When I turn my column in each week, editors at newspapers decide whether it will be published. I have no constitutional right to see my thoughts appear in the paper or any other publication. My…

On Monday morning I called longtime Iola merchant Jan Knewtson to ask if I could do a story about her decision to retire. “Well, not today,” she said. “I can’t seem to stop crying.” On…

The 21-year-old pickup truck, its V-8 throbbing, kicked up dust along the crushed-limestone Woodson County roads. The countryside was bright green and at the height of its glory, nourished by more than ample moisture and…

What do COVID deniers and protesters of police brutality have in common? The first group tends to be older, whiter, and more conservative. The more militant ones confront those wearing masks in public, but most…

Few people know the name Michael Donald. I know that name: he was lynched in my hometown, Mobile, Alabama, in 1981. In 1981, I was naive enough to want to believe that crimes against black…

Help is on its way, but reopening Kansas schools won’t be easy.  With the state’s economy in free fall and Kansas COVID-19 cases still on the rise, educators are meeting in school districts across Kansas…

Election and voting rules can be arcane and hard to understand, but with some deadlines approaching, Kansans need to know how the rules might affect them. If you want to change your party affiliation —…

There’s a fine line between curiosity and paranoia.  Some are walking that line as they ponder whether they should find out whether they’ve had COVID-19. The new blood tests determine if the body has produced…

 On a summer morning in 1961 I wished I was fishing. Instead, I was beside the old water cooling tower north of Monarch’s cement plant pulling on a thick rubberized suit and bulky headgear. This…

A confession: I voted by mail recently. And it didn’t feel dirty at all. Like every voter, I had been warned against the practice by President Donald Trump. “Mail-in ballots are very dangerous,” he said.…