Dear Emerson:In response to your editorial “Arizona Sheriff Nailed the Cause.”You and the sheriff of Pima County, Ariz., could not be more wrong unless you said the sun was going to rise in the west…

Wednesday the Illinois Legislature approved an increase of nearly 66 percent in the state’s income tax to tackle a budget deficit of as much as $15 billion. The measure squeaked by, with a single vote…

Iola Middle School seventh-grader Clara Wicoff took another step in local spelling history by winning the IMS Spelling Bee Wednesday.Winning earns Wicoff, daughter of Iolans Joel and Lisa Wicoff, a chance at winning her fourth…

Three Iola properties were condemned and one was given a possible reprieve when city commissioners met Tuesday evening.Owners of 410 N. Jefferson Ave. and 517 S. Jefferson Ave. indicated they will tear down those properties.…

Iola Police Chief Jared Warner just wants people to be safe. A recent e-mail to parents of Iola High School students addressing crossing concerns at the intersection of Buckeye and Madison streets gave the wrong…

Murray Construction will manage the construction of a new Allen County Hospital, trustees decided Tuesday evening.The Overland Park firm won out over JE Dunn and Hutton Construction, both based in Wichita. Trustees deliberated over the…

Carol D. Mix, 82, former director of the Iola Area Chamber of Commerce and of the Bowlus Fine Arts Center, 1982-84, died Friday, Jan. 7, 2011, in Lee’s Summit where she was a resident of…

Francis W. Blaufuss, 89, of Westphalia died Monday, Jan. 10, 2011, at Kansas City Hospice in Kansas City, Mo.Additional information about his life and funeral services will be published when provided by Feuerborn Family Funeral…

Floyd Eugene “Gene” Moore, 87, of Iola died Friday, Jan. 7, 2011, at Windsor Place Nursing Center in Iola.He was born Oct. 10, 1923, in Humboldt, to William Fred and Mary Estes (Collison) Moore. He…

R. Leon Morrow, 89, lifetime Iola resident, died Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2011, at Allen County Hospital in Iola.He was born March 25, 1921, in Iola, to Joseph Kenneth and Bernice Marie (Goodner) Morrow.On Dec. 21,…