Lettuce Eat Local: Something’s fishy around here
Amanda Miller
Columnist
Lettuce Eat Local
“One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish.”
Does any parent of small children not know this classic book beginning penned by Dr. Seuss? We go in spells around here of which books make the Top Hits list; newly received or library-borrowed books typically have some period of popularity, and sometimes the sheer ease of reach for books that didn’t get put away yet renders them most likely to be picked again, but other times there seems to be no rhyme or reason for what literature appeals most to Benson at any given time.
I take that back: sometimes there is rhyme, or at least rhyming cadence, to his best books, and the reason often involves tractors, dinosaurs, or Curious George. This week has been strongly about an old Winnie the Pooh (and Tigger too!) book we found, and if Brian and I have to read it fewer than five times a day currently, we’re winning. Benson also pages through it daily, either “reading” to himself or his baby doll.
A week or two ago, though, we had One Fish Two Fish out in the limelight, probably not unrelated to the fact that Brian was gone for the weekend on a fishing trip with some guys from church. Except for the weekend before, when we were on our anniversary trip, Brian has done nothing but farm for what feels like an inordinate amount of time. He loves fishing and has never done a guided tour like this before, and hasn’t even taken the time for any “regular” fishing for the last several years, so I was very pleased he made it work for him to go.
His son, however, wasn’t quite so impressed. Benson had a very hard time understanding why he couldn’t go with Daddy, and while we are used to Brian being out of the house from early until late these days, we at least see him for a few minutes here and there. It was a very good reminder of how intentional Brian has been to swing by before he heads to the field or between jobs: a great perk of living right on the farmstead. (Plus, living on the property means I’m the one in Brian’s absence who found myself late at night pushing feed and finding a new baby calf that needed to be fed — which was perfect, just enough to make me feel like a real farmer without having to do any actual work.)
“Train wreck” was the best way to describe Benson’s attitude most of the time Brian was gone, and mine also was starting to deteriorate towards the end; me and this ballooning belly were very ready to have someone else be this feisty two-year-old’s wrestling and blanket-cave-crawling partner.
Fortunately, Brian’s absence was short, and he brought atonement in the form of fresh striped bass fillets, so we’ve been eating fish even more than we’ve been reading about them. I’ve never had much experience cooking fish, as growing up my Dad didn’t like it and now landlocked Kansas is not the best locale either for price or freshness; but I’m delighted to experiment. I know best pan-frying with cornmeal and creole seasoning, but I tried another very simple pan-frying with just flour and lots of pepper finished with capers and fresh lemon that was fabulous.
To really venture into new waters, however, I made a Thai-inspired rice and fish dish with ginger and coconut milk. It was nothing like Seuss’s red or blue fish, and it was neither sad nor glad nor bad; it was just fully delicious. We have two more packs of fillets in the freezer, and I’m already looking forward to them.
Creamy Coconut Rice and Fish Packets
The bass cooked up so flaky and tender, the rice so bright and flavorful. For some reason it feels labor intensive to make foil pouches, especially if I refer to it by the cooking term “en papillote,” but honestly it’s so hands-off and with less clean-up than pan-frying. I used brown rice for its nutty notes and pleasant chew, but white rice would be fine — just note it needs to be cooked before being cooked again with the fish, a detail I almost missed when referencing the initial recipe. You can make these in individual-portion packets (4 or so), or 2 large packets.
Prep tips: as mentioned, I used striped bass, but any nice white fish fillets should work great. You can substitute soy sauce for the fish sauce…but you shouldn’t.
⅓ cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar or brown sugar
1 jalapeño, sliced thinly (deseed if desired)
two handfuls of chopped fresh cilantro
1-2 tablespoons fish sauce
1” piece fresh ginger, grated or minced
½ cup canned coconut milk
1 – 1 ½ pounds striped bass fillets
3-4 cups cooked rice
Heat vinegar, sugar, and jalapeño just until sugar is dissolved. Stir in one handful of cilantro and the fish sauce, ginger, and coconut milk. Separately, season fish with salt and pepper.
Lay out a piece of foil (see note) and mound on some rice. Top with fish, and spoon on sauce. Fold edges of foil up and crimp to seal. Repeat as necessary.
Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes, until fish flakes easily and at least some of the sauce has been soaked up by the rice. Serve with the remaining cilantro and more salt as necessary
KU News: KU Alumni Association, Black Alumni Network to honor innovators, emerging leaders
From the Office of Public Affairs | http://www.news.ku.edu
Headlines
KU Alumni Association, Black Alumni Network to honor alumni leaders and innovators
LAWRENCE — Eleven alumni will receive the University of Kansas Alumni Association’s Black Alumni Network Mike and Joyce Shinn Leaders and Innovators Award for their contributions to the university, their profession and their communities. The recipients will be honored Oct. 26 on the first evening of the network’s biennial reunion, during KU’s Homecoming weekend. The honorees have ties to the Greater Kansas City area, Lawrence and Wichita.
KU Alumni Association, Black Alumni Network celebrate young alumni with Emerging Leaders award
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Alumni Association’s Black Alumni Network will honor seven young alumni for their professional achievements and community service with Emerging Leaders awards at the network’s biennial reunion Oct. 26-28 during Homecoming weekend. The award recipients have ties to the Greater Kansas City area, Lawrence and Topeka.
Full stories below.
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Contact: Jennifer Sanner, KU Alumni Association, 785-864-9782, [email protected]; @KUAlumni
KU Alumni Association, Black Alumni Network to honor alumni leaders and innovators
LAWRENCE — Eleven alumni will receive the University of Kansas Alumni Association’s Black Alumni Network Mike and Joyce Shinn Leaders and Innovators Award for their contributions to the university, their profession and their communities. The award is named for the late Mike Shinn, a 1966 School of Engineering alumnus, who helped found the Black Alumni Network and the Leaders and Innovators Project, and his wife, Joyce.
The 11 recipients will be honored Oct. 26 on the first evening of the network’s biennial reunion, during KU’s Homecoming weekend:
• Maj. Gen. Kevin Admiral, Fort Cavazos, Texas, who earned his bachelor’s degree in cellular biology in 1994;
• Val Brown Jr., Wichita, who completed his bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1975 and graduated from the KU School of Medicine in 1979;
• J. Erik Dickinson, Kansas City, Missouri, who earned his bachelor’s degree in personnel administration in 1991;
• Jarius Jones, Kansas City, Kansas, who earned his mathematics education degree in 1999 and his doctorate in education in 2019;
• Ngondi Kamatuka, Lawrence, who earned his master’s degree in higher education in 1983 and in 1987 completed his doctorate in educational evaluation;
• Jerrihlyn Miller McGee, Kansas City, Kansas, who completed her bachelor’s degree in nursing in 2002, her master’s in nursing and organizational leadership in 2005 and her doctorate in nursing practice in 2015;
• Col. Robin Montgomery, Valrico, Florida, who earned his master’s in public administration in 2010;
• Milt Newton, Minnetonka, Minnesota, who earned his education degree in 1989 and his master’s degree in education in 1993;
• Loleta Robinson, Wilmington, North Carolina, who completed her microbiology degree in 1993 and graduated from the KU School of Medicine in 1999;
• Reuben Shelton, Chesterfield, Missouri, a 1978 journalism graduate;
• Brenda Marzett Vann, Kansas City, Kansas, who earned her speech pathology education degree in 1971 and her master’s in speech pathology in 1972;
Maj. Gen. Kevin Admiral
Admiral commands the U.S. Army’s largest and most modern armored division, the historic 1st Cavalry Division, with over 21,000 soldiers stationed at Fort Cavazos, Texas. He previously served in the Pentagon as the Army’s director of force management. He has earned numerous military honors, including the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, four Bronze Star medals, the Purple Heart, seven Meritorious Service medals, an Army Commendation Medal and four Army Achievement medals.
Admiral commissioned from the KU Army ROTC program as an active-duty armor officer. He holds a master’s degree from the National Defense University’s Joint Advanced Warfighting School, and he is a graduate of the Royal College of Defence Studies in London.
Val Brown Jr.
Brown, a third-generation Wichita physician, was one of the first two African American students to graduate from the KU School of Medicine’s Wichita campus. Although he retired from his private internal medicine practice in 2016, he continued to work in emergency rooms. He also served for 18 years as volunteer medical director for the EC Tyree Health and Dental Clinic at St. Mark United Methodist Church.
He has served on the boards of Big Brothers and Big Sisters, the Urban League, and the city and county health departments. He also mentored numerous students. For his community service, he received the Golden Eagle Award from Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, the NAACP Community Service Award, and the Urban News Best Doctor and Best Health Care Provider awards.
J. Erik Dickinson
Dickinson is president of the Urban Ranger Corps, a youth development agency founded in 2003. He previously served as director of the Boy Scouts of America: Heart of America Council and executive director of the Cleaver Family/Linwood Centers YMCA of Greater Kansas City.
His community involvement includes the Kansas City-Plaza Rotary Club, which he led as president in 2020. He was appointed to the Public Improvements advisory committee and the Housing Trust Fund advisory board of Kansas City, Missouri. He is currently president of the Kansas City, Missouri, alumni chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc.
Jarius Jones
Jones directs classified human resources for the Shawnee Mission School District. He previously served as principal of Center Middle School and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Kansas City, Missouri, where he also was vice principal of Northeast High School. In 2001, he was among the first Kansas City Teaching Fellows, which led to his seven-year tenure as a teacher at Wyandotte High School in his native Kansas City, Kansas. A graduate of Schlagle High School, he was inducted into the school district’s Reasons to Believe Alumni Honor Roll.
Jones is a board member of the Start a Smile Foundation, the Pentecostal Church of God in Christ and The Good Work. He previously served on the Kansas National Education Association board and on several Kansas Department of Education committees. In 2017, the Friends of Yates named him a Black Man of Distinction.
Ngondi Kamatuka
Kamatuka is the assistant dean for diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging in the KU School of Education & Human Sciences, where he has taught for 15 years. He also directs KU’s Achievement & Assessment Institute’s Center for Educational Opportunity Programs. He earned his bachelor’s degree in education from Tabor College in Hillsboro.
He served as president of the Mid-America Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel and chair of the Council for Opportunity in Education. Through the University of Liverpool, he advised the European Commission’s Science in Society Catalyst project at universities in Austria, Germany and Slovakia. His KU honors include Unclassified Employee of the Year, the School of Education & Human Sciences Achievement Award for Professional Staff and the Phi Delta Kappa chapter’s Outstanding Educator Award. He also received the Council for Opportunity in Education’s Walter O. Mason Award.
Jerrihlyn Miller McGee
McGee is a nurse and clinical associate professor in the KU School of Nursing. She also is the inaugural vice chancellor for diversity, equity & inclusion and the chief diversity officer for KU Medical Center’s three campuses in Kansas City, Salina and Wichita. Before earning her three KU degrees, she earned a bachelor’s degree from Xavier University in New Orleans.
Her scholarly work has focused on civility, healthy work environment, cultural intelligence, emotional intelligence, underrepresented students’ perceptions of nursing as a career, perceptions of health in urban settings, health and educational equity, and professional development. She facilitates seminars, webinars and workshops in Kansas City as well as nationally and internationally. She co-wrote the 2019 State of Black Kansas City report and has published numerous other peer-reviewed journal articles.
Col. Robin Montgomery
Montgomery is chief of strategic plans and policy for the U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. He also has served the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon and the Allied joint headquarters of NATO in Naples, Italy. He has played a pivotal role in shaping contemporary military force dynamics and foreign policy frameworks.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in zoology from the University of Washington before completing his KU master’s degree. He also graduated from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth and the U.S. Army War College, where he served as a national security fellow at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Milt Newton
Newton is assistant general manager of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks and previously served as an executive for the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Washington Wizards. He also helped establish the NBA Developmental League and was assistant director for the USA Basketball Men’s National Team. As a Jayhawk, he was a starter on KU’s 1988 NCAA national championship team and captain of the 1989 team.
He was a member of the NBA’s “Basketball Without Borders” delegation that held clinics in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Dakar, Senegal. In Washington, D.C., he volunteered as a mentor for adolescents through the National Center for Children and Families, and he serves on a committee that provides college scholarships for students at his alma mater, Calvin Coolidge Sr. High School. Newton grew up in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where he helped create the Emerald Gems Foundation Inc. to benefit teenagers. The government renamed the playground of his youth as the Milton M. Newton Recreational Park.
Loleta Robinson
Robinson is president and CEO of Fortis Industries, providing investment insights and strategic guidance to venture capital firms. She formerly held leadership positions at Thermo Electron Corp and MedImmune Vaccines, and she served as an entrepreneur in residence at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska and the National Institutes of Health. While at the NIH, she supported the development of rapid COVID tests. As a co-founder and chief medical officer at Syan Biosciences, she helped develop a new point-of-care diagnostic test for underserved populations.
In addition to her KU degrees, she holds a master’s in business and health administration from the University of Colorado Denver and a certificate in venture capital finance from the University of California-Berkeley School of Law. She has served on advisory boards for the KU School of Medicine, the University of North Carolina department of digital health, the Springboard Enterprises Life Sciences Council and several startup companies.
Reuben Shelton
Shelton earned a law degree from St. Louis University and a master’s in business administration from Washington University in St. Louis. He retired as lead litigation counsel for Monsanto Co. Before Monsanto, he was special chief counsel in the Office for the Missouri Attorney General, where he co-led the state’s lawsuit against the tobacco industry, which resulted in a $6.7 billion settlement for Missouri, the largest in state history.
Shelton recently concluded his term as the international president of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. after serving on the board for 16 years. He also has served on the boards of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, the NAACP and the Fathers & Families Support Center, as well as the St. Louis Children’s Hospital Development Board and the St. Louis University Board of Regents. His numerous awards include St. Louis University Law School’s Order of the Fleur de Lis Hall of Fame, the highest honor the school bestows.
Brenda Marzett Vann
Vann is a retired speech-language pathologist and educator. She began her career at KU as assistant director of Supportive Educational Services and director of Urban Affairs, now known as the Office of Multicultural Affairs. As SES director, she helped obtain the first federal grant for the program. She later became coordinator of speech, occupational and physical therapy for the Kansas City Public Schools in Missouri and a faculty member at Rockhurst University and the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
She received the American Cancer Society’s Outstanding Volunteer Award and the Terese Lasser Award, the highest honor for service to the Reach for Recovery Program. As a longtime volunteer for the KU Black Alumni Network and the KU Alumni Association, she served on the association’s national board of directors from 2010 to 2015. She received the association’s Mildred Clodfelter Alumni Award in 2009 and the Black Alumni Network’s Distinguished Service Award in 2015. She continues to advocate for KU as a member of the association’s Jayhawks for Higher Education, and she co-chairs KU Endowment’s Women Philanthropists for KU.
Since 2006, the Black Alumni Network has honored 94 Leaders and Innovators. For information about the network and the 2023 Reunion Weekend Oct. 26-28, visit kualumni.org/ban.
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Contact: Jennifer Sanner, KU Alumni Association, 785-864-9782, [email protected]; @KUAlumni
KU Alumni Association, Black Alumni Network celebrate young alumni with Emerging Leaders award
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Alumni Association’s Black Alumni Network will honor seven young alumni for their professional achievements and community service.
Seven Jayhawks will receive the inaugural Emerging Leaders awards at the network’s biennial reunion Oct. 26-28 during Homecoming weekend:
• Steven Johnson Jr., Lawrence, who earned his doctorate in educational leadership & policy in 2022;
• Olivia Jones, Lawrence, a 2022 psychology and applied behavioral science graduate who is now a second-year doctoral student in counseling psychology;
• Chanté Martin, Phoenix, who earned her master’s in public administration in 2018;
• Whitney Morgan, Kansas City, Missouri, a 2011 architecture graduate who earned his master’s in urban planning in 2013;
• Stanton Parker II, Kansas City, Missouri, a 2012 graduate in accounting;
• Keon Stowers, Lawrence, who earned his sociology degree in 2015;
• Derrick Williams, New Orleans, a 2017 business graduate.
Steven Johnson Jr.
Johnson currently serves as the interim director of KU’s Student Involvement & Leadership Center and the Office of Sorority and Fraternity Life, roles he has added to his responsibilities in the School of Business, where he is assistant dean of diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging. He’s also involved in the American College Personnel Association as past chair of the Pan African Network. He earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial and manufacturing systems engineering at Iowa State University and his master’s in student affairs administration at Michigan State University before completing his KU doctorate.
Olivia Jones
Jones works as a graduate research assistant for the Juniper Gardens Children’s Project in Kansas City. As an undergraduate, she was a Ronald F. McNair Scholar, and she received an Undergraduate Research Award for her work titled “Cross-Cultural Code-Switching: Its Relationship to Black Americans’ Adaptability and Identity.” As a member of the Applied Masculinities and Positive Psychology lab, she hopes to pursue research that uses positive psychology principles to create a more inclusive and accessible therapy culture for marginalized people, specifically for Black men.
Chanté Martin
Martin directs strategic partnerships for Polco, a company focused on elevating the voice of community members in government decision-making. She grew up in Topeka and rural Arizona and now lives in Phoenix. She earned her bachelor’s degree in communications from Washburn University before completing her KU master’s in public administration. She is the incoming president of the Kansas University City Managers and Trainees Alumni Organization, and she previously worked in local governments in Minnesota and Texas.
Whitney Morgan
Morgan works for the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, where he is the civil rights program manager and the liaison to the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program. He previously served as a transportation planner at the Mid-America Regional Council. He is the immediate past president of the Kansas City chapter of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials, and he received the 2020 Rev. Jerry Moore President’s Leadership Award.
Stanton Parker II
Parker is a certified information systems auditor and director of internal audit for MacroSource. In addition to his full-time role, he provides accounting services to entrepreneurs and other business owners. A Kansas City, Kansas, native, he is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. and served in leadership roles for the organization as a student and an alumnus, including undergraduate grand board member and undergraduate chapter adviser.
Keon Stowers
Stowers is an associate development director for KU Endowment, where he assists the KU Alumni Association in cultivating major gifts, including the commitments that funded the $29.5 million Jayhawk Welcome Center and Adams Alumni Center renovation. He previously worked for the association as assistant director of student programs, helping the Student Alumni Network become the largest organization of its kind in the Big 12. He began his career with KU Admissions, recruiting first-generation students and those from underrepresented groups. As a student-athlete, he led the Kansas football team as captain during the 2013 and ’14 seasons. He serves on the board for K-Club and is the finance and fundraising chair for the Black Alumni Network. In addition, he is a board member of Special Olympics Kansas and the American Red Cross Lawrence chapter.
Derrick Williams
Williams is a wealth manager and financial planner for Creative Planning in New Orleans. He recently obtained his certified financial planner designation; only 1.9% of these professionals are Black. As a KU student, he was a Multicultural Scholar, and he tutored student-athletes. He began his career at Renaissance Financial before moving to Morgan Stanley and U.S. Bank. He now offers guidance on various financial topics through a monthly broadcast segment on WWL-TV in New Orleans, and he is involved in Pathway Education, providing financial education for underrepresented communities. He is treasurer of the Black Sports Professionals New Orleans chapter.
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Wheat Scoop: Wheaties Showcase Craftsmanship, Photography and Commitment to Quality at Kansas State Fair
Contact: Marsha Boswell, [email protected]
For audio version, visit kswheat.com.
From beautiful hand-crafted wheat weaving to stunning captured moments of the growing season to hefty jars and bags filled with wheat kernels, Kansas Wheaties brought their best entries to the Kansas State Fair. With ribbons awarded and entries taken home, Kansas Wheat recognizes the winners of annually sponsored contests at the statewide event, including the Market Wheat Show, Open-Class Division — “It’s All About Bread,” Kansas Wheat Photography contest and Wheat Weaving.
“A little friendly competition can be fun, and the Kansas State Fair is the perfect statewide showcase,” said Cindy Falk, Kansas Wheat nutrition educator. “Kansas Wheat sponsors a wide variety of contests, so there’s something for everyone in the family to participate in and enjoy.”
Meeting the needs of customers is important to any business, and wheat farming is no exception. The Kansas Market Wheat Show exists to educate Kansas wheat producers of all ages on the factors that they can control, to some extent, to grow high-quality wheat. Entries into the Market Wheat Show include five pounds of wheat grown by the exhibitor in the current year. Entries are then judged on protein, test weight, dockage, shrunken and broken kernels and milling and baking scores. Kansas Wheat also sponsors Division 121 – Wheat, which ups the sample size to 20 pounds of wheat in any container, all of which must be the same variety.
In the Market Wheat Show, the division champion went to Jay Derley from Lewis with his entry of HRW wheat, with Greg Turek from Caldwell receiving reserve champion. Derley also won the Market Wheat Sweepstakes for Western Kansas and Turek won the sweepstakes award for Eastern Kansas. In Division 121, Cameron Peirce from Hutchinson won the division champion award.
Market Wheat Show Results
Champion – Jay Derley, Lewis
Reserve Champion – Greg Turek, Caldwell
Market Wheat Sweepstakes
1. Eastern Kansas – Greg Turek, Caldwell
2. Western Kansas – Jay Derley, Lewis
Class 1 – All Hard White Wheat
1. Brad Whitman, Leoti
Class 2 – All HRW Blends
1. LaVern Potuzak, Agenda
2. Royden Derstein, Ford
3. Mat Mai, Russell
4. Larry Stude, Larned
5. Gerald Mai
Class 3 – All Other Private HRS
1. Brandon Riffey, Sawyer
2. Jaxten Fimple, Ness City
3. Emily George, Albert
4. Clark Greene, Larned
5. Ruben Blatz, Montezuma
Class 4 – All WestBred/Monsanto
1. Lyle Katz, Kinsley
2. Mark Baus, LaCrosse
3. Gary Graff, Marienthal
4. Rick Sherer, Mullinville
5. Piper Brown, Russell
Class 5 – KSU HRW Varieties
1. Dan Wimmer, Bushton
2. Jaiden Pfannenstiel, Hays
3. Greg Turek, Caldwell
4. Colten Katz, Lewis
5. Waymaster Farms, Bunker Hill
Class 6 – All Other Public HRW
1. Jay Derley, Lewis
2. Jason Hildenbrand, Stafford
3. Fred Newby, Pratt
4. Jason Howell, Preston
5. Allen & Beth Vogel, Wright
Division 121 – Wheat Results
Division Champion – Cameron Peirce, Hutchinson
All Agri-Pro/Syngenta HRW Varieties
1. Joshua Patterson, Whitewater
2. Nolen Hyde, Minneapolis
All Hard White Wheat Variety
1. Sterling Nichepor, Ness City
2. Cameron Peirce, Hutchinson
All Other Varieties or Hybrids
1. Joshua Patterson, Whitewater
2. Doug Patterson, Valley Center
All WestBred HRW Varieties
1. Reed Nichepor, Ness City
KSU HRW Varieties
1. Cameron Peirce, Hutchinson
Other Public HRW Varieties
1. Steven Yust, Sylvia
For those with a keen eye, the Kansas Wheat Photography Contest is a perfect fit. The contest is open to both amateur and professional photographers, who are challenged to capture the story of Kansas wheat across all aspects of the industry from seeding to storage to wheat fields, harvest, grain trade, milling, baking and anything else that captures the photographer’s imagination. This year’s contest winner was Loribeth Reynolds from Hutchison.
Kansas Wheat Photography Contest Results
1. Loribeth Reynolds, Hutchinson
2. Kimberly Coffey, Wichita
3. Ellie Just, Marion
Wheat weavers combine nimble fingers with pure artistry to make intricate creations from amber waves of grain. Divisions include everything from holiday designs to jewelry as these artists utilize traditional patterns and draw upon their creative talents to come up with new and contemporary designs. This year’s division champion was Angela Harlan from Viola, and the reserve champion was Donna Morgenstern from Salina.
Wheat Weaving Contest Results
Plaited
1. Marian Vavra, Norwich
2. Donna Morgenstern, Salina
3. Mary Thrower, Minneapolis
Marquetry
1. Marian Vavra, Norwich
2. Donna Morgenstern, Salina
Dimensional
1. Angela Harlan, Viola
2. Rita Peterman, McPherson
3. Donna Morgenstern, Salina
Jewelry/Pin/Corsage
1. Marian Vavra, Norwich
2. Donna Morgenstern, Salina
Swiss Work
1. Donna Morgenstern, Salina
Straw Pulp
1. Donna Morgenstern, Salina
Holiday Design
1. Mary Thrower, Minneapolis
2. Marian Vavra, Norwich
3. Rita Peterman, McPherson
And no state fair is complete without food. In the “It’s All About Bread” category, bakers exhibit their best recipes from sourdough bread, holiday bread and whole wheat quick bread. This year’s winners combined tasty ingredients with perfect technique to make winning entries of Rosemary Parmesan Sourdough Bread (Sourdough Division), Whole Wheat Honey Applesauce Pecan Quick Bread (Whole Wheat Quick Bread Division) and a Holiday Kolache Bouquet (Holiday Bread Division).
It’s All About Bread Results
Sourdough
1. Jayne Notin, Rosemary Parmesan Sourdough
2. Wilma Olds, Sourdough Bread
Holiday Bread
1. Wilma Olds, Holiday Kolache Bouquet
2. Betty Hawthorne, Snow Flake Pull Apart Monkey Bread
Whole Wheat Quick Bread
1. Betty Hawthorne, Whole Wheat Honey Applesauce Pecan Quick Bread
2. Wilma Olds, Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
While the contests and categories for the 2024 Kansas State Fair won’t be open for entry until next summer, there’s no need to wait to try out a new recipe, break out the camera to capture wheat planting in action or try your hand at a new craft. Check out eatwheat.org for ideas and inspiration.
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Written by Julia Debes for Kansas Wheat
Winning photo by Loribeth Reynolds, Hutchinson, Kansas
“Get your eyes checked!”
If you ever played baseball, you may have been told to “keep your eye on the ball.” When batting, a baseball player is taught to watch the ball the entire time from when it leaves the pitcher’s hand to when, hopefully, their bat smacks the ball for a hit. It may sound simple, but some pitchers can throw fast and sometimes they throw a curveball. Great hitters use their vision and spot the difference, helping them get a hit. Lose focus, and in the blink of an eye the pitch has whipped past them for a strike.
Like keeping your eye on the ball in baseball, I recommend you keep your eye on your eyes. Sure, you may have good vision, but that does not necessarily mean your eyes are in good health. It is important to see an eye doctor for a regular check up, to help spot any eye issues early.
There are several common eye conditions that can be seen early by annual eye exams. Cataracts, macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy are some of the examples. Catching these right away helps prevent or delay vision loss. Early detection allows for easier, more effective, and cost efficient treatments.
Cataracts are from clouding of the lens of the eye that can cause blurring and sometimes eventual blindness. Treatable with surgery, outcomes may be better when diagnosed early in the course.
Macular degeneration is a problem with the retina which can cause blurring and central vision loss. Early diagnosis and treatment helps slow the course of the disease.
Caused by increased eye pressure, glaucoma may lead to vision loss from damage to the nerve in the back of the eye called the optic nerve. Often people have glaucoma without knowing it until their vision slowly deteriorates. Once again, early detection is key for preserving vision.
Diabetic retinopathy is a common complication from diabetes that causes damage to the blood vessels in the retina, causing vision loss. If you have diabetes or pre-diabetes, please have an annual eye exam and tell your eye doctor so they know to look for associated eye problems.
Just like a baseball player needs to keep an eye on the ball to watch for changes in movement, I encourage you to get your eyes checked to detect changes in your eyes to prevent vision loss. So, the next time you hear a baseball fan yell “Get your eyes checked!” to an umpire, may it be a reminder to schedule your next eye exam.
Andrew Ellsworth, M.D. is part of The Prairie Doc® team of physicians and currently practices family medicine in Brookings, South Dakota. Follow The Prairie Doc® at www.prairiedoc.org and on Facebook and instagram featuring On Call with the Prairie Doc® a medical Q&A show celebrating its 22nd season of health information based on science, built on trust, streaming live on Facebook most Thursdays at 7 p.m. central.
