Iola’s close ties to the Neosho River will be examined at “A River Runs Through It” a Thursday program examining how the river helped shape the local community.
The Neosho runs along Iola’s eastern city limits, and is the primary reason Iola was founded where it was, yet most locals rarely think about it.
At one time, button factories flourished on its banks, pleasure boats piled on it, and residents drank from it and used its waters to irrigate fields. Men and, once again, eagles fish from it.
The Register’s Bob Johnson will moderate the discussion on little-known facts and lore about the Neosho.
Also on hand for the discussion are Toby Ross, Iola water plant superintendent, Susan Stover of the Kansas Geological Survey, and Travis Robb, biology instructor at Allen Community College.
Topics will range from history to recreation, wildlife to floods and the dredging about to commence at the John Redmond Reservoir, which feeds the river upstream near Burlington.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Iola Public Library meeting room. Attendees are asked to enter from the west parking lot.
For more information, call 365-3262.
