TOPEKA — Heather Cessna is resigning as executive director of the state public defender’s office after years of warning apathetic legislators about the constitutional crisis they created by persistently underfunding her agency. Cessna said the…

Deborah Twadell was born in Iola May 5, 1941, daughter of Bayard and Neva (Hutchison) Twadell. She died of congestive heart failure Dec. 7, 2024, in Minnetonka, Minn. She is preceded in death by her…

TOPEKA — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement used the pretense of a national emergency to justify a secret, no-bid contract with CoreCivic that would pay the company $4.2 million per month to house detained immigrants…