Session of 1999
SENATE RESOLUTION No. 1864
A Resolution commending and congratulating Lew Ferguson upon his retirement
as Topeka correspondent for The Associated Press.
WHEREAS, Lew Ferguson is retiring July 1, 1999, after a career as a reporter spanning more than four decades,
with an unparalleled reputation for excellence and integrity. He set lofty standards for fairness and accuracy in
covering politics and government and for keeping the people of Kansas informed about issues important to them.
WHEREAS, 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; in his tenure, Lew has covered the
administrations of six governors. Newspaper publishers and editors have come to trust him above all others as the
source for news on state government. Ferguson covered nine Democratic and Republican national conventions,
including the Republican conventions 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 Menninger'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 on to 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 Senate 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; and
Be it further resolved: That the Secretary of the Senate be directed to provide an enrolled copy of this resolution
to Lew Ferguson.
Senate Resolution No. 1864 was sponsored by Senators Barone, Becker, Biggs, Bleeker, Bond, Brownlee, Clark,
Corbin, Donovan, Downey, Emert, Feleciano, Gilstrap, Gooch, Goodwin, Hardenburger, Harrington, Hensley, Huel-
skamp, Jones, Jordan, Kerr, Langworthy, Lawrence, Lee, Morris, Oleen, Petty, Praeger, Pugh, Ranson, Salisbury,
Salmans, Steffes, Steineger, Stephens, Tyson, Umbarger, Vidricksen and VratilI hereby certify that the above RESOLUTION originated in the SENATE,
and was adopted by that body
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