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EmpireWorks.ai is an **AI-powered all-in-one business growth platform** designed specifically for business owners, entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants, agencies, and professionals in fields like healthcare, wellness, legal, finance, and real estate who struggle with operational chaos.

It addresses the exact pain points you described: fragmented tools, manual follow-ups, missed communications, and relying on memory instead of reliable systems. The platform consolidates CRM, automated marketing, client communication, task management, scheduling, and analytics into a single unified dashboard—eliminating the need to juggle multiple apps.

### Core Features and How It Solves the "Back-End Chaos"

- **Lead Tracking & Automated Follow-Ups** — Captures incoming leads and automates reminders, sequences, and nurturing so nothing falls through the cracks.

- **Client Communication Hub** — Centralized inbox for emails/texts, with custom triggers for responses, plus booking/scheduling tools.

- **Marketing Automation** — Builds and runs campaigns, funnels, and performance tracking without constant manual input.

- **Operational Efficiency** — Task automation, calendar integrations, reminders, and real-time reporting/dashboards to provide visibility and insights.

- **AI-Powered Elements** — Emphasizes automation via AI for triggers, workflows, analytics, and reducing manual drudgery—positioned as "smart" systems that run parts of the business autonomously.

The goal is to shift owners from being the constant "glue" (chasing people, remembering details) to focusing on high-value work like serving clients and growing the business. It's marketed as built by business owners for business owners, solving the personal frustrations of tool overload and lost opportunities.

### Pricing and Access

It offers a **Founder Plan** at $297 (special/limited lifetime access), including full platform features, all integrations, priority support, and lifetime updates. This is presented as a one-time investment rather than recurring SaaS subscriptions.

### Overall Assessment

Your post resonates strongly because it mirrors the classic small-to-mid-sized business owner experience—strong at core delivery but drained by admin/backend. EmpireWorks.ai positions itself as a genuine solution to that, not just another tool, by consolidating everything and leaning on automation/AI to handle the repetitive/time-sucking parts.

From available info, it appears to be a relatively new or niche launch (limited public reviews/discussions found beyond the site itself, and no widespread independent feedback yet). The messaging is authentic and non-salesy in your share, focusing on relatability over hard pitch—which aligns well with how many owners prefer to discover tools (through peer experiences).

If the back-end exhaustion is a recurring theme in your network, this could be worth exploring hands-on, especially at the founder pricing if seats are still open. Curious if you've seen measurable time savings or revenue lift since implementing it?

Henry McClure  
785.383.9994
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$20 walk

The **West Ridge Walk•A•Thon** is an inaugural indoor walk-a-thon event at **West Ridge Mall** in Topeka, Kansas, scheduled for **Saturday, January 31, 2026**. It aims to kick off the new year with healthy activity while supporting the local nonprofit **Sole Reason**, which provides new sneakers to children in need in the Topeka area.

**Key details**:

- **Date & Time**: Saturday, January 31, 2026, from 8 AM to 8 PM.

- **Check-in**: Lower-level northwest entrance.

- **Challenges** (choose one):

  - 3-Hour Walk (starts at 8 AM or 2 PM)

  - 6-Hour Walk (starts at 8 AM)

  - 12-Hour Walk (starts at 8 AM)

- **Entry Fee**: $20, which includes an official event t-shirt, a swag bag, and support for Sole Reason (proceeds benefit the cause).

- **Partners**: Teaming up with Lifestyle Nutrition Topeka and Fleet Feet Topeka for an energizing, community-focused experience.

To guarantee your official event t-shirt, **register by this Friday** (January 23, 2026, based on the current date). Spots and shirts are limited for early registrants.

Register here: https://boards.com/a/Mbhyc.eZhBLm

This mall-hosted event promotes movement, community, and giving back—perfect for starting 2026 on a positive, active note! #WestRidgeWalkathon #HealthyNewYear #WalkForACause

Henry McClure  
785.383.9994
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Good bye

The details you describe align with recent reports from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under Secretary Scott Turner. In January 2026, Turner publicly highlighted findings from an ongoing audit of federal rental assistance programs, specifically noting that during fiscal year 2024 (the final full year of the Biden administration, covering October 2023–September 2024), HUD identified up to **$84.6 million** in potentially ineligible or erroneous payments to Minnesota. This included approximately **$496,000** in improper assistance disbursed to **509 deceased tenants**.

This is part of a broader national review of roughly **$49–50 billion** in rental assistance (primarily Tenant-Based Rental Assistance and Project-Based Rental Assistance programs), where HUD flagged about **$5.8 billion** (around 11%) as "questionable." Nationwide issues included payments to an estimated **30,000 deceased tenants** (with deceased recipients appearing in all 50 states), thousands of potential non-citizens, and over 165,000 cases exceeding local income or geographic limits.

Turner described the Minnesota-specific findings as evidence of "gross negligence" and a "lack of stewardship" under the prior administration, emphasizing that funds were pushed out with insufficient oversight, allowing improper payments while leaving vulnerable families underserved. He stated HUD is actively investigating, with boots on the ground in Minnesota, and intends to hold responsible parties accountable, potentially through recoveries, pauses on funding, or criminal referrals where fraud is confirmed.

The payments to deceased individuals likely stem from failures in data verification (e.g., not cross-checking against death records promptly) rather than intentional direct fraud in every case, though the scale suggests systemic vulnerabilities that could enable exploitation by bad actors (such as identity theft or continued claims by relatives/others). Similar historical HUD audits (e.g., from the Office of Inspector General) have flagged comparable issues with deceased tenants in housing programs, though not at this recent volume.

This revelation ties into wider scrutiny of Minnesota's handling of federal and state funds, amid separate ongoing federal probes into alleged multi-billion-dollar fraud in programs like Medicaid, daycare subsidies, and housing stabilization—often linked to organized schemes rather than isolated errors.

Your call for scrutiny, identification of those who processed the payments, and legal accountability is echoed in public statements from Turner and various reports. The current administration has positioned these findings as justification for stronger controls and efficiency measures (e.g., via initiatives like DOGE). Investigations are continuing, and more details may emerge as audits progress.

Henry McClure  
785.383.9994
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We have no bananas

Yes, bananas do have lectins, specifically a prominent one called BanLec, which is found in the pulp of ripe bananas and is known for its ability to bind to mannose sugars and has shown potential for antiviral and immune-modulating effects, despite lectins often being associated with potential health concerns in other foods. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Key Facts About Banana Lectins (BanLec):

• Presence: BanLec is one of the main proteins in ripe bananas and plantains.
• Specificity: It specifically recognizes and binds to mannose and mannose-containing carbohydrates.
• Composition: It's a dimeric protein, meaning it's made of two identical subunits.
• Biological Roles:
• • Immune Modulation: It can influence immune cells like T-cells and macrophages.
  • Antiviral Potential: It's a powerful inhibitor of HIV replication by binding to the virus's envelope.
• Ripeness Matters: The amount of BanLec can vary with the ripeness of the fruit. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]

Why This Matters:While some lectins in other foods (like legumes) are considered problematic and are removed by cooking, the lectin in bananas (BanLec) behaves differently and is being studied for its beneficial, immunomodulatory properties, showing promise for treating conditions like Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and as an anti-HIV agent. [2, 3, 6]

AI responses may include mistakes.

[1] https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/60701500/Publications/Balint-Kurti/PeumansBalint-KurtiPlanta00.pdf

[2] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2838287/

[3] https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/16/11/1705

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BanLec

[5] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11030554/

[6] https://www.news-medical.net/news/20240603/The-role-of-banana-lectin-in-mitigating-inflammatory-bowel-disease.aspx

[7] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304423824004515

[8] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20080975/

Henry McClure  
785.383.9994
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Laura

**Summary of Governor Laura Kelly's Proposed FY 2027 Budget**

Governor Laura Kelly (D-Kansas) released her proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2027 (starting July 1, 2026) in mid-January 2026, as she prepares to leave office. The plan focuses on restoring **structural balance** to the state's finances while prioritizing investments based on public input from her "The People's Budget" tour (which gathered feedback from over 800 Kansans). Key themes include fully funding public education for the eighth consecutive year, addressing water challenges, expanding mental health and health care services, and supporting early childhood education.

**Major Highlights and Priorities:**

- **Education**: Fully funds K-12 public schools (aiming to be the first governor in a generation to do so every year of her term). Includes **$50.6 million** in additional funding for Special Education State Aid, **$2.5 million** to provide free school meals by eliminating co-pays for about 34,400 students on reduced-price meals (second year in a row), continued support for early childhood education (full funding for the Kansas Office of Early Childhood), and the Kansas Blueprint for Literacy.

- **Water Infrastructure**: Recommends full funding for the State Water Plan Fund. Allocates **$2.3 million** to improve water quality in the Equus Beds Aquifer, **$1.1 million** for water planning and project development, and over **$870,000** annually for aid to conservation districts. Emphasizes long-term water planning.

- **Health and Mental Health**: Continues investments in mental health services and community-based programs. Includes significant funding for expanded behavioral health capacity (e.g., nearly **$31 million** for a new South Central Regional Mental Health Hospital adding 103 beds, **$3 million** in capital improvements at the Kansas Neurological Institute for children's behavioral health beds, and **$5 million** one-time support for local hospitals with behavioral health beds).

- **Other Areas**: Restores full funding to the Arts Commission and the State Library's State Grants-in-Aid program. Supports state employee raises (mentioned in related coverage), public safety, and community support waivers for disabled Kansans.

The proposal aims for a modest overall spending increase (around 1.6% in some reports, aligned with expected revenue growth) and reflects Kansans' shared priorities like education, health care, and water security while maintaining fiscal responsibility.

**Republican Response**: The Kansas Republican Party condemned the proposal via a social media statement, accusing it of increasing the state's deficit in coming years. They likened it to post-COVID spending excesses ("the party is over and the hangover is coming") and urged the Legislature to reject it, return to pre-COVID spending levels, restore "fiscal sanity," and prepare for a "post-Kelly migraine."

This is based on Kelly's official announcements, KSNT coverage, and other Kansas news sources. The full budget report is available through the Kansas Division of the Budget website for detailed agency breakdowns. The Legislature will ultimately shape and approve the final version.

Henry McClure  
785.383.9994
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