Growing up in southwest Kansas, one of the tenets of life I learned early is this: A good steak needs no sauce. After moving around the country a bit, I got used to people dousing…

Last week, Jake LaTurner, candidate for Congress, said he thought the additional $600 in unemployment benefits to help those who have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic are a bad idea. LaTurner gave…

Sometimes politics meets the personal, head on. This is one of those times. On June 14, I turn 75. On June 22, Michel and I celebrate our 52nd wedding anniversary. Forty-one years ago this month,…

Mark Hastings joined the Register family years ago, working in advertising with his father, Jack, and Ray Blohm. Before long he became advertising manager, and retired a year ago.  Early on we became fast friends.…

The New York Times recently ran an article on the “painful reprisals” that some employees are experiencing for refusing to come back to what they feel are unsafe conditions. As businesses reopen after being shut…

I was in Washington, D.C., when 14th Street burned following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. Like many of us, I went on to witness more riots and rampages when other…

It’s not over yet, this strange, sad, but perhaps ultimately teaching moment in our country’s history. And maybe it will not end in a neat and tidy way. But when next comes, what will it…

The outrage driving protesters into America’s streets runs many layers deep. At the top is the death of George Floyd and the horrible persistence of police brutality. The latest jobs report reflects another: the disproportional…

When I turn my column in each week, editors at newspapers decide whether it will be published. I have no constitutional right to see my thoughts appear in the paper or any other publication. My…

On Monday morning I called longtime Iola merchant Jan Knewtson to ask if I could do a story about her decision to retire. “Well, not today,” she said. “I can’t seem to stop crying.” On…