The Iola Register, Dec. 30, 2023

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Chiefs’ Mahomes honors Iola native’s son Standout

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

Isaac Murdock controls the ball in a wheelchair basketball game. Murdock plays for the Kansas City Kings youth club.

COURTESY PHOTO

Those who know Isaac Murdock best understand the word “can’t” isn’t in his vocabulary.

“He never says ‘I can’t do that,’” explained his mother, Kristi, who grew up in Iola.

“He’ll say, ‘Why don’t we do it this way instead?’

“He really likes to spin scenarios around on their head.”

Isaac, 13, has been confined to a wheelchair all of his life, due to a birth defect, spondylocostal dysostosis, an abnormal development of his spine and ribs.

His spine is misshapen, curving both side to side and front to back, Kristi explained.

Long story short, while he can feel sensations, and detect hot and cold with his legs, he has no muscle control or ability to move his legs.

Isaac’s story, including his passion for wheelchair basketball, has become a focal point of the NFL and the Kansas City Chiefs.

He is part of an NFL Films series about Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, a candidate for the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which recognizes players for See NFL | Page A8

players earn state honors

PAGE B1

Maine bars Trump from ballot PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s Democratic secretary of state on Thursday removed former President Donald Trump from the state’s presidential primary ballot under the Constitution’s insurrection clause, becoming the first election official to take action unilaterally as the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to decide whether Trump remains eligible to return to the White House.

The decision by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows follows a ruling earlier this month by the Colorado Supreme Court that booted Trump from the ballot there under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. That decision has been stayed until the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether Trump is barred by the Civil War-era provision, which prohibits those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office.

The Trump campaign said it would appeal Bellows’ decision to Maine’s state courts, and Bellows suspended her ruling until that court system rules on the case. In the end, it is likely that the nation’s highest court will have the final say on whether Trump appears on the ballot in Maine and in the other states.

Bellows found that Trump could no longer run for his prior job because his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol violated Section 3, which bans from office those who “engaged in insurrection.” Bellows made the ruling after some state residents, including a bipartisan group of former lawmakers, challenged Trump’s position on the ballot.

“I do not reach this conclusion lightly,” Bellows wrote in her 34-page decision. “I am mindful that no Secretary of State has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. I am also mindful, however, that no presidenSee MAINE | Page A5

Vol. 126, No. 14 Iola, KS $1.00

Callee Kaufman is the health and wellness coach at Humboldt Fitness Center. When someone sets a goal to lose weight, it’s not about a number on a scale, she says. It’s a desire to feel good. REGISTER/ VICKIE MOSS

New year, new you Give yourself grace when setting goals, personal trainer says

By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register

HUMBOLDT — Do the things that make you feel good and surround yourself with people who help you feel good.

“You deserve it,” says Callee Kaufman, health and wellness coach at Humboldt Fitness Center.

“If that means eating a piece of chocolate, eat the chocolate.”

That may not be the kind of advice you expect to hear from a personal trainer for a New Year’s resolution.

Kaufman elaborates: “We are fed this concept of zero to 100 — all or nothing — and it hurts my heart because I see it every day. People come in here beaten down because they’ve been told they need to be more dedicated. They need to try harder. They need to do this.

They can’t do that.”

What’s more effective, Kaufman said, “Is to give ourselves grace.”

“It’s about having the mentality to improve yourself little by little. We are all together on this floating rock in space. We need to be better, kinder, more loving people to others and to ourselves.”

“You sure as heck should not feel like you’re going to spiral because you had a piece of chocolate.”

As a certified fitness and nutrition

We are all together on this floating rock in space. We need to be better, kinder, more loving people to others and to ourselves.

— Callee Kaufman, health and wellness coach

coach, Kaufman said her first steps with a new client are to ask about their goals.

The most frequent response is to lose weight.

“The first thing I ask is why? What’s the foundation? Because if you don’t have a foundation, it’s going to crumble, right?”

Dig a little deeper and she finds it’s not really about the number on a scale, but how losing weight would make them feel.

“I want to feel better in my clothing.”

“I want to walk up the stairs without feeling winded.”

“I want to move my body in a way that doesn’t hurt.”

“I want to be able to sit on the floor and play with my kids.”

KAUFMAN said many of her clients

joke that working with her is like therapy. That’s because she understands the value of building confidence and self-esteem.

“Getting fit is hard. People think they need to have a resolution, a goal, and they have to jump from zero to 100 immediately, and that’s why people have a very negative relationship with health and fitness, especially nutrition.”

There’s a reason why one of the most common New Year’s resolutions is to lose weight, she said.

Think about the holidays that precede it: Thanksgiving and Christmas.

During that time, most of us are focused on food and family. We may not get as much physical activity. We’re stressed over finances. We struggle with guilt and gluttony. We want to eat that pumpkin pie but feel bad about ourselves when we do.

“A lot of people have been fighting with themselves consistently for two months. It’s no wonder they are so ready for a new year because they’re tired of all the negativity.”

But many are often discouraged when they don’t see immediate progress on their goals. Some attempt “quick-fix” solutions such as fasting, detox programs, rigorous exercise or See GOALS | Page A3

A2 Saturday, December 30, 2023

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The Iola Register

Obituaries Christina Culbertson Christina Lee Culbertson, age 75, of Topeka, died Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, at Stormont Vail Health in Topeka.

She was born on March 3, 1948.

She married Bill Culbertson on July 2, 1966.

She was preceded in death by her son, Billy Jr.; mother, Phoebe Paul-Mott; and stepfather, Edward Paul.

Survivors include husband, Bill Culbertson; four daughters, Eugenia Royer, Sharon Smith, Susanna Estudillo, and Deborah; three sons, Eric, Aaron, and Andrew.

Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, at the Feuerborn Family Funeral Service Chapel in Garnett. Burial will follow in the Richmond Cemetery. Family will greet friends from 5 to 7 on Friday evening at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to Christina Culbertson Memorial Fund and left in care of the funeral home.

A bill approved by the 2022 Legislature and signed by Gov. Laura Kelly initiated a three-year phase out of the state’s 6.5% sales tax on groceries. The next step in the plan is a decline from 4% to 2% on Jan. 1.

It will be eliminated at the state level on Jan. 1, 2025. TIM CARPENTER/KANSAS REFLECTOR

Frankie Goudy Jr. Frank “Frankie” James Goudy Jr., age 60, died on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023, at Saint Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, Mo. He was born on April 3, 1963, in Atchison, to Frank J. Goudy Sr. and Mathilda “Jean” (Geisen) Goudy.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

A funeral service is planned for 2 p.m., Friday, Jan. 12, in the chapel at Feuerborn Family Funeral Service, 1883 US Highway 54, Iola. Memorial contributions may be made to Wings of Warriors of Allen County.

Mildred man arrested for aggravated assault MILDRED — A Mildred man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Jose Alcantar Jr., 51, was arrested at the Mildred Store. According to Sheriff Bryan Murphy, store owner Regena Lance heard a gunshot and went to investigate.

She confronted Alcan-

tar, who made a comment that made her afraid so she attempted to drive away in her vehicle and was followed

by Alcantar, who had a gun, Murphy said.

Officers arrived at the store and found the woman’s husband, Loren Lance, speaking with Alcantar. He was taken into custody without incident.

New footage released in Texas investigation SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A Texas police chief says investigators hope surveillance video will lead to answers in the killings of an 18-yearold pregnant woman who disappeared before Christmas and her boyfriend, both of whom were found shot in the head in a car and may have been dead for days.

Police on Friday had not named a possible motive or suspects as family and friends mourned the deaths of Savanah Nicole Soto, 18, and Matthew Guerra, 22. Soto’s family has said she was overdue to deliver her baby and had been scheduled to have an induced labor when she went missing last week.

The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled both deaths homicides caused by gunshot wounds to the head.

The couple were found Tuesday in Guerra’s car outside a San Antonio apartment complex, a crime scene that San Antonio Police Chief William McManus originally described as “very, very perplexing.”

On Thursday, police asked the public for help identifying two people seen in surveillance video that included the car and was recorded before the bodies were found.

“Detectives are hopeful that surveillance video will lead to the events leading up to their death,” McManus said.

The video shows Guerra’s car briefly pulling up next to a pickup truck at a spot close to where the couple was found, McManus said.

A person gets out of the truck and approaches the driver’s side of the car. Another person is seen briefly stepping out of Guerra’s car, but McManus said they do not believe that person was one of the victims.

He has described the case as a capital murder investigation and called it “a heinous act.”

Soto had been scheduled to have an induced labor at a hospital last Saturday night, her family told KENS-TV. But her mother said she got no answer earlier that day when she knocked on the door of Soto’s apartment in the suburb of Leon Valley.

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KS gradual repeal of food sales tax to yield savings of $150 million

By TIM CARPENTER Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly said the next scheduled reduction in the state’s sales tax on groceries Jan. 1 would cut the rate in half to 2% and enable shoppers in Kansas to avoid $150 million annually in food costs.

The agreement embraced by the 2022 Legislature and the governor established a three-year approach that included a Jan. 1, 2023, drop in the state sales tax on groceries from 6.5% to 4%.

The next step on Jan. 1 moves the state’s assessment to 2% on food, food ingredients and certain prepared foods. That would trigger a reduction in state tax collections of $12.5 million per month.

Kansas would join the majority of states by exempting groceries from state sales tax collections on Jan. 1, 2025.

Local government sales taxes would still apply to groceries.

“By taking a middleof-the-road approach,” Kelly said, “we have been able to continue putting money back in the pockets of every Kansan.”

In 2021, Kelly recommended the Republican-led Legislature pass a bill abandoning the state sales tax on groceries. She again called for sacking of the state’s sales tax on food in 2022. The Legislature didn’t bite. Lawmakers, pressured to act in an election year, agreed to the stair-step idea.

Political ping pong

In 2022, the Senate unanimously voted for the food sales tax reduction plan. An overwhelming majority of House members

agreed. Kelly signed the bill.

The step down from 6.5% to 4% saved consumers shopping for groceries in Kansas an estimated $187 million during 2023. The compounding influence of the previous and upcoming decline to 2% would provide consumers an estimated $500 million in sales tax reductions by the end of 2024, Kelly said.

During a bruising recession in 2010, Democratic Gov. Mark Parkinson agreed to raise the statewide sales tax from 5.3% to 6.3% to prevent cuts in core social service and education programs. That law promised to draw the rate back to 5.7% after three years.

In 2012, Republican Gov. Sam Brownback signed a bill aggressively reducing the state’s income tax, especially for some business owners. It was an experiment in supply-side economics inspired by conservative consultant Arthur Laffer. A soft economy and te refusal of Kansas politicians to reduce state spending to match tax revenue losses led to years of painful budget problems.

Brownback leaned harder on the state sales tax in an attempt to sustain his quest to eliminate the state’s income tax. In 2013, he signed legislation repealing the 2010 law that promised to shrink the state sales tax rate to 5.7%. Instead, Brownback reset the rate at 6.15%. It allowed him to include in the legislation provisions that would gradually lower the Kansas income tax.

“It has been difficult,” Brownback said

Homestyle diner serving breakfast and lunch

Shopping for a deal

In 2015, however, the state government continued to be plagued by revenue shortfalls.

Brownback returned to the well. He secured an increase in the state sales tax rate to 6.5%.

Brownback’s income tax strategy was repealed by the GOP-controlled House and Senate in 2017 over the Republican governor’s veto. The state’s sales tax, including on groceries, was left unchanged.

The 2019 Legislature passed a bill that would have slashed state tax revenue by at least $500 million over three years. It included a reduction in the food sales tax. Kelly vetoed that bill, arguing it would jeopardize the state’s financial health

Today

50

in a way reminiscent of Brownback policy.

In 2022, Kelly proposed immediate elimination of the state sales tax on groceries and the Legislature offered the three-year phase out associated with food purchases.

The state sales tax for non-grocery purchases has stayed at 6.5%, but that plan cut the food sales tax to 4% on Jan. 1, 2023. It is to be rolled back to 2% on Jan. 1, 2024, and decline to zero on Jan. 1, 2025.

None of this maneuvering at the Capitol altered city or county sales tax rates, which also apply to grocery purchases in Kansas.

In Missouri, that state’s sales tax on groceries is 1.2%. Oklahoma charges a 4.5% statewide sales tax on groceries. Nebraska and Colorado exempt groceries from the state sales tax.

Monday

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Temperature High Friday Low Friday night High a year ago Low a year ago

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38 30 66 39

Sunrise 7:37 a.m.

37

Sunset 5:11 p.m.

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Susan Booth, Agent

Logan Booth, Agent

Breakfast all day!

Hours: Monday-Friday 6 a.m.-2 p.m.

Saturday & Sunday 7 a.m.-2 p.m.

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Precipitation 24 hrs as of 8 a.m. Monday 0 This month to date 1.64 Total year to date 34.84 Deficiency since Jan. 1 8.31

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Delivery Available

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at that time. “We’re on a path to growth. Now we’re set.”

212 South Street, Iola mcintoshbooth.com

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Goals: ‘You deserve to love yourself ’ Continued from A1

extreme diets.

“Why do we have to do that?” Kaufman asks.

“That’s so unnecessary.

If you eat too much and your belly feels full, do some stretching that night. You deserve to have a good day. You deserve to exist and just be.”

So what’s the point of a New Year’s resolution?

Again, Kaufman says, dig a little deeper until you hit the foundation: “I want to feel good.”

“LIFE GETS in the way of life.”

Kaufman repeats the phrase again and again to emphasize how difficult it can be to make lasting changes.

It’s good to have a goal, something to strive for. But understand that things change, so your goals need to shift and adapt, too. Give yourself grace when things don’t go according to plan.

“I do this for a living, and I have not exercised in this gym since Thursday. It is Wednesday.

And that’s OK because I was having my life,” she offered as an example.

“I ate a piece of key lime cheesecake at Christmas, but I also played with my daughter and my niece and nephew all day.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 150 hours of physical activity each week.

That doesn’t mean you have to hit the gym and lift weights or run on a treadmill, Kaufman said. Physical activity can be something as simple as taking your dog for a walk or dancing in your living room.

“If all you did today was open your eyes, that’s enough. Every day, just keep trying little by little to make yourself feel good,” she said.

“If your goal is to be more physically active, then make it something you love. Finding what works best for you is the challenge.

“I wish I could give you a statement or a book to read and everything is fixed. Unfortunately, you can’t fix years and years of toxic relationships with your body in a matter of days or a week.”

One solution is to surround yourself with positive influences and avoid negative, stress-

Life gets in the way of life.

— Callee Kaufman

ful situations as much as possible. That might mean taking a break from social media. You might have to take a step back from people and conversations that add stress or shame to your life.

“I believe if we focused on being happy, loving and kind to ourselves and the people around us, it would have a trickle effect,” she said.

“People who are happy with themselves

WORSHIP Stocks slip on final day of trading for 2023 NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks edged lower on the final day of trading for 2023 in what has been a surprisingly strong year of gains on Wall Street.

Yet the so-called Magnificent 7 companies — Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta Platforms and Tesla — accounted for about two-thirds of the gains in the S&P 500 this year, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. Nvidia leads the group with a gain of about 240%.

The S&P 500 index fell 0.3% Friday and is sitting just below the all-time high it set in January of 2022. It is up 24% for the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 44 points, or less than 0.1%, to 37,665, a day after hitting another record. It is up more than 12% for the year.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.5% and is up 43% for the year thanks largely to the movement of those marquee companies.

Boeing asks airlines to inspect 737 Max jets for loose bolt By the Associated Press

Callee Kaufman, at right, works with one of her clients at the Humboldt Fitness Center. PHOTO COURTESY OF HUMBOLDT FITNESS CENTER

WITH US

don’t hate on other people. They’re not mean to other people about their bodies and what they’re doing. When you’re happy, you become unbothered by a lot of stuff.”

Physical activity and the right foods can help relieve stress, Kaufman said.

Kaufman and Humboldt Fitness Center director Kelli Frazell work to create a supportive environment at the gym. Frazell was teaching a morning exercise class during this interview. After the class, several of the women went for coffee together.

Kaufman pointed to the women as an example of a good support system.

“Having someone to communicate with you is important,” she said.

“You can’t always see things clearly because of your perception of yourself and the mean little things that happen in your brain. You need people in your life who will build you up.

“It’s hard to find that.

It takes time. If anybody needs a safe space, come see me. Come to the

Carlyle

gym. I will support you.

I’ll be in your corner, gassing you up. Let’s move. Let’s have a good time. Let’s be positive.”

Life is a bit of a roller coaster ride, Kaufman said. You’ll have good days and bad days.

“You’re already fighting everything else.

Money problems. Relationship problems.

Work problems. It’s very easy, especially in today’s society, to be negative to ourselves. That’s the last thing you need.

You deserve to love yourself.

“This is your life. We only get one. I want you to be able to look back when you’re 90 and think, ‘I’m so glad I didn’t spend all those years hating myself.’”

Positivity begets positivity.

It becomes a cycle: If you feel good, you’re more likely to make healthy choices. And when you make healthy choices, you feel good.

She hopes people also are able to look back and say: “I’m so glad I did fitness and health and fed my body proper foods because I loved myself.”

Boeing is asking airlines to inspect its 737 Max jets for a potential loose bolt in the rudder control system, the airplane maker and Federal Aviation Administration confirmed this week.

The FAA said it would be “closely monitoring” the targeted inspections. The agency said Thursday that Boeing issued its inspection guidance to airlines after an international operator found a bolt with a missing nut during routine maintenance.

In a separate case, Boeing also discovered an undelivered aircraft that had a nut that was not properly tightened.

“The issue identified on the particular airplane has been remedied,” the Arlington, Virginia, company told The Associated Press on Friday. “Out of an abundance of caution, we are recommending operators inspect their 737 MAX airplanes and inform us of any findings.”

Boeing added that it will continue to update both customers and federal regulators on the progress.

The FAA said it will remain in contact with Boeing and impacted airlines as the inspections are performed, and potentially “consider additional action based on any further discovery of loose or missing hardware.”

According to Boeing, there have been

Sunday Worship . . . . . .9:30 a.m.

Bible Study . . . . . . .Tuesday 3 p.m.

Presbyterian

620-365-9728

Watch our service live on Facebook every Sunday shortly after 10 a.m.

29 Covert St., Carlyle

Livestream on our services: facebook.com/IolaNaz/

C H U R C H

Sunday School 9:45 - 10:30 a.m.

Community Sunday Service 10:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Church Wednesday Night Bible Study 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. of the Kelly Klubek, Senior Pastor Nazarene 620-365-3983

www.nazarene.org 1235 N. Walnut St., Iola

2001 N. State St., Iola

Tony Godfrey, Pastor

regional church

620-365-8001

Fellowship

Service Time...................10:30 a.m.

fellowshipregionalchurch@yahoo.com regional church fellowshipregionalchurch@yahoo.com facebook.com/FRCIOLA

214 Madison, Iola620-228-8001 214 W.W.Madison Ave., Iola www.facebook.com/FRCIOLA/ Service Time...................10:30 a.m.

620-365-3688

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Iola First Assembly of God

CHURCH

DIRECTORY

First

John & Jenna Higginbotham, Youth Leaders 620-365-2779

Presbyterian

Church

Join us “live” online for Sunday Worship at iolapresbyterian.org or on our YouTube channel

620-365-2277 Father David Michael

Join us “live” online for Sunday Worship at www.iolapresbyterian.org

302 E. Madison Ave., Iola

Grace Lutheran Church

Adult Bible Class . . . . . . . . .9 a.m.

Worship Service . . . . . . . . . . 10:30 a.m.

Rev. Bruce Kristalyn

117 E. Miller Rd., Iola

620-365-6468

Humboldt United Methodist Church

Sunday School . . . . . . . . . 9:30 a.m.

Sunday Worship . . . . . . . . . 11 a.m.

806 N. 9th St., Humboldt

Rev. Blake Stanwood 620-473-3242

NURSERY PROVIDED

“Nothing is Impossible for God”

301 W. Miller Rd., Iola • 620-365-8087 Rivertreeiola.org • Find us on Facebook!

620-365-3481

Rev. Daniel M. Davis

Sun. Worship.....................9:30 a.m.

620-365-2492

iolafirstag.org • pastorpaulmiller@gmail.com

Come as you are Sundays at 10 a.m.

St. John’s & St. Joseph’s Catholic Church

Sunday Worship . . . . . .9:30 a.m.

302 E. Madison, Iola

Paul Miller, Pastor

Friendly people Relevant and applicable preaching

Travis Boyt, Pastor

Jared Ellis Luke Bycroft

Sunday Worship . . . . 10:30 a.m.

1020 E. Carpenter St., Iola (at the intersection of North 3rd St. and Carpenter.

Parking is around back!)

Sunday School . . . . . . . . . . . 9:00 a.m.

Worship Service . . . . . . . . 10:30 a.m.

Kids Connection . . . . . . . . . . . 10:30 a.m.

AREA

Adult Midweek Gathering, 6:30 p.m.

(Bible study/fellowship/prayer)

hbciola.com

fellowshipregionalchurch@yahoo.com Jared Ellis 620-228-8001 Luke Bycroft www.facebook.com/FRCIOLA/

801 N. Cottonwood St., Iola

WEDNESDAY HarvestKIDS Ministry, 6:15-7:45 p.m. (when school is in session) Student Ministry, 6:30 p.m. (middle school & high school)

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God” -1 John 4:7

Service Time . . . . . . . 10:30 a.m.

no in-flight incidents caused by this condition to date — noting that crews’ routine checks would signal if the rudder was not working properly before an aircraft pushes back from the gate.

The company added that all airplanes Boeing is set to deliver onward will have the inspection (which is estimated to take about two hours per plane) prior to delivery.

U.S. carriers with 737 Max jets in their fleet include United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines. All four of these carriers told The Associated Press Friday that they don’t expect operational impacts. Southwest, for example, said it was currently performing all of these inspections during routine overnight maintenance.

A firm timeline for the inspections wasn’t provided for each airline, but Alaska said it expected to complete the process by the first half of January.

Boeing’s 737 Max jets were grounded worldwide for 20 months after two crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed a total of 346 people. Investigations focused on an automated flight-control system that pushed the nose of the plane down based on faulty sensor readings. Boeing did not tell pilots and airlines about the system until after the first crash.

SUNDAY Adult Bible Fellowships, 9 a.m.

6th-12th grade Bible study, 9 a.m.

Worship service 10:30 am

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Church

A3

310 S. Jefferson Ave., Iola

Weekend Masses Sat. - 5:30 p.m. - Iola (Confession 4:30 - 5:20 p.m.)

Sun. 8:30 a.m. - Yates Center (Confession 8 - 8:25 a.m.)

10:30 a.m. - Iola Weekday Masses Mon., Tues., Fri., Sat. - 8 a.m. - Iola (Confession 7:30 - 7:55 a.m. M, T, F, S) Wed. - 11:30 a.m. - Iola • Thurs. - 5:30 p.m. - Yates Center

329 S. 1st St., Iola • (620) 371-8695 A gospel-centered church making disciples of Jesus Christ David Sturgeon, Campus Pastor

Sunday Worship . . . . 10:45 a.m. waypointchurch.com • facebook.com/waypointiola David.Sturgeon@waypointchurch.com

Wesley

United Methodist Church 301 E. Madison Ave., Iola

Sunday Praise & Worship . . . . 9:15 a.m.

Rev. Dr. Dyton L. Owen, Pastor • 620-365-2285

A4 Saturday, December 30, 2023

iolaregister.com

The Iola Register

KS retail pharmacists are unhappy with pay

By BEK SHACKELFORD-NWANGANGA Kansas News Service

Students from Barton Community College, Dodge City Community College and Kansas State University take samples from a family’s well to check the nitrate levels. JOE VINDUSKA/BARTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE

High levels of fertilizer found in drinking water in rural KS wells

By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN Kansas News Service

Matthew Kirk has an unpleasant task: breaking the news to families about fertilizer chemicals in their drinking water.

The Kansas State University geology professor and his collaborators check for nitrogen pollution in the private wells that so many rural households depend on.

“Most of the well owners that I’ve talked to,” Kirk said, “this isn’t something that’s really on their radar.”

Researchers aim to test about 150 private wells in south-central Kansas in Barton, Stafford, Pawnee, Edwards, Rice, Pratt and Kiowa counties.

Students and scientists from K-State and Barton and Dodge City community colleges have teamed up to test about 90 so far.

Of those, half contain more nitrate than federal regulators allow in public water systems.

“Of those that didn’t,” Kirk said, “a lot of them were pretty darn close.”

One well contained more than five times as much nitrate as the federal government tolerates in public water supplies.

That household has started treating the water before drinking it.

Drinking too much of these nitrogen compounds is dangerous for babies, and scientists are investigating suspected links to serious health conditions in children and adults, such as cancer.

Public water sources have to comply with federal standards, so utilities treat water to reduce nitrate levels when necessary.

But the same rules don’t apply to private wells, and people often don’t know what their groundwater contains.

Meanwhile, decade by decade, chemicals accumulate.

In 2016, K-State researchers checked water quality in south-central Kansas wells that had also undergone testing 40 years earlier.

“We’re seeing nitrate increases that are massive,” Kirk said, adding that they are “among the biggest” when compared to long-term data from a similar national study.

The stakes for human health

Farms and livestock facilities

rank among the top sources of the nitrogen pollution spilling into U.S. waterways and seeping into groundwater.

Above ground, scientists at the University of Kansas and elsewhere find this runoff makes the blue-green algae on many bodies of water increasingly toxic. These toxic blooms poison thirsty animals, spoil weekend plans at the lake and increase the cost of treating public drinking water.

Below ground, in aquifers, the effects of nitrogen call less attention.

Part of the problem: It’s not easy to collect large datasets of chemical analyses from private property. Not everyone tests their wells, and if they do, there’s no centralized database where members of the public and academic researchers can see what they found.

Barton Community College faculty, students and members of the public view information about nitrate levels in central Kansas groundwater during a presentation at the college.

But public health experts continue to dig.

SCIENTISTS at the University of Nebraska Medical Center are investigating areas with troubling patterns of childhood cancer. They’re trying to understand whether groundwater contaminated with nitrate and atrazine (the second most common farm herbicide in the U.S.) could play a role.

Nitrate contamination contributes to blue baby syndrome. And scientists continue to scrutinize correlations with thyroid disease, premature births and more.

The questions about health effects leave some scientists uneasy with the Environmental Protection Agency’s current standard for nitrate levels in public water supplies.

The agency allows up to 10 milligrams of nitrate per liter of water.

In Kansas, an estimated 150,000 to 175,000 people use groundwater from private wells. No one knows how many of them treat it first.

Families that depend on private wells can consider several treatment options of varying effectiveness, with prices ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

Kirk often points well own-

ers to a guide from the Minnesota Department of Health that explains each home water treatment approach and typical price tags.

What can people do?

In south-central Kansas, K-State’s analysis of water samples indicates that most of the nitrate pollution comes from chemical fertilizers sprayed onto cropland.

Despite advances in technology that help farmers apply the stuff more precisely, the contamination persists.

Wells in the area pull water from the Great Bend Prairie Aquifer.

On the whole, this groundwater is relatively close to the surface, and the ground above it is relatively permeable, Kirk said.

That means nitrates trickle into the aquifer faster than, say, into the Ogallala aquifer farther west.

However, Kirk warns that nitrogen pollution could worsen in the Ogallala, too, even if it takes longer.

K-State researchers plan to share their well water data from south-central Kansas with the Kansas Geological Survey and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment — agencies that monitor groundwater issues.

As some aquifers shrink, it could exacerbate the problem of nitrogen pollution by concentrating the chemicals in less water.

More people using private wells will either need to treat their water or drink troubling levels of nitrate.

Already, the EPA estimates that about one-tenth of the land in Kansas has groundwater with nitrate levels that exceed 10 milligrams per liter.

Meanwhile, small-town and rural water systems — which have tight budgets but must comply with the same federal nitrate limit that applies to larger public water sources — will struggle to handle this.

Haviland, with a population of less than 700 people, had to build a $2.4 million treatment facility. This nearly tripled residents’ water bills.

“This is going to make it hard to sustain a lot of rural communities,” Kirk said, “who aren’t going to be able to afford a big, fancy treatment plant.”

Pharmacy work is a tough job, according to Amanda Applegate with the Kansas Pharmacists Association.

There are, of course, many prescriptions to fill. Filling those also means keeping in mind whether the prescribed medication is best for the patient, whether it is covered by their insurance and more.

And it gets more difficult when it’s inside a bustling retail store, like Walgreens or Target. That’s a recipe for a hectic job.

“If you are in a hospital environment, you don’t necessarily have somebody walking by you and asking where the steaks on sale are or where the Tylenol is,” Applegate said. “There is an additional layer of distraction.”

Applegate said retail pharmacists and pharmacy technicians also struggle with performance quotas set by their employers.

A STUDY by professors at the University of Kansas illustrates the differences between pharmacy work in retail and independent or hospital settings.

The study, recently published in the Journal of American Pharmacists Association, surveyed 129 pharmacists and 111 pharmacy technicians at both retail and independent pharmacies in Kansas and Missouri.

Angela Gist-Mackey was the lead author of the paper. Her team began collecting data in 2019 and finished in 2020, just before the pandemic. Survey participants were categorized into three pharmacy settings: retail, independent and health care systems.

Going into the study, Gist-Mackey hypothesized that a person’s role in a pharmacy would determine their overall satisfaction.

“But surprisingly, that was not the case.

Role didn’t predict any of that,” Gist-Mackey said. “In fact, it was more of the context that people were working in.”

The survey showed that pharmacy workers in retail situations, though paid the same as their independent or hospital pharmacist counterparts, were far less satisfied with pay and benefits.

“Maybe it’s because what I have to put

up with in my chain pharmacy workplace doesn’t seem worth the pay,” Gist-Mackey said.

Applegate agrees.

She now serves as director of practice development for the Kansas Pharmacists Association, but she previously worked in the retail pharmacy field for more than a decade. Applegate said the workload at retail pharmacies can often be hard to handle, especially because a lot of retail pharmacies only staff one pharmacist at a time and don’t schedule enough technicians to help.

Retail workers on strike

Concerns about working conditions, pay and staffing came to a head this fall, when workers at CVS and Walgreens stores across the nation walked out.

At least a dozen CVS locations in the Kansas City metro, on both sides of the state line, shuttered temporarily while workers were on strike.

Applegate said work safety was one of the No. 1 priorities for striking workers. She said sometimes, retail pharmacists have up to 1,000 prescriptions to fill and not enough support to safely fill them. In addition, they often work long hours without breaks.

“It’s oftentimes very hard to step away from that workflow to go to the bathroom, to get a bite to eat, to take a breath after something very difficult has happened,” she said.

“That day-to-day environment is a pressure cooker in a lot of cases.”

Applegate said to her knowledge, Walgreens and CVS have made some changes to how stores are operated, but pharmacists are still spread thin.

Gist-Mackey said when she and her team presented their work to editors at the Journal of American Pharmacists editors, they received pushback on their findings.

“One of the reviewers … said, ‘You’re taking a stab at retail pharmacies, specifically. I’m not sure that your data really supports this,’” Gist-Mackey said.

The editors dropped their complaints when the strikes began, Gist-Mackey said.

She imagines conditions have gotten worse for retail pharmacy workers post-pandemic, as they are essential health care workers.

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iolaregister.com

Saturday, December 30, 2023

The Iola Register

A5

Maine: SCOTUS likely to decide Continued from A1

tial candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection.”

The Trump campaign immediately slammed the ruling. “We are witnessing, in real-time, the attempted theft of an election and the disenfranchisement of the American voter,” campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement.

Legal experts said that Thursday’s ruling demonstrates the need for the nation’s highest court, which has never ruled on Section 3, to clarify what states can do.

“It is clear that these decisions are going to keep popping up, and inconsistent decisions reached (like the many states keeping Trump on the ballot over challenges) until there is final and decisive guidance from the U.S. Supreme Court,” Rick Hasen, a law professor at the University of California-Los Angeles, wrote in response to the Maine decision. “It seems a certainty that SCOTUS will have to address the merits sooner or later.”

While Maine has just four electoral votes, it’s one of two states to split them. Trump won one of Maine’s electors in 2020, so having him off the ballot there, should he emerge as the Republican general election candidate, could have outsized implications in a race that is expected to be narrowly decided.

That’s in contrast to Colorado, which Trump lost by 13 percentage points in 2020 and where he wasn’t expected to compete in November if he wins the Republican presidential nomination.

In her decision, Bellows acknowledged that the U.S. Supreme Court will probably have the final word but said it was important she did her official duty.

That won her praise

from the former state lawmakers who filed one of the petitions forcing her to consider the case.

“Secretary Bellows showed great courage in her ruling, and we look forward to helping her defend her judicious and correct decision in

next year’s election.

“However, we are a nation of laws, and therefore until he is actually found guilty of the crime of insurrection, he should be allowed on the ballot,” Golden wrote.

The Trump campaign on Tuesday requested

The Secretary of State’s decision would deny thousands of Mainers the opportunity to vote for the candidate of their choice, and it should be overturned.

— Sen. Susan Collins

court. No elected official is above the law or our constitution, and today’s ruling reaffirms this most important of American principles,” Republican Kimberley Rosen, independent Thomas Saviello and Democrat Ethan Strimling said in a statement.

But other Republicans in the state were outraged.

“The Secretary of State’s decision would deny thousands of Mainers the opportunity to vote for the candidate of their choice, and it should be overturned,” U.S. Sen. Susan Collins wrote on the social media site X. “This is a sham decision that mimics Third World dictatorships,” Maine’s House Republican leader, Billy Bob Faulkingham, said in a statement. “It will not stand legal scrutiny. People have a right to choose their leaders devoid of mindless decisions by partisan hacks.”

The criticism wasn’t just along normal partisan lines, though. Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat who represents Maine’s 2nd congressional district that Trump won in 2020, noted on X that he’d voted to impeach Trump for the Jan. 6 attack and doesn’t believe he should win

that Bellows disqualify herself from the case because she’d previously tweeted that Jan. 6 was an “insurrection” and bemoaned that Trump was acquitted in his impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate after the capitol attack. She refused to step aside.

“My decision was based exclusively on the record presented to me at the hearing and was in no way influenced by my political affiliation or personal views about the events of Jan. 6, 2021,” Bellows told the Associated Press Thursday night.

Bellows is a former head of the Maine chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. All seven of the justices of the Colorado Supreme Court, which split 4-3 on whether to become the first court in history to declare a presidential candidate ineligible under Section 3, were appointed by Democrats.

Two Washington, D.C.based liberal groups have launched the most serious prior challenges to Trump, in Colorado and a handful of other states.

That’s led Trump to contend the dozens of lawsuits nationwide seeking to remove him from the ballot under Section 3 are a Democratic plot to end his campaign.

Public notice (Published in The Iola Register Dec. 30, 2023)

THE STATE OF KANSAS TO ALL PERSONS CONCERNED: You are hereby notified a petiIN THE DISTRICT COURT OF tion has been filed in this Court by ALLEN COUNTY, KANSAS Tina Kelley, Executor of the Estate of Harold K. Thornhill, deceased, IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE praying for final settlement of OF HAROLD K. THORNHILL, the estate, approval of their acts, DECEASED proceedings and accounts as ExAL-2023-PR-000029 ecutor, allowance for her Executor fees and expenses and the Court NOTICE OF HEARING ON determine the heirs of the said PETITION FOR FINAL decedent and assign the personal SETTLEMENT property remaining in said estate.

(Chapter 59) You are hereby required to file your written defenses thereto on

or before the 22nd day of January 2024, at 1:30 p.m., in said District Court in Iola, Kansas, at which time and place said cause will be heard. Should you fail therein, judgment and decree will be entered in due course upon said petition. /s/ TINA KELLEY, Executor DANIEL SCHOWENGERDT, S.C. 23766 JOHNSON SCHOWENGERDT PA P.O. Box 866 Iola, KS 66749 620-365-3778, Fax (620)380-6230 (12) 30 (1) 6, 13

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at a damaged apartment building after a Russian attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 29. The onslaught extended over 18 hours. (AP PHOTO/ARTEM PERFILOV)

Russia fires biggest aerial barrage of war in Ukraine KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched 122 missiles and dozens of drones against Ukrainian targets, officials said Friday, killing at least 24 civilians across the country in what an air force official said was the biggest aerial barrage of the war.

The Ukrainian air force intercepted most of the ballistic and cruise missiles and the Shahed-type drones overnight, said Ukraine’s military chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on his official Telegram channel that it was “the most massive aerial attack” since Russia’s fullscale invasion in February 2022.

According to the Ukrainian air force, the previous biggest assault was in November 2022 when Russia launched 96 missiles against Ukraine. This year, the biggest was 81 missiles on March 9, air force records show.

Western officials and analysts recently warned that Russia had limited its cruise missile strikes in recent months in an apparent effort to build up stockpiles for massive strikes during the winter, hoping to break the Ukrainians’ spirit.

Fighting along the front line is largely bogged down by winter weather after Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive failed to make a significant breakthrough

along the roughly 620mile line of contact.

Ukrainian officials have urged the country’s Western allies to provide it with more air defenses to protect itself against aerial attacks like Friday’s one.

Their appeals have come as signs of war fatigue strain efforts to keep support in place.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the huge attack should stir the world to further action in support of Ukraine.

“These widespread attacks on Ukraine’s cities show (Russian President Vladimir) Putin will stop at nothing to achieve his aim of eradicating freedom and democracy,” Sunak said on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. “We must continue to stand with Ukraine — for as long as it takes.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the scale of the attack should wake people up to Ukraine’s continuing needs.

“Today, millions of Ukrainians awoke to the loud sound of explosions,” he wrote on X. “I wish those sounds of explosions in Ukraine could be heard all around the world. In all major capitals, headquarters, and parliaments, which are currently debating further support for Ukraine.”

At least 130 people were injured and an unknown number were buried under rubble during the roughly 18-hour onslaught, Ukrainian officials said.

Among the buildings reported to be damaged across Ukraine were a maternity hospital, apartment blocks and schools.

In Boyarka, a city near Kyiv, the debris of a shot-down drone fell on a home and started a fire.

Andrii Korobka, 47, said his mother was sleeping next to the room where the wreckage landed and was taken to hospital suffering from shock.

“The war goes on, and it can happen to any house, even if you think yours will never be affected,” Korobka said.

Tetiana Sakhnenko, who lives next door, said neighbors ran with buckets of water to put out the blaze but it spread quickly. “It’s so scary,” she said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Kremlin’s forces used a wide variety of weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles.

“Today, Russia used nearly every type of weapon in its arsenal,” Zelenskyy said on X. Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said Russia “apparently launched everything they have,” except for submarine-launched Kalibr missiles, in the attack.

The aerial attack that began Thursday and continued through the night hit six cities, including the capital, Kyiv, and other areas from east to west and north to south Ukraine, according to authorities.

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6347

Opinion

A6

The Iola Register

Saturday, December 30, 2023

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly is flanked by a boisterous crowd on July 17 as she ceremoniously signs a bill designating Lehigh Portland State Park in Iola. REGISTER/FILE PHOTO

2023 plants seeds for bright future “If it bleeds it leads,” is a time-tested, and unfortunate, truism in the news industry.

Try as we might to cast the area in a positive light, the Register’s most-read stories for 2023 involved car wrecks, plane crashes and encounters with law enforcement, according to the number of views tabulated on iolaregister. com.

Even so, the good news far outweighed the bad.

Two long-developing stories over the year concerned a new Veterans Administration clinic coming to Iola in 2024 and the designation of Lehigh Portland State Park.

Reporter Vickie Moss first wrote about the VA clinic in February 2023, when officials cautiously announced that if they could find a location they would build the clinic sometime in the next few years. The Iola clinic will consolidate services currently provided in Garnett, Fort Scott and Chanute.

The idea was pitched as long ago as 2011, when we reported locals were working to bring a 68-bed Veterans Affairs longterm care home here. The facility was expected to create 70 jobs.

Former Iolan Carolyn McLean spearheaded the effort.

At the time, a VA clinic was viewed as a convenient addition.

McLean envisioned it would operate out of a new medical arts building on the grounds of what would be our new hospital, completed in 2013.

McLean envisioned Iola “the mecca of VA health care.”

Though her efforts did not yield results, perhaps they planted the seeds for the clinic.

Eight months after Moss’s initial story, word came in October confirming a new facility able to serve the area’s 860 veterans would open in spring of 2024, though no site had been identified.

Then on Dec. 22, VA officials announced the clinic will be stationed at 1408 East St., along with The Family Physicians and Iola Pharmacy drive-through.

For 12 years, we’ve been tracking this story. Glad to see it has a happy ending.

Susan Lynn Register editor THE IDEA to convert the lake and surrounding property that once belonged to the Lehigh Cement Company into a public park is a 50-year dream come true.

Lehigh Portland operated the cement plant from 1900 to 1970.

In 1971, it sold its property to Iola Industries, a group of local investors.

Initial efforts to develop the 138-acre quarry into a state fishing lake were rebuffed by Kansas Fish and Game commissioners in 1978. Admittedly, the site was not much to look at. The quarry had little water and the surrounding landscape had been stripped bare for the cement plant’s vast mining operation.

In the ensuing years, however, underground springs filled the abandoned quarry with sparkling clear water, making it an increasingly attractive property.

Lisse Regehr, center, introduces her niece, Moira Springer, to Sen. Kristen O’Shea, R-Topeka, after the Kansas Senate’s Committee on Commerce heard testimony on March 22 from Regehr and others concerning the merits of designating Lehigh Portland State Park. At right is John Leahy, Thrive’s director of trails. year. Over the next 40 years, the quarry became known as Elks Lake.

In 2018, Allen County Commissioners considered buying the lake and its surrounding 360 acres for $1.4 million, but ultimately deferred.

New efforts to convert the area

In May, members of the Kansas Native Plant Society used their spring meeting to explore the Lehigh Portland trails. The Society has a 5,000-strong membership.

In the 1980s, Iola officials tossed about developing it into a fishing lake, but deemed it too big of a responsibility.

As a way to save the area for future recreational development, Iola Industries began leasing the lake to the local Elks club for $1 a

In 2024, a new Veterans Administration clinic will be situated alongside The Family Physicians and Iola Pharmacy drive-through at 1408 East St. The VA clinic will an estimate 860 veterans in the surrounding area.

into a public space began in mid2022 with the help of Thrive Allen County, which is retained by Iola Industries for its economic development services for $20,000 a year.

This time, Iola Industries went big.

This time, the goal was for the site to become Kansas’ 29th state park.

This time, Iola Industries would donate the property, now valued at $2 million, betting the return on investment as a state park would be far greater than anything the group had attempted in its 68-year history, including landing Gates Manufacturing and Russell Stover Candies.

It took until the first of 2023 to be certain that officials with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks deemed the project feasible.

For starters, the lake is one of the few in the state with clear waters.

Secondly, the land comes with 14 miles of rail trails developed by Thrive over the past nine years.

From early February to April, the Register covered the possibilities of the Legislature approving the park, including two hearings by the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee at the state capitol, which required two votes, one on Feb. 20, and another on March 13. On March 20, the full House approved the measure by 114-9.

We were in Topeka again on March 22 when the Senate Committee on Commerce heard testimony on the bill.

For 15 days, proponents anxiously awaited the Senate to take action on the measure.

On the evening of April 6, the Kansas Senate approved the measure 35-5.

On April 19, Gov. Laura Kelly signed the legislation declaring Lehigh Portland State Park.

During the Topeka hearings, legislators frequently remarked on the enthusiasm of local supporters. Lobbyists had to vie us everyday citizens for seats at the hearings.

Legislators were inundated with hundreds of letters and emails of support for the state park.

“That means everything,” Lisse Regehr, Thrive CEO, said at the time. “It allowed our legislators to see the passion and support this project had. That’s what made this happen.”

MAINTAINING that energy is critical going forward.

Many see the state park as a pay-forward plan to benefit — and attract — generations to come.

It’s an opportunity not to waste.

Though there’s scant concrete evidence of what to expect in terms of structures and amenities at the park, it’s a given that in just a few short years we’ll have hordes of visitors coming our way.

Our challenge now is to make downtown Iola just as inviting as the park.

There’s no time to waste.

iolaregister.com

Saturday, December 30, 2023

The Iola Register

A7

Geffert graduates from Farm Bureau leadership program

Helping hands Iola’s Masonic Lodge donated several canned goods and a monetary gift to the Iola Community Pantry for the holidays. From left are Masons Wade Park, Jay Stogsdill, the Rev. Kenyon Kaehr of the Community Pantry and Mason Merrill Hodgden. COURTESY PHOTO

Allen County’s Kylee Geffert was one of nine graduates of Leadership KFB earlier this month at Kansas Farm Bureau’s annual meeting in Manhattan.

Leadership KFB is focused on creating influential thought leaders who choose to engage, create change and look for solutions in agriculture and their communities.

Graduates took part in six sessions over the course of 2023 to learn about their personal leadership style, gain communication skills and engage with industry leaders across the state.

Kylee Geffert, at right, is one of nine graduates of the Leadership KFB program. COURTESY PHOTO

Palestinians stream into Gaza town as Israel expands offensive RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Tens of thousands of Palestinians streamed into an already crowded town at the southernmost end of Gaza in recent days, according to the United Nations, fleeing Israel’s bombardment of the center of the strip, where hospital officials said dozens were killed Friday.

Israel’s unprecedented air and ground offensive against Hamas has displaced some 85% of the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million residents, sending swells of people seeking shelter in Israeli-designated safe areas that the military has nevertheless also bombed. That has left Palestinians with a harrowing sense that nowhere is safe in the tiny enclave.

People arrived in Rafah in trucks, in carts and on foot. Those who haven’t found space in the already overwhelmed shelters have built tents on the road-

sides.

“People are using any empty space to build shacks,” said Juliette Touma, director of communications at UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.

“Some are sleeping in their cars, and others are sleeping in the open.”

Israel’s widening campaign, which has already flattened much of the north, is now focused on the urban refugee camps of Bureij, Nuseirat and Maghazi in central Gaza, where Israeli warplanes and artillery have leveled buildings.

But fighting has not abated in the north, and the city of Khan Younis in the south, where Israel believes Hamas’ leaders are hiding, is also a smoldering battleground.

Militants have continued to fire rockets, mostly at Israel’s south.

The war has already killed over 21,500 Palestinians, most of them

women and children, and sparked a humanitarian crisis that has left a quarter of Gaza’s population starving.

An additional 187 Palestinians were killed across the Gaza Strip over the past day, Ashraf al-Qidra, the spokesman for the Health Ministry in the Hamasruled territory, said Friday. The ministry’s death toll does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Israeli officials have brushed off international calls for a ceasefire, saying it would amount to a victory for Hamas, which the military has promised to dismantle. It has also vowed to bring back more than 100 hostages still held by the militants after their Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel that triggered the war.

The assault killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

The military says 168 of its soldiers have been

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iolaregister.com

The Iola Register

NFL: Boy featured in video for ‘15 and Mahomies’ charity Continued from A1

their off-the-field contributions.

And, as a guest of Mahomes, Isaac will be in Las Vegas on Feb. 8 for Super Bowl LVIII. SO HOW did Isaac and Mahomes cross paths?

Kristi, a 1998 Iola High School graduate, explains.

“The key link here is Variety KC,” Kristi said.

Through the years, the Murdocks twice have acquired new basketball wheelchairs for Isaac — most recently earlier this year — with grant assistance from Variety KC, a non-profit charity based in Kansas City, where they live.

As part of the application process, the Murdocks included tidbits about Isaac’s background.

In December, Kristi received a call from Variety KC, asking if he’d be a part of a film package for one of the group’s charitable partners — 15 and the Mahomies Foundation.

Mahomes started his foundation not long after arriving in Kansas City, as a means to aid children’s charities throughout the Midwest.

“I realize how blessed I am to be able to go out and play football and follow my dreams,” Mahomes said in one film clip. “Not everyone gets those same opportunities. You don’t know which kid’s gonna impact the world in a positive way, and you want to make sure every kid has those opportunities.”

It was while recording a film segment for the charity that Isaac met Mahomes, who presented him with the Super Bowl tickets.

“Isaac is the best example of a leader he can be,” Mahomes said.

“He can play basketball.

Eli Murdock plays soccer.

Isaac Murdock, foreground, is shown with his twin brother Eli, and parents Ryan and Kristi. COURTESY PHOTO

He’s gonna be around his brother, having fun.

He’s gonna go out there and follow his dreams in any way possible.

Whatever his dream is, he’s gonna go out there and maximize it, and there’s gonna be a smile on his face the entire time.”

KRISTI, daughter of former Iolans Tim and Elaine Larson, attended Kansas State University before eventually winding her way to Kentucky.

She has lived in Kansas City since 2004. For the past five years, she’s worked for QTS Data Centers.

She married Ryan Murdock in 2006, and in 2010, gave birth to twin sons, Eli and Isaac.

The pregnancy was a difficult one.

Regular exams during the pregnancy revealed potential birth defects for both boys, to the point they ordered Kristi to bed rest at 23 weeks at Kansas City’s Research Medical Center.

The doctors’ concerns with Eli centered on an arterial septal defect in his heart.

“A lot of things go through your mind,” she said. “If we had to deliver early, Eli probably wasn’t going to survive.”

The defect healed on its own, and did not need surgery, after the twins were born in 2010.

Today, he’s your typical, hyper-active 13-year-old, with a passion for soccer.

His regional club team has already begun its spring season, and will include a trip to Dallas in late January for games.

Isaac’s story was a bit more complicated.

Even at birth, doctors were able to follow the problems with his spine and ribs, but it took nearly two years to determine its cause, spondylocostal dysostosis.

“He’s fine from the waist up, but he’s always had limited mobility, or

no mobility at all, with his legs.”

The condition required surgeries every six to 10 months, to insert rods to stabilize his spine and rib cage, and then to lengthen those rods as he grew.

“The first surgeries usually meant a night or two in the hospital,” Kristi said. “Later on, with advances, the last three or four times, it was an outpatient surgery.”

The good news came earlier this month, when Isaac’s doctor told him they suspected his spinal column has, for the most part, stopped growing, which means no more surgeries, unless one of the rods gets broken.

ISAAC and Eli’s fraternal bond is unbreakable, their mother noted.

“They’re always doing things together. They’d invent new games when they were little so that Isaac could do them.”

They’re also each other’s biggest fans.

When Eli is on the soccer field, Isaac is nearby cheering from the sidelines.

And when Isaac is on the basketball court, Eli has taken a keen liking to broadcasting his brother’s games.

“He’ll do livestream videos, and do the announcing, the vide-

ography,” Kristi said.

“It’s one of his favorite things to do.”

About the only time they aren’t together is when each has his own competition going on simultaneously.

“Some weekends there’s a conflict,” Kristi said.

Isaac is a member of the Kansas City Kings, a youth wheelchair basketball program that plays against teams from across the country.

He started playing at around age 6, first with wheelchair rugby.

“It was really just seeking out sports opportunities,” Kristi said.

Not much later, he found the Kings, which draws kids from as much as three hours away.

As an aside, Isaac has been teammates with Colony’s Theo Church for years, although Theo has since aged out of Isaac’s Prep League squad. At 13, Isaac soon will bump up a class, to the varsity level, once he reaches his 14th birthday, so the pair will be teammates once again.

“It’s an all-out competitive sport,” Kristi said. “And there’s a lot more to it than just getting the ball up and down the court.”

That’s perhaps Isaac’s greatest strength, on and off the court.

“He really is a great team leader,” Kristi

said. “When we have new kids come into the program, he takes time to welcome them to the team to get to know them. What I see as a parent, is all of the other kids are drawn to him. He does a great job of mentoring them, teaching them tactics and strategies.”

While high school is still a year away, Isaac figures he’ll target a college that offers wheelchair basketball as a club sport. Several prominent schools, including Mizzou, Arizona, Auburn, Illinois, Alabama, SMSU, University of Wisconsin Whitewater, and University of Texas Arlington offer such programs.

One of his dreams is to coach basketball, Kristi said. Oh, and he has a keen interest in engineering as well.

His trip to the Super Bowl will come a week after Isaac competes in a wheelchair basketball game in Atlanta.

It just so happens that Atlanta’s NBA team will host the Phoenix Suns, Isaac’s favorite sports franchise.

“He’s been a Suns fan for as long as I can remember,” she said.

“He’s a pretty lucky kid.

He’ll get to see a Phoenix game one weekend, and the Super Bowl the next.”

THE HOLIDAY season meant the Murdock family hosted the Larsons last weekend.

Tim and Elaine Larson now live in Wichita.

She is retired, but Tim continues to practice law, as he did for years in Iola.

Kristi noted the Larsons also were able to catch up with several Iolans while in Kansas City for lunch.

“Iola has always been a special place for us,” she said.

Huge surf pounds West Coast and Hawaii, flooding some low-lying areas LOS ANGELES (AP) — Powerful surf rolled onto beaches on the West Coast and Hawaii on Thursday as a big swell generated by the stormy Pacific Ocean pushed toward shorelines, causing localized flooding.

Forecasters urged people to stay off rocks and jetties, and to not turn their backs to the ocean because of the danger of “sneaker waves” — occasional much bigger waves that can run far up the sand and wash someone off a beach.

A high surf warning

for parts of Northern California said waves would range from 28 to 33 feet and up to 40 feet at some locations, the National Weather Service said, adding that there were reports of flooding in low-lying coastal areas.

In Aptos on the north end of Monterey Bay, surf overran the beach and swept into a parking lot, leaving the area strewn with debris. Santa Cruz County issued warnings for people in several coastal areas to be ready to evacuate.

“Mother Nature’s angry,” said Eve Krammer,

an Aptos resident for several years. “I mean these waves are gnarly.

They’re huge.”

The same area was battered by the ocean last January as the West Coast was slammed by numerous atmospheric rivers.

“I feel for the people that are down low here,” said Jeff Howard, also an Aptos resident.

While not quite as huge, the waves along Southern California were also described as hazardous, with life-threatening rip currents. Nonetheless, surfers couldn’t resist.

RECONNECT AND REDISCOVER! Update your information today!

Patience was key, according to Alex Buford, 27, who was catching waves just north of Manhattan Beach on the Los Angeles County coast.

“I was waiting for awhile because the waves were really sick, and they’re kinda hard to get into even though I have a really big board,” he said. “Just waited for a good one and I got it and it was a long one.

Pretty big. It was sick.”

In Hawaii, the weather service forecast surf rising to 30 to 40 feet along north-facing shores and 18 to 22 feet along west-facing shores of five islands.

Professional Hawaii surfer Sheldon Paishon was getting ready to surf Thursday morning at Makaha, a world-famous surfing beach on Oahu’s west side.

Paishon, 30, has been surfing at various

spots around Oahu this week, taking advantage of waves during this week’s high surf warning in effect till Friday morning.

“It’s always big waves in the winter time in Hawaii,” he said.

He warned that novice surfers should check with lifeguards before heading into the water and “make sure you got some people around you and stay safe.”

May this upcoming year unfold more joys and special moments to all our readers.

As the seasons change, so do our lives and journeys.

To stay connected with the heartbeat of our Allen family, we invite alumni, family and friends to update their contact information.

2024

In observance of New Year’s, we will close at 2 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 29 and remain closed until 8 a.m. on Tuesday, January 2.

Don’t miss out on our upcoming events.

Help us keep you informed!

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We’d love to hear from you!

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Sports Daily

B

The Iola Register

Saturday, December 30, 2023

Prep standouts earn state honors

Taylor Swift cheers before the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos Oct. 12 in Kansas City, Mo. GETTY IMAGES/DAVID EULITT/TNS

2023: A year unlike any other

By PAUL NEWBERRY The Associated Press

In a year when “Everything Everywhere All at Once” dominated the Oscars, Taylor Swift took that theme to a whole new level before 2023 was done.

We’re not even talking about the mammoth tour or the blockbuster movie or the overwrought fan base.

This was The Year of Traylor.

When Swift hooked up with Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce, the world’s two most unstoppable forces — Swifties and NFL aficionados — were suddenly joined as one.

We’ll likely never be the same again.

With that in mind, the 11th annual Newby Awards would like to extend a farfetched but sincere invitation to the ultimate power couple.

If y’all can find the time to attend our ceremony, we’ll See 2023 | Page B7

Humboldt High’s Sam Hull continued to rake in postseason honors for his work on the football field this fall.

The senior receiver, who led the Cubs with 814 yards receiving and nine touchdowns through the air, averaging more than 15 yards a catch, earned consensus all-state Class 2A recognition from the Wichita Eagle, Sports in Kansas and the Kansas State High School Activities Association.

Hull was joined on the first-team all-state squad by teammate Garren Goodner. The seniors led the Cubs to the Class 2A state quarterfinals before bowing out to eventual semifinalist Sabetha.

Hull also rushed for 128 yards and two more touchdowns. He also was dynamic on the defensive side, racking up 58 tackles, four sacks, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

SEVERAL OTHER standouts earned all-state honorable mention for their work, including a quintet of Iola High Mustangs in Class 3A. Senior quarterback Landon Weide, who threw for 1,100 yards and 14 touchdowns and ran for 519 yards and five scores, earned honorable mention from all three outlets, as did senior lineman Danny Boeken, linebacker Ben Kerr and defensive back Tre Wilson.

Boeken was often½ the catalyst for Iola’s offense, with head coach David Daugharthy frequently gearing running plays behind the burly senior.

Kerr, meanwhile, led the Mustangs with 59 tackles, including four tackles for loss, from the linebacker position.

Wilson, a sophomore, wound up with 54 tackles, ranking second on

the team, with three interceptions and two forced fumbles.

Drayden Reiter earned honorable mention from Sports in Kansas for his work at tight end, a remarkable feat because he only started playing the position at midseason.

While used primarily as a blocker, the senior also became a key receiver for the Mustangs, catching eight passes on the season with a touchdown.

Sam Hull PHOTO BY MIKE MYER

A TRIO of Cub players earned allSee ALL-STATE | Page B3

And then there were four: Picking the CFP semifinals

By RALPH D. RUSSO The Associated Press

The final four-team College Football Playoff promises to be one of the closest in the 10-year history of the event. The combiThe final four-team College Football Playoff promises to be one of the closest in the 10-year history of the event.

The combined spread of the two New Year’s Day semifinals sits at six points, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. No. 1 Michigan is a 1½-point favorite against fourth-seeded Alabama in the Rose Bowl. No. 3 Texas is a 4½-point favorite over No. 2 Washington in the Sugar Bowl.

That’s the smallest com-

bined line for the CFP semifinals since the 2017 playoff, when Georgia beat Oklahoma in overtime at the Rose Bowl as a 2½-point favorite and Alabama was favored by 3½ against Clemson in the Sugar Bowl and rolled over the Tigers.

The matchups that will decide each CFP semifinal, with the winners advancing

to the Jan. 8 championship game in Houston.

ROSE BOWL

Alabama’s offense and quarterback Jalen Milroe have been a work in progress this season. Recent Crimson Tide teams have paired eventual first-round draft See PICKS | Page B6

Freshman lifts K-State to Pop-Tarts Bowl victory

By PHILLIP ROSSMAN-REICH The Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Avery Johnson threw for two touchdowns and ran for one, DJ Giddens rushed for 151 yards and scored twice, and Kansas State beat No. 19 North Carolina State 2819 in the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Thursday night.

Johnson, a freshman making his first start after Will Howard entered the transfer portal, threw for 178 yards, rushed for 71 and directed a 15-play, 72-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter that put the game away and closed out a solid season for coach Chris Klieman’s Wildcats (9-4).

“We knew we needed to finish the drive strong and See K-STATE | Page B8

Kansas State Wildcats quarterback Avery Johnson (2) runs the ball into the end zone for a touchdown during the Pop-Tarts Bowl against the NC State Wolfpack Thursday. ORLANDO SENTINEL/WILLIE J. ALLEN/TNS

B2 Saturday, December 30, 2023

C ACCALENDAR HUMBOLDT Friday, basketball @ Pittsburg-St. Mary’s Colgan Saturday, Jan. 6, wrestling @ Burlington invitational

IOLA Tuesday, basketball hosts Fort Scott Friday, basketball hosts Osawatomie (HC) Saturday, Jan. 6, wrestling @ Burlington invitational

MARMATON VALLEY

ACC CREST

Tuesday, basketball @ Uniontown Friday, basketball @ Oswego

Tuesday, basketball @ Jayhawk-Linn Friday, basketball @ Altoona-Midway

SOUTHERN

The Iola Register

iolaregister.com

Star basketball player charged with rape

By ANDREW SELIGMAN and HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH The Associated Press

Illinois suspended basketball player Terrence Shannon Jr. on Thursday after he was charged with rape for an alleged incident that happened when the football team played at Kansas in September.

The school suspended Shannon from “all team activities, effective immediately,” a day after the Douglas (Kansas) County District Attorney issued a warrant for his arrest.

Chicago-area attorney Mark Sutter said Shannon is “innocent.”

Prosecutors in Douglas County charged Shannon on Dec. 5 with rape or an alternative count of sexual battery. The complaint says the accuser was born in 2005.

The rape charge carries a sentence of 12 to 54 years in prison, while the battery charge carries a fine of up to $2,500 and up to a year in jail.

Cheryl Cadue, public information officer for the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office, said the office was limited in what it could say about the case because it was pending.

She directed questions to the sheriff’s office.

The probable cause affidavit was not immediately released.

The alleged incident happened when Shannon attended the Illini’s football game at Kansas on Sept. 8. He was not part of the school’s traveling party.

Shannon traveled to Lawrence, Kansas, on Thursday and turned himself in to author-

ities. He was released on a $50,000 bond, and the school said he was returning to Champaign. Sheriff’s office spokesman George Diepenbrock said his booking photo would not be released.

“Since September, when these allegations surfaced, Terrence has cooperated with law enforcement throughout the investigation, declaring his innocence from the beginning,” Sutter said in a statement. “Now, several months later, my office learned that formal charges were filed against him yesterday in Lawrence, KS. In less than 24 hours, my client responded, and he voluntarily surrendered to local authorities for processing and release. Terrence is innocent of these

charges, and he intends to take his case to trial.”

Illinois said it has been aware since late September that police in Lawrence were investigating Shannon but had “yet to receive actionable information” until Wednesday.

“The University and DIA (Division of Intercollegiate Athletics) have shown time and again that we have zero tolerance for sexual misconduct,” athletic director Josh Whitman said in a statement. “At the same time, DIA policy affords student-athletes appropriate levels of due process based on the nature and severity of the allegations. We will rely on that policy and our prior experiences to manage this situation appropriately for the University and the involved parties.”

COFFEY COUNTY

Arizona forces 6 turnovers, storms past OU

Friday, basketball @ Lebo

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Gunner Maldonado returned a fumble 87 yards for a touchdown and also had an interception as No. 14 Arizona forced six turnovers in a 3824 comeback victory over No. 12 Oklahoma on Thursday night in the Valero Alamo Bowl.

Arizona scored 25 straight points to close the game.

“We were expecting a battle,” Wildcats coach Jedd Fisch said. “There was nothing going to be easy even though we went up 13-0 in the first quarter. The guys just kept competing.”

Maldonado’s fumble return with 2:38 remaining in the third quarter was a bowl record. The play was set up when Arizona safety Dalton Johnson hit Jalil Farooq following a short reception and the ball flew into Maldonado’s hands.

“That was just an amazing play from Dalton,” said Maldonado, who was selected the defensive MVP of the game. “He just had a great break on the ball, great hit on the guy, ball came

ACC

Saturday, Jan. 6., women’s basketball hosts Crowder, 2 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 6, men’s basketball hosts Sunrise Christian Academy, 4 p.m.

THE UNIVERSITY OF

KANSAS

Saturday, Dec. 30, basketball vs. Wichita State @ Kansas City, 3 p.m., ESPN2 Saturday, Jan. 6, basketball vs. TCU, 1 p.m., CBS

Tuesday, vs. Chicago State Cougars, 7 p.m., Big 12 Now Network Saturday, Jan. 6, vs. UCF, 5 p.m., ESPN2/U

WICHITA

STATE UNIVERSITY Saturday, Dec. 30, basketball vs. Kansas @ Kansas City, 3 p.m., ESPN2 Thursday, vs. North Texas, 7 p.m., ESPN 2

Celtics rally, extend Pistons’ streak BOSTON (AP) — Hoping to avoid a 28th straight loss that would match the longest losing streak in NBA history, the Detroit Pistons forced overtime against the league-best Celtics on Thursday night before Boston recovered to win 128-122.

Despite making it to overtime for the first time in the skid, Detroit matched the “Trust the Process” Philadelphia 76ers with 28 consecutive losses. The Pistons need a victory at home against Toronto on Saturday night to avoid breaking the record.

Detroit opened a season-high 21-point lead in the first half only to trail 106-100 in the final two minutes of regulation. Jaden Ivey scored six straight points to erase the deficit, then Bojan Bogdanovic made a putback with 4.6 seconds left to send it to OT.

But Derrick White scored 10 of his 23 points in the extra period and Kristaps Porzingis had six in the overtime — dunking after a full-court pass from Jayson Tatum and then sinking a pair of free throws to make it 125-117. Porzingis had 35 points — 11 in the fourth quarter, and eight of those during a 10-0 run that turned a four-point deficit lead into a 106100 lead.

Tatum had 31 points 10 assists for Boston, which won its fourth straight and its ninth in the last 10 games. Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 31 points and nine assists. Ivey had 22 points and 10 rebounds and Jalen Duren had 15 points and 14 rebounds.

The Pistons set the NBA record for most consecutive losses in a season Tuesday night with their 27th in a row, a 118-

112 loss to Brooklyn. The Sixers’ streak stretched over two seasons, 201415 and 2015-16.

NUGGETS 142, GRIZZLIES 105 DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 26 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists on a perfect shooting night and Denver had its highest-scoring game of the season to rout short-handed Memphis.

Jokic made 11 field goals, including a 3-pointerm and three throws without a miss.

He has 11 triple-doubles this season and 116 overall.

Memphis played without Ja Morant because of an illness. Morant missed his first game since returning from a 25-game suspension at the start of the season. The Grizzlies had won all four games in which Morant has played since making his season debut.

out and my teammates just surrounded me and blocked as hard as they could all the way down and we got in the end zone.”

Noah Fifita threw for 354 yards and two touchdowns for Arizona (103). The Wildcats closed with seven straight victories as they depart the Pac-12 to join the Big 12 next season. Leaving the Big 12 to join the Southeastern Conference, Oklahoma also finished 10-3.

Wildcats senior Jacob Cowing, the offensive MVP, had seven receptions for 152 yards and two touchdowns. Tetairoa McMillan added 10 receptions for 160 yards for Arizona.

Oklahoma freshman Jackson Arnold threw for 361 yards and two touchdowns, but also had three interceptions in his first career start.

Arnold started in place of Dillon Gabriel, who is transferring to Oregon after throwing for 3,660 yards and 30 touchdowns this season.

“Those mistakes were on me,” Arnold said.

“I’m going to take the full blame for that. I’ve just got to be better. I thought they put me in great positions to win tonight, but lack of execution was the problems we had tonight.”

Gavin Sawchuk ran for 130 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries for the Sooners.

Arnold opened the

game 3 for 8 with two interceptions before settling in behind the running game.

With Arizona holding a 13-0 lead, Sawchuk scored on an 18-yard rushing touchdown.

Oklahoma took a 1413 lead when Arnold scrambled to his left to escape heavy pressure and tossed a 10-yard pass to a sliding Nic Anderson in the left corner of the end zone.

The touchdown was set up by a 62-yard run by Sawchuk and 19-yard carry by Arnold.

Arnold’s second pass of the game was intercepted by freshman safety Genesis Smith, who jumped the route at the 35yard line for his first career pick.

“We’ve got to be a little better around him, help him,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said. “I don’t want to speak the obvious, but

you’re not going to win when you lose the turnover margin 6-1.”

Fifita tossed a 35yard touchdown pass to Cowing on the ensuing play to give Arizona a 10-0 lead with 4:27 into the game.

Arnold’s second interception of the first quarter came when Maldonado ran from the right hashmark to step in front of the receiver and then tapped both feet inbounds.

Arizona had 181 yards in the first quarter to Oklahoma’s 36.

After finishing 1-11 in 2021, the Wildcats end the season with a victory in their first bowl appearance since 2017.

“There were some dark times that first year,” Johnson said.

“This win means everything. We came a long way. This whole team, this whole staff, this whole facility deserves it.”

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The Iola Register

Saturday, December 30, 2023

B3

All-state: Area high school gridiron standouts honored Continued from B1

state honorable mention.

Quarterback Blake Ellis earned recognition as quarterback from the Wichita Eagle, as an athlete from Sports in Kansas and as a back from KSHSAA. He threw for 1,558 yards, while rushing for 1,212 with a combined 33 touchdowns rushing or passing.

Running back Cole Mathes was recognized by all three outlets as

well. He rushed for nine touchdowns and 784 yards. He also had 12 receptions for 136 yards and a touchdown.

Kyler Isbell was recognized by both the Eagle and KSHSAA for his work at linebacker. His 93 tackles led the Cubs.

He also pulled in an interception.

Valley had four players earn honorable mention allstate recognition.

Quarterback Brayden MARMATON

BUSINESS

Lawson, defensive back Jaedon Granere and linebacker Brevyn Campbell were recognized by the Eagle, Sports in Kansas and KSHSAA. Lawson threw for 1,474 yards and 30 touchdowns and rushed for 645 yards with eight more scores.

Granere accumulated 43 tackles to go with a team-high three interceptions. He also recovered a fumble and forced two others.

At linebacker, Campbell led the Wildcats with 106 tackles, nearly 12 per contest, with five tackles for loss. He also had an interception, fumble recovery and forced fumble.

Senior lineman Daniel Fewins earned honorable mention from both the Wichita Eagle and KSHSAA. CREST High’s Jerry Rodriguez, senior defensive back, earned honorable mention

from all three outlets.

He had 43 tackles, eight pass deflections, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and a defensive touchdown.

Lancer Lineman Logan Kistner earned honorable mention by the Eagle and KSHSAA. On the defensive side, he had 53 tackles, a sack, four deflections, a forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

Southern Coffey County High’s Xavier Cross as a linebacker from all three outlets. Meanwhile, the Wichita Eagle recognized Yates Center High’s Blake Morrison as a specialist. Statistics for either player were unavailable.

ALSO earning hon-

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TRUTH

Newspapers put truth front and center

Prosecutor: Player under investigation a no-show SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco failed to show up Thursday for a meeting with a prosecutor who is investigating him for an alleged relationship with a minor.

Prosecutor Olga Diná Llaverías said the investigation will continue regardless of Franco’s no-show. She waited for the All-Star player and his lawyers at her office, but they didn’t appear.

Dominican prosecutors and police showed up on Tuesday at a Franco property in Baní, his hometown about 37 miles southwest

of Santo Domingo. They did not find the 22-year-old player to request he appear for testimony.

Franco’s U.S.-based lawyer, Jay Reisinger, declined comment.

The Dominican Republic’s prosecutors’ office said on Aug. 14 that Franco was under investigation because of postings on his social media channels suggesting he had a relationship with a minor.

The Associated Press has not been able to verify the reported posts.

Franco’s no-show could be because his current lawyers may not have been summoned for the meeting.

The AP had access to a document in which lawyers Luz Díaz Rodríguez, Rosalina Trueba, Cristian Cabrera and Manuel Rodríguez were dismissed by Franco.

Franco was placed on administrative leave by Major League Baseball in August under its the joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy with the players’ association. He was paid and received service time while on administrative leave. There is no timetable for a conclusion of MLB’s investigation and whether the results of the probe might lead to discipline by MLB.

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco was summoned to appear with his lawyers in a prosecutor’s office in the Dominican Republic Thursday but did not show up. TAMPA BAY TIMES/JEFFEREE WOO/TNS

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The Iola Register

Daughter-in-law overreacted, right?

Carolyn Hax is away.

The following letters first appeared Jan. 15, 2010, and Sept. 2, 2009.

Dear Carolyn: Both of our sons came home for Thanksgiving with their families. We put up our older son and his family in a hotel and had our younger son, his new (second) wife and their 5-month-old baby stay in our basement guest room.

How I wish I had switched! On Friday morning, the new wife said she had bug bites. I said that twice in the past I had bites also and thought they were from bedbugs.

We had done some internet searching and gone to my dermatologist and discovered bedbugs are not medically dangerous and not the result of uncleanliness. We gave her hydrocortisone and sympathized with her.

That evening, they moved into the hotel.

Our son said his wife was absolutely adamant that they get out of our home as soon as possible. She has the reputation of being a “strong” woman, and she earns a very high income, so she can always get her way.

My husband and I felt embarrassed and disappointed that she reacted that way, but we are aware that a first-time, 45-yearold mother probably had mother-bear hormones at play, and we don’t blame our son too much for giving in to her demands.

But what did that accomplish?

She washed everything they brought in hot

CRYPTOQUOTES GDQZ JPLCZJ

Tell Me About It Carolyn Hax

water, as did I with everything downstairs.

My husband thinks she threw away their suitcases. We will buy plastic cases for the bed, but what else can we do?

Our relationship with her is significantly impaired, and she wants me to tell her she did the right thing. I think she overreacted. Should I just chalk this up to normal in-law conflict and expect time to heal the wounds, or does this portend more trouble down the road?

— Anonymous Anonymous: Expect more trouble, but not because of your daughter-in-law.

Your contempt for her is breathtaking.

Look at your modifiers: “new (second)” wife, “the new” wife, “absolutely” adamant, “very” high income, “always” able to “get her way,” “first-time, 45-year-old” mother, “mother-bear” hormones.

Maybe you preferred Wife 1, or someone 29, or “traditional.” But, oh well! You got a bride with money, mileage and professional chops.

Unless she’s oblivious, your contempt registered — and no doubt escalated the bug drama.

Either find a way to like her, find a way to respect her or get used to serious tension.

While you’re at it, summon a little respect for the position you put this family in.

Bedbugs may not be “medically dangerous,” but they’re a repulsive, bloodsucking, timesucking, money-sucking nuisance. I hit the internet, too, and I bet she did the same.

Her “overreactions” populate lists of recom-

mended precautions in the event of exposure (see, “right thing”). And it’s still possible the family brought home some skeevy hitchhikers despite their precautions, which could mean costly and disruptive professional pest control.

I know you meant no harm. But now you’re blaming her for the fallout, and you’re making that mistake with ill will and forethought.

Instead: Call your son; admit you were cavalier about the possible infestation; apologize for exposing them to a headache they don’t need, especially not with a baby; offer to pay for any treatment their home may need; and get your home inspected by a reputable specialist. You can’t expect his wife to drop her dukes until you drop your own.

Dear Carolyn: After several decades of marriage, my parents talked about divorce and my father moved out. Now they both say they really want to reconcile.

I recently came across some evidence that strongly suggests that he’s seeing someone else. I have a fractured relationship with my father anyway, and, since finding this, I don’t even want to see him. But at the same time, my mom thinks they are trying to rebuild their marriage.

What should I do with the evidence? — Va. Va.: Nothing. You may have your own motives for wanting to subvert this reconciliation, and meddling is best saved for disinterested parties.

Plus, your parents separated “after several decades”; it’s a natural impulse to use separation to seek out something precluded by marriage, anything from privacy to new passion.

Let your parents be human, and let them find their own way.

Saturday, December 30, 2023

B5

Report: Gazans faced with famine CAIRO (AP) — The international aid group Mercy Corps is warning about famine and disease affecting Palestinians in Gaza as Israel and Hamas continue their war.

Kate Phillips-Barrasso, vice president of Mercy Corps, said that relentless fighting and insufficient humanitarian aid were compounding the crisis.

She said the amount of lifesaving goods being allowed inside Gaza is a drop in the ocean and has not yet increased to the level necessary to meet Gazans’ basic and critical needs, even after Israel opened its Kerem Shalom border crossing.

She said half a million people face “catastrophic hunger and starvation.”

ZITS

by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

BEETLE BAILEY

by Mort Walker

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE

by Chris Browne

AY D P U G Z U GY Z J G D CW D A U G Z T Z KY U D

BLONDIE

by Young and Drake

MUTTS

by Patrick McDonell

MARVIN

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HI AND LOIS

by Chance Browne

RDPZ, N G L J Q ZY L H E , “LU NLCC FZ G K Q Q L ZY . ” — K C AY ZW C DYW U Z H HT J D H Yesterday’s Cryptoquote: Let all the failures of your past year be your best guide in the new year.

— Mehmet Murat ildan

B6 Saturday, December 30, 2023

The Iola Register

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Picks: College Football Playoff semifinal predictions Continued from B1

pick quarterbacks with a bevy of star receivers to create explosive offenses.

This isn’t that. Alabama is 30th in the country in yards per play (6.36) and has allowed 43 sacks, a woeful 123rd nationally, while throwing only 302 passes (122nd nationally).

“The big question will be which Alabama offensive line shows up because the one we saw against Georgia (in the SEC championship game) was dominant.

There have been times this year where they have been a flat-out liability,” Cole Cubelic, who works as an analyst for ESPN and the SEC Network, said on the AP Top 25 College Football Podcast.

Michigan doesn’t have one player up front defensively that stands out as a star — the way Alabama All-America edge rusher Dallas Turner does — but they are deep and committed to stopping the run, often with eight players close to the line of scrimmage.

Michigan will want to put the game in Milroe’s hands. Early in the season that seemed like the way to beat Alabama, whose only loss was by 10 points at home to Texas. Now, less so.

Milroe is 6-foot-2, 220 pounds with speed and a powerful arm.

He is a player with difference-making skills, but his game has holes, especially as a midrange passer. Milroe will miss some open throws, but he has thrown only six interceptions and Alabama has lost only four fumbles.

Tide offensive coordinator Tommy Rees doesn’t call many designed runs for Milroe.

He might need to dip into the bag in the Rose Bowl.

“They’re going to

Players and coaches from Texas, clockwise from upper left, Alabama, Washington and Michigan celebrate winning their respective conference championships. The four teams will square off in the College Football Playoff semifinals Monday. TNS

have to do that to have some success on the ground,” said Mike Kuchar, the co-founder of the X&O Labs football research company.

“I don’t see them lining up and coming downhill on Michigan’s defense at all.”

Michigan allowed 4.28 yards per play, fourth in the nation.

The numbers suggest an elite defense, but beware: The Wolverines saw few potent offenses in the Big Ten. On offense, Michigan is run-heavy and mistake-free. The Wolverines have committed only seven turnovers.

But the Wolverines’ running game fell off this season. After averaging well over 5 yards per carry the last two years, they are down to 4.27. Blake Corum scored 24 touchdowns, tops in the nation, but

Shiffrin wins in rout LIENZ, Austria (AP) — Mikaela Shiffrin always seems to raise the bar even further when it’s the last World Cup race of the year.

The American star finished 2023 with an eye-catching performance even by her standards, winning a slalom race by a huge margin of 2.34 seconds on Friday for her 93rd career victory.

It was Shiffrin’s seventh victory out of her last eight starts in the traditional year-ending slalom, which alternates between the Austrian resorts of Lienz and Semmering.

“The last couple of years, we really built from the beginning of the season to this point, and somehow it clicks, I guess,” said Shiffrin, who missed this race in 2015 with a knee injury, and in 2021 after testing positive for the coronavirus.

However, there’s no secret to her peaking between Christmas and New Year.

“In skiing, it’s always just like: be relentless with the

work, do the job,” the American five-time overall World Cup champion said.

Shiffrin posted the fastest times by far in both runs on the Schlossberg course to finish ahead of runner-up Lena Duerr of Germany. Swiss skier Michelle Gisin was 0.11 further back in third.

“Today was a very special day for me. I felt perfect on the skis, so I’m super happy,” said Shiffrin, who also won Thursday’s giant slalom on the same hill. “It’s a very nice feeling right now.”

Friday’s result was the seventh-biggest winning margin ever in a women’s World Cup slalom. Shiffrin set four of those other marks, including the record of 3.07 seconds from a race in Aspen, Colorado, in November 2015.

Shiffrin’s main rival in slalom, Olympic champion Petra Vlhova, finished 3.24 seconds behind in fifth.

The Slovakian had beaten Shiffrin in a night slalom in France last week.

his average per carry was 4.72 yards after being over 5.0 the previous two season.

Michigan will also be without All-American guard Zak Zinter, who broke his left leg during the Ohio State game. The Wolverines have had some pass protection issues off the edge, too.

What coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore’s team has shown is a knack for being able to run when they needed to most in big games against Penn State and Ohio State.

Alabama hasn’t locked down the run as well as most of Nick Saban’s best teams (3.7 yards per carry against, 31st in the country), but nobody is going to bully the Crimson Tide.

“It’s going to take some creativity. It’s going to take some preand post-snap movement, whether that’s split-zone, jet-motion, different things like that,” Cubelic said. “And Michigan carries some of that, but they don’t really make a living on that. What they do extremely well is formation you.”

Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy is rarely asked to carry the offense. The third-year player has NFL tools, both with his arm and legs.

In a game where yards are likely to be hard to get and points at a premium (the over/under is 44.5), he will need to be at his most efficient against an Alabama secondary that features two All-America defensive backs in Kool-aid McK-

instry and Terrion Arnold.

PREDICTION: Alabama 23-20.

SUGAR BOWL

The nightcap of the CFP semifinal doubleheader figures to a very different game than Alabama-Michigan.

Washington and Texas both have top-15 offenses, talented quarterbacks in Michael Penix Jr. and Quinn Ewers, multiple future NFL draft picks to throw to and problems stopping the pass.

That’s a recipe for points.

The one group that stands out on defense: The Texas defensive line, which features All-American T’Vondre Sweat and second-team All-American Byron Murphy II. “There’s not a lot of teams in the country that have the interior guys like Texas has, specifically Murphy and Sweat,” Cubelic said.

Part of the reason teams attack the Longhorns secondary, especially their inexperienced safeties, is because they mostly give up on the running game. Texas is allowing 80.5 yards per game and 2.87 per carry, top-five in the country in each.

Washington counters with an offensive line that was underappreciated much of the season, but ended up winning the Joe Moore Award as the best in the country. Led by second-team All-America tackle Troy Fautanu, the Huskies allowed only 11 sacks while throwing the ball 37 times per game.

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Washington doesn’t run it in volume, but coach Kalen DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb seemed to evolve as opponents adjusted to try to take away the deep throws the Huskies love. Running back Dillon Johnson’s role in the offense expanded later in the season, with Penix often lining up under center.

“They have relied on (Johnson) the last few weeks, and he’s been very good downhill,” Kuchar said. “And I think their confidence is growing every week.

I think he’s taking a lot of pressure off Penix.”

Stops could be hard to come by for the Huskies, but Texas coach Steve Sarkisian’s redzone offense has been

a problem much of the season. The Longhorns have scored touchdowns on 49% of their opportunities, 120th in the country.

Then again, tightening up near the goal line hasn’t been a strength for Washington’s defense. The Huskies have allowed 31 touchdowns in 44 redzone trips (70.45%).

Washington has scored touchdowns on 70% of its red-zone trips, 19th in the country. But when the field shrinks, Sweat and Murphy become even tougher to handle. Texas is 10th in the nation in red-zone defense, allowing touchdowns on only 46% of opportunities.

PREDICTION: Texas 35-28.

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Saturday, December 30, 2023

B7

2023: Looking back at a memorable year in sports Continued from B1

guarantee a Couple of the Year statuette. Two of them, in fact, one for each of you.

This is no small gesture, considering our combined budget for the previous 10 Newby Awards was exactly zero dollars. We’ll even arrange an actual ceremony for the two of you to attend.

Clearly, we’re not kidding around here.

But just in case Swift and Kelce turn down our incredibly generous offer, here’s a few more honorees from our annual look at everything from the ridiculous to the infuriating to the exalted over the past 12 months in sports.

BOBBY BONILLA MEMORIAL CUP

One of the most cherished days of the year is July 1, when we all get to celebrate Bobby Bonilla receiving another $1,193,248.20 check from the New York Mets.

Never mind that Bonilla is now 60 years old and hasn’t played a baseball game in more than two decades. This is a storied tradition that began in 2011 and will continue through 2035.

But Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani is taking the deferred payment plan to whole new levels.

Ohtani agreed to a 10-year-long, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers that allows the club to put all but $2 million of his annual payout on layaway until the contract is up.

Starting in 2034, Ohtani will receive the remainder of his annual payout in $68 million installments each July 1 through 2043.

In other words, when Bobby Bonilla Day finally runs its course, we’ll still be able to continue celebrating the glory of the deferred payment with Shohei Ohtani Day. CAN’T TELL THE TEAMS WITHOUT A PROGRAM

By the time Ohtani receives his last check from the Dodgers, we can only presume that college football realignment will have engulfed most of the solar system.

“Hello, college football fans, welcome to today’s Big Ten clash between the University of Mars and Saturn State College.”

Eschewing tradition, geographical logic and any concern for the athletes who are also supposed to be students, college football continued its march into the super conference abyss.

The Big Ten is growing to 18 members stretching from coast to coast. The Big 12 has gone from nearly down and out to 16 schools.

Texas and Oklahoma are joining the Southeastern Conference. And the Atlantic Coast Conference is adding two schools just a few miles from the Pacific Ocean, plus a new member in Dallas that presumably came aboard merely to provide a convenient spot in the middle of the country for its disparate membership to meet up.

And the storied Pac12, which bills itself

The pitch clock rule ticks down in the background as the Atlanta Braves play host to the Cincinnati Reds at Truist Park April 12 in Atlanta. THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION/MIGUEL MARTINEZ/TNS

The Pac-12 will be down to two schools in 2024, Washington State and Oregon State universities. as the Conference of Champions? It went kaput, reduced to only two members after everyone else fled the coop.

PELÉ REDUX

won a World Series title for the third year in a row — all with different teams.

This season, he was part of a Texas Rangers club that won the first championship in the franchise’s 62-year history.

Smith will be facing really steep odds for his fourth straight title after signing with the Kansas City Royals, who went 56-106 in 2023.

After a two-year hiatus, the 26-year-old Biles returned to the mat to claim her record eighth U.S. national championship and a sixth world all-around title.

“Whenever I was 19, it was the end of the world if I had bad days,” she said. “Now I’m like, ‘It’s OK, it’s just gymnastics and I’ll come back tomorrow and we’ll get it started again.’”

COMEBACK OF THE YEAR

STILL A LONG WAY TO GO

Simone Biles can contort her body like no one else on the planet.

But her greatest move yet was the way she took on mental health challenges in the aftermath of the Tokyo Olympics.

When Spain captured the Women’s World Cup soccer title, the celebratory moment wound up exposing the challenges that female athletes still face most every day.

The country’s top soc-

cer official, Luis Rubiales, kissed star player Jenni Hermoso on the lips — against her will — during the trophy ceremony.

Rubiales defiantly claimed he had done nothing wrong, provoking a players’ rebellion that eventually forced him out. Even so, the fight for gender equality carries on with no end in sight.

IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HUDDLE?

Aaron Rodgers continues to masquerade as a medical expert after an Achilles injury on the fourth play with his new team brought a jarring end to his season.

The New York Jets quarterback, who you

might remember gave a thumbs-down to COVID-19 vaccines, claimed bone broth helped him make a much-quicker-than-expected recovery.

We prefer to award a Newby to the surgeons who performed a revolutionary “SpeedBridge” procedure, which is designed to expedite the healing process.

IN MEMORIUM We bid a fond farewell in 2023 to some of baseball’s most annoying quirks, such as stepping out to box after every pitch to fiddle with various parts of the uniform and absurd defensive shifts that had third basemen lurking in right field.

New rules, designed largely to speed up the national pastime’s dawdling pace, worked to perfection as the average time of games dropped significantly from what had been more than three excruciating hours to get through 27 outs.

We’ll drop our request that all stadium seats be capable of folding out into a bed.

LET US FORGET

Dan Snyder was finally forced to the sideline.

Sure, his sale of Washington’s NFL team netted more than $6 billion, but that seemed a small price to pay to rid us of one of the worst owners in the history of professional sports.

With that out of the way, let’s send out another invite to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.

We’re still eagerly awaiting their RSVP.

If all the hoopla over Lionel Messi joining the Inter Miami club in Major League Soccer felt a little familiar, there’s a reason for that.

It was tried before with the greatest of them all, Pelé.

In the mid-1970s, the North American Soccer League lured the Brazilian icon to the New York Cosmos to finish out his career.

The arrival of Pelé sparked record crowds throughout the league, but it didn’t stick. After his retirement, the NASL called it quits just seven years later.

Let’s hope Messi Mania has a more lasting impact on MLS. CITY OF THE YEAR

Talk about hitting the jackpot.

No city had a better year than Las Vegas — an amazing run of good fortune, considering this was a place most leagues wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot craps stick not that long ago.

The Vegas Golden Knights brought hockey’s Stanley Cup to the desert. The Oakland Athletics decided to move to Sin City. Formula One held a grand prix right down the famed Strip. The NFL will cap its season with a Vegas Super Bowl.

And it’s only a matter of time before the NBA forks over an expansion team.

KENNY ROGERS GAMBLER AWARD

Speaking of Vegas, we sure hope Will Smith was able to pay a visit.

No doubt, he would’ve cleaned up.

After all, the left-handed reliever

Small acts of kindness can have a big impact in making people feel welcome.

When we reach out and connect with others, we can build a stronger community where everyone – regardless of their background – feels like they belong.

LEARN HOW AT

BELONGINGBEGINSWITHUS.ORG ARTWORK BY

B8 Saturday, December 30, 2023

The Iola Register

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K-State: Late 15-play drive seals Pop-Tarts Bowl victory Continued from B1

put the game away,” Johnson said. “Credit to those guys up front.

Fifteen plays isn’t easy.

They dominated and we ultimately got into the end zone.”

Quarterback Brennan Armstrong rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown and threw for 164 yards in his final game for the Wolfpack (9-4), who fell short of winning 10 games for the second time in program history.

“I look back to what could I have done dif-

ferently because we didn’t get the job done,” Armstrong said. “I felt like I did what I had to do to be ready and prepared. We just didn’t get the job done.”

Giddens had a 37-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter, his only catch of the game, and ran for a 4-yard TD early in the second that made it 14-0.

Kansas State led 21-7 late in the second quarter and 21-10 at halftime, but N.C. State rallied in the third quarter, thanks in part to some trickery. Trent Pennix

ran for a 60-yard touchdown on a fake punt with 1:50 left in the period. But the 2-point try failed, allowing the Wildcats to maintain a 21-19 lead.

Johnson and Giddens took over from there.

Giddens had six rushes for 25 yards on a drive that took 7:24 off the clock and concluded with Johnson’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Jayce Brown with 2:48 remaining.

“Some of those times a young player may force a throw when he is scrambling and he

RACING

doesn’t see anybody open,” Klieman said.

“He threw the ball away and avoided a number of sacks for a loss of yards. He’s 1-0 as a quarterback. He made big-time play after bigtime play.”

Jacob Parrish intercepted Armstrong on N.C. State’s next play from scrimmage.

FAKE IT TIL YOU MAKE IT Both teams ran successful fake punts.

Kansas State punter Jack Blumer called his own number in the second quarter for a

30-yard gain that set up Giddens’ rushing TD. N.C. State had its biggest play on a direct snap to Pennix, a tight end, from the punt formation that he took all the way to the end zone.

CENTURY CLUB Armstrong became N.C. State’s first 100yard rusher of the season. He had come close on a few occasions, with 96 yards against both Connecticut and Wake Forest.

Giddens had his fifth game this season with 100 yards rushing or more. This was his sec-

THIS WEEK

Blaine Perkins will join RSS Racing full time for the 2024 Xfinity Series season. Perkins competed in 30 races during the 2023 season, splitting time between SS GreenLight Racing and Our Motorsports. He sat out the race at Dover following a flip at Talladega the week prior.

Bubba’s 2024 hope — more winning

Cup Series ready to dazzle with new 2024 schedule

B

ubba Wallace described the change in his year-ending points position – from 19th in 2022 to 10th this last season – as “a massive jump” as he assessed his campaign during NASCAR Champion’s Week in Nashville.

The placement was his highest in six full seasons at the NASCAR Cup Series level, but he noted one significant missing piece.

Wallace had scored one victory in each of the previous two seasons, since his start with 23XI Racing in 2021. Last season, Wallace found himself with noticeable improvement — or at least a hold-steady clip — in several key statistics, including average finish and laps led. The rise in performance led to his first appearance in the Cup Series Playoffs, but without a win to show for his final tally.

“Everybody I see in the industry the last couple days have come up to me and continued to remind me how good the season was, and it is when you peel back the layers and look at it,” said Wallace, who last won at Kansas in September 2022 — 43 races ago. “We checked a lot of boxes, but I don’t know if it’s just me being young and hungry, but I got zero wins. So that bugs the hell out of me.”

The offseason has meant a period of reflection in the wake of the season-ending event at Phoenix Raceway, where he watched close friend Ryan Blaney clinch his first Cup Series title and where he lamented unintentional contact with Brad Keselowski, prompting a postrace apology.

That capped a campaign that sent Wallace into the Round of 12 before his postseason eligibility expired. The 30-year-old driver’s strongest chances of winning cropped up at a variety of tracks — an overtime bid that went south at Talladega in April, early power that faded at Richmond in July, and a show of dominance that evaporated late at Texas in September.

Those outings could bode well for Wallace next season, as he and 23XI teammate Tyler Reddick return with some newness approaching. The organization is moving toward setting up shop in a new headquarters building, and a new 23XI logo will adorn the team’s gear.

The group will also have a reinvigorated Toyota body style for 2024 with the Next Gen Camry XSE set to debut.

T

he 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule will unfold before you know it, with dazzling changes dotting the calendar in another milestone year for the Cup Series, highlighted by a trip to Iowa Speedway June 16 — the circuit’s inaugural visit to the 0.875-mile oval and first venture to the Hawkeye State since 1953.

Additionally, the opening Round of 16 in the NASCAR Playoffs takes on a new look for the 2024 slate and will come a week later than usual. Atlanta Motor Speedway (Sept. 8) becomes the first race of the Cup Series’ postseason in a round that now features Watkins Glen International (Sept. 15) before closing out with the Bristol Motor Speedway night race (Sept.

21).

“I think having an Atlanta, a Watkins Glen and then a Bristol night race in that Round of 16 — three very different types of tracks — it’s going to test our drivers quite a bit as they think about the Round of 12 and continuing through the playoffs,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s senior vice president of racing development and strategy. “I’m excited to see the change for Atlanta. I think it’s a testament to the great racing product that we’ve seen the last year or two.”

Watkins Glen replaces Texas Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Playoffs as Texas moves to the spring for an April 14 date, an opportunity Kennedy said the scheduling saw “to shake up the playoff schedule a little bit.”

“We’ve had kind of status quo the past few years, and I know we shook it up a ton three or four years ago,” Kennedy said. “I think the diversity that we have and types of tracks in that first round is going to be fun to watch.”

Kansas Speedway will host the opening race of the Round of 12 on Sept. 29 ahead of Talladega Superspeedway and the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course. The Round of 8 features a familiar run of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway ahead of the Nov. 10 finale at Phoenix Raceway.

The regular season will come to an end on Labor Day Weekend on Sept. 1 at Darlington Raceway with the storied Southern 500 marking the final opportunity for drivers to qualify for a championship run. Daytona International Speedway’s second date held that slot since 2020 but slides back to Saturday night, Aug. 24, as race No. 25 on the schedule of 36 points-paying events.

The 66th annual Daytona 500 will kick off the Cup schedule on Feb. 18 before a trip to Atlanta, which returns to the second date on the circuit for the first time since 2019. Atlanta held that position from 2015-19 and returns in place of Auto Club Speedway as the former 2-mile track undergoes renovations.

“I think now that we’ve seen Atlanta play out and how the racing product has frankly evolved there,” Kennedy said, “Having it come out of our biggest event of the year in the Daytona 500 and then carrying that momentum to Atlanta … I think it’s going to be something really special.”

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ond-highest rushing total behind a 207-yard effort against UCF. EAT ME One gimmick of the Pop-Tarts Bowl was a mascot that organizers described as edible.

After Kansas State was awarded the trophy, the human mascot named “Strawberry” was lowered into a giant replica toaster, and an edible look-alike was ushered out. Klieman and Johnson took bites of the oversized treat before other Wildcats players crowded around for a snack.

Perhaps the most notable change, the Cup Series will make its long-anticipated debut Sunday, June 16, 2024 (race 17/36) on one of the Midwest’s premier ovals in Newton, Iowa. Loads of Cup stars have won here in the past, which should make for a contentious battle.

(Daniel Shirey/Getty)

Bristol’s first date on the NASCAR schedule returns to the concrete surface on March 17, 2024, after three years of dirt racing. Richmond Raceway, a 0.75-mile tri-oval, moves to Easter Sunday — 7 p.m. ET on March 31 on FOX — in place of the Bristol dirt race. The second Richmond race will also be in primetime at 6 p.m. ET on Aug. 11 (USA).

The Chicago Street Race, site of the Cup Series’ inaugural street-course event, returns for a sophomore year with Cup cars ready to charge into the downtown metropolis on July 7.

Two weeks later, NASCAR returns to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval for the 30th anniversary of the Brickyard 400 on July 21, preceding a two-week hiatus for the sport during the 2024 Summer Olympics.

“We’ve seen the road course play out for a handful of years at Indianapolis,” Kennedy said. “And what better way to return to the oval than the 30th anniversary of the Brickyard 400 and really make it something special again? And again, I think the way that these Next Gen cars are racing on a lot of these tracks, I’m excited to see what the racing product looks like for the first time when the Next Gen cars run around the oval.”

The exhibition Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is back to open NASCAR festivities in southern California on Feb. 4, while the series’ other nonpoints event — the storied NASCAR All-Star Race — returns to the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 19.

One piece absent from the 2024 schedule is an international race on the Cup docket, but efforts remain ongoing for future expansion outside the United States.

“We haven’t ruled it out. It’s something that we’ve continued to explore,” Kennedy said. “We’ve been exploring this since we put the scheduling group together several years ago. We’ve explored it for ’22, ’23, ’24. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything that necessarily came together around ’24. I think that said, as we think about ’25 and beyond, we’re still bullish on taking the Cup Series international.”

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