Turns out the Horatio Alger story is more myth than fact — at least in parts of the United States today.A child born into poverty in Allen County has a 9 percent chance of rising…

President Obama has me pegged.As a white woman, I have hugged my purse tighter when on an elevator in the presence of black youths. As a white woman, I have locked my car doors when…

Forty years ago, give or a take a few, I got a call one summer afternoon reporting an armadillo lying dead along the hard-surfaced road south from LaHarpe. Although skeptical, I drove out to see.…

While most people enthusiastically jump into a glistening swimming pool in the summer, I like to sit on the side. It’s not because I want to work on my tan. It’s because I never learned…

We all have our milestones. But you know you’re getting up there when your kids realize they are now viewed as an older generation. A popular site travelling the Internet circuit among 30-year-olds is called…

Edward Snowden remains a man without a country. His second request for asylum to Russia seems to be gaining more traction this time around, although its president, Vladimir Putin, is playing coy by insisting the…

If a single party controls the governorship and both legislative chambers, it loses incentive to act in a bipartisan manner.That’s the deduction of the American Judicature Society, which studies open government, and recently commented on…

By and large, conservative Republicans see the food stamp program as enabling “moochers” to freeload off the government. Never mind that unemployment continues to hover at 7.6 percent -— for those actively seeking work. That…

If Iola sleeps in this morning, it’s excused.After all, a sizeable chunk of townsfolk didn’t get to bed until the wee hours of this morning. So pull down the shades and roll over. You’ve earned…

Iola area folks have three more opportunities this summer for delightful entertainment that doesn’t cost a red cent.The Iola Municipal Band plays at 8 p.m. Thursdays at the bandstand. Don’t miss a one. You’ll love…