It was the summer of 2016. I’d just returned from a trip to visit my aunt and uncle in Florida with my mom and my sister. The trip was a small rest between coaching middle and high school track and field and the start of wheat harvest. I was grateful for time at the beach, but aching to get back […]

On May 12, our second-born turned 10. Her birthday was the third quarantine party we’ve had in our family since March. To help make the day special, I had an idea to put a birthday box on our porch for people to put cards and other well-wishes inside. It felt like a risky move because for the last four years, […]

It took me years to realize I had been duped. While I’m fairly confident it wasn’t on purpose, this catchy Christian cliche, “God won’t give you more than you can handle,” had butted against my reality for seemingly my whole life. But professing Christians said it, so it must be true. Right? It wasn’t until I started studying scripture on […]

On April 16, 2009, we celebrated our daughter’s first birthday with a ladybug cake. A few days later, her pediatrician called, explaining that her hemoglobin levels came back “dangerously low” from a routine well-child check. He told us to pack a bag and head to Wichita to the hospital. By the time we were dismissed from that first stay, our […]

At its Feb. 24 meeting, the Marion County Commission held a public hearing to close or vacate a section of 360th Road between Bison and Chisholm Trail. Landowner Dale Koop made the request and collected signatures of other affected landowners who supported the closure. This portion of road is a minimum maintenance road that gets graded twice a year. Koop […]

On Feb. 12 it snowed. And not just a wimpy snow. An actual good snow. A snow where you could go outside and play. Make a snowman. Make a snow fort. Have a snowball fight. Fall on your belly and not break your teeth. I love snow and have been impatiently waiting all winter for decent accumulation. I know there […]

Following nearly an hour-long discussion on county road conditions, rock pricing and costs for trucking the rock, including commentary from members of the public and a letter from Centre Unified School District 397, the Marion County Commission voted 5-0 at its Feb. 3 meeting to direct Brice Goebel, county engineer for the road and bridge department, to bid on hard […]

At its Jan. 27 meeting, the Marion County Commissioners voted 5-0 to approve a resolution to form an extension district with Dickinson County. This vote came after a presentation from Marion County extension agent Rickey Roberts, who was accompanied by a group including Becky Chase, Dickinson County extension board chair, and Chis Onstad, Northeast Regional Director with Kansas State University. […]

Things I’ve learned from my adoption “What do I have to be thankful for? My own dad didn’t want me.” Thanksgiving was creeping closer, and I had just unleashed that question on a group of high school freshmen I thought to be my friends. If I recall correctly, it was the first time I voiced that inner turmoil. My biological […]

It was a dark, early morning. The sun remained asleep and yet people streamed quietly from the warmth of vehicles into the crisp winter air, up a set of stairs and into church. The flood of light accompanying the swing of the doors teased the yet-night sky. Though pulled from my bed before the normal hour, my eyes were bright […]