Friday, March 18, 2022
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Trip home from China includes wedding vows By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register
Iola Area Chamber of Commerce Director Robin Schallie shows off the Chamber’s upcoming new office at 10 W. Jackson Ave., near City Hall. REGISTER/SUSAN LYNN
New chambers By SUSAN LYNN The Iola Register
“I can barely contain my excitement,” said Robin Schallie at the news that the Iola Chamber of Commerce is relocating to the downtown square. “We’re shooting for April 10,” said Schallie, who serves as Chamber director. The new location is 10 W. Jackson, just to the west of city hall and directly across from the bandstand on the courthouse square. “I can’t wait for the summer band concerts to begin. We’ll make sure to keep our doors open then, if for nothing else than to provide public restrooms for concert-goers,” she said. Schallie said the move to a different location from the
Schallie says the mural on the building’s south wall will be retouched and the Chamber’s logo added. lower level of the Bowlus Fine Arts Center had been in the back of her mind ever since she was hired last August. “We were the best kept
secret in town,” she lamented about the location. “Not ideal for a Chamber of Commerce.” The only downside, Schallie said, is leaving the Bowlus staff, “who were amazing to have around.” The Chamber will have access to about 1,500 square feet. Also sharing the space is Dr. Dawny Barnhart, a psychiatrist, who in collaboration with the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas will have an office there. Barnhart’s husband, Jonathan Adams, owns the building. The Chamber is renting the space from Adams for $600 a month, the same rate it paid for an office at the Bowlus. The larger space includes See CHAMBER | Page A4
The past two years have been “a bit of a whirlwind” for Moran native Molly McEwan. She experienced the COVID-19 pandemic earlier than her friends and family in Allen County, as she was living and working in China when the virus first emerged. She and her then-fiance, Tyson Carpenter, both went into quarantine and started teaching remotely long before the rest of the world were forced to do the same.
Jazz guitarist Ron Jackson and his trio will have two gigs Saturday night at The Bowlus Fine Arts Center.
Vol. 124, No. 117 Iola, KS $1.00
See MCEWAN | Page A3
Molly McEwan, a native of Moran, and Tyson Carpenter of Dodge City were married this summer, returning to the U.S. for a visit while living in China and working as teachers. COURTESY OF PHOTOGRAPHER SKYLER LIVINGSTON OF WINFIELD
A night on the town Big-city jazz, blues and soul music will make its way to Iola Saturday night. Ron Jackson, a New York City jazz guitarist, and his band will have two performances at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center. The band’s first set is at 7 p.m.; the second at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $20. Jackson performs on a seven-string guitar designed to bring out the deeper tones of the music. Jackson is a world-renowned teacher who delights in sharing his talent and the joy of making music. Jackson’s goal is to bring awareness to the guitar and make it more of a household name. “A child in middle school band class should know the seven-string,” he said. Performing alongside Jackson are musicians Kyle
Molly shared her experiences with the Register several times during the pandemic. Though large swaths of China are once again in lockdown as it’s battling its biggest outbreak since the early days of the pandemic, McEwan said life for her has mostly returned to normal. Her big news: She and Tyson were married last summer — in the United States. “We spent about five weeks before the ceremony traveling around Kansas and seeing friends and family who we greatly missed since our
Koehler on the Hammond Organ and Corey Rawls on drums, also from NYC. Coming to Iola is made possible through a South Arts grant funded by The Andrew W. Mellon and Doris Duke Foundations whose purpose is to bring famous artists like Jackson to rural areas. “To be able to afford a standalone visit to the Iola area during the pandemic was worrisome, logistically,” said Jackson in a press release. “But thankfully, this Jazz Road Tour Grant is a way to perform and teach in communities that I would otherwise be unable to do independently.” Jackson and his trio will play music from his new album, “Standards and My Songs” which includes pop and R&B songs, bebop, swing, Latin and modern jazz styles. For more information visit www.bowluscenter.org.
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State’s green energy effort loses steam By JOHN HANNA The Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Efforts to propel Kansas’ renewable energy future are at a standstill, mired in legislative stalemate. At its center is a former TV weather personality who is using his chairmanship of a key committee to promote questionable claims about green energy and to spotlight complaints from opponents of wind and solar energy projects. Republican state Sen. Mike Thompson’s pushback against renewable energy is pitting him not only against environmentalists, whose bills can’t get a vote in his committee, but also against big utilities and GOP colleagues, who say his measures to restrict new wind See ENERGY | Page A3
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