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How does food attract us?

What is it about food that makes us want to eat it? What circuits are triggered when we look at the foods we like? How do the sensory properties of food influence our choices of what to eat? There are no simple answers for this complex function. What follows is just a piece of the mechanism. There are different models, each with its own perspective. The different models are due to the complexity of the food attraction mechanism. A traditional way to explain food attraction is called the Hedonic model. The suggestion here is that food is associated with pleasure. Anything that ...

Grazing in Kansas

Eating is a central part of the human experience much in the same way that swimming is a central part of being a fish. My wife and I recently visited relatives in the Kansas City area, so we decided to swim in the waters of the region’s food scene. But first we had to take care of some important business by which I mean “go shopping.” Some mysterious law of physics forces our car to steer itself into the parking lot of any shopping center that we might happen to drive past. And since we’re in the parking lot, says my wife, we may as well go inside and see what the store has to ...

Referendum is about investing in our students

Raising my family in Marshall, I learned firsthand the importance of community and the responsibility that comes with serving others. Over the years, I’ve seen how Marshall Public Schools shape not only our children’s lives, but the vitality of our entire town. Serving as your school board chair has been a privilege. The trust you place in our board is not taken lightly, and I am grateful for the opportunity to help guide the future of our schools. Our board has worked side by side with district leaders to minimize the impact of ongoing financial challenges. We’ve made tough ...

Rural townships remain vibrant in the 21st century

Townships in the region have changed a great deal in the past 50 years, but they’re still important places with a good quality of life. Their vitality is clear in at least several ways. They’re valuable for housing, local government, and in some cases churches and stores. Over the years there have been rumblings about eliminating township boards or taking steps that minimize their role. That should never happen. Some indications suggest that townships could become more important rather than less. Population totals have fallen in most rural townships because of declines in the ...

For our family, Annunciation shooting was a tragic reality

“It’s unimaginable.” “I can’t even begin to understand what you must be feeling.” “I cannot imagine what you’ve gone through.” These are a few of the well-meaning sentiments we’ve heard since our world was shattered and our worst fears came true on Aug. 27. While well-meaning, they’re not quite right. You can imagine it. You can viscerally feel it. You just don’t want to. So today we’re sharing your story from that day. You were on a work call when your phone started repeatedly buzzing around 8:30 a.m. While you tried to focus on the call, ...

September shines a light: Awareness, recovery and hope

September is a month of reflection, awareness, and hope. It marks both National Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month and National Recovery Month—two observances that shine a light on struggles often carried in silence. Together, they remind us that mental health and recovery are deeply connected, that every life matters, and that healing is possible. This month calls us to break the stigma, extend support, and honor the courage of those who continue their journey toward wellness and recovery. The statistics are sobering. Suicide imposes profound and far-reaching consequences, ...