Environment
In history of Santa Fe Trail, a window to Kansas’ past and our nation’s future
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. 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 […]
Flurry of earthquakes in Salina region raise new questions about wastewater injection
Flurry of December earthquakes near Salina raise new questions about consequences of wastewater injection and fracking activity in Kansas.
Proposed grasslands act would protect Kansas’ precious prairies
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 […]
Kansas governor striving to fulfill campaign pledges amidst stubborn COVID-19 pandemic
Gov. Laura Kelly says Kansas made progress since 2019 on funding of education and transportation and generated job growth despite COVID-19 pandemic.
KU, UMKC graduate appointed EPA regional administrator for Kansas, Missouri
Biden administration selects Kansas native and Missouri law school graduate to lead EPA region 7, which includes both states along with Iowa and Nebraska.
My Christmas wish for Kansas Reflector readers: Embrace the now
This Christmas Day, let’s all give ourselves the gift of presence. No, that’s not a misspelling of “presents.” I mean presence, our existence in this moment. Ourselves being ourselves, ignoring technological bubbles and alternate realities. On this one day of the year, let’s commit to being right here, right now, no matter what. Perhaps this […]
Audio Astra: An audio time capsule of Kansas news for 2021
Audio Astra reviews recent audio reporting on Kansas news, including podcasts and radio stories. Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association and teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the University of Kansas. People often ask me for my podcast recommendations, because I am insufferable about quoting podcasts in conversations. The number of podcasts that I hear […]
Evergy proposes energy efficiency programs designed to save customers $42M
Evergy customers in Kansas could soon get discounts and rebates to upgrade their homes to be more energy efficient. The electric utility, which serves 1.2 million customers in Kansas and Missouri, filed a plan with Kansas regulators last week to invest in a host of energy efficiency programs for business and residential customers. The plan, […]
‘Ball of rolling fire and smoke’: Wildfires rip through north-central Kansas
PARADISE — There’s almost nothing left of Deb Maupin’s home near Paradise in north-central Kansas — a bench on the front porch with nothing behind it but the concrete of the basement, now full of ash, scorched appliances where the kitchen was. Hers is one of more than a dozen families who lost their homes to […]
Is cutting down a tree for Christmas bad for the environment?
Christmas is a time for celebrating the season and a time for cutting down trees — and that holiday tradition sometimes leads to discussions about what’s best for the environment: Is it greener to buy a real tree or a fake tree, or abstain altogether? University of New Hampshire forest resources specialist Steven Roberge explained […]
Tiny Kansas town of Alma sued by natural gas supplier over $172K charge from February cold snap
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A tiny town in Kansas’ Flint Hills is being sued by its natural gas supplier for failing to pay more than $170,000 in charges from the extreme cold snap that gripped the Midwest 10 months ago. Bluemark Energy, an Oklahoma-based natural gas marketer, filed suit against Alma — population 802 — […]
Kansas National Guard deploys helicopters to wildfires burning in Kansas
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas National Guard will deploy helicopters in an effort to put out wildfires in several counties in central and western Kansas, several state departments said in a news release Thursday. Gov. Laura Kelly declared a state of disaster emergency last week because of the risk of fire. According to the […]