Opinions

Editor’s Note — The following was written by Eric Coonrod, a government teacher at Ellsworth JuniorSenior High School. The reaction of his students to the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol can be found on Pages A9 and B2 of this week’s IndependentReporter. As I watched the U.S.

The 2021 Kansas legislative session got underway this week in Topeka. Preparing for session in the House with the risks of COVID was a huge task for our staff and leadership.

A prized book in my collection of western history isn’t the story of a famous gunslinger, or a wild and woolly cattle town, but the memoir of a little Swedish girl who came to the Kansas prairie with her parents in 1869.

The Autobiography of Capt. Richard W. Musgrove was published in 1921, seven years after his death. Musgrove was born in Bristol, N.H. and served in the 12th New Hampshire Infantry during the Civil War.

We can think of two times in a 40-year-plus career in journalism that it was difficult to find words to express our feelings. The first time was more than a decade ago, when we were called upon to write an editorial the day after the Independent-Reporter was gutted by fire.

We haven’t counted, but probably no one has more photos in the Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter archive files than Kermit Rush. There’s a simple reason for that accomplishment. The first time we met Kermit was about 20 years ago.

Farm dogs hold a special place in the day-to-day operations of many family farms and ranches. For my family, our dog serves many important roles. Very quickly after our dog Rosie Bo was brought home to the farm as a tiny puppy, she assumed the role of head of farm security.

The 1886 creation of Seward County in southwest Kansas brought immediate conflict over the location of the county seat. Near the center of the county the citizens of Fargo Springs and Springfield huffed and puffed as armed men threatened one another with “words of profanity:’ After Kansas Gov.

We like to think the women and men we select to represent us in public office go there to work in the best interests of their constituents. Not just their Republican or Democratic constituents, but their state and districts as a whole. Sometimes that means going along with the majority.

Really, Time Magazine? 2020 is the “Worst Year Ever?” I will take this year over any year before penicillin, indoor plumbing, electricity and regular trash collection. We do not know what history will say of 2020.