Unraveling the Local News Together

Yarn Crafting & Community Discussion

Bring your current yarn project or learn a new skill. Free knit and crochet supplies and instruction provided. Plus, discuss coverage of Kansas historical, nature and outdoor sites in the local news.

Yarn Crafting guidelines

Our icebreaker activity before and during our discussion is to get started practicing knit or crochet - beginners welcome! 

For participants who want to begin or improve their knit or crochet skills, we will use the Each One Teach Two model.

Learn to knit and learn to crochet supplies will also be available for use during the discussion, or you can bring your own yarn project and supplies. 

Unraveling the Local News Together discussion guidelines

Read, reflect, listen and learn together in a facilitated discussion about topics in the news with a focus on Kansas or Topeka perspectives.

For this session, we will focus on coverage of Kansas historical, nature and outdoor sites from local news sources including cjonline.com, wibw.com, ksnt.com, and Kansas Reflector. 

As you skim or read local news, pay attention to how topics of coverage of Kansas historical, nature and outdoor sites and related issues are covered and how these issues impact us locally in Topeka and Kansas. Some common questions in discussion natural and historical sites in Kansas may include:

• Why are natural and historical sites reported on in the local news? What seems to make them newsworthy?
• Who seems to be the intended audience for the site?
• What portrayal of local history, nature and environmental sites do people see in the local news that might be different from a tourism brochure about them?
• What are the best resources for learning more about local history in this area?
• Why are particular natural or historical sites featured? Do local sites fall in and out of favor or popularity?
• What story about the past or the present or the region does the site tell?
• For natural or environmental sites, how does the Kansas weather and climate impact the site?
• Who is left out? Who is not invited or included? What points of view go largely unheard? How might the story differ if a different group had told it?
• What do you think might help to promote a useful public understanding of this site to people who live nearby?

We will focus on being curious, listening to understand, raising questions, and identifying things we each want to learn more about.

The discussion will strive to remain nonpartisan, meaning the group does not expressly support one political party or candidate over another.

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