Author

Tim Carpenter

Tim Carpenter

Tim Carpenter has reported on Kansas for 35 years. He covered the Capitol for 16 years at the Topeka Capital-Journal and previously worked for the Lawrence Journal-World and United Press International. He has been recognized for investigative reporting on Kansas government and politics. He won the Kansas Press Association's Victor Murdock Award six times. The William Allen White Foundation honored him four times with its Burton Marvin News Enterprise Award. The Kansas City Press Club twice presented him its Journalist of the Year Award and more recently its Lifetime Achievement Award. He earned an agriculture degree at Kansas State University and grew up on a small dairy and beef cattle farm in Missouri. He is an amateur woodworker and drives Studebaker cars.

Kansas Chamber president Alan Cobb, right, and Kansas Chamber lobbyist Eric Stafford outline for a Kansas Reflector podcast key pieces of the business organization's 2023 agenda ahead of the new session of the Kansas Legislature starting Monday. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Kansas Chamber’s legislative script dives into tax, regulation, workforce and legal issues
By: - January 9, 2023

The Kansas Chamber asks 2023 Legislature to lower income and sales taxes, create an apprenticeship program and make changes to lower energy costs.

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who won reelection in November, begins a second term as governor Monday with the inauguration ceremony on steps of the Capitol and opening inside the building of the 2023 legislative session with Republicans holding two-thirds majorities in the House an Senate. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Gov. Laura Kelly launching second term poised to balance centrist philosophy of governing
By: - January 8, 2023

Gov. Laura Kelly to stay in the middle of the road politically in her second term, while GOP House and Senate plan to make use of their supermajorities.

Sen. Dennis Pyle. Hawk, who will retire next week, proposed an increase from $88 to $320 in daily in-session pay for legislators in an attempt to boost overall annual compensation to about $50,000. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Retiring Kansas senator’s gift to colleagues: A bill proposing ‘overdue’ raise in salary
By: - January 7, 2023

Retiring Manhattan Sen. Tom Hawk proposes increase in daily legislator salary from $88 to $320 — enough to raise overall compensation to about $50,000.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt, on his final full day in office, released a summary of the four-year sexual abuse investigation of Catholic clergy by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Thirty cases were referred to county prosecutors, but the statute of limitations could result in few or no charges against clergy. (Getty Images)

Kansas Catholic clergy sexual abuse investigation targets 14 suspects; prosecutions unlikely
By: - January 6, 2023

Attorney General Derek Schmidt releases short summary of 4-year sexual abuse investigation of Catholic clergy by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

Manhattan City Commission member Usha Reddi was chosen to replace retiring Democratic state Sen. Tom Hawk, top row in mask, on Jan. 10. She has served on the city commission since 2013 and was a candidate for U.S. Senate until ending that campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

Manhattan city commissioner selected to complete Senate term of Democrat Tom Hawk
By: - January 6, 2023

Kansas Senate will have three newcomers — two Republican, one Democratic — due to resignations, The latest addition Usha Reddi of Manhattan.

Gov. Laura Kelly and Kansas legislators on the State Finance Council approved a $10,000 settlement of lawsuit filed by former El Dorado Correctional Facility inmate stabbed by white supremacists in 2019. The vote at the Capitol occurred in December, but state officials didn't disclose the settlement amount until January. (Max McCoy/Kansas Reflector)

Kansas pays $10,000 to settle lawsuit filed by inmate stabbed by white supremacists
By: - January 5, 2023

Kansas settles for $10,000 lawsuit filed against Department of Corrections employee after a violent attack on an inmate by incarcerated white supremacists.

Sen. Richard Hilderbrand, standing, a Republican from Baxter Springs in southeast Kansas, plans to resign Sunday one day prior to opening of the 2023 legislative session. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Southeast Kansas Republican senator to resign ahead of 2023 legislative session
By: - January 4, 2023

State Sen. Richard Hilderbrand, a southeast Kansas Republican, says he will step down Sunday, one day before opening of the 2023 legislative session.

care facility recommends construction in Topeka adjacent to the Veterans Administration medical center. (Noah Taborda/Kansas Reflector)

Topeka site selected for construction of $49 million residential home for veterans
By: - January 4, 2023

Site adjacent to VA medical center in Topeka selected for proposed construction of $49 million residential facility for veterans.

Sedgwick County farmers Mick Rausch and Donna Wise, left and center, and Osage County nurse practitioner and rancher Ashley Beying shared their experiences with mental illness in agricultural settings during a meeting of the Kansas Farm Bureau. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

Kansas farmers, ranchers plant seeds of change to erode stigma of mental illness
By: - January 4, 2023

Three Kansans familiar with mental health challenges facing farmers and ranchers share insights into getting help and overcoming lingering stigma.

Former Attorney General Robert Stephan, who served four terms as the state's top law enforcement officer, died at age 89. The Republican left office in 1995. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

Kansas’ longest-serving attorney general passes away at age 89
By: - January 3, 2023

Former Kansas Attorney General Robert Stephan passed away at age 89 following four terms in office and a scandal involving allegations of sexual harassment.

Gov. Laura Kelly, who signed a bill in May legalizing sports betting in Kansas, placed the state's first bet in September on the Kansas City Chiefs. In three months, $536 million has been wagered in Kansas on sporting events. Kansas Lottery ticket sales surged in the period while revenue at the state's four casinos declined. (Submitted)

Kansas lottery ticket sales rise, casino revenue slips in wake of legal sports wagering
By: - January 2, 2023

Legal sports wagering in Kansas attracted $536 million in bets in three months of operations while traditional casino revenue fell and lottery sales surged.

Physician Steven Stites, chief medical officer at the University of Kansas Health System, praised retiring doctor Anthony Fauci for making important contributions to public health during the COVID-19 pandemic. It's a view not shared by U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, a Kansas Republican. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from KUHS YouTube channel)

KU Health System doctors express praise for Fauci’s leadership from HIV to COVID-19
By: - January 1, 2023

University of Kansas Health System physicians praise retiring Anthony Fauci, despite U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall's campaign to undermine Fauci's credibility.

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