The American public owes a huge thank you to astronaut Mark Kelly for sharing his wife’s, Gabrielle Giffords, recovery from a gunshot wound to the head.As we all know, Giffords, a U.S. representative from Tucson,…

It’s heartening to see the number of candidates who have filed for city council.Still, a fuller slate would be nice.Our cynical nature does elected officials a bum rap.Most people who serve aren’t there to throw…

Seeing it as his duty to protect Kansans, Attorney General Derek Schmidt has put Kansas in the pool of objectors to last year’s federal health care reform law.The benefits of the new law, Schmidt said,…

In his first foray as governor, Sam Brownback has proposed the Kansas Arts Commission be eliminated.Instead, it should become a private function, for which Brownback has suggested a $200,000 send-off.At first glance, the move seems…

Fifty years ago, President Dwight D. Eisenhower ex-pressed his fears that the U.S. would be overrun by military enterprise at the expense of schools and hospitals.Kansans take pride in their native son, affectionately known as…

The United States is losing its third-largest producer of solar panels to China. Come April, the community of Devens, Mass., will have lost 800 jobs due to the off shoring of production. Iola knows the…

More money for the public schools, more for higher education, more for the disabled, the poor and the sick and a leaner state budget were promised Wednesday night by Gov. Sam Brownback in his State…

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…

A mysterious green blob in space has captured the attention of the Hubble Space Telescope and its operators. It has a name. A Dutch school teacher, Hanny van Arkel, discovered it in 2007. Hanny was…

As of Tuesday, 11 candidates had filed for the eight positions on the new Iola City Council and one candidate for mayor. The council will be made up of two councilmen or women from each…