Registered

Bidding farewell to our beloved Bob Johnson

August 3rd, 2020  |  27 mins 28 secs

allen county kansas, humboldt, iola, journalism, learning, newspapers, reporting

Bob Johnson began working at The Iola Register on July 6, 1964. 56 years later, almost to the day, he penned his last “Weeks End” column in the July 11, 2020 edition of the Register.

In this week’s podcast, Richard and Tim talk with Bob about what he’s seen and learned over a lifetime of journalism. Remarkably enough, Bob encountered only three editors— Angelo Scott, Emerson Lynn and Susan Lynn. But in terms of content, well, Bob’s articles number in the tens of thousands, covering everything from football to city council meetings to slugs. Yes, slugs.

David Lee wants to talk growth

July 27th, 2020  |  32 mins 40 secs

allen county, allen county kansas, growth, infrastructure, politics, rural

In today’s episode, we headed out to LaHarpe’s City Hall to speak with David Lee. Lee is running for a seat on the Allen County Commission. He faces Craig Mentzer and Eugene Weatherbie in the August 4 Republican primary.

Lee believes Allen County has the tools for robust economic development, and much of our conversation focused on his ideas on how to ensure the county prospers—and how his experiences make him, as he says, uniquely qualified for the job.

John Brocker says he knows the right people

July 23rd, 2020  |  27 mins 29 secs

allen county, allen county kansas, business, infrastructure, internet, iola, politics, realtor

John Brocker has been a businessman and realtor in Iola for 45 years. He served as president of the Kansas Association of Realtors in 2012. This year, he’s running for a seat on the Allen County commission, the same seat he briefly held until losing to Bruce Symes, the District 3 incumbent, in 2018.

In today’s episode, the fifth in our series covering local candidates, we speak with Brocker about what’s motivating him to run again, his priorities if he wins the Aug 4 Republican primary against Symes, and how his business background would guide his decisions as commissioner.

Bruce Symes: We need steady hands on the tiller

July 16th, 2020  |  33 mins 33 secs

agriculture, allen county, allen county kansas, covid-19, infrastructure, politics, roads, rural

In today’s episode, as we continue speaking with local candidates facing primary challenges in the upcoming Aug. 4 election, we talked with Bruce Symes. He’s seeking a second term as Allen County Commissioner, representing District 3. A former Register reporter, he now teaches at Allen Community College. We reached him by phone, as he was in Wichita accompanying his father undergo a heart procedure.

Craig Mentzer’s push for affordable internet access

July 13th, 2020  |  31 mins 2 secs

agriculture, allen county, allen county kansas, broadband, infrastructure, internet access, politics, rural

For today’s episode, Richard and I headed out to Craig and Denise Mentzer’s home in rural Allen County, southeast of Neosho Falls. Craig is running for a seat on the Allen County Commission and faces Eugene Weatherbie and David Lee in the August 4 Republican primary.

As we spoke in their sunroom, a multi-million dollar rain, as Craig called it, gentle fell and tapered off as our conversation advanced. We spoke on a wide variety of topics, from his interest in affordable rural internet access, infrastructure and farming.

The Westervelt family weaves their way on the trails, together

May 29th, 2020  |  22 mins 50 secs

allen county kansas, covid-19, family, iola, pandemic, prairie spirit, trails

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Jaime Westervelt, her parents Mike and Leah Oswald, and Jaime's three children Wyatt, Griffen and Jolee, made very regular use of the trails. Now, though, with the family stuck at home much more, the trails have provided a refuge and escape from these distressing times. And somewhere along the gravel chert paths, they grew closer as a family as well.

In this episode, recorded on a rainy May evening, reporter Trevor Hoag and Tim Stauffer accompany the Westervelt family on one of their walks on the Prairie Spirit Trail.

Pregnant in the midst of a pandemic

May 10th, 2020  |  31 mins 48 secs

allen county kansas, covid-19, iola, pandemic, pregnancy

Iola residents Katie Mitchell and Kyle Lovseth share what it’s like to be expecting a child in the midst of a pandemic. Katie, a Sociology professor at Allen Community College, is 31 weeks pregnant. She and Kyle are expecting their first child.

Dr. Brian Wolfe can't say it enough: Wash. Your. Hands.

April 7th, 2020  |  26 mins 9 secs

allen county kansas, community health center, coronavirus, covid-19, health, healthcare, iola

Dr. Brian Wolfe of Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas answers our questions about COVID-19 and offers insights on how to best protect ourselves here in Allen County.

Step back, slow down: An interview with Dr. Wright of SEK Mental Health

February 27th, 2020  |  34 mins 25 secs

allen county kansas, families, mental health, stress, stress management

Tim Stauffer sat down with Dr. Doug Wright, Clinical Director with SEK Mental Health Center, to talk about how stress affects families and how best to manage it. Check out sekmhcenter.org for more info.

When a pool isn't just a pool

February 19th, 2020  |  26 mins 58 secs

activities center, allen community college, allen county kansas, iola

Tim Stauffer sat down with Susan Lynn, Register editor and publisher, and Trevor Hoag, our newest reporter, to review what happened at Allen Community College's public forum this Monday.