LA PINE, Ore. — After the collapse of La Pine’s youth sports programs last fall, a Bend-based nonprofit is stepping up to help local kids get back in the game—offering financial aid and hope to families still recovering from the fallout. Every Kid Sports provides qualifying families with financial support to cover youth sports registration fees.

“Sports is more than just a game, as our mission states,” said Executive Director Eleana Ranaika. “It’s supporting life and part of life is community.”

When the non-profit heard about the struggles at the La Pine Park and Recreation District, the two organizations decided they could do more by working together as a team. 

“Every youth sport will need a body, and a body is $40,000 a year, and we just don’t have those types of funds with the situation we are left in. We’re slowly but surely recouping that and we’re going to get to where we can,” said LPRD Facilities Coordinator Wynn Malikowski.

In October 2024, the previous park and recreation board resigned and dismantled all youth recreation programs, citing financial issues. Since the recreation lacks the means to recreate youth sports, the LPRD Foundation provided a $4,000 donation to Every Kid Sports to help families make sports more affordable. 

“To provide scholarships for kids in the La Pine area to play sports,” said LPRD Foundation board member Brian Lusby. “Our goal is to, with the district losing the ability to, at least temporarily, provide those programs. We wanted to support all those kids and make sure everybody has an opportunity to play.”

Every Kid Sports will be at the La Pine Concert in the Park series this Thursday to accept the $4,000 donation.

“We support kids 4-to-18 years old who are currently receiving OHIP benefits and they can come and apply to every kid’s sports pass, and we will support up to $150 to pay their youth sports registration fee,” said Fanaika.

In addition, Every Kid Sports is planning to launch its “Born in Bend” campaign. That three-year initiative will support 2,500 kids throughout all of Central Oregon.

“This gracious donation by the foundation of $4,000, that’s probably close to 400 kids, this year that that will be able to play sports because the money that we’re funding is directly for our La Pine athletes,” said Malikowski.

Athletes will now have a better opportunity to get back on the field.

JEFFERSON CITY — A bill including incentives to keep the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals in Missouri will move to the floor in the Missouri House of Representatives following committee approval Tuesday afternoon.

The House Economic Development Committee passed the bill without making any changes. The Missouri Senate passed the legislation, along with two other bills, last week in the first week of the special session.

The bill includes the Show-Me Sports Investment Act, which aims to help fund renovations to the Kansas City Chiefs’ stadium and building a new stadium for the Royals. The bill would allow up to 50% of stadium construction bond costs to be paid back with tax money generated at the stadiums.

Lawmakers are up against an end-of-June deadline to pass the legislation; Kansas passed a bill that would fund up to 70% of stadium costs and requires the teams to make a decision whether to stay in Missouri by the end of the month.

If the House votes to approve the legislation, it goes to Gov. Mike Kehoe’s desk for his signature. By placing the bill in the special session agenda, Kehoe indicated his support for the legislation.

Supporters of the bill say keeping the sports teams in Missouri is important for the economy. A New Bloomfield Republican told KOMU 8 on Monday that he believes the bill will keep jobs in Missouri.

Kathy Nelson, the president and CO of both Visit KC and the Greater Kansas City Sports Commission and Foundation, agrees. She testified in favor of the bill before the Economic Development Committee on Tuesday.

“This bill was so critical to Kansas City, not only for the Royals and the Chiefs, and the stadiums, and keeping them in Missouri, but also selfishly the amateur sports tax credit,” Nelson said. “That’s a big, big deal to Kansas City and our region. So for us, to make sure that we’re able to continue to keep things like Big 12, NCAA, NAIA, Olympic type of things, and youth sports, that’s a huge deal and impact to our community.”

The bill is expected to pass the House; the chamber passed the stadium funding bill in the regular session before the Senate derailed the legislation.

However, the bill saw testimony against its passage on Tuesday, as well.

“It just spends an awful lot of money of the people of Missouri to give to wealthy team owners who don’t need it,” said Patrick Tuohey, a senior fellow at the Show-Me Institute. “And really, it won’t change their behavior. They will stay in Kansas City, and probably the Missouri side because it’s a good market. I think Missouri and Kansas City and Jackson County should be able to make the argument that we’re a great place to invest, but we’re not going to pay you to love us.”

Ruger became the first Blue Diamond level sponsor of the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) in 2024 by supporting the youth shooting sports program with more than $75,000 a year. The company’s relationship with the SSSF is long-standing. Originally a Founding Partner of the SSSF’s Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) in 2012, the firm continues into 2025 as a Blue Diamond sponsor of both SSSF’s SASP and Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) youth development programs.

“Ruger is honored to be the first sponsor to reach the Blue Diamond level in supporting such a worthy cause that teaches safe, responsible handling of firearms,” said Paul Pluff, Ruger public relations manager.

Youths participating in SASP events use either rimfire rifles, revolvers or pistols and/or centerfire handguns or pistol-caliber carbines to engage circular or rectangular plates. SCTP teams practice and complete in trap, skeet and sporting clays, as well as Olympic disciplines that include Bunker Trap, Trap Doubles and International Skeet.

“We are honored to have a great company like Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. as a sponsor of our youth development programs,” commented Rick Leach, SSSF president and executive director and national director of SASP. “Ruger celebrated their 75th year of making quality firearms last year, and we appreciate their support. Throughout the year, Ruger runs auctions on Gun Broker to support charities. We are humbled that they would select us to be a beneficiary of those funds.”

Ruger has a deep commitment to youth shooting sports and the future of the Second Amendment. This year, for example, the company continued its longstanding relationship with the Friends of the NRA as a Defender Level Corporate Sponsor. In April, the total money it raised since beginning special auctions for worthy organizations on Gunbroker.com in 2010 reached the $900,000 milestone.