Laura Ziegler

Groundbreaking for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility will take place next Tuesday in Manhattan, Kansas according to a release from Senator Robert's office.

Cost sharing for this phase of the animal disease lab will be about equal - 50/50- for the independent power plant required on the 48 acre site at Kansas State University. Both Kansas and the federal government are putting in roughly $40 million.

Kansas Senators Tuesday gave first round approval for new spending in support of a controversial federal animal disease lab Manhattan.

Some Democrats as well as some in Gov. Brownback’s own party have questioned whether the state should commit an additional $202 million in bonds, on top of $145 million already spent in support of the federal lab.

Doubters in the legislature worry the state will be on the hook for cost overruns as the project continues.

The Governor's Chief of Staff,  Landon Fulmer, will visit the state Democratic Caucus on Thursday to explain, again, why Governor Brownback has requested $202 million in additional bonds for the proposed top security lab in Manhattan.

Across the country, software geeks are building multi-platform applications to do all sorts of things. Among them, apps to encourage civic engagement and help cities run more efficiently.

Code for America, a non-profit out of San Francisco, is out front in this effort. The organization has fellows working in nine cities nationwide.  They're focusing on ways to make government work better for everyone.

Good ad campaigns often have high profile spokespeople, and now so does a campaign to promote Kansas products.

The tag line is From the Land of Kansas, and this weekend Governor Sam Brownback was in Kansas City, Kansas to introduce  the  big name that will be behind this campaign - Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson .                                      

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback says if Kansas lawmakers won't approve additional funds for the National Bio And Agro-Defense Facility, there's a chance it won't get built.  And that's a risk he's not willing to take,  he said over the weekend on a stop in Kansas City, Kansas. 

President Obama's FY2014 budget requested $714 million for the top security animal disease lab proposed for Manhattan, Kansas.  As part of that request, the state was asked to contribute  $202 million. That's in addition to almost $150 million Kansas has already committed.

Some Republicans in Topeka suggest Governor Brownback’s request for an additional $202 million in bonds for the proposed animal disease lab represents a “moving target,” and want to be reassured the state isn’t going to be responsible for more than it can afford for a federal facility.

Wednesday was Joe Reardon’s last day in office.

The popular, 2-term head of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas says there were many things he was proud of accomplishing, and a few things he regretted not getting done.

Here are the things he was most proud of:

President Obama’s 2014 budget proposal to Congress asks for funds to “develop countermeasures for diseases originating from large animals that can be transmitted to humans, "  including $714 million for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, Kansas.

The news has already been  interpreted by supporters as a green light for the $1.15-billion federal animal disease lab known as NBAF, the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, in Manhattan, Kansas.

Senator Pat Roberts said the proposal represents the administration’s support for NBAF.

The Kansas Secretary of Agriculture says he’s moving most of state Agriculture Department to Manhattan. Secretary Dale Rodman says the agriculture in Kansas will benefit from being part of what he’s calling “the synergies” between Kansas State University and a burgeoning animal and plant science industry.

The move will allow the Kansas department to work more closely and avoid redundancies with bioscience research and commerce already going on in Manhattan.

Walt Bodine “was us,” said Monroe Dodd, a long-time friend and colleague of the legendary newsman, who died last week at 92. Speaking at a packed memorial service this afternoon at Unity Temple on the Plaza, Dodd said Walt had remarkable insights. “He’d toss (them) into the conversation in the form of questions ... they were like firecrackers.”

“The state of our county is good.” That was the message on Tuesday from  Johnson County Chairman Ed Eilert, as he bragged about the county’s 4.5 percent unemployment rate and dramatic increase in housing starts.

In his annual State of the County address, Eilert acknowledged it wasn’t easy to keep expenditures in line with revenues last year.  The county consolidated government departments and reduced the work force by the equivalent of more than 430 jobs through early retirement and attrition.

A senior official from the President’s Office of Management and Budget told two Congressmen he would be mindful of their concerns regarding the cost and safety of the proposed National Bio and Ago-Defense Facility (NBAF) in considering how much to allocate for NBAF in the President’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget.

OMB Deputy Director of Management Jeffrey Zients told Congressmen Tim Bishop and Joe Courtney that the administration was forced to evaluate the proposal for a new large-animal disease lab in the context of current budget constraints.

Walt Bodine was an aristocrat among newsmen and a friend to the people of Kansas City. The long-time journalist, author and talk show host died early Sunday morning. He was 92.

As a reporter, Walt always got the story, and he usually got it first. He wrote like a poet.

This is how he described Truman’s visit to Kansas City during the 1951 floods:

Longtime journalist, author and talk show host Walt Bodine died early Sunday morning. He was 92.