Vol 43 • No. 5
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April 2022
Rogers embraces new role Treasurer readies for first statewide race on his own
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By Joe Stumpe TOPEKA — Don’t hang out with Lynn Rogers at the Kansas state Capitol unless you want to talk to people. A lot of people. After a legislative hearing one afternoon last month, the state Treasurer and longtime Wichita resident lingered in the wing outside for 15 minutes chatting up lawmakers and anybody else who wandered by. Spotting Gov. Laura Kelly descending some stairs, he darted over to say hello and take her photo with a couple of high school students. After more hellos, Rogers eventually made his way through the ornate rotunda and down stairs to the Capitol’s visitors center, only to encounter leaders of several Wichitabased nonprofits. He greeted each
Lynn Rogers switched from lieutenant governor to state treasurer at Gov. Laura Kelly’s request. “I couldn’t pass up the chance to count $20 billion (in state assets) each month,” the former banker said. by name and shared news of home. previous week. He invited an activist He called out to a man he’d met to visit his office the next time she at a pancake dinner in Liberal the See Rogers, page 6
'Merry Cranks' revive hand-operated machines
Don’t ignore mild cognitive impairment By Joe Stumpe Some changes in memory and thinking are a normal part of aging. But experts say a little-known condition called mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is different, and failing to get help for it can hasten dementia. “If we’re able to identify mild cognitive impairment, we can start to do some interventions to lessen the likelihood one will go on to develop dementia,” said Dr. Ryan Schroeder, a Wichita neuropsychologist who treats MCI. MCI is the subject of a special report in the Alzheimer's Association annual report released last month. Some, but not all, cases of MCI are caused by the same changes in the brain that cause Alzheimer’s. About See Cognitive, page 8
By Debbi Elmore Once a staple of everyday life, hand-operated machines are getting new attention thanks to a colorfully named group of Kansans. Calling themselves Manipulators of Marvelous Manual Machines — or Merry Cranks for short — they make the rounds of city and county fairs, showing off devices that run on human power rather than electricity. They came to their pastime by accident, when Iris Evans asked her boyfriend, Leon Fundenberger, to fix her mother’s old sewing machine. “I had no idea how to fix a sewing machine, but it was important to her, so I took it apart and figured it out after several tries,” he said with a laugh. They started buying and restoring old treadles and manual sewing machines. While taking part in a contra dancing event in Cottonwood Falls, they showed a machine to the event organizer; she asked them to exhibit at an upcoming folk life Rita Kirkpatrick shows a young fairgoer how fair. Their demonstration was a hit. to make a simple sack on a hand-powered See Cranks, page 9 sewing machine.
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