House, however, has pushed back, saying the president acted quickly and kept in close touch with the governor and other emergency officials as the crisis unfolded.

Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said that as of Sunday about 85% of the affected area

had been searched and nearly 2,000 people remained without power and 10,000 were without phone and internet. Water in parts of west Maui was unsafe to drink.

While immediate aid such as water, food and blankets has been readily distributed to residents, Schatz said cellphones, ID and other documents that people would need to help them enroll in longer-term aid programs were burned in the fires, adding more challenges to the application process.

During his tour, Biden walked down a street from which many Lahaina residents made their harrowing escape from the flames.

An army of search and rescue teams with dozens of dogs have blanketed the area to help with recovery efforts. White House homeland security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall said some 500 to 800 people remain unaccounted for. Mayor Richard Bissen earlier Monday put the number of unaccounted for at 850. Sherwood-Randall said the FBI has sent specialists to Maui to help with identification efforts.

Lack of available child care spaces in the United States had a pronounced influence on Kansas families, businesses and local economies. A barrier to adding capacity has been lack of early childhood care and education professionals in the workforce.

The Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund awarded $43 million in grants to 52 organizations to support broadening of child care.

“We must continue to invest in our state’s early learning and child care programs,” the governor said. “The long term benefits of investments are clear: stronger families, safe, stable nurturing relationships, improved outcomes for children and a more robust economy.”

The Kansas Department of Children and Families launched a

“The increase in child care slots and applications for child care providers lifted some areas out of ‘child care deserts,’ which is defined as an area with more than three children ages 5 and younger for every licensed child care slot or no licensed slots at all,” she said.

Meanwhile, the state awarded $5 million to Kansas State University to increase the early childhood care and education workforce. Development of a competency-based career pathway initiative was part of a strategic plan tied to funding from the Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund.

“The early childhood career pathways initiative ensures the state expands the workforce needed to provide quality child care and education,” said Bronwyn Fees, a Kansas State professor of applied human sciences.

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, at left, and Hawaii Gov. Josh Green and Jaime Green, First Lady of Hawaii, take part in an operational briefing on response and recovery efforts following wildfires in Lahaina, Hawaii on Monday. The Bidens met with first responders, survivors, and local officials following deadly wildfires in Maui. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES/TNS)

Failed lunar mission dents Russian pride, exposes challenges

BY THE ASSOCIATED

PRESS

An ambitious but failed attempt by Russia to return to the moon after nearly half a century has exposed the massive challenges faced by Moscow’s once-proud space program.

The destruction of the robotic Luna-25 probe, which crashed onto the surface of the moon over the weekend, reflects the endemic problems that have dogged the Russian space industry since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Those include the loss of key technologies in the post-Soviet industrial meltdown, the bruising impact of recent Western sanctions, a huge brain drain and widespread corruption.

Yuri Borisov, the head of the state-controlled space corporation Roscosmos, attributed the failure to the lack of expertise due to the long break in lunar research that followed the last Soviet mission to the moon in 1976.

“The priceless experience that our predecessors earned in the 1960-

70s was effectively lost,” Borisov said. “The link between generations has been cut.”

While the USSR lost the race to the United States to land humans on the moon, the Soviet lunar program had more than a dozen successful pioneering robotic missions, some of which featured lunar rovers and brought soil samples back to Earth. The proud Soviet space history includes launching the first satellite in space in 1957 and the first human in space in 1961.

Mikhail Marov, a

90-year-old scientist who played a prominent role in planning the earlier lunar missions and worked on the Luna-25 project, was hospitalized after its failure.

“It was very hard. It’s the work of all my life,” Marov said in remarks carried by Russian media. “For me, it was the last chance to see the revival of our lunar program.”

Borisov said the spacecraft’s thruster fired for 127 seconds instead of the planned 84 seconds, causing it to crash, and a government commis-

The priceless experience that our predecessors earned in the 1960-70s was effec-

sion will investigate the glitch.

Natan Eismont, a leading researcher with the Moscow-based Institute for Space Research, told the state RIA Novosti agency said that signs of equipment problems had appeared even before the crash, but space officials still gave the go for landing.

Vitaly Egorov, a popular Russian space blogger, noted that Roscosmos may have neglected the warnings in a rush to be the first to land on the lunar south pole ahead of an Indian spacecraft that has been orbiting the moon ahead of a planned landing.

“It looks like things weren’t going according to plan, but they decided not to change the schedule to prevent the Indi-

ans from coming first,” he said.

The lunar south pole is of particular interest to scientists, who believe the permanently shadowed polar craters may contain frozen water in the rocks that future explorers could transform into air and rocket fuel.

A major factor exacerbating Russia’s space woes that could have played a role in the Luna25 failure has been the Western sanctions on Moscow over its war in Ukraine. Those penalties have blocked imports of microchips and other key Western components and restricted scientific exchanges.

While working on the Luna-25 project, Roscosmos partnered with the European Space Agency that was to provide a

camera to facilitate the landing. The ESA halted the partnership soon after the February 2022 invasion and requested Roscosmos to remove its camera from the spacecraft.

Years earlier, Russia hoped to buy the main navigation device for the lunar mission from Airbus, but couldn’t due to restrictions blocking the technology transfer. In the end, it developed its own equipment that delayed the project and weighed twice as much, reducing the scientific payload for the spacecraft that weighedover 3,800 pounds.

Experts note that even before the latest Western sanctions, the use of substandard components led to the collapse of an ambitious mission to send a probe to Mars’ moon Phobos in 2011. The spacecraft’s thrusters failed to send it on a path toward Mars and it burned in the Earth’s atmosphere — a problem that investigators attributed to using cheap commercial microchips that were unfit for the harsh conditions in space.

Farmers: Coping with latest round of hot, dry weather

Continued from A1

vice reported Monday’s heat index in Chanute reached a scorching 126 degrees, the highest such reading in more than 40 years.

And high temperatures are supposed to stay near triple digits through Friday before more seasonal weather returns.

Though the cooler temperatures will be welcome, they don’t include any measurable precipitation over the next week.

That means Sterling’s corn and soybeans — he grows less than 300 acres combined of both crops — will undoubtedly suffer.

“The rainfall we’ve had has been just enough to keep the plants looking good,” Sterling said. “There are a lot of years where the plant looks good, but we’re harvesting the seed.”

The soybeans, in particular, could use a replenishing rain to help bean pods continue to develop.

According to Kansas State University, southeast Kansas remains mired in an extended dry spell.

The nearest KSU observation station in southern Woodson County reported 26 inches of rain over the past year, more than 16 inches below normal.

This hot spell has given an added sense of urgency to Sterling’s plans for his beans.

While the pods have avoided insect damage, that could change rapidly in the next few weeks.

If the soybean pods don’t fill out sufficiently, there’s little incentive for producers to add insecticides. “It’s just another expense” for a poor crop, he surmised. “And insurance doesn’t take care of those costs.

“If we had a crystal ball with a three-week forecast out there, we’d know how to prepare,” he said.

“With the rain being as spotty as it’s been, it’s gonna be hit and miss with the corn,” he continued, “although I’ve heard somebody say they’re looking for a better corn harvest than last year’s crop. Last year was pretty tough for corn, too.” If more rain doesn’t fall soon, he expects the corn harvest to begin.

“I’ve talked to a couple of farmers, who said once they get finished mowing up pastures, they might try to do some stuff as early as next week,” he said.

STERLING’S cattle conundrum isn’t as dire as others.

His ability to split his herd across the county has helped, as has being able to haul water.

The other factor — ensuring his animals have enough hay to last through the winter — may have been resolved by a change in strategy.

“This year, the hay’s

really short,” Sterling explained. “Everybody is getting maybe half or two-thirds of their normal hay.

“Not knowing what we were getting into this

year, I planted some rye this spring, initially for a cover crop,” he continued. “I’d had it fertilized and it was growing well, and I called the elevator to see when they wanted to spray it with herbicide to kill it off.”

Instead, the elevator managers suggested Sterling cut and bale the rye to supplement his winter silage stock.

“At first, I thought, wow, that’s a lot of money to spend on hay,” he said. “But that might be what pulls us through this year.”

Sterling has more than 200 bales of fresh rye, a welcome sight because his other hayfields have come up short of expectations.

“I hope our cows take a liking to some rye this year,” he said. “It’s gon-

na be something they’re not used to.”

He also plans to open his soybean fields to his cattle after harvest.

“It stretches our feed a little further, especially in years like this,” he said. “They’ll be able to pick through some of that stubble and find a few beans here and there.”

DESPITE the tough conditions, Sterling remains an optimist.

“As a farmer, everybody looks at it with a hope that next year’s gonna be better,” he said. “I know everybody thinks farmers have it made with all those programs and subsidies. But those programs might let you break even most years. It’s not all peaches and cream.”

Cows owned by Layne Sterling seek refuge from Monday’s blistering heat in a pond now filled with stagnant, algae-filled water. Below, Sterling looks over his soybean crops. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

On Aug. 11, Luna 25 launches from Vostochny Cosmodrome. The Luna crashed on its approach to the moon. ZUMA PRESS WIRE/ROSCOSMOS/TNS

tively lost. The link between generations has been cut.

— Yoris Borisov, head of the state-controlled space corporation Roscosmos

What to look for in first GOP primary debate

By MAX GREENWOOD Miami Herald/TNS

At least seven Republican presidential hopefuls are expected to take the stage in Milwaukee on Wednesday for the first GOP primary debate of the 2024 election cycle.

The debate is the biggest opportunity yet for the field of candidates to pitch themselves to millions of voters nationwide after spending weeks and months courting Republicans in early primary and caucus states like New Hampshire and Iowa.

Here’s what to watch for:

Does Ron DeSantis receive the brunt of the attacks?

DeSantis and his campaign have predicted for weeks that the Florida governor will take most of the heat on the debate stage.

Andrew Romeo, the communications director for DeSantis’ campaign, told the Miami Herald last week that the governor’s GOP rivals “will have their knives out for Ron DeSantis.”

Exactly how DeSantis handles that incoming fire remains a key question. A debate strategy memo from the pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down that was quietly posted online — and later removed — last week advised the governor to “hammer” entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, but focus otherwise on attacking President Joe Biden and defending former President Donald Trump against expected criticism.

DeSantis has dismissed that memo, telling Fox News over the weekend that he hasn’t read it and noting that it didn’t come from his campaign. He also said that he will be “ready to do what we need to do” to respond to any criticism he gets on the debate stage on Wednesday.

Does DeSantis moderate his message at all?

Since launching his 2024 bid in May, DeSantis has sought to carve out a lane for

himself in the race by moving to the political right of Trump. He’s talked at length about a plan to “rip the woke out of the military,” called for the use of deadly force against suspected drug traffickers at the U.S. southern border and tried to oneup the former president’s pledge to “drain the swamp” by promising to “break the swamp.”

But despite his best efforts to win over the GOP’s most conservative voters, most of them are sticking with Trump, according to most early state and national polls. Some DeSantis allies and donors have suggested that the governor moderate his message in order to broaden his appeal. The debate could be a prime opportunity to test out a new strategy.

There are a few signs that DeSantis may be looking to soften his image a bit.

Speaking with conservative radio host Erick Erickson at a gathering in Atlanta on Friday, DeSantis said that the debate was an opportu-

nity to introduce himself on a more personal level to voters who haven’t paid much attention to the race so far.

How much attention does Trump get?

After weeks of teasing that he could skip the Aug. 23 Republican debate, Trump confirmed on Sunday that he won’t participate. The question now is whether he still manages to steal the show.

Some candidates like former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have already indicated that they’ll go after Trump and his record during the debate.

The former president also doesn’t appear likely to cede the spotlight to his Republican rivals; a person familiar with Trump’s plans said that he will appear in a pre-recorded interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that will be released Wednesday night.

Yet without Trump on the debate stage, his primary opponents could have a chance to pitch themselves to voters outside of Trump’s shadow.

How to watch

TUNING IN

The two-hour debate will start at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. It’s being moderated by Fox News Channel hosts Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum.

WHERE IS IT?

Candidates will be on stage at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, the biggest city in Wisconsin, a battleground state that will also play host to the Republican National Convention next year.

WHO WILL BE THERE?

The RNC confirmed late Monday which candidates will be on the Milwaukee debate stage. The party set a number of markers that candidates needed to meet to qualify, including achieving benchmarks in polling and donor numbers, as well as signing a pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee.

The forum could offer them an opportunity to take shots at the former president without the immediate fear of reprisals.

Will the debate change anything?

Trump’s Republican rivals have campaigned relentlessly for months in hopes of cutting into the former president’s staggering polling lead and media dominance. So far, at least, the results haven’t been what they’ve hoped for.

Whether the debate will actually be a turning point in the race — an event truly capable of making or breaking campaigns — remains to be seen. Republican voters have so far shown a willingness to stand by Trump despite the long list of candidates presenting themselves as alternatives. Even DeSantis’ allies have downplayed the notion that the debate will be a gamechanger.

There’s at least some evidence that candidates can get a boost on the debate stage. Past presidential

Those expected to be on the stage are Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, ex-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

Former President Donald Trump, the early GOP front-runner, long ago satisfied the polling and donor requirements but has said for months that he saw little upside in joining his rivals on stage, given his commanding lead in the race.

hopefuls like Ben Carson and Pete Buttigieg saw a bump in their polling numbers after strong debate performances. Of course, those upturns proved to be temporary and neither Carson nor Buttigieg went on to win their parties’ nominations.

The debate could also matter in a different kind of way for other candidates. It’s still unclear if Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has met the criteria to debate, but he has said that candidates who aren’t able to meet the criteria to appear on stage should end their presidential campaigns.

Raid: Video shows publisher’s mother confront police

Continued from A1

cused the newspaper of illegally accessing information about her.

Joan Meyer died a day later. Her son said he believes that the stress contributed to her death.

A prosecutor said later that there was insufficient evidence to justify the raids, and some of the seized computers and cellphones have been returned. Meanwhile, the initial online search of a state website that the police chief cited to justify the raid was legal, a spokesperson for the agency that maintains the site said Monday.

The raid on the Record put it and its hometown of about 1,900 residents in the center of a debate about press freedoms protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Kansas’ Bill of Rights. It also exposed divisions in the town over local politics and the newspaper’s coverage of the community, and put an intense spotlight on Police Chief Gideon Cody, who led the raids after the newspaper had asked questions about his background.

“As far as Chief Cody goes, he can take his high horse he brought into this community and giddy-up on out of town,” Darvin Markley, a Marion resident, said during a Monday afternoon City Council meeting. “The man needs to go. He needs to be fired.”

Cody did not attend Monday’s meeting or respond to email and cellphone messages seeking comment. He said in affidavits used to obtain the warrants that he had probable cause to believe that the newspaper and City Council member Ruth Herbel, whose home was also raided, had violated state laws against identity theft or computer crimes.

Both Herbel and the

newspaper have said they received a copy of a document about the status of the restaurant owner’s license without soliciting it. The document disclosed the woman’s license number and date of birth, which are required to check the status of a person’s license online and gain access to a more complete driving record. The police chief maintains they broke state laws to do that, while the newspaper and Herbel’s attorneys say they didn’t.

Herbel, the city’s vice mayor, presided over the City Council’s meeting Monday, its first since the raids. It lasted less than an hour, and Herbel announced that council members would

not discuss the raids — something its agenda already had said in an all-caps statement in red followed by 47 exclamation points. She said the council will address the raids in a future meeting.

While Herbel said after the meeting that she agrees that Cody should resign, other City Council members declined to comment.

Mike Powers, a retired district court judge who is the only candidate

for mayor this fall, said it’s premature to make any judgments.

Meyer said the newspaper plans to file a lawsuit over the raid of its offices and his home.

Meyer has noted that among the items seized were a computer tower and personal cellphone of a reporter who was uninvolved in the dispute with the local restaurant owner — but who had been investigating why Cody left a Kansas City,

Missouri, police captain’s job in April before becoming Marion police chief.

Legal experts believe the police raid on the newspaper violated a federal privacy law or a state law shielding journalists from having to identify sources or turn over unpublished material to law enforcement.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation continues to examine the newspaper’s actions.

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Biotech millionaire and Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, center, greets supporters after being interviewed by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, left, during one of her “FairSide Chats” at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 12 in Des Moines. GETTY IMAGES/CHIP SOODEVILLA/TNS

Opinion

Extremists chase away teachers; thwart learning

Idaho’s 2023 Teacher of the Year is Karen Lauritzen.

Though her peers, students and superiors recognize the fourth-grade teacher’s amazing talents, Lauritzen received enough hate mail and threats that beginning next week, she’ll be teaching in Illinois.

Her offenses?

Lauritzen’s lesson plans included segments on African Americans and the United Nations and on FaceBook she “liked” a post for the expansion of LGBTQ+ protections.

In school, one lesson segment popular with students was the different kinds of food people eat around the world.

In most countries — first-, second- and thirdworld — people routinely eat beetles, crickets, termites, ants, grasshoppers, and other such “bugs,” Lauritzen explained.

But instead of being praised for expanding their minds, Lauritzen was labeled a “socialist.”

Others accused the 21year veteran of promoting “transgenderism,” for her personal support of those recently targeted.

And discussing Black Lives Matter? Clearly, only a left-wing activist can sympathize with the trials minorities face.

Instead of feeling celebrated for the esteemed award, Lauritzen said she felt pilloried by parents and citizens “questioning every decision I made,” according to a recent story in the Boston Globe.

So she left for what she hopes is a more tolerant environment.

A CULT-LIKE movement is infiltrating school boards and city and county councils where extremists are running for office on wedge issues such as parental rights, book bans, transgender athletes, and anti-vaccine mumbo jumbo.

Such platforms are used to terrorize teachers, librarians, school boards and civic leaders into submission or, as in Idaho, simply leaving.

As a result, libraries are closing and teachers are feeling their goal is not so much to grow awareness of the world, but to adhere to a circumscribed script.

BEGINNING next month, Russian high-schoolers will receive new history textbooks, courtesy of President Vladimir Putin.

The books refer to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine as a fight against neo-Nazism instigated by the United States.

Not surprisingly, Putin’s version depicts Russia as the victim with him saving the day.

“Russia did not start any military actions but is trying to end them,” the text asserts.

Putin can indulge in such vanity because ruthless dictators can demand history be written so that it suits their personal goals.

Unfortunately, he is not alone. Here in the United States, a slew of leaders are just as bad.

Under the leadership of Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida’s state board of education recently enacted new standards on African American history that require saying slavery included redeeming qualities, such as that “slaves developed skills, which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”

Kinda like a job-training exercise.

Florida’s new curricula also avoids mentioning that it fought to upheld slavery and segregation by seceding from the Union during the Civil War.

The goal, DeSantis said, is that students should not be made to “feel guilt, anguish, or other forms of psychological distress” because they were forced to reflect on bad acts committed in the past by members of their race.

Heaven forbid that we learn from our mistakes.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is behind the effort to convert school libraries into “team centers.”

In some schools, librarians are being replaced by aides instructed to monitor students remanded to the rooms for disciplinary reasons.

And in Georgia, lawmakers ruled that schools must implement complaint resolution policies that allow challenges to material believed to be “harmful to minors.”

The guidelines are impossibly broad, including sexual content that could cause a youth to feel shamed, or, worse, content that lacks “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.”

What, no Beavis and Butt-Head?

BUT, SERIOUSLY. Allowing far-right extremists to dictate what is taught in our public schools erodes the building blocks of our democracy — truth.

Whitewashing the atrocities of slavery, the Holocaust, the killing fields of Cambodia, the nerve gas attacks in Syria — the list is never-ending — keeps us ignorant.

The truth is not “woke.”

It is enlightening.

That we would want it otherwise is frightening.

— Susan Lynn

Space junk is out of control

By THOMAS G. ROBERTS Guest opinion for The Washington Post

Last month, a mysterious metal object washed up on a remote beach in western Australia. A few days later, the Australian Space Agency announced that it was probably the charred remains of an Indian space launch vehicle — a suspicion subsequently confirmed by the Indians.

Welcome to the age of raining space debris.

The number of satellites launched into orbit each year is growing almost exponentially. Last year, researchers at the University of British Columbia estimated that if this pattern continues, there’s a 1-in-10 chance in the next 10 years that debris from space activities — often scalding-hot metal shards — will fall from the sky and kill someone. They also found that populations in the Global South are at

greater risk than their northern neighbors, even though they are responsible for only a fraction of orbital space launches.

Space operators can control how some large objects return to Earth. But this requires extra fuel reserves and adaptive control technologies, which translate into higher costs. As a result, many countries and companies prefer to let debris fall where it may. In effect, this merely transfers the expense to other people who live where the objects land.

For decades, the United States has required that launches from U.S. spaceports fly over unpopulated areas vacated of all private and commercial ships and aircraft. Other major space superpowers with poorer records on space debris — China and Russia — should follow suit. China, in particular, regularly endangers populated areas with rocket bodies from its mainland

spaceports; a new instance was reported earlier this month.

Space-faring powers and private companies should also invest in technologies to better track and model space objects’ descent to the earth and share observational data with one another as objects fall. And countries should work together to write and carry out new rules on space behavior. More importantly, they need to enforce rules that already exist.

One goal for these efforts is clear: Countries and companies that litter the globe with debris — not the people and places it lands on — should pay the price.

About the author: Thomas G. Roberts is a graduate research fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Astrodynamics, Space Robotics and Controls Laboratory and an adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Aerospace Security Project.

Mo. senators read the tea leaves

Both of Missouri’s Republican U.S. senators last week endorsed the premise that the state’s voters should be able to weigh in on the strict abortion ban put in place last year. They also expressed support for exceptions for rape and incest victims, which the new law doesn’t allow.

Have Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt suddenly gone all wobbly on the GOP’s relentless campaign to stamp out every last vestige of biological self-determination for America’s women?

Not necessarily. But they both can follow referendum results and read polls — and those indicators overwhelmingly signal that Republicans in the post-Roe v. Wade world have vastly overreached in their anti-choice policies, to the point that even red-state voters are starting to rebel.

Thus the efforts in Missouri and other Republican-held states to make it more difficult for voters to protect abortion rights by referendum.

It’s a cynical strategy that the voters of Ohio saw right through earlier this month, when they soundly defeated a measure that would have raised new barriers against a pending effort to pass such a referendum there.

Republicans in the Missouri Legislature this year similarly tried to move the goalposts to hamper a pend-

ing abortion-rights referendum effort here, and they are expected to try again.

Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers have filed suit over the Missouri referendum effort, making a ludicrous legal argument designed to stall the process long enough to keep it off the ballot next year. And Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft continues his own cynical stalling tactics with deliberately biased ballot language (in blatant disregard of his statutory duty), which has spawned still more litigation.

The motive for all this anti-democracy mischief is obvious: Polls indicate that in Missouri, as in most of America, voters would endorse reasonable abortion rights if given the chance at an up-or-down vote — as voters in a half-dozen states, including deep-red Kansas and Kentucky, have demonstrated since Roe was overturned last year.

So anti-choice forces are pulling out all the stops to make sure the voters don’t get to be heard. Of course, that sounds bad even to most of those who oppose abortion rights. Which explains why Hawley and Schmitt last week both appeared to distance themselves from the most extreme efforts of their party on this issue.

“I think voters ought to be

able to weigh in and in every state and jurisdiction they want to,” Hawley said at the state fair in Sedalia. Schmitt said it is “inevitable that the question will be presented to Missouri voters at some point.” Both specified that they favor exceptions to the state abortion ban for the victims of rape and incest.

Missouri’s law, as strict as any in the nation, bans the procedure from the moment of conception, with no exceptions but for vaguely defined medical emergencies. Doctors who violate the ban can face 15 years in prison.

Neither of the senators is known for moderation on culture-war issues, but both have practical reasons for backing away from the extremists on this one.

Hawley is up for reelection next year and could well find himself on a ballot that also asks Missourians to weigh in on abortion rights.

And Schmitt is as closely associated with Missouri’s extreme ban as anyone — a fact that seems to suddenly have him nervous.

If Hawley and Schmitt truly believe voters should have their say on this crucial issue, they should call out their fellow Missouri Republicans to stop sabotaging the referendum effort. If they don’t, they’re complicit in that sabotage.

— St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla. on Wednesday, April 7, 2021. With the proliferation of rockets and satellites, researchers say there’s a 1-in-10 chance in the next 10 years that space debris will fall from the sky and kill someone. (SPACEX/TNS)

Karen Lauritzen

BROILING: City crews make adjustments to beat heat

Continued from A1

erator and freezer?

Local city administrators report a few scattered issues with utilities: transformers can go bad, dry ground can shift and cause damage to water and gas pipes.

And if those concerns aren’t enough, workers like Mathews and Hendry must face the heat in the day-today course of doing their job.

Trego’s biggest concern is fire — and the county isn’t even at risk despite still being in a drought, according to the Grassland Fire Danger Index. Rather, Trego is concerned about firefighters who have to respond to a fire wearing full protective gear.

“That can cause them to get overheated very quickly,” he said. “My concern with fires is for our first responders. We’re prepared to provide resources and support if there’s any sort of large fire.”

In Iola, assistant city administrator Corey Schinstock said electric crews have been able to respond quickly to reports of power outages.

It’s not uncommon for a transformer or power line to become overwhelmed in hot weather. Air conditioners, in particular, draw a lot of power that can stress electric systems.

On Sunday night, Iola crews responded to two reports of transformers that had gone down. In most cases, Schinstock said, crews will have power back within an hour.

In Humboldt, Public Works Director Jeremy Bulk said water and gas crews have battled broken lines in recent days. The continuing drought conditions have dried the soil; when the hard ground shifts, it can damage underground pipes and lines.

“We get an uptick in water main breaks, especially,” Bulk said.

Humboldt City Administrator Cole Herder said the city’s water system is particularly vulnerable to that kind of damage. A major infrastructure project is planned for next year to address the problem.

“Our water lines are just about rotting away. They’re very rusty, so that’s something we’ll be working on next year,” Herder said.

DESPITE THE heat, work still needs to get done.

City and county crews have adjusted hours as necessary.

Schinstock said crews who work outdoors have been starting their shifts earlier, by 6:30 or 7 a.m., to get things done before the hottest part of the day.

County road crews also have been getting their work done early, road and bridge director Mark Griffith said. They try to do the most physically demanding outdoor work before noon, then do

jobs such as cleanup that allow them to either be inside or near an air-conditioned vehicle during the hotter afternoons.

In Humboldt, Herder and Bulk said crews are working from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. without lunch but taking frequent breaks. The goal there is also to avoid working during peak heat.

But cleanup from the July 14 storm put crews behind, Herder said. That has delayed important projects such as road repair. Contractors this week started work on streets as part of a CDBG grant. Meanwhile, Humboldt’s crews have been preparing streets before county road crews arrive for chip and seal work. All of that work needs to get done, regardless of the heat.

Bulk said outdoor workers are encouraged to take a lot of breaks and stay hydrated. The city provides water and Gatorade, and allows workers to wear cooling towels.

Bulk also was concerned for meter readers who took to

the streets on Monday.

“We don’t work them too hard when it gets to this point,” Bulk said. “They know they can sit in the shade and cool off when they can.”

“They have to monitor themselves and know their own situation,” Herder added. “Our crews put up with a lot, whether it’s sub-zero temperatures or over 100.”

HOT TEMPERATURES are expected to continue at least through the week, then start to cool over the weekend. By next week, temperatures could be in the mid-80s but then inch up back into the 90s.

On Monday, Allen County’s heat index registered at 120 degrees. At Chanute, which Trego says seems to be the center point for the heat wave, it reached 122.

On Wednesday, the temperature is expected to reach 101 with a heat index of 108; temperatures could reach 104 on Thursday and 105 on Friday before dropping to 91 on Saturday.

The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning until 10 p.m. on Friday.

TREGO OFFERS the following precautions:

Drink plenty of fluids. Stay in an air-conditioned room if possible.

Stay out of the sun.

Check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances.

Wear lightweight and loose-fitting clothing when possible.

Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible, reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air-conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location.

Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. If you suspect you might have heat stroke, call 911.

IS A LOCATION

Pick up and drop off your pre-packaged, pre-labeled shipments. Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. 302 S. Washington Ave., Iola 620-365-2111

Sports Daily B

Big 12 relies on running the ball

By DAVE SKRETTA

The Associated Press

Chris Klieman won four national championships in five seasons at North Dakota State, bludgeoning teams with a run-heavy offense predicated on a bruising line and a deep stable of talented running backs.

Old-school football. The kind he grew up watching in Waterloo, Iowa.

But when Klieman was hired to replace Hall of Fame coach Bill Snyder at Kansas State after the 2018 season, two closely tied questions followed him: Could he replicate the tremendous success he had at the Football Championship Subdivision level in the Big 12? And could he do it relying on the same seemingly bygone offensive system he ran with the Bison?

Turns out the answer to both was yes.

The Wildcats leaned on Deuce Vaughn, who was eighth nationally in rushing and is now with the Dallas Cowboys, to win the conference championship last season, upending eventual College Football Playoff participant TCU in the title game. As a team, they joined Oklahoma in finishing in the top 15 nationally in yards-pergame on the ground.

“We have to run the football,” Klieman said by way of explanation. “If we struggle, it’s because we can’t run the football.”

Sounds simple, but that line of thought represents a tremendous shift from the days when

See BIG 12 | Page B3

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Teen runner Knighton breaks Bolt’s youth records

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — From cars to race times, 19-year-old sprinter Erriyon Knighton has an appreciation for all things fast.

Marmaton Valley’s football team huddles around head coach Max Mickunas at practice last week. REGISTER/QUINN BURKITT

Practices adapt to heat

By QUINN BURKITT The Associated Press

The heat index in the Iola area on Monday afternoon read 120 degrees.

That’s far too hot for any high school sports team to practice outside and straight up against Kansas State High Schools Activities Asscociation’s rules. The football, cross country and tennis teams are accommodating by holding practices in the early morning or later in the evenings.

Most practices, including Iola’s cross country practices, have been pushed back to later in the evenings as well as mixing in indoor and modified workouts.

“I feel like you always have to have a plan B because you never know what the heat is going to do,” said Iola cross country coach Brittany Daugharthy. “We are practicing late in the afternoon and having a Saturday morning practice. I also have plans for indoor practices.”

Crest’s football team is holding their practices at 6 a.m. this week when temperatures are expected to hover around the upper 70s to lower 80s.

Kansas coaches are required to use a Wet Bulb Globe Temperature monitor to test the heat index. When Crest head coach Nick McAnulty tested it at dinner time a few days ago, he said it was still too hot outside to practice.

Coaches are expected to make decisions about practice times and duration by using the WBGT monitor, which includes a measure of the air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, sun angle, and cloud cover. When the WBGT exceeds 90 degrees, practices are to be delayed until the conditions improve.

“With the regulations we have to follow, there’s no way we could have gotten outside for practice in the afternoon this week,” said McAnulty. “KSHSAA’s guidelines take into account a lot of different factors.”

The Iola, Humboldt and Marmaton Valley football teams are also having early morning practices before school this week, beginning at 6 a.m. The teams then stay inside for conditioning after school until around 4:30 p.m.

All of the local football teams have jamborees this Friday at 7 p.m.

“When I first saw the forecast, I just thought it was going to be another hot August and we’d figure it out,” said Humboldt head coach Logan Wyrick. “As we got closer to the Monday practice, I started to realize that practice wouldn’t happen unless we worked in the morning.”

There have been a number of instances over the years where high school, college and even professional athletes have collapsed and died on the field during practice because coaches were pushing them too hard in the heat of the summer.

These scary scenes shouldn’t need to be examples of when and when not to practice.

“It can be very dangerous, unfortunately,” Daugharthy said. “One of my first thoughts this week was what is the best way to keep kids safe while getting them prepared for the upcoming competition.”

Iola’s football coach also elaborated on his job in this situation.

“Our responsibility as coaches is to first and foremost keep our athletes safe and healthy,” head coach David Daugharthy said.

He’s combining his two passions to provide extra fuel: Should Knighton achieve Olympic glory, he’s treating himself to a black McLaren supercar. One thing he can’t speed away from are the inevitable comparisons to retired Jamaican sensation Usain Bolt, which Knighton only welcomes as he gears up for the world championships.

Because really, slow and steady is more Knighton’s speed in his evolution as a sprinter. He feels patience will get him to the summit as he chases American teammate Noah Lyles, the two-time defending world 200-meter champion and recently crowned 100-meter title-winner.

“We’re not in a rush to be great,” Knighton said in an interview with The Associated Press in the lead-up to the first round of the 200 on Wednesday. “I mean, greatness doesn’t come overnight. Knowing this, we’re just taking everything stepby-step.”

His step-by-step blueprint has led to faster 200-meter times than even Bolt was running at this age. Knighton, a former football player turned full-time sprinter from Florida, has the top 11 fastest times ever in the 200 by a sprinter under-20, including 19.49 seconds in April 2022. For comparison, Bolt’s

See BOLT | Page B3

Local volleyball teams set to hit hardwood

By QUINN BURKITT

While some volleyball teams will be able to lean on valuable returning experience, others are counting on good team chemistry to take them far into the season.

Here’s how area team coaches are predicting the 2023 season will go.

Iola Iola returns a much more experienced group this year including six starters from last season. Head coach Amanda Holman believes the strength of this year’s team will be its depth, experience and serving.

Those returning include Kaysin Crusinbery, Reese Curry, Jackie Fager, Rio Lohman, Alana Mader and

Elza Clift. Last season, Curry had a team-high 124 kills and 47 aces while Clift had a team-high 270 digs and Lohman had a team-high 96 blocks.

“We had a lot of younger players get a lot of varsity experience and they know what to expect at this level now,” Holman said. “With our experience I hope to include

more offensive options. Our goals are to win the league and have a winning season.”

Humboldt

The Lady Cubs are coming off a Tri-Valley League regular season championship title after going 30-6 overall and 7-0 in league play last fall. Humboldt returns five starters while losing two to graduation.

Shelby Shaughnessy, Kenisyn and Skylar Hottenstein, Kinley Tucker and Ricklyn Hillmon will all bring back valuable court time. Shaughnessy and Skylar Hottenstein were named Tri-Valley AllLeague players in 2022.

“We should be competitive and will compete for a league title again,” Humboldt head coach Terry Meadows said.

“We have a lot of experience

at the varsity level.”

Crest Crest is also coming off a historic season in which they won a school-record 26 matches and finished 10-1 in Three Rivers League play. The Lady Lancers return four starters from last season and lost three to graduation.

Senior Kayla Hermreck was named to the Class 1A All-State Second Team last year. Joining her are Karlee Boots, Brooklyn Jones and Kinley Edgerton.

“I feel that we will continue to build on the positive things from last season,” said head coach Abigail Hermreck. “Of course we want to get more wins and go further in the postseason, but our focus is on one match at a time

See VOLLEYBALL | Page B4

The Iola Register

Iola’s Reese Curry goes for a hit. REGISTER/QUINN BURKITT

‘T. rexes’ compete

AUBURN, Wash.

(AP) — A track for live horse racing in suburban Seattle turned prehistoric over the weekend as more than 200 people ran down the track cloaked in inflatable Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur costumes. The 2023 T-Rex World Championships at Emerald Downs — an event that started in 2017 as a pest control company's team-building activity — ended in a photo finish on Sunday, with three competitors hitting the finish line together.

Ocean Kim took top honors in the 100-yard dash after officials agreed Kim, of Kailua, Hawaii, hit the finish wire just ahead of the pack.

NOW HIRING: Projects Technician

Ukrainian saboteurs suspected in Russian plane hit

KYIV, Ukraine (AP)

— Ukrainian saboteurs coordinated by Kyiv’s military intelligence services carried out a pair of recent drone attacks that hit parked bomber aircraft at air bases deep inside Russia, Ukraine media claimed Tuesday.

The attacks on Russian airfields on Saturday and Monday destroyed two Russian bombers and damaged two other aircraft, according to Ukrainska Pravda, as the war approaches its 18-month milestone.

That newspaper and Ukraine’s NV news outlet said groups of saboteurs were behind the audacious strikes, which suggest that Ukraine’s scope of action is broadening. It was not possible to verify the claims on the ground.

Ukrainian media attributed two attacks to the saboteurs: a strike Saturday on the Soltsy air base in the Novgorod region in northwestern Russia, about 360 miles north of the Ukrainian border, and Monday’s strike against the Shaikovka air base in the southwestern Kaluga region that is about 180 miles northeast of the Ukrainian border.

The Russian Defense

Ministry acknowledged that the attack on Soltsy damaged one aircraft. It didn’t comment on the reported attack on Shaikovka, but Russian media did.

Ukraine has since early this year sought to take the war into the heart of Russia. It has increasingly targeted Moscow’s military assets behind the front lines in eastern and southern Ukraine and at the same time has launched drones against Moscow, most recently early Tuesday.

Kyiv is also trying to keep up the pressure on the Kremlin along multiple fronts, pursuing a counteroffensive at various points along the 900-mile front line, as well as diplomatically by obtaining pledges of more weaponry from its Western allies, including F-16 warplanes.

Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov told the Ukrainian LIGA.net news outlet Monday that at least one Russian warplane was damaged in the attack on Shaikovka. He said it was carried out by people who worked in close coordination with Ukrainian military intelligence but gave no further details.

Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC ana-

lyzed by The Associated Press showed what appeared to be 10 Tupolev Tu-22M long-range bombers parked on the apron of the Soltsy air base on Aug. 16. By Monday, two days after the attack, all those bombers had left the air base. A large black spot was visible on one of the aprons where one of the Tupolevs had been parked.

Photos purporting to be from the Soltsy air base and published by Russian and Ukrainian media showed a Russian Tu-22M bomber ablaze there after the attack.

Some previous Ukrainian attacks on Russian air bases involved Soviet-designed drones powered by turbojet engines. They have a range of up to 600 miles. But the strikes in recent days apparently used primitive small drones, which would corroborate the possibility that they were launched by saboteurs.

Also, a Russian pensioner walking in a forest about 370 miles north of the Ukrainian border on Monday came across the remains of a drone painted in the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag.

Pictures shared on Russian social media channels show that

the drone had “glory to Ukraine” inscribed on a broken wing and “glory to the heroes” written on the other wing, the Russian telegram channel Baza said Tuesday.

A Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group also tried to break through the border in Russia’s western Bryansk region bordering Ukraine on Tuesday, according to the local governor.

Their attempt was repelled by Russian border guard units and the National Guard, Gov. Alexander Bogomaz said. His claim could not be independently verified.

After Russia accused Ukrainian saboteurs of crossing into that area of western Russia and firing on villagers last March, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Federal Security Service to tighten border controls.

Meanwhile, a recent spate of drone attacks apparently targeting Moscow continued early Tuesday but were thwarted by Russian air defense systems, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said.

However, falling wreckage of one drone shattered an apartment building’s windows and damaged vehicles in Moscow’s western suburbs.

Little League pitchers win the day

Big 12: Limited passing game

Pitchers are zipping through opposing lineups, helped by a new rule meant to boost participation that calls for everyone on the roster to be in the batting order.

But that’s not the only reason. Some of these guys just throw hard.

After the LLWS hit its 20-game mark on Sunday, the tournament’s combined run total stood at 140, significantly fewer than the 187 runs scored through that point last year – the only other time the tournament field has been 20 teams.

Until Thursday, a

perfect game hadn’t been thrown in the LLWS since 2017. Taiwan’s Fan Chen-Jun — that game’s starter — took the mound again on Monday and dominated, striking out six in three no-hit innings. Some of his pitches were clocked by ESPN at more than 80 mph, which – given the shorter distance from the mound to home than in the major leagues – looks like something over 100 mph to the batter.

Taiwan beat Japan 10-0, ending the game in four innings under the 10-run rule.

“(Chen-Jun) has athletic talent, more than anybody we have seen,” manager Lee Cheng-Ta said through a translator. “He has the co-

ordination. He has the speed. He has the jumping ability. He has a lot of future to come in baseball.”

Continued from B1 SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — Offense is taking a step back at the Little League World Series this year.

Teams have noticed a few major differences contributing to a lack of offensive production compared to previous years, none likely as obvious as a rule announced earlier this season that says batting orders must include every player on roster.

“I guess (the drop in runs) might be because the best hitters get fewer at-bats a game,” Venezuela manager Jannio Gutierrez said through a translator. In previous years, offensive stars have stolen the spotlight. But this year, those potential household names

See LLWS | Page B4

Bolt: Knighton breaks his records

Continued from B1

top time at roughly a similar age was 19.93. Bolt only got faster through the years, lowering the world record to its current mark of 19.19 at the 2009 worlds in Berlin.

It’s a time that Knighton — along with Lyles and everyone else — has eyes on.

“It’s only a matter of time” before the record falls, said Knighton, who’s never met Bolt. “And if I don’t do it, somebody’s going to do it.”

Especially with Lyles pushing him. They have one of track’s burgeoning rivalries, which features a contrast in styles. Lyles is flashy, while Knighton is more reserved.

“I like (the rivalry) because I know every time we step on the track,” Knighton said, “we’re going to bring the best out of each other.”

Lyles led an American podium sweep in the men’s 200 at last year’s worlds in Oregon, with Kenny Bednarek taking silver and Knighton bringing home bronze. It was such a blazing-fast race that Lyles broke Michael Johnson’s longstanding American record with a time of 19.31 seconds.

Let the record reflect: Lyles respects Knighton. But he doesn’t fear the youngster who turns 20 in January.

“I see him as a kid.

But he’s also a rival,” said the 26-year-old Lyles, who has finished in front of Knighton in seven of their nine races in the 200. “As soon as you enter the track world and as soon as you say that you want to be a professional, you’re a professional. I’m going to treat you as a professional.”

This summer, Knighton has worked his way into what he’s described as the best racing shape of his young sprinting life. He’s sharpening his skills under the direction of Mike Holloway, the successful coach at the University of Florida whose son, Grant Holloway, won his third straight world title in the 110-meter hurdles Monday.

One thing Knighton’s learned above all else — don’t look left or right when racing. Just concentrate on his own lane.

“Finding out more (about executing) my best race plan, instead of trying to do something that I’m not used to,” explained Knighton, who last December won a second “Rising Star” award presented by World Athletics.

“Just find out what’s best for me.”

There was a time when playing football in college might be his path. A talented receiver, he had interest from schools like Florida and Florida State, according to 247Sports. But he de-

cided to concentrate on track and turned pro at 16, signing a deal with Adidas (the same company as Lyles).

“I like where I’m at in track, but I do miss playing football because it’s more of a team-oriented thing,” Knighton said. “I just like being inside the locker room before a football game, being in there with my brothers and knowing that we’ve got to go to work.”

His drive away from the track centers on cars. He has a Grand Cherokee that’s among his prized possessions. He hopes to one day purchase a McLaren or a Lamborghini, which he’s promised himself should he win not one but two Olympic gold medals.

It’s a powerful incentive as he builds toward next year’s Paris Games.

So is this: One day buying a ranch to raise horses and goats. No growing any fruits or vegetables, though.

Too much work.

Instead, he’ll put in the work to outrun the shadow of Bolt, which trails him in the form of constant comparisons.

“It’s more high praise than high pressure on me,” Knighton said. “I’m always grateful to be even mentioned in the same sentence with him.

“At end of the day, I mean, he did what he did. I’m going to do what I do.”

the Big 12 was dominat ed by the Air Raid, that high-flying offensive system arguably perfected by the late Mike Leach at Texas Tech.

In 2014, seven of the top 13 teams nationally in total offense had branches tracing back to the coaching tree of key Air Raid architect Hal Mumme. By the following year, more than half of the Big 12 was running some version of the Air Raid, and three of the top eight nationally in passing offense came from the landlocked conference.

So what has changed? Why have teams that once embraced no huddles and thin playbooks, wide offensive line splits and running backs who rarely ran shifted toward — at minimum — balanced offenses and, in some cases, ground-based attacks?

Start with the turnover in the coaching ranks.

Many of the Air Raid’s staunchest advocates have moved on — think then-Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury, who headed for the NFL, or former Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley, who is now at USC. In their place came coaches like the Red Raiders’ Joey McGuire, who grew up embracing the groundand-pound run game, and the Sooners’ Brent Venables, whose offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby is an old line and running backs coach.

Even at TCU, where coach Sonny Dykes learned the nuances of the Air Raid from Leach during their days at Texas Tech, there is an emphasis on running the ball. That is a big reason why Dykes hired Kendal Briles to run his offense this season.

“I think we come

from the same place as far as our football background in a lot of ways,” Dykes said. “He wants to run the ball; he wants to be a physical offense that runs the football. And that’s what I want to be as well.”

It worked last season. Kendre Miller ran for nearly 1,400 yards as the Horned Frogs advanced to the national title game.

“We saw the value in having a tough, physical, hard-nosed run game,” Dykes said.

That leads into the second reason so many Big 12 schools have migrated away from allout aerial offense: personnel.

The Wildcats have had Vaughn in the backfield. The Horned Frogs featured Miller, who was drafted by the New Orleans Saints, and Oklahoma leaned on Eric Gray, now with the New York Giants. Texas had Bijan Robinson, the eighth overall pick of the NFL draft by Atlanta, and backup Roschon Johnson, who was selected in the fourth round by the Chicago Bears.

That’s five of the 18 running backs selected in the April draft from the Big 12.

And even though they’re gone, their impact will continue to be felt.

In the case of Oklahoma State, inexperience at quarterback rather than a star running back is what led coach Mike Gundy — one of the many early champions of the Air Raid system — to expand his running game last season.

“We went through a period of time where we’re running up massive numbers of yards and points. As we did that, we slowly but surely got away from some of the things we instilled in our program in my first four

or five years as a head coach,” Gundy said. “But now we have kind of migrated back to: These are things we need to do to be successful.

“If we’re healthy up front, we’re very experienced at quarterback, then yeah, we can do anything we want throwing the ball. That’s more of a reason why we moved back to allocating more time to the running game than we have the last eight or 10 years.”

Then there’s the third reason so many schools have returned to offensive balance: The Air Raid had become so prevalent that just about every program has run some version of it, and thus every defense has practiced ways to stop it.

So coaches like Houston’s Dana Holgorsen, who was in the Big 12 at West Virginia and is back after conference realignment, began to put wrinkles in the Air Raid. The big one was implementing the run-pass option, where quarterbacks have the latitude to hand off, keep the ball and throw downfield, or tuck and run themselves.

Two of those options involving running the ball. And some semblance of balance is achieved.

“There’s a lot of ways to win football games,” said Kansas coach Lance Leipold, who led the Jayhawks to their first bowl game in more than a decade last season behind an increasingly popular version of the run-pass style called the wide zone. “If you got a system and you hold your kids accountable,” Leipold said, “and have some structure and a philosophy, you have a chance to go out there and win some football games.”

Commanders snuff out Ravens’ winning streak

LANDOVER, Md.

(AP) — Sam Howell was still in middle school the last time the Baltimore Ravens had lost a preseason game.

On Monday night, he helped put an end to one of the NFL’s most peculiar runs of success. Washington’s new starting quarterback threw for 188 yards and two touchdowns as the Commanders edged the Ravens 2928 on a last-minute field goal. Joey Slye converted from 49 yards, sending the remaining home fans into a state of jubilation not often seen in recent years at FedEx Field.

The loss marked the end of a 24-game preseason win streak for the Ravens, who passed the previous NFL record of 19, set by the Green Bay Packers in the 1950s.

“It’s really not a real game, but at the same time whatever team you’re on, you want to win,” Howell said. “Especially knowing what they had on the other side with their little streak.”

The back-and-forth thriller featured five lead changes and led Ravens coach John Harbaugh to rebuke those who call preseason football meaningless.

“You never played the game,” Harbaugh said of the critics. “You never were out there in a preseason game; you never were

fighting for a spot on the field. And yet you have the audacity to say that the effort that somebody puts into that, to fight and win a game like that, is meaningless.

“I can’t respect anybody that says that — because of the effort these guys put into it. And that’s why I’m so proud of these guys, for the way they fought. It doesn’t matter, win or loss. It matters the way they went about their business. And I’m proud of that and always will be.”

Howell was named the starting quarterback last Friday, and showed why the Commanders are putting their faith in the second-year passer in a crucial year for coach Ron Rivera and new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.

“We know how important the quarter-

Volleyball: Gets set

Continued from B1

and enjoying the season.”

Marmaton Valley

The Lady Wildcats are under the leadership of first-year head coach Emily Blythe. Marmaton Valley returns 12 players from last year which finished fourth in the Three Rivers League. There are six freshmen a part of the team this year too.

Blythe expects Marmaton Valley’s leaders to step up including Janae Granere, Piper Barney, Payton Scharff and Madison Lawson. Foreign exchange student Maria Varrero from Madrid, Spain is playing volleyball for the first time ever and has impressed in practice.

“I think we have a lot of players who have the potential to be aggressive net players, it’s just making sure we have just as aggressive defense on the back end,” said Blythe. “A hitter is great but if there’s no ball to hit, there’s no point to score.”

Yates Center Yates Center High’s volleyball team will look awfully familiar from last season, returning a number of starters with second-year head coach Carrie Cummings at the helm. Cummings believes the team’s chemistry will help them most improve from an 11-26 season.

Returning starters are Kamdyn Trahan,

back position is in the league and how important it is in this area,” Rivera said. “We’ve been looking for one, and I think we have an opportunity

throw for throw in an exhilarating first half, at least by preseason standards.

der new Washington owner Josh Harris, and it was a star-studded sideline in the minutes before the game.

Lauren McConaghie, Addison Morrison, Peyton Petit and Kinley Morrison. A couple of freshmen Cummings expects to make an impact are Mylin Tidd and Cayten Cummings.

“Bonds, chemistry and togetherness will be what this group prides itself on,” Cummings said. “We do everything together and they have a lot of fun together. That’s something we’re really going to stick by and hopefully it translates on the court. We’re all on the same page.”

Southern Coffey County

Southern Coffey County’s Lady Titans finished with an overall record of 30-8 and came in second in the Lyon County League. Head coach Jeff True returns only two starters from last year’s team.

Senior Kyla Houston and junior Karley Ohl will step into bigger roles this season. Houston will be the primary setter while Ohl will be a primary hitter. Other Lady Titans who will look to make an impact are Kaydence Gunlock, Emily Ludolph and Kynlee Lind.

“I want them to improve every day, stay positive and get out and compete with a lot of energy and enthusiasm,” True said. “Staying healthy will be important. We don’t have a lot of depth this season because of the smaller number of girls on the roster.”

to have a guy that has a chance to be a really good football player for us.”

Journeyman Ravens quarterback Josh Johnson matched Howell

Johnson finished 10 of 12 for 145 yards and two touchdowns, as well as one end zone interception where the ball fell through the arms of receiver James Proche II and into the waiting hands of Commanders defensive back Quan Martin. Those missed points proved costly as Washington’s third-string QB, former Georgia standout Jake Fromm, led the Commanders down the field for the game-winning field goal, triggering a raucous party.

“It was so much fun to watch and be a part of,” Howell said NEW ENERGY

Monday’s preseason game was the first un-

Legendary Washington coach Joe Gibbs was in attendance with his grandson, NASCAR racer Ty Gibbs. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore was the Commanders’ honorary captain, and Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg shook hands with the ownership group, as did rapper Wale. Harris joined ESPN’s broadcast of the game in the second quarter.

“I have a lot of faith in Sam (Howell) and the team,” he said during the appearance.

INJURIES

Washington receiver Terry McLaurin left the game at the end of the second quarter with a

See RAVENS | Page B6

LLWS: Has pitchers dominating

Continued from B3

have been typically limited to just two atbats per game.

Managers such as Tennessee’s Randy Huth have adjusted their rosters, knowing that pitchers would be more dominant when facing batters lower in the order.

“We knew it was going to be different this year based on the continuous batting,” Huth said. “In previous years, you might pick somebody to be on this team based on their defense. Well, you don’t do that anymore.”

Teams with strong pitching staffs have owned the rule change. Others have struggled to keep up.

After a second place finish in last year’s LLWS, Curacao is one win away from the final on the international side of the bracket.

Despite winning each of its two games by 2-1, Curacao’s pitching has made championship hopes a serious possibility.

“Our main focus of the team is defense – that defense wins games. They concentrate on getting runs, but they focus (more) on defense and winning that way,” said manager Ildion Martina. While Huth and other managers have built their teams with a focus on hitting, Martina built Curacao with his eyes set on sturdy pitching.

If pitching can keep Curacao in play for all six innings, Martina’s strategy is that the runs will come eventually, and his Caribbean club will likely only need a few.

That strategy was on full display Monday as

Nasir El-Ossaïs hit a two-run, go-ahead homer in the sixth to help lead Curacao to a 2-1 victory over Venezuela.

“I just tell them every time, ‘We can’t win a game 0-0,’” Martina said. “You have to put at least one run on the board to win the game.”

For teams playing against Taiwan or Japan, it’s been nearly impossible to even touch the scoreboard.

While Taiwan routed Japan on Monday, prior to that the Japanese had been nearly just as tough.

Taiwan hasn’t allowed a run through two games, and Japan gave up just one through its first two contests before falling on Monday.

Teams that have never faced Asian pitching mechanics – typically known for slower windups and a quirky,

stop-start leg hitch –have made it a point of emphasis in practice. But few have found success in games.

“In practices, we change the times and the rhythms for a pitcher because we know they pitch that way,” Mexico manager Francisco Fimbres said through a translator. “But, we know that if you can play a perfect game against Japan, it’s still gonna be hard to beat them.”

As championship weekend nears and teams like Venezuela face elimination games, there’s no more room for questioning why offenses have been stagnant. All that matters now is winning.

“These are the best teams in the world,” Gutierrez said. “There should be low-scoring games.”

Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell, left, and wide receiver Dyami Brown celebrate. AP PHOTO/JULIO CORTEZ

Dad fears daughter’s tight clothes attract disrespect

Hi Carolyn: This past Friday, I happened to be home as my daughter, 17, was leaving for an evening event, and my daughter and friends were all dressed in very revealing and tight dresses.

I contained myself and raised this with only my wife, who said this is the fashion of the moment. I am worried these revealing dresses will only contribute to the objectification of my daughter. The fact I was raised in a more conservative country — my wife was raised in the United States — might play a role. Nevertheless, it is hard for me to accept the potential treatment my daughter might get from others.

How should I, as a father and husband, deal with this?

In a society that objectifies and sexualizes women every second of the day, how can I promote a healthy internal dialogue for my daughter to think whether the clothes she chooses for a party match her values? — Anonymous

Anonymous: You can promote a healthy internal dialogue by seeing the objectification of women as a problem that chauvinists create with their behavior, not that women create with their clothes.

That’s for your internal dialogue, by the way.

As for your daughter’s, if her values are to live her life on her own terms, and to use that as her inner compass as she matures and learns and adjusts her course over the years, then I bet it looks beautiful on her.

Good work saying nothing in the moment. I’ve come to believe the ability to think before speaking is a superpower for any parent of

teens.

Dear Carolyn: My sister and I have never been close. It’s never been clear why. We fought as kids, as teens and in college, and in adulthood the gap was never bridged. There’s no trauma. It’s basic sibling rivalry — but nothing stands out. I’ve done therapy, tried to reach out to her and her kids, but I get nothing in return, not even acknowledgment when I send gifts to the children.

All of this is a problem I have mostly given up on, but I live abroad, and I have recently found a life partner who comes with a child, and I know my parents would like all their kids and grandchildren under one roof.

The problem is my sister won’t collaborate or compromise on their family vacations — even though we would be flying three people internationally. I say we should meet on the East Coast at my parents’, so we don’t have to do a 20-hour-plus journey — but they refuse to delay their annual trip and only offer the Midwest as a meeting ground, which is difficult for us and my parents.

How can we find literal and figurative middle ground? — Nearly Estranged Sister

Nearly Estranged Sister: You don’t. Or, at least, you stop treating your sister as a willing contributor to the middle-ground search.

Nothing she has said or done indicates she has any interest in contributing.

You say yourself you understand that. Yet you’re back to looking

for her to behave like the person you wish she were instead of the person she is. With the exact same frustrating outcome.

The real problem here, of course, is the long-standing one of your broken sibling relationship, which is heartbreaking and beyond this column’s reach.

But when you treat your new life partner as grounds to expect something different from your sister, you are adding a new problem to the old one. The two are completely separate things everywhere but your own heart. Your becoming a parent — congratulations! — has no bearing on your sister’s travel plans (or vision of family) unless she wants it to, and, again, she has given no indication that she wants it to.

This is disappointing stuff, and I am sorry you have to carry it. I say that even as I sympathize with your sister on the “delay their annual trip” thing, because: 1. It’s their business. 2. Travel is ghastly and expensive, summer travel with children is even more so and involves scheduling witchcraft, and to “delay” an established routine for even the best of reasons implies horrors no one should have to envision over breakfast. Seriously: Leave their family travel alone.

But I digress. She is who she is and clearly intends to remain so, despite and independent of your happy family expansion. The sooner you build this into all your reasoning, without imagined exceptions, the sooner you can generate actual plans instead of the constant despairing frustration of wanting things you lack the power to make happen.

So when sis says no, plan your own visit to your parents’. That is

your lane. Wrangling the big one-roof moment you “know” your parents want, with the children they raised in the dynamic they helped to create, is their lane.

I am loath to lay all childhood outcomes at the feet of parents — kids are fully realized humans, not mombots or dadbots — but it seems fair to say they skipped some opportunities to promote emotional health. Please let this go and focus on creating your own, more functional home.

by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

BEETLE BAILEY

by Mort Walker

by Chris Browne

BLONDIE by Young and Drake

MARVIN by Tom Armstrong

by Chance Browne

MUTTS by Patrick McDonell

Preseason

Continued from B4

right toe injury, after a Baltimore defender landed on his foot while making a tackle. McLaurin walked off the field and to the locker room himself, and x-rays were negative. Rivera said the team will take the injury day-by-day.

UP NEXT Ravens: Finish the preseason on Saturday night at Tampa Bay.

Commanders: Host Cincinnati on Saturday night in their preseason finale.

PGA Monahan says LIV deal will happen

ATLANTA (AP) — PGA

Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan expressed the same level of confidence Tuesday that he did last year at the season-ending Tour Championship. The difference was the topic.

A year ago, Monahan unveiled a bold new model for the PGA Tour aimed at fending off the Saudi-funded LIV Golf League. Now it’s about getting a deal done with the Saudis.

“As I sit here today, I am confident that we will reach an agreement that achieves a positive outcome for the PGA Tour and our fans — I see it and I’m certain of it,” Monahan said at East Lake Golf Club, where 30 players compete for the FedEx Cup and its $18 million bonus.

“And I see it because when you look at the performance of our players, you look at the commitment of our players ... I feel like we’re in the

strongest position to be able to succeed and successfully conclude these negotiations in a way that protects the legacy of the PGA Tour on a long-term basis.”

He had far more details a year ago when he announced a schedule in which the top players would compete against each other as many as 17 times for $20 million purses. That’s the bones of the schedule going into next year. The PGA Tour an-

nounced a framework agreement with Saudi Arabia’s national wealth fund and the European tour on June 6 to create a for-profit company called “PGA Tour Enterprises” in which the Public Investment Fund would be a minority investor. Its governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, would be CEO of the company and have a seat on the PGA Tour board, though Monahan said the PGA Tour had safeguards to

call the shots.

They have until Dec. 31 to finalize the agreement, though the sides can agreed to extend the deadline. As for what this means for the future of LIV Golf or what penalties LIV players would face if they chose to come back to the tours, that remains part of the negotiations.

Monahan said negotiations are private and he could not reveal details, even to the players.