It wasn’t until I reread “The Miracle Worker” earlier this week that I realized its universal lesson of how setting goals gives us purpose.“Why can’t you let her be?” Helen’s half-brother, Jimmie, asks of Annie…

More and more, Iola is becoming a shopping destination. Don’t take our word for it. According to the Kansas Department of Revenue, Iola’s “pull factor” from neighboring communities is getting stronger. The state measures a…

When history tells the story of the rollout of the health insurance Marketplace, one of the oddest vignettes will be about a tailgate party at a University of Miami football game hosted by a group…

President Obama will decide soon whether to give his blessing to construction of the Keystone Pipeline, to carry heavy crude oil extracted from tar sands in Canada. The oil eventually will find its way to…

Across the nation, states are finally seeing some relief to their bottom lines. Robust tax collections have resulted in an overall increase of 9 percent from 2012, according to the recent State Revenue Report.Only two…

Today’s politicians profess to practice bipartisanship; reaching across the aisle to compromise.But a recent gesture from Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger probably wasn’t what Gov. Sam Brownback had in mind.Last week Praeger joined a bipartisan…

Maybe this is what happens when you’re been writing newspaper stories for more than 50 years, as I have.I woke up the other night from a dream and before it evaporated realized I was dreaming…

I must admit I first because aware of Ukraine and its politics for all the wrong reasons. I was struck by how its prime minister resembled a Russian nesting doll. Yulia V. Tymoshenko wore her…

“Count all the money,” is the current refrain by Kansas legislators when it comes to spending on education. In a recent call from Sen. Caryn Tyson, she referred to a document that states Iola schools…

The Kansas Legislature has not made cuts to education, State Sen. Caryn Tyson contends in a recent newsletter. Such accusations “couldn’t be more wrong,” she writes. Kansas law says base state aid per pupil should…