March 31, 2025 | By Margaret Britton-Mehlisch
Appeals of Sedgwick County’s new property appraisals were running almost double the volume of previous years through mid-March. County Appraiser Mark Clark isn’t surprised. About 87% of residential property owners and 73% of commercial property owners saw an increase in their property valuations for 2025. Homes experienced an average increase of 9%, and commercial property […]
March 1, 2025 | By Sherry Graham Howerton
When tragedy strikes, the people affected are often consumed with the question of “why?” Retired Newton Pastor Cleo Koop found himself in such a place in 2019 as he and his family faced the decision to move his wife, Faye, then 64, into a dementia care facility. Faye had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease two […]
January 31, 2025 | By Amy Geiszler-Jones
DERBY — On a cold January morning, it didn’t take long for Cleda Justice to make a heartwarming connection with the young male visitor seated next to her in the lounge of Brookdale Derby senior living community. “He’s marvelous,” Justice said as she ran her hands along the soft, fluffy fur of Jax, a 2 […]
January 1, 2025 | By Joe Stumpe
Turns out Bob Bayer isn’t the only person interested in jailhouse artist Ernest Aspinwall. Since an article about Bayer and the creative criminal appeared in The Active Age in August 2022, he’s been contacted by several people who either knew Aspinwall, knew somebody who did or possessed one of his paintings. Aspinwall made front-page news […]
December 9, 2024 | By The Active Age
If you call your place Cowtown, you’ve got to have a cow. That was the role Rosie the Cow played at Old Cowtown Museum for all 20 years of her life. On Monday, the city and museum said they were saddened to announce that the shorthorn cow — “a beloved fixture of Old Cowtown Museum” […]
December 1, 2024 | By The Active Age
The Active Age is giving away three pairs of tickets to The Carpenters tribute show at The Orpheum on Saturday, Dec. 14. “Close to You: A Carpenters Christmas” is based on the music of The Carpenters’ holiday albums and Christmas variety show. To enter our drawing for tickets, fill out the entry form below. Or […]
November 8, 2024 | By Trace Salzbrenner The Journal
Wichita is cutting back to ready for a budget shortfall in the coming years. To prepare, the City Council is sorting through spending items to determine what’s most essential. That will mean decreased funding for such things as Century II and the Wichita Ice Center, and moving money away from the program to pave dirt […]
October 28, 2024 | By The Active Age
Kansans have a more positive view of the state’s overall quality of life than they did a year ago, according to a new survey. Their view of the economy was also brighter although a majority felt they’d been significantly affected by inflation. Former President and current Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump and Gov. Laura Kelly, […]
October 25, 2024 | By The Active Age
Sedgwick County will operate a total of 20 early voting centers from Tuesday, Oct. 29 through Saturday, Nov. 2. These will operate daily from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. through Friday, Nov. 1 and from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2. Click here for a complete list. “We are thrilled by the record turnout we’ve seen at the […]
October 24, 2024 | By The Active Age
Wichita Transit is again providing free rides on Election Day — Tuesday, Nov. 5 — no matter where you’re going. The offer proved popular last year, as ridership jumped over 10 percent. Wichita Transit will offer free bus rides on all traditional bus routes and paratransit service. Free rides are valid for everyone riding to or from polling locations as well as any other trip during the day. Riders do not […]
October 16, 2024 | By The Active Age
United Way of the Plains is recruiting 160 volunteers for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program that will operate Feb. 1 through April 15 in 2025. According to a news release, the service is offered at no charge to households making $64,000 or less annually. Funded through an annual grant secured from the Internal […]
October 14, 2024 | By Stefania Lugli/The Journal
The deaths of more homeless residents are being counted this year after local officials implemented a formal process to identify them – the latest symptom of the intensifying conversation around homelessness in Wichita. As of September, 46 homeless people had been confirmed dead by Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center investigators. That’s more than the 42 that […]
October 11, 2024 | By The Active Age
Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Laura Rainwater is reminding voters of several important dates this month, including next week’s voter registration deadline, in preparation for the 2024 General Election on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Tuesday, Oct. 15 – Last day that Sedgwick County residents can register to vote and be able to cast a ballot in the […]
October 10, 2024 | By The Active Age
Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments for more than 72.5 million Americans will increase 2.5% in 2025, the Social Security Administration announced today (Oct. 10). On average, Social Security retirement benefits will increase by about $50 per month starting in January. Over the last decade the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increase has averaged […]
October 9, 2024 | By The Active Age
A woman who stole thousands of dollars from her great uncle has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison, according to a news release from the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s office. Sedgwick County District Judge David Kaufman sentenced Stephanie Bracks, 43, of Dallas, Texas to 47 months in prison and ordered her to pay […]
October 3, 2024 | By The Active Age
Wichita home prices will rise by nearly 8 percent next year, slightly more than the statewide average, according to the 2025 Kansas Housing Markets Forecast series published by the Wichita State University Center for Real Estate. “Inventories of homes available for sale remain quite tight,” said Dr. Stan Longhofer, director of the WSU Center for […]
September 30, 2024 | By Meg Britton-Mehlisch/The Beacon
One big rainstorm won’t fix Wichita’s water shortage. Dark storm clouds that hovered over Wichita one mid-September softened the ring of cracked dirt that’s inched wider around Cheney Lake each week, but it didn’t erase the underlying problem. Kansas is in a drought. For much of the last year, Cheney Lake, Wichita’s primary water source, […]
| By Chance Swaim/The Wichita Eagle
The two candidates for Sedgwick County Commission District 3 have different visions for how county government should raise and spend money in the face of increasing property taxes and a housing shortage in the Wichita area. Celeste Racette, a fiscally conservative Democrat with a background in accounting, said she wants to offer property tax relief […]
| By Chance Swaim/The Wichita Eagle
Sedgwick County Commission District 2 candidates Sarah Lopez, the Democratic incumbent, and Jeff Blubaugh, the Republican challenger, disagree about how the county should address affordable housing in Sedgwick County. But they both said they think county property taxes play a key role. Lopez said she plans to offer property tax relief by consolidating services offered […]
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 […]
September 25, 2024 | By Matthew Kelly/The Wichita Eagle
For the first time in over 100 years, Park Elementary School did not welcome students and teachers back for another school year. Instead, the recently shuttered elementary in the heart of Midtown is set to reopen around Thanksgiving as an emergency winter shelter. The Wichita City Council last month finalized its $1 purchase of Park […]
September 24, 2024 | By The Active Age
Sedgwick County is doubling the size of its Household Hazardous Waste Facility at 801 Stillwell and adding parking to the east side. According to a news release, the $1.9 million project is needed to handle growth in customer usage and to facilitate tours and school field trips in the future. Meantime, the facility’s Swap & […]
September 20, 2024 | By The Active Age
As Wichita’s drought continues, the city said this week that it will step up enforcement of water use restrictions — including the levying of fines when warranted — and may discuss prohibiting all outdoor watering in the future. “All water customers are urged to continue to find ways to cut back on water usage,” a […]
September 17, 2024 | By Suzanne Perez/KMUW
The Wichita school district will ask voters in February to approve a $450 million bond issue to finance school construction and other improvements — a plan leaders say will reduce the district’s overall footprint and make it more efficient. School board members voted 6-1 on Monday to hold a special election Feb. 25. It will […]
September 16, 2024 | By The Active Age
The state of Kansas will begin this fall to provide $1,000 to unpaid caregiers caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or another dementia, it was announced today (Monday, Sept. 16). The Kansas Respite for Alzheimer’s & Dementia Program (K-RAD) will be overseen by Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) but managed and administered by […]