Member Spotlight – K-State Research and Extension
When you hear someone talk about the K-State Research & Extension Office, what do you immediately think? Oh, they must have ag questions, maybe issues with their livestock. It’s probably something that pertains to farming. Well yes, that is true. K-State Extension does handle a lot of ag questions, but they are so much more.
One of the issues that the K-State Research & Extension Office is addressing is the area of mental health. Jana McKinney, the County Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences, shared about a free, upcoming program the Extension Office is sponsoring -“The Silent Epidemic: A Real Story of Victory Over Severe Depression.” The keynote speaker will be Coach Mark Potter who will be sharing about his own personal battle with severe depression and his rise to victory in dealing with it. The Extension Office plans to continue offering educational opportunities every other month to address this topic. As McKinney says, “to keep mental health focus right there on the forefront.”
Another area that the K-State Research & Extension Office works with is the Medicare Open Season. McKinney says, “There are a lot of things going on.” Folks who are on Medicare and have the Part D for the drug program really need to shop it, because by doing that they can save a lot of money. In addition to McKinney, in McPherson Sondra Frank and Lori Hager-Johnson are Senior Health Insurance Counselors of Kansas (SHICK) and can help with this process.
Shad Marston, the County Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources, said that the Extension Office is here to support the community. If you need a radon kit, a water testing kit, or tools to help you collect soil samples to be tested – the K-State Research & Extension Office can help. At the Extension Office you will find shelf after shelf of information available to the community. “All the fliers and fact sheets that we have, that’s all catered to people in our community that have questions… Just know that if you have a question, call us here at the Extension Office and if I don’t know that, or people in our office don’t know it … we will find out! And that has to do with mental health, that has to do with economics … a bit of everything.”
The K-State Research & Extension Office reaches all ages of our community. Lindsey Mueting is the County Extension Agent for 4-H Youth Development in McPherson County. The beginning of October was the kickoff for the new 4-H year. In the 4-H organization they have the Cloverbuds program. This is geared to 5 and 6-year olds. The regular 4-H program membership is for youth 7 to 18 years old. Mueting said that there are always volunteer opportunities there, whether it be for a 4-H program or in another area at the Extension Office.
So, as you can see, the arms of the K-State Research and Extension are pretty long and cover a LOT of areas. And if you have a question – they’ll find the answer! Learn more about the K-State Research and Extension Office by visiting their website. The K-State Research and Extension Office is located at 600 W. Woodside. Their hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday or you can contact them at 620-241-1523. Go here to see photos from Chamber Connections hosted by the K-State Research and Extension Office.