I’ll start with a segment from Ann Patchett’s new novel, “Tom Lake.” “Turn your head in the other direction —’’ I pointed to the explosion of white petals out the window. “You can’t pretend this…

Mike has been worshiping at our church off and on for the last year. When he walks up on a Sunday morning, you can’t miss him making his way with a white mobility cane. A…

For about a year, I worked as a receptionist at KTWU Channel 11, a Kansas public television station on the Washburn University campus in Topeka. KTWU has been broadcasting local public television in eastern Kansas…

Dear editor, For many years, I’ve been going to the council meetings almost every time, so I feel like I know really good council members.  For years, many of the council members were men, but…

The Kansas economy is doing well, by many measures.  So, why do so many Kansans think otherwise?  To paraphrase James Carville—it’s housing costs, stupid. Just released from the Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort…

After three weeks of pointless but embarrassing intrigue, House Republicans finally hit on a consensus nominee for Speaker. Congratulations to 51-year-old Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson, who with a 220-209 vote Wednesday won the unenviable job…

A few days before New Year’s Eve, an unfamiliar health insurance card for me arrived in the mail. I assumed there must have been an error and called the human resources department of the medical…

Ask any parent about the time their kids spend on mobile devices, and you’ll likely hear the same refrain: It’s too much. Excessive use of smartphones and social media is linked to rising rates of…

When Casey Stengel had the misfortune to be the manager of the historically inept 1962 New York Mets, his famous plaint was, “Can’t anybody here play this game?” The question for House Republicans, mired in…

“What would happen if we walked away?” President Biden asked in an Oval Office address Thursday night. At one time, such a question would be merely rhetorical, with wide agreement that the United States is,…