You never know what’s going to plant seeds for a column. Sometimes they germinate right away and grow into something pleasing — my fervent hope each Saturday. Last week  a couple of “seeds” were planted.…

Sea levels off Florida have risen to the point they are infiltrating city sewer systems. In an effort to battle the rising tide, massive levee systems costing hundreds of millions of dollars are in the…

Kansas needs to roll out the welcome mat.In the past three years more residents have left the state, compared to those who have moved here.From 2010 to 2013, Kansas lost a net 10,197 residents to…

Later today Charlie Brown’s Store in Mildred will close for the last time. I spent a couple of hours there on Wednesday, and it was like a step back in time. Brown’s reminded me of…

It’s a good sign when the list of people to say goodbye to is too long.In the past couple days I’ve done my best. Wandering around the downtown area, having similar conversations with dozens of…

The newly released County Health Rankings are good news for Allen County. In somewhat of a surprise, our ranking jumped up 7 points from last year. And a full 15 points from just four years…

It was hard to tell if the message was getting through Saturday morning.The legislators seemed to keep their attention focused as person after person explained how expanding Medicaid would be of benefit to Kansas.Georgia Masterson,…

Local school board members should not be deterred by the underwhelming response by area residents in a recent survey concerning district schools. From a drive-by perspective the schools look fine, and the survey’s results said…

Dear editor,My name is Bob Eastes and I hail from Pratt, Kansas. I am a sports nut, of all sports at all levels, and spend as much time as I can watching high school sporting…

Next Monday is the last day of open enrollment for Marketplace health insurance coverage. Open enrollment is the window of time in which any person can enroll for coverage in the Marketplace. Once open enrollment…