Kessinger, Sarah

I was born into a newspaper family in Oberlin, Kan. My parents, Howard and Sharon Kessinger, owned the weekly Oberlin Herald.

My siblings and I spent late nights playing in the back of the Herald office while my parents labored toward deadline in the front office. 

When a tornado hit northwest Kansas, or downpours filled the streets with water, or the town voted on the city library or built its own carnival for the county fair, I tagged along as my parents recorded it through stories, photos and community service.

Later, we moved to Marysville, Kan., when my folks bought the Marysville Advocate. My mother was often developing photos, editing copy and writing. My Dad likewise was wrapped up in meetings and deadlines many evenings, so I and my three siblings somewhat raised ourselves between home and the newspaper office. 

Our family always had dinner together at night, many times with visitors and friends. We talked of local, state and national issues my parents were writing about. 

It was a good life. The communities where we grew up really cared about themselves and I think the newspaper’s coverage was a key reason why. The town could see itself in that newspaper and convert that to progressive action.

I later studied journalism and Spanish at Kansas State University. My favorite news mentor was the legendary former Garden City Telegram editor Bill Brown, who had become a no-nonsense K-State instructor with a biting sense of humor. 

Later, I took off for a semester in Mexico City at The News, an English-language daily, improving my Spanish and learning beside reporters from around the globe.  

After college, I worked for the Telegram as a cub reporter as a new wave of migration began to southwest Kansas’ meat-packing plants. It was a fascinating time. After covering a rancorous school board for a few years, I started the Telegram’s bilingual weekly newspaper, La Semana en el Suroeste de Kansas.

I eventually became assistant managing editor at the Telegram and then moved to the Monitor in McAllen, Texas, working as a night desk editor and later as features editor. Working on the border just as the North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect offered a front-row seat on U.S. and Mexican history. 

After three years, I returned to Kansas to work as a statehouse correspondent for Harris News Service. After 10 years of covering increasingly bitter politics in Topeka, I returned home to help my parents transition to retirement from their weekly newspaper, the Advocate. 

I am married to a teacher, Peter Muraski, and we have two children, Paul, an engineering student at K-State, and Sophia, a medical coder and mother of my favorite grandson, Cassius.

I became editor and publisher of the Advocate in 2012 and continue to publish the weekly print and online editions alongside a fantastic staff and supportive community.