Author

Dave Kendall

Dave Kendall

Dave Kendall served as producer and host of the “Sunflower Journeys” series on public television for its first 27 seasons. He also produced documentaries and community affairs programs for KTWU, the PBS station licensed to Washburn University in Topeka. In 2015, he left to form his own company — Prairie Hollow Productions — through which he continues to produce documentary videos. He’s currently engaged in the production of a documentary about the local impact of a changing climate.

OPINION

As Kansas Methodists take different paths, a profound question: How do we care for one another?

By: - June 25, 2023

The headline grabbed my attention:  “Kansas United Methodist Church congregations split with denomination over LGBTQ issues.” Having grown up in the Methodist Church, it was personally disconcerting to see that. As I have thought about it, my friend and former workmate Scott Williams came to mind as a good example of why this move seems […]

OPINION

Grim realities of Kansas generations past collide with climate crisis facing us all today

By: - May 28, 2023

When I was growing up, I remember my parents heading off to visit the graves of family members at this time of year, taking flowers to set alongside headstones. I usually chose not to go with them, seeing it as something relevant to older folks, but not to me. Now I wish I would have […]

OPINION
A crowd at Arrowhead Stadium

Ending Chiefs’ ‘tomahawk chop’ may be called woke. But Kansans owe Native communities respect.

By: - March 5, 2023

They did it again. The Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl. This time, they beat the Philadelphia Eagles, as they defeated the San Francisco 49ers three years ago. Some of us still remember Jan. 11, 1970 — the day on which the Chiefs beat the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV, laying claim to […]

OPINION
Three Kansas Republicans in Congress want the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to extend by 90 days the public comment period on a proposal to list the lesser prairie-chicken under the Endangered Species Act. (Greg Kramos/USFWS)

Behind Kansas lesser prairie chicken debate, vanishing ecosystems flash warning signs

By: - January 29, 2023

The CBS program “60 Minutes” recently broadcast a report called “The Vanishing Wild.” Host Scott Pelley introduced it by posing the question: “In what year will the human population grow too large for the Earth to sustain?” Without pausing for viewers to ponder, he continued: “The answer is about 1970.” “In 1970, the planet’s three […]

OPINION
Trees cast shadows during winter weather.

Reflections on the return of light to a still-warming planet — and Kansas

By: - December 18, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Dave Kendall served as producer and host of the “Sunflower Journeys” series on public television for its first 27 seasons and continues to produce documentary videos through […]

OPINION
Columnist Dave Kendall's terrier can still make his way along a nature trail.

With dogged care, attention and nurturing, democracy in Kansas and beyond can thrive 

By: - November 6, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Dave Kendall served as producer and host of the “Sunflower Journeys” series on public television for its first 27 seasons and continues to produce documentary videos through […]

OPINION

‘We’re live, we’re local’: Kansas Public Radio marks 70 years on the air

By: - October 2, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Dave Kendall served as producer and host of the “Sunflower Journeys” series on public television for its first 27 seasons and continues to produce documentary videos through […]

OPINION
Gov. Laura Kelly announced Wednesday that Kansas won a competition for a $4 billion Panasonic Corp. vehicle battery manufacturing facility to be built at the old Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant at De Soto. The battery plant is expected to create 4,000 jobs and have an annual economic impact on the state of $2.5 billion. (Lily O'Shea Becker/Kansas Reflector)

‘Living Lightly on the Earth’ — and in Kansas — as we adapt to a warming planet 

By: - September 4, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Dave Kendall served as producer and host of the “Sunflower Journeys” series on public television for its first 27 seasons and continues to produce documentary videos through […]

OPINION
Kansas abolitionist John Brown seizes the attention in the middle of John Steuart Curry's famous "Tragic Prelude" mural at the Kansas Statehouse. (Dave Kendall)

As a ‘Free State,’ Kansas has a long history of deciding who should wield political power

By: - July 31, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Dave Kendall served as producer and host of the “Sunflower Journeys” series on public television for its first 27 seasons and continues to produce documentary videos through […]

OPINION

Symphony in the Flint Hills taps into restorative power of the Kansas prairie

By: - June 7, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Dave Kendall served as producer and host of the “Sunflower Journeys” series on public television for its first 27 seasons and continues to produce documentary videos through […]

OPINION
Rex Buchanan interviews Jennie Chinn, executive director of Kansas State Historical Society, at the Kansas Museum of History. (David Kendall)

Remembering our sunflower journeys across Kansas with Jennie Chinn

By: - May 10, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Dave Kendall served as producer and host of the “Sunflower Journeys” series on public television for its first 27 seasons and continues to produce documentary videos through […]

OPINION

A boulder’s journey: Lawrence monolith will be returned to the Kaw in thoughtful process

By: - May 1, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Dave Kendall served as producer and host of the “Sunflower Journeys” series on public television for its first 27 seasons and continues to produce documentary videos through […]