The death knell sounded Thursday for Kansas’ poor and disabled. Not only is it highly unlikely Kansas will expand Medicaid, but current services also are on the chopping block if Gov. Sam Brownback gets his…

Bobby Chavez stopped by the other day, back from Tacoma, Wash., for another coveted visit to his hometown.When he comes home, it’s like he’s never been gone, says Bobby, 57. He hopes someday to return…

“It may not be pretty, but we will balance the budget,” Gov. Sam Brownback told a Chanute audience Tuesday morning.By that, the governor means we can expect more cuts to schools, social services, and other…

Somewhere along the way U.S. teens have become terribly misinformed about how to prevent pregnancy.According to a recent survey, almost half of U.S. girls figure pregnancy is unavoidable, and agreed to the statement, “It doesn’t…

State educators pulled back last week from giving non-licensed individuals carte blanche to teach in certain Kansas schools.Just because you may know Spanish, doesn’t mean you can teach it, was a prevailing sentiment that swayed…

In the 1980s, the poem “The Warning” — the impetus for the “Red Hat Society” — was a big hit among U.S. women. Written 20 years earlier by Jenny Joseph of England, and not one…

Betty Cantrell went to work at an Iola cafe more than 45 years ago. She never returned home.Though officially her murder remains unsolved, Tom Williams, a crime-fighter here for years with the KBI and as…

Perhaps it’s the stigma of the lobbyist industry that has city administrators cool to retaining a firm to do its bidding in Washington, D.C.The influence of “dirty” money on politicians is a familiar Washington scandal.…

At first glance, it appears moving local spring elections to the fall is a good idea. No doubt, it would guarantee a larger voter turnout. Last week’s voter turnout in Allen County was just shy…

From any angle, it’s hard to see a downside to opening up relations with Cuba. The small nation is hungry for U.S. exports. It’s a relatively virgin country ripe for U.S. investments. And mending the…