Happy Friday!
Before you start your busy weekend, let’s refresh on the top stories from this week.
In Today’s Newsletter:
- Pappy Allen, the Wichita Junior League Football hero
- 2025 Kansas Black Educators Hall of Fame Inductees
- New Kansas driving law relaxes on strict punishments
- Are nursing homes our only option when we age?
- Kansas Technical Institute, aka “Western Tuskegee”
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💡Black Trivia Question: What was the first hip-hop song to chart #1 on the Billboard 100?
A. Walk This Way
B. Fight for your Right
C. Rapper’s Delight
D. The Message
*See the answer after “In Other News”*
BLACK HISTORY
1. Pappy Allen’s Youth Football: A 60 Year Legacy
We’re rounding out Black History Month with a tribute story to one of Wichita’s legends, Pappy Allen, who transformed the lives of thousands with Junior League Football.
EDUCATION
2. Meet the 2025 Class of Inductees of the Kansas Black Educators Hall-of-Fame
Get a recap on all this year’s inductees to the Kansas Black Educators Hall of Fame!
See the full list of inductees
KANSAS STATE NEWS
3. New Law Effective Jan. 1 Relaxes Kansas’ Tough Suspended Driver’s License Laws
Failure to pay fines no longer results in automatic suspension of driver’s licenses and it’s easier to get a restricted license if your license is revoked.
VIBRANT VOICES
4. ‘Are Nursing Homes Our Only Option?’
As we age, we want to maintain our independence while getting quality care. Learn more about PACE Centers, a new alternative to nursing homes that allows you the comfort of your own home.
BLACK HISTORY
5. The Lost Legacy of ‘Western Tuskegee’: How a Thriving Black College Became a Prison
Explore the history of the Kansas Technical Institute where a group of Topeka locals now hope to revive and make a modern HBCU.
Read about this historic site and see more pictures.
Missouri House Moves Forward on Banning State DEI Programs. Here’s what that means. (The Voice)
Trump with Ukraine President Zelenskyy Oval Office meeting explodes into shouting match. Watch the full video. (CNBC)
Why More Drivers are Leasing Versus Financing Cars, including leaders of the congressional committe the investigted the Capitol riot. (The Voice)
Trivia Answer: C. Rapper’s Delight. Released in 1979 by hip-hop trio Sugar Hill Gang, Rapper’s Delight is considered the the first hip-hop song to achieve mainstream success via the Billboard 100.
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