Opinion
Take it from a former Kansas congressman, U.S. ag secretary — what the world needs now is humor
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. Former congressman and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman’s book “Laughing at Myself” is out this month from the University Press of Kansas. Now that all […]
Kansans must not let myths about wind energy undermine its economic development power
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. Dorothy Barnett is executive director of the Climate + Energy Project. Wind energy is one of the best economic development tools available to our rural communities. Unfortunately, […]
Audio Astra: Kansas’ missing lifeguards, middle-of-the-road memories and the ‘evangelical machine’
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. As summer begins in Kansas, it was a week of listening to stories about swimming, taking a lighter approach to life and slowing […]
How Kansas can solve its labor shortage, stop its population decline and begin to grow again
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. Renee Duxler is the economic and workforce development director for the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce. Kansas appears to be, very tentatively, emerging from the dust […]
‘Everybody’ is to blame for Kansas’ foster care problems, says lawmaker who’s been trying to help
Rep. Susan Concannon tends to get troubling information. Over the past three years, foster parents have gone to her with their problems. “I have a legal pad full of these stories, and I write out in the margin the name of the caseworkers,” says Concannon, a Republican from Beloit who chairs the House Committee on […]
What this year looked like through the lens of Kansas high school photography students
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. Jason Berryman teaches digital photography and chairs the art department at Topeka West High School. He shares student work on the Photosynthesis blog. To say the […]
Courageous combat reporters told stories of those who lost their lives so we will never forget
The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect people’s day-to-day lives. Michael Bugeja is a regular contributor to our States Newsroom sister outlet, the Iowa Capital Dispatch. I never fought in the Vietnam War. I joined United Press International, a worldwide wire […]
This senator from Kansas protected the White House — now he’s rolling in his grave
When the nation’s capital was being squeezed by secession and revolt early in the Civil War, a senator from the newly minted state of Kansas organized a frontier guard to protect the White House. Sen. James H. Lane was a wild-haired scoundrel who indulged in some bloody cross-border ransacking, but he organized a company, composed […]
HIV/AIDS vaccine: Why don’t we have one after 37 years, when we have several for COVID-19 after a few months?
Smallpox has been eradicated from the face of the Earth following a highly effective, worldwide vaccination campaign. Paralytic poliomyelitis is no longer a problem in the U.S. because of development and use of effective vaccines against the poliovirus. In current times, millions of lives have been saved because of rapid deployment of effective vaccines against […]
Audio Astra: Farmers saving water, virtual reality med school and other surprising sounds
Audio Astra will review 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. In the coming weeks, I look forward to showcasing reporting from the previous week. In this first installment of Audio Astra, […]
Kansas state workers are essential — they deserved a 2.5% raise and hazard pay
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. Sarah LaFrenz is president of the Kansas Organization of State Employees and the American Federation of Teachers-Kansas. After a year of incredible sacrifice by state employees, […]
Kansans should pay more attention to this Chamber of Commerce and less attention to that other one
There’s more than one way to support business interests, Kansas. It’s a good time to remember this, after a couple of weeks in which the Topeka-based Kansas Chamber made headlines for eye-rolly reasons. First was a report that the organization was throwing a middle school mean-girl fit and ending its relationship with the U.S. Chamber […]