Kansas 4-H is gearing up for another fun-filled, memory-making, leadership-growing, life skills building year. The new 4-H program year begins October 1, 2020. Contact us to learn more about available 4-H programs in Sedgwick County.

K-State Research and Extension Specialist, JoEllyn Argabright and K-State Research and Extension agent, Jessica Koontz, explain Medicare basics. For additional information please visit our website.

Do you wish you could save time investigating the memes and questionable news stories filling your social media feeds? Ever wish the person who shared it had fact-checked it before they shared?

Fortunately, librarians at K-State Libraries are sharing resources and tools you can use to identify fake news stories that run across your news feed.

"If your feeds have become flooded with content that makes you feel more emotional than informed, you can choose to hide those posts and get your news from legitimate news outlets and research organizations," said Sara K. Kearns, professor and academic services librarian with K-State Libraries.

If you do want to run down the fact-checking road, Kearns recommends that you find out if someone has already done the work for you before you lace up your shoes. The following sites not only investigate the stories, but they also provide you with more information to back up their claims. Read more

MANHATTAN, Kan. – For most kids and adults, Halloween can be a sweet treat, but Kansas State University food safety specialist Karen Blakeslee says “it’s important that you don’t get tricked.”

“It’s still okay to go out and celebrate the fun part of this holiday,” said Blakeslee, who also is coordinator of the university’s Rapid Response Center for food science.

She notes that physical safety has always been a priority during Halloween as kids and parents ramble through neighborhoods collecting goodies. “But this year, safety includes our health and reducing the spread of COVID-19.”

“It’s tempting to dig into treat bowls for a tasty Halloween treat when you’re out trick-or-treating,” she said. “But this year, resist that temptation and let treat givers put treats out in goodie bags instead.”

“When out visiting neighbors in your Halloween parade, wear your festive masks and travel in small groups, but when you’re home, wash your hands before you taste your treats. All treats should be individually packaged to reduce contamination to the food.” Read more

MANHATTAN, Kan. – They may be on opposite sides of the life spectrum, but older adults and teens have a lot in common during the COVID-19 pandemic.

And some of it is not good.

“We know that older adults in particular are one of the groups that are at most risk for the negative (health) effects of COVID-19, so they have really been encouraged from the beginning to be isolating themselves,” said Erin Yelland, an adult development and aging specialist at Kansas State University.

“This has been going on for so many months now that this is really beginning to take a toll on older adults, especially in regard to their longer term health outcomes.”

One of Yelland’s colleagues – Elaine Johannes, a youth development specialist – said teens and other school-age children are isolated, too, and they are experiencing their own limitations during the pandemic.

“An important goal of the teen years is to develop who they are, and the way to do that is to test identity, test friendships, test abilities and interests – either as an athlete, an artist or a caring volunteer,” Johannes said. “It’s really hard to test your identities on an iPad.”

Yelland said there are unique issues among middle-aged and older adults as a result of social isolation, such as reduced physical activity. That could lead to other physical problems, such as high blood pressure or elevated cholesterol. Read more

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new challenges across the United States. Access to healthy, nutritious food options are important to health and well-being. With more children not attending childcare, school, and college in-person (a source of nutritious meals for many students) and with changes in employment status during the COVID-19 pandemic, many households may struggle with food security. To help address these challenges, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), has provided a number of resources including the Food and COVID-19 resource to support consumers and considerations for restaurants and bars, and grocery and food retail workers.

Last week, the CDC released three documents to address additional settings: outdoor farmers markets, food pantries and food distribution sites, and outdoor learning gardens. These considerations are meant to supplement—not replace—any state, local, territorial, or tribal health and safety laws, rules, and regulations with which organizations must comply.

Use these documents as tools to help resume and continue operations in ways that reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread while addressing community food access:

Growing Growers ICT is a beginning farmer education program, pairing a season-long apprenticeship with a workshop and farm tour series to train individuals interested in starting fruit and vegetable farms. The program facilitates hands-on farm experience and one-on-one mentorship, and provides technical growing knowledge and business management information. Learn more

Looking for a local a local food source? Search the ICT Food Circle directory to find a local farmer, business, restaurant, non-profit, farmers’ market or community garden. Is your favorite missing? Encourage them to submit a listing!

Mornings can be hectic which can cause us to make unhealthy breakfast choices or even worse, skip breakfast altogether! Eating breakfast can have a positive effect on learning and behavior. What other reason do you need to make sure your kids eat a healthy breakfast in the morning?

Being a positive role model can ensure that they eat their morning meal as well. Spending just a few minutes at the beginning of the week or the night before preparing breakfast can save time in the morning. Focus on choosing a grain, protein/dairy and fruit/vegetable to create a well-balanced breakfast. Check out this easy breakfast idea on our YouTube Channel:

As we enter the month of October, we all expect to see more spooky tricks & treats. However, one of the spookiest surprises we may not expect in our gardens this fall is to walk through the gardens, shake our plants and find swarms of tiny white flies that fly out from our plants in all directions! These tiny flying insects really make our plants come alive, and I can think of no better word than spooky to describe it!

These clouds of tiny, flying bugs are an insect called whitefly. Swarms of whiteflies are being reported around the state of Kansas this fall, as the insects migrate south to warmer climates. Whiteflies are most often a concern on houseplants and in greenhouses, where they suck sap from many plants' leaves, including houseplants, flowers, vegetables, and weeds. These plants' leaves often become yellow, twisted, stunted, and drop prematurely because of whitefly feeding. A sticky substance called honeydew (a sugary solution excreted by the whiteflies) often covers the plant. It may serve as a host for other problems to develop like a black colored fungus called sooty mold.

The good news is that whiteflies do not overwinter well in Kansas. You may see the large populations building up in your landscape due to the insect's migration to more southern climates for the winter. The swarms of whiteflies should disappear over the next few weeks, as they do not tolerate cold temperatures.

Control of whiteflies outdoors is generally not needed, unless you have houseplants that have been growing outside. Carefully check houseplants for whiteflies before bringing them inside for the winter. If whiteflies are present, spray down the houseplant with a sharp stream of water. Insecticidal soaps, neem-based products, pyrethrin, or acetamiprid can effectively be used to control whiteflies.

For more information on whiteflies, visit our website.

For more tips on moving your houseplants indoors for the winter, visit our website.

For more information on whiteflies, visit our website.

For more tips on moving your houseplants indoors for the winter, visit our website.

The K-State Garden Hour series provides information on a variety of horticultural topics, as well as highlights educational topics related to plant selection, entomology, plant pathology, and integrated pest management. Pre-register for each session or visit recordings of past presentations here.

MANHATTAN — A team of Kansas State University researchers is using a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture — and an additional grant from the state of Kansas — to study how to effectively control the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in the nation's meat and poultry processing facilities.

The study "Translating SARS-CoV-2 Research Into Practical Solutions For The Meat And Poultry Processing Industry" seeks to protect meat plant workers and their surrounding communities from the spread of COVID-19. It involves researchers from K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine and College of Agriculture.

As part of the study, $330,000 from the State of Kansas National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility Transition Fund will be used for research in K-State's Biosecurity Research Institute, or BRI, at Pat Roberts Hall. The BRI is a high-containment research facility. Read more