Kansas Reflector Podcast
Kansas Reflector Podcast
The Kansas Reflector Podcast, hosted by senior reporter Tim Carpenter, presents voices from the people and politics of Kansas.
Kansas advocates talk Build Back Better bill
There’s a messy debate raging in Washington, D.C., around the Build Back Better bill, which is President Joe Biden’s economic growth package. It’s a profound investment in America’s future, Democrats argue. Republicans, on the other hand, generally view it as a budgetary albatross. On this Kansas Reflector Podcast, David Jordan, president of the United Methodist […]
Kansas special session 2021: What should have been the focus?
The Kansas special legislative session last week only lasted one day but still elicited many strong responses and wild speeches. The new law provides moral, religious and medical exemptions to COVID-19 vaccine requirements and ensure unemployment compensation for anyone who is fired because of their vaccine status. Considerations of such action were criticized by Democratic […]
Rick Serrano: Buried truths and the Hyatt skywalks
People living in the Kansas City area in the summer of 1981 can recall the harrowing collapse of two overhead walkways inside the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Those platforms were full of partygoers attending an evening dance in the lobby below. The tragedy killed 114 people and injured more than 200. On the 40th anniversary of […]
Cutting the food sales tax
If you go to the grocery store in Kansas, you will see the total cost of your shopping being a little larger than in many other states. That’s because Kansas is one of seven states with a full tax on groceries and at a rate of 6.5%, has the second highest tax in the nation. […]
Hunger in southeast Kansas
According to Kansas Appleseed, one in six residents of southeast Kansas is food insecure and a stunning one in four children in the region is food insecure. That’s the topic of the advocacy group’s new report, “Hunger in Southeast Kansas.” Kansas Reflector opinion editor Clay Wirestone is joined by two members of the Kansas Appleseed […]
Sedgwick County commissioner Lacey Cruse on homelessness
Sedgwick County Commissioner Lacey Cruse lives in the poorest zip code in the state of Kansas. Immense challenges of homelessness as well as mental illness and substance abuse are visible from her front porch. Cruse joins host Tim Carpenter to discuss how she believes Sedgwick County and the city of Wichita can do a better […]
Seaman High School name controversy
Students at Seaman High School just north of Topeka ignited intense community conversation last year when their research revealed the school districts namesake had been an exalted cyclops in the Ku Klux Klan. Now, animosity over critical race theory has inflamed debate about whether to change the district’s name. Joining host Sherman Smith on the […]
Education at Fort Hays State University
Leading a public university during a devastating pandemic and demographic shifts slashing the number of college aged people is a mind boggling challenge. In addition to the evolving economy, emerging technology and politicization of government spending on higher education, the challenges are great. One of the six people entrusted to manage a state university in […]
Improving broadband in Kansas
The difference between the haves and have nots in the world of broadband services — think of it as the digital divide in the world of high-speed internet — can be felt in business education, health care and at home. Without it, you might have difficulty listening to this very podcast. Joining senior reporter Tim […]
Kansas Cannabis Chamber of Commerce pushes for marijuana policy reform
When entrepreneurs wanted to convince politicians to be more pro-business, they formed a chamber of commerce to champion their ideas. Now, advocates of the nation’s growing marijuana industry have done the same. Heather Steppe, president of the new Kansas Cannabis Chamber of Commerce, talks with Kansas Reflector senior reporter Tim Carpenter about efforts to reform […]
Kansas unemployment modernization and fraud update
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Kansas Department of Labor has been overwhelmed by unemployment claims, both real and fraudulent. The beleaguered unemployment insurance computer system and the record volume of activity created drastic delays and invited criminal actors to submit false claims. A recent audit estimated the state paid out $700 million dollars […]
Economic fallout of 2021 deep freeze
In February the Midwest was gripped by a deep freeze from winter storm Yuri, resulting in electrical outages for many. The cost of the storm are still being sorted out. On this episode of the Kansas Reflector podcast, Allison Kite looks into the economic fallout from this winter’s deep freeze for Kansas residents who could […]