Mike Matson

I’ve driven through Marion County dozens of times. It has always struck me as the prototypical, quintessential rural Kansas county.   An aging and dwindling population, Romanesque limestone courthouse taking up an entire city block in the county seat, production agriculture-based economy, mom and pop shops on Main Street, the Marion High School Warriors under the Friday night lights.   The human beings behind all those enterprises hit me similarly. Salt of the earth, give you

This column was published November 1, 2025 in the Manhattan Mercury . If you live long enough, you bear witness to small, subtle changes in how to deal with someone who wants your time and attention.   The career began with “while you were out” slips of pink paper, progressed to telephone answering machines featuring little audio cassette tapes, digital voicemail, email and text messaging, direct messaging via social media, video calls, and a myriad of apps, all aiming at the

This column was published October 17, 2025 in the Manhattan Mercury . You may like their firm handshake, direct eye contact or dazzling smile. You may appreciate their yard signs or Facebook pages. Even though Manhattan City Commission elections are non-partisan, a candidate’s political ideology may shape your thinking.   Or maybe your decision for whom to vote is driven by something more intangible. It’s hard to gauge candlepower from a yard sign. It’s not always easy to asc