Blog

Year 11 for HOG Heaven: Annual Celebration Benefits Good Samaritan Fund

By Becky Fitzgerald on October 3, 2024

Oink! Now that the calendar has flipped to October, temperatures are cooling, but activities to benefit Meadowlark Foundation are heating up. It’s HOGTOBERFEST season, and here are a few squeal-...

Read more
Striving Toward New Goals: Celebrating the 16th Annual Speedy PD Race for Parkinson's Disease

By Katie Sigman on September 12, 2024

The music has faded, and the confetti swept away, as we close out the sweet 16th Annual Speedy PD Race for Parkinson’s Disease. We kicked off the party on Friday evening at the Holiday Inn at the...

Read more
Outdoor Encounters

By Nathan Bolls on September 5, 2024

If you grew up in a family that camped or liked to sit around a patio firepit, an open fire was perhaps one of the first memorable outdoor mysteries you encountered. What young mind wouldn’t be...

Read more
Johnny Kaw Speaks to a Child

By Nancy Kopp on August 29, 2024

Our family moved to Manhattan from the northwestern part of Illinois in 1975 when my husband accepted a job at a local bank. Ken and I were excited about the move, our 3-year-old daughter wasn’t...

Read more
To Make the Best Better: Riley County Fair 2024

By Sarah Duggan on August 8, 2024

As a veteran 4-Her (Franklin County, Kan. Rambling Ranchers!), I am thoroughly enjoying watching the skills, fun, and magic develop for my own children. Fair week is a highlight of the 4-H year - one...

Read more
Outdoor Encounters

By Nathan Bolls on August 1, 2024

Some days, I’m preoccupied with the animals that live their lives all around us but are seldom seen or heard. Many people are not even aware of their presence. I’m thinking of the racoon, deer mouse...

Read more
16th Annual Speedy PD for Parkinson's Disease: We're Ready! Let's Throw Confetti!

By Michelle Haub on July 24, 2024

No matter your age, the phrase “sweet sixteen” tends to bring up a myriad of thoughts and emotions: excitement, fun, food, friends, joy, cars, wonder, cake, and hope. These are just a few of the...

Read more
Outdoor Encounters

By Nathan Bolls on July 3, 2024

As is normal for this time of year, we’ve had some strong wind days during the past three to four months. But, just as for heat, or its absence, cold—or for the force of gravity-- we know the...

Read more
Arbor Day Celebration

By Jo Fey on June 20, 2024

On Wednesday, June 5, the Meadowlark Outdoors Committee held what it hopes will be the first traditional celebration of Arbor Day on the Meadowlark grounds. This celebration was inspired by resident...

Read more
The Last Airborne

By Nathan Bolls on June 6, 2024

Today is the 80th anniversary of the huge, costly, and ultimately successful allied D-Day land assault on Hitler’s Fortress Europe. Although mere words never can remotely capture what happened that...

Read more