Kansas State University

K-State in the news — Oct. 2024

Some of the top stories mentioning Kansas State University are posted below. Download an Excel file (xls) with all of this month's news stories.

Friday, Oct. 25, 2024

National/International

William Blake's teenage copper plate doodles discovered
10/24/24 Times LIVE
“When I first saw the face, it was a staggering moment. I almost fell off my chair,” said Blake expert Mark Crosby, associate professor at Kansas State University, who found the engravings. “I was looking back at something that had been made 250-odd years ago that hadn't been seen before.”

State/Regional

Pratt is the latest Kansas town facing nitrate pollution. One-quarter of its water supply is off
10/24/24 KCUR
“Sandy soil means that water percolates through that soil very quickly,” K-State geology professor Matthew Kirk said, “and makes its way down to the water table.”

How this solution from Kansas scientists could help farms cut greenhouse gas
10/25/24 Topeka Capital Journal
A team of scientists at Kansas State University has published the best estimate yet of how much nitrous oxide enters the atmosphere from silage, which they suggest could be the country’s third-largest farm source of the gas.

NewsTalk
10/24/24 KWCH
Michael Oetken interviewed live on Newstalk to promote the K-AIRES program.

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024

State/Regional

Pratt is the latest Kansas town facing nitrate pollution. One-quarter of its water supply is off
10/22/2024 KCUR/Kansas News Service
In south-central Kansas, scientists from Kansas State University sampling private wells across 10 counties say most of the nitrate they’ve found comes from chemical crop fertilizer. “Sandy soil means that water percolates through that soil very quickly,” K-State geology professor Matthew Kirk said, “and makes its way down to the water table.”

Kansas scientists say they’ve found a cheap fix for a source of potent greenhouse gases on farms
10/22/2024 Rural Messenger
New research suggests silage has been overlooked as a substantial producer of nitrous oxide. A team at K-State figured out why – and a potential way to tackle the problem.

Local 

K-State, Kansas Health Foundation team up for statewide efforts to end hunger
10/23/2024 Junction City Post
Kansas State University and the Kansas Health Foundation are joining forces in a new partnership and funding opportunity aimed at ending hunger at the community level across Kansas. This collaboration, unveiled on Wednesday during K-State's inaugural Extension and Engagement Week, will leverage the extensive resources and staff of K-State Research and Extension, which operates in all 105 Kansas counties.

Money Talks | K-State living costs ‘within expectation’
10/23/2024 The K-State Collegian
The Kansas State Economics Club found the cost of living for students in Manhattan rose by 3.1%, and the Consumer Price Index increased by 2.4%.  According to the economics club, K-State saw lower inflation rates consistent with patterns presented in the U.S. 

Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024

National/International

William Blake's teenage copper plate doodles discovered
10/22/2024 MSN.com
"When I first saw the face, it was a staggering moment. I almost fell off my chair," said Blake expert Mark Crosby who found the engravings. "I was looking back at something that had been made 250-odd years ago that hadn't been seen before."

That, along with the motifs represented in the drawings, points to Blake as their artist even though the plates do not carry his signature, Crosby, associate professor of literature at Kansas State University, said.

State/Regional

K-State Physicist’s work in cosmology earns him an esteemed award
10/22/2024 WIBW
When Bharat Ratra arrived at Kansas State University in 1996, he wasn’t aiming to win any prizes.

Local 

K-State engineers sending experiment to International Space Station for condensation study
10/22/2024 Manhattan Mercury
A team of K-State engineers is sending its research into space.

Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024

National/International

Why are car insurance prices so different from state to state?
10/21/2024 WalletHub 
Congrong Ouyang
Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Personal Financial Planning, Kansas State University

State/Regional

Picking and preserving the perfect pumpkin
10/21/2024 High Plains Journal 
Kansas State University horticulture expert Cynthia Domenghini suggests harvesting or purchasing pumpkins that are fully ripened in order to increase their longevity.

Monday, Oct. 21, 2024

National/International

KSU, USDA launch grain biosecurity project
10/18/2024 World-Grain
Kansas State University (KSU) and US Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists have launched a $799,976 project to improve biosecurity against the khapra beetle and the larger grain borer, which infest grain after harvest and value-added foods from grain. Tom Phillips, professor of entomology at KSU, said the university will lead the project, which is funded by the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The project aims to upgrade monitoring devices by using automated, remote trapping devices. Researchers also will test novel fumigants for their effectiveness against these two pests.

EPA Awards $175K to Kansas State University to Support National Radon Hotline and Website
10/18/2024 EPA
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a total of $1 million in awards to six recipients to address asthma, radon, and other indoor air health risks, including $175,000 to Kansas State University. These cooperative agreements will advance national policy and systems-level change to reduce indoor air risks and yield measurable environmental and public health benefits … Kansas State University will work to reduce lung cancer deaths by supporting radon testing and mitigation. This includes operating the national hotline and website; conducting performance assessments of common consumer-grade digital radon monitors; selling radon test kits; and working to increase the number of credentialed radon professionals.

Researchers aim to develop biosensors to improve on-farm African swine fever detection
10/18/2024 National Hog Farmer
The work done at Illinois will focus on gene and protein level detection because research with live ASFV requires specialized facilities to eliminate exposure and transmission. To test their novel biosensor with active ASFV, Fang and Cunningham will collaborate with Jishu Shi, a professor of vaccine immunology at Kansas State University which houses the necessary biosafety level 3 facilities.

State/Regional

Scientists say they've found a cheap fix for a source of potent greenhouse gases on farms
10/21/2024 Kansas Public Radio
A common fermented feed for livestock churns out a potent greenhouse gas, but scientists in Kansas say they've figured out an affordable way to one day tackle the problem. A team of scientists at Kansas State University has published the best estimate yet of how much nitrous oxide enters the atmosphere from silage, which they suggest could be the country's third-largest farm source of the gas.

Artificial intelligence is welcome term in production agriculture
10/18/2024 High Plains Journal
Artificial intelligence is a buzzword in many industries today and that includes agriculture. In agriculture, opportunity abounds particularly when the public and private sectors collaborate. Ignacio Ciampitti, a professor in the department of agronomy at Kansas State University, said for farmers it is a natural extension as they have worked with yield monitors for quite awhile and at harvest time they know what each field produces. As an agronomist he knows that preciseness at planting time can help a grower’s bottom line. K-State and other private sectors are working together to make that more of a reality using artificial intelligence. "At the end of the day we want to be more efficient and farmers are making decisions every day—whether they are planting or harvesting," Ciampitti said. "We want to help them to do that by using technology."

Local

Kansas Energy Program receives grant to help implement energy efficiency projects in Kansas
10/18/2024 JC Post
Kansas State University's Kansas Energy Program has received more than $600,000 in grant funding from the Kansas Corporation Commission to help Kansans achieve energy efficiency. The Kansas Energy Program, or KEP, will use the funding for a one-year project that includes offering free energy assessments for agricultural producers and rural small businesses, conducting technical reviews of documents produced for the Kansas Facility Conservation Improvement Program, providing energy education to the public and Kansas K-12 schools through STEM activities, presentations and workshops, and providing technical assistance on grant applications for the USDA Rural Energy for America Program, or REAP.

Friday, Oct. 18, 2024

National/International

EPA Awards $1M to Address Asthma, Radon, and Indoor Air Risks
10/17/24 EPA
Kansas State University will work to reduce lung cancer deaths by supporting radon testing and mitigation. This includes operating a national radon hotline and website, conducting performance assessments of common consumer grade digital radon monitors, selling radon test kits, and working to increase the number of credentialed radon professionals.

We ask the expert
10/17/24 CNH Industrial
Q&A with Ajay Sharda on the future of technology in agriculture

State/Regional

Newstalk K-State Technology Development Institute
10/17/24 KWCH
Jacob Picolet shares about the research at K-State Technology Development Institute is doing by utilizing NavVis VLX.

Local

K-State physicist wins prestigious award
10/17/24 Manhattan Mercury
A distinguished professor of physics at K-State is the winner of a national award. Bharat Ratra has been selected to receive the American Physical Society’s 2025 Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize for outstanding contributions to physics and exceptional skills in lecturing to diverse audiences.

Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024

Local

SENT Topeka partners with K-State for free healthy eating cooking class
10/16/2024 WIBW
“People that actually prepare food at home can prepare their food in a healthier fashion with limiting the sugar, salt and fats and can actually save you money,” Nutrition Educator for K-State Research & Extension, Brenda Jarboe said. “It’s so much less expensive to prepare your food at home.”

Student enrollment increased for second year straight after decade of decrease
10/15/2024 The K-State Collegian
“I think that when you’re making decisions from budget, to service, to how I teach with that learner experience in mind, I think it pays off, and I think students know they’re valued here,” said Karen Goos, vice provost for enrollment management. “People care about them. You’re not just a number, you’re not just a revenue. You have a whole host of people in your corner cheering for your success, and I think that’s the one thing that makes K-State unique and a special place to go to school.”

Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024

State/Regional

Kansas scientists say they’ve found a cheap fix for a source of potent greenhouse gases on farms
10/16/2024 KCUR
A team of scientists at Kansas State University has published the best estimate yet of how much nitrous oxide enters the atmosphere from silage, which they suggest could be the country’s third-largest farm source of the gas.

Local

Manhattan Public Library hosts community conversation on artificial intelligence
10/15/2024 WIBW 
The experts who participated in the pannel were K-State Instructional Designer Alice Anderson, K-State Professors Jason Coleman and Bruce Glymour, K-State Researcher Pascal Hitzler, Marist College School of Liberal Arts Assistant Dean Kevin Gaugler, Manhattan Public Library Information Technology Manager Cody Wassenberg, and University of Zurich Researcher Janna Hastings.

K-State's ninth Indigenous Peoples Day event focuses on healthy tribal communities
10/15/2024 Manhattan Mercury 
Healthy communities were the focus of K-State’s ninth Indigenous Peoples Day event on Monday.

Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024

State/Regional

Spiders for Halloween? KSRE says not likely— Species common to Kansas goes into hiding soon
10/11/2024 Salina Post
Kansas State University entomologist Jeff Whitworth adds another scary warning about spiders: “They’re watching you with multiple eyes and fangs made for sucking blood.”

Make a plan to survive the food ‘marathon’
10/14/2024 High Plains Journal 
Kansas State University family and consumer sciences specialist Sharolyn Jackson said Halloween kicks off a more than three-month span – ending with the Superbowl – in which the temptation to over-indulge is high.

Monday, Oct. 14, 2024

National/International

Researchers make stunning discovery after examining farmland treated only with organic fertilizers for decades: '[Will] help us to move forward'
10/13/2024 Yahoo! Tech
As more polluting carbon ends up in the atmosphere and global temperatures continue to rise, scientists are trying to find ways to increase carbon absorption. This will help decrease the carbon in the atmosphere, creating a healthier planet for everyone. Researchers at Kansas State University have been studying how different farming practices impact the amount of carbon stored in the soil. After comparing their results, the researchers concluded that soil treated with manure or compost fertilizer stores more carbon than soil treated with chemical fertilizers or no fertilizer.

Pair of K-State research initiatives aimed at food as medicine, biomanufacturing
10/11/2024 BrownfieldAgNews
The dean and CEO at Kansas State University-Olathe says a new research initiative is putting a focus on food as medicine. Ben Wolfe tells Brownfield … "We're really looking at how our expertise in how we look at food production impacts food choice, nutrition, and how we can really use food and diet to help prevent a lot of the diseases and obesity epidemic that we’re facing today in the United States." And he says there are other potential benefits. "How we can use food even to help treat certain and pre-health conditions in those spaces, or even looking at clinical trials where certain diet and certain foods might help reduce impacts of chemotherapy and radiation treatment," he says.

State/Regional

K-State partners and NetWork Kansas continue K-State 105 collaboration for Kansas Entrepreneurship Challenge
10/11/2024 The Fence Post
Several Kansas State University partners are continuing an important collaboration with NetWork Kansas to build the Kansas Entrepreneurship Challenge as one of the leading youth entrepreneurship competitions in the state of Kansas. The Kansas Entrepreneurship Challenge, or KEC, is a program of the NetWork Kansas Entrepreneurship E-Community Partnership and involves several K-State partners, including the Center for the Advancement of Entrepreneurship in the College of Business Administration. Through the K-State 105 initiative, K-State Research and Extension and Kansas 4-H are involved for the second year in a row. K-State Research and Extension and Kansas 4-H are providing nearly $100,000 in support for KEC per year for three consecutive years.

Regenerative farming practices require unlearning past advice
10/13/2024 News Tribune
Regenerative agriculture starts with the soil. The health of farm ground is connected to the financial viability and resiliency of the farm, said Chuck Rice, a professor at Kansas State University. "We've lost 50 percent of our soil organic matter with 100-plus years of cultivation in the United States," Rice said. "So we aren't taking care of our soils."

Local

K-State and Fort Riley renew historic partnership
10/11/2024 JC Post
Kansas State University and Fort Riley have renewed their landmark partnership, which was originally established in 2008 and marks the first institutional partnership of its kind in the nation. The collaboration has fostered a unique bond between K-State and the U.S. Army, particularly the renowned 1st Infantry Division and U.S. Army Garrison-Fort Riley.

Jefferson County's Pawsitively clinic helps feral cats thrive
10/13/2024 WIBW
Pawsitively begins with finding feral cats from local colonies. "We are taking care of them (the cats) with their food and cleaning their cages, and monitoring, documenting any concerns, if there's any wounds that K-State needs to check," said Henry. Cats are then given anesthesia, before going on an assembly line where they are vaccinated, cleaned, and prepped for surgery. Vet students from Kansas State University spay and neuter the cats, gaining real-world experience. "This location, we do the surgeries all by our own," said Yi Wen, a K-State senior from the veterinary school. "And this hands-on experience, I think, is very important for our future. I feel much more comfortable after this rotation to do surgeries when I graduate."

Friday, Oct. 11, 2024

Local

K-State lab explores development and educational uses of games
10/11/24 The Manhattan Mercury
The sounds of shuffling cards and rolling dice often are associated with camaraderie and laid-back fun, but those in K-State’s College of Education are exploring ways to use games as more than just a way to pass the time. Open three days a week, the Game Lab is a research and play organization that allows students, faculty, staff and members of the community to play a variety of games such as Dungeons & Dragons or Magic: The Gathering while researchers investigate the power of play as well as the mechanics of games and their potential education uses.

K-State and Fort Riley extend historic partnership
10/10/24 WIBW
K-State President Richard Linton spoke with 13 News about the significance of Thursday’s announcement. “I think this talks to the testament of a Land Grant University, where we serve all the people, all the people of Kansas. And in this case, this is an incredible partnership that we’re renewing after sixteen years. To be able to renew collaboration in the future for both military and their families. We’re incredibly proud and fortunate to have this partnership."

Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024

National/International

Regenerative farming practices require unlearning past advice
10/9/24 KMZU
Regenerative agriculture starts with the soil. The health of farm ground is connected to the financial viability and resiliency of the farm, said Chuck Rice, a professor at Kansas State University. “We’ve lost 50% of our soil organic matter with 100 plus years of cultivation in the United States,” Rice said. “So we aren’t taking care of our soils.”

State/Regional

Former Ag Secretary says port closures shined a light on delicate supply chain
10/9/24 Brownfield
Brownfield interviewed Johanns this week during the Henry C. Gardiner Global Food Systems Conference at Kansas State University.

Local

Rep. Mann gathers aviation leaders, stakeholders for 2024 Aviation Summit
10/9/24 Salina Post
Earlier this week U.S. Representative Tracey Mann (KS-01) gathered aviation and aerospace leaders, industry stakeholders, and local, state, and federal leaders to discuss the future of the aviation industry in the state of Kansas. K-State Salina's Kurt Carraway was a panelist.

Genetic tests of farmworkers could reveal avian flu evolution
10/5/2024 Monterey Herald
One case, reported in Missouri on Sept. 6, is getting special attention. That's because investigators found no link to livestock or unprocessed food products, such as raw milk. Jürgen Richt, a veterinary virologist at Kansas State University in Manhattan, called it "a mystery case." "So you have to throw your net a little wider," he told the journal Nature. "Maybe they cleaned out a bird feeder in the household. Did they go to a state fair? What kind of food did they consume?"

Milking practices linked to bovine flu spread
10/4/2024 Farms.com
A recent Kansas State University study has unveiled a significant connection between milking practices and the transmission of the bovine H5N1 influenza virus in dairy cattle. The research, led by Juergen Richt and published in the journal Nature, emphasizes the urgency of revising milking protocols to prevent the virus's spread.

Entomologist to lead bee-project expansion
10/6/2024 AGRI-VIEW
The National Science Foundation recently awarded more than $1 million to researchers at three U.S. universities to further advance a Kansas State University project that hopes to conserve one of nature's most important pollinators. Kansas State University entomologist Brian Spiesman launched the website BeeMachine.ai and a mobile app in 2020 to help track trends in bee populations around the world.

Friday, Oct. 4, 2024

National

Milking practices linked to bovine flu spread
10/4/24 Farms.com
A recent Kansas State University study has unveiled a significant connection between milking practices and the transmission of the bovine H5N1 influenza virus in dairy cattle. The research, led by Juergen Richt and published in the journal Nature, emphasizes the urgency of revising milking protocols to prevent the virus's spread.

State/Regional

How Kansas universities fared in fall enrollment, including a big jump in Topeka
10/4/24 The Topeka Capital-Journal
"Our plan to broaden the university's reach in a strategic and measured manner is a responsibility we take seriously every day," K-State provost and executive vice president Jesse Perez Mendez said in a university news release. "But it is also one we celebrate, especially when we see such positive results. These numbers aren't just 20,000-plus students — they're 20,000-plus stories and opportunities to change lives."

Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024

State/Regional

Miami County agriculture producers concerned for safety net programs as farm bill expires
10/2/24 KSHB
"We refer to it as the farm bill, and it really is a farm and food bill," said Jennifer Ifft, professor of agriculture policy at Kansas State University. "Crop insurance — we call that the foundation of the Federal Farm Safety Net. It’s widely used by most crop farms in the United States. Then there is Title 1 components of the farm bill that is seen today — that is, Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC). That also provides risk coverage mostly for crop farms. Then there are conservation programs that are run through the USDA."

H5N1 in bovine
10/2/24 Kansas News Service
New research from Kansas State University seems to confirm suspicions that milking is the main way cattle spread bovine influenza to one another.

Kansas universities, colleges report record-breaking enrollment
10/2/24 KWCH
Karen Goos spoke on fall 2024 enrollment increases.

Local

K-State enrollment grows 2.8%, surpasses 20,000
10/2/24 The Mercury
K-State’s enrollment for 2024-25 eclipsed 20,000 students, marking an increase of 2.8% over last school year.

Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024

National/International

50 Years Ago, Women Won Equal Access to Credit
10/1/24 MSN
The act was hugely consequential, enabling women to establish their own financial security and helping free them from circumstances of domestic violence, says Megan McCoy, assistant professor of personal financial planning at Kansas State University.  “Financial abuse is rampant and this act helped curb some of the power that men once held over all women.”

State/Regional

Kansas State study finds bird flu risk in raw milk
10/1/24 KWCH
New research at Kansas State University released Tuesday suggests a potential connection between H5N1, also known as bird flu and milking practices.

Local 

Deep roots: Historic tree walk to highlight K-State's oldest specimens
10/1/24 The Mercury 
Here’s a fact you won’t be-leaf: Some of the trees on the K-State campus outdate even the campus itself.

Tuesday Oct. 1, 2024

National/International

Which States Are Having The Most Trouble Filling Teaching Positions
9/30/24 Forbes
Tuan Nguyen, an assistant professor at Kansas State University, Chanh Lam, a data analyst and Ph.D. graduate student at Kansas State, and Paul Bruno, an assistant professor of education policy at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign set out to find out, and in the process discovered that they would have to build their own data base, state by state.

Farmers struggle with ‘bleak’ situation as Congress waffles on new Farm Bill
9/30/24 Missouri Independent and Yahoo! News
But Jennifer Ifft, an associate professor at Kansas State University, said Congress can’t increase the federal deficit when it passes a new Farm Bill, creating tension between lawmakers over how to prioritize programs. Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives supported increasing funding for the farm safety net, which supports farmers when crop prices are low.

State/Regional

These college programs in Kansas include baking, glass blowing and astrobiology
9/30/24 Topeka Capital-Journal
Kansas State University has the only four-year bakery science and management degree in the country.