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Allen has new tuition policy for students By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register
Allen Community College is changing its payment policy after international students and faculty shared concerns in December. The college had tightened its policies last spring, particularly targeted to international students who were required to pay their tuition in full at the start of the semester rather than in installments . Several international students, backed up by faculty including English instructor Tracy Lee and some coaches, called the policy discriminatory. They said it was unfair to hold international students to a different standard. It was also pointed out that other community colleges in the state offered some sort of payment plan. As a result, a group of faculty and staff met to determine changes, which they unveiled at Tuesday night’s meeting of ACC trustees. Under the new policy, inSee ACC | Page A3
Iola soccer player signs with Sweden
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Israel attacks main hospital in southern Gaza PAGE A6
Law enforcement and medical personnel respond to a shooting at Union Station during the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl LVIII victory parade on Wednesday, in Kansas City, Missouri. Twenty-three people were shot, one fatally. Three people were detained after the rally as suspects. JAMIE SQUIRE/GETTY IMAGES/TNS
Horror hits home Iola woman who was near shooting site recalls terror, scramble for safety By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Her first thought was that a fireworks display had malfunctioned. Iolan Winter Snyder was among the legions of Kansas City Chiefs fans — a crowd estimated in the hundreds of thousands — who had flocked to downtown Kansas City Wednesday to watch the team’s parade and rally for winning Super Bowl LVIII. What she didn’t realize until afterward was just how close she and her friends were to being at the epicenter of a mass shooting that injured 22 and resulted in the death of a Johnson County woman. “I was a little shaken up,” Snyder said upon returning to Iola Wednesday evening. “My nerves have finally calmed down a little bit.” According to media reports, the shooting occurred just west and south of Union Station, roughly 45 feet from where Snyder and two family friends were standing during the rally. The scariest part, Snyder noted, was she was standing shoulder to shoulder with one of the accused shooters. SNYDER’S GROUP arrived late Wednesday morning, not long before the team’s victory parade was set to begin in downtown Kansas City.
For more information about the shooting at the Chiefs victory celebration at Union Station, read related article on page B1. “I’m surprised we got as close as we did.” As the revelry began, Snyder was worried about being able to hear the speakers, so they decided to move even closer, settling on the other side of a cluster of trees and a small barricade. “If we hadn’t moved, we would have been right in the middle of it,” she said.
Winter Snyder at the rally before the shooting. Initially setting up camp alongside Kessler Road, which borders a grassy area separating Union Station from the World War I Memorial to the south, and where the bulk of the fans gathered to cheer on the players and coaches as they spoke, Snyder and friends were able to make their way almost to the front of the lawn.
WEDNESDAY’S rally started much like the previous two rallies Snyder had attended, the first in 2020, the second in 2023. As with the other two, the goal wasn’t to watch the parade, but to hear Coach Andy Reid, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and other players address the fans. While the weather was significantly better for the most recent rally, Snyder noted the crowd was significantly less raucous than the first two. “It was almost quieter,” she noted. As she was listening to the speeches,
60+ Dine program exceeds expectations By SARAH HANEY The Iola Register
When starting the “60+ Dine” program, Kathy Brennon was told to expect 20 participants within the first year. Five months in, the program has 172 participants and counting. “It shows us there is a tremendous need here in Allen County,” she said. “We’re very excited to be able to meet that need.” As the Director of the SEK Area Agency on Aging (SEKAAA), Brennon spearheaded this initiative with the aim of providing not just nutritious meals but also fostering invaluable social connections among older adults,
all made possible through community partnerships. From its beginnings in early September, with an enrollment of 78 individuals, the program quickly gained momentum. The program is open to individuals over 60 years old with no income eligibility requirements. It is also open to spouses of participants or disabled adult children who live with participants. Operating five days a week during the lunch hour, the program serves as a vital hub for social interaction, emphasizing the importance of communal dining. “We believe that sharing a meal is about See MEALS | Page A4
Jerri Krokstrom, SEKAAA’s 60+ Dine Coordinator, and SEKAAA Director Kathy Brennon are excited about the success of the program in Allen County. Brennon hopes to duplicate the program in Woodson and Neosho counties in the future. REGISTER/SARAH HANEY
See RALLY | Page A6
Groups clash over civil asset forfeiture law TOPEKA — Kansas chief deputy attorney general Daniel Burrows defended a hardfought attempt to overhaul the state’s civil asset forfeiture law and urged rival factions to avoid the temptation to march to their castles, close the drawbridges and shoot arrows at each other rather than agree to support meaningful reform. He said Attorney General Kris Kobach, who oversees the Kansas Bureau of Investigation as well as a team of state prosecutors, commitSee KOBACH | Page A4
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