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.

Family Policy Alliance lobbyist Brittany Jones, former Yale University basketball player Jessica Steffen and former University of Kansas pole vaulter Callie Hicks, left to right, testified in favor of a Kansas Senate bill assigning transgender athletes to sports programs at public schools and colleges based on gender at birth. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Kansas transgender sports bill: Epitome of fair play? Or, brazenly unconstitutional?
By: - February 23, 2021

TOPEKA — Former University of Kansas pole vaulter Callie Hicks offered assurances Tuesday that failure to impose a state law restricting transgender athletes to competitions based on biological gender at birth would destroy girls and women’s sports programs. She was among two dozen people drawn to the Senate Education Committee’s hearing on a bill requiring […]

Sen. Caryn Tyson, the Parker Republican who chairs the Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee, extended to another day the combative confirmation hearing for Robert Marx, a nominee to the Kansas Board of Tax Appeals, who is opposed by the Kansas Chamber. (Screen capture/Kansas Reflector)

Kansas Chamber leads charge to torpedo state Board of Tax Appeals nominee
By: - February 23, 2021

Allegations of conflict of interest flashed during the Kansas Senate confirmation hearing for a nominee to the state Board of Tax Appeals.

Amber Shultz, secretary of the Kansas Department of Labor, acknowledged huge challenges in delivering unemployment aid during the COVID-19 pandemic, but was convinced the state was in a better position in 2022. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

Kelly seeks state, federal funding to restore Kansas unemployment trust fund, fix IT system
By: - February 22, 2021

Kansas officials seek $37 million from the state and additional federal funding to upgrade and maintain the unemployment benefit computer system.

U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, left, joined with others in the Kansas congressional delegation to praise the sacrifice and courage of U.S. veterans as the Taliban takes control of Afghanistan and U.S. forces seek a hasty departure. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

U.S. Sen. Moran on mission to make certain Kansas vets get shot at COVID-19 vaccine
By: - February 22, 2021

U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran and VA officials estimate 70% of veterans in the Kansas region can be vaccinated for COVID-19 by summer.

Kansas Senate bill forces all K-12 students back to in-school instruction in March
By: - February 22, 2021

Two major Kansas public education organizations wary of forcing K-12 students back to in-person instruction by March 26 during a pandemic.

The Kansas Senate is considering a bill endorsed by Evergy, owners of this Lawrence power plant, that would allow refinancing of debt on old coal-burning facilities to be paid through issuance of bonds backed by ratepayers. Questions remain about whether consumers would be guaranteed rate reductions. (Jill Hummels/Kansas Reflector)

Kansas consumer advocates flag lack of rate-cut pledge in Senate bill tied to coal plant retirement
By: - February 21, 2021

Kansas Senate exploring bill backed by Evergy to issue bonds to finance coal-plant retirements, but questions remain about benefits to ratepayers.

Retired U.S. Army Col. Lynn Rolf is convinced the state and federal governments should collaborate on construction of a $50 million nursing home for veterans in one of five northeast Kansas counties. (Screen capture/Kansas Reflector)

Retired Col. Lynn Rolf: Coordinated offensive needed to bring veterans home to northeast Kansas
By: - February 20, 2021

There is movement in the Kansas House on two bills that could lead to construction of a $50 million nursing home for veterans in northeast Kansas.

Robin Macy and Mike Mackay have worked for years to organize and finance a "quiet zone" for rail traffic at Belle Plaine in southcentral Kansas. New safety infrastructure will allow BNSF Railways to stop blowing of horns at traffic crossings in the town. (Screen capture/Kansas Reflector)

Small town Kansas takes on big problem of deafening railroad engine horns
By: - February 19, 2021

Mike Mackay and Robin Macy are closing in on a challenge, expensive project to transform Belle Plaine into a "quiet zone" for railroad traffic.

Gov. Laura Kelly nominated Sedgwick County prosecutor Lesley Isherwood, of Wichita, to a vacancy on the Kansas Court of Appeals. The nomination is subject to confirmation by the Kansas Senate. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Gov. Kelly nominates Sedgwick County prosecutor for appellate court
By: - February 18, 2021

Gov. Laura Kelly selected a Sedgwick County prosecutor with 20 years on the job for a vacancy on the Kansas Court of Appeals.

Kansas state Treasurer Lynn Rogers said a one-month record of $6.3 million in unclaimed property was returned by the treasurer's office to 6,000 people during August. The previous record of $4.2 million was set in 2019. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Coalition of 17 state treasurers calls for $350 billion in federal COVID-19 aid to municipalities, states
By: - February 18, 2021

Seventeen state treasurers appeal to Congress for $350 billion in direct aid to cities and states struggling with revenue shortfalls in the pandemic.

Former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole, a former U.S. senator from Kansas, is preparing to undergo treatment Monday for lung cancer. (Pool photo by Olivier Douliery/Getty Images)

Former U.S. Sen. Dole to undergo treatment for lung cancer
By: - February 18, 2021

Former U.S. Sen. Robert Dole, the GOP nominee for president in 1996, says he has stage 4 lung cancer and is preparing to undergo treatment.

Kansas House proposes state university tuition rebates for online courses, skipped academic days
By: - February 17, 2021

Kansas House committee wants state universities to give 100% tuition refund for online classes and 50% refund for every day cut from calendar during pandemic.

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