Dec 20 - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - Sharon Montague The Salina Journal, Kan.

In Minnesota, companies such as John Deere and The Schwan Food Company have entered the wind energy arena, and local governments are benefiting through production taxes, Dan Nagengast told members of the Governor's Rural Life Task Force at a meeting Monday at Rolling Hills Conference Center near Salina.

The task force was formed two years ago by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to discuss issues affecting rural Kansas and consider solutions.

Nagengast, co-chairman of the task force and executive director of the Kansas Rural Center in Lawrence, said a production tax, such as one in force in Minnesota, probably would not be politically viable in Kansas.

But the Kansas Energy Council recently voted to commission a study on the how the state and the energy industry would be affected by legislation requiring energy companies to purchase a percentage of their energy from a renewable source, such as wind.

The study will begin this winter, and results should be available about this time next year.

Such legislation could act as an incentive for private companies to invest in wind energy, as they're doing in Minnesota and Iowa, Nagengast said.

"It could be a way to build up wind energy in Kansas, and keep as much economic benefit here as possible," Nagengast said after the day-long meeting.

Joe Harkins, special assistant to the governor, said after the meeting that members of the energy council aren't certain that such legislation is needed.

However, if the study shows that such legislation would be effective, Harkins said, the energy council probably will ask legislators to take action.

Harkins said the Kansas Corporation Commission could place such a requirement on the energy producers it regulates without legislative approval. However, the corporation commission doesn't regulate all energy providers in the state.

Nagengast said one roadblock in Kansas has been that people in rural areas haven't been educated about wind energy. He said the Kansas Association of Counties is considering conducting workshops.

Also at the meeting, task force members:

--Discussed the task force's project to help three Kansas communities overcome specific issues. One of those communities, Smith Center, will concentrate on housing, infrastructure improvements, beautification and leadership training.

Patty Clark, director of the Kansas Department of Commerce, said her department's goal is to provide the communities with the information and resources they need to find solutions. That means hooking them up with state and federal programs and services as well as identifying gaps in those services and determining how to fill those gaps.

--Kathleen Harnish-Doucet, chief executive officer of TeamTech, and John Waltner, special projects director for Harvey County and mayor of Hesston, discussed The Kansas Collaborative, a project of the state, the Kansas Association of Counties and the League of Kansas Municipalities. The first project tackled was the high cost of prescription medications for Kansas jail inmates.

Waltner said a committee developed several options, including using the Kansas Department of Corrections' contract with a national pharmaceutical company or contracting out medical services to a third party.

--Discussed agritourism efforts of the Kansas Department of Commerce.

The department has hired a specialist to work one-on-one with farmers and ranchers in marketing their products. Information is available on an Internet site, www.kansasagritourism.org