Raising five children and working as a teacher’s aide in Newton left Emily Crawford with too little time to take college classes to become a teacher. So she became an apprentice — earning a teacher’s salary ahead of schedule. All those hours tied up in the classroom helped pave her path to a college degree, […]
Wichita State University
Posted inEconomics, Health, Housing
Kansas is injecting $205 million into a biomedical campus. How it changes downtown Wichita
It is closing in on a weekday lunch hour with few signs of life on an April morning at the southeast corner of Broadway Avenue and East William Street. On the corner, a parking lot. To the west, the distinctive Depression-era Petroleum Building sits empty. To the south and east, toward the Intrust Bank Arena, […]
Posted inLocal Government
What’s at stake for Wichita if Boeing buys Spirit AeroSystems
Boeing wants a reunion with a corporate relative that’s drifted away. Spirit AeroSystems, once a Boeing subsidiary, split off from the aircraft manufacturing behemoth nearly 20 years ago. But they’ve continued to partner and now find their fates and reputations intertwined over the safety of a flagship jetliner they built together. Pressure to reexamine their […]
Posted inHealth
Psychologist works with Wichita Catholic Diocese to fight stigma around suicide
When Jessica Provines left the Catholic Church, she was an idealistic 18-year-old disillusioned with an institution that she saw as rigid, uncompromising and detached from the needs of the suffering. Twenty-six years later, Provines finds the Wichita Catholic Diocese a willing partner, ready to talk candidly about suicide to save lives. She’s worked her way […]
Posted inEnvironment, Wichita Journalism Collaborative
‘Ignored’: Activist challenges new environmental justice center to represent Black community
Mary Dean, president of Black Women Empowered in Wichita, Inc., and Kansas Justice Advocate, Inc., spoke out at an event at Wichita State for the new Heartland Environmental Justice Center. Dean said, “I couldn’t sit here any longer and listen to this.” “I’m just tired of hearing the same old thing that large groups or […]
Posted inEducation, Kansas State Government
Tuition, sports and free speech: How Kansas lawmakers want to change higher education in 2023
Among the sponsored bills are proposals that would make it easier to evade vaccine requirements, require colleges to provide platforms for a wide variety of viewpoints, and make community college and medical school more affordable for students in high-demand areas.
Posted inHealth
Community is key after experiencing a loss to suicide, Wichita mental health leaders say
This story on mental health contains data analysis by Gretchen Lenth, The Wichita Beacon’s Dow Jones data intern from this summer. Content warning: This story discusses suicide, suicide attempts and mental health in general. If you or someone you love is struggling with their mental health, check out The Beacon’s local mental health resource list. […]
Posted inWichitans You Should Know
Eddie Sandoval shares his culture through his business, Pinole Blue
Growing up in Solomon, a small town about 90 minutes north of Wichita, Eddie Sandoval kept himself busy with sports and running his own lawn mowing company. It was the first taste of entrepreneurship for Sandoval, who recalls growing up as part of the only Mexican family in the town of less than 1,000 people. […]
Posted inEducation
Students are back at Wichita colleges, but the COVID-19 picture remains murky
It’s Olivia Compton’s sixth spring semester in college, her third in the COVID-19 era and her first at Friends University. At this point, she has an air of having seen it all, even as the omicron variant shatters what looked like the light at the end of the tunnel for the pandemic during the fall […]
Posted inEducation
Wichita State betting on Hispanics becoming 25% of all students by 2030
Valeria Paunetto was torn between two identities when her family came to Wichita from Puerto Rico six years ago. “I was at a crossroads where I had to ask myself if I wanted to assimilate and play the game — to not be myself and be who others wanted me to be. Would I be […]