Maximize garden space by growing vertically

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April 24, 2024

K-State horticulture instructor says a vertical garden offers many benefits in addition to needing less space

Kansas State University horticulture instructor Cynthia Domenghini says home gardeners can expand garden space by taking it to the next level…literally.

Domenghini said many crops can be grown vertically, including the more traditional tomatoes, pole beans and peas as well as vining crops such as cucumbers, melons, squash and gourds.

“Elevating plants off the ground increases the air flow which can help prevent disease,” Domenghini said. “Bringing the height of the produce up also makes harvesting easier.”

Domenghini recommends edible-pod and snow peas because those crops have longer vines and are therefore more appropriate for growing vertically than English (shelling) peas.

Bush-type vining crops produce short vines and are consequently less suitable for vertical growth. “Be mindful of crops that grow large fruit as they could damage the vine if grown vertically,” Domenghini said.

Supporting your vertical garden with a sturdy structure is also important. Domenghini suggests bamboo poles.

“Create a pup tent or A-frame structure by leaning two cattle panels or pallets together and securing them at the top. Alternatively, a single panel can be tied upright to T-posts for support. Plant vining crops at the base and train them to grow upward,” she said.

Domenghini and her colleagues in K-State’s Department of Horticulture and Natural Resources produce a weekly Horticulture Newsletter with tips for maintaining home landscapes and gardens. The newsletter is available to view online or can be delivered by email each week.

Property and taxes (1)

By

John Marshall

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April 23, 2024

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Painful as they may seem, property taxes sustain our communities, a life source for cities, counties and school districts. May brings the deadline for paying them, a ritual with roots deep in our state constitution: Article 11, Section 1 commands “a uniform and equal rate of taxation” on property.

This principle was chiseled into the state Constitution at Wyandotte in July, 1859, and became territorial law 18 months before Kansas joined the union of states.

Pioneer legislators believed that a tax on property was essential to fuel public services in growing settlements across the plains. It was the way to put bridges over creeks and rivers and to carve roads from the trails. It would pay the schoolmaster and the sheriff and keep the fire wagon ready.

A “uniform and equal” levy was to spread the cost of community maintenance and improvement. It was thought fair, then, because the extent of the tax reflected the productivity of the land, not its market value, real or imagined. And productivity was the promise of Kansas.

But promise is fickle. A tax written into the Constitution to help make life better became a source of exasperation, the scorn of farmers, merchants, nearly anyone else who owned even a sliver of property.

After the Homestead Act (1862), land became a formative resource for farmer, rancher, and town booster. The value of property would be increased by “improving” it. Farms became productive and ranches fattened cattle. Townships sprouted towns and towns became cities.

Land was valuable for what was under it as well as what could be grown in it or built on top of it. Coal, oil and gas had been discovered as early as 1855 but continuous commercial ventures were not producing until the 1890s in eastern Kansas, and the 1930s in the west.

The value of land fluctuated against demands and uses so unpredictable that no law of appraisal could reflect reality. Commerce now included coal, oil and gas. Irrigated farm land and feed lots expanded in the west and suburbs sprawled in the east. Even the keenest assessors could only hack at the edges of the bewildering thicket of land use and value. The property tax had become the torture of politicians and constituents. Its practical application defied law, flying in the face of its keeper, the Constitution.

*

In 1980, a year into John Carlin’s first term as governor, the Santa Fe Railway sued the Kansas Department of Revenue, claiming that the railroad was assessed for property taxes at rates higher than other businesses.

At that time, property was to be appraised at “fair market value” and assessed for taxing at 30 percent of that value. That wasn’t happening. Only utilities paid taxes on a 30 percent assessment because in their case, the state – not counties – did the assessing.

County appraisers could not keep up with the 30 percent law. The ratio of sale prices (market value) to appraised value – known as the sales-assessment ratio – rarely approached even a double digit, much less 30 percent in any city, township or county.

Four years after the suit was filed, the railroads and the state arranged through federal court for tax rates lower than proscribed by law. The courts ruled that

railroads were entitled to lower rates because county assessments were far below state levels.

That seemed to settle the trouble between railroads and the state. But what of others?

In 1986, the last year of his two terms as governor, Carlin spent much of his time campaigning for six amendments to the Kansas Constitution. One of them ordered (rather than permitted) the Legislature to rewrite farmland assessment laws and enact use-value farmland appraisals; thus, farmland would be appraised by its ability to produce income.

The amendment also provided for classification of real and personal property with assessments at different percentages of value; farm machinery and equipment, merchants’ and manufacturers’ inventories, and livestock were exempt.

The voters approved.

(Next: Reappraisal)

Sweet N’ Sour Meatballs

By

Debbie Dance Uhrig

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April 23, 2024

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What an outstanding weekend! I saw folks I haven’t seen for years in Northeast Missouri. We told stories, enjoyed great food, had perfect weather, what more could you ask?

My speaking engagement back in Lewistown went well and everyone was so very helpful. I do hope some of the gals in attendance read this column because I aimed to give an additional tip for my recipe, and totally forgot!

I wrote a new recipe to debut for the women’s event, at the Methodist church. It’s actually the first sweet n’ sour dish I’ve written down. What I hope folks will try it #1, but also use it as a base for preparing their own creative sweet and sour dishes. What I ‘totally’ forgot to mention on Saturday, was the addition of grated fresh ginger! How much, again like the addition of the vinegar in this recipe you are going to want to use what pleases your palate. I would probably grate some into the meatballs and into the sauce. In the meatballs I would add about a thumb’s worth of fresh ginger. After you cook the meatballs see what you think. I have a feeling you could probably put the thumb’s worth in the meatballs and a good tablespoon in the sauce. (You will need a zester/microplaner for this.)

For serving purposes I like to use Basmati rice under the sweet and sour. Lots of different rice, like long grain will work. The reason for Basmati is because it’s not as starchy as long grain or medium grain. Don’t forget to rinse the rice before cooking. One time at client came back to a food pantry to tell them how horrible the rice turned out, which they had received from the pantry. When the individual was told to wash the rice before cooking it, she truly did, with dawn! Perhaps we should be sure to say: ‘Rinse the rice.’ This way something like this never happens again, even though it certainly is good for a chuckle or two.

After the event concluded on Saturday, I went out to see Dad again at the care center. We began to talk about the good ole’ days in the park, when we would have ice cream socials. All the churches in town brought pies or cakes and then a certain number of people were charged with making homemade ice cream. I can see those freezers all lined up on a table with rugs wrapped around them holding the ice around the freezers. But the part I remember most were the strings of yellow watt bulbs strung high above the tables. It looked like a portrait of what rural life was all about. I wonder if I could get enough Lewistown friends to pull this off again? Hm…certainly sounds worth trying in my book. Maybe we could even get an ice cream sponsor?

After the event on Saturday, I stated I would return to Lewistown this summer for a ‘canning’ class. I’m already planning! I get all excited just thinking about it. Give me a couple of weeks and I’ll have a plan of attack ready to roll. Many many thanks to my hometown of Lewistown, MO, along with friends from Ewing, LaBelle, Monticello and other surrounding towns. You folks made my day!

I’ve got another cookie recipe I’m working on, we’ll see if it’s ready to debut next week or not. Until then, enjoy each day, and keep smiling, it certainly makes folks wonder, doesn’t it. Simply yours, The Covered Dish.

Sweet n’ Sour Meatballs & Sauce

2 pounds of pork sausage, ‘hot’, (Can’t tell it’s hot in meatballs)

2 pounds Boston Burger, 60/40 beef pork blend

3 (4-5 inch) sleeves Ritz crackers or approx.1 1/3 cups

2 Eggs

1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple, drain & save juice, drain extremely well

1 1/2 cups mini sweet peppers (8)

1-1/2 cups finely chopped sweet onion

1 tablespoon Teri Yaki Sauce

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup milk or half and half

*Optional, grated fresh ginger (see notes above)

No salt used due to crackers and Teri Yaki Sauce.

Measure Meatballs by 2 tablespoon scoops. Which should yield around 75 meatballs. Bake at 350 degrees on a parchment or foil covered jelly roll pan. Approximately 20-23 minutes.

Vegetable Blend

Olive oil, approx. 3-4 tablespoons

1 very large onion, cut into chunks

1 green, red & yellow pepper, cut into chunks

Drained chunk pineapple, (20 oz.) juice reserved

Sweet n Sour Sauce

All reserved pineapple juice from crushed & chunked pineapple

Should equal 2 1/2 cups.

1 3/4 cups low sugar additional pineapple juice

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 – 1 teaspoon Slap your Mama Cajun spice, can use your choice

1 tablespoon Teri Yaki Sauce

2 1/2-4 tablespoons cider vinegar

4 tablespoons cornstarch and 1/2 cup cold water, whisk smooth

*Optional, grated fresh ginger (see notes in column)

In a large skillet place olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion and peppers, when just about done add the chunk pineapple. Pour in all juices mixing in everything except the cornstarch and water. Heat until it’s not quite to a boil, thicken with the cornstarch slurry. Serve meatballs and sauce over white rice, I like to use Basmati, or regular long grain, rinse well before cooking.

For a family of 4 you should have enough meatballs for 4, yes, I said 4 meals! On the sauce I prefer it’s made solely with pineapple juice. First time I used partial orange, and preferred all pineapple. On the meat mixture you could also use ground ham instead of sausage, great way to use up holiday hams!

We accompanied the dish with a small side salad.

TIPS & SHORTCUTS

When you are thickening a sauce or gravy you will use 1 of 2 approaches:

Dry Slurry: When you work a thickening agent into drippings in a skillet or

cut butter into a dry product.

Wet Slurry: When you work thickening agent into something like water or milk before thickening a sauce, etc.

Rice: Usually; I recommend rinsing most rice before it is used. Basmati is one of my favs, but you could also use Jasmine or regular long grain rice. Rinsing removes extra starches so the rice isn’t as sticky. If you use Basmati, make sure it is from India, not the US. There is a huge difference in the two. Any time you stir rice be sure and use the handle of a spoon or perhaps a chop stick. Unless it’s a dire emergency stir clear of instant, I refer to it as ‘emergency’ only.

For sampling purposes I’ve used tidbit pineapple, and small pieces of pepper and onion that can easily be ladled over the meatballs.

Make all meatballs ahead of time and freeze. OR reheat already cooked meatballs in a steamer. Cut and dice all vegetables, draining juices, etc. ahead of time. This will make the cooking process a great deal quicker, especially for Sundays after church!

Vinegar application for sweet & sour: Most of the time people will use good ole’ cider vinegar, but that doesn’t mean you cannot change it! Also; the amount of tartness to the dish is up to the cook, so start with the 2 1/2 tablespoons and then you can add. Most times I do not go past 4 tablespoons.

But I want a red sweet and sour, OK, the usual fix is to use ketchup for the coloring. So far, I do only the color of the fruit I’m using, I would start with a couple of tablespoons and build from there, sampling as you go.

Strategies of the Hunt

By

Steve Gilliland

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April 23, 2024

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My supervisor from years ago lived in a community along Kannapolis Lake. He would tell me stories about the numerous deer that were always in his backyard, and scoff at my stories of unsuccessful deer hunts. “I don’t know why you don’t just come down and shoot a deer from my back porch” he would say. Obviously that would have taken little planning but would probably have been illegal and at very least would have been horrible public relations, and the sight of me dragging a field dressed deer through his back yard would possibly have gotten him run out of the community on a rail. Few non-hunters understand the strategy and planning that are part of successful hunting. Seldom is hunting merely climbing into a stand or blind, shooting game then going home.

Case in point; a couple turkey seasons ago, I was out for the first time that year. I often hunt on my sister’s land and have a general knowledge of where the turkeys there usually roost. But, having disobeyed the first rule of turkey hunting and not done any scouting whatsoever, I purposely arrived just at sunup so I could see ahead of me as I walked. I parked in a hay field, ducked under the fence and slowly strolled into a woodlot through which a partially dry stream cut like a sidewinder snake. I hadn’t taken a dozen steps when a gobbler’s booming report echoed just ahead of me. Not good! I had probably spooked the resident turkeys already and hadn’t yet even seen them.

Now the planning and strategy came into play. I knew where those turkeys were headed but there was more than one way for them to get there. Should I quickly backtrack and try to get around and ahead of them to ambush them elsewhere? It was still early in the season and I now knew where they roosted, so I choose to leave quietly, and come back to set up early that afternoon to try and intercept them on their return.

I arrived about four that afternoon and walked to the far side of that same woodlot, where I settled in amongst a group of fallen trees where Joyce and I had once begun building a nice deer stand until the trees blew down in a bad storm. Now the big cottonwood trunks lay in a twisted mass, perfect for harboring a hopeful turkey hunter. Around 5:30 black specks finally appeared in an alfalfa field at least a quarter mile away. They seemed content to graze the evening away there with little regard for my hen decoy, which I knew the sharp-eyed toms could see. It was strategy time again; I was near their roosting area and even if their mood changed and they came my way soon, that was no guarantee of a shot. Turkeys are easily spooked from the area if pressured to hard or too often, and if I was caught there without getting a shot, I would risk spooking them badly (again) when I left. I opted to back out quietly and plan for a better ambush point another day.

Sunday afternoon found me tucked in under a big cedar tree at the far end of the alfalfa field where the turkeys were grazing the evening before. This seemed to be a better ambush spot than where I’d been, and would not be so hard to get away from without spooking the group if things didn’t work out (again.) I sat overlooking the alfalfa and had a hen decoy placed twenty yards away at about the two o’clock position. I could see very well to my right but not very far to my left, as some clumps of weeds separating the fields blocked my view. After an hour and a half, I noticed the cows below me looking intently at something to my left. I’m not known for my patience, so I eased out of my camp chair onto

my hands and knees to creep forward and have a look around. I’d not crawled a foot when the bright red face and fanned-out tail of a strutting gobbler stepped silently from behind the nearest clump of weeds barely ten feet away. The rest is history. He had crept silently in to check out my decoy, and would probably have given me a good shot If I’d have stayed glued to my seat another minute. My planning and strategy put me spot on for location, but my impatience busted me again!

Wind direction is not a factor when hunting turkeys, but when hunting most wildlife, wind speed and direction plays a huge role, along with time of day, location, weather patterns and even moon signs. Yes, hunting is a game of planning and strategy, and when all things come together correctly, the reward is often meat for the freezer….Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors!

Steve can be contacted by email at [email protected]

Confused farm guard dog

By

Milo Yield

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April 23, 2024

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Back in the mid to late 1900s rural salesmen were as common as fleas on a dog. They traveled the dusty or muddy rural backroads every day, stopping at farm houses along the way, peddling seed, feed, minerals, tools, lubricants and full array of rural needs. They even targeted the farm housewife with brushes, brooms, vacuums, cleaners, soap, beauty products, and a host of other household needs.

Sometimes — if their product line wuz needed by the farmer, rancher, or housewife — these salesmen were welcomed with open arms. Other times — or, more often than not — they were seen as uninvited, persistent, persuasive, or pushy pests who imposed on productive daylight time.

Those were also the bye-gone days when about every farmstead had a nondescript cur dog serving as the enthusiastic guard dog of all the premises and property belonging to its master.

These guard dogs were the bane of rural salesmen because all of them had plenty of bark as warning, but some of them also included bite in their protection arsenal. Arriving at a farm home was akin to sales Russian roulette. The salesman just never knew what to expect.

All the above is precursor to this story about the experience of one rural salesman, ol’ Huck Stirr. He’d been in the rural sales game for many years, switching from product to product every few years. At the time of this story, he wuz peddling a well-known brand of garden seeds and products.

It wuz in the spring, just before garden planting time. Huck wuz working a new unfamiliar territory. It had been a pretty unproductive sales day when he arrived at a home he’d never visited before. From the road, it looked promising. The house wuz freshly painted and neatly landscaped. The front yard sported a white picket fence with a gate and sidewalk to the wooden front porch. He could also see a freshly-tilled garden spot in the backyard.

Inwardly, he hoped the husband wasn’t home and that he could make his sales pitch to the housewife, who he figgered wuz Chief Gardener.

So, Huck gathered up his sales kit, took a deep breath, mustered up a smile and headed to the house. He opened the gate and headed up the sidewalk. He wuz about half-way to the porch when out from under the porch charged a huge cur dog. It wuz all teeth — snarling loudly and going full-bore when it launched itself towards Huck’s throat.

But then, just as Huck braced himself for the impact and mentally prepared himself for the worst possible outcome, the beast did a complete backflip and meekly scrambled back under the porch.

As Huck shakily arose off the sidewalk, the man of the house ambled out the front screen door and stood there with his hands of his hips.

Before he could say a word, Huck yelled, “Sir, what’s the story on that massive guard dog? I thought I wuz a goner.”

The farmer drawled, “Well, Mister. I’ve had him tied up for years and I just unsnapped his chain this morning and he ain’t figgered it out yet!”

***

Ol’ Huck’s story has an important moral to it if you stop to think about what happened.

How many of us are like that guard dog — held back by unseen restraints from doing what are capable of doing? It’s easier to not go beyond familiar custom and routine, so we never know the full extent of our capabilities.

***

I heard about a young farmer whose marriage went into the dumpster when his wife asked if she could have a little peace and quite while she cooked the evening meal.

Her hubby obliged her by taking the battery out of the smoke alarm.

***

We still need runoff in this area badly, but we still welcomed two nice showers this week — one with a quarter-inch of rainfall and the other about one-half inch. The showers were good for my garden and my reseeded portion of our lawn.

***

I read this week that scientists are making progress toward using genetic manipulations to re-create animals that have been extinct for tens of thousands of years. That’s interesting science, but I have a better idea for spending those research dollars.

I suggest that geneticists redirect their efforts toward re-creating humans who have lost their common sense. There is increasing evidence that more and more humans no longer have common sense.

For instance — the folks who protested their cause by blocking the Golden Gate bridge is San Francisco have clearly lost their common sense. Same with those blocking streets in New York City. So have those wayward folks who were caught chanting “Death to America.”

If those folks had a lick of common sense, they’d realize that America is one of the few nations on this spinning globe in which they could hold such protests.

Personally, I’m proud that rural folks have steadfastly maintained their common sense — and use it daily.

***

Words of wisdom for the day: “Remember, just because you went to college doesn’t make you smarter than anyone else. Common sense doesn’t come with a degree.”

Have a good ‘un.

Digital Edition 04.24.24

By

tammiehoeme

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April 23, 2024

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Digital Edition 04.24.24

Lettuce Eat Local: Turning Less Sour On Lemons

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Guest Columnist

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April 21, 2024

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Amanda Miller
Columnist
Lettuce Eat Local

There were three different-sized jars of lemon juice in the fridge, along with a container of blended lemon pulp, a pint of lemon syrup, and a little plastic deal crammed with lemon zest. Lemon halves, looking awkward and forlorn since having been robbed of their zest and juice, were floating in my water glass, steeping in my tea, cleaning out my sink’s disposal. These spent lemons were even packed into two of their own jars, either soaking in honey-water to make lemonade or in white vinegar to make cleaning solution. I’ve got ideas for charred jalapeno honey lemon vinaigrette, lemon poppyseed crepes, cream cheese lemon spread.

At this point you might assume I’m on the American Lemon Board or something. But no, I’m just a person with a lot of lemons.

It all began at a place far, far away, at a time long, long ago. Or rather, in my kitchen a few months back. A friend asked me to bake the cakes for her daughter’s wedding, both the sheet cakes for the guests and the actual wedding cake, and they wanted lemon.

Have I ever done wedding cakes before? No. Should I have said yes? Possibly not. I will be the first to admit that while I do a decent job making food taste good, making it look good at the same time is not one of my fortes. I’m happy with knowing and staying within my limitations for the most part, content with an average level of aesthetic pleasantness for my dishes. “Good enough” isn’t, however, a good enough goal for wedding cake.

So there was some practice involved, especially since there were also some fairly constricting allergies to bake around. Needless to say, many lemons were harmed in the process — and also some mandarins and limes, since there’s a chance that for some of the trial batches I remembered the “cake” part and forgot the “lemon” part until I was already started. Awkward.

And now I throw in the Plot Twist. I’m pretty finicky about lemons. I can drink lemon things all day long (lemon in my water, lemony hot tea, Chick-Fil-A sugarfree lemonade), but eating lemon things typically has no appeal for me (lemon bars, chicken with lemons, lemony pasta salad). I know a splash of acid can hypothetically be that step that takes a dish to perfection, but I’m not convinced; often if I begrudgingly add it as per directions, I regret it, wishing I had substituted lime or vinegar or skipped it altogether.

Ironically, Brian doesn’t like many desserts, but his favorite ones are lemony.

Having been somewhat saturated in lemons recently, however, may be turning me less sour on them. I came to appreciate the way my hands smelled so bright and fresh after zesting eventual dozens of lemons, and while I still wouldn’t necessarily choose lemon as a cake flavor, it ranks above vanilla for me now. The lemon cream cheese frosting was straight up delicious, which is a double surprise, since only within the last decade have I learned to not spurn cream cheese as well.

I still doubt I’ll be making lemon meringue pie or lemon piccata chicken anytime soon (unless it’s for the meringue or the capers, both items I love), but that lemon almond coffeecake was surprisingly tasty, I wasn’t mad I added lemon juice to a dilly veggie saute, and I can sense a tahini-ginger-lemon sauce coming on.

The best thing about lemons recently, though, in addition to having managed the wedding cakes “good enough,” was making candied lemon slices as the garnish. Sour turned sweet, which is kind of how my lemon journey is going.

Candied Lemon Slices

These were kind of an afterthought as for the sheetcakes, but I’m so glad I did them. I quartered the slices and put one on each piece; they worked beautifully both as a simple yet elegant garnish and as an indicator of flavor. Candying them basically couldn’t have been easier, and their prep had neither the danger of zested knuckles or getting acidic juice into scratches on my hands. Some of the slices had gotten too thick or too thin, and I found myself consuming them as quality control as I laid them out to dry. I’ll definitely be doing them again with lemon desserts — if I happen to make any.

Prep tips: keep the resultant lemon syrup! It’s an added bonus of the recipe.

1 ½ cups sugar

1 ½ cups water

3 lemons, sliced thinly

Add sugar and water to a wide-bottomed saucepan; bring to a simmer and whisk to dissolve. Add lemon slices, gently stirring to ensure submersion, and simmer for 30-45 minutes. Remove from heat, and carefully remove slices with a tongs or fork. Arrange in a single layer on a silicone mat/parchment paper and let dry overnight. Use within a day or two.

“Dry skin? Join the club”

By

Guest Columnist

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April 19, 2024

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An exceedingly common question I get in clinic, especially in the heart of a South Dakota winter, is how to remedy dry skin. And the questions arent just in clinic; my own kids, family, friends, everyone seems to have an occasional problem with dry and irritated skin.

Dry skin is something we are all familiar with; if your dry spots come with a rash or anything else unusual, it may be worth showing it to your primary care provider, as it could be something else entirely. Eczema, a common inflammatory skin condition, often goes along with and is made worse by dryness.

Soothing your dry skin doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive. There are a handful of tricks we can all use to help ourselves when it comes to dryness. The first advice is to avoid things that cause your skin to become drier. For many, that means to bathe less. That’s right; I said it: bathe less.

Every time you bathe or shower, it washes away natural oils on the skin. Often our instinct when our skin becomes irritated is to wash it more, but in this case more is not better. Of course, I’m not asking you to forego hygiene entirely. But most people can probably bathe every other or every third day. This is especially true of babies and kids who struggle with eczema – cut down the daily baths.

When we do bathe or shower, we can modify factors that will worsen dry skin. The hotter the water, the drier the skin afterward, so try lowering the temperature a bit. Less time spent in the bath or shower can help. And be mindful of the soap or cleanser you use – to reduce dryness, use less soap and a gentler soap. For kids who love the tub, skip the bubble bath and just put some gentle soap on a washcloth at the end of the bath when it is time to wash up.

After that bath or shower, how do you choose from the hundreds of creams or lotions out there claiming to soothe dry skin? The dermatologists I know love products with petroleum jelly (i.e. Vaseline®) for dry skin; remember, I said this didn’t need to be fancy! Stick with fragrance-free products and keep it simple. Whatever you choose, slather it on as soon as the skin is dry.

Dry skin affects many of us, but I hope these tips will help the next time you find yourself irritated with this common condition.

Kelly Evans-Hullinger, M.D. is part of The Prairie Doc® team of physicians and currently practices internal medicine in Brookings, South Dakota. Follow The Prairie Doc® at www.prairiedoc.org and on Facebook featuring On Call with the Prairie Doc® a medical Q&A show providing health information based on science, built on trust, streaming live on Facebook most Thursdays at 7 p.m. central.

Local Spotlight – Martin Hoskinson on Traveling Nurses

By

Dylan Yoder

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April 19, 2024

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It’s always so wonderful to see and explore entirely new areas to us. For the adventurous soul, traveling is one of the true pleasures that sustains us. Now just imagine if it was part of your job, to travel to these new places. Such is the life of Haven, Kansas local, Martin Hoskinson. This past week, I conducted an interview with this continental traveler, discussing the ins and outs of his career as a traveling nurse. If you’re anything like me, you’ll find plenty of interesting information on this wonderfully rewarding occupation. Keep reading for more!

Upon talking to Martin, I discovered he’s been working as a traveling nurse for some time now. His last placement was in the heart of the West, smack dab near the 4 corners. Working out of New Mexico, Hoskinson had quite a few culture shocks. For one, “the majority population was Native American”. Apache, Navajo, and more call these regions their native ancestral homes, and the culture is vastly different than that of rural central Kansas. Hoskinson talked about those indigenous populations being some of the nicest people he’s come across and recalls the variances in dwellings, historical sites, and weather patterns. “Coming back to Kansas, I thought I was going to die (from the difference in humidity)”, Hoskinson said, “It’s a whole other climate”. During his time working as an ICU nurse at San Juan Medical Center, Martin worked with many other traveling nurses as well as staff nurses (non-traveling). He explained that traveling nurses typically were more experienced in a variety of afflictions due to their traveling experience. But like in any field, some come in less experienced than they should.

As you can imagine, there are a lot of good benefits to being a traveling nurse. One of them is sightseeing. In the 4 corners, Hoskinson got to see all the cliff dwellings, the natural beauty of New Mexico, and things that don’t exist much in Kansas, like mountains. Furthermore, traveling nurses get paid per diem for food and lodging costs depending on the location. Needless to say, there are great aspects to living as a traveling nurse.

You may be asking yourself, how does one become a traveling nurse? The first step, become a nurse. Just kidding, but there are quite a few steps involved. Martin for one was a nurse at St. Francis for 20 or 25 years as an ICU nurse. Sitting at the top of the pay scale, he decided to become a traveling nurse. First, he had to get an agency that would find these opportunities for him. Hoskinson has 3 agencies that he works with currently that secure him contracts in various locations. Recruiters from each of these agencies look for occupations that suit Martin based on where he wants to go and how good the pay is, etc. Such was the case when looking for his next contract. “I wanted to go to Alaska”, Hoskinson said, but he was told that there weren’t many opportunities available at the moment. So instead he began looking at other northern areas of the contiguous United States. There are many available contracts and they go incredibly fast, so if you find one you like, you have to jump on it immediately.

Overall, life as a traveling nurse is quite interesting and adventurous. It takes a love of travel, the ability to adapt, and a great work ethic to make traveling in the medical field a prosperous career. Martin Hoskinson has certainly done that for himself as he plans to find the next adventure/work experience. For those of you who know Martin for his work with Haven Signs, don’t worry, he will be passing on the business to his son, who will continue to do a wonderful job with the family trade. That’s all for our local spotlight, I hope you enjoyed

learning about this most interesting occupation at least half as much as I did. Last but not least, thank you to all the nurses who continue to work to help the people they do.

KU News: People underestimate AI capabilities due to ‘exponential growth bias,’ study finds

By

Guest Columnist

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April 19, 2024

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From the Office of Public Affairs | http://www.news.ku.edu

Headlines

People underestimate AI capabilities due to ‘exponential growth bias,’ study finds

LAWRENCE — A new scholarly article from a University of Kansas professor of business examines the human biases that underestimate artificial intelligence’s full capabilities. In his study, Nate Meikle examined the effects of motivated reasoning and exponential growth bias on human judgment. Questions tested how participants might envision the interaction between AIs and humans decades from now. “We are, on average, going to be surprised at how quickly AI progresses and potentially surpasses human capability,” he said.

School of Business to recognize 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas School of Business will honor executive Jason “Jay” Meschke with its 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award on April 18 during a private event. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1980 and his MBA in 1982, both from KU. Meschke is the president of CBIZ EFL Associates and CBIZ Talent & Compensation Solutions.

Researcher reclaims 16th century Moroccan woman leader from obscurity

LAWRENCE – While growing up in Morocco, Amal El Haimeur was never taught about Sayyida al-Hurra, the country’s 16th century “pirate queen” who overcame sexism to lead and defend the people of her city-state and region. The KU professor then embarked upon a research journey through cities and archives across Morocco, combing through rare scholarly resources, that resulted in the article titled “Sayyida al-Hurra: A Forgotten North African Queen and Military Leader,” published in the first edition of the new KU scholarly journal Africana Annual.

Full stories below.

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Contact: Jon Niccum, KU News Service, 785-864-7633, [email protected]

People underestimate AI capabilities due to ‘exponential growth bias,’ study finds

LAWRENCE — When asked to name the greatest potential threat to humanity, many scientists believe artificial intelligence (AI) to be a top contender. Yet there seems to be very little currently being done to ensure its safety.

“We are, on average, going to be surprised at how quickly AI progresses and potentially surpasses human capability,” said Nathan Meikle, an assistant professor of business at the University of Kansas.

His new paper, titled “Unaware and Unaccepting: Human Biases and the Advent of Artificial Intelligence,” examines the human biases that impede AI’s assessment. His experiments find that people are prone to underestimate AI capabilities due to exponential growth bias and people reject the aversive implications of rapid technological progress even in cases in which they themselves predict the growth rate.

The new work is published in Technology, Mind, and Behavior.

“We’re motivated to believe things we want to have happen,” said Meikle, who co-wrote the paper with Bryan Bonner of the University of Utah.

“Most of us don’t want to live in a world where AI is smarter than humans. And because we want humans to be superior to AI, there’s a chance that we are sticking our head in the sand. We don’t want AI to surpass human intelligence. Therefore, we think it’s not going to happen.”

Motivated reasoning emerges most often when the facts are ambiguous.

“For instance, I don’t want to get cancer. Say my odds of getting cancer in a lifetime are 40%. But because I don’t want cancer, and because I can look to my past and say, ‘I’m reasonably healthy, and I’ve never had cancer,’ I’m prone to underestimate my odds of getting cancer, and I might think the probability is only like 20%,” he said.

But exponential growth bias (which is our inability to accurately estimate exponential growth curves) becomes even more skewed when a concept turns more abstract.

“A simple example is would you rather have a billion dollars or would you rather have the money from doubling a penny 64 times?” he said. “Our intuition tells us to take the billion. But from doubling a penny, you’re actually looking at more than 184 billion dollars. And this example is especially relevant to AI because AI has been progressing at an exponential rate, in tandem with computing speed.”

To verify this theory as it relates to underestimating AI, Meikle recruited several hundred participants in the U.S. and conducted two experiments that examined the effects of motivated reasoning and exponential growth bias on human judgment. The questions tested how participants might envision the interaction between AIs and humans decades from now. (Sample: Imagine 20 years into the future and AIs are equal in intelligence to humans. How positive do you feel about the future you just imagined?)

“An AI doesn’t need to be way smarter than us to pose an existential risk,” Meikle said.

“Genetically, we share about 99% of our DNA with chimpanzees. But it’s just that little bit of extra intelligence which allows us to be at the top of the food chain. And so if an AI were to become more intelligent than humans — which I think there’s a reasonable probability of happening very soon — then maybe the AI adopts a goal that is not consistent with human flourishing … and we’re in trouble. Or, even more believably now, people use AI to manipulate other humans.”

An Idaho native, Meikle came to KU in 2021. He is a former receiver with the BYU Cougars. (He caught a dozen passes in the 2005 Las Vegas Bowl.) He also hosts a podcast titled “Meikles and Dimes,” where he interviews guests about leadership, including Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. Meikle teaches courses in leadership and ethics at KU.

Meikle said he personally employs AI all the time.

“I’m getting to the point now where I use ChatGPT every day. It’s one of my most commonly opened apps — just asking it questions about what happened here, what happened there,” he said.

Is he fearful it might eventually replace him?

“Does it bother me that a calculator can run calculations better than me? No. And so in some ways, we don’t care. But I think we’re especially concerned about if artificial intelligence takes our jobs,” Meikle said. “I don’t mind if a calculator can calculate faster than me. But if it’s collecting my paycheck, there are going to be problems.”

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Contact: Lauren Cunningham, School of Business, 785-864-9540, [email protected], @KUbschool

School of Business to recognize 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas School of Business will honor executive Jason “Jay” Meschke with its 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award.

Meschke will be recognized for his dedication to business excellence, community service and commitment to KU on April 18 during a private event.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1980 and his MBA in 1982, both from KU. Meschke is the president of CBIZ EFL Associates and CBIZ Talent & Compensation Solutions.

In his role, he has completed more than 800 successful senior-level searches spanning several industries. Meschke’s achievements during his 30-year history in the executive search field place him in the top 1% of search consultants in the U.S. He began his career in Texas at one of the country’s 25 largest banks. Following that, he worked at two Kansas City banking franchises, holding roles as chief lending officer/minority owner at one and president at the other. The two financial institutions were later sold to Nasdaq-traded companies.

Meschke serves on the KU School of Business Dean’s Advisory Board, and he is immediate past chairman of the Enterprise Center of Johnson County, a venture development organization. He also holds a senior adviser role with Star Mountain Capital, a New York City-headquartered private equity/private credit firm. He previously has served on the boards of numerous organizations, including as chair of KCPT (Kansas City Public Television) and the Shawnee Mission Medical Center Foundation.

The School of Business established the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1998 to honor outstanding graduates. To date, 67 alumni have been recognized with the award. Previous recipients include businessman and investor David Booth, Deloitte’s global chief operating officer Frank Friedman, entrepreneur and investor Tim Barton, and Cerner Corp. co-founder Cliff Illig.

Award recipients are chosen from the nominations of other alumni and the Dean’s Advisory Board. Candidates are selected based on their business success and service to their communities and to KU.

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Don’t miss new episodes of “When Experts Attack!,”

a KU News Service podcast hosted by Kansas Public Radio.

https://kansaspublicradio.org/podcast/when-experts-attack

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Contact: Rick Hellman, KU News Service, 785-864-8852, [email protected], @RickHellman

Researcher reclaims 16th century Moroccan woman leader from obscurity

LAWRENCE – While growing up in Morocco, Amal El Haimeur was never taught about Sayyida al-Hurra, the country’s 16th century “pirate queen” who overcame sexism to lead and defend the people of her city-state and region.

So when El Haimeur, now an assistant teaching professor of African & African American studies at the University of Kansas, read a passing reference to al-Hurra in a book titled “The Forgotten Queens of Islam,” she went looking for more information about her. But there was hardly any.

Thus, El Haimeur embarked on a research project that took her to cities and archives across Morocco and resulted in the article titled “Sayyida al-Hurra: A Forgotten North African Queen and Military Leader” in the first edition of the new scholarly journal Africana Annual, based in KU’s Department of African & African-American Studies.

“I went to the 2022 summer book fair in Rabat, with publishers coming from all over the Arab world and Africa. I thought I would find resources there, but I did not find anything available about her,” El Haimeur said.

Editors and bookstore owners told her they had nothing available on her scholarly search, El Haimeur said.

“So I decided to go to Chefchaouen, her hometown. There is an educational center there, and they connected me with two historians — one who lives there and the other who lives in Rabat.”

El Haimeur said Ali Risouni and Fatima Bouchmal provided her with copies of history books that cite both primary and secondary sources about al-Hurra and that are unavailable elsewhere — neither commercially nor in libraries.

El Haimeur took pictures or made copies of the materials.

“There is not another edition available,” El Haimeur said. “It’s really sad that resources are not available about her.”

Rectifying this lack of information about al-Hurra – particularly in English — was one of El Haimeur’s purposes in writing the article about her. El Haimeur’s translations of the Arabic writings the Moroccan scholars loaned her are the basis for the article’s narrative.

The KU researcher said that al-Hurra’s family status as sharifis, or descendants of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, gave al-Hurra a certain degree of power. Her father founded Chefchaouen, building the fortress there that today serves as a museum. He was a trained military leader, and she learned tactics and strategy from him.

She learned naval warfare from her first husband, Moulay Ali al-Mandri. El Haimeur said that Muslim leaders considered these high-seas actions to be jihad, or justified warfare, while Europeans considered them piracy.

In addition to Arabic, al-Hurra spoke Spanish and Portuguese, giving her an advantage in diplomacy with those countries.

El Haimeur writes that al-Hurra’s two marriages served to make alliances with nearby rulers to strengthen their conjoined political entities. It was while al-Mandri was away on military missions that al-Hurra began her rule. She later led pirate raids against the Spanish and Portuguese in the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, earning the nickname “the pirate princess of jihad.”

The al-Hurra family had been victims of the Reconquista expulsion of Muslims from Andalusian Granada, El Haimeur writes, and they feared further losses.

El Haimeur writes that, in addition to keeping her enemies off balance, “Piracy gave al-Hurra revenue as well as a means to strengthen diplomatic relationships with foreign countries.”

Following al-Mandri’s death, al-Hurra took over as governor of the Mediterranean port city Tetouan and the surrounding area. She led the northern part of Morocco in the midst of ongoing conflicts between the Iberian powers and the north African Muslim kingdoms.

Al-Hurra’s second marriage, to Sultan Ahmad al-Wattasi, was less successful. The couple never lived together, and the Wattasid clan was overthrown by an alliance that included al-Hurra’s own brother.

El Haimeur said she is pleased to have brought al-Hurra’s story to a wider audience in the English-speaking world with her article. And in fact, she has heard from a Moroccan publisher who wishes to publish it as a booklet in Arabic, to be distributed in her home country.

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