Author

Shawna Bethell
Shawna Bethell is a freelance essayist/journalist covering the people and places of Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri. Before returning home, she wrote for several publications in the southwestern United States.
As birds migrate across Kansas skies, we have the tools to keep them safe
By: Shawna Bethell - March 16, 2023
It mystifies me that while I sleep, millions of birds are passing silently overhead on a migration flight that can — for some of them — amount to tens of thousands of miles. I’m fascinated by the instinct that drives them and the adaptation processes that prepare their seemingly fragile bodies to survive their arduous […]
Proposed grasslands act would protect Kansas’ precious prairies
By: Shawna Bethell - December 29, 2021
The 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. Shawna Bethell is a freelance essayist/journalist covering the people and places of Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri. Amid the chaos of 2020, I reached a point when […]
Despite addictive news of gloom and doom, hope flourishes around us
By: Shawna Bethell - November 24, 2021
The 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. Shawna Bethell is a freelance essayist/journalist covering the people and places of Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri. I talked to a friend of mine recently. She has […]
Nebraska’s proposed river basin transfer could reshape Kansas resources
By: Shawna Bethell - October 25, 2021
The 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. Shawna Bethell is a freelance essayist/journalist covering the people and places of Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri. I’m not a fish person. They aren’t even on my […]
Work to repurpose wind turbine blades spotlights Kansas as green economy leader
By: Shawna Bethell - August 24, 2021
The 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. Shawna Bethell is a freelance essayist/journalist covering the people and places of Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri. I remember the first time I saw a wind turbine. […]
Designation of lesser prairie chicken must consider landowner needs
By: Shawna Bethell - July 22, 2021
The 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. Shawna Bethell is a freelance essayist/journalist covering the people and places of Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri. I never thought much about the lesser prairie chicken, or […]
Kansas heritage sites can help save rural communities
By: Shawna Bethell - July 13, 2021
The 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. Shawna Bethell is a freelance essayist/journalist covering the people and places of Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri. On a recent trip to Nebraska I decided to find […]