Whitney B. Powell (our Spring cover artist) is not only an amazingly talented individual, she also is an inspirational human. Read about how she is creating masterpieces while facing down a debilitating disease and embracing life with wholehearted enthusiasm.
Want to read more about Whitney? Check out the summer issue of Southeast Kansas Living, out now! It includes this story in its entirety, plus so much more. Subscribe now, or contact us to find a newsstand near you.
Sedan native and SEK rancher Mark Stewart has created his dream life – with one boot on the farm and one shoe on the AstroTurf as an official in the National Football League. “I’ve found my dream jobs…I either get to go play with my cows, or else I get to officiate football. If I get to do one of those two things for t
he rest of my life, then I’ve got it made.”
Want to read more of Mark’s story? Check out the summer issue of Southeast Kansas Living, out now! It includes this story in its entirety, plus so much more. Subscribe now, or contact us to find a newsstand near you.
From the Batmobile to the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine, you can find classic movie cars and many vintage models shined up and on display right here in this Baxter Springs museum that is an anchor for downtown revitalization.
Want to know more about Decades of Wheels and the revitalization effort in downtown Baxter Springs? Check out the summer issue of Southeast Kansas Living, out now! It includes this story in its entirety, plus so much more. Subscribe now, or contact us to find a newsstand near you.
This is the heartwarming story of Nathan Berg and his incredible depth of resilience as he overcame major health and career challenges to live his best life on his own terms as a husband, dad and Southeast Kansas sawmill operator. “Stubborn people live longer,” he said.
Want to read more about Nathan’s journey? Check out the winter issue of Southeast Kansas Living, out now! It includes this story in its entirety, plus so much more. Subscribe now, or contact us to find a newsstand near you.
You may recognize Justin McKee as the horseback announcer at the annual PRCA rodeo during the Coffeyville Inter-State fair. Or maybe you’ve seen him on television announcing professional bull riding events or at another rodeo venue somewhere around the country. Legendary for his announcing voice, when he hears, “Hey, Cowboy!” from the stock contractors and rodeo athletes, that’s the salutation that makes his heart swell with pride. “I’ve always wanted to be respected as much as a competitor in the arena as the guy talking about what’s happening in the arena.”
Want to keep reading about Justin? Check out the winter issue of Southeast Kansas Living, out now! It includes this story in its entirety, plus so much more. Subscribe now, or contact us to find a newsstand near you.
In this the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad, guest writer Andra Stefanoni explores the impact of rail on S
outheast Kansas’ past and how developers are breathing new life into old area depots and the rail lines that once criss-crossed the state.
Want to keep reading about rail in SEK? Check out the winter issue of Southeast Kansas Living, out now! It includes this story in its entirety, plus so much more. Subscribe now, or contact us to find a newsstand near you.
Raúl Munguia likens his job to that of a magician. When the spotlight is hot, a paying audience is in their seats and his wand is primed and ready, it’s time for a show.
“It’s the job of the conductor to manage the magic on stage,” said Munguia, the Music Director and Conductor of the Southeast Kansas Symphony at Pittsburg State University. “My wand is the silent instrument.”
Munguia is now in his seventh year as an associate professor of music and the symphony conductor at PSU, and there’s actually been no trickery involved in the way he has built the program, just a lot of hard work, relationship building and nurturing of talent.
“I was hired to energize (the symphony),” he explained. “Music is totally different than teaching a regular class. It goes well beyond the classroom. It’s about collaboration and bringing the best out of the students.”
Jenny Sands Revitz Soper always wanted to live in a big house.
That was pretty much the entire premise for the adventure she has undertaken in the last year.
It began in July 2018, during a visit to Independence to clear out the home of her late parents, Bud and Millie Sands. The home had recently sold and there was “stuff” to be dealt with. Maybe it was the nostalgia of that task or perhaps the recollection of fond memories of the community where she lived as a child that caused her to begin percolating a plan. She needed a way to bridge her lifelong house dream with her current reality as a practicing attorney in West Los Angeles.
“I decided I wanted to retire, but I wasn’t retirement age,” Jenny said. “So, I thought, ‘Let’s start a B&B. That way, we can have an excuse for buying a big house.’”
Why not?
Polka Party
Polka tradition lives on through Johnnie Zibert Band & Big Brutus’ Polka Fest
Photo courtesy of The Morning Sun (Marcus Clem)
On a late summer evening each year, Johnnie Joe Zibert lugs his 30-pound accordion beneath the towering shadow of Big Brutus – and he puts on a show.
His fingers flying, Johnnie plays dozens of tunes on the accordion, watching as old folks and kids alike dance to the music across Big Brutus’ pavilion floor. Others can’t help but clap and sing along.
He plays a little bit of everything – country, rock ‘n roll, slow songs – but he’s best known for his polka, the same music his dad famously played across Southeast Kansas for 75 years. And for Big Brutus’ annual Polka Fest, this summer to celebrate its 29th anniversary, there’s no better group to run the show than the Johnnie Zibert Band.
“Polka Fest is a tradition in Southeast Kansas, and I’m really proud to be able to carry on that tradition,” Johnnie says. “I feel honored…”
Want to keep reading about polka in Southeast Kansas? Check out the summer issue of Southeast Kansas Living, out now! It includes this story in its entirety, plus so much more. Subscribe now, or contact us to find a newsstand near you.
Space Monkey
Independence celebrates its own Miss Able, who blazed the trail for human space travel when she was launched to space 60 years ago
Photo courtesy of Miss Able Facebook page
Mickey Mantle made history in 1949 when he hit his first professional home run at Independence’s Shulthis Stadium. His ball soared over the stadium wall, ultimately landing on nearby Monkey Island at Ralph Mitchell Zoo – or, at least, local legend tells the story that way.
Whether Mickey’s ball really did reach the zoo’s monkeys or not, Monkey Island would produce some big history of its own just a handful of years later with the birth of rhesus monkey Miss Able. The 7-pound primate would go on to become the first successful American astronaut, flying to space and returning home with squirrel monkey Miss Baker in May of 1959. Together, these two tiny pioneers blazed the trail for manned spaceflight, demonstrating with their successful trip that humans could reach outer space…
Want to keep reading about Miss Able? Check out the summer issue of Southeast Kansas Living, out now! It includes this story in its entirety, plus so much more. Subscribe now, or contact us to find a newsstand near you.