Iola is not ready to pull the trigger on buying its next fire truck. City Council members held another extensive discussion on the matter Monday before voting down Fire Chief Chase Waggoner’s recommendation to purchase…

CHANUTE — Emergency crews battled well into the night Tuesday on a fire that engulfed Playmakers Sports Bar & Grill in the 200 block of East Main Street. Firefighters from Iola and Parsons joined in…

As a newspaper publisher, I find it difficult to write about the underbelly of local politics. After all, I want Iola to be a shining star. So I struggled in reporting on Monday night’s city…

Local firefighters openly disagreed with their chief at Monday night’s Iola Council meeting, saying they know best what fire engine would suit their needs. At issue is the purchase of a new fire engine, for…

Iola Head Start celebrated the Week of the Young Child by “Going Bananas” on Thursday. Head Start students ate bananas and hung out with Iola police, firefighters and paramedics. The grown-ups talked about their jobs,…

Tempers were running hot during a portion of Tuesday’s county commission meeting. Commissioners wanted to know how, during a structure fire last week at the Harmony Health store in Iola, the following scenario developed: “I…

Iola was stuck Thursday evening with “the most stubborn fire” Chief Chase Waggoner has ever encountered. Crews worked for several hours — from at least 6:15 p.m. until almost midnight — battling a commercial structure…

Firefighters responded to a kitchen fire this morning at 502 Eisenhower Dr. in Iola. Chief Chase Waggoner said that crews were able to douse the blaze through a window. All occupants escaped successfully and no…

At least four units of the Townhouse West Apartment Complex in the 200 block of South Washington Avenue in Iola sustained damage after a fire started on the third floor Tuesday evening. Iola Fire Chief…

Iola received word this week it has received a $350,000 grant to go toward the purchase of a new fire engine. The federal grant comes through the Kansas Small Cities Community Development Block Grant program.…