Latest news with #WichitaStateUniversity
Miami Herald
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Actually, I was paid to attend a Democratic rep's town hall last weekend
The best thing about the town hall meeting that drew about 1,200 people to a Wichita State University auditorium on Sunday was that everybody got a check from George Soros to attend. Of course, I just made that up. Or more accurately, I stole it from crazy right-wingers who made it up. But there are apparently a whole lot of Trumpers out there who believe that kind of drivel, and can't accept the fact that you don't need to pay people to question the competence, morality and/or motives of Donald Trump and his minions in Congress. Believe me, they're more than happy to do it for free. The event at hand featured Florida Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost holding a town hall meeting in Wichita, the heart of the Kansas 4th Congressional District, a red block on the political landscape currently held by GOP representative-for-life Ron Estes. Estes doesn't do town halls. So Frost (live) and Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut (via Zoom) stepped in and did one for him. As usual, whenever a large crowd gathers and fails to heap praise on Donald Trump and his party, accusations fly in from the right wing that his critics are paid actors. The Wichita event was no exception, as evidenced by a slew of comments — ranging from the merely stupid to the downright insulting — gleaned from Frost's post of a video clip from the event on X: How much you have to pay them to attend, Maxwell? Paid by George Soros. I noticed that it was 90+% retired old women+ a few old men, which looks STRIKINGLY similar to the exact demographic of the 'paid protesters' at many of the protests that were proven to have been mostly filled with those paid to attend. What's it called….astroturfing MAX Wow, that must be one expensive rent-a-mob, Maxipad. I could go on, but you get the idea. So at the risk of giving the conspiracy nuts more ammunition, I have a confession to make. I was paid to attend the town hall. That's right. I admit it. I get a deposit in my bank account every two weeks to attend such events, take copious notes and then write about them for The Wichita Eagle and Sunday's town hall was one of those events, and while I don't get overtime, I'm planning to take a comp day off later this week. I can also now disclose that in late February, I was paid to attend an event where Rep. Estes addressed a meeting of Sedgwick County Republican Party precinct committee men and women. And I'm not the only one cashing in. I can confirm Eagle photographer Jaime Green also was paid to go to Sunday's town hall. I saw what appeared to be reporters from TV stations KSN and KWCH at the event. I'm going to go out on a limb here and speculate they were paid to be there too. But wait … the plot thickens. I spoke with Noah Taylor of Leading Kansas, the group that hosted the event. It turns out the photo/video and sound crews were also paid — as were the guys who ran the metal detectors at the door. 'I guess WSU had a guy who watches over the building,' said Taylor, in a stunning admission, assuming that guy gets paid to come in on a Sunday when somebody rents out the auditorium. Of course, for the 1,200 or so ordinary folks who attended the town hall, there were no checks from Soros or anybody else, and there won't be any coming in the mail — there never are. Those participants came as concerned citizens to find out what Trump and Company are up to, and how it might affect their lives. They put those questions to Frost, because Estes wouldn't give them the time of day. I can understand why Trump thinks ordinary Americans questioning his erratic and authoritarian behavior must be paid shills. The man is a notorious narcissist with an ego the size of Mount Rushmore, which is where his devout sycophants think he belongs. What I really don't understand is how so many other people can buy into the lie, or at least say they do. That's beyond perplexing.
Business Wire
16-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Knowmadics Moves Corporate Headquarters to Wichita, Kansas to Accelerate National Security Innovation
WICHITA, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Knowmadics, a trusted solutions provider specializing in electronic warfare (EW) and vertical software solutions for government and commercial clients, today announced the move of corporate headquarters to Wichita, KS from Northern Virginia. The move, expected to be completed by year-end, underscores Knowmadics' commitment to delivering AI-enhanced electronic warfare and autonomous threat detection solutions that enable spectrum and decision dominance within the Department of Defense, intelligence and law enforcement communities. The relocation supports Knowmadics' vision of building a resilient, future-focused workforce that combines technical excellence, innovation and operational agility. Access to the region's rich talent pool will help support Knowmadics' remaining critical hires for the next four quarters. 'Kansas is gaining another leading defense company as Knowmadics relocates to the heartland,' said Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan). 'Knowmadics is a leading innovator in the technology and defense sector and relocating to the Sunflower State will create new jobs, business opportunities and continued economic growth in Wichita. By combining Knowmadics capabilities with Wichita's academia and talented workforce, this company will continue to support U.S. national security imperatives from its new headquarters in Wichita.' 'Wichita offers the right mix of talent, infrastructure, and strategic partnerships,' said Paul Maguire, CEO of Knowmadics. 'The region provides access to highly skilled personnel from McConnell Air Force Base, the strength of Wichita State University's cyber and aerospace programs, and the ability to bring innovation to new pursuits like the Golden Dome initiative.' The company will deepen collaborations with local partners such as Novacoast Federal, and Wichita State University as well as grow its partner base with the regions other domain experts to improve national security and technologies central to U.S. and allied defense priorities. This move builds on Knowmadics presence in Wichita, which launched its Cyber Center of Excellence (CCoE) in 2022, developed in partnership with Groover Labs. The CCoE addresses pressing challenges at local, national and global levels, particularly in the areas of electronic warfare (EW), cyber solutions and space resilience and security. It is uniquely designed to increase Knowmadics and Wichita's competitiveness for emerging programs like Golden Dome. 'We are especially grateful for the leadership of Andrew Nave at the Greater Wichita Partnership, the Wichita business community, and U.S. Senator Jerry Moran. We appreciate the strong advocacy of Senator Moran, who has been actively recruiting our expansion and move to Kansas since our ribbon cutting at Groover Labs almost three years ago,' added Claire Ostrum, President of Knowmadics. 'We are confident that, together, we'll continue to grow our business and strengthen Wichita's reputation as a hub for national security innovation.' 'Knowmadics' decision to relocate its headquarters to Wichita is a powerful example of what's possible when innovative companies, higher education, and public and private sector partners come together to drive economic growth,' said Andrew Nave, Executive Vice President of Economic Development of the Greater Wichita Partnership. 'This move strengthens our region's role in advancing national security and emerging technologies, while building on Wichita's momentum as a collaborative hub for high-tech industries.' About Knowmadics Knowmadics is a mission-driven solution provider committed to delivering real-time intelligence from the command center to the edge. Its purpose-built and validated software platform fuses data from 1000s of IoT sensors, systems, and data sources at speed to achieve advantages across multiple domains. Proven in operational environments and trusted by defense and law enforcement organizations worldwide, Knowmadics draws on decades of experience to equip teams for decision and spectrum dominance. Knowmadics is headquartered in Wichita, KS, with additional innovation offices in Herndon, VA; Southern Pines, NC; Round Rock, TX; and Lawton, OK.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Looking for some behind-the-scenes stories? These two Eagle interns hope to have them
When a lot of Wichitans were hunkered down during Tuesday's rain deluge, Allison Campbell was trudging through Highland Cemetery, snapping photos for a Wichita Eagle article. The intrepid Campbell is one of two interns who are working for the publication this summer. Ainsley Smyth, who said she spent Tuesday 'safe in the office calling school board candidates,' is the other. Both live in Kansas and have attended Wichita State University, where Campbell just graduated and Smyth will be a senior. Campbell said she was a military brat who was born in Germany and spent a substantial amount of time in South Africa, where her mother was born, before her family eventually landed in Holton, Kan. That's where she graduated high school and her where her parents still live. 'My teenage angst was lived out there.' However, it was when she was visiting South Africa at around age 8 when the power of what journalism can do struck her. Campbell saw a copy of Time with a photo of a highway she knew in Johannesburg with an accompanying story on some of the most unequal places in the world. On one side of the road were dilapidated houses. On the other were more were beautiful homes with pools. 'That picture really, really stuck with me,' said Campbell, who had been born following apartheid. 'It opened my eyes in a way that I think was discomforting but was a much-needed discomfort.' An incredible high school journalism teacher further inspired her, as did getting to know the staff at the Sunflower at WSU. 'Their work was astounding.' Campbell's work came to be as well. She was named the Kansas Collegiate Media Journalist of the Year. 'It gives me goosebumps to be able to give back to people,' she said. Just like the Time photo did for her, Campbell said she likes that she can show diversity in communities so people 'can really transform how they live and conduct their lives.' Smyth, who is from Lenexa, wasn't interested in journalism until high school when she joined the newspaper staff where some friends were. That's when she found something else that journalism offers. 'I liked knowing sort of the behind the scenes of my school.' Smyth said she enjoyed having a different way to interact with teachers through her work, too. Last summer, Smyth interned at local NPR affiliate KMUW. This summer, she said she's likely going to cover a range of topics for The Eagle. So far, that includes an entertainment and environmental story and a look at improvements at Clapp Park. Smyth, who plans to make a career of journalism, said she hopes to do local government stories, too, for that same behind-the-scenes knowledge she sought in high school. 'That kind of interests me.'
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Business Standard
04-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Spike in steel tariffs could imperil Trump promise of lower grocery prices
President Donald Trump's doubling of tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum could hit Americans in an unexpected place: grocery aisles. The staggering 50 per cent levies on those imports took effect Wednesday, stoking fear that big-ticket purchases from cars to washing machines to houses could see major price increases. But those metals are so ubiquitous in packaging, they're likely to pack a punch across consumer products from soup to nuts. Rising grocery prices would be part of the ripple effects, says Usha Haley, an expert on trade and professor at Wichita State University, who added that the tariffs could raise costs across industries and further strain ties with allies without aiding a long-term US manufacturing revival. Trump's return to the White House has come with an unrivaled barrage of tariffs, with levies threatened, added and often taken away, in such a whiplash-inducing frenzy it's hard to keep up. He insisted the latest tariff hike was necessary to even further secure the steel industry in the US. That promise, though, could be at odds with his pledge to reduce food costs. Rising grocery prices, Trump has said, were among the biggest reasons voters swung his way. A look around a supermarket makes clear how many products could be impacted by new taxes on steel and aluminum, from beer and soda to dog food to can after can of beans, fruit, tomato paste and more. It plays into the hands of China and other foreign canned food producers, which are more than happy to undercut American farmers and food producers, insists Can Manufacturers Institute president Robert Budway. Doubling the steel tariff will further increase the cost of canned goods at the grocery store. Budway says production by domestic tin mill steel producers, whose products are used in cans, have dramatically decreased in recent years, making manufacturers reliant on imported materials. When those prices go up, he says, the cost is levied upon millions of American families. Food companies were already warily assessing the administration's tariffs before the latest hike. The Campbell Co., whose soup cans are a staple for millions of Americans, has said it was working to mitigate the impact of tariffs but may be forced to raise prices. ConAgra Brands, which puts everything from cans of Reddi-Whip to cooking sprays like Pam on supermarket shelves, likewise has pointed to the impact steel and aluminum tariffs have. We can't get all of our materials from the US because there's no supply, ConAgra CFO David Marberger said at a recent Goldman Sachs conference on global staples. Beyond the obvious products canned foods like tuna, chicken broth and cranberry sauce economists warn of a spillover effect that tariffs can have on a gamut of items. If the cost to build a store or buy a truck to haul food rise, the prices of products may follow. Most Americans will never buy a tractor, but Babak Hafezi, who runs a global consulting firm and teaches international business at American University, says a price spike in such a big-ticket item vital to food production will spill down to all sorts of other items. If a John Deere tractor costs 25 per cent more, consumers pay the price for that, Hafezi says. This trickles down the economy and impacts every aspect of the economy. Some of the trickling is immediate and others are slower to manifest themselves. But yes, prices will increase and choices will decrease. Trump appeared before a crowd of cheering steelworkers to unveil the new tariffs at a rally outside Pittsburgh on Friday. In a statement, David McCall, president of the United Steelworkers International union, called tariffs a valuable tool in balancing the scales but wider reforms of our global trading system" are needed. It may be harder to gauge the weight of tariffs on, say, a can of chickpeas versus that of a new car, but consumers are likely to see myriad indirect costs from the levies, says Andreas Waldkirch, an economics professor at Colby College who teaches a class on international trade. Anybody who's directly connected to the steel industry, they're going to benefit. It's just coming at a very high cost, Waldkirch says. You may get a few more steel jobs. But all these indirect costs mean you then destroy jobs elsewhere. If you were to add that all in, you come up with a pretty large negative loss.
The Hill
04-06-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Spike in steel tariffs could imperil Trump promise of lower grocery prices
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump's doubling of tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum could hit Americans in an unexpected place: grocery aisles. The staggering 50% levies on those imports took effect Wednesday, stoking fear that big-ticket purchases from cars to washing machines to houses could see major price increases. But those metals are so ubiquitous in packaging, they're likely to pack a punch across consumer products from soup to nuts. 'Rising grocery prices would be part of the ripple effects,' says Usha Haley, an expert on trade and professor at Wichita State University, who added that the tariffs could raise costs across industries and further strain ties with allies 'without aiding a long-term U.S. manufacturing revival.' Trump's return to the White House has come with an unrivaled barrage of tariffs, with levies threatened, added and often taken away, in such a whiplash-inducing frenzy it's hard to keep up. He insisted the latest tariff hike was necessary to 'even further secure the steel industry in the U.S.' That promise, though, could be at odds with his pledge to reduce food costs. Rising grocery prices, Trump has said, were among the biggest reasons voters swung his way. A look around a supermarket makes clear how many products could be impacted by new taxes on steel and aluminum, from beer and soda to dog food to can after can of beans, fruit, tomato paste and more. 'It plays into the hands of China and other foreign canned food producers, which are more than happy to undercut American farmers and food producers,' insists Can Manufacturers Institute president Robert Budway. 'Doubling the steel tariff will further increase the cost of canned goods at the grocery store.' Budway says production by domestic tin mill steel producers, whose products are used in cans, have dramatically decreased in recent years, making manufacturers reliant on imported materials. When those prices go up, he says, 'the cost is levied upon millions of American families.' Food companies were already warily assessing the administration's tariffs before the latest hike. The Campbell Co., whose soup cans are a staple for millions of Americans, has said it was working to mitigate the impact of tariffs but may be forced to raise prices. ConAgra Brands, which puts everything from cans of Reddi-Whip to cooking sprays like Pam on supermarket shelves, likewise has pointed to the impact steel and aluminum tariffs have. 'We can't get all of our materials from the US because there's no supply,' ConAgra CFO David Marberger said at a recent Goldman Sachs conference on global staples. Beyond the obvious products — canned foods like tuna, chicken broth and cranberry sauce — economists warn of a spillover effect that tariffs can have on a gamut of items. If the cost to build a store or buy a truck to haul food rise, the prices of products may follow. Most Americans will never buy a tractor, but Babak Hafezi, who runs a global consulting firm and teaches international business at American University, says a price spike in such a big-ticket item vital to food production will spill down to all sorts of other items. 'If a John Deere tractor costs 25% more, consumers pay the price for that,' Hafezi says. 'This trickles down the economy and impacts every aspect of the economy. Some of the trickling is immediate and others are slower to manifest themselves. But yes, prices will increase and choices will decrease.' Trump appeared before a crowd of cheering steelworkers to unveil the new tariffs at a rally outside Pittsburgh on Friday. In a statement, David McCall, president of the United Steelworkers International union, called tariffs 'a valuable tool in balancing the scales' but 'wider reforms of our global trading system' are needed. It may be harder to gauge the weight of tariffs on, say, a can of chickpeas versus that of a new car, but consumers are likely to see myriad indirect costs from the levies, says Andreas Waldkirch, an economics professor at Colby College who teaches a class on international trade. 'Anybody who's directly connected to the steel industry, they're going to benefit. It's just coming at a very high cost,' Waldkirch says. 'You may get a few more steel jobs. But all these indirect costs mean you then destroy jobs elsewhere. If you were to add that all in, you come up with a pretty large negative loss.' ___ Matt Sedensky can be reached at msedensky@ and
