Kansas
NASA is flying 13 miles above Kansas to study severe thunderstorms, effect on climate
NASA pilots are flying 13 miles above Kansas this summer time to determine if intense summertime thunderstorms contribute to local weather change.
The Dynamics and Chemistry of the Summer time Stratosphere analysis challenge — consisting of about 50 scientists from eight universities and 4 NASA labs throughout the nation — is within the impact on the Earth’s stratosphere from highly effective thunderstorms often called overshooting storms.
“Now most storms, even most robust storms, occur and dwell out their lives within the lowest a part of the ambiance, which known as the troposphere,” stated Kenneth Bowman, principal investigator and Texas A&M College atmospheric science professor. “The strongest storms nevertheless are so intense that their updrafts can lengthen upward into the stratosphere.”
Bowman stated Salina is the optimum location for this challenge as a result of it “places many of the overshooting storms in North America inside vary of the plane.”
Overshooting storms can carry massive quantities of water and pollution from the decrease ambiance into the stratosphere, which Bowman stated can probably have an effect on each local weather and the quantity of ozone within the ambiance. Consequently, this may contribute to local weather change.
The staff has been in Salina since late Could, Bowman stated, and launch flights each two to 3 days. The flights final from seven to eight hours and attain altitudes of as much as 70,000 toes, “about twice as excessive as an airliner often flies,” Bowman says. The pilot has to put on a full house go well with and helmet to remain in a pressurized setting due to how excessive they’re.
The airplane is outfitted with an array of scientific devices that measure the fabric popping out of the thunderstorms’ tops in addition to wind, turbulence, particle quantity density, particle measurement distribution and extra.
Bowman stated his staff has up to now discovered elevated ranges of water vapor within the stratosphere, which is usually a dry a part of the ambiance.
“What we’re seeing is simply the super quantities of water specifically that these storms are placing into the stratosphere,” Bowman advised The Eagle. “Placing water into the stratosphere is without doubt one of the issues that provides to the greenhouse impact and helps heat the floor up.
“Because the local weather adjustments, which it’s going to proceed to do, these storms might develop into extra extreme, they could transport extra water into the stratosphere [and] they could transport it increased, which may contribute to will increase in world warming.”
That is the second 12 months DCOTSS has been launching flights in Salina as a part of the challenge. The staff additionally deployed flights in July and August 2021, Bowman stated. The staff will keep in Salina for about three extra weeks, after which it would take the airplane again to its residence in Palmdale, California.
Following the flights, the staff will transfer into analyzing and publishing its knowledge, NASA says.
“We’re nonetheless largely within the data-gathering section of the challenge,” Bowman stated. “Folks in fact are analyzing the outcomes from final 12 months and beginning to have a look at the information from this 12 months. We actually count on many of the scientific publications and papers will likely be popping out within the subsequent few years.”
Kansas
Kansas influencer SB Mowing raises over $750K for elderly homeowner who faced fine from city for overgrown lawn
A Kansas influencer raised over $793,000 to save a disabled elderly woman who faced a hefty fine from her town for failing to trim her overgrown yard.
Spencer, a content creator known for his landscaping business SB Mowing, said he met homeowner Beth last summer when a town official familiar with his social media videos contacted him and asked if he could help fix her lawn.
He was warned that Beth, who uses a cane to move around her property, needed to trim the yard or pay $240 for the town, which was not revealed in the video, to cut it for her.
‘I’ve spent a month trying to get someone to come mow,” Beth said in a video uploaded on Jan. 10. “They won’t answer their phones.”
Beth revealed that the town officials had implemented a date for when she was required to have the yard cut before she faced the financial loss.
Spencer described the lawn that surrounded Beth’s small white house as unkept and was “getting crazy.”
“I can get that taken care of for ya,” Spencer assured her, offering his landscaping service at no cost.
“I can’t believe it that’s great,” Beth replied.
Spencer transformed her lawn by clearing grass from the driveway cracks, trimming the bushes, removing trees and mowing very tall grass.
“I cried on and off just listening to your machine,” Beth told Spencer after the big reveal.
Spencer added that he was happy to help Beth as she became emotional over the gesture.
“Your work makes me twinkle so I really appreciate you. I can’t tell you how much. No one’s been happy to help me,” she added.
On top of the lawn issues, Spencer then noticed the home needed improvements to accommodate Beth, who was “in desperate need of help.”
Spencer launched a GoFundMe when he noticed how Beth’s old stairs posed an issue for her to walk on and that the driveway cracks could cause her to fall.
The small business owner raised over a half million dollars within a day to help her “gain accessibility and comfort” on other parts of her property.
Funds raised will help address accessibility issues she faces including building a new ramp outside so it’s easier for her to get to her front door, a smooth driveway and a chair lift that will allow her to get up and down stairs for her laundry.
The money will also pay a lawn care company to maintain her yard for the “next few years” because Spencer lives too far away.
The elderly homeowner was stunned when she received the life-changing donation.
“I can’t even cry,” Beth said. “I can’t even think.”
“I never expected help ever, ever, ever. I always help people until I got down and out,” Beth added.
“We’re gonna be able to do a little bit more than just your driveway and your ramp here,” Spencer revealed.
Spencer is making sure all the money that was raised doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
“I am also working with an attorney to set up a trust for her to make sure that all of the funds are protected,” Spencer wrote in an update on the GoFundMe page. “I don’t want anybody trying to take advantage of her and I want to make sure that the funds are used properly.”
Kansas
Kansas City-based Jack Cooper Transport to lay off 406 employees after losing Ford contract
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jack Cooper Transport Company, LLC, notified state officials last week of its plans to lay off more than 400 people and terminate its Kansas City operations, according to a filing obtained by KSHB 41.
Last week, KSHB 41 News reported on details that the Kansas City-based company had lost a key contract to transport vehicles at several Ford assembly plants across the country, including Ford’s Claycomo Assembly Plant.
In a Jan. 6 letter to the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development, a company human resources representative said 129 casual yard workers, 116 drivers and 107 yard employees would lose their jobs by Feb. 2.
The company also said it planned to close its facility at 1240 Claycomo Road, which is adjacent to Ford’s Claycomo plant.
A Ford spokesperson said the company does not comment “on our contracts or relationships with individual suppliers.”
“We manage supplier relationships in line with our sourcing strategy, designed to enable us to best serve our customers,” the spokesperson said.
Jack Cooper Transport, founded in 1928, originally helped transport vehicles for General Motors at its Leeds Assembly Plant in Kansas City, Missouri.
The transport company’s website states Jack Cooper is one of the largest privately owned auto transport and specialized vehicle logistics providers in the United States.
Workers are represented by Teamsters Union Local 41.
Teamster’s Union General President Sean O’Brien said last week on social media the union would “defend our members.”
—
Kansas
LifeSave Kansas Earns Prestigious CAMTS Accreditation
Recognition underscores commitment to safety and clinical excellence, as demonstrated by recent long-distance transport of a special infant
LifeSave Kansas aircraft
Wichita, KS, Jan. 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The LifeSave Kansas emergency air medical program is proud to announce its accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS). This accreditation affirms the program’s unwavering commitment to safety and clinical excellence over its 24 years of life-saving service to the state of Kansas.
“Our LifeSave bases in Emporia, Wichita, Liberal, and Garden City were inspected and found to meet the stringent safety and quality requirements to achieve full CAMTS accreditation,” said Kandi Sagehorn, clinical director with Air Methods, the nation’s leading air medical service provider and parent company of LifeSave Kansas. “This is an exciting accomplishment, and I am proud of the LifeSave team members and leaders who continually work to ensure each base’s compliance with the accreditation standards.”
CAMTS accreditation indicates the program meets or exceeds rigorous standards for safety, patient care, and clinical quality. It also acknowledges organizations that implement best practices and work to continually improve performance.
“It highlights the dedication, expertise, and hard work of our entire team,” said Shannon Kilmartin, a flight nurse with LifeSave 21 in Emporia. “I’m thankful to everyone who works to maintain the rigorous standards required for this honor.”
One example of this commitment to excellence was seen last August when the fixed wing crew from LifeSave 15 in Wichita transported seven-month-old Hazel Randolph from her home in Bartlesville, OK to Palo Alto, CA for heart surgery.
When the Randolph family learned of Hazel’s severe congenital heart defect shortly after her birth, they were told she was an unlikely candidate for surgery, and she was put on hospice care. Undeterred by this diagnosis, Hazel’s mother, Loren Randolph, searched for options until she learned that doctors at Stanford University Medical Center had pioneered a specialized surgery to treat the condition.
The family flew on a commercial airplane to California for the surgery but had to cancel it when they contracted COVID. The family drove back home to Oklahoma knowing they had to find a safer way to get Hazel back to the surgeons at Stanford. Thankfully, an air medical flight was approved by their insurance provider, so she was safely flown to her surgery under the loving care of the LifeSave Kansas clinical crew.
-
Health1 week ago
Ozempic ‘microdosing’ is the new weight-loss trend: Should you try it?
-
Technology6 days ago
Meta is highlighting a splintering global approach to online speech
-
Science4 days ago
Metro will offer free rides in L.A. through Sunday due to fires
-
Technology1 week ago
Las Vegas police release ChatGPT logs from the suspect in the Cybertruck explosion
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago
‘How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies’ Review: Thai Oscar Entry Is a Disarmingly Sentimental Tear-Jerker
-
Health1 week ago
Michael J. Fox honored with Presidential Medal of Freedom for Parkinson’s research efforts
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago
Movie Review: Millennials try to buy-in or opt-out of the “American Meltdown”
-
News1 week ago
Photos: Pacific Palisades Wildfire Engulfs Homes in an L.A. Neighborhood