Scattered thunderstorms early, then mostly cloudy overnight with heavy thunderstorms becoming likely. A few storms may be severe. Low around 65F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%..
Tonight
Scattered thunderstorms early, then mostly cloudy overnight with heavy thunderstorms becoming likely. A few storms may be severe. Low around 65F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
I wish the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce would partner-up with the nearby town of Milford, and use the memory of “ole Doc” Brinkley to draw tourists to both towns. Doctor John R. Brinkley has been called both a genius and a quack for promoting his goat-gland-therapy to rejuvenate impotent men back in the 1920s and 1930s. Dr. Brinkley died in 1942, exactly 80 years ago this year. He ran for Governor several times, and in the 1930 election, as a write-in candidate, both political parties admitted years afterward that many votes intended for Brinkley had been disqualified and if those had been counted Brinkley would have been Kansas’s Governor. Tourists would be interested in the many things Dr Brinkley did do right. He established the pioneer radio station K.F.K.B. (Kansas First Kansas Best). With that medium of radio, he employed many musical talents, answered questions from listeners on his “Medical Question Box”. Additionally, Dr Brinkley invited professors from the Kansas Ag College (now Kansas State University) to orally teach courses via the radio. During “Tourism Week”, I believe Brinkley’s memory should be exploited for the best possible results. It would educate visitors and keep the memory alive of a Kansas eccentric who died 80 years ago. The Brinkley legacy can still be used in positive ways. No goats needed.
Sincerely,
James Marples,
Esbon
Group collecting donations for crisis center
Over the past two years of COVID-19 pandemic, frightened Americans purchased guns at a record-setting pace. In Kansas 5,950 guns were sold during the pre-COVID month of January 2018 compared to 7,200 in January 2020 and 12,820 in January 2021, as estimated by background-check requests.
I recently asked the Riley County Police Department for information on crimes involving guns. The RCPD keeps very good records, and the department met my request to include only reports where a gun was present. The results demonstrate that the rate of aggravated assault in Riley County remained stable at about fourteen per year between 2000 and 2014. In 2015 the Kansas legislature passed a law liberalizing where guns may be carried. Since that time, reports of gun-related aggravated assault in Riley County have increased steadily, and in 2020 and 2021 they averaged 37 per year, an increase of 260% in seven years.
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America invites people who are concerned about rising gun violence to join us at Triangle Park in Aggieville on June 4. Our local chapter will be collecting donations for The Crisis Center that assists victims of domestic violence. We also will have information about gun safety in homes and Moms Demand Action’s efforts to reinstate the common-sense gun laws our parents and grandparents passed, laws that made Kansas a safer place.
