July 1, 2024 | By The Active Age
The Junior League of Wichita kicked off its 100th anniversary celebration early by donating $2 million for Water Play Cascades, a centerpiece of Exploration Place’s planned outdoor expansion. The planned water feature is described as “an incredible multisensory learning experience promoting teamwork and collaboration. Many of the pumps and water wheels must be activated by […]
| By Jim Miller
Long-Term Care Benefits for Veterans and Surviving Spouses Dreading a Colonoscopy? There Are Alternatives Can You Stop and Restart Social Security Benefits? How to Find Reliable Health Information Online Long-Term Care Benefits for Veterans and Surviving Spouses Dear Savvy Senior, I understand that the Veterans Administration has a benefit that can help veterans and spouses […]
June 25, 2024 | By The Active Age
Oenophiles, raise a glass to Wichita’s wine scene: The city has six restaurants on the new 2024 Restaurant Awards list released Tuesday by Wine Spectator magazine. They’re fairly scattered around the city: in College Hill, the Wine Dive, 4714 E. Douglas, and Vora, 3252 E. Douglas, made the cut; west Wichita is represented by 6S […]
June 24, 2024 | By Tammara Fogle
Sedgwick County and Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) Chairman Ryan Baty have declared a State of Local Disaster Emergency regarding the massive pallet fire that broke out last night and continues to burn uncontrollably outside Evergreen Recycle at 302 W. 53rd Street N. in Park City. This proclamation now allows Sedgwick County to access state […]
June 14, 2024 | By The Active Age
The American Red Cross is urging people to donate blood during the summer and sweetening the deal with a couple of rewards. This is the 17th year for the organization’s Red, White & You Blood Drive. Blood donations tend to drop in the summer as people travel for vacations and students leave school campuses that […]
June 10, 2024 | By The Active Age
Most City of Wichita systems used by the public are now back in service with some limited exceptions, the city said Monday. According to a news release, water metering, billing and payment processing systems are coming back online. Customers should expect to begin receiving updated statements this week. Auto-payments are functioning as normal, and customers […]
May 31, 2024 | By Joe Stumpe
Kay Goodnight is getting used to the look — that one where strangers recognize her but can’t quite figure out why. The retired optometrist’s assistant is enjoying semi-celebrity status, at least in the Wichita TV market, as one of four “grannies” featured in Spangles commercials hawking the fast-food chain’s cocktails. “The reaction has been unbelievable,” […]
| By Joe Stumpe
For Ted Blankenship, this time it’s serious. Blankenship, who started writing his “It’s Not Serious” column 67 years ago, says he may have filed his last one. Blankenship cited a combination of health problems and an uncooperative new computer for his decision. Then again, he’s not ruling out a return. “It’s Not Serious” has been […]
| By The Active Age
Kansas’ area agencies on aging are marking their 50th year in operation. AAAs such as Central Plains Area Agency on Aging (CPAAA) — which serves Butler, Harvey and Sedgwick counties — were established in the 1970s to plan community services for people 60 and older. They also provide or fund many of those services, coordinate […]
| By Joe Stumpe
When life gives you lemons, you can make a lot more than just lemonade. Sour, yes, but also bright as sunshine, lemons are an ingredient that seems to grow on cooks the more they use it. While some fans love the summery feel a lemon brings to dishes during the winter, I actually prefer the […]
| By The Active Age
Kansas Pond Society hosts tour June 15-16 The Kansas Pond Society will host its annual Water Garden Tour in the greater Wichita area June 15-16. Tickets are $10 per carload and are available at Johnson’s Garden Centers east and west locations. The ticket brochure includes a map and descriptions of ponds on the tour, which […]
| By Diana Morton
Forum Theatre, at the Wilke Center, 1st United Methodist Church, 330 N. Broadway. Words & Music: Stayin’ Alive: The Bee Gees. Get ready for some “Jive Talkin” with this show featuring songs by brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibbs, who ushered in the era of disco and became the most successful trio in the history […]
| By Matthew Kelly The Wichita Eagle
When Kyra Cano got the call that she had been approved to move into the Central Landing senior housing community, she was overjoyed. “I got in by a miracle,” Cano, 84, said. She moved in in February as one of 16 applicants selected from a waiting list of more than 100 to live in a […]
| By Ainsley Smith KMUW
Families with children in pre-K through 12th grade can get free admission to more than 200 attractions this summer. Sunflower Summer provides a free ticket for each child and up to two adults at participating museums, state parks and other attractions across Kansas. The program is organized by Kansas Tourism, a division of the state’s […]
May 23, 2024 | By The Active Age
Senior Services, Inc. is experiencing extremely low volunteer numbers in its Meals on Wheels program due to the start of the vacation season. The program delivers approximately 800 lunch-time meals each weekday to homebound, isolated seniors. According to a news release, the program has experienced numerous open delivery routes each day for several weeks. Having […]
May 10, 2024 | By The Active Age
The city of Wichita released this information Friday about the cyberattack that caused the city to show down its computer systems: The City of Wichita values its constituents and prides itself on providing high-quality services to its residents. We regret to report that certain online City services may be unavailable as we thoroughly review and […]
May 8, 2024 | By The Active Age
State and local leaders broke ground Wednesday on the Wichita Biomedical Campus, with speakers predicting the healthcare education center will transform downtown and health care across Kansas. “I can’t wait to come back and see this campus completed and the impact it will have on health care all across the state,” said Gov. Laura Kelly, […]
May 1, 2024 | By The Active Age
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article contained the wrong date for the re-dedication of the Keeper of the Plains. The correct date is Saturday, May 18. Wichita’s Keeper of the Plains will be re-dedicated with a big party May 18 to mark its 50th anniversary. Here are some things to know about the […]
| By Beth Bower
WHITEWATER — Natalie Sollo calls it a learning curve. Dave Sollo is blunter about the couple’s wine-making skills when they started Grace Hill Winery in 2004. “We didn’t know what the hell we were doing,” he said. But Dave, a retired anesthesiologist, and Natalie, a pediatrician, learned by doing. Their winery 30 minutes northeast of […]
| By Bob Rives
A young Tom turkey has turned a busy intersection in east Wichita into his personal playground since earlier this year, catching the attention of motorists, businesspeople and others in the area with his antics. He’s called Mr. G — for Gobbler — by employees at the Wheat State Credit Union, where he sometimes hangs out, […]
| By The Active Age
A trio of bicyclists who enjoy riding around Wichita spotted a disheartening trend: more homeless people than ever camping near the city’s bike paths that run along the Arkansas River. “You just notice more and more homelessness in the area, and it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh,’” avid cyclist Marty Johnson said. Now Johnson and two […]
| By The Active Age
ANDOVER — The Foster Grandparent Program needs a lot more people like Rita Grimes. Grimes spends several hours each day at Sunflower Elementary School helping kindergarteners with their letters, science projects and just generally being an encouraging older figure. A grandparent, in other words. “I try to show the kids, even in kindergarten, about being […]
| By The Active Age
Skilled gardeners prove you can pull up roots and still be successful. The last time Everett and Michelle Price were on the Sedgwick County Garden Tour, in 2014, they showed off a sunny yard in Haysville. Now they live on the former Brown Nursery property in west Wichita, where they inherited about 65 trees, including […]
| By Tammara Fogle
McCormick Museum movie Local film buff Rick Every will host the McCormick School Museum’s third annual showing of 16 mm educational films, complete with popcorn and lemonade, at 5 p.m. Saturday, June 1. Every is a former projectionist at the Orpheum Theatre and technician at KAKE-TV and Century II, plus a collector of reel-to-reel films […]
| By Diana Breit Wolfe
Last month, I attended the AARP Smart Driver Course. I’ve been driving Wichita streets and U.S. highways for 66 years, since I was 14. But I was still impressed with how much new stuff there is to learn about our roads, signs and car safety. The husband-and-wife volunteer presenters —Tom and Brenda Gibson — keep […]