Today is Monday, Dec. 13, the 347th day of 2021. There are 18 days left in the year. 

On Dec. 13, 2000, Republican George W. Bush claimed the presidency a day after the U.S. Supreme Court shut down further recounts of disputed ballots in Florida; Democrat Al Gore conceded, delivering a call for national unity. 

In 1835, Phillips Brooks, the American Episcopal bishop who wrote the words to "O Little Town of Bethlehem," was born in Boston.

In 1928, George Gershwin's "An American in Paris" had its premiere at Carnegie Hall in New York.

In 1937, the Chinese city of Nanjing fell to Japanese forces during the Sino-Japanese War; what followed was a massacre of war prisoners, soldiers and citizens. (China maintains that up to 300,000 people were killed; Japanese nationalists say the death toll was far lower, and some maintain the massacre never happened.) 

In 1978, the Philadelphia Mint began stamping the Susan B. Anthony dollar, which went into circulation the following July. 

In 1981, authorities in Poland imposed martial law in a crackdown on the Solidarity labor movement. (Martial law formally ended in 1983.) 

In 1993, the space shuttle Endeavour returned from its mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. 

In 2001, the Pentagon publicly released a captured videotape of Osama bin Laden in which the al-Qaida leader said the deaths and destruction achieved by the September 11 attacks exceeded his "most optimistic" expectations. 

In 2002, President George W. Bush announced he would take the smallpox vaccine along with U.S. military forces, but was not recommending the potentially risky inoculation for most Americans. 

In 2003, Saddam Hussein was captured by U.S. forces while hiding in a hole under a farmhouse in Adwar, Iraq, near his hometown of Tikrit. 

In 2007, Major League Baseball's Mitchell Report was released, identifying 85 names to differing degrees in connection with the alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs. 

In 2014, thousands of protesters marched in New York, Washington and other U.S. cities to call attention to the killing of unarmed Black men by white police officers who faced no criminal charges. 

In 2019, the House Judiciary Committee approved two articles of impeachment accusing President Donald Trump of abuse of power in his dealings with Ukraine and obstruction of Congress in the investigation that followed.

Ten years ago: Early sound recordings by Alexander Graham Bell that were packed away at the Smithsonian Institution for more than a century were played publicly for the first time using new technology that read the sound with light and a 3D camera. (In one recording, a man recites part of Hamlet's Soliloquy; on another, a voice recites the numbers 1 through 6.)

Five years ago: President-elect Donald Trump announced his choice of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be secretary of state. Actor Alan Thicke, best remembered as the beloved dad on the ABC series "Growing Pains," died in Los Angeles at age 69.

One year ago: The first vials of the Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19 began making their way to distribution sites across the United States. President Donald Trump said he was reversing an administration directive to vaccinate top government officials against COVID-19 while public distribution of the shot was limited to health care workers and people in nursing homes and long-term care facilities; hours earlier, the administration had confirmed that senior U.S. officials would be offered vaccines in the days ahead.

Today's Birthdays: Actor-comedian Dick Van Dyke is 96. Country singer Buck White is 91. Music/film producer Lou Adler is 88. Singer John Davidson is 80. Actor Kathy Garver (TV: "Family Affair") is 76. Singer Ted Nugent is 73. Rock musician Jeff "Skunk" Baxter is 73. Actor Robert Lindsay is 72. Country singer-musician Randy Owen is 72. Actor Wendie Malick is 71. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is 71. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is 68. Country singer John Anderson is 67. Singer-songwriter Steve Forbert is 67. Singer-actor Morris Day is 65. Actor Steve Buscemi is 64. Actor Johnny Whitaker (TV: "Family Affair") is 62. Rock musician John Munson (Semisonic; Twilight Hours) is 59. Actor-reality TV star NeNe Leakes is 55. Actor-comedian Jamie Foxx is 54. Actor Lusia Strus is 54. Actor Bart Johnson is 51. Actor Jeffrey Pierce is 50. TV personality Debbie Matenopoulos is 47. Rock singer-musician Thomas Delonge is 46. Actor James Kyson Lee is 46. Actor Kimee Balmilero (TV: "Hawaii Five-0") is 42. Actor Chelsea Hertford is 40. Rock singer Amy Lee (Evanescence) is 40. Actor Michael Socha is 34. Actor Marcel Spears (TV: "The Mayor") is 33. Singer Taylor Swift is 32. Actor Maisy Stella is 18.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573488868914.jpeg" alt="Photo of old book courtesy <a href="http://shutterstock.com">shutterstock</a>" />
 <figcaption>Photo of old book courtesy <a href="http://shutterstock.com">shutterstock</a></figcaption>
 </figure>By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSToday is Monday, Dec. 13, the 347th day of 2021. There are 18 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Dec. 13, 2000, Republican George W. Bush claimed the presidency a day after the U.S. Supreme Court shut down further recounts of disputed ballots in Florida; Democrat Al Gore conceded, delivering a call for national unity. On this date: In 1835, Phillips Brooks, the American Episcopal bishop who wrote the words to "O Little Town of Bethlehem," was born in Boston.In 1928, George Gershwin's "An American in Paris" had its premiere at Carnegie Hall in New York.In 1937, the Chinese city of Nanjing fell to Japanese forces during the Sino-Japanese War; what followed was a massacre of war prisoners, soldiers and citizens. (China maintains that up to 300,000 people were killed; Japanese nationalists say the death toll was far lower, and some maintain the massacre never happened.) In 1978, the Philadelphia Mint began stamping the Susan B. Anthony dollar, which went into circulation the following July. In 1981, authorities in Poland imposed martial law in a crackdown on the Solidarity labor movement. (Martial law formally ended in 1983.) In 1993, the space shuttle Endeavour returned from its mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. In 2001, the Pentagon publicly released a captured videotape of Osama bin Laden in which the al-Qaida leader said the deaths and destruction achieved by the September 11 attacks exceeded his "most optimistic" expectations. In 2002, President George W. Bush announced he would take the smallpox vaccine along with U.S. military forces, but was not recommending the potentially risky inoculation for most Americans. In 2003, Saddam Hussein was captured by U.S. forces while hiding in a hole under a farmhouse in Adwar, Iraq, near his hometown of Tikrit. In 2007, Major League Baseball's Mitchell Report was released, identifying 85 names to differing degrees in connection with the alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs. In 2014, thousands of protesters marched in New York, Washington and other U.S. cities to call attention to the killing of unarmed Black men by white police officers who faced no criminal charges. In 2019, the House Judiciary Committee approved two articles of impeachment accusing President Donald Trump of abuse of power in his dealings with Ukraine and obstruction of Congress in the investigation that followed.Ten years ago: Early sound recordings by Alexander Graham Bell that were packed away at the Smithsonian Institution for more than a century were played publicly for the first time using new technology that read the sound with light and a 3D camera. (In one recording, a man recites part of Hamlet's Soliloquy; on another, a voice recites the numbers 1 through 6.) Five years ago: President-elect Donald Trump announced his choice of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be secretary of state. Actor Alan Thicke, best remembered as the beloved dad on the ABC series "Growing Pains," died in Los Angeles at age 69. One year ago: The first vials of the Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19 began making their way to distribution sites across the United States. President Donald Trump said he was reversing an administration directive to vaccinate top government officials against COVID-19 while public distribution of the shot was limited to health care workers and people in nursing homes and long-term care facilities; hours earlier, the administration had confirmed that senior U.S. officials would be offered vaccines in the days ahead.Today's Birthdays: Actor-comedian Dick Van Dyke is 96. Country singer Buck White is 91. Music/film producer Lou Adler is 88. Singer John Davidson is 80. Actor Kathy Garver (TV: "Family Affair") is 76. Singer Ted Nugent is 73. Rock musician Jeff "Skunk" Baxter is 73. Actor Robert Lindsay is 72. Country singer-musician Randy Owen is 72. Actor Wendie Malick is 71. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is 71. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is 68. Country singer John Anderson is 67. Singer-songwriter Steve Forbert is 67. Singer-actor Morris Day is 65. Actor Steve Buscemi is 64. Actor Johnny Whitaker (TV: "Family Affair") is 62. Rock musician John Munson (Semisonic; Twilight Hours) is 59. Actor-reality TV star NeNe Leakes is 55. Actor-comedian Jamie Foxx is 54. Actor Lusia Strus is 54. Actor Bart Johnson is 51. Actor Jeffrey Pierce is 50. TV personality Debbie Matenopoulos is 47. Rock singer-musician Thomas Delonge is 46. Actor James Kyson Lee is 46. Actor Kimee Balmilero (TV: "Hawaii Five-0") is 42. Actor Chelsea Hertford is 40. Rock singer Amy Lee (Evanescence) is 40. Actor Michael Socha is 34. Actor Marcel Spears (TV: "The Mayor") is 33. Singer Taylor Swift is 32. Actor Maisy Stella is 18.

Today in History - Dec. 13


HUTCHINSON,
Kan. — 
With the announcement that Keith Urban's tour stop in Wichita coincides with the second Saturday night of the Kansas State Fair, that creates some issues for scheduling a grandstand show that night.

"We just got back from the International Association of Fairs and Expositions convention," said State Fair GM Bryan Schulz. "There was four staff, myself and three of our board members went down there. We had an opportunity to meet with our entertainment buyers and started looking at things. Obviously, we were already in the row of finding some things. With this announcement, we have been able to shift from what we thought we might do on that Saturday night to different entertainment. We'll just make it work."

The State Fair's grandstand show budget isn't that large, when you're spreading it over the whole event.

"We have about $650,000 to $675,000, when you start taking that over ten days, that kind of dwindles down." Schulz said. "The Blake Sheltons, the Miranda Lamberts, KISS, ZZ Top, those might be a little tough to get in at the Kansas State Fair right now."

The key is figuring out who will be big and booking them early, which is an art in itself.

"Going after those ones that are starting to peak and getting them in at the dollar amounts that we can afford," Schulz said. "I remember, when I was at a previous fair, our agency said, hey Bryan, we've got this opportunity for Zac Brown Band. I said, okay. That's when Chicken Fried was just coming out. I said, okay, what do you think we can get them for? Well, about $27,000 is what I think we'll pay for them. Let's try it. By the time it got to be fair time, they were asking $200,000 to $250,000. It's when you can get in on that ground level and be able to lock it in, that's fantastic."

Schulz further explained that if an act will have a show in the region before the one at the Fair, sometimes announcements of acts have to be delayed, in an effort not to negatively impact the other close in show's date.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/7/1626269696039.jpeg" alt="Bryan Schulz, General Manager of the Kansas State Fair" />
 <figcaption>Bryan Schulz, General Manager of the Kansas State Fair</figcaption>
 </figure>
By
NICK GOSNELL
Hutch
Post
HUTCHINSON,
Kan. — 
With the announcement that Keith Urban's tour stop in Wichita coincides with the second Saturday night of the Kansas State Fair, that creates some issues for scheduling a grandstand show that night."We just got back from the International Association of Fairs and Expositions convention," said State Fair GM Bryan Schulz. "There was four staff, myself and three of our board members went down there. We had an opportunity to meet with our entertainment buyers and started looking at things. Obviously, we were already in the row of finding some things. With this announcement, we have been able to shift from what we thought we might do on that Saturday night to different entertainment. We'll just make it work."The State Fair's grandstand show budget isn't that large, when you're spreading it over the whole event."We have about $650,000 to $675,000, when you start taking that over ten days, that kind of dwindles down." Schulz said. "The Blake Sheltons, the Miranda Lamberts, KISS, ZZ Top, those might be a little tough to get in at the Kansas State Fair right now."The key is figuring out who will be big and booking them early, which is an art in itself."Going after those ones that are starting to peak and getting them in at the dollar amounts that we can afford," Schulz said. "I remember, when I was at a previous fair, our agency said, hey Bryan, we've got this opportunity for Zac Brown Band. I said, okay. That's when Chicken Fried was just coming out. I said, okay, what do you think we can get them for? Well, about $27,000 is what I think we'll pay for them. Let's try it. By the time it got to be fair time, they were asking $200,000 to $250,000. It's when you can get in on that ground level and be able to lock it in, that's fantastic."Schulz further explained that if an act will have a show in the region before the one at the Fair, sometimes announcements of acts have to be delayed, in an effort not to negatively impact the other close in show's date.

Competing acts will complicate Grandstand Shows at State Fair

From the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/salinapubliclibrary">Salina Public Library</a> Facebook page:

See what's new this week at the Salina Public Library at:

*** <a href="http://wowbrary.org/nu.aspx?fb&amp;p=5578-430&amp;fbclid=IwAR05ymrgH4h8M9fLgt-uHsaB67Aq3PzUBRwPkDtH1ar2pbFiGWTovtcLWuY" target="_blank">http://wowbrary.org/nu.aspx?fb&amp;p=5578-430</a> ***

There are three new bestsellers, 32 new movies, one new music CD, and 51 other new books. The new bestsellers this week are "Pandemia: How Coronavirus Hysteria Took Over Our Government, Rights, and Lives," "Lore Olympus: Volume One," and "I Hope This Finds You Well: Poems." The new movies this week include "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," "The Last Duel," and "Titane."&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1639353755751.png" alt="Image courtesy <a href="https://www.facebook.com/salinapubliclibrary">Salina Public Library</a> Facebook page" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy <a href="https://www.facebook.com/salinapubliclibrary">Salina Public Library</a> Facebook page</figcaption>
 </figure>From the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/salinapubliclibrary">Salina Public Library</a> Facebook page:See what's new this week at the Salina Public Library at:*** <a href="http://wowbrary.org/nu.aspx?fb&amp;p=5578-430&amp;fbclid=IwAR05ymrgH4h8M9fLgt-uHsaB67Aq3PzUBRwPkDtH1ar2pbFiGWTovtcLWuY" target="_blank">http://wowbrary.org/nu.aspx?fb&amp;p=5578-430</a> ***There are three new bestsellers, 32 new movies, one new music CD, and 51 other new books. The new bestsellers this week are "Pandemia: How Coronavirus Hysteria Took Over Our Government, Rights, and Lives," "Lore Olympus: Volume One," and "I Hope This Finds You Well: Poems." The new movies this week include "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," "The Last Duel," and "Titane."&nbsp;&nbsp;

Check out what's new at the Salina Public Library

Today is Sunday, Dec. 12, the 346th day of 2021. There are 19 days left in the year. 

On Dec. 12, 2015, nearly 200 nations meeting in Paris adopted the first global pact to fight climate change, calling on the world to collectively cut and then eliminate greenhouse gas pollution but imposing no sanctions on countries that didn't do so. 

In 1870, Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina became the first Black lawmaker sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives. 

In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt nominated Oscar Straus to be Secretary of Commerce and Labor; Straus became the first Jewish Cabinet member.

In 1913, authorities in Florence, Italy, announced that the "Mona Lisa," stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris in 1911, had been recovered. 

In 1915, singer-actor Frank Sinatra was born Francis Albert Sinatra in Hoboken, New Jersey. 

In 1917, during World War I, a train carrying some 1,000 French troops from the Italian front derailed while descending a steep hill in Modane; at least half of the soldiers were killed in France's greatest rail disaster. Father Edward Flanagan founded Boys Town outside Omaha, Nebraska. 

In 1939, swashbuckling actor Douglas Fairbanks died in Santa Monica, California, at age 56.

In 1977, the dance movie "Saturday Night Fever," starring John Travolta, premiered in New York. 

In 1985, 248 American soldiers and eight crew members were killed when an Arrow Air charter crashed after takeoff from Gander, Newfoundland. 

In 1995, by three votes, the Senate killed a constitutional amendment giving Congress authority to outlaw flag burning and other forms of desecration against Old Glory. 

In 1997, Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, the international terrorist known as "Carlos the Jackal," went on trial in Paris on charges of killing two French investigators and a Lebanese national. (Ramirez was convicted and is serving a life prison sentence.) 

In 2000, George W. Bush became president-elect as a divided U.S. Supreme Court reversed a state court decision for recounts in Florida's contested election. The Marine Corps grounded all eight of its high-tech MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft following a fiery crash in North Carolina that killed four Marines. (The Osprey program was revived by the Pentagon in 2005.)

In 2010, the inflatable roof of the Minneapolis Metrodome collapsed following a snowstorm that had dumped 17 inches on the city. (The NFL was forced to shift an already rescheduled game between the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants to Detroit's Ford Field.) 

Ten years ago: President Barack Obama met at the White House with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki; afterward, the president declared that U.S. troops were leaving Iraq "with honor and with their heads held high."

Five years ago: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan endorsed investigations into the CIA's belief that Russia had meddled in the November election to help Donald Trump win, a claim the president-elect called "ridiculous."

One year ago: Thousands of supporters of President Donald Trump gathered in Washington for rallies to back his desperate efforts to subvert the election that he lost to Joe Biden; sporadic fights broke out between pro-Trump and anti-Trump demonstrators after sundown, and four people were taken to the hospital with stab wounds. A federal judge in Wisconsin who'd been appointed by Trump dismissed Trump's lawsuit asking that the Republican-controlled Legislature name Trump the winner in the state; the judge said Trump's arguments "fail as a matter of law and fact." Charley Pride, the son of sharecroppers in Mississippi who became one of country music's biggest stars and the first Black member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, died in Dallas at 86 from what a spokesman said were complications from COVID-19. John le Carre, the former spy whose novels defined the Cold War espionage thriller, died in England at the age of 89.

Today's Birthdays: Former TV host Bob Barker is 98. Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Pettit is 89. Singer Connie Francis is 84. Singer Dionne Warwick is 81. Rock singer-musician Dickey Betts is 78. Hall of Fame race car driver Emerson Fittipaldi is 75. Actor Wings Hauser is 74. Actor Bill Nighy is 72. Actor Duane Chase (Film: "The Sound of Music") is 71. Country singer LaCosta is 71. Gymnast-turned-actor Cathy Rigby is 69. Author Lorna Landvik is 67. Singer-musician Sheila E. is 64. Actor Sheree J. Wilson is 63. Pop singer Daniel O'Donnell is 60. International Tennis Hall of Famer Tracy Austin is 59. Rock musician Eric Schenkman (Spin Doctors) is 58. Author Sophie Kinsella is 52. News anchor Maggie Rodriguez is 52. Actor Jennifer Connelly is 51. Actor Madchen Amick is 51. Actor Regina Hall is 51. Country singer Hank Williams III is 49. Actor Mayim Bialik is 46. Model Bridget Hall is 44. Actor Lucas Hedges is 25. Actor Sky Katz is 17.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573488868914.jpeg" alt="Photo of old book courtesy <a href="http://shutterstock.com">shutterstock</a>" />
 <figcaption>Photo of old book courtesy <a href="http://shutterstock.com">shutterstock</a></figcaption>
 </figure>By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSToday is Sunday, Dec. 12, the 346th day of 2021. There are 19 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Dec. 12, 2015, nearly 200 nations meeting in Paris adopted the first global pact to fight climate change, calling on the world to collectively cut and then eliminate greenhouse gas pollution but imposing no sanctions on countries that didn't do so. On this date: In 1870, Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina became the first Black lawmaker sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt nominated Oscar Straus to be Secretary of Commerce and Labor; Straus became the first Jewish Cabinet member.In 1913, authorities in Florence, Italy, announced that the "Mona Lisa," stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris in 1911, had been recovered. In 1915, singer-actor Frank Sinatra was born Francis Albert Sinatra in Hoboken, New Jersey. In 1917, during World War I, a train carrying some 1,000 French troops from the Italian front derailed while descending a steep hill in Modane; at least half of the soldiers were killed in France's greatest rail disaster. Father Edward Flanagan founded Boys Town outside Omaha, Nebraska. In 1939, swashbuckling actor Douglas Fairbanks died in Santa Monica, California, at age 56.In 1977, the dance movie "Saturday Night Fever," starring John Travolta, premiered in New York. In 1985, 248 American soldiers and eight crew members were killed when an Arrow Air charter crashed after takeoff from Gander, Newfoundland. In 1995, by three votes, the Senate killed a constitutional amendment giving Congress authority to outlaw flag burning and other forms of desecration against Old Glory. In 1997, Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, the international terrorist known as "Carlos the Jackal," went on trial in Paris on charges of killing two French investigators and a Lebanese national. (Ramirez was convicted and is serving a life prison sentence.) In 2000, George W. Bush became president-elect as a divided U.S. Supreme Court reversed a state court decision for recounts in Florida's contested election. The Marine Corps grounded all eight of its high-tech MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft following a fiery crash in North Carolina that killed four Marines. (The Osprey program was revived by the Pentagon in 2005.)In 2010, the inflatable roof of the Minneapolis Metrodome collapsed following a snowstorm that had dumped 17 inches on the city. (The NFL was forced to shift an already rescheduled game between the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants to Detroit's Ford Field.) Ten years ago: President Barack Obama met at the White House with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki; afterward, the president declared that U.S. troops were leaving Iraq "with honor and with their heads held high." Five years ago: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan endorsed investigations into the CIA's belief that Russia had meddled in the November election to help Donald Trump win, a claim the president-elect called "ridiculous."One year ago: Thousands of supporters of President Donald Trump gathered in Washington for rallies to back his desperate efforts to subvert the election that he lost to Joe Biden; sporadic fights broke out between pro-Trump and anti-Trump demonstrators after sundown, and four people were taken to the hospital with stab wounds. A federal judge in Wisconsin who'd been appointed by Trump dismissed Trump's lawsuit asking that the Republican-controlled Legislature name Trump the winner in the state; the judge said Trump's arguments "fail as a matter of law and fact." Charley Pride, the son of sharecroppers in Mississippi who became one of country music's biggest stars and the first Black member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, died in Dallas at 86 from what a spokesman said were complications from COVID-19. John le Carre, the former spy whose novels defined the Cold War espionage thriller, died in England at the age of 89. Today's Birthdays: Former TV host Bob Barker is 98. Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Pettit is 89. Singer Connie Francis is 84. Singer Dionne Warwick is 81. Rock singer-musician Dickey Betts is 78. Hall of Fame race car driver Emerson Fittipaldi is 75. Actor Wings Hauser is 74. Actor Bill Nighy is 72. Actor Duane Chase (Film: "The Sound of Music") is 71. Country singer LaCosta is 71. Gymnast-turned-actor Cathy Rigby is 69. Author Lorna Landvik is 67. Singer-musician Sheila E. is 64. Actor Sheree J. Wilson is 63. Pop singer Daniel O'Donnell is 60. International Tennis Hall of Famer Tracy Austin is 59. Rock musician Eric Schenkman (Spin Doctors) is 58. Author Sophie Kinsella is 52. News anchor Maggie Rodriguez is 52. Actor Jennifer Connelly is 51. Actor Madchen Amick is 51. Actor Regina Hall is 51. Country singer Hank Williams III is 49. Actor Mayim Bialik is 46. Model Bridget Hall is 44. Actor Lucas Hedges is 25. Actor Sky Katz is 17.

Today in History - Dec. 12

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Basketball Writer

LAWRENCE — It took nearly a decade for Kansas and Missouri to renew the Border War.

It took about 10 minutes for the Jayhawks to turn it into a border rout.

Ochai Agbaji scored 21 points, Christian Braun and Dajuan Harris had 13 apiece, and the eighth-ranked Jayhawks rolled to a 102-65 win over the Tigers on Saturday in the first meeting of the longtime Big 12 rivals as nonconference opponents.

David McCormack added 11 points and Remy Martin 10 for the Jayhawks (8-1), who have won eight of the past nine games in a series that began in 1907 but hadn't been played since the Tigers departed the Big 12 after the 2012 season.

"Did it feel different walking out there? Absolutely," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "There's something about Mizzou and a few others on our schedule, only those guys can bring the type of energy that existed today."

Javon Pickett led sloppy, poor-shooting Missouri (5-5) with 19 points. DaJuan Gordon had 11 and leading scorer Kobe Brown, hounded all afternoon by the Jayhawks' man-to-man defense, finished with five points and six rebounds.

"I used to watch this game on TV but never really understood it," Pickett said. "I knew it was a big game, but it was just another game to me when I was younger. It was a great atmosphere, though. Super loud."

Hundreds of students representing groups of up to 20 each began camping out nearly a week in advance of the game, all angling for the best seat for the renewal of a rivalry that traces its bitter start to the pre-Civil War days.

But while the era of pro-slavery Missouri raiders quarreling with anti-slavery "Jayhawkers" from Kansas is relegated to the history books, the animosity harbored by fans of the Tigers and Jayhawks is still very real — even though the two programs had not played in nearly a decade, since Missouri decided to chase football riches to the SEC.

Its move left the Big 12 on such unsteady footing that Self simply refused to schedule the Tigers anymore.

His stance softened over time, though, and the schools played a 2017 exhibition to raise money for hurricane relief. They later agreed to a six-game series that was delayed a year by the pandemic. But it wasn't until Saturday, with the winter sun shining through the clerestory windows of Allen Fieldhouse, that they finally took to the floor together.

Dozens of former players showed up to watch, lending the game a feeling of nostalgia.

"There is an unspoken level of pride. They've played in these games, watched other teams play in these games," Agbaji said. "We didn't say much to them but we just gave each other that kind of look, like, 'Go take care of business.'"

As usual, the 270th meeting of Kansas and Missouri had a bit of everything.

There were vulgar chants from Kansas students and silencing buckets from Pickett and the Tigers' Trevon Brazile. There were alley-oop dunks by McCormack, fast-break slams by Braun and a first-half run by Kansas that included a technical foul on Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin, whose first taste of the Border War was a bitter one.

The Tigers had been waiting 3,577 days to avenge their last heartbreaking loss to Kansas.

They sure didn't put up the same kind of fight Saturday.

The Jayhawks opened with an 11-3 run, pushed their advantage to double digits after about seven minutes, then closed the first half on a 13-2 run, storming up the tunnel and into their locker room with a 49-27 advantage.

"They're a really good team," Brown said. "They came out and did what we thought they would do."

The Jayhawks had no intention of going easy on Missouri in the second half, either.

Agbaji followed his first half-ending 3-pointer with one to start the second, and Harris — a native of Columbia, Missouri — and Remy Martin added two more in quick succession, tipping the lead over 30 after just a few minutes.

Kansas eventually scored on its first nine possessions of the second half before coasting to the finish.

"We haven't heard that in a long time, that amount of passion in here," Braun said. "Some of those students camped out for a week to watch this. We had to give them something in return. We had to match their passion and energy."

Missouri didn't compose itself well in a hostile environment. Along with Cuonzo Martin's technical foul, 7-foot-3 center Jordan Wilmore got one for clocking Mitch Lightfoot in the jaw with an elbow midway through the second half.

Kansas scored 22 points off 20 turnovers. It shot 56% from the field and went 14 of 27 from beyond the arc. It won the battle of the boards, second-chance points and fast-break baskets. In other words, it was complete domination.

The Tigers play Utah and the Jayhawks face Stephen F. Austin next Saturday.

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Basketball WriterLAWRENCE — It took nearly a decade for Kansas and Missouri to renew the Border War.It took about 10 minutes for the Jayhawks to turn it into a border rout.Ochai Agbaji scored 21 points, Christian Braun and Dajuan Harris had 13 apiece, and the eighth-ranked Jayhawks rolled to a 102-65 win over the Tigers on Saturday in the first meeting of the longtime Big 12 rivals as nonconference opponents.David McCormack added 11 points and Remy Martin 10 for the Jayhawks (8-1), who have won eight of the past nine games in a series that began in 1907 but hadn't been played since the Tigers departed the Big 12 after the 2012 season."Did it feel different walking out there? Absolutely," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "There's something about Mizzou and a few others on our schedule, only those guys can bring the type of energy that existed today."Javon Pickett led sloppy, poor-shooting Missouri (5-5) with 19 points. DaJuan Gordon had 11 and leading scorer Kobe Brown, hounded all afternoon by the Jayhawks' man-to-man defense, finished with five points and six rebounds."I used to watch this game on TV but never really understood it," Pickett said. "I knew it was a big game, but it was just another game to me when I was younger. It was a great atmosphere, though. Super loud."Hundreds of students representing groups of up to 20 each began camping out nearly a week in advance of the game, all angling for the best seat for the renewal of a rivalry that traces its bitter start to the pre-Civil War days.But while the era of pro-slavery Missouri raiders quarreling with anti-slavery "Jayhawkers" from Kansas is relegated to the history books, the animosity harbored by fans of the Tigers and Jayhawks is still very real — even though the two programs had not played in nearly a decade, since Missouri decided to chase football riches to the SEC.Its move left the Big 12 on such unsteady footing that Self simply refused to schedule the Tigers anymore.His stance softened over time, though, and the schools played a 2017 exhibition to raise money for hurricane relief. They later agreed to a six-game series that was delayed a year by the pandemic. But it wasn't until Saturday, with the winter sun shining through the clerestory windows of Allen Fieldhouse, that they finally took to the floor together.Dozens of former players showed up to watch, lending the game a feeling of nostalgia."There is an unspoken level of pride. They've played in these games, watched other teams play in these games," Agbaji said. "We didn't say much to them but we just gave each other that kind of look, like, 'Go take care of business.'"As usual, the 270th meeting of Kansas and Missouri had a bit of everything.There were vulgar chants from Kansas students and silencing buckets from Pickett and the Tigers' Trevon Brazile. There were alley-oop dunks by McCormack, fast-break slams by Braun and a first-half run by Kansas that included a technical foul on Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin, whose first taste of the Border War was a bitter one.The Tigers had been waiting 3,577 days to avenge their last heartbreaking loss to Kansas.They sure didn't put up the same kind of fight Saturday.The Jayhawks opened with an 11-3 run, pushed their advantage to double digits after about seven minutes, then closed the first half on a 13-2 run, storming up the tunnel and into their locker room with a 49-27 advantage."They're a really good team," Brown said. "They came out and did what we thought they would do."The Jayhawks had no intention of going easy on Missouri in the second half, either.Agbaji followed his first half-ending 3-pointer with one to start the second, and Harris — a native of Columbia, Missouri — and Remy Martin added two more in quick succession, tipping the lead over 30 after just a few minutes.Kansas eventually scored on its first nine possessions of the second half before coasting to the finish."We haven't heard that in a long time, that amount of passion in here," Braun said. "Some of those students camped out for a week to watch this. We had to give them something in return. We had to match their passion and energy."THE TAKEAWAYMissouri didn't compose itself well in a hostile environment. Along with Cuonzo Martin's technical foul, 7-foot-3 center Jordan Wilmore got one for clocking Mitch Lightfoot in the jaw with an elbow midway through the second half.Kansas scored 22 points off 20 turnovers. It shot 56% from the field and went 14 of 27 from beyond the arc. It won the battle of the boards, second-chance points and fast-break baskets. In other words, it was complete domination.UP NEXTThe Tigers play Utah and the Jayhawks face Stephen F. Austin next Saturday.

No. 8 Kansas roars past Mizzou 102-65 in Border War's return

Today is Saturday, Dec. 11, the 345th day of 2021. There are 20 days left in the year. 

On Dec. 11, 1972, Apollo 17's lunar module landed on the moon with astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt aboard; they became the last two men to date to step onto the lunar surface. 

In 1910, French inventor Georges Claude publicly displayed his first neon lamp, consisting of two 38-foot-long tubes, at the Paris Expo.

In 1936, Britain's King Edward VIII abdicated the throne so he could marry American divorcee Wallis Warfield Simpson; his brother, Prince Albert, became King George VI. 

In 1941, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States; the U.S. responded in kind. 

In 1946, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was established. 

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed legislation creating a $1.6 billion environmental "superfund" to pay for cleaning up chemical spills and toxic waste dumps. "Magnum P.I.," starring Tom Selleck, premiered on CBS.

In 1997, more than 150 countries agreed at a global warming conference in Kyoto, Japan, to control the Earth's greenhouse gases. 

In 1998, majority Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee pushed through three articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton, over Democratic objections. 

In 2001, in the first criminal indictment stemming from 9/11, federal prosecutors charged Zacarias Moussaoui, a French citizen of Moroccan descent, with conspiring to murder thousands in the suicide hijackings. (Moussaoui pleaded guilty to conspiracy in 2005 and was sentenced to life in prison.) 

In 2002, a congressional report found that intelligence agencies that were supposed to protect Americans from the Sept. 11 hijackers failed to do so because they were poorly organized, poorly equipped and slow to pursue clues that might have prevented the attacks.

In 2008, former Nasdaq chairman Bernie Madoff was arrested, accused of running a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that wiped out the life savings of thousands of people and wrecked charities. (Madoff died in April 2021 while serving a 150-year federal prison sentence.) 

In 2018, a Virginia jury called for a sentence of life in prison plus 419 years for the man who killed a woman when he rammed his car into counterprotesters at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. (James Alex Fields Jr. received that sentence in July, 2019.) 

Ten years ago: Former military strongman Manuel Antonio Noriega was flown from France to Panama to face additional punishment in his home country after spending more than 20 years in U.S. and French prisons for drug trafficking and money laundering. A U.N. climate conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, reached a hard-fought agreement on a far-reaching program meant to set a new course for the global fight against climate change.

Five years ago: President-elect Donald Trump called a recent CIA assessment of Russian hacking in the U.S. election "ridiculous" and said he wasn't interested in getting daily intelligence briefings, telling "Fox News Sunday," "I get it when I need it."

One year ago: The Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit backed by President Donald Trump to overturn Joe Biden's election victory, ending a desperate attempt to get legal issues that were rejected by state and federal judges before the nation's highest court. The Food and Drug Administration authorized an emergency rollout of the nation's first COVID-19 vaccine, developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech; the decision came as the U.S. recorded a new daily high in the number of coronavirus deaths, at 3,309, and a new high in daily confirmed infections with more than 231,000. (Hours before the FDA action, according to two administration officials, a high-ranking White House official told the FDA's chief that he could face firing if the vaccine was not cleared by day's end.)

Today's Birthdays: Actor Jean-Louis Trintignant is 91. Actor Rita Moreno is 90. Pop singer David Gates (Bread) is 81. Actor Donna Mills is 81. Former Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., is 80. Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is 78. Singer Brenda Lee is 77. Actor Lynda Day George is 77. Music producer Tony Brown is 75. Actor Teri Garr is 74. Movie director Susan Seidelman is 70. Actor Bess Armstrong is 68. Singer Jermaine Jackson is 67. Rock musician Mike Mesaros (The Smithereens) is 64. Rock musician Nikki Sixx (Motley Crue) is 63. Rock musician Darryl Jones (The Rolling Stones) is 60. Actor Ben Browder is 59. Singer-musician Justin Currie (Del Amitri) is 57. Rock musician David Schools (Hard Working Americans, Gov't Mule, Widespread Panic) is 57. Actor Gary Dourdan is 55. Actor-comedian Mo'Nique is 54. Actor Max Martini is 52. Rapper-actor Mos Def is 48. Actor Rider Strong is 42. Actor Xosha Roquemore is 37. Actor Karla Souza is 35. Actor Hailee Steinfeld is 25.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573488868914.jpeg" alt="Photo of old book courtesy <a href="http://shutterstock.com">shutterstock</a>" />
 <figcaption>Photo of old book courtesy <a href="http://shutterstock.com">shutterstock</a></figcaption>
 </figure>By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSToday is Saturday, Dec. 11, the 345th day of 2021. There are 20 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Dec. 11, 1972, Apollo 17's lunar module landed on the moon with astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt aboard; they became the last two men to date to step onto the lunar surface. On this date: In 1816, Indiana became the 19th state. In 1910, French inventor Georges Claude publicly displayed his first neon lamp, consisting of two 38-foot-long tubes, at the Paris Expo.In 1936, Britain's King Edward VIII abdicated the throne so he could marry American divorcee Wallis Warfield Simpson; his brother, Prince Albert, became King George VI. In 1941, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States; the U.S. responded in kind. In 1946, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was established. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed legislation creating a $1.6 billion environmental "superfund" to pay for cleaning up chemical spills and toxic waste dumps. "Magnum P.I.," starring Tom Selleck, premiered on CBS.In 1997, more than 150 countries agreed at a global warming conference in Kyoto, Japan, to control the Earth's greenhouse gases. In 1998, majority Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee pushed through three articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton, over Democratic objections. In 2001, in the first criminal indictment stemming from 9/11, federal prosecutors charged Zacarias Moussaoui, a French citizen of Moroccan descent, with conspiring to murder thousands in the suicide hijackings. (Moussaoui pleaded guilty to conspiracy in 2005 and was sentenced to life in prison.) In 2002, a congressional report found that intelligence agencies that were supposed to protect Americans from the Sept. 11 hijackers failed to do so because they were poorly organized, poorly equipped and slow to pursue clues that might have prevented the attacks.In 2008, former Nasdaq chairman Bernie Madoff was arrested, accused of running a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that wiped out the life savings of thousands of people and wrecked charities. (Madoff died in April 2021 while serving a 150-year federal prison sentence.) In 2018, a Virginia jury called for a sentence of life in prison plus 419 years for the man who killed a woman when he rammed his car into counterprotesters at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. (James Alex Fields Jr. received that sentence in July, 2019.) Ten years ago: Former military strongman Manuel Antonio Noriega was flown from France to Panama to face additional punishment in his home country after spending more than 20 years in U.S. and French prisons for drug trafficking and money laundering. A U.N. climate conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, reached a hard-fought agreement on a far-reaching program meant to set a new course for the global fight against climate change.Five years ago: President-elect Donald Trump called a recent CIA assessment of Russian hacking in the U.S. election "ridiculous" and said he wasn't interested in getting daily intelligence briefings, telling "Fox News Sunday," "I get it when I need it."One year ago: The Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit backed by President Donald Trump to overturn Joe Biden's election victory, ending a desperate attempt to get legal issues that were rejected by state and federal judges before the nation's highest court. The Food and Drug Administration authorized an emergency rollout of the nation's first COVID-19 vaccine, developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech; the decision came as the U.S. recorded a new daily high in the number of coronavirus deaths, at 3,309, and a new high in daily confirmed infections with more than 231,000. (Hours before the FDA action, according to two administration officials, a high-ranking White House official told the FDA's chief that he could face firing if the vaccine was not cleared by day's end.) Today's Birthdays: Actor Jean-Louis Trintignant is 91. Actor Rita Moreno is 90. Pop singer David Gates (Bread) is 81. Actor Donna Mills is 81. Former Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., is 80. Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is 78. Singer Brenda Lee is 77. Actor Lynda Day George is 77. Music producer Tony Brown is 75. Actor Teri Garr is 74. Movie director Susan Seidelman is 70. Actor Bess Armstrong is 68. Singer Jermaine Jackson is 67. Rock musician Mike Mesaros (The Smithereens) is 64. Rock musician Nikki Sixx (Motley Crue) is 63. Rock musician Darryl Jones (The Rolling Stones) is 60. Actor Ben Browder is 59. Singer-musician Justin Currie (Del Amitri) is 57. Rock musician David Schools (Hard Working Americans, Gov't Mule, Widespread Panic) is 57. Actor Gary Dourdan is 55. Actor-comedian Mo'Nique is 54. Actor Max Martini is 52. Rapper-actor Mos Def is 48. Actor Rider Strong is 42. Actor Xosha Roquemore is 37. Actor Karla Souza is 35. Actor Hailee Steinfeld is 25.

Today in History - Dec.11

SHAWNEE COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on multiple charges after a traffic stop.

Just after 11p.m. on Dec. 6 a deputy conducted a traffic stop near NW Topeka Boulevard and NW Morse Street on a silver 2006 Toyota Avalon with an expired license plate, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.

During the investigation, a K9 unit assisted and a deputy found illegal narcotics and a loaded firearm.

The passenger, Valerie L. Shaffer, 35, of Hoyt, was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections for a warrant out of Jackson County and requested charges of possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1638963430963.png" alt="Shaffer photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Shaffer photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on multiple charges after a traffic stop.Just after 11p.m. on Dec. 6 a deputy conducted a traffic stop near NW Topeka Boulevard and NW Morse Street on a silver 2006 Toyota Avalon with an expired license plate, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.During the investigation, a K9 unit assisted and a deputy found illegal narcotics and a loaded firearm.The passenger, Valerie L. Shaffer, 35, of Hoyt, was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections for a warrant out of Jackson County and requested charges of possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Sheriff: Deputies find drugs, loaded firearm during Kan. traffic stop

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Nesmith, the singer-songwriter, author, actor-director and entrepreneur who will likely be best remembered as the wool-hatted, guitar-strumming member of the made-for-television rock band The Monkees, has died at 78.

Nesmith, who had undergone quadruple bypass surgery in 2018, died at home Friday of natural causes, his family said in a statement.

Nesmith was a struggling singer-songwriter in September 1966 when “The Monkees” television debut turned him and fellow band members Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and David Jones into overnight rock stars.

After the group broke up in 1970, Nesmith moved on to a long and creative career, not only as a musician but as a writer, producer and director of films, author of several books, head of a media arts company and creator of a music video format that led to the creation of MTV.

Nesmith was running “hoot nights” at the popular West Hollywood nightclub The Troubadour when he saw a trade publication ad seeking “four insane boys” to play rock musicians in a band modeled after the Beatles.

The show featured the comical misadventures of a quartet that tooled around Los Angeles in a tricked-out Pontiac GTO called the MonkeeMobile and, when they weren’t chasing girls, pursued music stardom.

Each episode rolled out two or three new Monkees songs, six of which became Top 10 Billboard hits during the show’s two-year run. Three others, “I’m a Believer,” ″Daydream Believer” and “Last Train to Clarksville,” reached No. 1.

Jones, with his British accent and boyish good looks, was the group’s cute lead singer. Dolenz became the wacky drummer, although he had to learn to play the drums as the show went along. Tork, a folk-rock musician, portrayed the comically clueless bass player. Nesmith, with his twangy Texas accent and the wool hat he’d worn to his audition, became the serious but naive lead guitarist.

A prankster by nature, he’d arrived at the audition carrying a guitar and bag of dirty laundry he said he planned to wash immediately afterward. With a harmonica around his neck, he stormed into a casting office, banging the door loudly. After pausing to gaze at a painting as if it were a mirror, he sat down and immediately put his feet up on a desk.

But he rebelled almost immediately when producers told him they were going to call his character “Wool Hat.” He demanded they use his real name, as they did with the other actors.

It would be the first of many confrontations Nesmith would have with producers during a tumultuous two-year run in which “The Monkees” won the 1967 Emmy for best comedy series.

Nesmith and Tork, the group’s two most accomplished musicians, railed against the program’s refusal to allow them to play their own instruments at recording sessions. But when Nesmith revealed that fact to reporters, music critics quickly turned on “The Monkees,” dismissing the show as a fraud and the band as the “Prefab Four,” a mocking reference to the Beatles’ nickname, Fab Four.

Nesmith, meanwhile, had written several songs he hoped to debut on the show, but almost all were dismissed by music producer Don Kirshner, as sounding too country.

Among them was “Different Drum,” which Linda Ronstadt recorded in 1967 for her first hit single, validating to Nesmith his opinion that Kirshner, hailed by the pop music industry as “The Man With The Golden Ear,” didn’t know what he was talking about.

Things came to a head when all four Monkees demanded they take control of the music. They were warned they would be sued for breach of contract.

At that, Nesmith rose from his seat and smashed his fist through a wall, telling Kirshner it could have been his face.

For years Nesmith would refuse to confirm or deny the incident, even as the other three gleefully recounted it to reporters. In his 2017 memoir, “Infinite Tuesday,” he did acknowledge it, saying he’d lost his temper when he felt his integrity was being questioned.

“It was an absurd moment in so many ways,” he wrote.

It did give the Monkees control over their music, however, beginning with the group’s third album, “Headquarters.”

After the show concluded in 1968 the band embarked on a lengthy concert tour where members sang many of their own songs and played their own instruments before crowds of adoring fans. Jimi Hendrix was sometimes their opening act.

Following the band’s breakup Nesmith rarely rejoined the others for reunion tours, leading many to believe he disliked the band and the show, something he steadfastly denied.

“I really enjoyed being in the show. I really enjoyed working with Davy and Micky and Peter,” he told Australian Musician magazine in 2019.

It was, he would often say, that he was simply too busy doing other things.

Over the years he recorded more than a dozen albums and toured with the First National Band, the country-rock-folk group he assembled.

He wrote scores of songs, including “Some of Shelly’s Blues,” “Papa Gene’s Blues,” You Just May Be the One” and “The Girl That I knew Somewhere” that he performed with the Monkees. Others, performed with the First National Band, included “Joanne,” “Propinquity (I’ve Just Begun to Care)” and “Different Drum.”

For the Monkees’ 30th anniversary he induced the others to reunite to record a new album, “Justus,” for which all four composed the songs and played the instruments. He also rejoined the others for a brief tour and wrote and directed their 1997 TV reunion film, “Hey, Hey, It’s the Monkees.”

Nesmith also wrote and produced the 1982 science-fiction film “Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann” and earned executive producer credits on “Repo Man,” “Tape Heads” and other films.

His 1981 comedy-music video “Elephant Parts” won a Grammy and led to “PopClips,” a series of music videos broadcast on the Nickelodeon cable network that in turn led to the creation of MTV.

Nesmith even published two well received novels, 1998’s “The Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora” and 2009’s “The America Gene.”

In 1999 he prevailed in a bitter courtroom battle with the Public Broadcasting System over royalties from a home-video deal his media company, Pacific Arts, had struck with PBS. A federal jury awarded him $48 million, concluding the popular purveyor of children’s shows and documentaries had defrauded him.

Nesmith, showing he hadn’t lost his Monkees sense of humor, said afterward: “It’s like catching your grandmother stealing your stereo. You’re glad to get your stereo back, but you’re sad to find out that Grandma’s a thief.”

Both sides agreed on an undisclosed settlement and Nesmith founded another company, Videoranch.

After Jones died in 2012 he began to rejoin the Monkees more frequently, their concerts now earning glowing reviews from critics. He attributed that to most of the group’s original critics having died or retired.

Following Tork’s death in 2019, Nesmith and Dolenz took on the name The Monkees Mike &amp; Micky.

Robert Michael Nesmith was born Dec. 30, 1942, in Houston, Texas, the only child of Warren and Bette Nesmith.

His parents divorced when he was 4 and his mother often worked two jobs, as a secretary and painter, to support her son and herself. It was that latter job that inspired her to whip up a typewriter correction fluid called Liquid Paper in her kitchen blender. By the mid-1970s it had made her a fortune, which she eventually left to her son and to nonprofit foundations she endowed to promote women in business and the arts.

Her son, who was married and divorced three times, is survived by four children, Christian, Jason, Jessica and Jonathan.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1639165324949.png" alt="Mike Nesmith, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Davy Jones pose for an album cover in the late 1960s" />
 <figcaption>Mike Nesmith, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Davy Jones pose for an album cover in the late 1960s</figcaption>
 </figure>LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Nesmith, the singer-songwriter, author, actor-director and entrepreneur who will likely be best remembered as the wool-hatted, guitar-strumming member of the made-for-television rock band The Monkees, has died at 78.Nesmith, who had undergone quadruple bypass surgery in 2018, died at home Friday of natural causes, his family said in a statement.Nesmith was a struggling singer-songwriter in September 1966 when “The Monkees” television debut turned him and fellow band members Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and David Jones into overnight rock stars.After the group broke up in 1970, Nesmith moved on to a long and creative career, not only as a musician but as a writer, producer and director of films, author of several books, head of a media arts company and creator of a music video format that led to the creation of MTV.Nesmith was running “hoot nights” at the popular West Hollywood nightclub The Troubadour when he saw a trade publication ad seeking “four insane boys” to play rock musicians in a band modeled after the Beatles.The show featured the comical misadventures of a quartet that tooled around Los Angeles in a tricked-out Pontiac GTO called the MonkeeMobile and, when they weren’t chasing girls, pursued music stardom.Each episode rolled out two or three new Monkees songs, six of which became Top 10 Billboard hits during the show’s two-year run. Three others, “I’m a Believer,” ″Daydream Believer” and “Last Train to Clarksville,” reached No. 1.Jones, with his British accent and boyish good looks, was the group’s cute lead singer. Dolenz became the wacky drummer, although he had to learn to play the drums as the show went along. Tork, a folk-rock musician, portrayed the comically clueless bass player. Nesmith, with his twangy Texas accent and the wool hat he’d worn to his audition, became the serious but naive lead guitarist.A prankster by nature, he’d arrived at the audition carrying a guitar and bag of dirty laundry he said he planned to wash immediately afterward. With a harmonica around his neck, he stormed into a casting office, banging the door loudly. After pausing to gaze at a painting as if it were a mirror, he sat down and immediately put his feet up on a desk.He got the job.But he rebelled almost immediately when producers told him they were going to call his character “Wool Hat.” He demanded they use his real name, as they did with the other actors.It would be the first of many confrontations Nesmith would have with producers during a tumultuous two-year run in which “The Monkees” won the 1967 Emmy for best comedy series.Nesmith and Tork, the group’s two most accomplished musicians, railed against the program’s refusal to allow them to play their own instruments at recording sessions. But when Nesmith revealed that fact to reporters, music critics quickly turned on “The Monkees,” dismissing the show as a fraud and the band as the “Prefab Four,” a mocking reference to the Beatles’ nickname, Fab Four.Nesmith, meanwhile, had written several songs he hoped to debut on the show, but almost all were dismissed by music producer Don Kirshner, as sounding too country.Among them was “Different Drum,” which Linda Ronstadt recorded in 1967 for her first hit single, validating to Nesmith his opinion that Kirshner, hailed by the pop music industry as “The Man With The Golden Ear,” didn’t know what he was talking about.Things came to a head when all four Monkees demanded they take control of the music. They were warned they would be sued for breach of contract.At that, Nesmith rose from his seat and smashed his fist through a wall, telling Kirshner it could have been his face.For years Nesmith would refuse to confirm or deny the incident, even as the other three gleefully recounted it to reporters. In his 2017 memoir, “Infinite Tuesday,” he did acknowledge it, saying he’d lost his temper when he felt his integrity was being questioned.“It was an absurd moment in so many ways,” he wrote.It did give the Monkees control over their music, however, beginning with the group’s third album, “Headquarters.”After the show concluded in 1968 the band embarked on a lengthy concert tour where members sang many of their own songs and played their own instruments before crowds of adoring fans. Jimi Hendrix was sometimes their opening act.Following the band’s breakup Nesmith rarely rejoined the others for reunion tours, leading many to believe he disliked the band and the show, something he steadfastly denied.“I really enjoyed being in the show. I really enjoyed working with Davy and Micky and Peter,” he told Australian Musician magazine in 2019.It was, he would often say, that he was simply too busy doing other things.Over the years he recorded more than a dozen albums and toured with the First National Band, the country-rock-folk group he assembled.He wrote scores of songs, including “Some of Shelly’s Blues,” “Papa Gene’s Blues,” You Just May Be the One” and “The Girl That I knew Somewhere” that he performed with the Monkees. Others, performed with the First National Band, included “Joanne,” “Propinquity (I’ve Just Begun to Care)” and “Different Drum.”For the Monkees’ 30th anniversary he induced the others to reunite to record a new album, “Justus,” for which all four composed the songs and played the instruments. He also rejoined the others for a brief tour and wrote and directed their 1997 TV reunion film, “Hey, Hey, It’s the Monkees.”Nesmith also wrote and produced the 1982 science-fiction film “Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann” and earned executive producer credits on “Repo Man,” “Tape Heads” and other films.His 1981 comedy-music video “Elephant Parts” won a Grammy and led to “PopClips,” a series of music videos broadcast on the Nickelodeon cable network that in turn led to the creation of MTV.Nesmith even published two well received novels, 1998’s “The Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora” and 2009’s “The America Gene.”In 1999 he prevailed in a bitter courtroom battle with the Public Broadcasting System over royalties from a home-video deal his media company, Pacific Arts, had struck with PBS. A federal jury awarded him $48 million, concluding the popular purveyor of children’s shows and documentaries had defrauded him.Nesmith, showing he hadn’t lost his Monkees sense of humor, said afterward: “It’s like catching your grandmother stealing your stereo. You’re glad to get your stereo back, but you’re sad to find out that Grandma’s a thief.”Both sides agreed on an undisclosed settlement and Nesmith founded another company, Videoranch.After Jones died in 2012 he began to rejoin the Monkees more frequently, their concerts now earning glowing reviews from critics. He attributed that to most of the group’s original critics having died or retired.Following Tork’s death in 2019, Nesmith and Dolenz took on the name The Monkees Mike &amp; Micky.Robert Michael Nesmith was born Dec. 30, 1942, in Houston, Texas, the only child of Warren and Bette Nesmith.His parents divorced when he was 4 and his mother often worked two jobs, as a secretary and painter, to support her son and herself. It was that latter job that inspired her to whip up a typewriter correction fluid called Liquid Paper in her kitchen blender. By the mid-1970s it had made her a fortune, which she eventually left to her son and to nonprofit foundations she endowed to promote women in business and the arts.Her son, who was married and divorced three times, is survived by four children, Christian, Jason, Jessica and Jonathan.

Michael Nesmith, the Monkee for all seasons, dies at 78

Today is Friday, Dec. 10, the 344th day of 2021. There are 21 days left in the year. 

On Dec. 10, 1994, Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin received the Nobel Peace Prize, pledging to pursue their mission of healing the anguished Middle East. 

In 1817, Mississippi was admitted as the 20th state of the Union. 

In 1861, the Confederacy admitted Kentucky as it recognized a pro-Southern shadow state government that was acting without the authority of the pro-Union government in Frankfort. 

In 1898, a treaty was signed in Paris officially ending the Spanish-American War. 

In 1950, Ralph J. Bunche was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the first Black American to receive the award. 

In 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. received his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, saying he accepted it "with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind."

In 1967, singer Otis Redding, 26, and six others were killed when their plane crashed into Wisconsin's Lake Monona; trumpeter Ben Cauley, a member of the group the Bar-Kays, was the only survivor. 

In 1996, South African President Nelson Mandela signed the country's new constitution into law during a ceremony in Sharpeville. 

In 2005, actor-comedian Richard Pryor died in Encino, California, at age 65.

In 2006, Former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet died at age 91. 

In 2007, former Vice President Al Gore accepted the Nobel Peace Prize with a call for humanity to rise up against a looming climate crisis and stop waging war on the environment. 

In 2013, South Africa held a memorial service for Nelson Mandela, during which U.S. President Barack Obama energized tens of thousands of spectators and nearly 100 visiting heads of state with a plea for the world to emulate "the last great liberator of the 20th century." (The ceremony was marred by the presence of a sign-language interpreter who deaf advocates said was an impostor waving his arms around meaninglessly.) General Motors named product chief Mary Barra its new CEO, making her the first woman to run a U.S. car company. 

In 2019, House Democrats announced two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, declaring that he "betrayed the nation" with his actions toward Ukraine and an obstruction of Congress' investigation; Trump responded with a tweet of "WITCH HUNT!" At an evening rally in Pennsylvania, Trump mocked the impeachment effort and predicted it would lead to his reelection in 2020.

Ten years ago: Tens of thousands of Russians staged anti-government protests, charging electoral fraud and demanding an end to Vladimir Putin's rule. Robert Griffin III beat out preseason favorite Andrew Luck to win the Heisman Trophy.

Five years ago: Donald Trump's presidential transition team challenged the veracity of U.S. intelligence assessments that Russia had tried to tip the November election in his favor. Louisiana voters chose to send Republican state Treasurer John Kennedy to the nation's capital, filling the nation's last U.S. Senate seat and giving the GOP a 52-48 edge in the chamber when the new term began. In college football, Army ended a 14-year run of frustration against Navy with a 21-17 victory. Sophomore quarterback Lamar Jackson became the first Louisville player to win the Heisman Trophy.

One year ago: A U.S. government advisory panel endorsed widespread use of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine, putting the country one step away from launching an epic vaccination campaign. (The Food and Drug administration would authorize the vaccine the following day.) States drafted plans for who would get the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, as the nation's death toll from the pandemic surpassed 3,100 in a single day for the first time. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee heeded calls from American athletes by announcing that it wouldn't penalize them for raising their fists or kneeling on the medals stand at the Tokyo Games and beyond. The Minneapolis City Council unanimously voted to shift about $8 million away from the police department and toward violence prevention and other programs, while keeping intact the mayor's targeted staffing levels for sworn officers.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Fionnula Flanagan is 80. Pop singer Chad Stuart (Chad and Jeremy) is 80. R&amp;B singer Ralph Tavares is 80. Actor-singer Gloria Loring is 75. Pop-funk musician Walter "Clyde" Orange (The Commodores) is 75. Country singer Johnny Rodriguez is 70. Actor Susan Dey is 69. Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is 65. Jazz musician Paul Hardcastle is 64. Actor John York (TV: "General Hospital") is 63. Actor-director Kenneth Branagh is 61. Actor Nia Peeples is 60. TV chef Bobby Flay is 57. Rock singer-musician J Mascis is 56. Rock musician Scot Alexander (Dishwalla) is 50. Actor-comedian Arden Myrin is 48. Rock musician Meg White (The White Stripes) is 47. Actor Emmanuelle Chriqui is 46. Actor Gavin Houston is 44. Actor Alano Miller is 42. Violinist Sarah Chang is 41. Actor Patrick John Flueger is 38. Country singer Meghan Linsey is 36. Actor Raven-Symone is 36. Actor/singer Teyana Taylor is 31. Actor Kiki Layne is 30.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573488868914.jpeg" alt="Photo of old book courtesy <a href="http://shutterstock.com">shutterstock</a>" />
 <figcaption>Photo of old book courtesy <a href="http://shutterstock.com">shutterstock</a></figcaption>
 </figure>By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSToday is Friday, Dec. 10, the 344th day of 2021. There are 21 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Dec. 10, 1994, Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin received the Nobel Peace Prize, pledging to pursue their mission of healing the anguished Middle East. On this date: In 1817, Mississippi was admitted as the 20th state of the Union. In 1861, the Confederacy admitted Kentucky as it recognized a pro-Southern shadow state government that was acting without the authority of the pro-Union government in Frankfort. In 1898, a treaty was signed in Paris officially ending the Spanish-American War. In 1950, Ralph J. Bunche was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the first Black American to receive the award. In 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. received his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, saying he accepted it "with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind."In 1967, singer Otis Redding, 26, and six others were killed when their plane crashed into Wisconsin's Lake Monona; trumpeter Ben Cauley, a member of the group the Bar-Kays, was the only survivor. In 1996, South African President Nelson Mandela signed the country's new constitution into law during a ceremony in Sharpeville. In 2005, actor-comedian Richard Pryor died in Encino, California, at age 65.In 2006, Former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet died at age 91. In 2007, former Vice President Al Gore accepted the Nobel Peace Prize with a call for humanity to rise up against a looming climate crisis and stop waging war on the environment. In 2013, South Africa held a memorial service for Nelson Mandela, during which U.S. President Barack Obama energized tens of thousands of spectators and nearly 100 visiting heads of state with a plea for the world to emulate "the last great liberator of the 20th century." (The ceremony was marred by the presence of a sign-language interpreter who deaf advocates said was an impostor waving his arms around meaninglessly.) General Motors named product chief Mary Barra its new CEO, making her the first woman to run a U.S. car company. In 2019, House Democrats announced two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, declaring that he "betrayed the nation" with his actions toward Ukraine and an obstruction of Congress' investigation; Trump responded with a tweet of "WITCH HUNT!" At an evening rally in Pennsylvania, Trump mocked the impeachment effort and predicted it would lead to his reelection in 2020.Ten years ago: Tens of thousands of Russians staged anti-government protests, charging electoral fraud and demanding an end to Vladimir Putin's rule. Robert Griffin III beat out preseason favorite Andrew Luck to win the Heisman Trophy.Five years ago: Donald Trump's presidential transition team challenged the veracity of U.S. intelligence assessments that Russia had tried to tip the November election in his favor. Louisiana voters chose to send Republican state Treasurer John Kennedy to the nation's capital, filling the nation's last U.S. Senate seat and giving the GOP a 52-48 edge in the chamber when the new term began. In college football, Army ended a 14-year run of frustration against Navy with a 21-17 victory. Sophomore quarterback Lamar Jackson became the first Louisville player to win the Heisman Trophy.One year ago: A U.S. government advisory panel endorsed widespread use of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine, putting the country one step away from launching an epic vaccination campaign. (The Food and Drug administration would authorize the vaccine the following day.) States drafted plans for who would get the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, as the nation's death toll from the pandemic surpassed 3,100 in a single day for the first time. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee heeded calls from American athletes by announcing that it wouldn't penalize them for raising their fists or kneeling on the medals stand at the Tokyo Games and beyond. The Minneapolis City Council unanimously voted to shift about $8 million away from the police department and toward violence prevention and other programs, while keeping intact the mayor's targeted staffing levels for sworn officers.Today's Birthdays: Actor Fionnula Flanagan is 80. Pop singer Chad Stuart (Chad and Jeremy) is 80. R&amp;B singer Ralph Tavares is 80. Actor-singer Gloria Loring is 75. Pop-funk musician Walter "Clyde" Orange (The Commodores) is 75. Country singer Johnny Rodriguez is 70. Actor Susan Dey is 69. Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is 65. Jazz musician Paul Hardcastle is 64. Actor John York (TV: "General Hospital") is 63. Actor-director Kenneth Branagh is 61. Actor Nia Peeples is 60. TV chef Bobby Flay is 57. Rock singer-musician J Mascis is 56. Rock musician Scot Alexander (Dishwalla) is 50. Actor-comedian Arden Myrin is 48. Rock musician Meg White (The White Stripes) is 47. Actor Emmanuelle Chriqui is 46. Actor Gavin Houston is 44. Actor Alano Miller is 42. Violinist Sarah Chang is 41. Actor Patrick John Flueger is 38. Country singer Meghan Linsey is 36. Actor Raven-Symone is 36. Actor/singer Teyana Taylor is 31. Actor Kiki Layne is 30.

Today in History - Dec. 10

BARTON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on drug charges after a traffic stop.

Just before 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, Barton County Sheriff’s Office deputies stopped a vehicle near the intersection of Northeast 120 Avenue and NE 10 Road north of Ellinwood for an equipment violation, according to Sheriff Brian Bellendir.&nbsp;

During the course of the traffic stop, deputies became suspicious and obtained consent to search the vehicle. During the investigation, approximately 29 grams of suspected methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia were found in the vehicle. Deputies also located $2,300 in U.S. currency. The suspected drugs, drug paraphernalia and cash were seized by officers.

The driver of the vehicle was arrested at the scene. He was identified as Swen Finnigan, age 39 of Great Bend.

Finnigan was transported to the Barton County jail without incident where he was booked on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia. Finnigan is being held in lieu of a $50,000 bond.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1639076423798.jpeg" alt="Finnigan photo Barton Co." />
 <figcaption>Finnigan photo Barton Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>BARTON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on drug charges after a traffic stop.Just before 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, Barton County Sheriff’s Office deputies stopped a vehicle near the intersection of Northeast 120 Avenue and NE 10 Road north of Ellinwood for an equipment violation, according to Sheriff Brian Bellendir.&nbsp;During the course of the traffic stop, deputies became suspicious and obtained consent to search the vehicle. During the investigation, approximately 29 grams of suspected methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia were found in the vehicle. Deputies also located $2,300 in U.S. currency. The suspected drugs, drug paraphernalia and cash were seized by officers.The driver of the vehicle was arrested at the scene. He was identified as Swen Finnigan, age 39 of Great Bend.Finnigan was transported to the Barton County jail without incident where he was booked on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia. Finnigan is being held in lieu of a $50,000 bond.

Kan. deputies seize drugs, $2300 in cash during traffic stop

Local school leaders are encouraged to be engaged when the 2022 legislative session starts Monday, Jan. 10 as education issues from classroom funding to COVID-19 to Critical Race Theory and much more has drawn the attention of legislators.&nbsp;

The debate surrounding K-12 funding will be under greater scrutiny than usual because legislators want to see results as school districts receive the final installments of the six-year&nbsp;Gannon&nbsp;school finance plan. Many educational measures fell during the COVID pandemic, while schools faced deep divisions over health policies. Some legislators&nbsp;say&nbsp;they are hearing from parents concerned about school materials, programs and performance, which could lead to either new restrictions or requirements or more pressure to give more educational options to some parents, such as private school vouchers.&nbsp;&nbsp;

All of these issues could affect local school boards and the communities they serve. If school leaders want to have a voice in the decisions that will affect them, they need to&nbsp;remain&nbsp;informed about legislative proposals, understand and explain what they mean for students, families and communities, and talk with their legislators before and during the 2022 session.&nbsp;

This is a report on&nbsp;some&nbsp;of the major issues KASB expects to be considered by&nbsp;the&nbsp;Legislature.&nbsp;As the session begins, we will provide daily updates on Legislative developments on our webpage under KASB&nbsp;News; through Facebook Live reports and social media, and through regular weekly summaries, podcasts and other messages. We are always ready to answer&nbsp;questions and help local school leaders advocate for their communities.&nbsp;

K-12 Appropriations:&nbsp;Major&nbsp;school funding programs have been appropriated for&nbsp;the current&nbsp;year (2022) and next year (2023)&nbsp;to fund the final steps in the Gannon school finance plan&nbsp;for base state aid and supplemental general (LOB) state aid.&nbsp;

Funding for special education aid, capital outlay aid, bond and interest aid, KPERS contributions and Department of Education programs was appropriated&nbsp;for 2022 but not 2023.&nbsp;

Funding for 2022 and 2023 can be adjusted by legislative action.&nbsp;New estimates have reduced the cost of the school finance law in the current year by $90 million, due&nbsp;to lower&nbsp;enrollment and a lower KPERS payroll rate. The cost&nbsp;of&nbsp;the formula is expected to increase by $115 million next year, primarily due to the final step in the six-year Gannon plan.&nbsp;

State Board Enhancement Requests: In addition to funding already approved for FY 2023, the State Board is also requesting the following major enhancements: a five-year phase-in of special education funding to 92 percent of excess costs as directed by state law at a cost of $74 million per year; increasing mentor teacher funding by $1 million and state professional development aid by $3 million; and expanding the mental health pilot program by $3 million.&nbsp;

Federal ESSER Aid:&nbsp;Federal COVID aid requires states to meet Maintenance of Effort requirements for both K-12 and higher education&nbsp;or receive a waiver.&nbsp;For 2022, the Legislature&nbsp;assumed it met 50% of the&nbsp;MOE requirement for higher education and is well above the requirement for K-12, waiting for federal response.&nbsp;

There will be scrutiny of school districts’ use of federal COVID dollars. Already some concerns&nbsp;have been&nbsp;raised about funds being used for costs that will outlive federal appropriations.&nbsp;&nbsp;

State Revenues:&nbsp;The official state consensus revenue estimate&nbsp;in November&nbsp;for the current fiscal year (FY 2022, ending June 30)&nbsp;was increased&nbsp;by $1.308 billion, or 17.3 percent, above the previous estimate (made in April and subsequently adjusted for legislation enacted during the veto session).&nbsp;The projected ending balance for FY 2022 based on approved budgets is&nbsp;36&nbsp;percent.&nbsp;The initial estimate for FY 2023 is $9.048 billion, which is $177.9 million, or 2.0 percent, above the newly revised FY 2022 figure.&nbsp;

Next:&nbsp;The&nbsp;Governor will present budget recommendations at the beginning of the 2022 session.&nbsp;

Educational Outcomes&nbsp;and COVID Impact&nbsp;

To resolve the&nbsp;Gannon&nbsp;school finance case, the Kansas Supreme Court&nbsp;and Legislature agreed to&nbsp;a&nbsp;six-year&nbsp;phase-in of funding, beginning in 2018-19,&nbsp;to restore general operating aid to inflation-adjusted&nbsp;2009 levels&nbsp;after eight years of falling behind inflation, with the intention of improving educational outcomes, particularly among “at risk” students who lag behind on many measures.&nbsp;

Many legislators want to see positive results for increased funding.&nbsp;After a new state assessment system was adopted in 2015, results in reading and math declined from 2015 through 2017, and&nbsp;were basically&nbsp;flat&nbsp;in&nbsp;2018 and 2019, the first years of additional funding under&nbsp;Gannon.&nbsp;Due to the COVID pandemic no state tests were given in 2020, and as expected, results fell lower for 2021 due to COVID-related learning disruptions and other factors. The biggest decline was&nbsp;in math.&nbsp;

Among other&nbsp;measures,&nbsp;Kansas&nbsp;ACT scores&nbsp;had&nbsp;been increasing for&nbsp;a&nbsp;decade until beginning a decline in&nbsp;2015. This was&nbsp;likely&nbsp;&nbsp;due&nbsp;in part&nbsp;to increased percentage of students taking the tests&nbsp;in 2019 and 2021&nbsp;after the state began paying for any student take the test at no cost.&nbsp;After two&nbsp;years&nbsp;of COVID impact, results fell further in 2021.&nbsp;

Despite declines&nbsp;in&nbsp;state and ACT tests, since 2015, Kansas&nbsp;graduation rates and postsecondary&nbsp;participation&nbsp;rates&nbsp;were increasing until the COVID pandemic.&nbsp;

A&nbsp;special interim committee&nbsp;was appointed&nbsp;to study the impact of&nbsp;Gannon&nbsp;funding and other issues&nbsp;and&nbsp;met Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. Some Legislators and conferees stated that the&nbsp;decline&nbsp;in state assessments since 2015 and the approximately $1 billion in increased&nbsp;base operating funding&nbsp;under&nbsp;Gannon&nbsp;from 2018 through 2023 indicated additional funding does not – or at least has not – improved student outcomes. They say&nbsp;state assessments should be the primary measure of&nbsp;accountability&nbsp;because&nbsp;such tests&nbsp;were the focus&nbsp;of&nbsp;school finance cases&nbsp;in the Kansas Supreme&nbsp;Court.&nbsp;

Others argued that the decline in state assessments and other measures&nbsp;since&nbsp;2015&nbsp;began&nbsp;during an eight-year period when&nbsp;funding declined compared to inflation; that results in 2018 and 2019&nbsp;were supported by&nbsp;only one-third of the six-year funding plan&nbsp;that will not be completed until 2023&nbsp;and changes in educational outcomes take time to implement; that results&nbsp;since 2019 have been strongly and negatively impacted by COVID; and that other measures in addition to state assessments should be considered because both the Kansas Supreme Court and the Kansas Legislature have adopted the “Rose capacities” to measure outcomes, which are much broader than state assessments.&nbsp;

High&nbsp;Density&nbsp;At-Risk Funding.&nbsp;The 2021 Legislature extended the “sunset” on high density at-risk weighting to 2024, but without Legislative action, this&nbsp;weighting that provides approximately $50 million to districts with higher percentages of&nbsp;low-income&nbsp;students&nbsp;will expire. The Legislature&nbsp;also required a new Legislative Post Audit study of at-risk funding&nbsp;in calendar&nbsp;year&nbsp;2023.&nbsp;

At-Risk Funding Count.&nbsp;Both regular at-risk and high-density at-risk funding are based on the number of students&nbsp;qualifying for free meals. Because the federal government is providing free meals to all students, families are not required to fill out requests for&nbsp;meal support. An alternative form is available, but some districts are reporting fewer students will be counted as low-income, reducing funding for at-risk programs.&nbsp;This could result in the consideration of alternative ways to calculate at-risk funding.&nbsp;

Emergency Powers:&nbsp;The 2021 Legislature passed&nbsp;SB 40, which&nbsp;made&nbsp;revisions to the Kansas Emergency Management Act and specific policies for emergencies such as the COVID pandemic. One provision provided&nbsp;that&nbsp;school boards had total “local control” over actions related COVID, but any such actions could&nbsp;be challenged by any “aggrieved” student, parent or employee through expedited hearings before the board and appeal to the court. That provision has expired, but similar language applies to other units of government.&nbsp;

A district court found the school provisions violated the separation of powers and found the entire act unconstitutional. The Kansas Supreme Court will&nbsp;consider an&nbsp;appeal of&nbsp;that decision this fall.&nbsp;

Although the school provision has expired, continuing controversy over school board actions regarding masks, vaccinations, school closures&nbsp;and quarantine&nbsp;mean&nbsp;the Legislature may consider new requirements or limits on school board actions.&nbsp;

Remote Learning:&nbsp;There may be some attempts to change or clarify what is meant under HB 2134, which&nbsp;prohibits schools from providing more than 40 hours of remote learning to any student. The local board may&nbsp;request an exemption&nbsp;due to illness, medical condition, injury or extraordinary circumstances.&nbsp;The local board must notify the State Board of&nbsp;Education, which may authorize up to 240 hours due to a disaster restricting&nbsp;operation&nbsp;of public schools for an inordinate period of time.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Curriculum, Graduation and Student Policies&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/2/1582221969260.jpeg" alt="Mark Tallman. Photo courtesy Kansas Association of School Boards" />
 <figcaption>Mark Tallman. Photo courtesy Kansas Association of School Boards</figcaption>
 </figure>By MARK TALLMANLocal school leaders are encouraged to be engaged when the 2022 legislative session starts Monday, Jan. 10 as education issues from classroom funding to COVID-19 to Critical Race Theory and much more has drawn the attention of legislators.&nbsp;The debate surrounding K-12 funding will be under greater scrutiny than usual because legislators want to see results as school districts receive the final installments of the six-year&nbsp;Gannon&nbsp;school finance plan. Many educational measures fell during the COVID pandemic, while schools faced deep divisions over health policies. Some legislators&nbsp;say&nbsp;they are hearing from parents concerned about school materials, programs and performance, which could lead to either new restrictions or requirements or more pressure to give more educational options to some parents, such as private school vouchers.&nbsp;&nbsp;All of these issues could affect local school boards and the communities they serve. If school leaders want to have a voice in the decisions that will affect them, they need to&nbsp;remain&nbsp;informed about legislative proposals, understand and explain what they mean for students, families and communities, and talk with their legislators before and during the 2022 session.&nbsp;This is a report on&nbsp;some&nbsp;of the major issues KASB expects to be considered by&nbsp;the&nbsp;Legislature.&nbsp;As the session begins, we will provide daily updates on Legislative developments on our webpage under KASB&nbsp;News; through Facebook Live reports and social media, and through regular weekly summaries, podcasts and other messages. We are always ready to answer&nbsp;questions and help local school leaders advocate for their communities.&nbsp;School&nbsp;Funding&nbsp;K-12 Appropriations:&nbsp;Major&nbsp;school funding programs have been appropriated for&nbsp;the current&nbsp;year (2022) and next year (2023)&nbsp;to fund the final steps in the Gannon school finance plan&nbsp;for base state aid and supplemental general (LOB) state aid.&nbsp;Funding for special education aid, capital outlay aid, bond and interest aid, KPERS contributions and Department of Education programs was appropriated&nbsp;for 2022 but not 2023.&nbsp;Funding for 2022 and 2023 can be adjusted by legislative action.&nbsp;New estimates have reduced the cost of the school finance law in the current year by $90 million, due&nbsp;to lower&nbsp;enrollment and a lower KPERS payroll rate. The cost&nbsp;of&nbsp;the formula is expected to increase by $115 million next year, primarily due to the final step in the six-year Gannon plan.&nbsp;State Board Enhancement Requests: In addition to funding already approved for FY 2023, the State Board is also requesting the following major enhancements: a five-year phase-in of special education funding to 92 percent of excess costs as directed by state law at a cost of $74 million per year; increasing mentor teacher funding by $1 million and state professional development aid by $3 million; and expanding the mental health pilot program by $3 million.&nbsp;Federal ESSER Aid:&nbsp;Federal COVID aid requires states to meet Maintenance of Effort requirements for both K-12 and higher education&nbsp;or receive a waiver.&nbsp;For 2022, the Legislature&nbsp;assumed it met 50% of the&nbsp;MOE requirement for higher education and is well above the requirement for K-12, waiting for federal response.&nbsp;There will be scrutiny of school districts’ use of federal COVID dollars. Already some concerns&nbsp;have been&nbsp;raised about funds being used for costs that will outlive federal appropriations.&nbsp;&nbsp;State Revenues:&nbsp;The official state consensus revenue estimate&nbsp;in November&nbsp;for the current fiscal year (FY 2022, ending June 30)&nbsp;was increased&nbsp;by $1.308 billion, or 17.3 percent, above the previous estimate (made in April and subsequently adjusted for legislation enacted during the veto session).&nbsp;The projected ending balance for FY 2022 based on approved budgets is&nbsp;36&nbsp;percent.&nbsp;The initial estimate for FY 2023 is $9.048 billion, which is $177.9 million, or 2.0 percent, above the newly revised FY 2022 figure.&nbsp;Next:&nbsp;The&nbsp;Governor will present budget recommendations at the beginning of the 2022 session.&nbsp;Educational Outcomes&nbsp;and COVID Impact&nbsp;To resolve the&nbsp;Gannon&nbsp;school finance case, the Kansas Supreme Court&nbsp;and Legislature agreed to&nbsp;a&nbsp;six-year&nbsp;phase-in of funding, beginning in 2018-19,&nbsp;to restore general operating aid to inflation-adjusted&nbsp;2009 levels&nbsp;after eight years of falling behind inflation, with the intention of improving educational outcomes, particularly among “at risk” students who lag behind on many measures.&nbsp;Many legislators want to see positive results for increased funding.&nbsp;After a new state assessment system was adopted in 2015, results in reading and math declined from 2015 through 2017, and&nbsp;were basically&nbsp;flat&nbsp;in&nbsp;2018 and 2019, the first years of additional funding under&nbsp;Gannon.&nbsp;Due to the COVID pandemic no state tests were given in 2020, and as expected, results fell lower for 2021 due to COVID-related learning disruptions and other factors. The biggest decline was&nbsp;in math.&nbsp;Among other&nbsp;measures,&nbsp;Kansas&nbsp;ACT scores&nbsp;had&nbsp;been increasing for&nbsp;a&nbsp;decade until beginning a decline in&nbsp;2015. This was&nbsp;likely&nbsp;&nbsp;due&nbsp;in part&nbsp;to increased percentage of students taking the tests&nbsp;in 2019 and 2021&nbsp;after the state began paying for any student take the test at no cost.&nbsp;After two&nbsp;years&nbsp;of COVID impact, results fell further in 2021.&nbsp;Despite declines&nbsp;in&nbsp;state and ACT tests, since 2015, Kansas&nbsp;graduation rates and postsecondary&nbsp;participation&nbsp;rates&nbsp;were increasing until the COVID pandemic.&nbsp;A&nbsp;special interim committee&nbsp;was appointed&nbsp;to study the impact of&nbsp;Gannon&nbsp;funding and other issues&nbsp;and&nbsp;met Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. Some Legislators and conferees stated that the&nbsp;decline&nbsp;in state assessments since 2015 and the approximately $1 billion in increased&nbsp;base operating funding&nbsp;under&nbsp;Gannon&nbsp;from 2018 through 2023 indicated additional funding does not – or at least has not – improved student outcomes. They say&nbsp;state assessments should be the primary measure of&nbsp;accountability&nbsp;because&nbsp;such tests&nbsp;were the focus&nbsp;of&nbsp;school finance cases&nbsp;in the Kansas Supreme&nbsp;Court.&nbsp;Others argued that the decline in state assessments and other measures&nbsp;since&nbsp;2015&nbsp;began&nbsp;during an eight-year period when&nbsp;funding declined compared to inflation; that results in 2018 and 2019&nbsp;were supported by&nbsp;only one-third of the six-year funding plan&nbsp;that will not be completed until 2023&nbsp;and changes in educational outcomes take time to implement; that results&nbsp;since 2019 have been strongly and negatively impacted by COVID; and that other measures in addition to state assessments should be considered because both the Kansas Supreme Court and the Kansas Legislature have adopted the “Rose capacities” to measure outcomes, which are much broader than state assessments.&nbsp;At-Risk Funding&nbsp;High&nbsp;Density&nbsp;At-Risk Funding.&nbsp;The 2021 Legislature extended the “sunset” on high density at-risk weighting to 2024, but without Legislative action, this&nbsp;weighting that provides approximately $50 million to districts with higher percentages of&nbsp;low-income&nbsp;students&nbsp;will expire. The Legislature&nbsp;also required a new Legislative Post Audit study of at-risk funding&nbsp;in calendar&nbsp;year&nbsp;2023.&nbsp;At-Risk Funding Count.&nbsp;Both regular at-risk and high-density at-risk funding are based on the number of students&nbsp;qualifying for free meals. Because the federal government is providing free meals to all students, families are not required to fill out requests for&nbsp;meal support. An alternative form is available, but some districts are reporting fewer students will be counted as low-income, reducing funding for at-risk programs.&nbsp;This could result in the consideration of alternative ways to calculate at-risk funding.&nbsp;COVID Actions&nbsp;Emergency Powers:&nbsp;The 2021 Legislature passed&nbsp;SB 40, which&nbsp;made&nbsp;revisions to the Kansas Emergency Management Act and specific policies for emergencies such as the COVID pandemic. One provision provided&nbsp;that&nbsp;school boards had total “local control” over actions related COVID, but any such actions could&nbsp;be challenged by any “aggrieved” student, parent or employee through expedited hearings before the board and appeal to the court. That provision has expired, but similar language applies to other units of government.&nbsp;A district court found the school provisions violated the separation of powers and found the entire act unconstitutional. The Kansas Supreme Court will&nbsp;consider an&nbsp;appeal of&nbsp;that decision this fall.&nbsp;Although the school provision has expired, continuing controversy over school board actions regarding masks, vaccinations, school closures&nbsp;and quarantine&nbsp;mean&nbsp;the Legislature may consider new requirements or limits on school board actions.&nbsp;Remote Learning:&nbsp;There may be some attempts to change or clarify what is meant under HB 2134, which&nbsp;prohibits schools from providing more than 40 hours of remote learning to any student. The local board may&nbsp;request an exemption&nbsp;due to illness, medical condition, injury or extraordinary circumstances.&nbsp;The local board must notify the State Board of&nbsp;Education, which may authorize up to 240 hours due to a disaster restricting&nbsp;operation&nbsp;of public schools for an inordinate period of time.&nbsp;&nbsp;Curriculum, Graduation and Student Policies&nbsp;Graduation requirements:&nbsp;Last session,&nbsp;a Governor’s veto was sustained on a bill that would have required students to&nbsp;pass&nbsp;a&nbsp;civics test&nbsp;and a financial literacy course&nbsp;to graduate high school.&nbsp;The&nbsp;Legislature is expected to consider these&nbsp;and other&nbsp;proposals again.&nbsp;Supporters say these proposals address deficiencies in student learning under&nbsp;general legislative powers. Opponents say&nbsp;the State Board of Education has constitutional authority to determine graduation requirements; that such proposals place additional burdens on school districts to staff new requirements and restrict student choices; and that such&nbsp;requirements are inconsistent with the “Kansans Can” approach to more relevant&nbsp;instruction&nbsp;and assessment and more individualized education.&nbsp;The State Board of Education has created a task force to study graduation requirements, with recommendations&nbsp;expected in the Spring of 2022.&nbsp;Teaching&nbsp;about race; programs and materials:&nbsp;Proposals have also been made to restrict&nbsp;teaching of&nbsp;what some call “critical race theory” in public schools. In other states&nbsp;this&nbsp;has meant bills to&nbsp;prohibit concepts of “group” superiority, blame or&nbsp;victimhood. Concerns include that such&nbsp;proposals&nbsp;intrude&nbsp;on&nbsp;the traditional ability of school boards to set local curriculum&nbsp;and may have a “chilling” effect on the teaching&nbsp;of&nbsp;history, current events and addressing&nbsp;inequities.&nbsp;While the State Board of Education has stated that critical race theory is not part of state academic standards, presenters at the interim education committee&nbsp;cited examples of school district programs and materials they said were influenced by CRT concepts. Parents and&nbsp;Legislators have&nbsp;also&nbsp;expressed concerns about sexuality-themed&nbsp;books or other materials that have&nbsp;been criticized&nbsp;by&nbsp;some parents. This could result in legislation regarding parental challenges, reviews or “opt-outs.”&nbsp;Transgender&nbsp;athletes:&nbsp;Another bill vetoed last session&nbsp;and expected to be reconsidered&nbsp;would have prohibited transgender females from participating on&nbsp;girls or women’s sports teams.&nbsp;A U.S. Supreme Court decision on whether this issue is addressed by Title IX is expected, but the timing&nbsp;is unknown.&nbsp;Such legislation would overrule current policies of the Kansas State High School Activities Association.&nbsp;Computer science:&nbsp;Rep. Steve Huebert, R-Valley Center, and chairman of the House Education Committee, has said he will file legislation to make computer science more available for students, although he didn’t provide any further details. Recently, the State Board of Education voted to allow school districts to count computer science as a math or science credit for high school graduation. Many school districts already offer computer science as an elective.&nbsp;Reading:&nbsp;A bi-partisan group of education/legislative leaders reached a consensus at the conclusion of the Special Committee on Education meetings to work on ways to ensure third graders are reading on grade level at the end of third&nbsp;grade and&nbsp;expressed desire to work with the State Board of Education.&nbsp;Postsecondary Preparation and Participation&nbsp;Remedial Courses:&nbsp;Last session, the House Appropriations Committee considered a proposal that would have required school districts to pay for the cost of students placed in remedial or development courses in college.&nbsp;The proposal did not pass, but the&nbsp;Legislative&nbsp;Post Audit Committee authorized an audit&nbsp;on why Kansas high school graduates need developmental courses.&nbsp;Approximately one-third of community college students and 10 percent of state university students are placed in developmental courses. At least one possible reason is that&nbsp;high school graduation requirements do not include taking “college prep” level courses. State universities have required students to take a college prep curriculum or have minimum ACT or SAT scores (with&nbsp;10 percent exceptions&nbsp;window), while community colleges continue to be&nbsp;open&nbsp;to&nbsp;all students with a high school diploma regardless of courses taken.&nbsp;It should be noted, the number of 17-19-year-olds in remedial college courses in Kansas dropped between 2010 and 2019 from 39.1 percent to 33.3 percent in community colleges and 15.2 percent to 8.9 percent in state universities.&nbsp;Next: The Post Audit report is due early in 2022.&nbsp;Work-Based Learning Liability: One goal of the Kansans Can vision is to increase the number of&nbsp;students&nbsp;participating in&nbsp;“on the job” learning experiences in high school. One barrier is&nbsp;concern&nbsp;about the legal&nbsp;liability&nbsp;for accidents and injuries in these programs. Last session, the Kansas House passed&nbsp;SB 91, which would&nbsp;exempt businesses from certain liability claims arising from a secondary student engaged in a work-based learning program, provided the school district of the secondary student has purchased the applicable insurance coverage. The bill&nbsp;would broaden the concept of school sponsored activity to include transportation to and from a work-based learning program, which would then grant discretion to the school district to purchase liability insurance. School&nbsp;leaders&nbsp;have expressed concerns that districts&nbsp;may not be able to find insurance for such programs.&nbsp;Next: the bill is in conference committee.&nbsp;Postsecondary enrollment: Increasing postsecondary attainment is an outcome of the Kansans Can vision, and is linked to higher individual earnings, higher employment and lower poverty,&nbsp;and&nbsp;state workforce needs. Although Kansas educational attainment had&nbsp;risen&nbsp;to&nbsp;record&nbsp;high&nbsp;levels prior to the COVID pandemic in 2020,&nbsp;postsecondary enrollment dropped in 2020-21 and has not recovered.&nbsp;Additional funding is&nbsp;available&nbsp;from state and federal programs for student assistance.&nbsp;Voucher-type Private School Aid&nbsp;The 2021 Legislature significantly expanded student eligibility for an existing program providing state income tax credits for&nbsp;students to attend private schools accredited by the state or by accrediting agencies approved by the State Board of Education for teacher licensure purposes.&nbsp;Another bill which will carry over to the 2022 session would create a new program called Education Savings Accounts, which would transfer an amount equal to base state aid per pupil to student accounts that could be used for costs of attending&nbsp;private schools or other educational costs. Under last year’s proposal, students who were designated by school districts&nbsp;to receive at-risk services&nbsp;would be eligible.&nbsp;School&nbsp;Budget and&nbsp;Management Policies&nbsp;There are&nbsp;several&nbsp;issues that may arise concerning district operations: a&nbsp;Legislative&nbsp;Post Audit that&nbsp;found&nbsp;generally weak district IT security;&nbsp;perennial concerns about school district cash balances; questions about whether districts are following state law regarding school building needs assessments&nbsp;(raised by the interim education committee);&nbsp;and&nbsp;review of a new law requiring hearings and notice for adopting local government budgets that raise property taxes.&nbsp;Student Health and Safety Issues&nbsp;The Legislature is expected to consider bills or review various policies concerning children and students, such as foster care oversight, mental health services, vision screening standards, vaping&nbsp;and school bus safety.&nbsp;School districts have been expanding mental health services to students, adding counselors and social workers&nbsp;and expanding transportation services. Districts may be able to&nbsp;use&nbsp;federal COVID aid funds for some of these efforts, but&nbsp;these&nbsp;are temporary&nbsp;revenue sources&nbsp;and&nbsp;may have difficulties finding employees to staff these programs.&nbsp;School District&nbsp;Personnel&nbsp;Districts are reporting increasing difficulty in hiring both licensed&nbsp;professional&nbsp;staff and&nbsp;classified&nbsp;employees.&nbsp;With increased state funding&nbsp;since 2017, salaries for teachers and other employees have been increased, but districts also added more positions and&nbsp;are&nbsp;competing with other employers for a shrinking workforce.&nbsp;These trends may raise issues around use of funding for salaries&nbsp;and bonus payments; licensure, mentoring and professional development; and working after retirement policies.Mark Tallman is the associate executive director for advocacy for the Kansas Association of School Boards.