HEADLINES

  • Lost Springs man dies in head-on crash

    A Lost Springs man was killed when his pickup collided head-on with a semi-trailer truck Monday afternoon on US-56/77, north of 270th Rd. The pickup, a 2019 Ram 1500 driven by Kendall L. Harding, 29, Lost Springs, was heading north before it veered into the southbound lane and collided with the semi, a 2023 Peterbilt driven by Jason P. Mathews, 36, Garnett.

  • 2nd wreck again nets no ticket

    For the second time in seven weeks, the wife of a Marion City Council member has backed into a stationary car and not been ticketed. Kari Collett, 36, wife of councilman Zach Collett, backed into a parked car Nov. 30 and left the scene but was not cited. Then, on Jan. 13, she backed out of a parking stall in the 1400 block of Denver St., struck a car that had stopped because she was backing out, and once again did not get a citation.

  • Police rescue wheelchair from snow

    A Marion woman on her way to a medical appointment in her wheelchair Friday needed police assistance after she got stuck in snow. Interim police chief Zach Hudlin said police were summoned when the woman got stuck in the snow in the 1500 block of E. Main St.

  • Grant winner has cloudy outlook on solar power

    Carlsons’ Grocery and Hillsboro Industries will receive federal grants to pay for half the cost of installing and maintaining solar panels. But owners Greg Carlson and Mike Gerken have quite different attitudes towards the program.

OTHER NEWS

  • Wildcat nickname hangs in balance

    Ten community members filled 12 chairs set out for them at a school board meeting Monday night in Marion. After the board’s president and vice president, Nick Kraus and Jan Helmer, formally were reelected, public comment on replacing the middle school “Wildcat” mascot with the high school “Warrior” mascot was invited.

  • Prosecutor seeks to recruit lawyers

    With only one law office left in the county, and that being a half-day satellite office of a McPherson County office, Marion County’s 11,690 residents are seriously underserved. Bob Brookens, the county’s last full-time lawyer, retired in October.

  • Marion revives historic district

    An effort to get Marion’s downtown designated as a historic district — opening the door to tax credits to pay for building improvements — will continue after a five-year hiatus touched off by 2020’s COVID-19 pandemic. City council members voted Tuesday to approve a proposal from Ben Moore Studio to shepherd the program. The process usually takes a year to a year and a half.

  • Camper frets about security

    A frequent camper at the county lake told county commissioners Tuesday that she was unhappy with the sheriff’s department response to a “homeless” couple who used the showers at the lake’s heated bathhouse Sunday. Arlene Stika contended to commissioners that she didn’t feel secure because she was the only person camping at the lake that night.

  • Hillsboro solar farm moving forward

    Hillsboro city council began Tuesday by correcting the tire pickup cost charged by the city. A previous ordinance accidentally adjusted the cost to an old rate.

  • Marion city staffer moves to Hillsboro

    Marion city office employee Sandy Scheele now works for the city of Hillsboro. She started Jan. 6 as accounts payable and payroll clerk.

  • Nurses wanted for rural communities

    Kansas, especially in rural areas, faces a shortage of nurses that is expected to become worse, a recent Kansas Nursing Workforce Center report shows. Hillsboro Community Hospital executive director Mark Rooker said HCH employs 17.57 full-time equivalent nursing employees for inpatient, emergency room, and clinic operations.

  • Pharmacies to close Feb. 5 to support reform

    Many pharmacies throughout the state, including Lanning in Marion and Hillsboro Hometown in Hillsboro, will be closed Feb. 5 in support of Pharmacy Benefit Managers reform. CK Pharmacy’s three locations in Peabody, McPherson, and Moundridge will be closed from 9 to noon.

  • Mother Nature serves up seconds

    Two weeks after the county was hammered by an icy blizzard, Mother Nature gave the county a little more snow Monday. Streets and parking lots still had mountains of snow piled up at corners and ridges of snow along curbs, but Monday’s fresh coat of snow concealed ice patches, making them impossible to see for walkers and drivers.

DEATHS

FOR THE RECORD

OPINION

  • On the warpath about Wildcats

    “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” — “Romeo and Juliet,”
    Act 2, Scene 2

  • Fool me once . . .

    Twice now, a city council member’s wife has backed her car into a stationary vehicle — one of those times, leaving the scene afterward. Twice now, Marion’s genial interim police chief has decided not to give her a ticket. Image can be everything. Whether his decisions were justified or designed to curry favor, they are a troubling coincidence.

  • ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:

    Turn over a new leaf

  • LETTERS:

    Kassebaum kudos, Winding up TikTok

PEOPLE

  • Counselor pounces at chance to help

    Stepping into her office, it becomes clear that elementary school counselor Kris Burkholder has two great loves — the Kansas City Chiefs and leopard print. On Friday, Burkholder wore a red Chiefs sweatshirt with a leopard-print helmet in the middle, leopard-print shoes, and Chiefs earrings.

  • Forensics talk its way back to prominence

    As the new year comes to a start, Marion High School’s forensics team is springing into action. At its core, forensics is a competitive version of theater. Most would consider it a hyped-up version of speech class.

  • Open house rescheduled

    Because of a snowstorm Jan. 5, an open house honoring Anita Sly’s 90th birthday has been rescheduled for 2 to 5 p.m. Feb. 1 at Belmont Boulevard Christian Church, 2508 Belmont Blvd., Salina. No gifts are requested. Cards may be mailed to 1501 E Magnolia Rd #21, Salina KS 67401.

  • College degrees and honors

  • Anabaptist anniversary to be discussed

    Dale Schrag will talk about the 500th anniversary of the Anabaptist movement at Mennonite Heritage and Agricultural Museum’s annual business meeting at 2 p.m. Feb.2 at Alexanderwohl Church, 1304 K-15. A traditional Faspalunch will follow the free, public presentation.

  • Disability group to meet

    Videoconferencing will be available for the public when directors of Harvey-Marion County Developmental Disability Organization meet at 4 p.m. Jan. 27 in Suite 204 at 500 N. Main St., Newton. Instructions are at https://harveymarioncddo.com/meetings.

  • Senior center menus

  • 4-H:

    Happy Hustlers

  • MEMORIES:

    15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 110, 145 years ago

SPORTS

  • Marion boys secure homecoming victory

    Marion Marion dominated Inman, winning the Warriors’ homecoming game 58-43 Friday night.

  • Tough week for county girls

    Hillsboro Hillsboro lost Friday night against Hesston, 39-30.

  • Nguyen pins 5 opponents in 6 minutes

    Marion senior Brian Nguyen continued an amazing season Saturday in Halstead, pinning all five of his opponents in just over six minutes of total wrestling time. Nguyen now has a 15-2 season record and is trending in the right direction as the season is half over.

  • Runners named All-Academic

    Marion senior Luke Wessel and junior Eli Klenda has been named to the All-Academic state cross-country team for placing in the top 30 in the state and having a grade-point average of 3.75 or better. “These two student-athletes work hard in the classroom and on the course and are great leaders for our XC program,” coach Jason Hett said.

MORE…

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