WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. filings for jobless benefits rose in the last week of 2025 but remain historically low, despite signs that the labor market is weakening. The number of Americans filing for jobless claims…

A countywide job fair designed to connect employers with job-seekers in response to recent layoffs at Iola’s Gates Corporation is Thursday, Nov. 13.  Camille Lavon, Thrive Allen County’s Director of Economic Development, discussed the fair’s…

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new round of layoffs at the Education Department is depleting an agency that was hit hard in the Trump administration’s previous mass firings, threatening new disruption to the nation’s students and schools in areas…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House budget office said Friday that mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues. Russ Vought,…

As a long-time merchant and now chair of the Iola Industries Board of Directors, Mary Kay Heard has seen her share of Iola’s triumphs — and its heartbreaks. She’s seen industries come and go, startups…

News of layoffs at Iola’s Gates Corporation plant hit hard last week. After learning that 80 employees will soon lose their jobs, local leaders immediately went to work attempting to turn crisis into opportunity. Within…

Shannon Ellis, 59, has enjoyed her work for the Internal Revenue Service for more than 20 years, the last eight as the president of the National Treasury Employees Union in Kansas City. The union represents…

Gates Corporation will lay off approximately 80 employees from its Iola plant by the end of the year. The layoffs account for about 30% of the Iola facility’s workforce, reports Camille Lavon, economic director of…

Applications for US unemployment benefits jumped last week to the highest level in almost four years, indicating layoff activity may be on the rise amid a sharp slowdown in hiring. Initial claims rose by 27,000…

Citing a struggling agricultural economy, the parent company of John Deere, Deere and Company, confirmed Aug. 14 that net sales and revenues were down for the third quarter. The company, the largest manufacturer of farm…