Frank Morris

Cities Turn Sewage Into 'Black Gold' For Local Farms

Frank Morris — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 21:22:00 +0000

On a normal day, Kansas City, Mo., processes more than 70 million gallons of raw sewage. This sewage used to be a nuisance, but Kansas City, and a lot of municipalities around the country, are now turning it into a resource for city farmers hard up for fertilizer.

After the sewage has been processed at a treatment plant, it's piped out to Birmingham Farm on the north side of the Missouri River.

Tim Walters is the chief agronomist for Kansas City who runs Birmingham.

After Years Of Struggle, Veteran Chooses To End His Life

Frank Morris — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 21:29:00 +0000

After a dozen years at war, an estimated 2 million active-duty service members will have returned home by the end of 2013. Some reintegrate without much struggle, but for others it's not so easy. The psychological wounds of war can sometimes prove to be just as fatal as the physical ones.

For injured veterans such as Tomas Young, life is a daily struggle. But this Iraq War veteran, who says his physical and emotional pain is unbearable, has decided to end his life.

At War

Before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Young was an athletic, rambunctious 22-year-old.

Drought-Stricken Plains Farmers 'Giddy' Over Heavy Snow

Frank Morris — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 21:50:00 +0000

Two rapid-fire snowstorms belted Kansas with more than 2 feet of snow this week.

Major Storm Blankets Plains States

Frank Morris — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 11:07:00 +0000

A massive storm closed more than 200 miles of highway and grounded hundreds of flights. Kansas City suffered one of the worst storms in its history.

Despite Record Drought, Farmers Expect Banner Year

Frank Morris — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 21:29:00 +0000

After one of the driest summers on record, recent rains have helped in some parts of the country. But overall, the drought has still intensified. The latest tracking classifies more than a fifth of the contiguous United States in "extreme or exceptional" drought, the worst ratings.

In some parts of the Lower Midwest, water-starved crops have collapsed, but the farmers have not. Farmers across the country are surviving, and many are even thriving. This year, despite the dismal season, farmers stand to make exceptionally good money, according to the U.S.

Some In Mo. Still Back Rep. Akin Despite Comments

Frank Morris — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 21:03:00 +0000

Many people in Missouri are still backing GOP Rep. Todd Akin — some more strongly than before — after his controversial remarks about rape and pregnancy.

Akin was polling ahead of the incumbent, Democrat Claire McCaskill, in the U.S.

Drought Spreads Misery Through Arkansas River Basin

Frank Morris — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 21:41:00 +0000

Drought has set in early and hard across the Midwest, parching the Arkansas River basin. The river trickling out of the mountains is dry before it reaches some of the major agricultural uses downstream.

Confusion Wins In Missouri's 'Chaotic' Caucus Process

Frank Morris — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 10:21:00 +0000

Cassville, Mo., is a little town on the edge of the Ozark Mountains. During the Civil War, the Confederate state Legislature convened here. Tuesday, the Republican presidential caucus was the big draw. Most of the rest of the state holds its caucuses today.

Confusion On Caucus Night

The first caucus was a messy process. More than 250 people showed up, most planning to vote directly for the candidates.

Record-High Food Prices Boost Farmers' Bottom Lines

Frank Morris — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 04:01:00 +0000

Part of a series

Thanks to high commodity prices and surging productivity, U.S. farmers earned a net income of nearly $98 billion last year — a record, according to the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute.

Those strong earnings are helping boost the demand for farmland.

Antitrust Official Gets Stampeded By Big Beef

Frank Morris — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:38:00 +0000

Dudley Butler is quitting his job tomorrow. Never heard of him? He's President Obama's appointee to run the division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that governs antitrust issues in the meat industry. He was part of a cadre of high-level bureaucrats charged to expose and fight agribusiness monopolies. In fact, he was the last of that group.

Butler set out to change the cattle industry.