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July unemployment in Kansas falls to 7.2% By TIM CARPENTER Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — The number of unemployed Kansans has fallen during the pandemic from a high of 179,000 in April to 106,000 in July. The Kansas Department of Labor and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said the seasonally adjusted jobless rate fell to 7.2% in July. That was down from 7.5% in June and below the coronavirus-elevated levels of 10% in May and 11.9% in April. Typically, Kansas unemployment hovers around 3%. In July 2019, the state’s rate was 3.1%.
“It’s encouraging to see the unemployment rate drop for the third month in a row,” said Ryan Wright, secretary at the state Department of Labor. He said the number of unemployed in Kansas decreased by 4,000 over the month. The state’s total of people without a job in July was 64,000 greater than in March, the point at which COVID-19 began to disrupt the economy. In the state’s four metropolitan areas during July, unemployment ranged from 6.9% to 10.9%. Wichita had the highSee JOBLESS | Page A4
Masked up and ready to learn Jefferson Elementary School students Troy Johnston Jr., left, and Trevington Johnston walk off the school bus, wearing their required face masks, on the first day of school for PreK-5th grade and 9th grade students in USD 257. School will be a bit different this year with coronavirus restrictions such as masks and social distancing. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS
Town left ‘in ashes and ruin’
Humboldt Speedway standings tight
Trevor Hoag
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Just Prairie
NOTICE
Humboldt was on fire. Red and pink light spilled across the town square, mixing with the orange and black blaze, yet I couldn’t pull my eyes off the northeastern corner where I’d seen the rebel militiaman take a bullet from somewhere hidden in the distance. One moment the axe was in his hand, hacking away at the flagpole. The next, he was lifeless and dead. The smell of ashes thickly swirled about the air, and the shouting had yet to cease along with the anxious cries of horses. Heat from the inferno combined with that of the warm fall evening, and one would have been justified in believing that Hell itself had opened its doors and come spilling forth onto the prairie. Through the destruction of more than 50 homes and businesses, Confederate supporters had taken their revenge for the burning of Osceola, Missouri, and the killing of Captain Matthews.
Due to a printing error, some editions of the Register’s Allen County Fair Results 2020 magazine were produced with missing pages. If that is the case, please contact Susan Locke, circulation manager, at 365-2111 or circulation@ iolaregister.com. We will promptly deliver a complete magazine to your address. The Register regrets the error. A mural in the Allen County Historical Museum painted by Phyllis Meredith Shetlar depicts the burning of Humboldt. A historical marker on 8th Street, just north of the square memorializes Sophia Fussman hiding her family’s valuables in a well. REGISTER/
Postal chief faces uproar over delays
TREVOR HOAG
Camp Hunter would later be established near the river, outfitted with Union troops from the 9th and 11th Kansas regiment, but this evening there were few who might hold back the burning tide. What few men remained who might lead a resistance were soon forced out of town at gunpoint, to what most
feared was an execution. Astonishingly, none of the home guard were harmed, but others were not so fortunate. Soon to be joining the flag-chasing militiaman on his journey to the underworld was a farmer by the name of Seachrist, who’d refused an
ocrats warn that his cost-cutting initiatives threatened the election. During the August primary, elections officials saw an influx of mail-in ballots being personally delivered to local elections offices or polling sites instead of people using the postal service, Koupal said. She attributed that in part to aggressive public outreach
WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing a backlash over operational changes that have resulted in mail delays, the nation’s new postmaster general is returning to Congress to testify before a House panel that has sharply criticized him. The hearing Monday comes after the House approved legislation Saturday to reverse the changes in U.S. Postal Services operations and send $25 billion to shore up the agency ahead of the November election, when a surge in mail-in ballots is expected. Louis DeJoy testified Friday in the Senate that his “No. 1 priority” is to ensure election mail arrives on time. Still, the postmaster general, a political ally of Pres-
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County to accept drop-off box offer for mail-in ballots (AP) — Allen County has accepted an offer from the Kansas secretary of state’s office to receive two drop-off boxes where voters can deposit their absentee ballots for the Nov. 3 general election if they don’t mail them in or want to risk voting in person because of the coronavirus threat. Local election officials had until Friday to respond to the offer, so the state won’t know
how many boxes it will need to buy until early next week, said Katie Koupal, of the secretary of state’s office. Allen County Clerk Sherrie Riebel said she wasn’t sure where the boxes would be located but was considering a spot on the north side of the courthouse near the sheriff ’s office. Response to the offer has been varied, she said. Some counties said they already
had enough drop-off boxes and didn’t need any more, while others wanted one or two more. County elections officials are making those decisions against the backdrop of the public uproar over recent mail operation changes and delivery delays. The new postmaster general told senators Friday that election mail would be prioritized for delivery as in years past, but Dem-
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