Asking hard questions, and giving hard answers, makes an effective city council member, Ron Ballard says. For example, a few years back Iola’s leaders were considering adding a solar plant on the edge of town,…

Should Joel Wicoff be re-elected to the Iola City Council, many of the issues facing the city, such as  balancing budgets, setting utility costs and dealing with changes in the ambulance program, may look quite…

The Iola United Methodist Women met at Calvary Sept. 23, where Matt Stuckey gave a lesson on his work with the Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center. The center encompasses six counties, including Allen, and provides…

Iola officials will reach out to the owner of an old nursing home to see if the city can schedule a full inspection of the facility. But short of getting approval, there’s not much that…

Members of the Iola Police Department are, front row from left, Officer Mike Ford, Lt. Tom Roush, Lt. Timothy Francis, Officer Dominick Haen, Officer David Ingle, Rhonda Fulton (she no longer works for the department.…

Above, members of the Iola Fire Department are, from left, Gary Kimball, Michael Burnett, Chris Bailey, Jordan Drybread, Eric B’Hymer, Ashley Reno, Andy Hill, Brad Vyhlidal, Ashley Robb, Kenneth Powell, Denver Mitchel, Tanner Orth, Eric…

Iola’s Westco appears to be a casualty of a storm that dumped about 8 inches of rain throughout Saturday. The roof of the building at 704 N. State St. collapsed and affected two neighboring businesses.…

At this point, area schools will start the new school year much like they ended the last one when it comes to COVID-19 restrictions: Masks will be recommended, but not required. Superintendents and school boards…

Roger and Billie Collins have learned to live in the moment. They know how quickly it can all change. On a given morning, Billie might be sitting next to Roger’s bedside in a Texas hospital,…

Parker Stapp remembers his youth, spending pretty much every waking moment of his summers at the pool. “It was my babysitter,” he chuckled Fast-forward to Thursday, when a combination of summer heat and a bit…