ROME (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/pope-francis">Pope Francis</a>&nbsp;decided at the last minute to skip his homily during Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square, avoiding a strenuous speech at the start of a busy Holy Week that will test his increasingly frail health.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vatican-pope-autobiography-resignation-0cac91e2193178dd221f1ed751e45e36">Hobbled by bad knees and persistent respiratory problems</a>, Francis also didn’t participate in the procession of cardinals around the obelisk in the piazza at the start of the Mass. Instead, the 87-year-old pontiff blessed the palm fronds and olive branches carried by the faithful from the altar.

Francis had been expected to deliver a homily halfway through the service and a prepared text had been distributed to journalists. But when an aide presented Francis with his glasses to begin reading, the pope made clear he wouldn't deliver the remarks, leaving the crowd waiting in silence.

Vatican officials didn't immediately explain why. The Vatican press office later said the homily was replaced by “a moment of silence and prayer.”

Francis though did pronounce prayers throughout the service and offered a long appeal for peace at the end of the Mass. He said he was praying for the families of those killed in what he called an “inhuman” attack at a suburban Moscow concert hall and also asked for prayers for “the martyred Ukraine” and people of Gaza.

Vatican officials estimated some 60,000 people attended the Mass, held under a sunny, breezy spring sky. Francis spent several minutes greeting them from the popemobile, making several loops around the piazza at the end of the service.

Palm Sunday kicks off a busy week for Francis leading up to Easter Sunday when the faithful commemorate the resurrection of Christ. On Thursday, Francis is due to travel to a Rome women’s prison for the traditional washing of the feet ritual. On Friday he is scheduled to preside over the torchlit Way of the Cross procession at Rome’s Colosseum re-enacting Christ’s crucifixion.

The following day marks the Easter Vigil, during which Francis presides over a solemn nighttime service in the basilica, followed by Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square and his noontime blessing from the loggia above.

The Holy Week schedule is challenging for popes even under the best of circumstances. But that is especially true this year for Francis, who has been battling on and off all winter what he and the Vatican have described as a case of the flu, bronchitis or a cold. For the last several weeks he has occasionally&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vatican-pope-francis-health-flu-gender-ideology-3b83706d19aa42b7998055f17f965927">asked an aide to read aloud</a>&nbsp;his speeches and catechism lessons to spare him the effort.

On Sunday, there was no substitute called in, and the homily was skipped. Vatican officials said the prepared text was to be considered as never having existed. Usually, the pope doesn't deliver a homily at Easter, but he traditionally offers reflections on Palm Sunday.

Even when he isn't sick, Francis often speaks in a whisper and seems to run out of breath easily. He had part of one lung removed when he was a young man because of a respiratory infection.

At this time last year, he was hospitalized for three days with an acute case of bronchitis, but then rallied to get through Holy Week. He has been hospitalized two other times during his pontificate for abdominal surgery, including one 10-day stay in 2021 to remove a part of his large intestine.

At the end of the Mass, Francis offered a long prayer for peace for all those suffering from war, and for the Lord to comfort the victims of the “vile terrorist attack” in Moscow.

“May he convert the hearts of those who protect, organize and carry out these inhuman acts that offend God, who commanded us not to kill," Francis said.

Without citing Moscow, Francis also asked the faithful not to forget Ukraine's suffering. He noted many Ukrainians are now without electricity as a result of “intense attacks on infrastructure, which not only bring death and suffering, but also the risk of a humanitarian catastrophe of even bigger dimensions.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1711361555231.png" alt="Pope Francis celebrates the Palm Sunday mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, March 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)" />
 <figcaption>Pope Francis celebrates the Palm Sunday mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, March 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)</figcaption>
 </figure>ROME (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/pope-francis">Pope Francis</a>&nbsp;decided at the last minute to skip his homily during Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square, avoiding a strenuous speech at the start of a busy Holy Week that will test his increasingly frail health.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vatican-pope-autobiography-resignation-0cac91e2193178dd221f1ed751e45e36">Hobbled by bad knees and persistent respiratory problems</a>, Francis also didn’t participate in the procession of cardinals around the obelisk in the piazza at the start of the Mass. Instead, the 87-year-old pontiff blessed the palm fronds and olive branches carried by the faithful from the altar.Francis had been expected to deliver a homily halfway through the service and a prepared text had been distributed to journalists. But when an aide presented Francis with his glasses to begin reading, the pope made clear he wouldn't deliver the remarks, leaving the crowd waiting in silence.Vatican officials didn't immediately explain why. The Vatican press office later said the homily was replaced by “a moment of silence and prayer.”Francis though did pronounce prayers throughout the service and offered a long appeal for peace at the end of the Mass. He said he was praying for the families of those killed in what he called an “inhuman” attack at a suburban Moscow concert hall and also asked for prayers for “the martyred Ukraine” and people of Gaza.Vatican officials estimated some 60,000 people attended the Mass, held under a sunny, breezy spring sky. Francis spent several minutes greeting them from the popemobile, making several loops around the piazza at the end of the service.Palm Sunday kicks off a busy week for Francis leading up to Easter Sunday when the faithful commemorate the resurrection of Christ. On Thursday, Francis is due to travel to a Rome women’s prison for the traditional washing of the feet ritual. On Friday he is scheduled to preside over the torchlit Way of the Cross procession at Rome’s Colosseum re-enacting Christ’s crucifixion.The following day marks the Easter Vigil, during which Francis presides over a solemn nighttime service in the basilica, followed by Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square and his noontime blessing from the loggia above.The Holy Week schedule is challenging for popes even under the best of circumstances. But that is especially true this year for Francis, who has been battling on and off all winter what he and the Vatican have described as a case of the flu, bronchitis or a cold. For the last several weeks he has occasionally&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vatican-pope-francis-health-flu-gender-ideology-3b83706d19aa42b7998055f17f965927">asked an aide to read aloud</a>&nbsp;his speeches and catechism lessons to spare him the effort.On Sunday, there was no substitute called in, and the homily was skipped. Vatican officials said the prepared text was to be considered as never having existed. Usually, the pope doesn't deliver a homily at Easter, but he traditionally offers reflections on Palm Sunday.Even when he isn't sick, Francis often speaks in a whisper and seems to run out of breath easily. He had part of one lung removed when he was a young man because of a respiratory infection.At this time last year, he was hospitalized for three days with an acute case of bronchitis, but then rallied to get through Holy Week. He has been hospitalized two other times during his pontificate for abdominal surgery, including one 10-day stay in 2021 to remove a part of his large intestine.At the end of the Mass, Francis offered a long prayer for peace for all those suffering from war, and for the Lord to comfort the victims of the “vile terrorist attack” in Moscow.“May he convert the hearts of those who protect, organize and carry out these inhuman acts that offend God, who commanded us not to kill," Francis said.Without citing Moscow, Francis also asked the faithful not to forget Ukraine's suffering. He noted many Ukrainians are now without electricity as a result of “intense attacks on infrastructure, which not only bring death and suffering, but also the risk of a humanitarian catastrophe of even bigger dimensions.”

Pope Francis skips Palm Sunday homily at start of busy Holy Week

DOUGLAS COUNTY —A hiker walking a trail off of Clinton Overlook just after 5:30p.m. Sunday called dispatchers when he believed he saw a person in a heavily wooded area nearby, according to the Douglas County Sheriff's office.

Deputies were unable to see anything from the trail but after they entered the wooded area they located a deceased person who matched the description of 53-year-old&nbsp;David Kyle Kempker of Overland Park.

Deputies notified his family Sunday night.

Kempker was reported missing by family members to Overland Park police late on March 19, and a deputy located the vehicle 24 hours later at Clinton State Park.

DOUGLAS COUNTY —The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office searched numerous locations at Clinton State Park since late Wednesday night after locating a vehicle associated with a 53-year-old David Kyle Kempker of Overland Park.

The nature of the report was to check his welfare and locate him safely. Deputies concluded an extensive search at Clinton State Park Friday afternoon, and the Sheriff’s Office asks anyone with information about Kempker’s location to contact DGSO, 785-841-0007.

Kansas Search and Rescue provided K9 teams during the search. The Lawrence Police Department, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks game wardens and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers staff also assisted in the search.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1711141157937.png" alt="Kempker- courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Kempker- courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>DOUGLAS COUNTY —A hiker walking a trail off of Clinton Overlook just after 5:30p.m. Sunday called dispatchers when he believed he saw a person in a heavily wooded area nearby, according to the Douglas County Sheriff's office.Deputies were unable to see anything from the trail but after they entered the wooded area they located a deceased person who matched the description of 53-year-old&nbsp;David Kyle Kempker of Overland Park.Deputies notified his family Sunday night.Kempker was reported missing by family members to Overland Park police late on March 19, and a deputy located the vehicle 24 hours later at Clinton State Park.--------------DOUGLAS COUNTY —The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office searched numerous locations at Clinton State Park since late Wednesday night after locating a vehicle associated with a 53-year-old David Kyle Kempker of Overland Park.Kempker was reported missing by family members to Overland Park police late on March 19, and a deputy located the vehicle 24 hours later at Clinton State Park.The nature of the report was to check his welfare and locate him safely. Deputies concluded an extensive search at Clinton State Park Friday afternoon, and the Sheriff’s Office asks anyone with information about Kempker’s location to contact DGSO, 785-841-0007.Kansas Search and Rescue provided K9 teams during the search. The Lawrence Police Department, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks game wardens and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers staff also assisted in the search.

Sheriff: Body of missing Kansas man found in state park

FINNEY COUNTY—Sunday afternoon's storm brought damaging winds, hail, funnel clouds and several tornado warnings.

Around 3:30 p.m. Sunday, severe weather and high winds began moving across southwest Kansas, according to the National Weather Service.

The Garden City Police Communications Center received reports of damage, power outages, and funnel cloud sightings. The city activated tornado sirens across Garden City.

Police, Fire, and EMS personnel responded to assess damage reported&nbsp; involving homes, commercial and industrial properties immediately east of U.S. Highway 83 and north of the Arkansas River to approximately Schulman Avenue.

First responders observed damage that was consistent with a tornado or very high winds. Police, Fire and EMS personnel are canvassed neighborhoods to assess damage and verify the wellbeing of residents. 

&nbsp;There are no injuries reported. The winds did damage transmission lines and power was out for approximately 1200 residents for two hours.&nbsp;

The National Weather Service also issued tornado warnings on Sunday afternoon for Gove, Decatur, Sheridan and Thomas counties.&nbsp; There are no additional reports of damage or injury.

City Public Works crews in Garden City will pick up storm debris starting Monday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1711324894171.png" alt="Tornado southeast of Garden&nbsp; City on Sunday- photo courtesy Millestone Custom Homes" />
 <figcaption>Tornado southeast of Garden&nbsp; City on Sunday- photo courtesy Millestone Custom Homes</figcaption>
 </figure>FINNEY COUNTY—Sunday afternoon's storm brought damaging winds, hail, funnel clouds and several tornado warnings.Around 3:30 p.m. Sunday, severe weather and high winds began moving across southwest Kansas, according to the National Weather Service.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1711324659249.png" alt="Radar image from Sunday afternoon -National Weather Service" />
 <figcaption>Radar image from Sunday afternoon -National Weather Service</figcaption>
 </figure>The Garden City Police Communications Center received reports of damage, power outages, and funnel cloud sightings. The city activated tornado sirens across Garden City.Police, Fire, and EMS personnel responded to assess damage reported&nbsp; involving homes, commercial and industrial properties immediately east of U.S. Highway 83 and north of the Arkansas River to approximately Schulman Avenue.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1711330671465.png" alt="KHP Trooper Albers reported nickel to quarter size hail at Campus, just east of Oakley-photo Trooper Tod Heilman" />
 <figcaption>KHP Trooper Albers reported nickel to quarter size hail at Campus, just east of Oakley-photo Trooper Tod Heilman</figcaption>
 </figure>First responders observed damage that was consistent with a tornado or very high winds. Police, Fire and EMS personnel are canvassed neighborhoods to assess damage and verify the wellbeing of residents. &nbsp;There are no injuries reported. The winds did damage transmission lines and power was out for approximately 1200 residents for two hours.&nbsp;The National Weather Service also issued tornado warnings on Sunday afternoon for Gove, Decatur, Sheridan and Thomas counties.&nbsp; There are no additional reports of damage or injury.City Public Works crews in Garden City will pick up storm debris starting Monday.

Damaging winds, funnel clouds and hail reported in Kan. storm

KANSAS CITY – A Kansas City man was convicted in federal court Friday for his role in a conspiracy to distribute heroin and of illegally possessing firearms, according to the United State's Attorney.

Edgar A. Mejia, 49, was found guilty by a jury of one count each of conspiracy to distribute heroin and possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.

On Oct. 10, 2022, law enforcement officers searched a 2000 Coachman recreational vehicle that belonged to Mejia. At the time of the search, Mejia was in custody in Oklahoma following his arrest for drug trafficking. Investigators in Oklahoma received information that Mejia had additional drugs and firearms hidden in his Coachman RV, and notified local authorities.

Officers located Mejia’s RV parked next to an abandoned residence in the 2300 block of Drury Avenue in Kansas City. Investigators searched the RV and found, hidden behind a wall in the kitchen, 541 grams of heroin, a Springfield Armory Hellcat 9mm semi-automatic handgun, an American Tactical AR-15-style rifle, and ammunition.

Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for approximately three and a half hours before returning guilty verdicts to U.S. District Judge Greg Kays, ending a trial that began Wednesday, March 20.

Mejia previously pleaded guilty to one count of possessing the heroin inside the RV with the intent to distribute it and one count of being a felon in possession of the firearms recovered from the RV.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Mejia has two prior state felony convictions for possession of a controlled substance and prior federal felony convictions for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

KANSAS CITY – A Kansas City man was convicted in federal court Friday for his role in a conspiracy to distribute heroin and of illegally possessing firearms, according to the United State's Attorney.Edgar A. Mejia, 49, was found guilty by a jury of one count each of conspiracy to distribute heroin and possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.On Oct. 10, 2022, law enforcement officers searched a 2000 Coachman recreational vehicle that belonged to Mejia. At the time of the search, Mejia was in custody in Oklahoma following his arrest for drug trafficking. Investigators in Oklahoma received information that Mejia had additional drugs and firearms hidden in his Coachman RV, and notified local authorities.Officers located Mejia’s RV parked next to an abandoned residence in the 2300 block of Drury Avenue in Kansas City. Investigators searched the RV and found, hidden behind a wall in the kitchen, 541 grams of heroin, a Springfield Armory Hellcat 9mm semi-automatic handgun, an American Tactical AR-15-style rifle, and ammunition.Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for approximately three and a half hours before returning guilty verdicts to U.S. District Judge Greg Kays, ending a trial that began Wednesday, March 20.Mejia previously pleaded guilty to one count of possessing the heroin inside the RV with the intent to distribute it and one count of being a felon in possession of the firearms recovered from the RV.Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Mejia has two prior state felony convictions for possession of a controlled substance and prior federal felony convictions for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Police found heroin and guns hidden in KC man's recreational vehicle

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The NCAA changed one of the officials at the half of the Chattanooga-N.C. State game Saturday because of a background conflict.

Tommi Paris was removed from the NCAA Tournament first round game and replaced by Angelica Suffren, who had worked the first contest at the site.

“There was a switch of game officials at halftime of the Chattanooga-N.C. State first-round game because it was learned after the game had started that Umpire 2 Tommi Paris had a background conflict that, if known, would prevent her from working that assigned game,” the NCAA said in a statement after an inquiry from The Associated Press.

An online profile for Paris says that she received a master’s degree from Chattanooga. The NCAA asks all officials who are being considered for the NCAA Tournament to disclose school affiliations to avoid potential conflicts. In this case, it wasn’t disclosed.

“They literally just … got me in the locker room and said they were making a change,” Chattanooga coach Shawn Poppie said of when he learned at halftime. “I don’t know what happened. I didn’t see anything specific. Maybe the second time in my career that’s happened. But the other one there was an injury, so you knew. But this one, I’m not really sure.”

Suffren, who worked the earlier Green Bay-Tennessee game, was on the court for the second half of Chattanooga-N.C. State game. Danielle Jackson had been listed as the game’s standby official.

The decision to send Suffren back out to the court came “because it provided the most on-court experience and allowed the game to maintain a full officiating crew, plus standby,” the NCAA’s statement said.

Poppie said: “I thought that’s what standby was for. But I’m new to this thing, too. We’re all learning. So I’m not exactly sure what happened.”

Suffren assessed a fourth-quarter technical foul on Poppie with the Mocs trailing 50-28.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1711322943743.png" alt="Official Tommi Paris runs down the court during the first half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, March 23, 2024. Paris was replaced at halftime by referee Angelica Suffren, who worked the earlier Green Bay-Tennessee game. NCAA representatives on-site didn’t provide a reason for the change. Credit: AP/Ben McKeown" />
 <figcaption>Official Tommi Paris runs down the court during the first half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, March 23, 2024. Paris was replaced at halftime by referee Angelica Suffren, who worked the earlier Green Bay-Tennessee game. NCAA representatives on-site didn’t provide a reason for the change. Credit: AP/Ben McKeown</figcaption>
 </figure>RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The NCAA changed one of the officials at the half of the Chattanooga-N.C. State game Saturday because of a background conflict.Tommi Paris was removed from the NCAA Tournament first round game and replaced by Angelica Suffren, who had worked the first contest at the site.“There was a switch of game officials at halftime of the Chattanooga-N.C. State first-round game because it was learned after the game had started that Umpire 2 Tommi Paris had a background conflict that, if known, would prevent her from working that assigned game,” the NCAA said in a statement after an inquiry from The Associated Press.An online profile for Paris says that she received a master’s degree from Chattanooga. The NCAA asks all officials who are being considered for the NCAA Tournament to disclose school affiliations to avoid potential conflicts. In this case, it wasn’t disclosed.“They literally just … got me in the locker room and said they were making a change,” Chattanooga coach Shawn Poppie said of when he learned at halftime. “I don’t know what happened. I didn’t see anything specific. Maybe the second time in my career that’s happened. But the other one there was an injury, so you knew. But this one, I’m not really sure.”Suffren, who worked the earlier Green Bay-Tennessee game, was on the court for the second half of Chattanooga-N.C. State game. Danielle Jackson had been listed as the game’s standby official.The decision to send Suffren back out to the court came “because it provided the most on-court experience and allowed the game to maintain a full officiating crew, plus standby,” the NCAA’s statement said.Poppie said: “I thought that’s what standby was for. But I’m new to this thing, too. We’re all learning. So I’m not exactly sure what happened.”N.C. State won 64-45.Suffren assessed a fourth-quarter technical foul on Poppie with the Mocs trailing 50-28.

NCAA removes game official at halftime because of background conflict

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary and asking the public for help to identify a suspect.

In the early hours of January 11, a suspect entered the Quik Trip&nbsp;at 13th and West Street in Wichita, according to CrimeStoppers.

Security camera images show the suspect jump the counter with approximately $3,000&nbsp; in lottery tickets.&nbsp;

If you can ID the suspect call Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1711110861359.png" alt="photo Wichita-Sedgwick County CrimeStoppers" />
 <figcaption>photo Wichita-Sedgwick County CrimeStoppers</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary and asking the public for help to identify a suspect.In the early hours of January 11, a suspect entered the Quik Trip&nbsp;at 13th and West Street in Wichita, according to CrimeStoppers.Security camera images show the suspect jump the counter with approximately $3,000&nbsp; in lottery tickets.&nbsp;If you can ID the suspect call Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.

Suspect took thousands in lottery tickets from Kan. convenience store

By RUDI KELLER,&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>

The annual markets outlook from the Food &amp; Agricultural Policy Research Institute anticipates declining farm income, higher costs for producers

U.S. farm income is falling from record highs as low commodity prices, trade headwinds and higher costs squeeze profits, according to a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://fapri.missouri.edu/publications/2024-us-agricultural-market-outlook/?utm_campaign=485145_FAPRI%20Baseline%20Report%20%28March%202024%29&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=Child%20account%20for%20The%20Curators%20of%20the%20University%20of%20Missouri&amp;dm_i=7JGU,AEC9,4NFRO6,1HPH8,1">new report from the University of Missouri</a>.

The 2024&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://fapri.missouri.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2024-Baseline-Outlook.pdf">U.S. Agricultural Market Outlook</a>&nbsp;report released Tuesday by the Food &amp; Agricultural Policy Research Institute, also known as FAPRI, is a 10-year projection of the agriculture economy. It examines production trends and pricing for commodity and specialty crops and livestock and discusses issues like interest rates, consumer prices and biofuel production that impact on farming as a whole.

For producers, the news isn’t especially welcome.

“We got lower commodity prices kind of across the board, except for cattle,” said Pat Westhoff, the agricultural economics professor who serves as the institute’s director.

The annual report is eagerly anticipated in the agriculture industry and its findings have extra significance this year as Congress tries to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4467907-farm-bill-tensions-conservation-fire-food-aid/">pass a farm bill</a>&nbsp;renewing producer support and food distribution programs.

Net farm income nationally is expected to be about $118.2 billion this year, down from a record of about $162 billion in 2022.

Westhoff said he briefed Congressional staff on the report Tuesday and the reaction was a classic glass half-empty, glass half-full split. Some saw the large decline in farm income as a problem, while others noted that income is expected to remain above the average from 2015 to 2019.

“People were using the same numbers and making the opposite arguments,” Westhoff said.

Missouri is second only to Texas in the number of farms, with 87,887 farms that sold $14.7 billion in agricultural products in 2022, up from $10.5 billion in 2017 according to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2022/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_2_US_State_Level/st99_2_001_001.pdf">the Census of Agriculture</a>. Missouri farms also received nearly $1 billion in government payments or other income.

With farm production expenses of $10.7 billion, Missouri farms had net cash income of $5 billion.

The 5,596 largest Missouri farms, with sales of $500,000 or more, sold more than $11.6 billion of products in 2022. The 67,400 Missouri farms with sales of less than $50,000 sold&nbsp;$685 million agricultural products.

Prices for grain and oil crops have fallen dramatically in the past year. Missouri farmers were receiving $14.90 a bushel for soybeans in January 2023, and $6.94 a bushel for corn. According to the monthly agricultural prices report from the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the price received for soybeans in January was $12.90 a bushel and for corn it was $4.79.

The issues facing farmers nationally, Westhoff said, are true in Missouri, where corn, soybeans and wheat are the major cash crops.&nbsp;

The FAPRI report projects the decline in commodity grain prices will slow, but continue.

Missouri farmers get a slightly better price than the national average for corn and soybeans because of proximity to large rivers and industries such as ethanol and biodiesel that buy commodities locally, Westhoff said.

“Where you have crushing facilities for soybeans matters tremendously,” Westhoff said. “Where you have ethanol plants matters as well.”

Missouri produced 264.9 million bushels of soybeans in 2023. A decline of $2 per bushel means the farmers producing those beans received more than $500 million less than they did for the same commodity the previous year.

The sharp decline in market prices for soybeans hasn’t been accompanied by a similar decline in prices for fertilizer, fuel and other supplies, said Casey Wasser, chief operating officer of Missouri Soybeans, the industry lobbying association.

“The input prices have not come down at all with the other prices,” Wasser said. “So that’s where that net farm income is going to hit producers pretty tight.”

Missouri has the nation’s sixth largest cattle herd. It also is home to the sixth largest number of hogs, and its farmers sold the seventh largest number of chickens for meat consumption and had the nation’s 12th largest flock of laying hens.

But Missouri is losing farmers – and farmland – faster than the national average.

The number of farms declined 7.8% since the 2017 farm census while nationally the number fell 6.9%. Nationally, 2.2% of farmland was converted to other uses between the surveys, while in Missouri the acreage in farming declined 2.7%.

The smallest producers are being squeezed the tightest, said Tim Gibbons of the Missouri Rural Crisis Center. In a telephone interview after he spent a day lobbying in Washington for changes in national farm programs, Gibbons said the issues facing farmers go well beyond commodity prices and interest rates.

Control of agriculture continues to be concentrated in large corporations, he said. Farm programs are designed to support cheap commodities and large producers, he said.

“What I’m hearing on the Hill is a joke relative to the situation that is farming in Missouri and in the United States right now,” Gibbons said.

Corporate-backed buyers are&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/01/01/boom-or-bubble-high-missouri-farmland-prices-encourage-investors-concern-farmers/">outbidding local residents</a>&nbsp;for farmland and the concentration in meatpacking means producers become dependent on contracts that can be canceled when profits narrow. The decision by Tyson Foods to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/03/11/tyson-to-close-perry-pork-plant-in-june/">close a plant in Perry, Iowa</a>, that employs 1,300 people will have a ripple effect on the farmers who raise hogs under contract, Gibbons said.

Missouri has lost more than 1,000 cattle producers a year over the past 25 years, a trend that accelerated to about 2,000 per year in the past five years, according to the farm census. The number of farms producing hogs has declined from 12,133 in 1992 to 2,184 in 2022.

“The policies that have been in recent past farm bills have been written by and for these multinational corporations and lobbyists that lobby for them,” Gibbons said. “We need a very different vision and a farm bill.”

The only area where prices are increasing in the past year are for cattle. That’s because the national herd is at its&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/03/19/droughts-complicated-by-climate-change-result-in-us-beef-herd-hitting-historic-low/">lowest number since the 1960s</a>, in large part due to pastureland drying up because of droughts starting in 2020.

“It’s causing liquidation and we’re not seeing rebuilding right now,” Gibbons said. “That connects with interest rates as well.”

Higher interest rates in the United States, which increase costs for farmers as they borrow to finance annual operations or add land and equipment, put farmers at a disadvantage internationally by making the dollar worth more in exchange, Westhoff said.

One indicator of the impact is that the U.S. has become a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/the-us-agricultural-trade-deficit-could-reach-record-highs-for-2023-is-there-cause-for-concern/">net importer of food and agricultural products</a>, reversing decades of a surplus in the balance of farm trade.

“We are importing lots of value-added products that might otherwise be produced here and of course that has spillover effects,” Westhoff said.

The FAPRI report section on government aid to farmers notes that the cost of the two main programs intended to shore up prices –&nbsp; agricultural risk coverage, or ARC, and price loss coverage, or PLC fell below $1 billion because of recent high commodity prices.&nbsp;

At the same time, crop insurance payments in 2023 totaled $9.3 billion.

“We need to figure out a system of farmer-owned grain reserves and price floors and price ceilings to stop the volatility of the market, and keep that price floor at the cost of production,” Gibbons said.

Missouri Soybean is pushing for changes in federal farm support programs to reset the protected prices at a higher level, Wasser said. Prices on beans could fall another $2 per bushel and Missouri farmers wouldn’t qualify for payments to make up any of the difference, he said.

“We’re still not even close to a safety net, with inputs and $11 beans it’s tough for any farmer no matter what your size or your leverage to be making any profit on that,” Wasser said..

FAPRI’s job is to provide information, not advise on policy decisions, Westhoff said.

The difficulty of getting changes to the programs is cost, he said.

Some “would like to do some changes that would improve the safety net from the perspective of producers but those changes all cost money,” he said. “And unless you’re going to reduce that spending or reduce spending on conservation programs, there’s not any obvious way to put those pieces together.”

The decline in commodity prices should ease inflation in food costs and even reverse some recent increases, such as for eggs and pork, Westhoff said. Food purchased for consumption at home should not increase any faster than inflation generally, the report indicates.

But consumers shouldn’t expect everything in the supermarket to get cheaper, he said.

“For the most part, the share of those commodity prices that affect consumer food prices is pretty small,” Westhoff said. “Therefore even a significant decline in the farm level price doesn’t translate to any decline, or not a very big decline, in grocery store prices.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1614189270972.jpeg" alt="Photo USDA" />
 <figcaption>Photo USDA</figcaption>
 </figure>By RUDI KELLER,&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a><h2>The annual markets outlook from the Food &amp; Agricultural Policy Research Institute anticipates declining farm income, higher costs for producers</h2>U.S. farm income is falling from record highs as low commodity prices, trade headwinds and higher costs squeeze profits, according to a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://fapri.missouri.edu/publications/2024-us-agricultural-market-outlook/?utm_campaign=485145_FAPRI%20Baseline%20Report%20%28March%202024%29&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=Child%20account%20for%20The%20Curators%20of%20the%20University%20of%20Missouri&amp;dm_i=7JGU,AEC9,4NFRO6,1HPH8,1">new report from the University of Missouri</a>.The 2024&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://fapri.missouri.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2024-Baseline-Outlook.pdf">U.S. Agricultural Market Outlook</a>&nbsp;report released Tuesday by the Food &amp; Agricultural Policy Research Institute, also known as FAPRI, is a 10-year projection of the agriculture economy. It examines production trends and pricing for commodity and specialty crops and livestock and discusses issues like interest rates, consumer prices and biofuel production that impact on farming as a whole.For producers, the news isn’t especially welcome.“We got lower commodity prices kind of across the board, except for cattle,” said Pat Westhoff, the agricultural economics professor who serves as the institute’s director.The annual report is eagerly anticipated in the agriculture industry and its findings have extra significance this year as Congress tries to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4467907-farm-bill-tensions-conservation-fire-food-aid/">pass a farm bill</a>&nbsp;renewing producer support and food distribution programs.Net farm income nationally is expected to be about $118.2 billion this year, down from a record of about $162 billion in 2022.Westhoff said he briefed Congressional staff on the report Tuesday and the reaction was a classic glass half-empty, glass half-full split. Some saw the large decline in farm income as a problem, while others noted that income is expected to remain above the average from 2015 to 2019.“People were using the same numbers and making the opposite arguments,” Westhoff said.Missouri is second only to Texas in the number of farms, with 87,887 farms that sold $14.7 billion in agricultural products in 2022, up from $10.5 billion in 2017 according to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2022/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_2_US_State_Level/st99_2_001_001.pdf">the Census of Agriculture</a>. Missouri farms also received nearly $1 billion in government payments or other income.With farm production expenses of $10.7 billion, Missouri farms had net cash income of $5 billion.The 5,596 largest Missouri farms, with sales of $500,000 or more, sold more than $11.6 billion of products in 2022. The 67,400 Missouri farms with sales of less than $50,000 sold&nbsp;$685 million agricultural products.Prices for grain and oil crops have fallen dramatically in the past year. Missouri farmers were receiving $14.90 a bushel for soybeans in January 2023, and $6.94 a bushel for corn. According to the monthly agricultural prices report from the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the price received for soybeans in January was $12.90 a bushel and for corn it was $4.79.The issues facing farmers nationally, Westhoff said, are true in Missouri, where corn, soybeans and wheat are the major cash crops.&nbsp;The FAPRI report projects the decline in commodity grain prices will slow, but continue.Missouri farmers get a slightly better price than the national average for corn and soybeans because of proximity to large rivers and industries such as ethanol and biodiesel that buy commodities locally, Westhoff said.“Where you have crushing facilities for soybeans matters tremendously,” Westhoff said. “Where you have ethanol plants matters as well.”Missouri produced 264.9 million bushels of soybeans in 2023. A decline of $2 per bushel means the farmers producing those beans received more than $500 million less than they did for the same commodity the previous year.The sharp decline in market prices for soybeans hasn’t been accompanied by a similar decline in prices for fertilizer, fuel and other supplies, said Casey Wasser, chief operating officer of Missouri Soybeans, the industry lobbying association.“The input prices have not come down at all with the other prices,” Wasser said. “So that’s where that net farm income is going to hit producers pretty tight.”Missouri has the nation’s sixth largest cattle herd. It also is home to the sixth largest number of hogs, and its farmers sold the seventh largest number of chickens for meat consumption and had the nation’s 12th largest flock of laying hens.But Missouri is losing farmers – and farmland – faster than the national average.The number of farms declined 7.8% since the 2017 farm census while nationally the number fell 6.9%. Nationally, 2.2% of farmland was converted to other uses between the surveys, while in Missouri the acreage in farming declined 2.7%.The smallest producers are being squeezed the tightest, said Tim Gibbons of the Missouri Rural Crisis Center. In a telephone interview after he spent a day lobbying in Washington for changes in national farm programs, Gibbons said the issues facing farmers go well beyond commodity prices and interest rates.Control of agriculture continues to be concentrated in large corporations, he said. Farm programs are designed to support cheap commodities and large producers, he said.“What I’m hearing on the Hill is a joke relative to the situation that is farming in Missouri and in the United States right now,” Gibbons said.Corporate-backed buyers are&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/01/01/boom-or-bubble-high-missouri-farmland-prices-encourage-investors-concern-farmers/">outbidding local residents</a>&nbsp;for farmland and the concentration in meatpacking means producers become dependent on contracts that can be canceled when profits narrow. The decision by Tyson Foods to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/03/11/tyson-to-close-perry-pork-plant-in-june/">close a plant in Perry, Iowa</a>, that employs 1,300 people will have a ripple effect on the farmers who raise hogs under contract, Gibbons said.Missouri has lost more than 1,000 cattle producers a year over the past 25 years, a trend that accelerated to about 2,000 per year in the past five years, according to the farm census. The number of farms producing hogs has declined from 12,133 in 1992 to 2,184 in 2022.“The policies that have been in recent past farm bills have been written by and for these multinational corporations and lobbyists that lobby for them,” Gibbons said. “We need a very different vision and a farm bill.”The only area where prices are increasing in the past year are for cattle. That’s because the national herd is at its&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/03/19/droughts-complicated-by-climate-change-result-in-us-beef-herd-hitting-historic-low/">lowest number since the 1960s</a>, in large part due to pastureland drying up because of droughts starting in 2020.Short supplies are pushing prices up.“It’s causing liquidation and we’re not seeing rebuilding right now,” Gibbons said. “That connects with interest rates as well.”Higher interest rates in the United States, which increase costs for farmers as they borrow to finance annual operations or add land and equipment, put farmers at a disadvantage internationally by making the dollar worth more in exchange, Westhoff said.One indicator of the impact is that the U.S. has become a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/the-us-agricultural-trade-deficit-could-reach-record-highs-for-2023-is-there-cause-for-concern/">net importer of food and agricultural products</a>, reversing decades of a surplus in the balance of farm trade.“We are importing lots of value-added products that might otherwise be produced here and of course that has spillover effects,” Westhoff said.The FAPRI report section on government aid to farmers notes that the cost of the two main programs intended to shore up prices –&nbsp; agricultural risk coverage, or ARC, and price loss coverage, or PLC fell below $1 billion because of recent high commodity prices.&nbsp;At the same time, crop insurance payments in 2023 totaled $9.3 billion.“We need to figure out a system of farmer-owned grain reserves and price floors and price ceilings to stop the volatility of the market, and keep that price floor at the cost of production,” Gibbons said.Missouri Soybean is pushing for changes in federal farm support programs to reset the protected prices at a higher level, Wasser said. Prices on beans could fall another $2 per bushel and Missouri farmers wouldn’t qualify for payments to make up any of the difference, he said.“We’re still not even close to a safety net, with inputs and $11 beans it’s tough for any farmer no matter what your size or your leverage to be making any profit on that,” Wasser said..FAPRI’s job is to provide information, not advise on policy decisions, Westhoff said.The difficulty of getting changes to the programs is cost, he said.Some “would like to do some changes that would improve the safety net from the perspective of producers but those changes all cost money,” he said. “And unless you’re going to reduce that spending or reduce spending on conservation programs, there’s not any obvious way to put those pieces together.”The decline in commodity prices should ease inflation in food costs and even reverse some recent increases, such as for eggs and pork, Westhoff said. Food purchased for consumption at home should not increase any faster than inflation generally, the report indicates.But consumers shouldn’t expect everything in the supermarket to get cheaper, he said.“For the most part, the share of those commodity prices that affect consumer food prices is pretty small,” Westhoff said. “Therefore even a significant decline in the farm level price doesn’t translate to any decline, or not a very big decline, in grocery store prices.”

University  report warns falling prices could squeeze farmers

By JONATHAN J. COOPER&nbsp; &nbsp;Associated Press

The lack of excitement many Americans feel about a presidential rematch has heightened interest in alternatives to the major-party candidates, none more so than&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/politics/election-2024-0000018ca126d7a5a79da57ef5030000">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</a>, whose famous name has helped him build buzz for his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-jr-presidential-campaign-independent-2024-30d940109c4956de9c81f332ec418463">independent bid</a>.

Kennedy is a huge longshot to win Electoral College votes, much less the presidency. But his campaign events have drawn large crowds of supporters and people interested in his message.

He plans to announce his vice presidential nominee&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kennedy-rfk-running-mate-announcement-vp-3b53343f1be4567bcfba7fb1eab3f3e3">later this month</a>&nbsp;in Oakland, California, and is stoking expectations that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/robert-kennedy-rfk-rodgers-ventura-453c6078714b867f5af736ee8f97d8fe">he might pick</a>&nbsp;New York Jets quarterback&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/aaron-rodgers">Aaron Rodgers</a>&nbsp;or former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura. His campaign manager said Saturday that Kennedy has made his choice but didn’t say whom he’s picked. She said he had also interviewed Nicole Shanahan, a California philanthropist who bankrolled a Super Bowl ad for Kennedy, and Mike Rowe, star of the television show “Dirty Jobs.”

Here is a look at his campaign and what he's stood for:

Kennedy, 70, is a member of perhaps the nation’s most famous political dynasty. His uncle was President John F. Kennedy. His father served as attorney general and a U.S. senator before seeking the Democratic nomination for president. Both were assassinated.

RFK Jr. built a reputation of his own as an activist, author and lawyer who fought for environmental causes such as clean water.

Along the way, his activism has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/how-rfk-jr-built-anti-vaccine-juggernaut-amid-covid-4997be1bcf591fe8b7f1f90d16c9321e">veered into conspiracies</a>&nbsp;and contradicted scientific consensus,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-kennedy-election-vaccines-2ccde2df146f57b5e8c26e8494f0a16a">most infamously on vaccines</a>. Some members of his family have publicly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/robert-kennedy-joe-biden-2024-democrat-super-bowl-e4dee4be456e643be11735c6e4029377">criticized his views</a>. Dozens of his family members posed with President Joe Biden at a St. Patrick's Day reception at the White House in a photo his sister Kerry Kennedy posted to social media.

Kennedy founded Waterkeeper Alliance, which works to secure clean water, and built a small anti-vaccine organization into Children’s Health Defense, a juggernaut in the movement that saw its reach grow rapidly during the pandemic.

Children's Health Defense has a lawsuit pending against a number of news organizations, among them The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy took leave from the group when he announced his run for president but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.

What does Kennedy’s campaign look like?

Kennedy's need to collect thousands of signatures to get on the ballot has taken him to places that rarely see presidential candidates, including Hawaii, Wyoming and West Virginia.

At events in Phoenix and Las Vegas, hundreds of supporters queued up outside hours before he was scheduled to arrive. He attracts a legion of fans, many of whom have listened extensively to Kennedy's interviews on podcasts or YouTube videos.

In Nevada, massive graphics and photos were projected on three walls as upbeat music played. Drinks and merchandise were for sale.

Kennedy speaks in a quiet, strained voice, sometimes haltingly, the result of a neurological condition called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/spasmodic-dysphonia#:~:text=Spasmodic%20dysphonia%20is%20a%20voice,able%20to%20talk%20at%20all.">spasmodic dysphonia</a>.

Kennedy frames himself as a truthteller with a track record of fighting for the middle class against powerful interests. He points to lawsuits he's won against corporate behemoths such as Monsanto and DuPont.

“I can fix this country,” he said in Las Vegas in February. “All these agencies that intimidate normal politicians, I’ve sued every one of them. ... When you sue these agencies, you get a Ph.D. in corporate capture and how to unravel it.” Corporate capture refers to private interests using their influence to control government decision-making, as when they help draft legislation.

Kennedy has been critical of U.S. support for Ukraine and supportive of Israel’s war against Hamas. He wants to reduce military and health care spending because of the impact on budget deficits, and combat rising housing costs so young people can afford to buy homes.

Kennedy has found a loyal following among people distrustful of institutions and those who believe the government has been captured by corporations, especially pharmaceutical companies.

He hasn't shied away from his controversial views on health care and vaccines. He wants to dismantle the public health bureaucracy, saying he'd immediately tell the National Institutes of Health to refocus research away from infectious diseases and vaccines and toward chronic diseases.

Kennedy&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-kennedy-election-2024-president-campaign-621c9e9641381a1b2677df9de5a09731">insists he is not anti-vaccine</a>&nbsp;and claims he has never told the public to avoid vaccination. But he has repeatedly made his opposition to vaccines clear. He said on a podcast “there’s no vaccine that is safe and effective” and has urged people to resist CDC guidelines on when kids should get vaccinated.

While there are rare instances when people have severe reactions to vaccines, the billions of doses administered globally provide real-world evidence that they are safe. The World Health Organization says vaccines prevent as many as 5 million deaths each year.

The United States has a long history of rejecting independent or third-party presidential candidates. In fact, the last president to win without a party’s backing was George Washington, and he did it before there were political parties.

The last third-party candidate to make it to the White House was Abraham Lincoln with the newly formed Republican Party.

The last third-party candidate to pull more than single digits in the popular vote was Ross Perot, a businessman who won 19% in 1992 and 8% in 1996. But he won zero electoral votes.

And while the independent share of the electorate is growing, it is still dwarfed by voters who consistently support Republican or Democratic candidates, even if they identify as independent.

Kennedy’s case for optimism hinges on his relatively strong showing in a few national polls. Polls during the 2016 presidential campaign regularly put libertarian Gary Johnson’s support in the high single or low double digits, but he ultimately received only about 3% of the vote nationwide.

Horse-race polls are also notoriously unreliable this far out from an election, and many Americans don’t know who Kennedy is.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnorc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/February-2024-topline-Biden.pdf">A February AP-NORC poll</a>&nbsp;found, for instance, that 29% of Americans don’t know enough about Kennedy to have a view about him.

Some of the people who say they’d support him may also be reacting to his famous last name rather than his actual pitch as a candidate.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/25/politics/cnn-poll-democrats-2024/index.html">A CNN/SSRS poll</a>&nbsp;conducted last spring found that 20% of people who said they would consider supporting Kennedy for the Democratic nomination — for which he was running at the time — said that their support was related to his last name and Kennedy family connections. Only 12% said it was because of support for his views and policies.

But for any of that to matter, he has to get on the ballot.

Forget getting elected; merely running for president is an arduous process, especially for candidates like Kennedy who don’t belong to a party.

Every state has different rules, requiring an army of lawyers to make sure everything is done right. Most states require thousands of signatures.

A pro-Kennedy super PAC is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/dnc-fec-complaint-kenedy-trump-biden-09d42502ca757cd4656b4829c4b4c00d">helping pay</a>&nbsp;for Kennedy’s ballot access work in several states. His allies have created a political party to ease the process in some states by getting recognized as a party and making Kennedy its nominee.

He has been&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/robert-kennedy-president-election-utah-ballot-863513ec2bf75d1efc9b202cb8ddcc4a">approved for the ballot in Utah</a>. His campaign and super PAC say he’s collected enough signatures to qualify in several other states, including the battlegrounds of Arizona, Georgia and Nevada, though election officials in those states have not yet affirmed his candidacy.

Kennedy has also said he’s talked with officials from the Libertarian Party, though it’s not clear what a tie-up between the two might look like.

Kennedy is looking to his family and his allies in the anti-vaccine world to staff his campaign, building a leadership team that is light on experience working in politics.

His campaign manager is Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, his daughter-in-law who served as a CIA officer and has not worked in politics before.

His communications director, Del Bigtree, is founder of the Informed Consent Action Network, an anti-vaccine group. He also produced “Vaxxed,” an anti-vaccine film that promoted the discredited idea that the vaccines cause autism.

Press secretary Stefanie Spear was an editor for the Children's Health Defense news website. Charles Eisenstein, a New Age author, is an adviser.

Kennedy also has staff and volunteers spread throughout states and focused on gathering signatures to get him on the ballot.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1704300369387.png" alt="Robert F. Kennedy Jr- courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Robert F. Kennedy Jr- courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>By JONATHAN J. COOPER&nbsp; &nbsp;Associated PressThe lack of excitement many Americans feel about a presidential rematch has heightened interest in alternatives to the major-party candidates, none more so than&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/politics/election-2024-0000018ca126d7a5a79da57ef5030000">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</a>, whose famous name has helped him build buzz for his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-jr-presidential-campaign-independent-2024-30d940109c4956de9c81f332ec418463">independent bid</a>.Kennedy is a huge longshot to win Electoral College votes, much less the presidency. But his campaign events have drawn large crowds of supporters and people interested in his message.He plans to announce his vice presidential nominee&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kennedy-rfk-running-mate-announcement-vp-3b53343f1be4567bcfba7fb1eab3f3e3">later this month</a>&nbsp;in Oakland, California, and is stoking expectations that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/robert-kennedy-rfk-rodgers-ventura-453c6078714b867f5af736ee8f97d8fe">he might pick</a>&nbsp;New York Jets quarterback&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/aaron-rodgers">Aaron Rodgers</a>&nbsp;or former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura. His campaign manager said Saturday that Kennedy has made his choice but didn’t say whom he’s picked. She said he had also interviewed Nicole Shanahan, a California philanthropist who bankrolled a Super Bowl ad for Kennedy, and Mike Rowe, star of the television show “Dirty Jobs.”Here is a look at his campaign and what he's stood for:Who is RFK Jr?Kennedy, 70, is a member of perhaps the nation’s most famous political dynasty. His uncle was President John F. Kennedy. His father served as attorney general and a U.S. senator before seeking the Democratic nomination for president. Both were assassinated.RFK Jr. built a reputation of his own as an activist, author and lawyer who fought for environmental causes such as clean water.Along the way, his activism has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/how-rfk-jr-built-anti-vaccine-juggernaut-amid-covid-4997be1bcf591fe8b7f1f90d16c9321e">veered into conspiracies</a>&nbsp;and contradicted scientific consensus,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-kennedy-election-vaccines-2ccde2df146f57b5e8c26e8494f0a16a">most infamously on vaccines</a>. Some members of his family have publicly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/robert-kennedy-joe-biden-2024-democrat-super-bowl-e4dee4be456e643be11735c6e4029377">criticized his views</a>. Dozens of his family members posed with President Joe Biden at a St. Patrick's Day reception at the White House in a photo his sister Kerry Kennedy posted to social media.Kennedy founded Waterkeeper Alliance, which works to secure clean water, and built a small anti-vaccine organization into Children’s Health Defense, a juggernaut in the movement that saw its reach grow rapidly during the pandemic.Children's Health Defense has a lawsuit pending against a number of news organizations, among them The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy took leave from the group when he announced his run for president but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.He’s married to actress Cheryl Hines.What does Kennedy’s campaign look like?Kennedy's need to collect thousands of signatures to get on the ballot has taken him to places that rarely see presidential candidates, including Hawaii, Wyoming and West Virginia.At events in Phoenix and Las Vegas, hundreds of supporters queued up outside hours before he was scheduled to arrive. He attracts a legion of fans, many of whom have listened extensively to Kennedy's interviews on podcasts or YouTube videos.In Nevada, massive graphics and photos were projected on three walls as upbeat music played. Drinks and merchandise were for sale.Kennedy speaks in a quiet, strained voice, sometimes haltingly, the result of a neurological condition called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/spasmodic-dysphonia#:~:text=Spasmodic%20dysphonia%20is%20a%20voice,able%20to%20talk%20at%20all.">spasmodic dysphonia</a>.What does he talk about?Kennedy frames himself as a truthteller with a track record of fighting for the middle class against powerful interests. He points to lawsuits he's won against corporate behemoths such as Monsanto and DuPont.“I can fix this country,” he said in Las Vegas in February. “All these agencies that intimidate normal politicians, I’ve sued every one of them. ... When you sue these agencies, you get a Ph.D. in corporate capture and how to unravel it.” Corporate capture refers to private interests using their influence to control government decision-making, as when they help draft legislation.Kennedy has been critical of U.S. support for Ukraine and supportive of Israel’s war against Hamas. He wants to reduce military and health care spending because of the impact on budget deficits, and combat rising housing costs so young people can afford to buy homes.Kennedy has found a loyal following among people distrustful of institutions and those who believe the government has been captured by corporations, especially pharmaceutical companies.He hasn't shied away from his controversial views on health care and vaccines. He wants to dismantle the public health bureaucracy, saying he'd immediately tell the National Institutes of Health to refocus research away from infectious diseases and vaccines and toward chronic diseases.Kennedy&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-kennedy-election-2024-president-campaign-621c9e9641381a1b2677df9de5a09731">insists he is not anti-vaccine</a>&nbsp;and claims he has never told the public to avoid vaccination. But he has repeatedly made his opposition to vaccines clear. He said on a podcast “there’s no vaccine that is safe and effective” and has urged people to resist CDC guidelines on when kids should get vaccinated.While there are rare instances when people have severe reactions to vaccines, the billions of doses administered globally provide real-world evidence that they are safe. The World Health Organization says vaccines prevent as many as 5 million deaths each year.Can he win?The United States has a long history of rejecting independent or third-party presidential candidates. In fact, the last president to win without a party’s backing was George Washington, and he did it before there were political parties.The last third-party candidate to make it to the White House was Abraham Lincoln with the newly formed Republican Party.The last third-party candidate to pull more than single digits in the popular vote was Ross Perot, a businessman who won 19% in 1992 and 8% in 1996. But he won zero electoral votes.And while the independent share of the electorate is growing, it is still dwarfed by voters who consistently support Republican or Democratic candidates, even if they identify as independent.In other words, the odds are long.Kennedy’s case for optimism hinges on his relatively strong showing in a few national polls. Polls during the 2016 presidential campaign regularly put libertarian Gary Johnson’s support in the high single or low double digits, but he ultimately received only about 3% of the vote nationwide.Horse-race polls are also notoriously unreliable this far out from an election, and many Americans don’t know who Kennedy is.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnorc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/February-2024-topline-Biden.pdf">A February AP-NORC poll</a>&nbsp;found, for instance, that 29% of Americans don’t know enough about Kennedy to have a view about him.Some of the people who say they’d support him may also be reacting to his famous last name rather than his actual pitch as a candidate.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/25/politics/cnn-poll-democrats-2024/index.html">A CNN/SSRS poll</a>&nbsp;conducted last spring found that 20% of people who said they would consider supporting Kennedy for the Democratic nomination — for which he was running at the time — said that their support was related to his last name and Kennedy family connections. Only 12% said it was because of support for his views and policies.But for any of that to matter, he has to get on the ballot.How does he get on the ballot?Forget getting elected; merely running for president is an arduous process, especially for candidates like Kennedy who don’t belong to a party.Every state has different rules, requiring an army of lawyers to make sure everything is done right. Most states require thousands of signatures.A pro-Kennedy super PAC is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/dnc-fec-complaint-kenedy-trump-biden-09d42502ca757cd4656b4829c4b4c00d">helping pay</a>&nbsp;for Kennedy’s ballot access work in several states. His allies have created a political party to ease the process in some states by getting recognized as a party and making Kennedy its nominee.He has been&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/robert-kennedy-president-election-utah-ballot-863513ec2bf75d1efc9b202cb8ddcc4a">approved for the ballot in Utah</a>. His campaign and super PAC say he’s collected enough signatures to qualify in several other states, including the battlegrounds of Arizona, Georgia and Nevada, though election officials in those states have not yet affirmed his candidacy.Kennedy has also said he’s talked with officials from the Libertarian Party, though it’s not clear what a tie-up between the two might look like.Who is working for him?Kennedy is looking to his family and his allies in the anti-vaccine world to staff his campaign, building a leadership team that is light on experience working in politics.His campaign manager is Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, his daughter-in-law who served as a CIA officer and has not worked in politics before.His communications director, Del Bigtree, is founder of the Informed Consent Action Network, an anti-vaccine group. He also produced “Vaxxed,” an anti-vaccine film that promoted the discredited idea that the vaccines cause autism.Press secretary Stefanie Spear was an editor for the Children's Health Defense news website. Charles Eisenstein, a New Age author, is an adviser.Kennedy also has staff and volunteers spread throughout states and focused on gathering signatures to get him on the ballot.

Who is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and why is he running for president?

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two recent U.S. Supreme Court actions have opened the door to a new legal frontier in which local and state officials can be disqualified from office for life for engaging in “insurrection" or providing “aid and comfort” to enemies of the Constitution, based on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-2024-colorado-79373b5043976588b599fc00ede049e8">a post-Civil War era addition to</a>&nbsp;the nation's foundational legal document and how the courts interpret it.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;on Monday rejected an appeal from a former New Mexico county commissioner who was kicked out of office after he was convicted of trespassing during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The state judge who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-mexico-government-and-politics-5e2fd96d5f698017b974f878398578c8">barred him from office</a>&nbsp;did so on the grounds that his actions violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which was added to the Constitution in 1868 to prevent Confederates from returning to government.

The move came on the heels of an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-trump-insurrection-election-colorado-51e79c0f03013034c8a042cb278b6446">expedited high-court ruling</a>&nbsp;that Section 3 can't be used against federal officials or candidates until Congress writes a law outlining procedures to do so. That includes former President Donald Trump, the target of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-14th-amendment-insurrection-supreme-court-colorado-2b9d5b628cb2779fc84212cdc651e4e7">a national campaign</a>&nbsp;to end his bid to return to the White House via the 14th Amendment.

But the court's ruling in the Trump case explicitly said the provision could still be used against state and local officials.

Taken together, the actions herald a new legal landscape as the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-14th-amendment-insurrection-2024-election-ballot-9c5f79203109ba221b35a48e708ad725">liberal groups</a>&nbsp;that pushed the issue of Trump's disqualification to the Supreme Court reboot efforts to target state and local officials linked to Jan. 6.

“This is a bit of returning to the course we expected to be following, which was holding individuals accountable, who are low-level officials, who still broke their oath by coming to D.C., engaging in insurrection,” said Stuart McPhail, an attorney with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a left-leaning group whose lawsuit against Trump ended up at the Supreme Court.

Ron Fein, legal director of Free Speech For People, which brought several other actions seeking to disqualify Trump and Republican members of Congress for their role in the Capitol attack, wouldn't comment on his group's plans. But, he said, one legal fact remains clear.

“Section 3 continues to be a viable way of protecting against insurrectionists in state and local government,” Fein said.

CREW, which brought the lawsuit against Trump’s candidacy that landed at the Supreme Court, has identified state lawmakers it believes might be vulnerable to challenges under Section 3. It already has succeeded in one case, brought against the local official in New Mexico.

Otero County Commissioner&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-new-mexico-state-government-donald-trump-santa-fe-5a4bde1a89344a0eb11a0a1d58a2100d">Couy Griffin,</a>&nbsp;a founder of the promotional group Cowboys for Trump, is the only elected official thus far to be banned from office in connection with the Capitol attack, which disrupted Congress as it was trying to certify Joe Biden’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-claims-biden-won-explained-bd53b14ce871412b462cb3fe2c563f18">2020 electoral victory</a>&nbsp;over Trump.

The lawsuit against him cited his violation of Section 3, which prohibits anyone who swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against it or gave “aid and comfort” to its enemies, from holding future office.

McPhail says there is a new sense of urgency to take action under that clause against state or local officials linked to Jan. 6 — before they run for federal office and can’t be sidelined.

“It does create this incentive to bring cases from low-level officials now because then you can actually win them and get some kind of relief in judgments, whereas if you wait, you may have lost the opportunity,” he said.

Based on the Supreme Court's ruling in the Trump disqualification case, a state or local official removed under Section 3 could still hold federal office, all the way up to president, unless Congress acted.

Griffin said his disqualification was politically motivated. He and his defense attorney said Monday’s dismissal by the Supreme Court holds ominous implications, creating a pathway for partisan actors to harness Section 3 of the 14th Amendment in unpredictable ways in the future.

“All you have to do is go to a really friendly county, with a good friendly judge that’s politically on your side, and then you get rid of your opposition,” said Peter Ticktin, Griffin's attorney in the appeal to the Supreme Court.

Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor, said he wouldn't be surprised if Section 3 litigation eventually targets people for reasons well beyond Jan. 6.

“I don't know how widespread it's going to be,” he said. “I'm sure people are going to start thinking creatively about what it means — if you're supporting, Hamas, the Taliban, (Black Lives Matter).”

Muller added that the court system is well-equipped to sort out frivolous uses of Section 3, just as it does in other cases of ballot challenges: “In most of these cases, I think it won't pass the initial motion to dismiss.”

The bigger question, he said, is how do courts address issues that the Supreme Court dodged in its ruling on the Trump case: What constitutes an insurrection under Section 3? How do First Amendment rights and other constitutional guarantees interact with its provisions?

In Griffin's case, New Mexico Judge Francis Mathew found that Griffin aided an insurrection without engaging in violence, contributing to a delay in Congress’ certification of the presidential election.

He ruled that Griffin spread&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-michael-pence-electoral-college-elections-health-2d9bd47a8bd3561682ac46c6b3873a10">lies about the 2020 election being stolen</a>&nbsp;from Trump in a series of speeches during rallies held across the country, calling on crowds to go with him to Washington on Jan. 6 and join the “war” over the presidential election results.

“Knowledgeable 19th century Americans including Section 3’s framers would have regarded the events of Jan. 6, and the surrounding planning, mobilization and incitement, as an insurrection,” Mathew ruled. “Mr. Griffin also incited, encouraged, and helped normalize the violence on January 6.”

Griffin, a Republican, was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-biden-new-mexico-riots-presidential-elections-7cf8b8a96a39bde8f6966e47cc37ff46">convicted separately</a>&nbsp;in federal court of entering a restricted area on the Capitol grounds on Jan. 6 and received a 14-day prison sentence. The sentence was offset by time served after his arrest in Washington, where he had returned to protest Biden’s 2021 inauguration. That conviction is under appeal, but is unlikely to influence enforcement of Griffin’s ban from office.

“Neither the courts nor Congress have ever required a criminal conviction for a person to be disqualified under Section 3,” Judge Mathew wrote.

CREW brought the case against Griffin partly because New Mexico is one of several states that allow any citizen to bring a private right of action to establish that an elected official is not qualified to hold office. In states that lack such provisions, attorneys note, those who want to remove people under Section 3 may have other paths, such as ballot challenges filed with the secretary of state or an election board.

“There is no one-size-fits-all solution for enforcing Section 3 in states,” McPhail said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1710880938454.png" alt="FILE - A demonstrator holds a sign outside of the U.S. Supreme Court, Feb. 8, 2024, in Washington. A pair of recent U.S. Supreme Court actions has opened the door to a new legal frontier in which local and state officials can be disqualified from office for life for engaging in "insurrection" or providing "aid and comfort" to enemies of the Constitution, based on a post-Civil War-era provision of the nation's foundational legal document and how the courts interpret it. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)" />
 <figcaption>FILE - A demonstrator holds a sign outside of the U.S. Supreme Court, Feb. 8, 2024, in Washington. A pair of recent U.S. Supreme Court actions has opened the door to a new legal frontier in which local and state officials can be disqualified from office for life for engaging in "insurrection" or providing "aid and comfort" to enemies of the Constitution, based on a post-Civil War-era provision of the nation's foundational legal document and how the courts interpret it. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Two recent U.S. Supreme Court actions have opened the door to a new legal frontier in which local and state officials can be disqualified from office for life for engaging in “insurrection" or providing “aid and comfort” to enemies of the Constitution, based on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-2024-colorado-79373b5043976588b599fc00ede049e8">a post-Civil War era addition to</a>&nbsp;the nation's foundational legal document and how the courts interpret it.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;on Monday rejected an appeal from a former New Mexico county commissioner who was kicked out of office after he was convicted of trespassing during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The state judge who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-mexico-government-and-politics-5e2fd96d5f698017b974f878398578c8">barred him from office</a>&nbsp;did so on the grounds that his actions violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which was added to the Constitution in 1868 to prevent Confederates from returning to government.The move came on the heels of an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-trump-insurrection-election-colorado-51e79c0f03013034c8a042cb278b6446">expedited high-court ruling</a>&nbsp;that Section 3 can't be used against federal officials or candidates until Congress writes a law outlining procedures to do so. That includes former President Donald Trump, the target of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-14th-amendment-insurrection-supreme-court-colorado-2b9d5b628cb2779fc84212cdc651e4e7">a national campaign</a>&nbsp;to end his bid to return to the White House via the 14th Amendment.But the court's ruling in the Trump case explicitly said the provision could still be used against state and local officials.Taken together, the actions herald a new legal landscape as the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-14th-amendment-insurrection-2024-election-ballot-9c5f79203109ba221b35a48e708ad725">liberal groups</a>&nbsp;that pushed the issue of Trump's disqualification to the Supreme Court reboot efforts to target state and local officials linked to Jan. 6.“This is a bit of returning to the course we expected to be following, which was holding individuals accountable, who are low-level officials, who still broke their oath by coming to D.C., engaging in insurrection,” said Stuart McPhail, an attorney with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a left-leaning group whose lawsuit against Trump ended up at the Supreme Court.Ron Fein, legal director of Free Speech For People, which brought several other actions seeking to disqualify Trump and Republican members of Congress for their role in the Capitol attack, wouldn't comment on his group's plans. But, he said, one legal fact remains clear.“Section 3 continues to be a viable way of protecting against insurrectionists in state and local government,” Fein said.CREW, which brought the lawsuit against Trump’s candidacy that landed at the Supreme Court, has identified state lawmakers it believes might be vulnerable to challenges under Section 3. It already has succeeded in one case, brought against the local official in New Mexico.Otero County Commissioner&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-new-mexico-state-government-donald-trump-santa-fe-5a4bde1a89344a0eb11a0a1d58a2100d">Couy Griffin,</a>&nbsp;a founder of the promotional group Cowboys for Trump, is the only elected official thus far to be banned from office in connection with the Capitol attack, which disrupted Congress as it was trying to certify Joe Biden’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-claims-biden-won-explained-bd53b14ce871412b462cb3fe2c563f18">2020 electoral victory</a>&nbsp;over Trump.The lawsuit against him cited his violation of Section 3, which prohibits anyone who swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against it or gave “aid and comfort” to its enemies, from holding future office.McPhail says there is a new sense of urgency to take action under that clause against state or local officials linked to Jan. 6 — before they run for federal office and can’t be sidelined.“It does create this incentive to bring cases from low-level officials now because then you can actually win them and get some kind of relief in judgments, whereas if you wait, you may have lost the opportunity,” he said.Based on the Supreme Court's ruling in the Trump disqualification case, a state or local official removed under Section 3 could still hold federal office, all the way up to president, unless Congress acted.Griffin said his disqualification was politically motivated. He and his defense attorney said Monday’s dismissal by the Supreme Court holds ominous implications, creating a pathway for partisan actors to harness Section 3 of the 14th Amendment in unpredictable ways in the future.“All you have to do is go to a really friendly county, with a good friendly judge that’s politically on your side, and then you get rid of your opposition,” said Peter Ticktin, Griffin's attorney in the appeal to the Supreme Court.Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor, said he wouldn't be surprised if Section 3 litigation eventually targets people for reasons well beyond Jan. 6.“I don't know how widespread it's going to be,” he said. “I'm sure people are going to start thinking creatively about what it means — if you're supporting, Hamas, the Taliban, (Black Lives Matter).”Muller added that the court system is well-equipped to sort out frivolous uses of Section 3, just as it does in other cases of ballot challenges: “In most of these cases, I think it won't pass the initial motion to dismiss.”The bigger question, he said, is how do courts address issues that the Supreme Court dodged in its ruling on the Trump case: What constitutes an insurrection under Section 3? How do First Amendment rights and other constitutional guarantees interact with its provisions?In Griffin's case, New Mexico Judge Francis Mathew found that Griffin aided an insurrection without engaging in violence, contributing to a delay in Congress’ certification of the presidential election.He ruled that Griffin spread&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-michael-pence-electoral-college-elections-health-2d9bd47a8bd3561682ac46c6b3873a10">lies about the 2020 election being stolen</a>&nbsp;from Trump in a series of speeches during rallies held across the country, calling on crowds to go with him to Washington on Jan. 6 and join the “war” over the presidential election results.“Knowledgeable 19th century Americans including Section 3’s framers would have regarded the events of Jan. 6, and the surrounding planning, mobilization and incitement, as an insurrection,” Mathew ruled. “Mr. Griffin also incited, encouraged, and helped normalize the violence on January 6.”Griffin, a Republican, was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-biden-new-mexico-riots-presidential-elections-7cf8b8a96a39bde8f6966e47cc37ff46">convicted separately</a>&nbsp;in federal court of entering a restricted area on the Capitol grounds on Jan. 6 and received a 14-day prison sentence. The sentence was offset by time served after his arrest in Washington, where he had returned to protest Biden’s 2021 inauguration. That conviction is under appeal, but is unlikely to influence enforcement of Griffin’s ban from office.“Neither the courts nor Congress have ever required a criminal conviction for a person to be disqualified under Section 3,” Judge Mathew wrote.CREW brought the case against Griffin partly because New Mexico is one of several states that allow any citizen to bring a private right of action to establish that an elected official is not qualified to hold office. In states that lack such provisions, attorneys note, those who want to remove people under Section 3 may have other paths, such as ballot challenges filed with the secretary of state or an election board.“There is no one-size-fits-all solution for enforcing Section 3 in states,” McPhail said.___

Court opens new frontier for insurrection claims that could target state, local officials

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a>&nbsp; &nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

House-passed bill adds ban against spy drones, aircraft flying below 500 feet

TOPEKA — The Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit in 2018 challenging on First Amendment grounds Kansas’ quarter-century-old law thwarting covert investigations into the treatment of animals and workers at feedlots, slaughterhouses and crop production zones.

Ramifications of that legal action continue to vex the animal agriculture industry in Kansas, farm lobbying organizations and rural legislators.

In 2021, the 10th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with ALDF’s legal claim and a lower federal court’s decision to strike down provisions of Kansas’ “ag-gag” law — the oldest statute in the United States criminalizing undercover videotaping of alleged abuses.

The appellate court concluded Kansas had embarked on a forthright statutory plan to limit the ability of ALDF and like-mined organizations to slip under the radar in search of proof of the industry’s shortcomings. When signed into law by Republican Gov. Mike Hayden in 1990, he said the legislation was a direct response to damage perpetrated by “radical elements of the animal-rights movement.”

That state law selectively criminalized work of activists critical of Kansas agriculture practices. It didn’t mandate charges against a person who gained access to property without permission with the goal of lauding Kansas animal-handling practices. In other words, Hayden and other Kansas lawmakers interested in squelching dissent were guilty of state-sanctioned discrimination based on viewpoint.

“We reject this approach,” the federal Court of Appeals said. “It elevates form over substance and permits Kansas to do just what the First Amendment prohibits: License one side of a debate to fight freestyle, while requiring the other to follow&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquess_of_Queensberry_Rules">Marquis of Queensberry rules</a>.”

The U.S. Supreme Court declined in 2022 to review the Court of Appeals’ unraveling of the Farm Animal and Field Crop and Research Facilities Protection Act.

The courthouse outcome was celebrated by the coalition of special-interest groups led by ALDF as a victory for animal rights and free speech. They also could see a path to placing their people — whistleblowers — as employees at targeted facilities to collect insider information for articles and videos about hog, beef and dairy or poultry operations, processing facilities and other agriculture businesses in Kansas.

“The industry works hard to keep its practices secret, knowing consumers won’t accept the intense confinement and other inhumane treatment of animals,” said Stephen Wells, executive director of the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

The Kansas Livestock Association, with more than 5,000 members involved in dairy, swine and beef production along with other farm enterprises, went to work drafting a rebuttal bill. The objective was to refine the state’s protection against trespassers on farm property or people making fraudulent statements on employment applications to gain access to land and facilities.

Results of that effort, wrapped into House Bill 2816, was approved 99-24 this week by the Kansas House after five minutes of floor debate. KLA’s legal product avoided the sticky mess caused by language about “intent to damage” and “effective consent” that helped to undermine the 1990 statute. The package forwarded to the Kansas Senate also clarified criminal penalties and blocked use of drones and aircraft below 500 feet directly above agriculture businesses.

“There are some places that people just shouldn’t go without permission,” said Rep. Lisa Moser, a Wheaton Republican and rancher. “This is tailored language done specifically to address the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision.”

Moser noted the bill resolved the free speech issue by applying sanctions to any unauthorized trespasser on agriculture cropland, farm research facility or animal operation whether those people were engaged in covert investigations or innocent behavior.

None of the likely opponents of the bill, such as the ALDF, the Sierra Club of Kansas or Humane Society of the United States, testified during the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee hearing March 6.

Jackie Garagiola, associate counsel to the Kansas Livestock Association, said the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear the state’s appeal meant the law had to be revised so “critical protections provided by the act for these facilities remain, but in a manner that does not come into conflict with the First Amendment.”

Under House Bill 2816, Kansas would make it illegal to enter or remain in animal facility or field crop production areas without permission of the owner or to knowingly make false statements on an employment application to gain access to those places. The same standards would apply to agriculture research areas controlled by private, university, federal, state or local government entities.

Garagiola said “effective consent” language in the Kansas law was unconstitutional because it regulated speech as opposed to conduct.

The new bill addressed the federal court’s contention the old Kansas law forbid speech made with the “intent to damage the enterprise conducted at the animal facility.” To clear up constitutional violations, the House-passed bill created the simple prohibition for trespass or use of fraudulent employment applications regardless of intent of the individual.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1711230479923.png" alt=" Janet Bailey, CEO of the Kansas Dairy Association, said the fastest growing segment of Kansas agriculture — dairying — needed the Kansas Legislature to respond to a federal court decision by removing unconstitutional provisions of state law and restoring protections against undercover animal-rights organizations and applicants seeking jobs under false pretenses. (Jill Hummels/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Janet Bailey, CEO of the Kansas Dairy Association, said the fastest growing segment of Kansas agriculture — dairying — needed the Kansas Legislature to respond to a federal court decision by removing unconstitutional provisions of state law and restoring protections against undercover animal-rights organizations and applicants seeking jobs under false pretenses. (Jill Hummels/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a>&nbsp; &nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a><h2>House-passed bill adds ban against spy drones, aircraft flying below 500 feet</h2>TOPEKA — The Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit in 2018 challenging on First Amendment grounds Kansas’ quarter-century-old law thwarting covert investigations into the treatment of animals and workers at feedlots, slaughterhouses and crop production zones.Ramifications of that legal action continue to vex the animal agriculture industry in Kansas, farm lobbying organizations and rural legislators.In 2021, the 10th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with ALDF’s legal claim and a lower federal court’s decision to strike down provisions of Kansas’ “ag-gag” law — the oldest statute in the United States criminalizing undercover videotaping of alleged abuses.The appellate court concluded Kansas had embarked on a forthright statutory plan to limit the ability of ALDF and like-mined organizations to slip under the radar in search of proof of the industry’s shortcomings. When signed into law by Republican Gov. Mike Hayden in 1990, he said the legislation was a direct response to damage perpetrated by “radical elements of the animal-rights movement.”That state law selectively criminalized work of activists critical of Kansas agriculture practices. It didn’t mandate charges against a person who gained access to property without permission with the goal of lauding Kansas animal-handling practices. In other words, Hayden and other Kansas lawmakers interested in squelching dissent were guilty of state-sanctioned discrimination based on viewpoint.“We reject this approach,” the federal Court of Appeals said. “It elevates form over substance and permits Kansas to do just what the First Amendment prohibits: License one side of a debate to fight freestyle, while requiring the other to follow&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquess_of_Queensberry_Rules">Marquis of Queensberry rules</a>.”The U.S. Supreme Court declined in 2022 to review the Court of Appeals’ unraveling of the Farm Animal and Field Crop and Research Facilities Protection Act.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1711230441938.png" alt=" Kansas Rep. Lisa Moser, a Republican and rancher, asked House colleagues to ditch unconstitutional provisions of Kansas law and adopt a revised strategy for thwarting animal-rights activists engaging in undercover work to expose livestock industry practices. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Kansas Rep. Lisa Moser, a Republican and rancher, asked House colleagues to ditch unconstitutional provisions of Kansas law and adopt a revised strategy for thwarting animal-rights activists engaging in undercover work to expose livestock industry practices. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>‘Just shouldn’t go’</h2>The courthouse outcome was celebrated by the coalition of special-interest groups led by ALDF as a victory for animal rights and free speech. They also could see a path to placing their people — whistleblowers — as employees at targeted facilities to collect insider information for articles and videos about hog, beef and dairy or poultry operations, processing facilities and other agriculture businesses in Kansas.“The industry works hard to keep its practices secret, knowing consumers won’t accept the intense confinement and other inhumane treatment of animals,” said Stephen Wells, executive director of the Animal Legal Defense Fund.The Kansas Livestock Association, with more than 5,000 members involved in dairy, swine and beef production along with other farm enterprises, went to work drafting a rebuttal bill. The objective was to refine the state’s protection against trespassers on farm property or people making fraudulent statements on employment applications to gain access to land and facilities.Results of that effort, wrapped into House Bill 2816, was approved 99-24 this week by the Kansas House after five minutes of floor debate. KLA’s legal product avoided the sticky mess caused by language about “intent to damage” and “effective consent” that helped to undermine the 1990 statute. The package forwarded to the Kansas Senate also clarified criminal penalties and blocked use of drones and aircraft below 500 feet directly above agriculture businesses.“There are some places that people just shouldn’t go without permission,” said Rep. Lisa Moser, a Wheaton Republican and rancher. “This is tailored language done specifically to address the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision.”Moser noted the bill resolved the free speech issue by applying sanctions to any unauthorized trespasser on agriculture cropland, farm research facility or animal operation whether those people were engaged in covert investigations or innocent behavior.None of the likely opponents of the bill, such as the ALDF, the Sierra Club of Kansas or Humane Society of the United States, testified during the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee hearing March 6.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1711230407996.png" alt="The Kansas Livestock Association’s attorneys prepared House Bill 2816, which easily passed the House, to restore protections of the beef, dairy, hog and poultry industries, crop producers and research facilities that might be targeted by animal-rights organizations. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>The Kansas Livestock Association’s attorneys prepared House Bill 2816, which easily passed the House, to restore protections of the beef, dairy, hog and poultry industries, crop producers and research facilities that might be targeted by animal-rights organizations. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>KLA steps into void</h2>Jackie Garagiola, associate counsel to the Kansas Livestock Association, said the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear the state’s appeal meant the law had to be revised so “critical protections provided by the act for these facilities remain, but in a manner that does not come into conflict with the First Amendment.”Under House Bill 2816, Kansas would make it illegal to enter or remain in animal facility or field crop production areas without permission of the owner or to knowingly make false statements on an employment application to gain access to those places. The same standards would apply to agriculture research areas controlled by private, university, federal, state or local government entities.Garagiola said “effective consent” language in the Kansas law was unconstitutional because it regulated speech as opposed to conduct.The new bill addressed the federal court’s contention the old Kansas law forbid speech made with the “intent to damage the enterprise conducted at the animal facility.” To clear up constitutional violations, the House-passed bill created the simple prohibition for trespass or use of fraudulent employment applications regardless of intent of the individual.It would be a class A misdemeanor to enter or remain on these properties without consent and a class B misdemeanor for making bogus statements on job applications to gain access. The penalty for property damage or destruction of an animal or crop facility would be a level 9 nonperson felony for damage ranging from $1,000 to $25,000 and a level 7 nonperson felony for damages of $25,000 or more.KLA’s approach was endorsed by Kansas Farm Bureau, Kansas Grain &amp; Feed Association, Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association, Kansas Pork Association and Kansas Dairy Association.Janet Bailey, CEO of the dairy association, said the fastest growing segment of Kansas agriculture — dairying — needed lawmakers to&nbsp; close the gap left by the Court of Appeals’ decision. In particular, she said, the dairy industry was keen to secure criminal sanctions against people seeking jobs under false pretenses. The threat of prosecution has been an effective deterrent to undercover inquiries in the United States.“Labor is a top concern among those in the dairy industry,” Bailey said. “As such, it can make our industry even more vulnerable to those who might seek employment with motives other than working in the care of our animals and production of milk. Their motives are clear in their desire to damage our industry and the livelihoods of the industry.”