Volume 125 Issue 63
Monday, January 28. 2013
kansan.com
LOCAL
RHIANNON ROSAS/KANSAN
lwig Dairy Store is known for its ice cream, milk selections and signature glass bottles. Milk prices are expected to increase to $8 per gallon if Congress does not to extend a farm protection bill.
Local dairy combats adverse conditions
EMILY DONOVAN edonovan@kansan.com
At 4 a.m. and 4 p.m. everyday, Iwig Family Dairy milks its cows. Within days, its natural, local, healthy products are on the shelf.
Located outside Topeka, Iwig Family Dairy is one of four family-owned farms producing for the northeast Kansas area. One of their two retail stores is located at 1901 Massachusetts Street. The location offers ice cream, butter, and other products including milk that was drawn from one of 65 Iwig cows less than two days before being stocked on the shelf for sale.
What makes Iwig unique, however, isn't just its freshness. While all other dairy distributors in the area use high temperature pasteurization, which damages the enzymes in cow milk, Iwig's low temperature process makes his milk more digestible for more people.
"There's no way you can get milk as fresh as ours anywhere else in Lawrence", said Tim Iwig, the company owner.
"Our milk is the healthiest milk you can buy that has been pasteurized," Iwig said.
Freshman Jordan Falley from Tecumseh, has been drinking Iwig milk with her family for years. More than anything, she appreciates that their products are environmentally friendly. Iwig milk comes in glass bottles which, Iwig says, is both cleaner and healthier and prevents the milk from tasting like plastic. When Failey purchases a gallon, she brings back her used glass bottles to exchange for a discount.
While Iwig's dedicated customers are willing to pay for premium milk, the company is experiencing hard times. Kansas has been experiencing drought weather for nearly two years, which makes finding ac-
"Their chocolate milk is better than any other milk I've ever had," Falley said.
National dairy prices are currently determined by a highly complicated formula with factors including processing plants, storage facilities and a financial exchange of large dairy corporations based
"There needs to be some kind of relief for dairy producers to get through this kind of a drought..."
ceptable hay to feed cows difficult and expensive.
in Chicago Milk prices are largely based on supply and demand, not calculating in farmers' cost production, lwig says.
TIM IWIG
Owner of Iwig Family Dairy
relief for dairy producers to get through this kind of a drought situation in this part of the country." Iwig said. "We try to price so we can stay on top but that's been difficult with hay prices the way they are."
"There needs to be some kind of
To temporarily avoid inflating milk prices projected by some to be as much as $8 per gallon, Congress
approved a nine month extension of the Farm Bill in December 2012. Private farmers are hopeful that Congress will pass legislature that remodels and simplifies how milk prices are calculated before the Farm Bill extension expires.
Iwig is hoping sales at the Lawrence location, which opened this past summer, pick up and carry the company through tough economic times. The Lawrence location isn't doing as well as he had hoped for, possibly due to its less popular store location or its followers not knowing about it. In November, Iwig had to file for bankruptcy.
Iwig, however, is confident in the quality and healthiness of his product.
"If more people knew why ours is better, more people would buy it," Iwig said. "Not only do we do milk but we have the probably the best ice cream you can buy in Lawrence or Topeka."
In the meantime, lwig will be looking to expand in Lawrence.
Edited by Elise Reuter
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
ROAD TO RECOVERY
Members of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority show their support for their fellow sister, Eleanor Cizek, a sophomore from St. Paul, Minn., after she was seriously injured in a skiing accident in Colorado earlier this month. Cizek was put in medically induced coma and woke up after a week.
Community rallies creates campaign for injured student
EMMA LEGAULT
elegault@kansan.com
As her friends huddle together in a circle on the floor, they're asked to describe her personality. The phrases they use give insight into her character: she's always laughing at herself and smiling. A hard worker. Values relationships with her family and friends. And although she isn't present, there is a common thread that connects each vignette:
"She's just got the biggest heart,
befriends anybody and everybody," said Tasha Johnson, a Highland Ranch, Colo. sophomore. "She's just the type of
Cizek
person who's beautiful in and out, always."
Eleanor Cizek, a sophomore from St. Paul, Minn., was seriously injured in a skiing accident in Colorado on Jan. 9. According to posts by her family on her CaringBridge website, she hit a padded pole, became unconscious and was airlifted to Denver with bruising on the left side of her brain. After remaining in a medically induced coma, she woke up one week after sustaining her traumatic brain injury.
Although the road to recovery won't be speedy, Cizek's friends and members of her sorority have vowed to stick by her through her journey. Using social media and the hashtag "#CizekStrong", together they have raised awareness about Cizek and her condition and united their followers in a sea of support.
"We just wanted her to know that were all sending love and prayers and supporting," said Jillian Paff, a sophomore from Overland Park.
"She would have done the same thing for any of us," Johnson added.
Josie Vignatelli, a sophomore from Leawood, was with Cizek at the time of her accident. She expressed that the care she received immediately following the accident was life saving. While she continues to receive superior care, Johnson said the collective support is helping to improve her condition.
"Every time I visit her in the hospital they say how much they think her progress is going along because people are storming the heavens with prayers and the love and support she's getting is amazing," she said. "We just want to keep that going because it is such a long process."
Posts from her CaringBridge blog describe Cizek's recovery as "a marathon and not a sprint." Her MRI results were indicative of a "significant second phase to her healing that requires physical therapy and relearning certain skills." However, her doctors think that with her youth, Cizek's recovery looks promising.
In order to offer support for Cizek and her family, members of the campaign started selling bracelets with the Cizek Strong slogan. They are currently available for $5 and can be purchased by emailing cizekstrong@gmail.com. T-shirts are also being prepared and will be available soon. Proceeds will help offset the costs of the Cizek family's weekly commutes to Denver.
For more information about Cizek and her progress, visit http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/eleanorjoycizek. To purchase a bracelet or t-shirt or donate to Cizek and her family, email cizekstrong@gmail.com.
— Edited by Brian Sisk
After seeing Cizek and her family in Denver, Vignatelli feels the campaign is representative of the family's attitude in the face of adversity.
"I think it's just important to get out there that not only do her close friends and people who know her here at KU support her, but the entire community and the entire school," Vignatella said. "No matter what, it's going to be a long road ahead, but we'll continue to support her whether it's a month from now, six months from now, and so will the entire KU community."
As her friends continue to converse about Cizek, her family and the desire to help, it's clear that Cizek Strong is sending a message of united, unconditional support.
"Her family just embodies so much strength and determination, yet they're so positive and upbeat about the entire situation," she said. "I feel like the bands are kind of a symbol of that."
CHECK ON ELEANOR CIZEK AND HER PROGRESS AT CARINGBRIDGE.ORG
http://bit.ly/XotOPi