Category: Local Interest

Construction begins on new homeless center but affordable housing units stalled

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 […]

Read Article

Beware Fraud in Health Insurance Marketplace

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. […]

Read Article

Savvy Senior: November Columns

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 […]

Read Article

Growing up on Wichita’s ‘Tractor Row’ was rarely boring

| 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 […]

Read Article

Lifestyles in so-called ‘blue zones’ encourage longevity

| By Joe Stumpe

Dr. Archelle Georgiou wants to turn Kansas into a blue state, and it’s got nothing to do with politics. Georgiou, who spoke in Wichita recently, is a Minneapolis physician and advocate of “blue zones,” as places in the world where people live exceptionally long and healthy lives have been dubbed. The phrase was popularized by […]

Read Article

The Active Age welcomes new board members

September 26, 2024 | By The Active Age

Three new members have joined the board of directors of The Active Age newspaper. Steve Criser is one of the founders and owners of CGP Group, LLC, a tax and accounting firm. A Wichita native, he graduated from East High and Wichita State University. Criser jokes that a job he held during college — drawing […]

Read Article

Wichita’s first shopping center turns 75

| By The Active Age

Here are some facts you might not know about Lincoln Heights Village, which became Wichita’s first shopping center when it opened in 1949. It was named for Abraham Lincoln, whom realtor and developer Walter Morris greatly admired. Morris bought the property at Douglas and Oliver in 1926 from a wealthy St. Louis financier, Harry F. […]

Read Article

Could a sales tax in Sedgwick County reduce property taxes? Here’s what’s being discussed

August 4, 2024 | By Matthew Kelly/The Wichita Eagle

Voters in Sedgwick County could be asked next year to support a new sales tax that would fund arts, culture and recreation programming. The Sedgwick County Zoo, Exploration Place science museum, the Kansas African American Museum and the county parks department are all set to take cuts in next year’s proposed county budget. Funding those […]

Read Article

Riverfront pathway temporarily closing for construction

August 2, 2024 | By The Active Age

Construction of major improvements to Exploration Place will temporarily close the riverfront pathway for two periods starting Monday, Aug. 5. EP is currently building the 1,500-seat Wichita Foundation Amphitheater and six-acre Destination Playscape as part of a $22 million project to transform is footprint on the Arkansas River. The closures will occur in two phases: […]

Read Article

Linwood Senior Center looking good after renovations

July 1, 2024 | By The Active Age

Talk about getting the most bang for your buck. Linwood Senior Center, run by Senior Services, Inc., leveraged a $6,762 grant from Central Plains Area Agency on Aging with its own fundraising and plenty of volunteer labor to give the center a major facelift. “Our volunteers at Senior Services and Linwood are amazing,” said Cherise […]

Read Article

Summer baseball leagues entertaining lead-up to NBC tournament

| By Bob Rives

They called it “the million-dollar outfield” at a time when a million dollars went much farther than it does today. In 1983, the Hutchinson Broncos, a summer collegiate team, had Barry Bonds, Rafael Paliermo and Pete Incaviglia in the outfield and Rick Wrong catching. That quartet would go on to the Majors starting in 1986 […]

Read Article

Savvy Senior: Long-Term Care Benefits for Veterans and Surviving Spouses

| 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 […]

Read Article

Sharing life stories with Shockers a rewarding experience

May 31, 2024 | By Al Higdon

Many senior residents of south-central Kansas have the opportunity to be in the lives of their grandchildren, but many others do not. And this is also true of many 20-somethings, some of whom don’t have a chance to interact much with older adults. Three years ago, Jacie Green sought a way to change that. Green […]

Read Article

Best cell phone choice not the same for everyone

| By Tammara Fogle

Dear Savvy Senior, Can you recommend some good cell phones for seniors? My 79-year-old mother needs to get a new mobile phone and has asked me to help her find one that she would like. Searching Daughter Dear Searching, For older adults, choosing a cell phone is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Some seniors love the […]

Read Article

‘Buzzsaw’ McHenry took up Carry Nation’s battle

| By Jim Mason 

Carry Nation was temperance’s best-known crusader in these parts, but a follower who was every bit her match in militance actually carried on the battle against demon rum longer. Myra Gaines Warren was born March 18, 1848, in Dover, Mo. She married James A. McHenry of Neodesha, Kan., in 1872. The marriage took place in […]

Read Article

Books look at U.S. political conflicts of past and present

| By Ted Ayres

“Founding Partisans: Hamilton, Madison, Jefferson, Adams and the Brawling Birth of American Politics” by H.W. Brands (Doubleday, 2023, 451 pages, $32.50) “Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning” by Liz Cheney (Little, Brown and Company, 2023, 372 pages, $32.50) Have you noticed that 2024 is an election year? Even if I wanted to forget, my […]

Read Article

June quiz: It’s all in the family

| By Nancy Wheeler

The answers to the following clues all mention a family member. The answers appear below. 1. What program debuted on CBS in October 1954 and starred Robert Young as the dad who had all the answers? 2. What 2008 movie starred Meryl Streep and featured songs by ABBA? 3.  What anti-slavery novel by Harriet Beecher […]

Read Article

Strength training can increase healthy years in your future

| By Monica Cissell

Sometimes it’s difficult to find the energy and motivation to exercise, especially when factors like bad weather and lack of access to an exercise facility are added in. But exercise is important at any age, and strength training is an important part.  Research into strength training by the National Institute on Aging has found it […]

Read Article

Innovative outdoor fitness court opens in north Wichita

May 9, 2024 | By The Active Age

An outdoor fitness court will officially open at 1 p.m. Friday in Pat Garcia Veterans Memorial Park in north Wichita. Located at 2640 N. Wellington Place, between Arkansas and Broadway, the court was developed by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, Wichita Park and Recreation and the National Fitness Campaign. According to a news […]

Read Article

Wichita’s top ranking is something to sneeze at

April 1, 2024 | By The Active Age

There’s apparently no place like Wichita to experience that sniffling, sneezing, itchy, runny nose and watery eyes feeling. For the second year in a row, the city has been named the most challenging place in the United States to live with seasonal allergies by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. But there are a […]

Read Article

Characters make ‘Thursday Murder Club’ series come alive

| By Ted Ayres

I recently became acquainted with some interesting people and have become rather attached to them. These new friends include a former nurse, a former spy, a former union official and an occasionally still-practicing psychiatrist. They are all septuagenarian pensioners living at Coopers Chase, an upscale retirement village near Fairhaven, England. Oh, and they meet once […]

Read Article

U-Haul: Maize and Andover among fastest-growing Kansas cities

January 6, 2024 | By The Active Age

Maize and Andover were among Kansas cities that appeared to grow in population the fastest last year, according to U-Haul. The company tracks one-way rentals of trucks, trailers and U-box moving containers across the United State each year to come up with its “growth index.” Overall, Kansas saw more slightly more departures (50.1 percent) than […]

Read Article

Tickets go on sale for synchronized skating championship

January 5, 2024 | By The Active Age

Tickets are now on sale for the 2024 U.S. Figure Skating Midwestern Synchronized Sectional Championship, which will be held in Wichita Jan. 24-27. Championship performances will be conducted at Intrust Bank Arena while practices will take place at the Wichita Ice Center. This is Visit Wichita’s fourth time to host a U.S. Figure Skating event. […]

Read Article