On Tuesday, August 18th, Governor Laura Kelly encouraged Kansas businesses to participate in the application process for more than $130 million in grants to support businesses affected by the pandemic and enable companies to expand broadband access in the state. The portal to apply opened at noon on Wednesday, August 19.

JONAH SMITH with Eager Beaver 4-H gets the stalls ready for his cow/calf pair he will be showing at this year’s Fair. Jonah has been a member of 4-H for over ten years..

Darrell Small (Thursday last week asking him how his birthday is going): “Every day is a good day for me.”.

The menus for the week beginning Monday, August 24th, are as follows: Monday—Chicken strips, mashed potatoes and gravy, beets, bread, mandarin oranges. Tuesday—Pork cutlet, scalloped potatoes, mixed vegetables, bread, watermelon. Wednesday—Taco salad, refried beans, chips, five-cup salad. Thursday— Pasta salad with ham, cantaloupe, crackers, bar cookie. Friday—Tuna and noodles, brussels sprouts, bread, hot cinnamon apple slices.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt is urging consumers to use caution against scams involving COVID-19. “In any unsettled times, whether it be the aftermath of a devastating storm or in this case the spread of a new virus, there are those who choose to take advantage of the public’s apprehension and uncertainty,” Schmidt said.

JONATHAN GRAHAM poses with his Angus crossbreed bucket calf, Sunflower, at this year’s Rooks County 4-H Fair. Jonathan is a member of the Star 4-H..

LAWBREAKERS. As Americans, we have a sense of independence and personal responsibility for our own needs. We work hard and enjoy the fruit of our labor. Unfortunately, that drive to meet our physical needs also transfers to thinking we have to work hard to meet our spiritual need. We see in God's Word that He's given us laws to obey and presume that it's all up to us to work hard and earn God's forgiveness. What most people misunderstand is that God chose to put in place certain laws, not as a way for people to earn His forgiveness, but to show us how miserably we fall short of obeying His laws, i.e to show us we're lawbreakers. God led the Apostle Paul to explain it this way, "the law entered that the offense might abound" (Rom. 5:20). In other words, God put forth laws so that people would realize they are lawbreakers and therefore see how sinful they really are in His sight. As much as people might want to obey God's laws, we all know that we keep failing. Someone once described the purpose for which God gave His law as follows: "The law stirs the mud at the bottom of the pool, and proves how foul the waters are. The law compels the man to see that sin resides in him, and that it is a powerful tyrant over his nature. All this is with a view to his cure. May God be thanked when the law so works as to remove from the sinner all confidence in himself! To make the leper confess that he is incurable is going a great way towards compelling him to go to that Divine Savior, who alone is able to heal him." The Lord Jesus said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance" (Matt. 2:17). Have you ever understood and admitted that you're a lawbreaker and spiritually sick? The Good News is that the Great Physician, Jesus, calls sinners to come to Him and says "the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out" (John 6:37).

We are told throughout the Bible that we shouldn’t let our hearts be troubled. In John 14:1, Jesus tells us, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” In our current environment, those words may challenge us. It is so easy to get caught up in the doomsday conversation, but we should look for the open doors in times like this.

The Kansas Department of Transportation began roadwork on a portion of U.S. 281 (South 1st Street) in the city of Osborne on Monday, August 17th.

REBEKAH NIBLOCK OF STOCKTON graduated with a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic’s Main campus in Davenport, Iowa, on June 19, 2020. Palmer College of Chiropractic, the first and largest college in the chiropractic profession, has campuses in Davenport, Iowa; San Jose, Calif.; and Port Orange, Fla.