News

 At the crossroads of industry, railroads and farm country Kansas City has long been a capital of the plains. In recent years, though, Kansas City and other agriculture hubs have seen technology chip away at their importance.

Since 1856, for instance, wheat has been traded on the floor of the Kansas City Board of Trade. In the old days, there would be a swarm of traders around the pits, shouting orders, making those crazy hand signals you've seen in the movies, but that will end later this summer.

Sometimes when Larry and I get together, our conversations head toward the past... and stories of our "firsts."  Larry's asking me about the first time I went out calling.  Here's my story:

All my married life, I’ve loved attending local auctions.  Part of the charm of these gatherings is seeing friends and neighbors and catching up with one another’s busy lives or listening to the auctioneer’s clever patter.  Another reason these events draw me  is the chance to see history and sometimes buy a little chunk of someone else’s story.  Unfortunately, there comes a time when those little pieces of other’s lives add up to enough stuff to clutter my closets to overflowing.  Before anything bursts, I need to take action.

The Rocky Mountain Columbine was discovered by mountain climber, Edwin James,  ascending Pike's Peak in 1820.  It was officially names the state flower of Colorado in 1899.  Rocky Mountain columbine (Columbine Aquilegia Caerulea) is a beautiful flower with a rich aroma that attracts bees, hummingbirds and butterflies to it's nectar.

Today we’ll visit the Texas Panhandle and stop by the Sherman County Depot Museum to hear the story of Sam Wohlford.  We’ll take a look at a  silver medal and a plaque that reads, “No greater love is there than for a man to risk his life for friend or stranger.”  And we’ll learn about Sam’s refusal to give up in his quest to save lives during the Great Blizzard of 1948.

HPPR proudly welcomes guitarist Beppe Gambetta and mandolin/fiddle player Peter Ostroushko in a very special evening of music on Thursday, March 7.  This show will be held at The Fibonacci, located at 3306 SW 6th Ave.  We'll open the doors @ 7:00, and the show will start @ 7:30.  Due to limited space, we highly encourage you to make reservations for this one, either by calling 806-367-9088 or sending an e-mail to music@hppr.org.  We'll have the usual great coffee from the folks at Evocation Coffee Roasters, and cookies from Molly Fuller.  Don't miss it!

This week around the campfire, Larry Weishuhn and I were talking about winter varmint hunting.  Winter is a perfect time to get out and do some calling.  With varmints here on the High Plains, this is a true challenge.  You don't have to be a pro, even extreme novices can be successful using an electronic caller.  Now my friend Larry, you can't believe the sounds he can make with his mouth.  It is unbelievable.  He can sound like white tail deer, rabbits, but me, I have to use a call. 

Athletes compete to make the play-offs.  If effort and luck shine on coaches, managers, players, owners, and fans, two franchises make it to games such as the Superbowl, World Series, Stanley Cup or other legendary competitions.  Olympians dedicate four years to earn those few seconds or minutes they have to claim gold. Hunters spend seasons seeking the biggest buck, bull elk, caribou or other record setting trophy to decorate the family room.  After a week of packing a house we lived in for 16 years, I have decided homemakers need their own prize.

The history of  the state of Texas is expansive and colorful.  It's boundaries have fluctuated.  It's flown six different flags.  It's background is steeped in tales of battles and wars, including the war with Mexico, the Civil War,  and many Indian battles that include the Red River War, but until recently, I was unaware of a battle that was waged for 70 years. 

A trip along the history trail that tells of the settling of the west is littered with the remains of hundreds of ghost towns.  The lives of many of these settlements were very brief, as they boomed when they bet on the tracks of the railroads and then busted as they watched from a distance as the trains pass them by.  One of the largest communities was called Ivanhoe, and was developed between the Arkansas and Cimarron Rivers on what is now U.S. Highway 83.  Today we’ll visit what remains of this once-bustling community – the cemetery.

I swore I would never be a woman who lived her life behind a camera lens.  I wanted to live in the moment, experiencing life as it occurred. 

I achieved this goal until I received a Nikon that captures moments up close and from considerable distance with clicks of a silver button.  Using that telescopic lens, I could see fine details my unaided eye used to see as blurs.

Let me tell you, folks, some of my favorite hunting memories are not about bringing home a trophy buck or making the record book, but about some of the mishaps that have happened along the way.  One of those times was when Larry and I were out deer hunting.  We were not having much luck, so we decided to do a little calling.  We were getting a little hungry, nothing was happening, so we decided to head back to camp to get something to eat.  I pushed on the door to open it, and the thing did NOT move.  The hasp had slipped down and locked us in!

There’s a border war going in the Midwest and it’s over water. Kansas and Nebraska have been battling for years over the water in the Republican River, which runs from Colorado to Kansas, through Nebraska.

Can you imagine walking across an endless sea of grass?  Maybe your journey started along the Santa Fe Trail from a tree-lined river bank of the Ohio Valley, the forests of the Appalachian mountains, or the sugar maple groves of New England, and now you face a gale of hot, dry wind.  You think you must be on the edge of hell.. until... up ahead you see a shimmer of hope... a cottonwood tree.  

The saying ‘You can’t get there from here!’ must have been on the minds of many of the pioneers who tried to settle in far west portions of the HPPR broadcast area.  For a long time, road making was an individual task which involved taking off  in the direction you needed to go, and then hoping you would make it to your destination.  Eventually trails became roads, which then became highways as travel vehicles evolved from wagons to buggies to new-fangled automobiles, but it could still be a bumpy ride at best. 

President Obama will be sworn into office for a second term on Monday morning, January 21, 2013.  High Plains Public Radio will broadcast special coverage of this event, starting at 10:06 central time.

The 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says that a presidents term begins on January 20.  Since that date falls on a Sunday, President Obama will make the oath of office twice, on the day designated by law, and again on Monday as is traditional.  

Skilled technicians with the right equipment create concert and video light shows that dazzle viewers.  An important component of such expertise is that anyone, anywhere can ooh and aah at  color and light shifting like a living kaleidoscope. Kansans don’t have to wait for light shows to come to town. They only have to look west each evening to enjoy award-winning productions the setting sun and our clear atmosphere create daily.

Size is relative.  Most folks living on the high plains would scoff if you told them a good sized whitetail buck weighed 105 pounds and had 90 inch antlers.  They'd probably tell you that was a half way decent size yearling.  But, those stats are excellent for the Coues deer, named after cavalry surgeon, Elliott Coues.  As a matter of fact, Larry Weishuhn, made the record book recently with a gross score of 135, and a net score of 120 on his deer.  To get into the record book with a Coues deer, you only need a Boone and Crockett score of 110.

One of the earliest trees to bloom in the spring is the redbud.  This favorite ornamental rarely reaches heights of greater than 20 feet.  The redbud comes in three color varieties: white, red, and purple.  They are self-pollinating and a fast grower, but that also means they have a shorter lifespan.  The redbud is a member of the legumes- their seed pods and flowers are edible.  They are forgiving of soil types, growing best in moist, well-drained sites.

  An unlikely coalition of business and social interests tried last year to get the legislature to establish a state program that would help ag businesses hire undocumented workers and let them legally stay in the state. Conservative lightning rod Grover Norquist – more known for his anti-tax crusades than his immigration beliefs – endorsed the plan during a speech in Topeka this week. He likened current U-S immigration law to the 55-mile-per-hour speed limit enacted in the 70s. Norquist says most people broke that law, too.

Governor Sam Brownback presented his state-of-the-state address Tuesday evening to state lawmakers.  KPR's News Director J. Schafer and KU political science Professor Burdett Loomis provided analysis.  The governor's speech was followed by a response from Democratic Senator Anthony Hensley of Topeka.  If you missed listening to the event live, you can listen  HERE.

A list of the movers and shakers who helped develop the city of Amarillo would have to include Guy Anton Carlander.  An architect who developed his own style by utilizing elements of design and decoration from the 1920s and 30s, his name is on the dedication plaques of many courthouses, hospitals and medical buildings, and office buildings throughout the Texas Panhandle.

HPPR's Songwriter In The Round series continues on Friday, January 25 @ the Fibonacci!  The venue is located at 3306 SW 6th Ave.  We'll open the doors @ 7pm, and the show will start @ 7:30.  If you would like to make a  reservation for this show, you can call us at 800-678-7444 or email us at music@hppr.org.  We had some great performances in 2012, and the 2013 schedule is looking spectacular- don't miss a single show!

A while back, I read a book titled For Love of Wildness by retired Game Warden Terry Grosz.  I wish I’d found it earlier in my marriage to help me understand my husband’s love for his work.  This time of year, I always needed a good reminder of why he chose his profession and why he devoted so much time and energy that wasn’t always appreciated.

So many people tell me how much they dislike duck.  I'm here to give you a recipe that is guaranteed to make those unbelievers mouths water.  Keep in mind that if you want to use this method, you'll need to start a couple days ahead of time.

The Colorado Blue Spruce was first discovered by botanist, CC Parry, in 1862, thriving on Pike's Peak.  30 years later, it was Colorado school children voted it the state tree.  However, it was not officially designated until 1939 when a resolution was passed by the state general assembly.  It has now become one of the most widely planted landscape trees in the U.S.