There’s another effort to hide information from the public, this time in Junction City.

I continue to marvel at the upside-down world we inhabit.

If the reports are to be believed, Manhattan is on the verge of a financial crisis, and we are either going to cut 70 city employees, raise the city portion of your property taxes by almost 13 percent, or ask the voters to approve a permanent one percent sales tax. I would rather we take a m…

Coming soon to an election near you: Malarkey created by Russian and Iranian robots.

Here’s an update on the status of your local news organizations, The Mercury and KMAN radio.

In the month since he shot Donald Trump, we haven’t really learned much about Thomas Matthew Crooks. I’m not sure we will ever really know what drove him to pull the trigger, at least in the sense that we all want to know. He’s dead, and he evidently didn’t leave much of a record.

An open letter to Danielle Dulin, the new city manager of Manhattan:

Welcome back to Manhattan, Danielle Dulin. Or as we like to put it around here, Manhattan, Welcome To. Inside joke. Don’t worry, you’ll get it. If you’re coming here from the west, it’s Exit 303, too. Just FYI.

So let’s review the Banana Republic case in Marion County, and how it has all worked out thus far.

Well, that didn’t take long.

Readers, tighten your seatbelts. I’m writing about “Twisters.”

I turned the lock, closed the door, took the wooden step down, got in my car and drove down the driveway. It was the last time.

I’ve always been a Keith guy. Not Mick. Keith.

In 1874, newlyweds F. August and Barbara Praeger left Illinois in a covered wagon.

Paris’ Olympics opening ceremonies performance on Friday sure sparked some strong reactions.

We want to extend a hearty congratulations to everyone who participated in the Riley County Fair this year!

I can understand the Democrats’ move to anoint Kamala Harris as the successor. There’s a clock ticking, and uniting against a common opponent is tactically important for them.

Today I’d like to engage in media criticism, mostly out of love.

I was just starting my senior year in college, 21, didn’t know much about anything. Smart enough, though, to get tickets to a Rolling Stones show. Went up to Wisconsin, where my brother was starting in college, to catch them at an outdoor amphitheater in East Troy, the middle of nowhere.

I’m a big believer in second chances. Everybody gets a shot at redemption.

Your local property tax bill for the coming year is beginning to take shape. It will, of course, be higher. How much higher remains to be seen, depending largely on the decisions looming for the Manhattan City Commission.

It seems pretty straightforward: People ought to prove that they’re over 18 to visit pornography websites. That’s the gist of a new Kansas law. The idea is for the law to protect kids, in the same way the law protects kids from alcohol and nicotine.

I cleaned out the garage this past weekend. Found three flashlights; we also dug up a few at my parents’ house as we emptied it over the past several months.

The young man who shot Donald Trump was, by definition, crazy. Sane people don’t climb up on a roof with an assault rifle to shoot at other humans.

You never realize how adventurous you can be until you’re someplace new.

The Manhattan to Fort Riley commute is fueled by testosterone.

It’s encouraging to see the quality of candidates applying to be the next Manhattan city manager.

I would assume Joe Biden will continue running, and I would assume the Republicans won’t ditch Donald Trump. This is profoundly disappointing, but I want to give a rundown of what that impending choice has meant for my family, which is a cross-section that’s at least interesting to me. Not t…

For those of you new to this part of the country, I apologize for what’s about to happen.

Since there’s a bunch of newcomers, I have a deal to propose to the Manhattan City Commission.

Part of me wanted to write off President Biden’s diminished capacity for coherent speech as irrelevant. Partly out of empathy, partly out of a desire to avoid electing the other guy.

A passing comment from my dad has made me rethink travel, especially as a parent.

It’s now just past the Fourth, which means summer is half-over. Sorry to do that to you, and I’m even sorrier for what I’m about to say: You really ought to pay attention to the city government budget discussions.

The Fourth of July is, as it ought to be, a day of unity. It’s a day when we can all celebrate America, revere the incredible country we’re lucky to live in, find common ground with each other if just for a minute.

Among the lessons for political leaders to learn from President Biden’s debate disaster, I hope one that sticks is about transparency. I don’t have much faith, but I’m going to spool it out here in the event that somebody will listen.

We’re likely still stuck, even after the train-wreck presidential debate last week, with a choice between two doddering old men, one of them clearly losing it, the other a felon. It’s preposterous; I blame both parties for this.

Rough math tells me I’ve mowed our lawn 1,300 times. Rough, because I’m words not numbers. Twice a week, six months a year for 25½ years. I know every divot and high spot. I know this lawn’s strengths and weaknesses. Encroaching Bermuda grass remains my nemesis. If we weren’t moving, Napalm …

Coming next week: A Manhattan Mercury that’s focused entirely on local news and information.

So let’s walk back through Jerome Tang’s employment situation, now that we have the relevant documents.

We went to a wedding over the weekend, an event uniting two people in their 80s, both of them grandparents. I gave a toast to their happiness, since that is entirely what the whole thing is about. Nothing else matters.

It’s hard to not burst out laughing at the following news lede: Louisiana has enacted a new law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom.

I’ve hung out quite a bit with 80-year-olds over the past few years, for a variety of reasons. Mostly good. This past weekend I was at a wedding of two of them, a happy occasion. The rest of the weekend I chauffeured another group around to grandkids’ baseball games. Loved it.

My almost 10-year-old autistic best friend has a new obsession.

Next month, we’re going to narrow the focus of the newspaper to local news and information. We’re going to quit trying to provide you with an edited collection of news from the world outside the Manhattan region.

When the home of the Chiefs and the Royals is up for grabs, it’s probably the time to – what’s the right cliche? – swing for the fences, or throw the Hail Mary.

It’s tempting to compare, or to speculate about motives, but that’s not the best place to start.