EMMIE BOESE
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Kansas State University President Richard Linton and Connected 'Cats Students visited Reno County this week. This is the second year of regional community visits for the college. More specifically, the K-State 105.
"K-State 105 is about taking the advantage of the networks we have and the relationships that we have with the extension and every single county and community in the state," Linton said. "And it's about business development, it's about economic growth and its about job creation and it's also about how do we build partnerships to able to make it attractive for industry and companies to want to build more in Kansas or want to come to Kansas to be able to build out their businesses."
Linton also emphasized the importance of visiting Kansas due to Kansas State's status as a land grant university. A land grant university has been designated by its state's legislature or Congress to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890 or the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994. The purpose of the Morrill Act is to teach tactics of a practical education which include agriculture, military tactics and mechanical arts.
Kansas State became the first operational school created under the Morrill Act on Feb. 16 of 1863.
"The next generation land grant university is about really how can we create a land grant university as if we were doing it from scratch," Linton said. "Taking into account what we have done over the last 160 years, but thinking forward about what's going to be important for communities in the future."
The Connected 'Cats students for the Reno County tour were senior animal science and industry major Taylor Hedrick and senior biology student Kyser Meninger. Hedrick is a graduate of Pretty Prairie High School and Meninger graduated from Hutchinson High School. Hedrick and Meninger made a visit to StartUp Hutch on Tuesday, March 5. Linton joined the students on Tuesday, March 6 at Hutchinson Correctional Facility.
Linton said he learned about Hutch Correctional's master gardening program. More specifically, the program is called Garden for Good. Inmates are taught by Reno County Extension Master Gardener volunteers from K-State Research Extension office.
Linton said his visit to Hutchinson Correctional is one of the most inspiring visits he's had in the last two years of K-State 105. He said the master gardening program is more than just learning how to teach and be successful in gardening. It's about teaching life skills.
"I had an opportunity at the end of the program to be able to say I've now been to all 105 counties and communities and I don't know of a program that's more life changing than what I saw today," Linton said.
The community visit ended with an open forum on Wednesday, March 6 at the Kansas Cosmosphere where Hedrick and Meninger got to share about the impact Kansas State has had on their education and personal life. Hedrick and Meninger also had the opportunity to present the Connected Cats Spirit Award. The award recognizes teachers who made a positive impact on their lives. The recipients of the spirit award receive a $1,000 scholarship.
Hedrick chose to present Jon Johnson, Social Studies teacher at Pretty Prairie with the Connected Cats Spirit Award. Hedrick, whose dad is the principal at Pretty Prairie High School, said it was special to go back. Hedrick said Johnson plans to retire from teaching this year.
"So to be able to give back, to a teacher who had a big impact on me and encouraged me to go to K-State when none of my other classmates were going to a big four-year university," Hedrick said.
Meninger chose to present the Connected Cats Spirit Award to Judy Goetz, an English teacher at Hutchinson High School.
"I picked her because I was a senior when COVID hit, so school had been canceled and she just did a really amazing job at trying to keep the students and her connected," Meninger said. "She reached out. Told us all what we needed to do homework wise. How to graduate on time still so she just really did an amazing job at that."
Kansas State also visited Jackson County and the surrounding region in February of this year. After their visit to Reno County this week, they traveled to Seward County and held an community open forum on Wednesday, March 6 in the evening.
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