The Kansas Board of Education District 1 seat, which includes the entirety of Jefferson County, is an open race after the Kansas State Legislature redrew the district’s boundaries and no longer includes…
Category: The Independent
Experience Mighty Beast coffee at Boone and Bounty
Photo by Holly AllenTosha Ross, wholesale specialist, Dany Guzman, head barista, and Adam Ross, head roaster, head up the team at Mighty Beast Coffee Roasters inside Boone and Bounty, Meriden. The decision…
Democratic candidates speak at 7-county forum
Six candidates, including Lt. Gov. David Toland, spoke at a seven-county forum Sept. 11 as the election season begins in earnest. The forum was held in the Prairie Band Nation Old Bingo…
Blooming through grief: How one family’s journey through loss is helping to build a community of healing
Photo submittedJustin and Holly Abel welcomed their second child, a healthy baby girl named Marigold Lucille, February 24. From a young age, there were two things Holly Abel knew for sure —…
The bridges of Jefferson County 50 years after a failed bond election
Photo by Clarke DavisPublic Works Director Ben Domann stands on a newly built bridge on 170th Street west of Valley Falls. Jefferson County is a large county with a lot of bridges,…
Budget hearing draws tax protest
Editor’s note: Many residents did not say their name before speaking or did not spell their name for the paper. Over 30 residents showed up to Oskaloosa City Hall and voiced their…
Flowers now in full bloom at new Oskie flower farm
Photo by Wesley Cudney Dawn Alexander-Halla has been hard at work practicing Korean Natural Farming to grow flowers on her farm just south of Oskaloosa. by Wesley Cudney On a hot summer…
Kansas voters defeat abortion amendment in unexpected landslide
by Sherman Smith, Kansas ReflectorAugust 2, 2022 OVERLAND PARK — Kansas voters in a landslide Tuesday defeated a constitutional amendment that would have stripped residents of abortion rights, defying polling and political…
Independent editor signs off;
Cudney steps in as reporter
Rick Nichols and Wesley Cudney by Holly Allen and Clarke Davis Rick Nichols, who has served Jefferson County as editor of The Oskaloosa Independent these past eight years, chronicling the weekly history…
Fair weeks ends with livestock auction
Photo by Bridget Weishaar – Emma Welsh, 7, holds tight to her Boer goat, Captain Jack, during the meat goat market class showcase. This week’s paper has arrived! Check out the spread…