One would not guess after a tour of Big Brutus or an accidental discovery of an abandoned mineshaft that within these remnants of Kansas’s mining past lie political lessons for the present. From the 1890s to the 1920s, thousands of laborers mined the coal, lead and zinc fields of Crawford and Cherokee counties.
Dear Doctors: I’m a healthy 69-yearold woman who ended up in the ER with painful cramps in my lower abdomen. I was diagnosed with diverticulitis and treated with antibiotics. A registered dietitian said I need more good bacteria in my gut. She suggests kombucha, kefir and yogurt. Can you suggest other foods to eat or avoid? Can diverticulitis be cured?
Democrats missed a once-in-a-generation opportunity to a make splash in Kansas politics by doing something they’ve only done once since 1978: Win the attorney general’s office. But you can’t win an election if voters don’t even know who you are, which was the case for Chris Mann, the Democratic candidate.
We are on the verge of welcoming a new year in. I don’t know about you, but I will not be sad to see 2022 in the rearview mirror.
As we gear up for 2023, most Kansans know about the reintroduction of hemp as a protected agricultural commodity. After operating as a research project from 2019 to 2021, our state’s commercial hemp program is now overseen by the Kansas Department of Agriculture. Businesses that process hemp are now registered with the State Fire Marshal’s office.
Dear Doctors: I have been reading about how collagen peptides can be helpful to prevent menopausal bone loss. My own doctor has only recommended calcium, vitamin D and exercise. I would like to know more about what collagen peptides are and what they do. Do they really work?
Traditionally during the holidays, thoughtful moments of gratitude, goodwill and peace push away the frenzy of gift giving and parties with fancy food. We take stock of the past and look toward the coming year.
“Today we burn the rocks. Tomorrow we burn the oceans!” This was an unforgettable statement from one of the 16 mm films I showed to my students when I taught in 1971. My school district was poor. There was no money for audio-visuals. But I could borrow free films from the Oak Ridge Nuclear Lab in Tennessee. We also offered 9-week phase elective courses so students chose the science topics they wanted to study. One of my mini-courses was on Nuclear Power.
Somewhere on the prairies, as described by a syndicated rural newspaper feature in January 1889, a crowd of young folks sprang a surprise party on an old gentleman they called Uncle Peter. To the bemusement of Uncle Peter as well as Aunt Candace, the visitors invested their home with all the things young people did on social occasions--popping corn, bobbing for apples; engaging in play-party games of the era like “Weevily Wheat” and “Sister Phoebe;” and, this being the Gilded Age, singing, of course.
Eight of us lounged around the table, candlelight flickering on crumpled napkins and cracker crumbs. It was the tail end of our yearly holiday party for our neighbors, and our guests – ranging from 30-somethings to 60-somethings – seemed reluctant to leave. Nor did we want them to. Swapping stories and laughing together, though we barely know each other, seemed the most important thing we could do at that moment.