Susan Thacker

The first Great Bend City Band concert of the summer was combined with a show featuring the Kansas Army National Guard’s 35th Infantry Division Band.

The Great Bend Recreation Commission Board voted Monday to transfer $400,000 to the GBRC Foundation for golf course improvements. In a separate action, the board approved employee handbook revision and followed that by approving $112,000 for wage appropriations for administrative, supervisory and seasonal staff, effective July 1.

When Great Bend High School students start each day this fall, their cell phones will be turned off and, along with smart watches and ear buds, they will be placed in a lockable pouch that can only be unlocked with a powerful magnet.

When Great Bend High School students start each day this fall, their cell phones will be turned off and, along with smart watches and ear buds, they will be placed in a lockable pouch that can only be unlocked with a powerful magnet.

It’s top and center on the Great Bend Tribune's fourth page: Opinion. And right above this column in the paper is the word “Viewpoint.” And my name is there, too.

An educational program at the Great Bend Senior Center last week brought together two speakers to examine a proposed Kansas constitutional amendment that would eliminate the state’s current merit-based judicial selection system and replace it with elections for Kansas Supreme Court justices. The amendment, which appeared on a primary election ballot, drew scrutiny from presenters who walked through both the arguments for and against the change.

Public Works Director David Dunekack came to Monday’s Great Bend City Council meeting with 20 photos of illegal dumping and other improper use of the compost site south of town at 97 SW 5th Ave.:

Friday, June 19, we will celebrate Juneteenth. Much like Martin Luther King Jr. Day, celebrated in January, this federal holiday owes its existence to the struggle of Black Americans, first for freedom and later for civil rights. But both of these holidays are for all of us, as we seek to improve the lived experiences for everyone.

Judging by social media, folks like to comment about everything. We’d like to see more of readers’ insights into the issues of the day shared on the Great Bend Tribune’s Opinion Page. It’s the original social media.

The primary election will take place on Aug. 4. Unlike most primaries, which are runoff elections to narrow the playing field in a few races, this election is one in which all Kansans who are registered to vote can weigh in.