It’s at times like these that the advantages of small town life come to the fore. While the tenor of state and national politics grows all the more rancorous and divisive, we can take solace…

In the end, it wasn’t even close. Despite the lead-up rhetoric, Republican legislators overwhelmingly gave in to Gov. Sam Brownback Friday night and refused to repeal the income tax break that gives 330,000 business owners…

Lee Gumfory called to chat about Snipe Thornton, after reading Margaret Robb’s story of his bootlegging in the 1940s, and her role in delivering the hooch before she was told enough to know better. Snipe…

The story of Kansas’s financial collapse reads like a dime novel; “Horatio Alger files for bankruptcy.”  Only a few years ago we had $709 million in reserves.  Today, we’re facing a $290 million deficit. And…

Lots of good-paying jobs are falling victim in Kansas’s “March to zero” — Gov. Sam Brownback’s plan to eliminate the state income tax. Not the least are positions with road and bridge construction. Typically, the…

It was bound to happen, with us living at the very edge of Humboldt.  Angus goes out at 10 each night to prepare for a good night’s sleep. When he did Saturday night last, I…

When legislators return to Topeka later this month they will reconsider a measure that limits local property tax increases to the rate of inflation. The bill was “sausaged” into other legislation in the wee hours…

Nearly 200 years ago innovative Scottish engineer John Loudon McAdam perfected a road-construction method that would come to bear his name. Macadam road surfaces were made from several layers of small stones compacted and bound…

More and more, intimidation is being confused as leadership. In Kansas, state leaders are using intimidating tactics as a means to conduct business, taking the state to unprecedented levels of disrepute.  In the case of …

A topic that long has fascinated local folks is whether the small white crosses along old Highway 169 north of Iola mark graves. They’re on property that once held the Allen County Poor Farm. The…