Iola City Council and USD 257 will have a joint meeting June 24 to learn about options for baseball and softball fields at Riverside Park. The city and school board members have been working for…

Iola students can continue to eat free school meals next year.  USD 257 school board members approved a request from Staci Talkington, food service director, to continue the free meal program. “Last year, I wasn’t…

USD 257 is cautiously entering the electric vehicle world.  School board members approved an EPA program that will provide two electric school buses at significant cost savings. The district will pay $70,772 for the two…

Updates to ballfields at Riverside Park could be on the horizon if Iola council members give their approval at Tuesday’s meeting. On the table is a proposed contract for services from Mammoth Sports Construction of…

An open letter to Senator Caryn Tyson: At a town hall meeting on May 9, you asserted that the city of Iola has the highest commercial property taxes in the nation. You also said that…

Laura Caillouet-Weiner remembers walking down the hall at Jefferson Elementary School as a student teacher in the spring of 1981. Then-Principal Richard Sears stopped her and asked, “What are you going to do next fall?”…

Accelerated Reader is an educational tool — and like any tool, it’s useful only when used properly. That was a recurring theme in comments from parents and retired and current educators who shared their concerns…

Iola Elementary School is ending a reading program after more than two decades, sparking criticism from some members of the staff and community. The school will no longer use the Accelerated Reader (AR) program and…

PITTSBURG — A day filled with competition, inclusion and lots of fun greeted members of the Iola Special Olympics and unified sports teams as they took part in the Southeast Kansas Regional Track Meet. Several…

Iola school board members are so confident the Kansas Chiefs will win a third consecutive Super Bowl, they’re already planning to give everyone the next day off. OK, so the Chiefs may not win every…