Session of 1999
HOUSE RESOLUTION No. 6019
A Resolution commending and congratulating Lew Ferguson upon his retirement
as Topeka correspondent for The Associated Press.
WHEREAS, This resolution is introduced with the affirmative endorsement of the following senators: Barone,
Becker, Biggs, Bleeker, Bond, Brownlee, Clark, Corbin, Donovan, Downey, Emert, Feleciano, Gilstrap, Gooch, Good-
win, Hardenburger, Harrington, Hensley, Huelskamp, Jones, Jordan, Kerr, Langworthy, Lawrence, Lee, Morris, Oleen,
Petty, Praeger, Pugh, Ranson, Salisbury, Salmans, Steffes, Steineger, Stephens, Tyson, Umbarger, Vidricksen and Vratil;
and
WHEREAS, Lew Ferguson is retiring July 1, 1999, after a career as a reporter lasting more than four decades, with
an unmatched reputation for excellence. He established standards for fairness and accuracy in coverage of politics and
government and for dedication to keeping the people of Kansas informed about issues important to them. After serving
29 years as Topeka correspondent for The Associated Press (AP), Ferguson is the senior AP statehouse reporter in the
nation; and
WHEREAS, Ferguson began his career as sports and wire editor for his hometown paper, the Ponca City, Oklahoma,
News in 1958. Ferguson joined the AP's Oklahoma City bureau in 1960, then moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and
covered the 1961 session of the South Dakota legislature. He was an AP sports writer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from
1962 to 1968 and in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1968 to 1970. He covered the 1965 World Series and the 1970 Super
Bowl and even once took batting lessons from Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer Ted Williams; and
WHEREAS, The AP named Lew Ferguson its Topeka correspondent in 1970; his tenure has spanned the admin-
istration of six governors and during that time newspaper publishers and editors have come to trust him more than
anyone else as a source of information about state government. Ferguson covered nine national Democratic and Re-
publican conventions, including the Republican ones, 20 years apart, that nominated Kansas Senator Bob Dole for vice-
president and president. Ferguson had weekly lunches with former Governor Alf Landon for 17 years until Landon's
death in 1987 and served as a pallbearer at Landon's funeral. Ferguson also was a confidant of Karl Menninger and
Georgia Neese Gray, first woman treasurer of the United States, late in their lives. He served as a pallbearer at Men-
ninger's funeral and has served on the board of trustees for the Menninger Lecture Series since 1982; and
WHEREAS, As a champion of open government, Ferguson was a consultant to the Kansas Supreme Court when it
considered--then allowed--cameras in Kansas courtrooms. Ferguson was the recipient of the Kansas Supreme Court's
Kansas Justice Award in 1992, the only reporter ever to receive the award. He was named the AP Kansas-Missouri
Staffer of the Year Award in 1993 and received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Oklahoma's
School of Journalism in 1996; and
WHEREAS, Ferguson's training has sent numerous reporters onto promising careers with The Associated Press and
other news organizations; and
WHEREAS, Ferguson was born in Ponca City, Oklahoma, on January 9, 1934, the son of Luther LeRoy and Henrietta
Marie Ferguson; and received two degrees in journalism from the University of Oklahoma, a bachelor's degree in 1956,
and a master's degree in 1964. He married the former Sue Ann Thomson on June 5, 1958; she taught remedial reading
in Topeka for 21 years. They have two children, John Michael, now an assistant professor of organic chemistry at the
University of Central Oklahoma, and Diane Marie, now a doctor in San Pedro, California: Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of Kansas: That we commend and congratulate Lew
Ferguson for the 41 years of excellence he has provided to his profession and the citizens of Kansas in reporting the
news. Truly our Capitol will not be the same without him.
House Resolution No. 6019 was sponsored by Representatives McKechnie, Jennison, Garner, Aday, Adkins, Alldritt,
Allen, Aurand, Ballard, Ballou, Barnes, Beggs, Benlon, Bethell, Boston, Burroughs, Campbell, Carmody, Compton, Cox,
Crow, Dahl, Dean, Dreher, Edmonds, Empson, Faber, Farmer, Feuerborn, Findley, Flaharty, Flora, Flower, Franklin,
Freeborn, Gatewood, Geringer, Gilbert, Gilmore, Glasscock, Grant, Gregory, Haley, Hayzlett, Helgerson, Henderson,
Henry, Hermes, Holmes, Horst, Howell, Huff, Humerickhouse, Hutchins, Jenkins, Johnson, Johnston, Kirk, Klein, Phil
Kline, Phill Kline, Krehbiel, Kuether, Landwehr, Lane, Larkin, Light, Lightner, Lloyd, M. Long, P. Long, Loyd, Mason,
Mayans, Mays, McClure, McCreary, McKinney, Minor, Mollenkamp, Morrison, Myers, Neufeld, Nichols, O'Brien,
O'Connor, O'Neal, Osborne, Palmer, Pauls, E. Peterson, J. Peterson, Phelps, Pottorff, Powell, Powers, Ray, Reardon,
Rehorn, Reinhardt, Ruff, Schwartz, Sharp, Showalter, Shriver, Shultz, Sloan, Spangler, Stone, Storm, Swenson, Tanner,
Tedder, Thimesch, Toelkes, Tomlinson, Toplikar, Vickrey, Vining, Wagle, Weber, Weiland, Wells, Welshimer and WilkI hereby certify that the above RESOLUTION originated in the HOUSE,
and was adopted by that body
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