Dear Carolyn: My brother, “Tim,” got married for the third time last month. When he and “Abby” were discussing their wedding, I advised them to do what my husband and I did: Go to the…

Adapted from an online discussion. Dear Carolyn: About a month ago, my mother had a procedure scheduled in my brother’s metro area, about four hours from my parents’. The plan was for my parents to…

We asked readers to channel their inner Carolyn Hax and answer this question. Some of the best responses are below. Hi, Carolyn: I’m having family troubles over a house I inherited. When I was 20,…

The McKenzie/Drake family reunion was July 22, 2023 at Iola’s Riverside Park.  The Joseph McKenzie family settled west of Iola in 1858 along the Neosho River. Their daughter married James Wallace Drake in 1861, also…

Jaxxen Oakman, age 5, really wanted a dog. So while he was visiting his father in Topeka during spring break, mom Carley Swanson gave into temptation when she saw someone giving away German shepherd puppies…

I finished reading Jennifer Egan’s “The Candy House” last weekend, my first read of the new year. It was a wonderful book, featuring interlinked stories of characters who grapple with a brave new world where…

Not all Christmas memories are merry. Some families go through divorce. Some deal with death. Others face abuse. Iola Mayor Steve French, age 62, experienced all of the above. It would take Steve years of…

When he was just a tot, Iola High School principal Scott Carson and his brothers would tromp outside their family’s farmhouse near Parsons on a very important Christmas Eve mission — to scatter food for…

Dr. Erik Unruh knew he wanted a career that would allow him to make an impact. He kept coming back to medicine.  “It’s not a secret that medicine can be challenging to navigate, both as…

Iola Elementary School parents were invited to join students at Wednesday’s school lunch, a turkey and potatoes meal, as part of the school’s annual Thanksgiving feast.