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Uncontested races silence Kansas voters. That means ideologues won’t be judged in November.
Democracy doesn’t work without choice. Half of Kansas House races this November will feature candidates running unopposed, meaning that voters across the state won’t be able to make the fundamental choice of who represents them in Topeka. For them, democracy has broken down. Extremists, homophobes and race-baiting ideologues won’t face the judgment of voters. They […]
At Kansas Press Association event, visions of journalism past and future
University of Kansas associate professor Teri Finneman doesn’t just research community journalism. She went ahead three years ago and started a community news website, the Eudora Times, to serve the community east of Lawrence. Finneman was the featured speaker at the Kansas Press Association’s meeting on Friday in Newton. The gathering was the first in-person […]
Symphony in the Flint Hills faces off against massive Kansas storm system, and the spirit persists
Symphony in the Flint Hills encountered that dependable adversary of Kansas events on Saturday evening: severe weather. Audience and performers had gathered for the 17th annual celebration — eloquently written about by longtime emcee Dave Kendall last week in the Kansas Reflector — when the bad news came. Organizers were informed at 6:43 p.m. that […]
News media can tell you what’s the matter with Kansas. But you have to do the repairs.
The news media won’t save you. The news media — even the opinionated and outspoken parts of it like this opinion section — won’t save Kansas or the United States. I wish more people understood this, because if you want our nation to see a revival in civic participation and progressive values, you have to […]
Report on legislators in ‘far-right’ Facebook groups doesn’t tell real story of Kansas extremism
By any measure, the Kansas Legislature has a problem with right-wing extremism. Sen. Mark Steffen, a Hutchinson physician, introduced legislation that would give him an exemption for prescribing ivermectin to COVID-19 patients. Sen. Mike Thompson shared in the viral skepticism, while also agitating against wind power. And Rep. Cheryl Helmer spewed a torrent of lies […]
Hey, Kansas Democrats: Your internal strife distracts activists when you can least afford it
The headline in the Kansas City Star was the kind that no political organization of any stripe wants to see: “ ’He was a bully.’ KS Dems director made toxic workplace, ex-employees say. Party stands by him.” Kansas Democratic Party executive director Ben Meers has been accused by four former employees of creating that aforementioned toxic […]
Closing of Topeka deli Porubsky’s marks end of an era — and earns tribute from Sen. Jerry Moran
We live in an age of cookie-cutter culture. Drive around most places in Kansas — and the United States — and you’ll find the same Walmarts, the same Taco Bells, the same Applebees. You’ll see people dressed in the same clothes, driving the same cars, speaking in the same neutral accent. What you won’t find […]
Another day in America and Kansas: Senseless murder of children and a fifth-grade graduation
The same day that a shooter opened fire at a school in Uvalde, Texas, I attended my son’s fifth-grade graduation. The same day that 19 students from that school died, along with two teachers, I stood next to my husband and applauded after our camera-shy son took a certificate from his teacher. The same day […]
One group’s not-so-impossible dream: progressive majorities in the Kansas Statehouse by 2026
Cast your mind ahead to November of 2026. In that month, in that year, activists in Kansas could well be celebrating as voters send progressive majorities in both the state House and Senate. Wait, you say. What? That’s the ambitious aim of the nonprofit group Prairie Roots, headed up by executive director Peyton Browning. The […]
While Ukraine repels Russia, Rep. Ron Estes of Kansas votes against NATO support and $40B in aid
As Ukrainians battle to save themselves from Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s war of choice, a U.S. representative from Kansas isn’t helping them. In two big votes over the last two months, Rep. Ron Estes has voted against supporting NATO and sending $40 billion in military and economic support to Ukraine. In the earlier case, he […]
Simple reforms could make the Kansas Legislature more transparent. Leaders don’t want that.
Kansas Reflector editor Sherman Smith published a must-read analysis last week. “How the Kansas Legislature avoids public scrutiny by hiding in darkness” included detail after detail showing how an institution with Republican supermajorities nonetheless takes shortcut after shortcut to conceal its actions. Others have written about these problems before. The Kansas City Star published a […]
With COVID-19 an unwanted houseguest, I gave thanks for vaccines and grew frustrated with society
After two years and two months, COVID-19 finally arrived for my family. That meant much of last week was consumed with resting, checking temperatures, sneezing, coughing, ordering delivery and taking rapid tests. I wouldn’t recommend it as a family getaway package. (I suppose the ordering delivery part was OK.) Yet our experience showed how far […]