Columns

WICHITA MATTERS: Glimmers of a Different Wichita

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Two weeks ago, the Wichita City Council, by a 4-3 vote–a result which surprised more than a few Wichitans–implemented a mask requirement in the city of Wichita, in the wake of the Sedgwick County Commission’s refusal to fully support the mask mandate which Governor Kelly had called for all the state of Kansas to embrace. (The commission, in the wake of Wichita’s decision, later supported a similar order from Dr. Garold Minns, the county’s health officer.) Then earlier this week the Wichita Historical Preservation Board, by a 5-2 vote–a result which, once again, surprised more than a few Wichitans–nominated Century II for state and national historic status, thus supporting the effort to get the iconic building listed by the Kansas State Historic Preservation Office and the National Register of Historic Places. If that happens, it would likely present very serious obstacles to any plan–such as that proposed by the Populous outfit hired by the Riverfront Legacy folks–which involved the destruction of Century II, which is why multiple interested groups sent representatives to the Preservation Board to make their case (in vain, as it turned out). I found myself wondering yesterday: is there anything these two votes have in common? The obvious first response–and, in all likelihood, mostly the correct one–would be: “no.”