Registration is underway&nbsp;for the Girls on the Run 5K&nbsp;to be held&nbsp;the morning of&nbsp;December 4. Check-in is at 10:30 at&nbsp;the&nbsp;K-State Office Park at 1880 Kimball.&nbsp;

Participants will begin in waves grouped by race pace, running north on the southbound land of Denison Avenue and turning left on Marlatt Avenue.&nbsp;&nbsp;

They will travel down the righthand side of eastbound Marlatt Avenue to the turnaround, and returning back on the eastbound Marlatt Avenue to the super sidewalk on Denison Avenue where participants will run south on the sidewalk back to the&nbsp;finish line.&nbsp;

WHAT IS A ROLE OF A RUNNING BUDDY AT THE 5K?&nbsp;

Running buddies play an important role in making the 5k a memorable experience for our Girls on the Run participants. The role of the Running Buddy is to participate alongside your GOTR girl to express support and enthusiasm for her accomplishment. Running Buddies should encourage their girl to do her personal best instead of focusing on competition with others. Running buddies also ensure safety by supervising your GOTR girl along the 5k course including making sure she is wearing her race bib with emergency information listed and being aware of 5k event safety protocols.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.gotrflinthills.org/Register-Now" target="_blank">Register at&nbsp;www.gotrflinthills.org</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Registration is underway&nbsp;for the Girls on the Run 5K&nbsp;to be held&nbsp;the morning of&nbsp;December 4. Check-in is at 10:30 at&nbsp;the&nbsp;K-State Office Park at 1880 Kimball.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1637290700220.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Participants will begin in waves grouped by race pace, running north on the southbound land of Denison Avenue and turning left on Marlatt Avenue.&nbsp;&nbsp;They will travel down the righthand side of eastbound Marlatt Avenue to the turnaround, and returning back on the eastbound Marlatt Avenue to the super sidewalk on Denison Avenue where participants will run south on the sidewalk back to the&nbsp;finish line.&nbsp;WHAT IS A ROLE OF A RUNNING BUDDY AT THE 5K?&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1637290739750.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Running buddies play an important role in making the 5k a memorable experience for our Girls on the Run participants. The role of the Running Buddy is to participate alongside your GOTR girl to express support and enthusiasm for her accomplishment. Running Buddies should encourage their girl to do her personal best instead of focusing on competition with others. Running buddies also ensure safety by supervising your GOTR girl along the 5k course including making sure she is wearing her race bib with emergency information listed and being aware of 5k event safety protocols.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gotrflinthills.org/Register-Now" target="_blank">Register at&nbsp;www.gotrflinthills.org</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Girls on the Run 5K

The Kansas Board of Regents met&nbsp;Wednesday&nbsp;in Topeka&nbsp;to consider&nbsp;several&nbsp;items related to Kansas State University.&nbsp;

Regents approved K-State to accept ownership of an 80-acre tract of pastureland near Colbert Hills in Riley County from the KSU Foundation. A three-year lease-purchase agreement with the KSU Foundation was approved at the September 2018 KBOR meeting.&nbsp;

Regents approved a university plan&nbsp;to amend the fiscal year 2023 capital improvement project plan and accept the program statement for the West Memorial Stadium band hall.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The&nbsp;privately funded&nbsp;project will renovate space in the stadium to create dedicated indoor practice space, uniform storage, equipment storage and instrument repair space for the K-State Marching Band.&nbsp;

K-State received&nbsp;approval to amend the fiscal year 2023 capital improvement project plan and accept the program statement for the Mosier Hall consolidated biomedical core facility research suite.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The project will consolidate four existing core facilities in the College of Veterinary Medicine to deliver efficient, coordinated services. The project will be funded from a National Institutes of Health grant awarded to the college.&nbsp;

The Regents adopted an updated resolution at the September 2021 meeting,&nbsp;acknowledging&nbsp;the newly appointed regents shall not have access to certain classified information protected by federal law.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The resolution transferred the board's management control over certain classified information to a Security Executive Committee. The Regents updated&nbsp;the Security Executive Committee to replace Peter Dorhout with David&nbsp;Rosowsky, K-State's new vice president for research.&nbsp;

The Regents&nbsp;approved the&nbsp;scope of work for the Student Healthcare Task Force.&nbsp;

The Regents established the task force to commission and evaluate an independent study of the health care delivery system at the state universities.&nbsp;

All state universities submitted fiscal year 2023 housing and food service rates for first reading. The board will take final action in December and approved rates will go into effect on July 1, 2022.&nbsp;&nbsp;

As auxiliary enterprises, housing and food service operations must cover the total cost of operations with user fees. No housing or dining rate increases are requested for the Manhattan or Salina campuses.&nbsp;

The Regents will consider an amendment to board policy to allow students to enroll despite having outstanding financial balances.&nbsp;

The Kansas Board of Regents met&nbsp;Wednesday&nbsp;in Topeka&nbsp;to consider&nbsp;several&nbsp;items related to Kansas State University.&nbsp;Regents approved K-State to accept ownership of an 80-acre tract of pastureland near Colbert Hills in Riley County from the KSU Foundation. A three-year lease-purchase agreement with the KSU Foundation was approved at the September 2018 KBOR meeting.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1637287954649.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Regents approved a university plan&nbsp;to amend the fiscal year 2023 capital improvement project plan and accept the program statement for the West Memorial Stadium band hall.&nbsp;&nbsp;The&nbsp;privately funded&nbsp;project will renovate space in the stadium to create dedicated indoor practice space, uniform storage, equipment storage and instrument repair space for the K-State Marching Band.&nbsp;K-State received&nbsp;approval to amend the fiscal year 2023 capital improvement project plan and accept the program statement for the Mosier Hall consolidated biomedical core facility research suite.&nbsp;&nbsp;The project will consolidate four existing core facilities in the College of Veterinary Medicine to deliver efficient, coordinated services. The project will be funded from a National Institutes of Health grant awarded to the college.&nbsp;The Regents adopted an updated resolution at the September 2021 meeting,&nbsp;acknowledging&nbsp;the newly appointed regents shall not have access to certain classified information protected by federal law.&nbsp;&nbsp;The resolution transferred the board's management control over certain classified information to a Security Executive Committee. The Regents updated&nbsp;the Security Executive Committee to replace Peter Dorhout with David&nbsp;Rosowsky, K-State's new vice president for research.&nbsp;The Regents&nbsp;approved the&nbsp;scope of work for the Student Healthcare Task Force.&nbsp;The Regents established the task force to commission and evaluate an independent study of the health care delivery system at the state universities.&nbsp;All state universities submitted fiscal year 2023 housing and food service rates for first reading. The board will take final action in December and approved rates will go into effect on July 1, 2022.&nbsp;&nbsp;As auxiliary enterprises, housing and food service operations must cover the total cost of operations with user fees. No housing or dining rate increases are requested for the Manhattan or Salina campuses.&nbsp;The Regents will consider an amendment to board policy to allow students to enroll despite having outstanding financial balances.&nbsp;

Regents: K-State acquisition of 80-acre tract approved

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1637286356249.png" alt="A worker from the City of Manhattan uses a boom-mounted flail mower to cut back roadside brush and vegetation along Westwood Road in Manhattan. The City routinely clears bike paths and sight lines to improve transit safety. Residents are encouraged to report issues with excess weeds or brush, as well as sightlines, potholes, and other Public Works issues through the <a href="https://cityofmhk.com/2347/Report-It">City's Report It! portal</a>.&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>A worker from the City of Manhattan uses a boom-mounted flail mower to cut back roadside brush and vegetation along Westwood Road in Manhattan. The City routinely clears bike paths and sight lines to improve transit safety. Residents are encouraged to report issues with excess weeds or brush, as well as sightlines, potholes, and other Public Works issues through the <a href="https://cityofmhk.com/2347/Report-It">City's Report It! portal</a>.&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>

Just a trim...

The Boys finalists&nbsp;in the 2021 Hoop Holler N’ Shoot free throw contest&nbsp;were determined Wednesday at Bramlage Coliseum.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Four boys from a field of&nbsp;12&nbsp;go on to shoot in the finals of the boy's competition December 1&nbsp;during&nbsp;the K-State vs. Albany men’s game.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Boy's Division&nbsp;finalists:&nbsp;&nbsp;

Hoop Holler N’ Shoot, a program of the Manhattan Optimist Club, is a free throw contest for 5th graders in the Manhattan area grade schools. A boy and girl champion&nbsp;is&nbsp;determined at each school. The grade school champions move onto the semi-finals and finals held&nbsp;

The Boys finalists&nbsp;in the 2021 Hoop Holler N’ Shoot free throw contest&nbsp;were determined Wednesday at Bramlage Coliseum.&nbsp;&nbsp;Four boys from a field of&nbsp;12&nbsp;go on to shoot in the finals of the boy's competition December 1&nbsp;during&nbsp;the K-State vs. Albany men’s game.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1637292416346.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Boy's Division&nbsp;finalists:&nbsp;&nbsp;<ul>
 <li>Donnie Dunnigan, Northview, 5th grade…hitting 6 of 7 shots.&nbsp;</li><li>Kyree Robinson, Oliver Brown, 5th grade…hitting 4 of 7 shots.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Jaden Runyan, Marlatt, 5th grade…hitting 4 of 7 shots.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Mason Huggard, Amanda Arnold, 5th grade…hitting 3 of 7 shots.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
 </ul>Hoop Holler N’ Shoot, a program of the Manhattan Optimist Club, is a free throw contest for 5th graders in the Manhattan area grade schools. A boy and girl champion&nbsp;is&nbsp;determined at each school. The grade school champions move onto the semi-finals and finals held&nbsp;

Hoop, Holler, n' Shoot finalists

The Jan. 25, 2022, performance of "Swan Lake" by the Russian National Ballet at Kansas State University's McCain Auditorium has been canceled.&nbsp; &nbsp; Todd Holmberg, executive director of McCain Auditorium, said the cancellation is due to the unprecedented logjam on incoming goods arriving via sea transport to the U.S., which means shipping companies are currently unable to guarantee delivery of inbound cargo shipments.&nbsp; &nbsp; "This situation is affecting the logistics planning for the Russian National Ballet and means that timely delivery of the company's set and costumes for the ballet company's entire U.S. tour cannot be guaranteed," Holmberg said. "As a result, the Russian National Ballet made the difficult decision to cancel its K-State performance."&nbsp; &nbsp; Ticket holders to "Swan Lake" have three options for refunds:&nbsp; &nbsp; • They can donate the value of their tickets to the Friends of McCain organization to help sustain McCain's ability to present live shows. A letter acknowledging the donation is available upon request.&nbsp; &nbsp; • They can receive the value of their tickets as a gift certificate. The expiration date for the gift certificate would be June 30, 2023, and it would be good for any show presented by the McCain Performance Series. All gift certificates will be mailed and may take four to six weeks to process.&nbsp; &nbsp; • They can receive a credit card refund for the value of their ticket/s and sales tax. Refunds will be issued to the original ticket holder on the credit card with which the tickets were purchased. Please note that order processing fees are nonrefundable. Refunds may take four to six weeks to process.&nbsp; &nbsp; Ticket holders should email the McCain ticket office,&nbsp;<a href="mailto:mccain@k-state.edu" target="_blank">mccain@k-state.edu</a>, with their preference by Jan. 25, 2022. If ticket holders do not contact the ticket office by the end of the day on Jan. 25, McCain will automatically credit the patron's account with a gift certificate.&nbsp; &nbsp; For questions or assistance, please email&nbsp;<a href="mailto:mccain@k-state.edu" target="_blank">mccain@k-state.edu</a>.&nbsp; &nbsp; "McCain is disappointed for this unexpected and insurmountable logistics obstacle," Holmberg said. "Canceling the show was the only option due to the current unreliable supply chain circumstances."&nbsp;

The Jan. 25, 2022, performance of "Swan Lake" by the Russian National Ballet at Kansas State University's McCain Auditorium has been canceled.&nbsp; &nbsp; Todd Holmberg, executive director of McCain Auditorium, said the cancellation is due to the unprecedented logjam on incoming goods arriving via sea transport to the U.S., which means shipping companies are currently unable to guarantee delivery of inbound cargo shipments.&nbsp; &nbsp; "This situation is affecting the logistics planning for the Russian National Ballet and means that timely delivery of the company's set and costumes for the ballet company's entire U.S. tour cannot be guaranteed," Holmberg said. "As a result, the Russian National Ballet made the difficult decision to cancel its K-State performance."&nbsp; &nbsp; Ticket holders to "Swan Lake" have three options for refunds:&nbsp; &nbsp; • They can donate the value of their tickets to the Friends of McCain organization to help sustain McCain's ability to present live shows. A letter acknowledging the donation is available upon request.&nbsp; &nbsp; • They can receive the value of their tickets as a gift certificate. The expiration date for the gift certificate would be June 30, 2023, and it would be good for any show presented by the McCain Performance Series. All gift certificates will be mailed and may take four to six weeks to process.&nbsp; &nbsp; • They can receive a credit card refund for the value of their ticket/s and sales tax. Refunds will be issued to the original ticket holder on the credit card with which the tickets were purchased. Please note that order processing fees are nonrefundable. Refunds may take four to six weeks to process.&nbsp; &nbsp; Ticket holders should email the McCain ticket office,&nbsp;<a href="mailto:mccain@k-state.edu" target="_blank">mccain@k-state.edu</a>, with their preference by Jan. 25, 2022. If ticket holders do not contact the ticket office by the end of the day on Jan. 25, McCain will automatically credit the patron's account with a gift certificate.&nbsp; &nbsp; For questions or assistance, please email&nbsp;<a href="mailto:mccain@k-state.edu" target="_blank">mccain@k-state.edu</a>.&nbsp; &nbsp; "McCain is disappointed for this unexpected and insurmountable logistics obstacle," Holmberg said. "Canceling the show was the only option due to the current unreliable supply chain circumstances."&nbsp;

Swan Lake performance nixed by global logjams

By Scott Edger Little Apple Post

At its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday night, Manhattan City Commissioners moved forward with the City’s overhaul of the Manhattan Development Code.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The comprehensive plan, according to City administrators, consolidates zoning districts, adds new site and building requirements, and allows for different subdivision alternatives.&nbsp;

The&nbsp;new Development Code stems from&nbsp;a&nbsp;need to clarify and unify municipal codes, as well as other plans and projects, including Aggieville and Downtown Manhattan plans, the Manhattan Area Transportation&nbsp;Strategy,&nbsp;and the City’s Bike and Pedestrian System plans.&nbsp;

Development regulations can have a tremendous impact on a city’s attractiveness to businesses and industries considering relocation or expansion into the area. Coding regulations also deeply&nbsp;influence housing development and new home&nbsp;prices.&nbsp;

Exceptions to development codes are regularly&nbsp;granted for things like setbacks, sight line requirements, and overall lot coverage&nbsp;- which Adam said leads to not only widespread inconsistencies but also creates the impression that codes and ordinances are merely suggestions and are infinitely malleable.&nbsp;

John Adam, senior long-range planner for the City of Manhattan, explained to commissioners and the public that existing codes are clearly in need of an overhaul&nbsp;when an appeals office is laden with myriad&nbsp;exceptions granted to various projects.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“When you have that&nbsp;happening that is a good indicator that your code is wrong,”&nbsp;Adam said, “because it is not tracking with reality.”&nbsp;

Members of the community&nbsp;Mel Borst spoke during public commentary for the MDC. Borst raised concerns regarding the MDC’s codes regulating&nbsp;environmental&nbsp;open space&nbsp;and&nbsp;that new zoning&nbsp;policies would allow for construction of large&nbsp;buildings disproportionate to extant&nbsp;construction.&nbsp;

Borst said that language in the MDC “not only further damages existing neighborhood integrity and historic environs” and that the codes conflict with existing plans&nbsp;by, “allowing oversized houses&nbsp;to be constructed anywhere... regardless of established house size, scale or other historic considerations.”&nbsp;

Adam said that now is the time to approve and implement the plan. Further refinements are burdensome delays that keep the&nbsp;City&nbsp;“treading water.”&nbsp;

Commissioner Usha&nbsp;Reddi agreed that action is necessary – prudent and circumspect action, because “we&nbsp;also don’t want a big building that doesn’t belong there,” she said. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Adam noted planners fully realize that some development within the new code framework may vary from adjoining&nbsp;neighborhoods&nbsp;and development.&nbsp;He said that as specific issues come forth, planners could “re-trench.” He said the planners&nbsp;anticipate kinks.&nbsp;“We’re expecting to do some de-bugging with this because it’s not perfect,” Adam said.&nbsp;“We’re going to have our doors open on this.”&nbsp;

The commission voted 4-1 to move forward with the amended plan.&nbsp;Aaron Estabrook, the lone opposing vote, said he would not support the plan because document language did not change the definition of the word “family.”&nbsp;

By Scott Edger Little Apple PostAt its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday night, Manhattan City Commissioners moved forward with the City’s overhaul of the Manhattan Development Code.&nbsp;&nbsp;The comprehensive plan, according to City administrators, consolidates zoning districts, adds new site and building requirements, and allows for different subdivision alternatives.&nbsp;The&nbsp;new Development Code stems from&nbsp;a&nbsp;need to clarify and unify municipal codes, as well as other plans and projects, including Aggieville and Downtown Manhattan plans, the Manhattan Area Transportation&nbsp;Strategy,&nbsp;and the City’s Bike and Pedestrian System plans.&nbsp;Development regulations can have a tremendous impact on a city’s attractiveness to businesses and industries considering relocation or expansion into the area. Coding regulations also deeply&nbsp;influence housing development and new home&nbsp;prices.&nbsp;Exceptions to development codes are regularly&nbsp;granted for things like setbacks, sight line requirements, and overall lot coverage&nbsp;- which Adam said leads to not only widespread inconsistencies but also creates the impression that codes and ordinances are merely suggestions and are infinitely malleable.&nbsp;John Adam, senior long-range planner for the City of Manhattan, explained to commissioners and the public that existing codes are clearly in need of an overhaul&nbsp;when an appeals office is laden with myriad&nbsp;exceptions granted to various projects.&nbsp;&nbsp;“When you have that&nbsp;happening that is a good indicator that your code is wrong,”&nbsp;Adam said, “because it is not tracking with reality.”&nbsp;Members of the community&nbsp;Mel Borst spoke during public commentary for the MDC. Borst raised concerns regarding the MDC’s codes regulating&nbsp;environmental&nbsp;open space&nbsp;and&nbsp;that new zoning&nbsp;policies would allow for construction of large&nbsp;buildings disproportionate to extant&nbsp;construction.&nbsp;Borst said that language in the MDC “not only further damages existing neighborhood integrity and historic environs” and that the codes conflict with existing plans&nbsp;by, “allowing oversized houses&nbsp;to be constructed anywhere... regardless of established house size, scale or other historic considerations.”&nbsp;Adam said that now is the time to approve and implement the plan. Further refinements are burdensome delays that keep the&nbsp;City&nbsp;“treading water.”&nbsp;Commissioner Usha&nbsp;Reddi agreed that action is necessary – prudent and circumspect action, because “we&nbsp;also don’t want a big building that doesn’t belong there,” she said. &nbsp;&nbsp;Adam noted planners fully realize that some development within the new code framework may vary from adjoining&nbsp;neighborhoods&nbsp;and development.&nbsp;He said that as specific issues come forth, planners could “re-trench.” He said the planners&nbsp;anticipate kinks.&nbsp;“We’re expecting to do some de-bugging with this because it’s not perfect,” Adam said.&nbsp;“We’re going to have our doors open on this.”&nbsp;The commission voted 4-1 to move forward with the amended plan.&nbsp;Aaron Estabrook, the lone opposing vote, said he would not support the plan because document language did not change the definition of the word “family.”&nbsp;

Manhattan commission advances development code

Officers filed a report for theft in the 1600 block of Fairchild Ave. in Manhattan on November 16, 2021, around 10:38 a.m. Officers listed a 32-year-old male as the victim when it was reported an unknown suspect stole his black Specialist Hard Rock 2007 21-speed bicycle. The estimated total loss associated with this case is approximately $500.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Officers filed a report for criminal damage to property in the 400 block of Colorado St. in Manhattan on November 16, 2021, around 12:34 p.m. Officers listed Colorado Plaza Apartments as the victim when it was reported an unknown suspect damaged a window. The estimated total loss associated with this case is approximately $600.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Officers filed a report for burglary and criminal damage to property in the 3000 block of Tuttle Creek Blvd. in Manhattan on November 16, 2021, around 1:59 p.m. Officers listed a 43-year-old male as the victim when it was reported an unknown suspect broke into his RV and stole an LG Roku television, a Craftsman screw gun, and a Mastercraft cordless drill and cordless screw gun. The estimated total loss associated with this case is approximately $538.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Stolen bikeOfficers filed a report for theft in the 1600 block of Fairchild Ave. in Manhattan on November 16, 2021, around 10:38 a.m. Officers listed a 32-year-old male as the victim when it was reported an unknown suspect stole his black Specialist Hard Rock 2007 21-speed bicycle. The estimated total loss associated with this case is approximately $500.&nbsp;&nbsp;Broken windowOfficers filed a report for criminal damage to property in the 400 block of Colorado St. in Manhattan on November 16, 2021, around 12:34 p.m. Officers listed Colorado Plaza Apartments as the victim when it was reported an unknown suspect damaged a window. The estimated total loss associated with this case is approximately $600.&nbsp;&nbsp;Car break-inOfficers filed a report for burglary and criminal damage to property in the 3000 block of Tuttle Creek Blvd. in Manhattan on November 16, 2021, around 1:59 p.m. Officers listed a 43-year-old male as the victim when it was reported an unknown suspect broke into his RV and stole an LG Roku television, a Craftsman screw gun, and a Mastercraft cordless drill and cordless screw gun. The estimated total loss associated with this case is approximately $538.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Police Briefs for November 17, 2021

Join Sunset Zoo for the holiday season,&nbsp;November 27-28&nbsp;for&nbsp;an&nbsp;indoor&nbsp;holiday event at the Nature Exploration Center,&nbsp;and outdoors&nbsp;in the Zoo&nbsp;with a walking luminary trail.&nbsp;There will be family&nbsp;friendly activities,&nbsp;a visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus,&nbsp;storytime, and&nbsp;holiday&nbsp;treats and&nbsp;music.&nbsp;

The event will be limited to 250 guests each evening.&nbsp;

Friends of the Zoo have exclusive access from 4:30&nbsp;- 5:30 p.m.&nbsp;The general&nbsp;public&nbsp;is invited from&nbsp;5:30 - 7:30 p.m.&nbsp;<a href="https://bit.ly/3BjuToD" target="_blank">Online tickets are available her</a>e&nbsp;now.&nbsp;

Tickets may also be purchased at Sunset Zoo Gift Shop or the event each evening.&nbsp;General&nbsp;admission&nbsp;tickets are $5&nbsp;for kids ages 3-12, and $10 for everyone 12 and over. Kids under 2 are free. FOSZ receive a&nbsp;$1 discount.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Contact: For more information or purchase tickets, please call 785-587-2737 or&nbsp;<a href="https://bit.ly/3BjuToD" target="_blank">visit this link to buy tickets online</a>.&nbsp;

Join Sunset Zoo for the holiday season,&nbsp;November 27-28&nbsp;for&nbsp;an&nbsp;indoor&nbsp;holiday event at the Nature Exploration Center,&nbsp;and outdoors&nbsp;in the Zoo&nbsp;with a walking luminary trail.&nbsp;There will be family&nbsp;friendly activities,&nbsp;a visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus,&nbsp;storytime, and&nbsp;holiday&nbsp;treats and&nbsp;music.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1637181963098.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The event will be limited to 250 guests each evening.&nbsp;Friends of the Zoo have exclusive access from 4:30&nbsp;- 5:30 p.m.&nbsp;The general&nbsp;public&nbsp;is invited from&nbsp;5:30 - 7:30 p.m.&nbsp;<a href="https://bit.ly/3BjuToD" target="_blank">Online tickets are available her</a>e&nbsp;now.&nbsp;Tickets may also be purchased at Sunset Zoo Gift Shop or the event each evening.&nbsp;General&nbsp;admission&nbsp;tickets are $5&nbsp;for kids ages 3-12, and $10 for everyone 12 and over. Kids under 2 are free. FOSZ receive a&nbsp;$1 discount.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1637182031628.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Contact: For more information or purchase tickets, please call 785-587-2737 or&nbsp;<a href="https://bit.ly/3BjuToD" target="_blank">visit this link to buy tickets online</a>.&nbsp;

Santa's Luminary Trail at Sunset Zoo 

Remember&nbsp;Myspace? What about&nbsp;Friendster&nbsp;or&nbsp;Bebo? In the short history of the internet, there have been many social media platforms that have shot to fame before fading to black. We've charted the Google search volume for 9 of them since 2005 to see when each was generating its "peak buzz" on Google.&nbsp;&nbsp;

For the old school&nbsp;platforms&nbsp;the charts offer few surprises — steep rises and sharp drop offs as they were replaced and forgotten (we still love you&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Anderson" target="_blank">Myspace Tom</a>).&nbsp;

Some, such as&nbsp;TikTok, ascend to mainstream adoption like a rocket ship.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Others, such as&nbsp;Reddit, have had a much&nbsp;more gentle&nbsp;path.&nbsp;Since its launch in 2005 it's never been anywhere near as popular as&nbsp;Facebook,&nbsp;Instagram&nbsp;or&nbsp;Snapchat&nbsp;— but for those 15 years search interest for Reddit has always climbed, and just this week the company raised a&nbsp;<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/02/08/reddit-raises-250-million-in-series-e-funding/" target="_blank">fresh round of investment</a>&nbsp;at a $6bn valuation.&nbsp;

Perhaps the most interesting trajectory of any company in this chart is&nbsp;Twitter. In 2015 the number of people searching for Twitter was dropping off and it was failing to attract new users at the same rate it used to. For most social media platforms, this was usually a one-way street — once a decline had started, no other had managed to reverse it. Then things changed.&nbsp;

Maybe it was the election of President&nbsp;Trump, who used Twitter more intensely than any world leader before him. Or maybe it was simply because Twitter's often text-first content was timelier than the image and video focus of other platforms. Whatever the reason, Twitter has turned things around, and is once again growing — their most recent numbers revealed&nbsp;192 million active users, up 27% on last year.&nbsp;

So maybe you&nbsp;can&nbsp;turn a social media platform around when it starts to stagnate, but relaunching one completely from scratch — surely that's too hard? We'll soon find out, because it's exactly what the original founders are trying to do with&nbsp;Bebo&nbsp;— which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bebo.com/coming_soon" target="_blank">they plan to relaunch this month</a>.&nbsp;

Want us to add more social media platforms to this chart? Hit reply, and we'll add them next time.&nbsp;

31-year-old Whitney Wolf Herd&nbsp;is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56031281" target="_blank">now officially a self-made billionaire</a>. The founder and CEO of&nbsp;Bumble&nbsp;saw her wealth rise dramatically after&nbsp;Bumble&nbsp;debuted on the stock exchange, with shares rising more than&nbsp;70%&nbsp;on its first day of trading.&nbsp;

Facebook&nbsp;is set to trial a change in its algorithm that will&nbsp;<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/10/tech/facebook-political-content/index.html" target="_blank">show less political content to its users</a>&nbsp;on their main news feed. Currently Facebook claims that only around&nbsp;6%&nbsp;of what people see on Facebook is political in nature.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Amsterdam has superseded&nbsp;London as the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/feb/11/amsterdam-overtakes-london-as-europes-top-share-trading-centre" target="_blank">largest share trading hub in Europe</a>, averaging&nbsp;more than €9bn of trading volume&nbsp;per day in January, ahead of London which has seen its share trading volume halve.&nbsp;

Disney+&nbsp;hit a new&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/11/22278874/disney-plus-94-9-million-subscribers-q1-2021-earnings" target="_blank">high of&nbsp;94.9 million subscribers</a>, surpassing its original target of&nbsp;90 million&nbsp;— which it anticipated to take 4 years —&nbsp;in just&nbsp;14 months.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The&nbsp;UK economy&nbsp;shrank by&nbsp;9.9% last year, which was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56037123" target="_blank">more than twice the previous record</a>&nbsp;for an annual decline.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1637166823746.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Remember&nbsp;Myspace? What about&nbsp;Friendster&nbsp;or&nbsp;Bebo? In the short history of the internet, there have been many social media platforms that have shot to fame before fading to black. We've charted the Google search volume for 9 of them since 2005 to see when each was generating its "peak buzz" on Google.&nbsp;&nbsp;Easy come, easy goFor the old school&nbsp;platforms&nbsp;the charts offer few surprises — steep rises and sharp drop offs as they were replaced and forgotten (we still love you&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Anderson" target="_blank">Myspace Tom</a>).&nbsp;Some, such as&nbsp;TikTok, ascend to mainstream adoption like a rocket ship.&nbsp;&nbsp;Others, such as&nbsp;Reddit, have had a much&nbsp;more gentle&nbsp;path.&nbsp;Since its launch in 2005 it's never been anywhere near as popular as&nbsp;Facebook,&nbsp;Instagram&nbsp;or&nbsp;Snapchat&nbsp;— but for those 15 years search interest for Reddit has always climbed, and just this week the company raised a&nbsp;<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/02/08/reddit-raises-250-million-in-series-e-funding/" target="_blank">fresh round of investment</a>&nbsp;at a $6bn valuation.&nbsp;Twitter turns things around&nbsp;Perhaps the most interesting trajectory of any company in this chart is&nbsp;Twitter. In 2015 the number of people searching for Twitter was dropping off and it was failing to attract new users at the same rate it used to. For most social media platforms, this was usually a one-way street — once a decline had started, no other had managed to reverse it. Then things changed.&nbsp;Maybe it was the election of President&nbsp;Trump, who used Twitter more intensely than any world leader before him. Or maybe it was simply because Twitter's often text-first content was timelier than the image and video focus of other platforms. Whatever the reason, Twitter has turned things around, and is once again growing — their most recent numbers revealed&nbsp;192 million active users, up 27% on last year.&nbsp;So maybe you&nbsp;can&nbsp;turn a social media platform around when it starts to stagnate, but relaunching one completely from scratch — surely that's too hard? We'll soon find out, because it's exactly what the original founders are trying to do with&nbsp;Bebo&nbsp;— which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bebo.com/coming_soon" target="_blank">they plan to relaunch this month</a>.&nbsp;Want us to add more social media platforms to this chart? Hit reply, and we'll add them next time.&nbsp;DATA SNACKS&nbsp;31-year-old Whitney Wolf Herd&nbsp;is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56031281" target="_blank">now officially a self-made billionaire</a>. The founder and CEO of&nbsp;Bumble&nbsp;saw her wealth rise dramatically after&nbsp;Bumble&nbsp;debuted on the stock exchange, with shares rising more than&nbsp;70%&nbsp;on its first day of trading.&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;is set to trial a change in its algorithm that will&nbsp;<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/10/tech/facebook-political-content/index.html" target="_blank">show less political content to its users</a>&nbsp;on their main news feed. Currently Facebook claims that only around&nbsp;6%&nbsp;of what people see on Facebook is political in nature.&nbsp;&nbsp;Amsterdam has superseded&nbsp;London as the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/feb/11/amsterdam-overtakes-london-as-europes-top-share-trading-centre" target="_blank">largest share trading hub in Europe</a>, averaging&nbsp;more than €9bn of trading volume&nbsp;per day in January, ahead of London which has seen its share trading volume halve.&nbsp;Disney+&nbsp;hit a new&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/11/22278874/disney-plus-94-9-million-subscribers-q1-2021-earnings" target="_blank">high of&nbsp;94.9 million subscribers</a>, surpassing its original target of&nbsp;90 million&nbsp;— which it anticipated to take 4 years —&nbsp;in just&nbsp;14 months.&nbsp;&nbsp;The&nbsp;UK economy&nbsp;shrank by&nbsp;9.9% last year, which was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56037123" target="_blank">more than twice the previous record</a>&nbsp;for an annual decline.&nbsp;

Chart of the Day: Historical peaks for social media platforms

At 2:30 Tuesday&nbsp;afternoon, the National Weather Service in Topeka issued a Fire Weather&nbsp; Watch starting Wednesday morning through&nbsp;Wednesday afternoon.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The watch affects the following counties: Republic, Washington, Cloud, Clay, Riley, Ottawa, Dickinson, Geary, and&nbsp;Morris.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Conditions&nbsp;currently&nbsp;favor fires&nbsp;with north winds of 15 to 20&nbsp;mph,&nbsp;and&nbsp;gusts of 25 to 35mph,&nbsp;isolated to 40&nbsp;mph, and expected humidity levels below 20 percent.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Officials warn that any fires that develop in areas with dried fuels will&nbsp;likely spread rapidly. Outdoor burning is not recommended.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

At 2:30 Tuesday&nbsp;afternoon, the National Weather Service in Topeka issued a Fire Weather&nbsp; Watch starting Wednesday morning through&nbsp;Wednesday afternoon.&nbsp;&nbsp;The watch affects the following counties: Republic, Washington, Cloud, Clay, Riley, Ottawa, Dickinson, Geary, and&nbsp;Morris.&nbsp;&nbsp;Conditions&nbsp;currently&nbsp;favor fires&nbsp;with north winds of 15 to 20&nbsp;mph,&nbsp;and&nbsp;gusts of 25 to 35mph,&nbsp;isolated to 40&nbsp;mph, and expected humidity levels below 20 percent.&nbsp;&nbsp;Officials warn that any fires that develop in areas with dried fuels will&nbsp;likely spread rapidly. Outdoor burning is not recommended.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

NWS issues fire watch

Authorities are warning residents to be on the lookout for phone and internet scams.&nbsp;On November 15, a 60-year-old female reported someone called her saying her Amazon account was hacked.

The caller&nbsp;told the victim that&nbsp;she needed to&nbsp;make purchases and&nbsp;provide personal information&nbsp;to the caller as a remedy.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Officials note that the Thanksgiving season starts one of the peak times for phone and internet fraud. People should note misspellings, typos, poor grammar and strange-looking web addresses as likely signs of a scam. They also implore people to never give out information to strangers or over the phone.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Kansas State University has also been the target of internet scams in recent days.&nbsp;The institution&nbsp;recently warned employees&nbsp;of a&nbsp;new phishing scam currently targeting colleges and universities. The scam email notifies students, faculty, and staff that federal government funds are available and asks the recipient to apply for the grant money and provide their personal data.&nbsp;

Authorities point out that you are the best defense to protect your identity, personal information, and university resources. Be skeptical of emails promising you money if you provide your personal data. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.&nbsp;

Most legitimate companies&nbsp;will never ask for your&nbsp;identification or&nbsp;password by email or in a survey. If you are uncertain about the legitimacy of an email&nbsp;don’t open it.&nbsp;

Authorities are warning residents to be on the lookout for phone and internet scams.&nbsp;On November 15, a 60-year-old female reported someone called her saying her Amazon account was hacked.The caller&nbsp;told the victim that&nbsp;she needed to&nbsp;make purchases and&nbsp;provide personal information&nbsp;to the caller as a remedy.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1637095059719.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Officials note that the Thanksgiving season starts one of the peak times for phone and internet fraud. People should note misspellings, typos, poor grammar and strange-looking web addresses as likely signs of a scam. They also implore people to never give out information to strangers or over the phone.&nbsp;&nbsp;Kansas State University has also been the target of internet scams in recent days.&nbsp;The institution&nbsp;recently warned employees&nbsp;of a&nbsp;new phishing scam currently targeting colleges and universities. The scam email notifies students, faculty, and staff that federal government funds are available and asks the recipient to apply for the grant money and provide their personal data.&nbsp;Authorities point out that you are the best defense to protect your identity, personal information, and university resources. Be skeptical of emails promising you money if you provide your personal data. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.&nbsp;Most legitimate companies&nbsp;will never ask for your&nbsp;identification or&nbsp;password by email or in a survey. If you are uncertain about the legitimacy of an email&nbsp;don’t open it.&nbsp;

It's beginning to look a lot like Scam Season

Today at 3 p.m. in&nbsp; the Flinthills Room of the Kansas State University Student Union, the K-State Office for the Advancement of Women in Science and Engineering is hosting&nbsp;Dr. Jeannie Brown Leonard, KSU vice provost for Student Success,&nbsp;to&nbsp;share a narrative of her&nbsp;ongoing journey to move from episodic JEDI engagement to a deeper, integrated framework.&nbsp;

As a new-ish&nbsp;member of the K-State community who occupies many identities of privilege, she has&nbsp;been thinking about how transitions to new roles pose opportunities and challenges in JEDI work. Join Dr. Brown Leonard&nbsp;in a conversation about blunders and successes.&nbsp;&nbsp;

KAWSE&nbsp;a part of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.k-state.edu/student-success/" target="_blank">Office of Student Success</a>&nbsp;and works to increase the participation, retention and advancement of girls and women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Today at 3 p.m. in&nbsp; the Flinthills Room of the Kansas State University Student Union, the K-State Office for the Advancement of Women in Science and Engineering is hosting&nbsp;Dr. Jeannie Brown Leonard, KSU vice provost for Student Success,&nbsp;to&nbsp;share a narrative of her&nbsp;ongoing journey to move from episodic JEDI engagement to a deeper, integrated framework.&nbsp;As a new-ish&nbsp;member of the K-State community who occupies many identities of privilege, she has&nbsp;been thinking about how transitions to new roles pose opportunities and challenges in JEDI work. Join Dr. Brown Leonard&nbsp;in a conversation about blunders and successes.&nbsp;&nbsp;KAWSE&nbsp;a part of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.k-state.edu/student-success/" target="_blank">Office of Student Success</a>&nbsp;and works to increase the participation, retention and advancement of girls and women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1637082078061.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>

KAWSE Inclusive Leadership Series: Jeannie Brown Leonard 

Governor Laura Kelly has proclaimed Thursday, Nov. 18, as National Injury Prevention Day in Kansas.&nbsp;

This is the second year for this annual observance which shines a light on the need for injury and violence prevention. Every day, 20 children die from preventable injuries, resulting in more deaths than all diseases combined.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Using safety practices, products and smart policies, many of these deaths are preventable.&nbsp;Safety advocates across the country are working together to educate families and community leaders about creating and supporting safer environments.&nbsp;&nbsp;

At noon, the public is invited to take part in a live national conversation about the top injury and violence concerns during a&nbsp;onehour&nbsp;Twitter chat using the hashtag: #BeInjuryFree When the sun goes down on Nov. 18, Downtown Topeka,&nbsp;Evergy&nbsp;Plaza and Stormont Vail Health will be lighting up green in support of these efforts.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Safe Kids Kansas appreciates their commitment to a safer Kansas and invites others to join in raising awareness of injury prevention. Safe Kids Kansas is a non-profit coalition of partners and local coalitions across the state dedicated to prevention of unintentional childhood injuries. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment serves as lead agency of the coalition.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Safe Kids Kansas is part of Safe Kids Worldwide network. For more information, visit www.safekidskansas.org or follow @safekidskansas on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.&nbsp;

Governor Laura Kelly has proclaimed Thursday, Nov. 18, as National Injury Prevention Day in Kansas.&nbsp;This is the second year for this annual observance which shines a light on the need for injury and violence prevention. Every day, 20 children die from preventable injuries, resulting in more deaths than all diseases combined.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1637063903775.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Using safety practices, products and smart policies, many of these deaths are preventable.&nbsp;Safety advocates across the country are working together to educate families and community leaders about creating and supporting safer environments.&nbsp;&nbsp;At noon, the public is invited to take part in a live national conversation about the top injury and violence concerns during a&nbsp;onehour&nbsp;Twitter chat using the hashtag: #BeInjuryFree When the sun goes down on Nov. 18, Downtown Topeka,&nbsp;Evergy&nbsp;Plaza and Stormont Vail Health will be lighting up green in support of these efforts.&nbsp;&nbsp;Safe Kids Kansas appreciates their commitment to a safer Kansas and invites others to join in raising awareness of injury prevention. Safe Kids Kansas is a non-profit coalition of partners and local coalitions across the state dedicated to prevention of unintentional childhood injuries. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment serves as lead agency of the coalition.&nbsp;&nbsp;Safe Kids Kansas is part of Safe Kids Worldwide network. For more information, visit www.safekidskansas.org or follow @safekidskansas on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.&nbsp;

Kelly issues proclamation

A Kansas State University project that harnesses the power of artificial intelligence and the curiosity of nature lovers may just be the bee’s knees for saving one of the world’s most efficient pollinators.&nbsp;

K-State entomologist&nbsp;<a href="https://entomology.k-state.edu/people/faculty/Spiesman-Brian.html" target="_blank">Brian Spiesman</a>&nbsp;is leading the project, called&nbsp;<a href="https://beemachine.ai/" target="_blank">BeeMachine</a>, which uses computer vision to identify North American bumblebee species with images submitted from public databases and ordinary citizens.&nbsp;

As of summer 2021, the database has more than 125,000 images and feeds a computer algorithm that Spiesman hopes will break a bottleneck in getting important research data to conservationists and others who put that knowledge to use.&nbsp;

“The way research currently works is you go out into the field, capture a lot of bees and bring them back to the lab to identify them,” said Spiesman, research assistant professor of entomology in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ag.k-state.edu/" target="_blank">College of Agriculture</a>.&nbsp;

Lab workers then identify the bees under a microscope one at a time. Spiesman said researchers often collect bees all summer, identify them during the winter, then analyze and write data for publication — a process that can sometimes take years.&nbsp;

“BeeMachine, and what will likely be future iterations of the use of artificial intelligence for insect identification, will transform the field of bee and insect conservation more broadly,” said&nbsp;<a href="https://gratton.entomology.wisc.edu/people/claudio-gratton/" target="_blank">Claudio Gratton</a>, professor of entomology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who has used the program with his students to confirm the identities of species. “The possibility of having species-level identifications from numerous places will finally give us the ability to accurately and rapidly monitor bee occurrence, population sizes and how they fluctuate over time.”&nbsp;

There are more than 20,000 native bee species — including bumblebees — around the world. It is commonly believed among scientists that the population of bumblebees in North America is declining. One species — Bombus&nbsp;pensylvanicus&nbsp;— once was widely spread across the eastern U.S., but its range has greatly contracted, according to Spiesman. While the species still exists in Kansas, it has not been seen in many places around the U.S., including&nbsp;Pennsylvania.“Bumblebees&nbsp;are great pollinators, especially for things like tomatoes and blueberries and other crops that require buzz pollination,” Spiesman said. “They vibrate very rapidly and that helps them more effectively deposit pollen on the flowers that require that.”&nbsp;

Rich Hatfield, a senior conservation biologist with the&nbsp;<a href="https://xerces.org/" target="_blank">Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation</a>, has contributed thousands of images to&nbsp;BeeMachine&nbsp;from his own site,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bumblebeewatch.org/" target="_blank">Bumble Bee Watch</a>, which gathers images submitted by citizens and has them reviewed by an expert taxonomist.&nbsp;

That process — best known as citizen science — is valuable to researchers because it connects them to an endless number of interested citizens who are contributing to scientific knowledge.&nbsp;

But current efforts to engage the public in bee research fall short because of the amount of time it takes to accept samples and then wait for an expert taxonomist to identify the species and provide feedback. Often, people submitting the samples simply want quick answers on what they have seen.&nbsp;

Spiesman said&nbsp;BeeMachine&nbsp;shows promise for bridging that gap. One idea is that&nbsp;BeeMachine’s&nbsp;computer vision system could be integrated with Bumble Bee Watch and similar sites to provide quicker feedback to those submitting pictures.&nbsp;

The power of artificial intelligence&nbsp;

K-State computer scientist William Hsu with the&nbsp;<a href="https://caids.cs.ksu.edu/" target="_blank">Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science</a>&nbsp;is developing the computer vision that is key to making quicker identification a reality.&nbsp;

“Computer vision is the scientific field of using machines to understand images and videos, meaning that we have a picture or sequence of pictures captured on a camera, phone or other device, and we might want to name all the objects or people, mark out the borders of objects, label and track living organisms, or even explain events or actions that are happening,” said Hsu, professor of computer science in the&nbsp;<a href="https://engg.k-state.edu/" target="_blank">Carl R. Ice College of Engineering</a>.&nbsp;

As computer programs analyze images, Hsu said, those programs store the information for use in identifying similar images sometime in the future. Initially, images may be identified by a human being, and that information is stored alongside the image.&nbsp;

“The learning system we use is a deep neural network, a mathematical model resembling some parts of the visual processing system of the human brain,” Hsu said. “This model is modified to make it better at predicting the labels that people already put on images. This is called training and the result is a trained model that we can use on bees we haven’t seen before.”&nbsp;

While 120,000 images currently in the&nbsp;BeeMachine&nbsp;database seems like a lot, it’s still not enough. The more that the program is fed, the better it gets at identifying the correct species.&nbsp;

“An expert taxonomist usually has to look at two or three images of the same individual bee that are taken at different angles,” Spiesman said. “In the artificial intelligence model, we are realizing that it needs that, too. If it has a really good look at it, it will give us a good result. If you want to make sure you have the right answer, you have to load in two or three or four images of the same bee.”&nbsp;

In the year since&nbsp;BeeMachine&nbsp;debuted, Spiesman said the K-State researchers have increased the number of species identified in the database from 36 to 41. There are an estimated 45 species of bumblebees in North America. Eventually,&nbsp;BeeMachine&nbsp;could be used to identify bumblebees around the world, and then — much more long term — any of the 20,000 native bee species found across the globe.&nbsp;

Getting there means advancing the technology even further. Already, Hsu said researchers are looking at other ways to gather images, such as using thermal sensors, drone-mounted cameras, wearable or implantable sensors and other devices. Spiesman said something as simple as mounting motion-sensitive cameras in a field to track bees as they pollinate flowers also could be valuable — similar to remote wildlife cameras.&nbsp;

A computer vision model for farmers&nbsp;

Kansas State University entomologist Brian McCornack half-jokingly says he’s counted close to a billion aphids — a minute, sap-sucking bug that feeds on plants — in his career of 20-plus years, and he’s just plain tired of doing it.&nbsp;

So, he’s pretty happy that computers may soon be able to do it for him. Computer vision modeling also could be used to aid farmers in their crop fields.&nbsp;

“Counting insects, especially across large geographic regions, is time-consuming and sometimes impractical,” said McCornack, professor and head of the entomology department. “Insects are quite mobile, and populations can change drastically from one week to the next. Farmers simply can’t walk every single acre of a field as frequently as needed to make management decisions. Machines can reduce the workload while improving the reliability in pest or natural enemy density estimates, which are the basis of all treatment thresholds. The exciting part is that we are not that far away from seeing these tools in the hands of farmers and consultants.”&nbsp;

K-State entomologists, agronomists and biological engineers are developing technologies, such as drones, to identify defoliated soybean leaves or to identify lady beetles on sorghum.&nbsp;

But automation does not mean removing people from production agriculture, McCornack said.&nbsp;

“It does mean that we need to be sure that our students and stakeholders know that these tools have a place in decision-making, and that we teach them how to use this technology to solve some of the grand challenges facing agriculture,” McCornack said.&nbsp;

A Kansas State University project that harnesses the power of artificial intelligence and the curiosity of nature lovers may just be the bee’s knees for saving one of the world’s most efficient pollinators.&nbsp;K-State entomologist&nbsp;<a href="https://entomology.k-state.edu/people/faculty/Spiesman-Brian.html" target="_blank">Brian Spiesman</a>&nbsp;is leading the project, called&nbsp;<a href="https://beemachine.ai/" target="_blank">BeeMachine</a>, which uses computer vision to identify North American bumblebee species with images submitted from public databases and ordinary citizens.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1637058335732.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>As of summer 2021, the database has more than 125,000 images and feeds a computer algorithm that Spiesman hopes will break a bottleneck in getting important research data to conservationists and others who put that knowledge to use.&nbsp;“The way research currently works is you go out into the field, capture a lot of bees and bring them back to the lab to identify them,” said Spiesman, research assistant professor of entomology in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ag.k-state.edu/" target="_blank">College of Agriculture</a>.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1637063271966.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Lab workers then identify the bees under a microscope one at a time. Spiesman said researchers often collect bees all summer, identify them during the winter, then analyze and write data for publication — a process that can sometimes take years.&nbsp;“BeeMachine, and what will likely be future iterations of the use of artificial intelligence for insect identification, will transform the field of bee and insect conservation more broadly,” said&nbsp;<a href="https://gratton.entomology.wisc.edu/people/claudio-gratton/" target="_blank">Claudio Gratton</a>, professor of entomology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who has used the program with his students to confirm the identities of species. “The possibility of having species-level identifications from numerous places will finally give us the ability to accurately and rapidly monitor bee occurrence, population sizes and how they fluctuate over time.”&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1637058415907.jpeg" alt="Brian Spiesman" />
 <figcaption>Brian Spiesman</figcaption>
 </figure>A citizen science approachThere are more than 20,000 native bee species — including bumblebees — around the world. It is commonly believed among scientists that the population of bumblebees in North America is declining. One species — Bombus&nbsp;pensylvanicus&nbsp;— once was widely spread across the eastern U.S., but its range has greatly contracted, according to Spiesman. While the species still exists in Kansas, it has not been seen in many places around the U.S., including&nbsp;Pennsylvania.“Bumblebees&nbsp;are great pollinators, especially for things like tomatoes and blueberries and other crops that require buzz pollination,” Spiesman said. “They vibrate very rapidly and that helps them more effectively deposit pollen on the flowers that require that.”&nbsp;Rich Hatfield, a senior conservation biologist with the&nbsp;<a href="https://xerces.org/" target="_blank">Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation</a>, has contributed thousands of images to&nbsp;BeeMachine&nbsp;from his own site,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bumblebeewatch.org/" target="_blank">Bumble Bee Watch</a>, which gathers images submitted by citizens and has them reviewed by an expert taxonomist.&nbsp;That process — best known as citizen science — is valuable to researchers because it connects them to an endless number of interested citizens who are contributing to scientific knowledge.&nbsp;But current efforts to engage the public in bee research fall short because of the amount of time it takes to accept samples and then wait for an expert taxonomist to identify the species and provide feedback. Often, people submitting the samples simply want quick answers on what they have seen.&nbsp;Spiesman said&nbsp;BeeMachine&nbsp;shows promise for bridging that gap. One idea is that&nbsp;BeeMachine’s&nbsp;computer vision system could be integrated with Bumble Bee Watch and similar sites to provide quicker feedback to those submitting pictures.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1637058568974.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The power of artificial intelligence&nbsp;K-State computer scientist William Hsu with the&nbsp;<a href="https://caids.cs.ksu.edu/" target="_blank">Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science</a>&nbsp;is developing the computer vision that is key to making quicker identification a reality.&nbsp;“Computer vision is the scientific field of using machines to understand images and videos, meaning that we have a picture or sequence of pictures captured on a camera, phone or other device, and we might want to name all the objects or people, mark out the borders of objects, label and track living organisms, or even explain events or actions that are happening,” said Hsu, professor of computer science in the&nbsp;<a href="https://engg.k-state.edu/" target="_blank">Carl R. Ice College of Engineering</a>.&nbsp;As computer programs analyze images, Hsu said, those programs store the information for use in identifying similar images sometime in the future. Initially, images may be identified by a human being, and that information is stored alongside the image.&nbsp;“The learning system we use is a deep neural network, a mathematical model resembling some parts of the visual processing system of the human brain,” Hsu said. “This model is modified to make it better at predicting the labels that people already put on images. This is called training and the result is a trained model that we can use on bees we haven’t seen before.”&nbsp;Future buzz&nbsp;While 120,000 images currently in the&nbsp;BeeMachine&nbsp;database seems like a lot, it’s still not enough. The more that the program is fed, the better it gets at identifying the correct species.&nbsp;“An expert taxonomist usually has to look at two or three images of the same individual bee that are taken at different angles,” Spiesman said. “In the artificial intelligence model, we are realizing that it needs that, too. If it has a really good look at it, it will give us a good result. If you want to make sure you have the right answer, you have to load in two or three or four images of the same bee.”&nbsp;In the year since&nbsp;BeeMachine&nbsp;debuted, Spiesman said the K-State researchers have increased the number of species identified in the database from 36 to 41. There are an estimated 45 species of bumblebees in North America. Eventually,&nbsp;BeeMachine&nbsp;could be used to identify bumblebees around the world, and then — much more long term — any of the 20,000 native bee species found across the globe.&nbsp;Getting there means advancing the technology even further. Already, Hsu said researchers are looking at other ways to gather images, such as using thermal sensors, drone-mounted cameras, wearable or implantable sensors and other devices. Spiesman said something as simple as mounting motion-sensitive cameras in a field to track bees as they pollinate flowers also could be valuable — similar to remote wildlife cameras.&nbsp;A computer vision model for farmers&nbsp;Kansas State University entomologist Brian McCornack half-jokingly says he’s counted close to a billion aphids — a minute, sap-sucking bug that feeds on plants — in his career of 20-plus years, and he’s just plain tired of doing it.&nbsp;So, he’s pretty happy that computers may soon be able to do it for him. Computer vision modeling also could be used to aid farmers in their crop fields.&nbsp;“Counting insects, especially across large geographic regions, is time-consuming and sometimes impractical,” said McCornack, professor and head of the entomology department. “Insects are quite mobile, and populations can change drastically from one week to the next. Farmers simply can’t walk every single acre of a field as frequently as needed to make management decisions. Machines can reduce the workload while improving the reliability in pest or natural enemy density estimates, which are the basis of all treatment thresholds. The exciting part is that we are not that far away from seeing these tools in the hands of farmers and consultants.”&nbsp;K-State entomologists, agronomists and biological engineers are developing technologies, such as drones, to identify defoliated soybean leaves or to identify lady beetles on sorghum.&nbsp;But automation does not mean removing people from production agriculture, McCornack said.&nbsp;“It does mean that we need to be sure that our students and stakeholders know that these tools have a place in decision-making, and that we teach them how to use this technology to solve some of the grand challenges facing agriculture,” McCornack said.&nbsp;

Harnessing AI to save the bees

An interesting&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2021/10/05/rising-share-of-u-s-adults-are-living-without-a-spouse-or-partner/?utm_source=chartr" target="_blank">analysis of census data from&nbsp;Pew Research Center</a>&nbsp;reveals the changing makeup of American households. The decline in marriage rates across the US — and many other countries — has been well documented.&nbsp;In 1990,&nbsp;67%&nbsp;of the US population aged 25-54 were living with their spouse. Today that number is&nbsp;53%. But what's interesting is that, although there are more people living with partners than before, they don't explain the total drop in the married population. Indeed, the number of "unpartnered" adults — those not married nor living with a partner — has gone up, to almost 40% of the population of the 25-54 demographic.

1) Microsoft&nbsp;is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-58911297" target="_blank">going to pull LinkedIn from China</a>, where the company has more than&nbsp;50 million users, as internet regulations and operating restrictions continue to tighten. 2)&nbsp;Scientists have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.livescience.com/coldest-temperature-ever" target="_blank">broken the record for the coldest temperature</a>&nbsp;ever recorded in a lab, equivalent to&nbsp;-273.15°C. 3) Banksy's&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/bansky-s-self-destructing-painting-sells-over-25-million-setting-n1281574?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma" target="_blank">self destructing painting</a>&nbsp;has sold for over&nbsp;$25m, roughly&nbsp;18x&nbsp;what it sold for the first time round - before it was half-shredded. 4)&nbsp;Over&nbsp;2,000 businesses&nbsp;around the world rely on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sisense.com/get/demo/?utm_source=chartr&amp;utm_medium=cpm&amp;utm_campaign=fy21_nam_embedded_demo&amp;utm_programid=7010W000002fT4eQAE" target="_blank">Sisense</a>&nbsp;for game-changing business insights. Find out why they trust&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sisense.com/get/demo/?utm_source=chartr&amp;utm_medium=cpm&amp;utm_campaign=fy21_nam_embedded_demo&amp;utm_programid=7010W000002fT4eQAE" target="_blank">Sisense</a>&nbsp;to go&nbsp;beyond business intelligence to infuse analytics everywhere.** 5) Goldman Sachs&nbsp;is the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/15/goldman-sachs-gs-earnings-q3-2021.html" target="_blank">latest investment bank&nbsp;</a>to report a huge rise in earnings, with revenue jumping 26%. 6)&nbsp;HTC&nbsp;has been caught&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2021/10/14/22726604/htc-vive-flow-wearable-photoshopped-wearable-models-stock-images" target="_blank">Photoshopping its new VR headset</a>&nbsp;onto a stock image of a woman sitting on a sofa eating popcorn, instead of just taking a photo of someone wearing it. 7)&nbsp;Mentions of the phrase "supply chain" on company earnings calls&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supplychainbrain.com/articles/33923-supply-chain-mentions-on-earnings-calls-hit-a-record-high" target="_blank">are spiking</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1637058784465.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>An interesting&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2021/10/05/rising-share-of-u-s-adults-are-living-without-a-spouse-or-partner/?utm_source=chartr" target="_blank">analysis of census data from&nbsp;Pew Research Center</a>&nbsp;reveals the changing makeup of American households. The decline in marriage rates across the US — and many other countries — has been well documented.&nbsp;In 1990,&nbsp;67%&nbsp;of the US population aged 25-54 were living with their spouse. Today that number is&nbsp;53%. But what's interesting is that, although there are more people living with partners than before, they don't explain the total drop in the married population. Indeed, the number of "unpartnered" adults — those not married nor living with a partner — has gone up, to almost 40% of the population of the 25-54 demographic.<h2>MORE DATA</h2> 1) Microsoft&nbsp;is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-58911297" target="_blank">going to pull LinkedIn from China</a>, where the company has more than&nbsp;50 million users, as internet regulations and operating restrictions continue to tighten. 2)&nbsp;Scientists have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.livescience.com/coldest-temperature-ever" target="_blank">broken the record for the coldest temperature</a>&nbsp;ever recorded in a lab, equivalent to&nbsp;-273.15°C. 3) Banksy's&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/bansky-s-self-destructing-painting-sells-over-25-million-setting-n1281574?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma" target="_blank">self destructing painting</a>&nbsp;has sold for over&nbsp;$25m, roughly&nbsp;18x&nbsp;what it sold for the first time round - before it was half-shredded. 4)&nbsp;Over&nbsp;2,000 businesses&nbsp;around the world rely on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sisense.com/get/demo/?utm_source=chartr&amp;utm_medium=cpm&amp;utm_campaign=fy21_nam_embedded_demo&amp;utm_programid=7010W000002fT4eQAE" target="_blank">Sisense</a>&nbsp;for game-changing business insights. Find out why they trust&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sisense.com/get/demo/?utm_source=chartr&amp;utm_medium=cpm&amp;utm_campaign=fy21_nam_embedded_demo&amp;utm_programid=7010W000002fT4eQAE" target="_blank">Sisense</a>&nbsp;to go&nbsp;beyond business intelligence to infuse analytics everywhere.** 5) Goldman Sachs&nbsp;is the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/15/goldman-sachs-gs-earnings-q3-2021.html" target="_blank">latest investment bank&nbsp;</a>to report a huge rise in earnings, with revenue jumping 26%. 6)&nbsp;HTC&nbsp;has been caught&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2021/10/14/22726604/htc-vive-flow-wearable-photoshopped-wearable-models-stock-images" target="_blank">Photoshopping its new VR headset</a>&nbsp;onto a stock image of a woman sitting on a sofa eating popcorn, instead of just taking a photo of someone wearing it. 7)&nbsp;Mentions of the phrase "supply chain" on company earnings calls&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supplychainbrain.com/articles/33923-supply-chain-mentions-on-earnings-calls-hit-a-record-high" target="_blank">are spiking</a>.

Chart of the Day: Changing makeup of average household

At 2:45 p.m. on Monday afternoon November 15, the Manhattan Fire Department was dispatched to 2924 Hickory Court for a report of a mower on fire spreading to the house. Upon arrival, crews found a riding mower on fire under a deck that had spread to the exterior of the home. The fire was contained within 10 minutes and smoke was ventilated from the home. A total of 17 firefighters responded on 6 fire apparatus with the last units clearing at around 3:40 p.m. No injuries were reported.&nbsp; &nbsp; The building is a single-story single-family home. Loss is estimated at $4000 to the structure and $1200 to the riding mower. The owner is listed as the C Lewis Cocke Trust and the Enid Obee Cocke Trust of the same address. The fire cause is accidental due to the mower catching fire from dry leaves.&nbsp; &nbsp; While on scene at the previous incident at 3:21 p.m., crews were dispatched to 720 Frey Drive for a reported structure fire.&nbsp; Upon arrival, crews found a fire on the back of the attached garage that had been partially extinguished by a Riley County Police Officer.&nbsp; Crews finished extinguishment within 5 minutes and the home was ventilated.&nbsp; A total of 16 firefighters responded on 6 fire apparatus with the last units clearing at around 4:00 p.m.&nbsp; No injuries were reported.&nbsp; &nbsp; The building is a single-story single-family home.&nbsp; Loss is estimated at $1000 to the structure and $50 to contents.&nbsp; The owner is listed as the Ronald and Verna Robinson Trust of Manhattan.&nbsp; The fire cause is accidental due to improperly disposed of smoking materials.&nbsp;

At 2:45 p.m. on Monday afternoon November 15, the Manhattan Fire Department was dispatched to 2924 Hickory Court for a report of a mower on fire spreading to the house. Upon arrival, crews found a riding mower on fire under a deck that had spread to the exterior of the home. The fire was contained within 10 minutes and smoke was ventilated from the home. A total of 17 firefighters responded on 6 fire apparatus with the last units clearing at around 3:40 p.m. No injuries were reported.&nbsp; &nbsp; The building is a single-story single-family home. Loss is estimated at $4000 to the structure and $1200 to the riding mower. The owner is listed as the C Lewis Cocke Trust and the Enid Obee Cocke Trust of the same address. The fire cause is accidental due to the mower catching fire from dry leaves.&nbsp; &nbsp; While on scene at the previous incident at 3:21 p.m., crews were dispatched to 720 Frey Drive for a reported structure fire.&nbsp; Upon arrival, crews found a fire on the back of the attached garage that had been partially extinguished by a Riley County Police Officer.&nbsp; Crews finished extinguishment within 5 minutes and the home was ventilated.&nbsp; A total of 16 firefighters responded on 6 fire apparatus with the last units clearing at around 4:00 p.m.&nbsp; No injuries were reported.&nbsp; &nbsp; The building is a single-story single-family home.&nbsp; Loss is estimated at $1000 to the structure and $50 to contents.&nbsp; The owner is listed as the Ronald and Verna Robinson Trust of Manhattan.&nbsp; The fire cause is accidental due to improperly disposed of smoking materials.&nbsp;

Authorities update morning fire

Brandon&nbsp;Keazer&nbsp;has been named Director of the Manhattan Regional Airport. City Manager Ron Fehr made the announcement today.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;As&nbsp;Airport&nbsp;Director,&nbsp;Keazer&nbsp;is&nbsp;responsible&nbsp;for&nbsp;the&nbsp;daily&nbsp;management&nbsp;and&nbsp;operation&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;airport.&nbsp;Keazer&nbsp;directs&nbsp;and supervises&nbsp;all&nbsp;airport&nbsp;operations,&nbsp;building&nbsp;and&nbsp;field&nbsp;maintenance,&nbsp;construction&nbsp;plans&nbsp;and&nbsp;projects,&nbsp;community&nbsp;relations,&nbsp;financial&nbsp;and&nbsp;budgetary&nbsp;concerns,&nbsp;security&nbsp;operations, and&nbsp;personnel&nbsp;matters&nbsp;at&nbsp;the&nbsp;airport.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; Keazer&nbsp;has&nbsp;served&nbsp;as&nbsp;Assistant&nbsp;Director&nbsp;of&nbsp;Manhattan Regional&nbsp;Airport&nbsp;since&nbsp;2015.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; “We&nbsp;are&nbsp;fortunate&nbsp;to&nbsp;have&nbsp;someone&nbsp;with&nbsp;Brandon’s&nbsp;experience,&nbsp;expertise,&nbsp;and&nbsp;capabilities.&nbsp;&nbsp;His&nbsp;knowledge&nbsp;of&nbsp;our&nbsp;airport,&nbsp;the&nbsp;city&nbsp;government&nbsp;organization,&nbsp;and&nbsp;the&nbsp;region&nbsp;in general are&nbsp;great&nbsp;strengths&nbsp;and&nbsp;will&nbsp;allow&nbsp;for&nbsp;a&nbsp;seamless&nbsp;transition.&nbsp;&nbsp;Clearly&nbsp;as&nbsp;Assistant&nbsp;Airport&nbsp;Director&nbsp;for&nbsp;more&nbsp;than&nbsp;six&nbsp;years, Brandon has&nbsp;prepared&nbsp;for&nbsp;this&nbsp;next&nbsp;level&nbsp;and&nbsp;we&nbsp;are&nbsp;excited&nbsp;to&nbsp;have&nbsp;him&nbsp;advance&nbsp;his&nbsp;career&nbsp;with&nbsp;us,”&nbsp;said&nbsp;City Manager Ron&nbsp;Fehr.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; Keazer&nbsp;has&nbsp;more&nbsp;than&nbsp;12&nbsp;years&nbsp;of&nbsp;airport&nbsp;experience,&nbsp;with&nbsp;the&nbsp;majority&nbsp;of&nbsp;that&nbsp;time&nbsp;spent&nbsp;specializing&nbsp;in&nbsp;airport&nbsp;operations&nbsp;and&nbsp;management.&nbsp;Before&nbsp;joining&nbsp;the&nbsp;team&nbsp;in Manhattan,&nbsp;Keazer&nbsp;worked&nbsp;for&nbsp;the&nbsp;Metropolitan&nbsp;Topeka&nbsp;Airport&nbsp;Authority&nbsp;(MTAA),&nbsp;first&nbsp;serving&nbsp;as a&nbsp;Sergeant&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;Police and&nbsp;Fire&nbsp;Department&nbsp;then&nbsp;transitioning&nbsp;to&nbsp;airport&nbsp;operations.&nbsp;While&nbsp;at MTAA, he&nbsp;completed&nbsp;the&nbsp;American&nbsp;Association&nbsp;of&nbsp;Airport&nbsp;Executives&nbsp;Airport&nbsp;Certified&nbsp;Employee&nbsp;(ACE) and&nbsp;Airport&nbsp;Security&nbsp;Coordinator&nbsp;(ASC)&nbsp;certifications.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; Keazer&nbsp;was&nbsp;born&nbsp;in Kansas and&nbsp;graduated&nbsp;from&nbsp;Kansas&nbsp;State&nbsp;University&nbsp;with&nbsp;his&nbsp;bachelor's&nbsp;degree&nbsp;in 2007.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; Jesse Romo,&nbsp;the&nbsp;previous&nbsp;Airport&nbsp;Director,&nbsp;accepted&nbsp;the&nbsp;position as&nbsp;Director&nbsp;of&nbsp;Airports&nbsp;for&nbsp;Wichita.&nbsp;His&nbsp;last&nbsp;day&nbsp;with&nbsp;the&nbsp;City&nbsp;of&nbsp;Manhattan&nbsp;was&nbsp;November&nbsp;12, 2021.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; More&nbsp;information&nbsp;about&nbsp;Manhattan Regional&nbsp;Airport&nbsp;can be&nbsp;found&nbsp;online at&nbsp;<a href="https://cityofmhk.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e92cc4cc1e09dc1dafa7ba9da&amp;id=19c6e7128e&amp;e=a3e9d91f74" target="_blank">www.flymhk.com</a>.&nbsp;Follow&nbsp;the&nbsp;airport&nbsp;on&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;and Instagram&nbsp;at&nbsp;flymhk&nbsp;and&nbsp;on&nbsp;Twitter @flymhk.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; The&nbsp;mission&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;City&nbsp;of&nbsp;Manhattan&nbsp;is&nbsp;to&nbsp;sustain&nbsp;order&nbsp;and&nbsp;protect&nbsp;public&nbsp;safety,&nbsp;promote&nbsp;public&nbsp;health, preserve&nbsp;the&nbsp;built&nbsp;environment, and&nbsp;enhance&nbsp;economic&nbsp;vitality.&nbsp;The&nbsp;City&nbsp;supports&nbsp;a regional&nbsp;community&nbsp;in&nbsp;which&nbsp;individuals&nbsp;and&nbsp;families&nbsp;develop&nbsp;and&nbsp;thrive. More&nbsp;information&nbsp;about&nbsp;the&nbsp;City&nbsp;of&nbsp;Manhattan&nbsp;is&nbsp;available&nbsp;online at <a href="http://www.cityofmhk.com/" target="_blank">www.cityofmhk.com</a>,&nbsp;on&nbsp;Facebook at <a href="https://cityofmhk.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e92cc4cc1e09dc1dafa7ba9da&amp;id=771420867a&amp;e=a3e9d91f74" target="_blank">/Cityofmanhattan</a> and&nbsp;on&nbsp;Twitter <a href="https://cityofmhk.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e92cc4cc1e09dc1dafa7ba9da&amp;id=5675977c1f&amp;e=a3e9d91f74" target="_blank">@cityofmhk</a>. &nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1637066805244.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Brandon&nbsp;Keazer&nbsp;has been named Director of the Manhattan Regional Airport. City Manager Ron Fehr made the announcement today.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;As&nbsp;Airport&nbsp;Director,&nbsp;Keazer&nbsp;is&nbsp;responsible&nbsp;for&nbsp;the&nbsp;daily&nbsp;management&nbsp;and&nbsp;operation&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;airport.&nbsp;Keazer&nbsp;directs&nbsp;and supervises&nbsp;all&nbsp;airport&nbsp;operations,&nbsp;building&nbsp;and&nbsp;field&nbsp;maintenance,&nbsp;construction&nbsp;plans&nbsp;and&nbsp;projects,&nbsp;community&nbsp;relations,&nbsp;financial&nbsp;and&nbsp;budgetary&nbsp;concerns,&nbsp;security&nbsp;operations, and&nbsp;personnel&nbsp;matters&nbsp;at&nbsp;the&nbsp;airport.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; Keazer&nbsp;has&nbsp;served&nbsp;as&nbsp;Assistant&nbsp;Director&nbsp;of&nbsp;Manhattan Regional&nbsp;Airport&nbsp;since&nbsp;2015.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; “We&nbsp;are&nbsp;fortunate&nbsp;to&nbsp;have&nbsp;someone&nbsp;with&nbsp;Brandon’s&nbsp;experience,&nbsp;expertise,&nbsp;and&nbsp;capabilities.&nbsp;&nbsp;His&nbsp;knowledge&nbsp;of&nbsp;our&nbsp;airport,&nbsp;the&nbsp;city&nbsp;government&nbsp;organization,&nbsp;and&nbsp;the&nbsp;region&nbsp;in general are&nbsp;great&nbsp;strengths&nbsp;and&nbsp;will&nbsp;allow&nbsp;for&nbsp;a&nbsp;seamless&nbsp;transition.&nbsp;&nbsp;Clearly&nbsp;as&nbsp;Assistant&nbsp;Airport&nbsp;Director&nbsp;for&nbsp;more&nbsp;than&nbsp;six&nbsp;years, Brandon has&nbsp;prepared&nbsp;for&nbsp;this&nbsp;next&nbsp;level&nbsp;and&nbsp;we&nbsp;are&nbsp;excited&nbsp;to&nbsp;have&nbsp;him&nbsp;advance&nbsp;his&nbsp;career&nbsp;with&nbsp;us,”&nbsp;said&nbsp;City Manager Ron&nbsp;Fehr.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; Keazer&nbsp;has&nbsp;more&nbsp;than&nbsp;12&nbsp;years&nbsp;of&nbsp;airport&nbsp;experience,&nbsp;with&nbsp;the&nbsp;majority&nbsp;of&nbsp;that&nbsp;time&nbsp;spent&nbsp;specializing&nbsp;in&nbsp;airport&nbsp;operations&nbsp;and&nbsp;management.&nbsp;Before&nbsp;joining&nbsp;the&nbsp;team&nbsp;in Manhattan,&nbsp;Keazer&nbsp;worked&nbsp;for&nbsp;the&nbsp;Metropolitan&nbsp;Topeka&nbsp;Airport&nbsp;Authority&nbsp;(MTAA),&nbsp;first&nbsp;serving&nbsp;as a&nbsp;Sergeant&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;Police and&nbsp;Fire&nbsp;Department&nbsp;then&nbsp;transitioning&nbsp;to&nbsp;airport&nbsp;operations.&nbsp;While&nbsp;at MTAA, he&nbsp;completed&nbsp;the&nbsp;American&nbsp;Association&nbsp;of&nbsp;Airport&nbsp;Executives&nbsp;Airport&nbsp;Certified&nbsp;Employee&nbsp;(ACE) and&nbsp;Airport&nbsp;Security&nbsp;Coordinator&nbsp;(ASC)&nbsp;certifications.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; Keazer&nbsp;was&nbsp;born&nbsp;in Kansas and&nbsp;graduated&nbsp;from&nbsp;Kansas&nbsp;State&nbsp;University&nbsp;with&nbsp;his&nbsp;bachelor's&nbsp;degree&nbsp;in 2007.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; Jesse Romo,&nbsp;the&nbsp;previous&nbsp;Airport&nbsp;Director,&nbsp;accepted&nbsp;the&nbsp;position as&nbsp;Director&nbsp;of&nbsp;Airports&nbsp;for&nbsp;Wichita.&nbsp;His&nbsp;last&nbsp;day&nbsp;with&nbsp;the&nbsp;City&nbsp;of&nbsp;Manhattan&nbsp;was&nbsp;November&nbsp;12, 2021.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; More&nbsp;information&nbsp;about&nbsp;Manhattan Regional&nbsp;Airport&nbsp;can be&nbsp;found&nbsp;online at&nbsp;<a href="https://cityofmhk.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e92cc4cc1e09dc1dafa7ba9da&amp;id=19c6e7128e&amp;e=a3e9d91f74" target="_blank">www.flymhk.com</a>.&nbsp;Follow&nbsp;the&nbsp;airport&nbsp;on&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;and Instagram&nbsp;at&nbsp;flymhk&nbsp;and&nbsp;on&nbsp;Twitter @flymhk.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; The&nbsp;mission&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;City&nbsp;of&nbsp;Manhattan&nbsp;is&nbsp;to&nbsp;sustain&nbsp;order&nbsp;and&nbsp;protect&nbsp;public&nbsp;safety,&nbsp;promote&nbsp;public&nbsp;health, preserve&nbsp;the&nbsp;built&nbsp;environment, and&nbsp;enhance&nbsp;economic&nbsp;vitality.&nbsp;The&nbsp;City&nbsp;supports&nbsp;a regional&nbsp;community&nbsp;in&nbsp;which&nbsp;individuals&nbsp;and&nbsp;families&nbsp;develop&nbsp;and&nbsp;thrive. More&nbsp;information&nbsp;about&nbsp;the&nbsp;City&nbsp;of&nbsp;Manhattan&nbsp;is&nbsp;available&nbsp;online at <a href="http://www.cityofmhk.com/" target="_blank">www.cityofmhk.com</a>,&nbsp;on&nbsp;Facebook at <a href="https://cityofmhk.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e92cc4cc1e09dc1dafa7ba9da&amp;id=771420867a&amp;e=a3e9d91f74" target="_blank">/Cityofmanhattan</a> and&nbsp;on&nbsp;Twitter <a href="https://cityofmhk.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e92cc4cc1e09dc1dafa7ba9da&amp;id=5675977c1f&amp;e=a3e9d91f74" target="_blank">@cityofmhk</a>. &nbsp;

Keazer tabbed for Airport Director

Riley County Police&nbsp;filed multiple reports for a string of vehicle burglaries&nbsp;occurring&nbsp;in Ogden during the overnight hours&nbsp;into Sunday morning, November 14.&nbsp;Nearly two dozen vehicles were broken into as RCPD officers listed multiple victims during the&nbsp;break-in binge.&nbsp;According to the RCPD, most of the vehicles were unlocked and suffered minimal damage other than scattered belongings.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Police say they have security&nbsp;recording&nbsp;from a number of residents in the area and have determined at least one male suspect was involved.&nbsp;

Footage is still being analyzed but no one has been positively identified&nbsp;RCPD continues to receive information and the number of total reports and vehicles entered has yet to be determined.&nbsp;

The suspect(s) stole a Sony&nbsp;Playstation&nbsp;4 and&nbsp;Apple&nbsp;Airpods&nbsp;from 2003 Subaru Forester in the 500 block of Thirteenth Street&nbsp;in Ogden&nbsp;with&nbsp;an estimated loss of $600.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Anyone with information can contact RCPD or the Manhattan Riley County Crime Stoppers. Using the Crime Stoppers service can allow you to remain anonymous and could qualify you for a cash reward of up to $1,000.&nbsp;

Riley County Police&nbsp;filed multiple reports for a string of vehicle burglaries&nbsp;occurring&nbsp;in Ogden during the overnight hours&nbsp;into Sunday morning, November 14.&nbsp;Nearly two dozen vehicles were broken into as RCPD officers listed multiple victims during the&nbsp;break-in binge.&nbsp;According to the RCPD, most of the vehicles were unlocked and suffered minimal damage other than scattered belongings.&nbsp;&nbsp;Police say they have security&nbsp;recording&nbsp;from a number of residents in the area and have determined at least one male suspect was involved.&nbsp;Footage is still being analyzed but no one has been positively identified&nbsp;RCPD continues to receive information and the number of total reports and vehicles entered has yet to be determined.&nbsp;The suspect(s) stole a Sony&nbsp;Playstation&nbsp;4 and&nbsp;Apple&nbsp;Airpods&nbsp;from 2003 Subaru Forester in the 500 block of Thirteenth Street&nbsp;in Ogden&nbsp;with&nbsp;an estimated loss of $600.&nbsp;&nbsp;Anyone with information can contact RCPD or the Manhattan Riley County Crime Stoppers. Using the Crime Stoppers service can allow you to remain anonymous and could qualify you for a cash reward of up to $1,000.&nbsp;

Burglary binge in Ogden

By Scott Edger&nbsp; The Little Apple Post&nbsp;

The ringing of a school bell is a&nbsp;sonorous&nbsp;allegory of a simpler past and&nbsp;an&nbsp;iconic&nbsp;signal to mark&nbsp;the&nbsp;day’s beginning.&nbsp;

In the&nbsp;not too distant&nbsp;past, the echo of a clanging school bell resounded across the plains, a common&nbsp;call&nbsp;to come together.&nbsp;

A few&nbsp;years ago,&nbsp;students from&nbsp;the College&nbsp;of&nbsp;Education at Kansas State University started ringing the Bluemont Bell to&nbsp;begin&nbsp;each&nbsp;school year.&nbsp;

At the end of the year, the bell is then rung by each graduating student to symbolize the end of their academic journey. Friends, family, and mentors join with each student in the bell ringing to celebrate their commencement.&nbsp;

The bell-ringing&nbsp;quickly became&nbsp;a cherished tradition for education students, but&nbsp;when COVID-19 hit the campus, however, no crowded bell-ringing ceremonies were permitted. Two semesters went by without a sound.&nbsp;

Tradition took on significant meaning following COVID.&nbsp;The pandemic took away so much&nbsp;of our normal lives, and especially took away those little moments that injected a touch of humanity meaning.&nbsp;

As restrictions eased, students and faculty alike pressed to bring back the&nbsp;ceremony – not only for the&nbsp;tradition, but for the spirit&nbsp;it&nbsp;fosters.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Last spring&nbsp;KSU&nbsp;students once again rang the bell&nbsp;following graduation.&nbsp;This fall, more than 200 students&nbsp;attended the bell-ringing ceremony&nbsp;to start the school year.&nbsp;

"The bell has&nbsp;been an iconic symbol of a call to education,” Mercer said. “Now it has&nbsp;taken on new meaning for our education students&nbsp;as they step&nbsp;out of their role as&nbsp;student&nbsp;and&nbsp;into role as a classroom teacher.&nbsp;

“It’s a wonderful bookend to symbolize the culmination of their academic journey,” Mercer said.&nbsp;

The Bell originally hung in Anderson Hall,&nbsp;for decades&nbsp;chiming at the top of every hour;&nbsp;signaling&nbsp;the time to the community and beckoning&nbsp;K-State students to class.&nbsp;Prior to that, the bell hung on the campus of Blue Mont Central College, the private Methodist institution that was the forerunner to K-State.&nbsp;

Over the years, the bell fell victim to numerous pranks. Historical publications repeatedly report about nighttime pranksters wrapping the clapper in rags or wired the bell into place so it wouldn’t ring - one time even stealing the bell’s 80-pound clapper in hopes that perhaps they would not have to attend class if the chimes did not sound off.&nbsp;

In 1965, the&nbsp;University&nbsp;replaced the bell&nbsp;with electronic chimes,&nbsp;the&nbsp;same ones&nbsp;in use today. The bell was unceremoniously stuffed into a corner, all but forgotten.&nbsp;

Hause was legendary for his encouragement of the incorporation of artistic creativity in educational pedagogy. Art faculty and students gave input&nbsp;and the idea of installing the bell as a memorial and a symbol was born.&nbsp;

Then&nbsp;Nancy Hause, a longtime instructor in the&nbsp;K-State&nbsp;School of Journalism&nbsp;wanted to honor&nbsp;her husband&nbsp;Richard&nbsp;Hause, who taught at KSU for nearly 30 years&nbsp;in the College of Education.&nbsp;

The idea was met with resounding approval.&nbsp;There was, however, the matter of getting the&nbsp;half-ton&nbsp;bell down from the Anderson Hall spire.&nbsp;

A&nbsp;construction&nbsp;crane&nbsp;had to be&nbsp;brought&nbsp;in to hoist the&nbsp;Falstaffian chime&nbsp;from the Anderson Hall belfry.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“That was no small feat,” Mercer said.&nbsp;&nbsp;

A handful of repairs and restorations were performed on the bell before it was&nbsp;anchored&nbsp;in its&nbsp;grassy&nbsp;new location&nbsp;outside&nbsp;the College&nbsp;of Education’s headquarters&nbsp;at&nbsp;Bluemont Hall.&nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp;Mercer said the bell serves as a reminder of Hause’s&nbsp;philosophy&nbsp;as&nbsp;a staunch supporter of creativity in learning.&nbsp;Much in the same way that the bell’s function&nbsp;changed as its&nbsp;milieu has changed,&nbsp;so has&nbsp;education&nbsp;transformed&nbsp;and adapted.&nbsp;

“Education should be fun,&nbsp;with exploration and&nbsp;project learning and engagement,” Mercer said.&nbsp;“That was his foundation for every course that he taught, and it’s a reminder that education and people continue to evolve.&nbsp;We navigated in and out of a&nbsp;pandemic. It's a continual renewal.”&nbsp;

By Scott Edger&nbsp; The Little Apple Post&nbsp;The ringing of a school bell is a&nbsp;sonorous&nbsp;allegory of a simpler past and&nbsp;an&nbsp;iconic&nbsp;signal to mark&nbsp;the&nbsp;day’s beginning.&nbsp;In the&nbsp;not too distant&nbsp;past, the echo of a clanging school bell resounded across the plains, a common&nbsp;call&nbsp;to come together.&nbsp;A few&nbsp;years ago,&nbsp;students from&nbsp;the College&nbsp;of&nbsp;Education at Kansas State University started ringing the Bluemont Bell to&nbsp;begin&nbsp;each&nbsp;school year.&nbsp;At the end of the year, the bell is then rung by each graduating student to symbolize the end of their academic journey. Friends, family, and mentors join with each student in the bell ringing to celebrate their commencement.&nbsp;The bell-ringing&nbsp;quickly became&nbsp;a cherished tradition for education students, but&nbsp;when COVID-19 hit the campus, however, no crowded bell-ringing ceremonies were permitted. Two semesters went by without a sound.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636991534329.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Tradition took on significant meaning following COVID.&nbsp;The pandemic took away so much&nbsp;of our normal lives, and especially took away those little moments that injected a touch of humanity meaning.&nbsp;As restrictions eased, students and faculty alike pressed to bring back the&nbsp;ceremony – not only for the&nbsp;tradition, but for the spirit&nbsp;it&nbsp;fosters.&nbsp;&nbsp;Last spring&nbsp;KSU&nbsp;students once again rang the bell&nbsp;following graduation.&nbsp;This fall, more than 200 students&nbsp;attended the bell-ringing ceremony&nbsp;to start the school year.&nbsp;"The bell has&nbsp;been an iconic symbol of a call to education,” Mercer said. “Now it has&nbsp;taken on new meaning for our education students&nbsp;as they step&nbsp;out of their role as&nbsp;student&nbsp;and&nbsp;into role as a classroom teacher.&nbsp;“It’s a wonderful bookend to symbolize the culmination of their academic journey,” Mercer said.&nbsp;The Bell originally hung in Anderson Hall,&nbsp;for decades&nbsp;chiming at the top of every hour;&nbsp;signaling&nbsp;the time to the community and beckoning&nbsp;K-State students to class.&nbsp;Prior to that, the bell hung on the campus of Blue Mont Central College, the private Methodist institution that was the forerunner to K-State.&nbsp;Over the years, the bell fell victim to numerous pranks. Historical publications repeatedly report about nighttime pranksters wrapping the clapper in rags or wired the bell into place so it wouldn’t ring - one time even stealing the bell’s 80-pound clapper in hopes that perhaps they would not have to attend class if the chimes did not sound off.&nbsp;In 1965, the&nbsp;University&nbsp;replaced the bell&nbsp;with electronic chimes,&nbsp;the&nbsp;same ones&nbsp;in use today. The bell was unceremoniously stuffed into a corner, all but forgotten.&nbsp;Hause was legendary for his encouragement of the incorporation of artistic creativity in educational pedagogy. Art faculty and students gave input&nbsp;and the idea of installing the bell as a memorial and a symbol was born.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636991868738.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636991885422.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Then&nbsp;Nancy Hause, a longtime instructor in the&nbsp;K-State&nbsp;School of Journalism&nbsp;wanted to honor&nbsp;her husband&nbsp;Richard&nbsp;Hause, who taught at KSU for nearly 30 years&nbsp;in the College of Education.&nbsp;The idea was met with resounding approval.&nbsp;There was, however, the matter of getting the&nbsp;half-ton&nbsp;bell down from the Anderson Hall spire.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636990935331.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636992034410.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>A&nbsp;construction&nbsp;crane&nbsp;had to be&nbsp;brought&nbsp;in to hoist the&nbsp;Falstaffian chime&nbsp;from the Anderson Hall belfry.&nbsp;&nbsp;“That was no small feat,” Mercer said.&nbsp;&nbsp;A handful of repairs and restorations were performed on the bell before it was&nbsp;anchored&nbsp;in its&nbsp;grassy&nbsp;new location&nbsp;outside&nbsp;the College&nbsp;of Education’s headquarters&nbsp;at&nbsp;Bluemont Hall.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mercer said the bell serves as a reminder of Hause’s&nbsp;philosophy&nbsp;as&nbsp;a staunch supporter of creativity in learning.&nbsp;Much in the same way that the bell’s function&nbsp;changed as its&nbsp;milieu has changed,&nbsp;so has&nbsp;education&nbsp;transformed&nbsp;and adapted.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636991553913.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>“Education should be fun,&nbsp;with exploration and&nbsp;project learning and engagement,” Mercer said.&nbsp;“That was his foundation for every course that he taught, and it’s a reminder that education and people continue to evolve.&nbsp;We navigated in and out of a&nbsp;pandemic. It's a continual renewal.”&nbsp;

Blue Mont College bell tolls for K-State students

Everything old is new again&nbsp; &nbsp; It's 2021 and vinyl records are outselling CDs.&nbsp;

Yes. The fragile scratch and skip discs are hot as ever.&nbsp; &nbsp; In the first half of this year more than&nbsp;17 million vinyl records&nbsp;were sold in the US — nearly double the number for the first six months of 2020. If you didn't know anything about the formats, you'd be forgiven for thinking vinyl records were a new innovative way to listen to music.&nbsp; &nbsp; But making&nbsp;vinyls&nbsp;remains a long and difficult process, often relying on technology or machines that were pumping out records in the 70s and 80s. Indeed,&nbsp;The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/21/arts/music/vinyl-records-delays.html" target="_blank">New York Times reports this week</a>&nbsp;that production logjams are now common for artists, as vinyl makers rely on decades-old pressing machines.&nbsp; &nbsp; Put simply, supply can't keep up with demand.&nbsp; &nbsp; Even Adele, who has a new album coming out, had to set her release date six months in advance, to make sure&nbsp;vinyls&nbsp;would be ready in time.&nbsp; &nbsp; Nostalgia is big business, but it's not just older listeners who are into&nbsp;vinyls. Popular Gen Z artists like&nbsp;Olivia Rodrigo&nbsp;and&nbsp;Billie Eilish&nbsp;have made&nbsp;vinyls,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/9647305/taylor-swift-olivia-rodrigo-vinyl-delays-no-1/" target="_blank">each respectively selling tens of thousands</a>&nbsp;to their (mostly) younger fanbase.&nbsp; &nbsp; Will CDs ever become romanticized in the same way vinyl has? What about cassettes?&nbsp;

MORE DATA&nbsp; Crocs&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/21/crocs-crox-q3-2021-earnings.html" target="_blank">continue&nbsp;to crush it</a>. The company now&nbsp;expects to grow its revenue 62-65% this year relative to 2020 (which was a good year itself.&nbsp; &nbsp; Snapchat's&nbsp;share price is&nbsp;down more than 20%&nbsp;in pre-market trading after the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/7f3a562e-e748-48a9-892a-5c6415d05ffc" target="_blank">company revealed that Apple's privacy changes</a>&nbsp;had materially affected its advertising business.&nbsp; &nbsp; China's livestreaming "lipstick king", Austin Li Jiaqi, sold more than&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-lipstick-king-sold-17-billion-stuff-in-12-hours-2021-10?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank">$1.7bn worth of products</a>&nbsp;in a 12-hour period on Alibaba.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636992506553.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Everything old is new again&nbsp; &nbsp; It's 2021 and vinyl records are outselling CDs.&nbsp;Yes. The fragile scratch and skip discs are hot as ever.&nbsp; &nbsp; In the first half of this year more than&nbsp;17 million vinyl records&nbsp;were sold in the US — nearly double the number for the first six months of 2020. If you didn't know anything about the formats, you'd be forgiven for thinking vinyl records were a new innovative way to listen to music.&nbsp; &nbsp; But making&nbsp;vinyls&nbsp;remains a long and difficult process, often relying on technology or machines that were pumping out records in the 70s and 80s. Indeed,&nbsp;The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/21/arts/music/vinyl-records-delays.html" target="_blank">New York Times reports this week</a>&nbsp;that production logjams are now common for artists, as vinyl makers rely on decades-old pressing machines.&nbsp; &nbsp; Put simply, supply can't keep up with demand.&nbsp; &nbsp; Even Adele, who has a new album coming out, had to set her release date six months in advance, to make sure&nbsp;vinyls&nbsp;would be ready in time.&nbsp; &nbsp; Nostalgia is big business, but it's not just older listeners who are into&nbsp;vinyls. Popular Gen Z artists like&nbsp;Olivia Rodrigo&nbsp;and&nbsp;Billie Eilish&nbsp;have made&nbsp;vinyls,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/9647305/taylor-swift-olivia-rodrigo-vinyl-delays-no-1/" target="_blank">each respectively selling tens of thousands</a>&nbsp;to their (mostly) younger fanbase.&nbsp; &nbsp; Will CDs ever become romanticized in the same way vinyl has? What about cassettes?&nbsp;MORE DATA&nbsp; Crocs&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/21/crocs-crox-q3-2021-earnings.html" target="_blank">continue&nbsp;to crush it</a>. The company now&nbsp;expects to grow its revenue 62-65% this year relative to 2020 (which was a good year itself.&nbsp; &nbsp; Snapchat's&nbsp;share price is&nbsp;down more than 20%&nbsp;in pre-market trading after the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/7f3a562e-e748-48a9-892a-5c6415d05ffc" target="_blank">company revealed that Apple's privacy changes</a>&nbsp;had materially affected its advertising business.&nbsp; &nbsp; China's livestreaming "lipstick king", Austin Li Jiaqi, sold more than&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-lipstick-king-sold-17-billion-stuff-in-12-hours-2021-10?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank">$1.7bn worth of products</a>&nbsp;in a 12-hour period on Alibaba.&nbsp;

Chart of the Day: Vinyl now outselling CDs

The Job Buffet There has never been a better time to look for a new job in the US — with more than&nbsp;10.9 million job openings&nbsp;as of the latest count from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's the highest number ever recorded (chart&nbsp;<a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/JTSJOL" target="_blank">here</a>).&nbsp; The leisure &amp; hospitality industry is particularly struggling to find employees, with the number of job openings in the industry up 88% on this time 2 years ago, which works out to an extra 850,000 jobs. The shortage has gotten so bad that some branches of&nbsp;McDonald's,&nbsp;Chick-fil-A&nbsp;and other restaurants&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mcdonalds-chick-fil-a-worker-shortage-dining-rooms-closing/" target="_blank">have been shutting down</a>&nbsp;or reducing their opening hours because they don't have enough staff — and it's a similar story in other sectors. In the manufacturing industry the number of jobs open has more than doubled. There's a&nbsp;<a href="https://news.yahoo.com/us-xpress-ceo-driver-shortage-trucking-industry-202632404.html" target="_blank">truck driver shortage</a>, a shortage of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/16/us/school-shortages-bus-drivers-workers.html" target="_blank">staff at schools</a>&nbsp;and not&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rethink.industries/article/the-truth-behind-the-retail-labor-shortage/" target="_blank">enough retail workers</a>. Econ majors dust off your textbooks; the shortage means firms should begin to raise wages or make efforts to improve working conditions if they're struggling to attract the right talent — at least in theory.&nbsp;

Canva, the design platform launched in 2013, has&nbsp;<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/14/canva-raises-200-million-at-a-40-billion-valuation/" target="_blank">raised $200m at a $40bn valuation</a>&nbsp;— becoming Australia's most valuable start-up. Hundreds of birds migrating through New York were found dead this week by a volunteer after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/09/16/1038097872/new-york-dead-birds" target="_blank">crashing into the glass windows</a>&nbsp;of New York's skyscrapers — shining a light onto&nbsp;a common occurrence that sees 90,000+ birds die every year. Rolling Stone&nbsp;magazine has updated its ranking of what it deems the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/" target="_blank">500 best songs of all time</a>. Gong&nbsp;has analyzed&nbsp;300,000 sales emails,&nbsp;uncovering&nbsp;everything the data actually tells us&nbsp;about how to write good sales emails, and they boiled it down to these&nbsp;<a href="https://pages.gong.io/7-laws-of-highly-effective-sales-emails/?utm_campaign=7-laws-of-highly-effective-sales-emails&amp;utm_medium=paid_email&amp;utm_content=09.17.21&amp;utm_source=chartr" target="_blank">7 Laws of Highly Effective Sales Emails</a>.** Microsoft is going password free, introducing a&nbsp;<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/16/tech/microsoft-passwordless-accounts/index.html" target="_blank">passwordless account for the first time</a>. A study from NordPass last year estimated that the average consumer is&nbsp;<a href="https://tech.co/news/average-person-100-passwords" target="_blank">juggling around 100 different accounts</a>&nbsp;and potential passwords. Harvard's endowment fund, which is a whopping&nbsp;$40bn+, has&nbsp;<a href="https://fortune.com/2021/09/10/harvard-endowment-fund-no-longer-invest-fossil-fuels/" target="_blank">vowed to stop investing in fossil fuels</a>, instead using the fund to support the green economy. Someone has weighed themselves&nbsp;almost every day for 13 years, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/pnr1nh/weighing_myself_daily_for_over_13_years_oc/" target="_blank">plotted the data on reddit</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636896632248.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The Job Buffet There has never been a better time to look for a new job in the US — with more than&nbsp;10.9 million job openings&nbsp;as of the latest count from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's the highest number ever recorded (chart&nbsp;<a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/JTSJOL" target="_blank">here</a>).&nbsp; The leisure &amp; hospitality industry is particularly struggling to find employees, with the number of job openings in the industry up 88% on this time 2 years ago, which works out to an extra 850,000 jobs. The shortage has gotten so bad that some branches of&nbsp;McDonald's,&nbsp;Chick-fil-A&nbsp;and other restaurants&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mcdonalds-chick-fil-a-worker-shortage-dining-rooms-closing/" target="_blank">have been shutting down</a>&nbsp;or reducing their opening hours because they don't have enough staff — and it's a similar story in other sectors. In the manufacturing industry the number of jobs open has more than doubled. There's a&nbsp;<a href="https://news.yahoo.com/us-xpress-ceo-driver-shortage-trucking-industry-202632404.html" target="_blank">truck driver shortage</a>, a shortage of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/16/us/school-shortages-bus-drivers-workers.html" target="_blank">staff at schools</a>&nbsp;and not&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rethink.industries/article/the-truth-behind-the-retail-labor-shortage/" target="_blank">enough retail workers</a>. Econ majors dust off your textbooks; the shortage means firms should begin to raise wages or make efforts to improve working conditions if they're struggling to attract the right talent — at least in theory.&nbsp; MORE DATACanva, the design platform launched in 2013, has&nbsp;<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/14/canva-raises-200-million-at-a-40-billion-valuation/" target="_blank">raised $200m at a $40bn valuation</a>&nbsp;— becoming Australia's most valuable start-up. Hundreds of birds migrating through New York were found dead this week by a volunteer after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/09/16/1038097872/new-york-dead-birds" target="_blank">crashing into the glass windows</a>&nbsp;of New York's skyscrapers — shining a light onto&nbsp;a common occurrence that sees 90,000+ birds die every year. Rolling Stone&nbsp;magazine has updated its ranking of what it deems the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/" target="_blank">500 best songs of all time</a>. Gong&nbsp;has analyzed&nbsp;300,000 sales emails,&nbsp;uncovering&nbsp;everything the data actually tells us&nbsp;about how to write good sales emails, and they boiled it down to these&nbsp;<a href="https://pages.gong.io/7-laws-of-highly-effective-sales-emails/?utm_campaign=7-laws-of-highly-effective-sales-emails&amp;utm_medium=paid_email&amp;utm_content=09.17.21&amp;utm_source=chartr" target="_blank">7 Laws of Highly Effective Sales Emails</a>.** Microsoft is going password free, introducing a&nbsp;<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/16/tech/microsoft-passwordless-accounts/index.html" target="_blank">passwordless account for the first time</a>. A study from NordPass last year estimated that the average consumer is&nbsp;<a href="https://tech.co/news/average-person-100-passwords" target="_blank">juggling around 100 different accounts</a>&nbsp;and potential passwords. Harvard's endowment fund, which is a whopping&nbsp;$40bn+, has&nbsp;<a href="https://fortune.com/2021/09/10/harvard-endowment-fund-no-longer-invest-fossil-fuels/" target="_blank">vowed to stop investing in fossil fuels</a>, instead using the fund to support the green economy. Someone has weighed themselves&nbsp;almost every day for 13 years, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/pnr1nh/weighing_myself_daily_for_over_13_years_oc/" target="_blank">plotted the data on reddit</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Chart of the Day: Buffet of jobs but nobody's hungry

Almost three percent of the American workforce, around <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/labor-shortage-missing-workers-jobs-pay-raises-economy-11634224519">4.3 million people</a>, said "I quit" in October— a record high. In the leisure sector specifically, that number was more like&nbsp;six percent of the workforce.&nbsp;

People tend not to quit during times of distress (like 2009, or April last year), and so such a high number of quits is, in some ways, a positive sign for the economy.&nbsp;

The record levels of "I quit" also make sense in the context of the other dataset that's near a record high — job openings. With more than&nbsp;<a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/JTSJOL" target="_blank">10 million jobs open</a>, quitters clearly feel confident that they'll be able to move onto greener pastures.&nbsp;

For businesses trying to fill open positions, this news is probably less exciting. There are already labor shortages in a number of industries — with almost <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/labor-shortage-hospitality-workers-restaurant-hotels-pay-wages-joblist-survey-2021-7">one-third of workers</a> not returning to job sectors with lots of public contact and relatively low wages, like retail, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/labor-shortage-hospitality-workers-restaurant-hotels-pay-wages-joblist-survey-2021-7">leisure and hospitality</a>. With quit rates high in all of those sectors, those shortages probably aren't going anywhere.&nbsp;

Great data viz from&nbsp;The Economist&nbsp;showing how Russia's&nbsp;<a href="https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2021/10/11/russian-elections-once-again-had-a-suspiciously-neat-result?utm_source=chartr" target="_blank">federal election results look slightly unusual</a>&nbsp;when closely inspected.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Gong&nbsp;has analyzed&nbsp;300,000 sales emails,&nbsp;uncovering&nbsp;everything the data actually tells us&nbsp;about how to write good sales emails.&nbsp;<a href="https://pages.gong.io/highly-effective-email-ctas/?utm_campaign=43-email-CTAs&amp;utm_medium=paid_email&amp;utm_content=10.13.21&amp;utm_source=chartr" target="_blank">These CTAs</a>&nbsp;are scientifically proven to land more meetings (and fill up your pipeline).&nbsp;&nbsp;

Our favorite - 25 Percent: The portion of Americans who would live in a colony on Mars for the rest of their lives.&nbsp;Harper's&nbsp;has compiled a great list of interesting&nbsp;<a href="https://harpers.org/harpers-index/?utm_source=chartr" target="_blank">statistics in its latest edition</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636810351979.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Almost three percent of the American workforce, around <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/labor-shortage-missing-workers-jobs-pay-raises-economy-11634224519">4.3 million people</a>, said "I quit" in October— a record high. In the leisure sector specifically, that number was more like&nbsp;six percent of the workforce.&nbsp;People tend not to quit during times of distress (like 2009, or April last year), and so such a high number of quits is, in some ways, a positive sign for the economy.&nbsp; The record levels of "I quit" also make sense in the context of the other dataset that's near a record high — job openings. With more than&nbsp;<a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/JTSJOL" target="_blank">10 million jobs open</a>, quitters clearly feel confident that they'll be able to move onto greener pastures.&nbsp;For businesses trying to fill open positions, this news is probably less exciting. There are already labor shortages in a number of industries — with almost <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/labor-shortage-hospitality-workers-restaurant-hotels-pay-wages-joblist-survey-2021-7">one-third of workers</a> not returning to job sectors with lots of public contact and relatively low wages, like retail, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/labor-shortage-hospitality-workers-restaurant-hotels-pay-wages-joblist-survey-2021-7">leisure and hospitality</a>. With quit rates high in all of those sectors, those shortages probably aren't going anywhere.&nbsp;MORE DATA&nbsp;Great data viz from&nbsp;The Economist&nbsp;showing how Russia's&nbsp;<a href="https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2021/10/11/russian-elections-once-again-had-a-suspiciously-neat-result?utm_source=chartr" target="_blank">federal election results look slightly unusual</a>&nbsp;when closely inspected.&nbsp;&nbsp;Gong&nbsp;has analyzed&nbsp;300,000 sales emails,&nbsp;uncovering&nbsp;everything the data actually tells us&nbsp;about how to write good sales emails.&nbsp;<a href="https://pages.gong.io/highly-effective-email-ctas/?utm_campaign=43-email-CTAs&amp;utm_medium=paid_email&amp;utm_content=10.13.21&amp;utm_source=chartr" target="_blank">These CTAs</a>&nbsp;are scientifically proven to land more meetings (and fill up your pipeline).&nbsp;&nbsp;Our favorite - 25 Percent: The portion of Americans who would live in a colony on Mars for the rest of their lives.&nbsp;Harper's&nbsp;has compiled a great list of interesting&nbsp;<a href="https://harpers.org/harpers-index/?utm_source=chartr" target="_blank">statistics in its latest edition</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Chart of the Day: American "Quit Rate" at all-time high

Delivering quality education in rural, isolated places has long been a challenge in Kansas and elsewhere.&nbsp;It can be difficult for teachers in rural communities to earn the credentials they need to advance and develop their&nbsp;careers.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The&nbsp;Rural Education Center&nbsp;at Kansas State University offers a&nbsp;fully-online&nbsp;Master of&nbsp;Arts&nbsp;teaching degree.&nbsp;The&nbsp;REC&nbsp;program&nbsp;is national in scope,&nbsp;so it always has several out-of-state students.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Typically, K-State&nbsp;College of Education&nbsp;instructors provide&nbsp;students with&nbsp;remote supervision when&nbsp;they&nbsp;are&nbsp;doing student-teaching&nbsp;in their home locations.&nbsp;

The&nbsp;REC&nbsp;had&nbsp;a difficult time finding&nbsp;a student-teaching placement&nbsp;for&nbsp;one student in Georgia&nbsp;a couple years ago.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Clay Center is a&nbsp;partner district in the Center’s Rural Professional Development&nbsp;network, so Dr. Todd Goodson, KSU assistant dean for Teacher Education and Accreditation, spoke to&nbsp;Matt&nbsp;Weller,&nbsp;Clay&nbsp;Center&nbsp;Elementary&nbsp;School&nbsp;principal,&nbsp;asking him about the possibility of trying remote student-teaching.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Pre-COVID, virtual&nbsp;teaching&nbsp;was “a pretty bold thing to try,” Goodson said.&nbsp;

Weller told him, “Get a double robot and we&nbsp;could make it work.”&nbsp;

“What’s a double robot?”&nbsp;Gibson responded.&nbsp;

By Scott Edger Little Apple PostDelivering quality education in rural, isolated places has long been a challenge in Kansas and elsewhere.&nbsp;It can be difficult for teachers in rural communities to earn the credentials they need to advance and develop their&nbsp;careers.&nbsp;&nbsp;The&nbsp;Rural Education Center&nbsp;at Kansas State University offers a&nbsp;fully-online&nbsp;Master of&nbsp;Arts&nbsp;teaching degree.&nbsp;The&nbsp;REC&nbsp;program&nbsp;is national in scope,&nbsp;so it always has several out-of-state students.&nbsp;&nbsp;Typically, K-State&nbsp;College of Education&nbsp;instructors provide&nbsp;students with&nbsp;remote supervision when&nbsp;they&nbsp;are&nbsp;doing student-teaching&nbsp;in their home locations.&nbsp;The&nbsp;REC&nbsp;had&nbsp;a difficult time finding&nbsp;a student-teaching placement&nbsp;for&nbsp;one student in Georgia&nbsp;a couple years ago.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636741012168.jpeg" alt="KSU education students with a teaching robot in Bluemont Hall" />
 <figcaption>KSU education students with a teaching robot in Bluemont Hall</figcaption>
 </figure>BOLD MOVES REQUIREDClay Center is a&nbsp;partner district in the Center’s Rural Professional Development&nbsp;network, so Dr. Todd Goodson, KSU assistant dean for Teacher Education and Accreditation, spoke to&nbsp;Matt&nbsp;Weller,&nbsp;Clay&nbsp;Center&nbsp;Elementary&nbsp;School&nbsp;principal,&nbsp;asking him about the possibility of trying remote student-teaching.&nbsp;&nbsp;Pre-COVID, virtual&nbsp;teaching&nbsp;was “a pretty bold thing to try,” Goodson said.&nbsp;Weller told him, “Get a double robot and we&nbsp;could make it work.”&nbsp;“What’s a double robot?”&nbsp;Gibson responded.&nbsp;It turns out that&nbsp;“Double”&nbsp;is&nbsp;a unit&nbsp;from&nbsp;Double&nbsp;Robotics,&nbsp;a&nbsp;2012&nbsp;startup&nbsp;out of Burlingame, California that&nbsp;is now the leading&nbsp;producer of&nbsp;telepresence robots&nbsp;for online&nbsp;or&nbsp;hybrid classrooms&nbsp;and meetings.&nbsp;&nbsp;The robots&nbsp;look similar to a Segway with&nbsp;two wheels&nbsp;on a&nbsp;base&nbsp;that supports&nbsp;a vertical post with a&nbsp;monitor, camera, and microphone&nbsp;attached at the top.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636812203748.jpeg" alt="Dr. Todd Goodson" />
 <figcaption>Dr. Todd Goodson</figcaption>
 </figure>Once the details were hashed out, the grad student was able to do all&nbsp;of&nbsp;her student teaching in a Clay Center classroom&nbsp;from her home in Georgia.&nbsp;“So&nbsp;we congratulated ourselves because that all seemed really out of the box,” Goodson said,&nbsp;“and then COVID came along and all of our student teachers became remote student teachers.”&nbsp;Using the robot advances the concept of&nbsp;co-teaching,&nbsp;where a&nbsp;less experienced teacher works closely with a veteran.&nbsp;“They have to work hand-in-glove.” Goodson said,&nbsp;“and maybe the veteran is cueing up things on the screen and monitoring behavior and so forth,&nbsp;while the novice might be wheeled over to a table with a small group working on&nbsp;a&nbsp;problem-based learning experience.&nbsp;“You're only limited by your imagination.”&nbsp;INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636741107368.jpeg" alt="K-State contingent arriving in Ecuador with the REC telepresence robot" />
 <figcaption>K-State contingent arriving in Ecuador with the REC telepresence robot</figcaption>
 </figure>In conjunction with the&nbsp;COE’s&nbsp;Global&nbsp;Education&nbsp;Outreach office,&nbsp;the robot program has expanded and enhanced its capabilities, going&nbsp;international&nbsp;to Ecuador.&nbsp;The GEO has a freshly-inked contract with universities&nbsp;in&nbsp;Ecuador&nbsp;to provide professional development for their faculty, and working through the&nbsp;institutions&nbsp;KSU&nbsp;placed these robots in two public and two private schools in Ecuador.&nbsp;An Ecuadorian&nbsp;native and university professor, Dr. Éder Intriago-Palacios earned his doctorate from K-State and is&nbsp;a COE&nbsp;postdoctoral researcher. Dr.&nbsp;Intriago-Palacios&nbsp;provided the impetus to take the initiative to South America.&nbsp;A contingent from K-State, including&nbsp;Dr.&nbsp;Intriago-Palacios,&nbsp;delivered the four robots to Ecuador and set them up.&nbsp;The robots rolled into the&nbsp;Ecuadorian&nbsp;classrooms just this week, so it is yet to be seen how they will&nbsp;perform, but the project already generates multiple learning opportunities.&nbsp;A group of students in the COE instructional technology class is doing a service-learning project this semester through program in Ecuador.&nbsp;And a group of KSU&nbsp;faculty are working on a corresponding research narrative&nbsp;examining the robot&nbsp;project through a social justice&nbsp;lens: what can&nbsp;students learn about culture through an international field experience? The research also looks through the lens of&nbsp;instructional technology in terms enhancing teacher education through telepresence technologies.&nbsp;Ecuadorian educators are excited for the programs.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636812082605.jpeg" alt="Dr. Éder Intriago-Palacios" />
 <figcaption>Dr. Éder Intriago-Palacios</figcaption>
 </figure>“They feel that they are privileged,”&nbsp;Intriago-Palacios said. “They say they are fortunate for participating in this project.&nbsp;These are young teachers with two or three years&nbsp;of experience so they see this as an opportunity&nbsp;for growth.”&nbsp;The program&nbsp;is not only an&nbsp;opportunity to&nbsp;grow professionally, but&nbsp;also linguistically.&nbsp;“They're very excited about having&nbsp;native English&nbsp;speakers in&nbsp;the classrooms,”&nbsp;Intriago-Palacios said. “They feel this is definitely extraordinary.”&nbsp;FUTURE POSSIBILITIES&nbsp;The effects of COVID continue to linger, with society&nbsp;seemingly&nbsp;always&nbsp;on the&nbsp;verge&nbsp;of another lockdown, so K-State's foray into robotic, remote education&nbsp;only a few years ago&nbsp;may&nbsp;ultimately&nbsp;prove wildly&nbsp;prescient.&nbsp;“I think we're going to see an acceleration of the research in this field,”&nbsp;Eileen&nbsp;Wertzberger,&nbsp;coordinator of the COE Office of Field Experiences,&nbsp;said. “We see it as a potential solution for some of the struggles that we faced with COVID.”&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636811873020.jpeg" alt="Eileen Wertzberger" />
 <figcaption>Eileen Wertzberger</figcaption>
 </figure>She said the robots are clearly not the answer for every obstacle, but their utility rests beyond the pragmatic.&nbsp;&nbsp;“Regardless of the of the distance or the proximity,” Wertzberger said, “as technology moves&nbsp;forward and people want&nbsp;more on-demand,&nbsp;being very familiar with&nbsp;this technology will be super important for educators.”&nbsp;KANSAS SCHOOLS&nbsp;Goodson, himself a product of small schools in rural Missouri, said the initiative is another link in the rural distance-learning network the Center is developing.&nbsp;&nbsp;The network can facilitate more equitable educational access for rural, underserved,&nbsp;or low socio-economic communities.&nbsp;&nbsp;According to&nbsp;Wertzberger,&nbsp;Kansas&nbsp;districts are&nbsp;warming up to the idea of using the robots.&nbsp;During the pandemic districts found many opportunities&nbsp;to utilize the technology&nbsp;- helping&nbsp;students who couldn't be in school&nbsp;or a&nbsp;quarantined&nbsp;teacher to deliver content with substitutes or other supervision in the room&nbsp;- and allowed Kansas high school seniors to finish the credits they needed to graduate.&nbsp;Wertzberger&nbsp;said the&nbsp;robots can take&nbsp;a&nbsp;teacher to rural areas, but they can also bring&nbsp;a&nbsp;rural,&nbsp;or international,&nbsp;perspective to the teacher.&nbsp;“Now we're using it with our on-campus students,”&nbsp;Wertzberger&nbsp;said, “to&nbsp;give them exposure to rural schools, and&nbsp;a much more global perspective.&nbsp;It's been really&nbsp;positive&nbsp;in terms of opening&nbsp;their eyes to what education can be.”&nbsp;Wertzberger&nbsp;said the rural and international&nbsp;connections are encouraging&nbsp;education students on campus to appreciate and embrace new&nbsp;perspectives and practices.&nbsp;“There's really excited, too,” she said. “They see this as an opportunity for their growth as a teacher, and they're waking up to this idea of being in&nbsp;education they get to be a part of something a little bit bigger.”&nbsp;From “what's a double robot”&nbsp;to fill a critical need... to&nbsp;international research initiatives&nbsp;with&nbsp;partnerships and&nbsp;collaborators thousands of miles apart.&nbsp;The robots allow KSU to&nbsp;put&nbsp;new people and new technology in places that otherwise do not often receive either.&nbsp;&nbsp;“To me, that’s the story,” Goodson said. “Our students in Kansas are getting experiences across cultural boundaries that they would never otherwise be able to.”&nbsp;There is a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6laQCtsFWc&amp;t=168s" target="_blank">short documentary</a>&nbsp;on the robotic student teacher that's on the college YouTube page.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636741661039.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636741767480.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>These maps show the locations of the school districts served by the Kansas State University Rural Education Center's RESET program, supported by a USDA Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant (bottom), and the College of Education's Professional Development Network (above).

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