January 16, 2025 | By Matthew Kelly and Jonathan Shorman/The Wichita Eagle
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly opened the door to property tax cuts this year, a top Republican priority, during her State of the State address on Wednesday, but demanded that any changes must pay for themselves and not endanger the state’s fiscal health. The Democratic governor’s overture to GOP lawmakers came as Kelly insisted she wouldn’t […]
January 14, 2025 | By The Active Age
A new Kansas law may have an effect on the daily spending habits of residents. As of Jan. 1, Kansas merchants can legally add a surcharge of up to 4 percent on credit card transactions, as long as clear notice is provided to the customer before the sale. According to a news release from District […]
January 9, 2025 | By The Active Age
Here’s one to file in the we-didn’t-know-that folder. The statue of Joan of Arc that stands in front of the former downtown library building at 223 S. Main isn’t the one given to Wichita in 1970 by Orleans, our sister city in France. The original was put in storage after two decades of display in […]
| By The Active Age
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Republican Conference this week ratified U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, R-Kan., as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. “I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs,” Moran said in a news release, “and I look forward to working on behalf of […]
January 5, 2025 | By Grace Hills/KCUR
Since Jan. 1, Kansans have no longer been paying state sales tax on groceries. They still pay city- and county-imposed taxes, but the former state tax of 6.5% was gradually reduced to zero over the past two years. A 2022 law set out a three-year plan to reduce the state’s sales tax on groceries, which […]
| By Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly signed an executive order declaring a day of mourning for former President Jimmy Carter and she directed flags throughout the state be flown at half-staff. The governor said state of Kansas offices would be closed Jan. 9 in observance of funeral services for Carter in Washington, D.C., and in conjunction […]
January 1, 2025 | By Diana Breit Wolfe
As I turned over my treasurer’s duties at The Active Age last month, I thought back to my shaky start with numbers. It was in the seventh grade when Sister Catherine traumatized me over my failure to do a math problem on the blackboard. Two years later, I barely passed Sister Edwina’s ninth-grade algebra class. […]
| By Celia Hack KMUW
The rise of Instagram-famous food bloggers didn’t skip Wichita. Erin Clarke graduated from Kapaun Mount Carmel in 2004. She has gone on to amass millions of readers on her Well Plated blog and more than 400,000 followers on Instagram, where she shares easy, healthy recipes for home cooks. Clarke now lives in Milwaukee but returned to Wichita this fall […]
| 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 Sara Bearden. Donations may be made by calling 316-942-5385; through our website, […]
December 30, 2024 | By Suzanne Perez/KMUW
When I created the #ReadICT Challenge nine years ago, I never imagined it would take off the way it has or that the unveiling of each year’s new categories would elicit so much excitement from readers around the world. But here we are, ready to launch the 2025 challenge — a partnership of KMUW, The […]
December 24, 2024 | By Piper Pinnetti/Wichita Journalism Collaborative
Cobertura de nuestros socios, Español, Sevicios Sociales, WJC / December 20, 2024 / 5 minutes of reading Cobertura de nuestros socios, Personas sin hogar, Vivienda, WJC, WJC Stories / 12 de diciembre de 2024 / Wichita Journalism Collaborative / 5 minutos de lectura Tres programas están ayudando a satisfacer las demandas de ropa limpia y […]
| By Dylan Lysen/KMUW
Many low-income renters in Kansas live in decaying homes with health hazards and believe there is little they can do to improve their situation, a new survey shows. Some renters avoid submitting maintenance requests or reporting their poor living conditions to authorities because they fear retaliation — like an eviction — from their landlords. Experts […]
December 23, 2024 | By Dylan Lysen/KMUW
KMUW | Por Dylan Lysen Los precios de las viviendas y los alquileres se han disparado en los últimos años debido a la escasez de viviendas. Eso está llevando a un aumento en las personas sin hogar y podría estar perjudicando la economía. La escasez de viviendas en Kansas ha provocado un aumento vertiginoso de […]
December 14, 2024 | By Celia Hack/KMUW
The city of Wichita has alerted about 6,000 water customers that their pipes could be at higher risk for lead contamination and will need to be replaced under the federal government’s new lead pipe rules. The new rules, laid out by the Biden-Harris administration in October, require drinking water systems to identify and replace lead and some […]
December 13, 2024 | By The Active Age
Wichita Wind Surge Team President Jay Miller has announced his retirement from professional baseball after a 42-year career. According to a news release from the team, Miller began his second stint as President of the Wind Surge in January of 2023 following the team’s sale to Diamond Baseball Holdings. Under his leadership, the team experienced […]
December 12, 2024 | By Carina Branson and Aditi Lamba/KSN
The debate over illegal camping in Wichita is set to go to City Councilmembers next week. The council is considering changing rules to remove those camps more quickly, but this has prompted a petition from some who are calling for more compassion for the people in the community experiencing homelessness. The proposed amendments would allow law […]
December 10, 2024 | By The Active Age
A Wichita car dealership has been closed down and ordered to pay nearly $400,000 after selling more than a dozen cars with blown airbags, District Attorney Marc Bennett’s office said. According to a news release, a $394,197 default judgment was entered against Kayode Ajibolade and his dealership, Carnation LLC, for engaging in deceptive acts and […]
December 5, 2024 | By Kylie Cameron/Wichita Eagle
Property owners in Sedgwick County are unlikely to see any significant county property tax relief in the next year. A public vote on a new sales tax to support county arts, culture and recreation programming – while lowering the property tax mill levy – now likely won’t happen until 2026. Commissioners had planned to present […]
December 1, 2024 | By The Active Age
Inspiring story Thank you for the front-page article about Neal Baaker. It was so encouraging to learn of his journey to the United States, trials, hard work and ultimate success as a businessman. I decided to visit his nursery which resulted in a phone call. While his Wichita Greenhouse is closed for the season, I […]
November 28, 2024 | By Tammara Fogle
Lovers of holiday window decorations are in for a treat. Twenty businesses are taking part in a window decorating contest sponsored by Downtown Wichita “meant to spread joy and attract shoppers,” according to a news release from the organization. Community members will three winning displays. You can vote once a day by scanning the QR […]
November 23, 2024 | By Kylie Cameron/Wichita Eagle
The emergency winter shelter in the former Park Elementary School will open on Dec. 2. The low-barrier shelter is part of the planned multi-agency center for homeless services at 1025 N. Main St. “Our immediate goal and objective is an emergency winter shelter, a 24/7, at least 18-week shelter through the winter months, much like […]
November 11, 2024 | By Zena Taher/KSN
Construction crews are on the ground at the former Park Elementary School in Wichita. This week, some funding was approved to turn it into a homeless shelter and Multi-Agency Center (MAC). However, funding to create affordable housing in the area is still up in the air. Wichita City Council members approved millions for the initial work to turn Park […]
November 2, 2024 | By The Active Age
Topeka, Kan. – The Health Insurance Marketplace is experiencing an increase in the number of potential cases of agent and broker misconduct. Consumers should be on alert and verify changes and enrollments in their health insurance. “Be very cautious when giving authorization for changes in your health insurance enrollments,” said Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt. […]
October 30, 2024 | By Tammara Fogle
Savvy Senior – November Columns How to Arrange Your Own Cremation Service If You’re 65 or Older, It’s Time to Get Your Pneumonia Shot How SSI Benefits Can Help Struggling Seniors and the Disabled How to Find a Cheaper Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Best CPAP Alternatives for Sleep Apnea How to Arrange Your Own Cremation […]
| By Diana Breit Wolfe
After relocating to Chicago for work during the Great Depression, my parents eventually returned to Kansas to start a venture they had absolutely no experience in. This was running the Avery Cafe on Wichita’s “Tractor Row,” a stretch of South Wichita Street that was home to dozens of businesses catering to the region’s farmers. The […]