This story contains references to sexual abuse, self-harm and drug use. When 24-year-old Michelle Leo tells her story it does not have a beginning, a middle and an end. It does come with a trigger warning: Leo wants you to know it’s going to be dark and maybe you won’t want to hear it. Stories […]
Polly Basore Wenzl
Posted inWichitans You Should Know
Muslim in Kansas: Taben Azad’s quest to belong
Sometimes you love a place that doesn’t love you back. Taben Azad loves his family, his faith and his hometown. But as a Kansas-born Muslim it’s hard for him to find a sense of belonging. “I’m too Muslim to be American, and I’m too American to be Muslim,” Azad says. “I don’t feel like I […]
Posted inEconomics
Beyond payday loans: What other options exist when you need financial help?
Sometimes there just isn’t enough money — and when one thing goes wrong, everything else seems to follow. A car breaks down. Plumbing begins to leak. Someone gets sick. Such emergencies demand an urgent response — perhaps a visit to the nearest payday lender. But what you do to get out of that financial jam […]
Posted inEconomics, Kansas State Government
Kansas wants to ease taxes on retirees
Update: This story was from the 2023 Legislative session, but it has been updated for the 2024 Legislative session and is up-to-speed on Statehouse action as of Jan. 31, 2024. Kansas lawmakers failed to cut Social Security taxes in 2023. But lawmakers are trying again — this time with more bipartisan support. Last year, Gov. […]
Posted inWichitans You Should Know
Defying a “gang list” label to find his voice and lend it to others
There is the life you are born to — and the life you create. Desmond Bryant-White is creating his chosen life through words: written words and spoken words, filling books and covering whiteboards. Words rising out of pain, struggle and injustice, uttered at poetry slams, press conferences and policy panels. And now leaders of Wichita’s […]
Posted inEconomics, Kansas State Government
Kansas lowers sales tax on food, but not everything you eat is eligible for savings
Update: On April 24, Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed legislation that would have accelerated the elimination of state sales tax on food to zero on Jan. 1, 2024. The food sales tax is currently scheduled to fall from 4% to 2% on that date. Though Kelly supported the change, she opposes the larger bill that would […]
Posted inCivic Engagement, DIY Democracy, Kansas State Government
Kansas Legislature asked to focus on life-and-death issues
“You have the power to save lives this upcoming session,” said Lisa Veyda, one of two dozen people who signed up to speak Dec. 13 at a public forum hosted by the Regional Economic Area Partnership of South Central Kansas (REAP).