Support a 22-year-long experiment -- KKFI 90.1 FM, community radio

KKFI 90.1 FM, Kansas City's community radio station is holding the "Spring into Summer" on-air fund drive from June 2-12, 2011. This is the time to share your financial support for a 22-year-long experiment in community building.

I was reminded of the importance of Community Radio in Kansas City while watching the highly-acclaimed documentary film "I AM" this past weekend. The film, which features Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Noam Chomsky, Lynne McTaggart, and the late Howard Zinn, answered two questions: "What's wrong with the World?" and "What can I do about it?"

KKFI T-shirt for $90 donation to the station.

The film portrayed society out-of-balance because of the "insane" quest for wealth and goods beyond a person's needs. The film made a case for critical thought and action to address the problem, indicating the best approach to solve the problem is by many people taking small, seemingly individual actions.

Many news and media outlets dance around this topic, but rarely does a radio or TV station have the space to ask these difficult questions on a variety of levels. In a phrase, KKFI takes these small steps every day with its informative public affairs programs.

Few radio stations in Kansas City deal with environment, race, labor, and socio-economic issues the way KKFI does: the station is home to several programs that engage community organizations and individuals on these very questions.

Here are some examples of public affairs programs on KKFI 90.1 FM that contribute alternative views of recognizing problems and presenting solutions:

• Tell Somebody, a weekly public affairs program on Tuesday at 6:00 pm, has covered the environmental and health-related problems at the Allied Signal/Bendix/Honeywell plant on Bannister with in-depth interviews with workers and public officials.
• Eco Radio KC is the only radio program in Kansas City discussing crucial climate change issues and solutions on a local level. The program was expanded to 60 minutes due to the success of reaching concerned citizens.
• For a completely different, yet "in the streets" reporting, nationally-syndicated Democracy Now has covered many national and international news stories, none better to contemplate than this program's coverage of the Arab uprisings.
• While major newspapers and TV stations have daily or nightly "business reports" that feature corporate news, locally-produced Heartland Labor Forum offers news from workers perspective. Plus the daily Workers Independent News or WIN segment featured the battle over collective bargaining in Wisconsin from the labor point-of-view.
• Three programs -- Urban Connections, Guess Who's Coming to Kansas City, and Native Spirit Radio -- all cover issues dealing with race, unlike you'll hear anywhere else on the radio dial.

These are just a few of the public affairs programs that I encourage you to support. Your financial support of KKFI 90.1 FM, on the air for 22 years, is the reason why the station thrives and grows!

Go to the KKFI web site -- http://kkfi.org -- or call toll-free 888-931-0901 to make a donation!

Matt Quinn

Food Banks Work with USDA on Tornado Relief

Food banks traditionally have operated under the premise of providing temporary food assistance to low-income and working poor families. The economic crisis, which started in 2007, caused a significant increase in families and individuals seeking food assistance from job loss and foreclosure. Food pantries served by Harvesters, the Kansas City area food bank, saw a 40% increase in food distribution.

This dire situation has evolved into a chronic condition with as much as 25% of people in communities seeking food assistance from various sources like pantries, soup kitchens, and Food Stamps/SNAP benefits. The economic crisis has shifted the need from extremely poor to working poor people.

If a chronic condition of hunger in the U.S. is not enough to convince people to change their perception of the growing need for food assistance, then a devastating tornado season may help people understand the need for government assistance.

A recent account by a USDA public relations worker shared how public institutions like USDA work with private, non-profit food banks near disaster areas to provide food assistance.

TEFAP and USDA Foods are a big help to food banks and other organizations that play an integral role in disaster recovery. The Northern Alabama Food Bank alone has already distributed just over 58,000 pounds of their existing USDA Foods to disaster congregate feeding sites across the northern part of the state.

The food bank director at one location in West Alabama became visibly emotional when talking to Arnette about all that USDA Foods do for the food banks. In Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., a cafeteria manager explained that her school, which had been set up as a Red Cross shelter and congregate feeding site for the surrounding area, had used USDA Foods from their existing USDA Food Schools/Child Nutrition Program to feed disaster victims a hot meal.

What's troubling is that Jasper County, where Joplin resides, already had a "very high" food uncertainty and poverty level, but without an adequate response from either public or private food assistance outlets, as measured by the 2010 Missouri Hunger Atlas (33 pages, Adobe PDF format).

The small food bank in southwest Missouri was already underequipped to handle the disaster, which is why Harvesters, a food bank located in Kansas City 100 miles north of Joplin, is planning to receive as many as 30 truckloads of food to distribute for disaster relief.

The tornado may very well increase the level of poverty in this area of Missouri, but one homeless group from Kentucky showed how poor people can support each other (see video), along with assistance from public and non-profit sources.

Organizations respond to Missouri tornado disasters

From left: Jono Anzalone with FEMA and
Karen Haren, with Harvesters.

A press conference was held at Harvesters food bank in Kansas City on Thursday, May 26, 2011 with Jono Anzalone, Regional Voluntary Agency Liaison with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Margaret Larson, Disaster Services Specialist with the Feeding America, and Karen Haren, president of Harvesters. At least two television stations and a reporter with the Kansas City Star were in attendance.

Anzalone emphasized the importance of working through designated agencies like Harvesters to deliver assistance most effectively. He stated that 6000 people have registered to volunteer at Missouri Southern State University, the Joplin tornado relief coordination site. The influx of concerned people was straining the resources of the very community that was dealing with devastation from the tornado.

He further encouraged people to donate money to organizations designated by the state of Missouri  or register their skills at the Show-Me Response website, a site run by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Anzalone underscored the importance of donating money, when possible, because it is a more effective, quicker way to deliver disaster relief. He noted that a 50 cent can of vegetables donated from out-of-state ends up of costing $18 when the cost of transportation and labor is considered.

Larson emphasized the effectiveness of private, non-profit organizations like Harvesters working with public institutions like FEMA to coordinate the collection and distribution of food. She mentioned that six truckloads of food have been gathered for delivery to Joplin through area donations.

Harvesters, acting in concert with Feeding America and FEMA, collected a truckload of bleach and personal hygiene products like shampoo and conditioner. The food bank also delivered 10,000 sack lunches for delivery for relief workers. The lunches included ready-to-eat items like cheese, pudding, tuna, crackers, and apple juiceboxes.

The conference highlighted the importance of a private-public partnership to provide disaster relief and assistance.

Tornado strikes Sedalia, Missouri, family hometown from years past

Another Spring season tornado hit in Sedalia, Missouri on May 25, 2011, three days after another tornado ripped through Joplin, Missouri. Sedalia is the town where my father and other family members lived going back to the late 1800's. Fortunately the tornado struck south of the city in the less populated part of town.

In an article appearing on the Sedalia Democrat newspaper website, Dave Clippert with the Sedalia-Pettis County Emergency Management Agency shared information about where to go for support and services:

...a reunion center and temporary shelter has been established at the First United Methodist Church Celebration Center, 1701 W. 32nd Street. He said the center would act as a shelter “for the next few days until Red Cross is able to get things put together and help place people in more permanent shelter.”

Here's a map that shows the tornado path and family connections to Sedalia.



View Sedalia Connection in a larger map

One way to help - "mercifully" no friends or family were affected by the Joplin tornado

A line snakes down the street as people line up outside
Birmingham's Boutwell Auditorium seeking supplemental
food assistance offered people who suffered losses in
the April 27, 2011, tornadoes in Alabama.
(The Birmingham News/Michelle Campbell)

Today I had several people ask what they could do to help people affected by the Joplin tornado devastation. One person responded that "mercifully" no one he knew lived in Joplin, but he was concerned about providing disaster relief.

Food Relief and Action Center documented two recent cases -- in Alabama and North Dakota -- where victims of storms were provided food assistance through the SNAP/Food Stamps program.

The Alabama case show one example of the quickest way to provide relief is through the government program; a keen way to shared responsibility to disaster relief. 500 county health workers were needed to process SNAP benefit applications, which shows how great the need for basic food assistance is in that area.

About 55,000 Jefferson County, Ala. residents who suffered losses from recent tornadoes received Disaster SNAP/Food Stamps as of May 15. Amanda Rice, director of the county Department of Human Resources, said that 800 people an hour were still coming through her doors, and that the number of participants is likely to increase to more than 60,000 by the final day of the program. Residents taking advantage of the program said they would replace groceries lost during the multiple days they were without power.

Another case in North Dakota documented the response to outreach for Food Stamps/SNAP benefits.

SNAP/Food Stamp recipients in North Dakota’s western counties have until May 27 to report food losses to a county social service office in order to receive SNAP/Food Stamp replacements. The western counties experienced power outages after the April 30 blizzard, and these Disaster SNAP/Food Stamp benefits replace food damaged or destroyed by the outages.

KSPR ABC-33 out of Springfield, Missouri reports that the Missouri Department of Social Services, like in Alabama, is setting up to replace food stamp benefits that people lost in the Joplin tornado. The television station echoed MDSS' notice for where to get assistance.

"The Joplin Children’s Division and Family Support Division office at 601 Commercial is open with staff on hand. Social services staff is also at the Forrest Park Baptist Church shelter and the Greater Ozarks Chapter of the Red Cross shelter at Missouri Southern State College’s Leggett and Platt Athletic Center.

"Families can also visit or call social services offices in nearby counties. The nearest offices to Joplin include:

Neosho County Family Support Division Customer Service Center
201 N. Washington, Neosho, Mo. 64850
(417) 455-5152

Lawrence County Family Support Division Office
1419 East Church St.
Aurora, Mo. 65605
(417) 678-4138

Barton County Family Support Division Office
501 West 13th St.
Lamar, Mo. 64759
(417) 682-3531

"Food stamps are a federally funded assistance program that can only be used to buy food, or plants and seeds that grow food, at stores authorized by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service.  Food stamps cannot be used to purchase alcoholic beverages, tobacco, hot foods or foods prepared for immediate consumption - such as fast-food or concessions."

These three cases show that everyone -- both in Missouri and throughout the US -- are helping people that need it the most by providing people with Food Stamps/SNAP benefits.

KC Food Bank Provides Joplin Tornado Disaster Relief

There is an urgent need for disaster relief for victims of the Joplin tornado that struck Sunday, May 22, resulting over 116 deaths. Currently Harvesters is preparing a delivery of bottled water. Harvesters is working with Feeding America, the national network of food banks, and the Missouri Food Bank Association, both of which focus on disaster relief, when needed. Harvesters food bank in Kansas City works through the state emergency management agency, collecting and distributing food and supplies as requested.

Google Fiber Experiment in KCK: How will the project impact the "digital divide?"

The selection of Kansas City, Kansas as the area to build a high-speed network has been widely celebrated in this area, yet raises questions about how it will address a "digital divide" that limits residents' affordable access to the Internet.

photo from the Broadband Technology Opportunity
Program site depicting a training class.

Several news reports by local and national media outlets reinforced the importance to the local economy and development, like the March 30, 2011 editorial in the Kansas City Star, "Believe it: This is a big deal in an era when Internet speed is key to productivity in business, medicine and education." While the Star cheers the announcement another report a day before and one by Mary Sanchez described the demise of a statewide education network that benefited 400 Kansas schools. These two merging activities show the risk to lack of planning or oversight to technology: the expansion of the digital divide for low-income and rural communities.

A report on a April 4, 2011 radio report produced by KC Currents' Sylvia Maria Gross focused rare attention on services for low-income people in Kansas City, Kansas when mentioning the city's "high poverty rate. And like similar places around the country, [Mayor] Reardon says there's a digital divide between those who have access to the internet, and those who don't."

There are already several large players building a nationwide network, including AT-T, Sprint, and Verizon. Google's venture here is like many ventures an entrepreneurial experiment.

The mix of Internet providers in this community -- cable, phone, satellite, and now wireless -- means consumers or organizations are not without service options. Cost and access are important factors in determining the success of this experiment after the bright lights have dimmed.

The rapid growth of smart phones and data plans means that the cost for phone service may make connecting to Google's network unattractive, especially if it comes with a relatively-low $30-$50 per month charge. Who will want to pay this additional fee when they are already on a $80 monthly cell phone data plan?

Google's network, beyond the speed, will not transform Internet access unless it considers these qualities: free access at public locations open at all times. If this sounds outrageous consider the goals of two Missouri-based efforts to extend broadband to underserved areas (or here) and build public computer centers throughout the state.

Google built its' commercial search site on the pages and information from individuals, businesses, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. And Google, like many technology companies, has tried a host of ventures, some succeeding, others failing. However, by definition, innovation requires some failure amongst the success. Clay Shirky, a media scholar at New York University, underscores this point in Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations when he suggests small groups should try out new media to benefit their organizations. Shirky also highlights the success/failure dynamic in reference to much larger models or organizations.

But most of these businesses try large-scale innovation projects for the purpose of making large profits -- who remembers Google Video after they bought YouTube or Google Wave, an email venture, or Google Buzz, their attempt to build another commercial social networking site competing with Facebook, MySpace, and others. Will the Google Fiber project in Kansas City, Kansas be a successful effort to tip the Internet service market to Google? And will the KCK project provide affordable or free options to close the digital divide for area residents?

Yes - "Everyone deserves this help"

Mary Sanchez, writing for the Kansas City Star on May 4, 2011, highlighted the predicament former Missouri drug convicts face when trying to live outside prison walls.

Missouri is one of nine states where a person can commit murder, rape, aggravated assault, armed robbery, any number of violent crimes and, after serving time, still be allowed food stamps.

But be an ex-felony drug offender? No way. Those folks have a lifetime ban on receiving food stamps.

This item was part of the Missouri legislative session in 2009 when Missouri food assistance advocates visited Jefferson City. Legislators just couldn't do the right thing and remove this burden from people that have paid their time for the crime.

Sanchez makes a good case for allowing former felons to receive the food assistance benefit. Providing the benefit would allow these people to lead a somewhat dignified life as they find employment, housing, and other basic services. She argues that providing access to this essential Federal benefit would reduce high incarceration costs incurred by the state of Missouri by reducing relapses in criminal activity.

I agree with Sanchez by saying not "Yes," but "Hell Yes!" that "everyone deserves this help if they are willing to stay sober."

Non-Profit Groups Organize Conference in Kansas City

This case study documents the solution to provide an interactive, online ability for conference organizers to collect workshop proposals, conference registrations and payments, along with sponsorship requests. My role on the project included branding, designing and building the website, as well as writing content for the conference, such as news releases, event flier, and webpage content. Additionally, my work included testing and integrating the website online payment with PayPal for registration.

Overview
KKFI 90.1 FM community radio and Friends of Community Media in Kansas City will host the national 15th Grassroots Radio Conference on August 18-21, 2011. The conference offers community radio producers and promoters a chance to connect with each other, learn new skills, and discuss media issues.

Conference organizers agreed to work with a solution that would allow conference presenters and participants to sign up for activities online, which reduces the difficulty of managing the conference.

Situation
Grassroots Radio Conference organizers have agreed to use an online registration and payment process for the conference. The process will collect all conference registration information in a single place, easing the tracking of 150 conference attendees. There are three methods of payment -- online credit/debit card, online e-check, and mailing a check.

The process uses open-source Ubercart e-commerce tools connected to PayPal for the online payment portion. Using the Ubercart with PayPal completely removes any credit card or payment information from the GRC website. This arrangement is the easiest and most secure way for conference organizers to process payments.

Solution
- Key Success Factors
The Grassroots Radio Conference website is built using a fully-functioning Conference Organizing Distribution (COD) of Drupal, the largest open-source content management system. The ready-built site has a feature that allows conference schedules, registration, and sponsorships to be customized from items submitted directly by those audiences. The key success factor in building the site include:

• Working closely with the conference organizing committee to ensure information about the conference is posted promptly and clearly.
• Branding the site with consistent colors and logo will enhance site, thus improving the adoption of the new website. Drupal's sharp learning curve for those unfamiliar with HTML and web concepts makes it a difficult choice unless you have a resource available to handle the administration. However, the COD allows a Drupal administrator to quickly build a higly functioning conference website.
• Develop a simple process to allow a different person to manage each of the key conference areas, namely, workshop proposals, home stay requests, conference sponsorships, and registrations. The site integrates with PayPal to allow payment using various. Since payment security is crucial no credit card information is handled by conference organizers except for the day of the conference.

Click Image for full view of website home page

- Conference Site Features
COD developers created a simple questionnaire to help conference organizers make decisions about how to use the COD features. The functions of the website depend on how much interaction conference organizers want to engage participants. In other words, if organizers choose to have participants register and pay with a hard-copy form, then the registration feature would not be used.

• Session submission, voting, and moderation - Attendees can submit session proposals, complete with track and experience level, and vote for the sessions they'd like to see at your conference. COD provides a workflow for moderating sessions, making it easy to go from session submission to a list of accepted and fully scheduled sessions. Do you want to allow participants to submit session proposals online? Do you want to allow organizers to vote and approval proposals online?

• Session schedule grid; personalized attendee schedules - COD makes it easy to build a grid schedule of sessions times and rooms. Each attendee can add a session to her own personalized conference schedule.  Do you want to allow participants to signup for and track their session schedule online?

• Easy event registration and attendee management - COD's built-in registration workflow makes it easy for people to sign up for your event, enter user profile information, and pay registration fees. Event organizers can manage attendee lists and keep track of who attended.  Do you want to allow participants to create their own profile with pictures? Do you want to allow online registration payment?

• Easy sponsors management - Sponsors make your event possible. With COD, sponsors can enter their organization's information and logos directly into the website . Sponsor organizers can approve and publish sponsors with a single click. Multiple sponsor tiers, dynamic logo resizing, and various sponsor displays are built-in. Do you want to allow sponsors to signup for their sponsorship online? Do you want to allow organizers to approve sponsors online?

• Community features - Network with other attendees in advance by flagging yourself as their friend, fan and someone who would like to meet up. Share ideas and plan your time in the forums. Do you want organizers and presenters to contribute to a conference blog? Do you want organizers to contribute and publish conference news directly?  

• Communication tools and forms - People interest in attending or sponsoring the conference can provide feedback or questions through web contact forms. Who should have access to this email account?

- Site Development

• Site layout and branding - wireframe and mockup. The site layout uses a common layout found on other COD sites.

Click for full view of diagram

• Site Structure and Content Map. There are so many excellent conference websites. Picking the best way to organize the information was easy!

Click for full view of diagram

• Model the registration process. This seemingly complicated diagram shows a single path on information flow for the online registration process. This diagram helps the conference registration organizer understand how things work with the Ubercart e-commerce and PayPal components.

Click for full view of diagram

Benefits
The successful deployment of the COD site for the Grassroots Radio Conference provided the following benefits.

• Improved access to and sharing of information – workshops, registrations -- are available online so conference organizers can vote on workshops submitted directly by presenters. This was an important feature, given the grassroots, democratic nature of organizing the conference.
• Clean site design through simple navigation and consistent branding.