Opinion

GUEST COLUMN, Dane Richardson, incoming USD 480 Superintendent

It is my honor to be named your Superintendent. I am an educator with 26 years of experience. I have worked at all campus levels performing different jobs, and I have a comprehensive understanding of what it takes to lead a school district. The knowledge gleaned from my current and previous superintendent positions has allowed me to grow as a leader with valuable experience.

The departments I led worked directly with School Finance, PEIMS/Coding, Child Nutrition, Transportation, Curriculum Alignment, along with Leadership Coaching and Evaluation.

GUEST COLUMN, Greg Doering, Kansas Farm Bureau

Financially, making cents doesn’t make sense. A recent presidential directive to stop minting pennies aims to solve the problem that could only befall a government — losing money by making it.

Even with the current pause, the penny will be around for a long time. There are an estimated 240 billion pennies in circulation, or roughly $7 for every person in the United States.

RYCKMAN RECAP, Ron Ryckman, 38th District Senator

The stamina and mettle of the Legislature were very much tested during Week 6 of the 2025 Session, as we worked our way through all of 41 bills in a single day on the Floor while it was zero degrees and snowing outside and all other state offices were closed. That is what can happen during the lead-up to “Turnaround,” the halfway point when time has run out for consideration of most bills in the house of origin.

The prospect of facing a deadline even had some of our committees meeting twice in the same day and having to return to the Chamber for roll-call votes. Such is the glamorous life in a day at the Statehouse, where we’re on “information overload” and called upon to make important decisions on a plethora of issues affecting our constituents. I’m kind of a “regular order” guy who favors a more consistent, even pace, but don’t always have the luxury of getting things done my way. Can any of you relate to that?

THE POSTSCRIPT, Carrie Classon

I so rarely get sick that, when I do, I look at my body like it’s some kind of trickster.

“Is this your idea of a joke?” I asked my body in the middle of the night.

I occasionally get carsick and even get air motion sickness on planes, but my nausea never (if you will pardon the expression) rises to the level of actual vomiting. So my reaction at 2:30 in the morning was to assume this was a practical joke.