The Kansas Department of Agriculture is accepting applications for the FY25 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. Funds for the program are awarded to the agency by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service.

The grant funds are in turn granted to projects and organizations to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops by leveraging efforts to market and promote specialty crops; assisting producers with research and development relevant to specialty crops; expanding availability and access to specialty crops; and addressing local, regional, and national challenges confronting specialty crop producers. Specialty crops are defined by the USDA as “fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops, including floriculture.”

Applications will be evaluated by a team of external reviewers. The team will rate proposals on their ability to successfully enhance the competitiveness of the specialty crop industry in Kansas and make a positive impact on the Kansas economy. Those recommendations will be submitted to the Kansas Secretary of Agriculture, who will make the final awards.

Applications are due to KDA no later than 5:00 p.m. on March 31, 2025. For more information, please download and carefully read the Kansas Request for Applications document from the KDA website: agriculture.ks.gov/grants.

Specialty Crop Block Grant Program funding from USDA–AMS is awarded to states based on recent value and acreage of specialty crops in the state. In 2025, Kansas will receive approximately $330,000.

The vision of the Kansas Department of Agriculture is to provide an ideal environment for long-term, sustainable agricultural prosperity and statewide economic growth. The agency will achieve this by advocating for sectors at all levels and providing industry outreach.

In January of this year, Keeping IDentities Safe reached an agreement with DSA (www.documentsecurityalliance.org) under which DSA will now be publishing this newsletter for its members. DSA is an association of more than 100 government, industry and academic organizations dedicated to securing the production, issuance, and authentication of government-issued identification documents and banknotes to help combat fraud and other criminal acts.

As a courtesy to our past readers, DSA has enabled Keeping Identities Safe the ability to send the DSA newsletter to you for the first quarter of 2025 (January, February, and March). The newsletter after that time will only be sent to the DSA mailing list.

DSA will continue to publish this monthly newsletter as a benefit to its government, academic and corporate members.

If your organization is interested in joining DSA, please find information about membership at https://documentsecurityalliance.org/join/application/.

If you are an employee or associate of an organization that is currently a member of the DSA, please email your newsletter subscription request to: info@documentsecurityalliance.org.

If you are an employee of a federal, state, county or city government, or otherwise are a volunteer with local law enforcement and would like to receive their newsletter, please email your newsletter subscription request to: [email protected].”

Carry Your Physical REAL ID When You Travel in 2025!

If you have traveled by air in the past year, it is highly likely that you saw one or more of the brightly illuminated Transportation Security Administration (TSA) notices of the May 7, 2025, deadline requiring passengers to present REAL ID compliant drivers’ licenses (DLs) or compliant IDs such as national Passports or Enhanced DLs.

TSA’s Domestic Aviation Operations is responsible for about 440 Federalized airports, screening more than 2 million passengers daily, and totaling over 815 million passengers annually. At most of those 440 airports, the passenger identity confirmations are assisted by electronic systems in which the inspections are assisted by ID scanning screens or devices into which IDs can be inserted to confirm the validity of the physical document as well as the information on it. Most of these machines were built and installed prior to the advent of mobile driver’s licenses (mDLs). In the past two years, following extensive pilot programs at three airports, TSA has fine-tuned new electronic machines that can read mDLs as well as physical identity documents. i.e., drivers’ licenses.

In 2024, TSA began deploying the new ID scanners and training the TSA passenger inspectors in their use, along with related connectivity to DMV sourced data. This has been a complex endeavor that required care to ensure reliability. Consequently at this date, only 31 airports in the USA are listed by TSA as having the capability to verify passenger identities by reading digital information. TSA will add digital screening at other large airports in 2024, as rapidly as staffing and budget constraints allow. (See list compilation below for those already prepared.) All DMVs advise you to carry your physical REAL ID on your person to ensure you can move quickly through TSA checkpoints.

On September 27th, 2024, I was caught at the Atlanta airport in the midst of flooding from Hurricane Helene. Although I arrived at the airport more than two hours prior to boarding, I didn’t get through TSA security in time to catch my flight, due entirely to long lines at TSA checkpoints. This was despite being in the TSA PreCheck lines.

Many of my fellow passengers shared my fate, some due to arriving at the airport with their cell phones containing mobile IDs, but without their physical driver’s licenses. In the press of congestion, an overloaded wi-fi, and the physical limits on TSA personnel, many missed their flights. I observed more than a dozen fellow travelers who only had mobile IDs in the TSA PreCheck line. These travelers were pulled from the line because the electronic readers were unable to verify their passenger information. They were not happy, and likely were not able to fly out of Atlanta’s airport that day as TSA personnel were so overwhelmed by the crush of passengers.

I was fortunate that United Airlines booked me out on the next flight to DCA, as that day – according to FlightAware – more than 170 flights into or out of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport were canceled, and more than 500 flights were delayed.

Weather events remain disruptive, and affect the reliability of digital systems, so carry your physical ID when you travel!

• My experience in Atlanta demonstrates that weather or other circumstances can create surprise problems when only having an mDL with you, so carry your physical card. TSA can verify the physical ID using the readers in place at every airport.

• There is also the possibility that in the months following May 7th, 2025, mDLs will NOT be accepted at TSA checkpoints because the regulatory waiver process will not be completed by any state. And the waiver process is the only way TSA will be able to accept an mDL. Per federal regulations final in 2024, no state’s mDLs will be deemed compliant unless the respective states have received a formal granted a waiver by TSA.

The following is a compilation of links and summary information to help readers get ready for the REAL ID deadline on May 7, 2025.

The Transportation Security Administration continues to roll out equipment and training so that additional airport are able to accept REAL ID compliant mDLs, once the states receive their respective waivers. A mostly complete list of those airports follows, and readers should save the link to the TSA map of airports that are capable of verifying digital ids.

https://www.dhs.gov/real-id/real-id-mobile-drivers-licenses-mdls

“Mobile driver’s licenses,” or “mDLs,” are digitized versions of the information on physical driver’s licenses and identification cards, and are stored on mobile electronic devices, such as smartphones.

mDLs Approved for Federal Use

Mobile IDs from the following states are now approved by TSA (see link for details: Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Puerto Rico, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia; https://www.tsa.gov/digital-id/participating-states

Most Federal agencies are at least twelve months away from having digital reading capability at their physical sites. In fact, with the exception of military bases and “secure federal facilities,” digital readers are few and far between at government buildings. The deadline for agencies to submit their planned locations for requiring REAL IDs for entry is May 7, 2025.

A recent posting from the Department of Homeland Security.

Not all Federal agencies are accepting mDLs. Before attempting to use an mDL, individuals should contact the agency they intend to visit to ask whether the agency accepts mDLs. To reduce risk of potential disruptions, TSA strongly encourages all mDL holders to carry their physical REAL ID cards in addition to their mDLs.

In conclusion, mDLs are the near future for controlled travel by airports, airlines and military bases, where reliable digital equipment and trained users are affordable and in place. Despite this, always carry your physical driver’s license or state- issued ID!

The 31 Airports in the United States where TSA can verify passengers’ identities with mobile IDs, including TSA Pre-check Touch IDs and digital passports, as of January, 2025 – from TSA Digital ID Map 1/21/2025 listed by city

https://www.tsa.gov/travel/digital-id/map#CID

Atlanta International Airport (Hartsfield-Jackson), Georgia

Baltimore/Washington International Maryland, (Thurgood Marshall) Airport

Cedar Rapids, (Eastern Iowa Airport), Iowa

Charlestown West Virginia International-Yeager Airport

Chicago, Illinois (O’Hare) International Airport

Cincinnati, Ohio (/Northern Kentucky) International Airport

Columbus, Ohio International Airport (John Glenn)

Dallas/ Fort Worth, Texas International Airport

Denver, Colorado International Airport

Detroit, Michigan Metropolitan Airport

Des Moines, Iowa International Airport

Dulles, Virginia International Airport

Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi International Airport

Honolulu, Hawaii Daniel K. Inouye International Airport

Huntington, Indiana Tri-State Airport

Jackson, Mississippi (Medgar Wiley Evers) International Airport

Las Vegas, Nevada (Harry Reid) International Airport

Los Angeles, California International Airport

Miami, Florida International Airport

New Orleans, Louisiana International Airport (Louis Armstrong)

Newark, New Jersey Liberty International Airport

New York JFK International Airport,

New York – LaGuardia Airport

Oklahoma City -OKC Will Rogers World- Airport

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

Richmond International Airport

San Francisco International Airport

San Juan, Puerto Rico (Luis Muñoz Marín) International Airport

San Jose Mineta International Airport

Salt Lake City International Airport

Washington, DC – National Ronald Reagan Airport

Kansas knife laws are relatively permissive, allowing citizens to enjoy a wide range of rights when it comes to knife ownership and carry. Here’s a comprehensive guide to understanding your knife rights in Kansas:

Legal Knives

Kansas law allows the ownership and carry of most types of knives, including:

• Pocket knives
• Fixed-blade knives
• Switchblades
• Balisong (butterfly) knives
• Disguised knives
• Karambits
• Swords and sword canes
• Machetes
• There are no restrictions on blade length for knives in Kansas.
  

  Illegal Knives

  The only knives explicitly prohibited in Kansas are:

  • Throwing stars
  • Ballistic knives

  Manufacturing, selling, buying, transferring, or possessing these items is unlawful within the state.

  Carrying Laws

  Open Carry

  Open carry of any legal knife is permitted in Kansas without restrictions.

  Concealed Carry

  Concealed carry of knives is generally allowed in Kansas, with a few exceptions:

• You cannot carry blackjacks, billy clubs, sand-clubs, slung-shots, bludgeons, or metal knuckles concealed.
• Ballistic knives are prohibited from concealed carry.
  

  Restricted Locations

  While Kansas knife laws are generally permissive, there are some locations where carrying knives is prohibited:

  • Schools and educational institutions
  • Government buildings
  • Jails and juvenile correction facilities
  • Some public places
  • Private properties (if prohibited by the owner)
  • Public transportation (if prohibited)
    

    Age Restrictions

    Kansas does not have specific age restrictions on knife ownership or carry. However, minors should have parental permission and supervision when handling knives.

    Preemption

    Kansas has a statewide preemption law that makes knife regulations uniform across the state. Local municipalities cannot enact more restrictive knife laws than those set by the state.

    Restrictions for Convicted Felons

    Convicted felons face restrictions on knife ownership and carry. It is unlawful for a convicted felon to own or possess certain types of knives, including daggers, dirks, stilettos, and switchblades.

    Penalties for Violations

    Violating Kansas knife laws can result in various penalties:

  • • Carrying illegal knives: Up to two years imprisonment or a fine up to $600.
    • Carrying knives in prohibited locations: Up to one year imprisonment or a fine up to $500.

    Kansas knife laws are generally favorable to knife owners, with few restrictions on the types of knives that can be owned and carried. However, it’s crucial to be aware of the prohibited locations and the restrictions that apply to convicted felons. Always exercise caution and responsibility when carrying and using knives in public spaces.