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A Dry Reckoning for Finney County

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by Dave Rollo

Finney County lies in the southwest quadrant of Kansas and above the massive Ogallala Aquifer. Running mid-continent from the Dakotas to Texas, the Ogallala is the largest aquifer in North America. Once holding the volume equivalent of Lake Huron, the aquifer was first tapped for high-volume irrigation in 1909. This fundamentally transformed the landscape from ecologically diverse tallgrass prairie to energy- and water-intensive monoculture crops on an immense scale.

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Putin the Practical Wants Ukraine Grain

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by Brian Czech

Pundits, think tanks, and politicians are asking, “What does Putin want with Ukraine?” If you’re familiar with Ukraine’s flag—especially the bottom half—you’re halfway to the answer.

But let’s start with the conventional wisdom. Yes, Putin wants to pressure the West into preventing Ukraine from joining NATO, thereby keeping the alliance off Russia’s doorstep. Russia’s natural gas transmission to Europe would be a lot more profitable if they didn’t have to pipe the gas through tariff-charging Ukraine,

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