December 8, 2025 | By Family Features
When it comes to holiday meals, good hosts know the main dish isn’t the only star of the show. Appetizers set the tone. These recipes come from the European Union’s Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) certification program, which promotes products such as Prosciutto di Parma, produced only in Parma, Italy, and Grana Padano, produced only […]
| By The Active Age
The provider of nearly 11,000 meals per month for the elderly and homebound in south-central Kansas is getting out of the business. The Central Plains Area Agency on Aging (CPAAA) will transition services provided by Everfull, including Friendship Meals and Meals on Wheels programs, to a new provider in 2026, it was announced Nov. 21. […]
December 1, 2025 | By The Active Age
The Active Age will celebrate its 46th anniversary in December. To mark this milestone, we’e holding a drawing for a stunning 14k yellow gold diamond cluster necklace generously donated by Mike Seltzer Jewelers. The necklace is valued at $3,500. Everyone who donates at least $25 to The Active Age between Nov. 1 and noon on […]
| By Jacinda Hall
Following a heart attack and surgery, Sandra Howard sometimes struggled to obtain all the medications she’d been prescribed. She was being seen by more than one medical provider, and it wasn’t unusual for them to use different pharmacies. Howard’s daughters were tasked with rounding up the medications. “My daughters always complained because at the time, […]
| By Bob Rives
To keep the pounds off after losing weight in 2010, Lisa Land started running. And racing. And running and racing some more. This fall, the Andover resident reached her goal of running a race in all 50 states. “I ran my first race in the nation’s largest state and finished it in Rhode Island, the […]
| By Carrie Rengers The Wichita Eagle
Anyone who has lived nine decades probably has a good story to tell, but Al Higdon’s is particularly packed. From a high-flying career in public relations in the early days of jets to starting his own ad agency, Higdon was Wichita’s original Mad Man. His former employer, Learjet, even was a story line on the “Mad Men” television series. […]
| By Nancy Wheeler
It’s not surprising that practically everybody’s favorite holiday has produced some of our favorite entertainments as well. See if you can identify the fictional characters featured in these stories, movies, TV shows and songs. The answers appear on page 20. 1. What was the name of the blanket-carrying Peanuts character whose idealism and hope were […]
| By Diana Morton
Act 1 Players, El Dorado Elks Lodge #140, 121 E. Pine Ave., El Dorado. The Cowhand’s Christmas Carol (italics). Comedy erupts when mountain folk come to the big city to help their daughter with dinner. Dec. 12-13, dinner & play, $25, play only, $15. 316-321-9393 Mosley Street Melodrama, 234 N. Mosley. Holidaze of our Lives […]
| By Joe Stumpe
An article in last month’s issue about seniors leading political protests in downtown Wichita generated phone calls and emails from some readers who thought it was biased against President Trump. In case other readers felt the same way, I thought I’d let you know my thoughts on the subject. First off, I appreciate and take […]
| By The Active Age
McCormick Museum holiday fun The McCormick School Museum, 855 S. Martinson, will host several holiday events this month, including its annual holiday open house from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 5, featuring musical performances by USD 259 students; holiday open house weekend from noon to 5 p.m. Dec. 6-7; and carol singing, hot cider […]
| By The Active Age
Share the Season is a community program that assists people during a time of hardship in their lives. The program offers hope and help to working families who have experienced difficult circumstances resulting in financial strain and emotional stress. Often an illness, car accident, layoff or other unexpected situation can put a family into crisis. […]
| By The Active Age
Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments for Americans will increase 2.8 percent in 2026. On average, Social Security retirement benefits will increase by about $56 per month starting in January. Over the last decade the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increase has averaged about 3.1 percent. The COLA was 2.5 percent in 2025. Nearly 71 […]
| By Dr. Mehmet Oz
As head of the Medicare program, I encourage everyone with Medicare to take advantage of this year’s Open Enrollment period. This is your once-a-year opportunity to take a fresh look at your coverage for the year ahead. As a physician, I’ve seen firsthand how the right health plan can improve both the quality of care you receive and your […]
| By The Active Age
The Active Age The Kansas Silver Haired Legislature has released its list of priorities for the 2026 Kansas legislative session. They include the legalization of medical marijuana, Medicaid expansion and more money for senior-related services. In a news release, the KSHL said it’s clear that a majority of Kansans support most of these priorities, based […]
| By Suzanne Perez KMUW
The holiday season is here, and if you’re looking for fun things to do during family get-togethers, you might consider a new card or board game. Here are some recommendations from Gwen Ottenberg, owner of Imagine That Toys in Wichita, who’s been selling games for more than 25 years and playing them even longer. Prime […]
| By Suzanne Hogan KCUR
Kansas City will host six FIFA World Cup soccer matches in the summer of 2026. This is the first time Kansas City will hold a global sporting event of this scale, with about 650,000 people expected to come into town for the games. What is the World Cup? The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a 104-game tournament […]
| By The Active Age
Donate at least $50 to The Active Age, and you could win a family membership to Botanica. The Active Age holds a drawing for a family membership each month from among people on our Honor Roll list of donors. This month’s winner is Kenneth Dill. Donations may be made by calling 316-942-5385; through our website, […]
| By Joe Norris
ROSE HILL — In “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” movie, nobody loves Christmas more than Clark Griswold. When he throws the switch on his gleefully over-decorated house, it fries the city’s electric grid. In Rose Hill, Kansas, nobody loves Christmas more than Michael Russell. He calls his place The Griswold House of Rose Hill. But that […]
October 30, 2025 | By Joe Stumpe
Joe Walsh has come home before, but never quite like this. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer — born at Wesley Hospital (now Wesley Medical Center) on Nov. 20, 1947 — is bringing his annual VetsAid concert to Intrust Bank Arena on Saturday, Nov. 15. Money raised by the event will be distributed to […]
| By The Active Age
Drive past Douglas and Broadway at noon on a Monday, Wednesday or Saturday, and you’ll see them: a group of protesters waving signs and airing grievances with the current presidential administration. They chant in unison. They wave at passing cars. They raise their fists in solidarity with motorists who offer approving honks. Nearly all of […]
| By Joe Norris
In 1904, thousands of New Yorkers were paying a nickel to ride under the streets of Manhattan on the city’s first subway. That same year in St. Louis, people were forking over 50 cents to see the first Olympic Games ever hosted in America. But in Wellington,Kan., the most exciting attraction of 1904 cost nothing […]
| By The Active Age
Michelle Scofield took up a new sport in her mid-60s and no, it wasn’t pickleball. It’s powerlifting, one of the most intense forms of weightlifting. In competitions, participants have three attempts to lift their maximum amount in three different lifts: bench press, squat and deadlift. Scofield seems to have a knack for it. In her […]
| By The Active Age
For decades, friends of longtime Wichita Eagle columnist Bonnie Bing suggested she publish a book of her work. One person, Lisa Corbin, was rather insistent. “She was on it like a bonnet,” Bing said. “She would not shut up.” Corbin, a close friend whom Bing has known since Corbin was a child, said she “felt […]
| By The Active Age
The new executive director of Senior Services, Inc, is a little more familiar with the nonprofit orgnaization’s operations than some new hires might be. Wyatt Sheeder was invited to join the board of directors of Senior Services last year. When its longtime executive director, Laurel Alkire, retired in May, Sheeder applied for the job and […]