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.
What Kansas cities want from the Legislature next year
Spencer Duncan, director of government affairs at the Kansas League of Municipalities, talks about the league’s policy agenda for the upcoming legislative session. Read more: Kansas coalition of cities flex muscle at Capitol to influence tax, water, housing reform Auto-generated transcript of this episode
KASB lobbyists on special education funding, vouchers, trans sports, parental bill of rights
Leah Fliter and Scott Rothschild of the Kansas Association of School Boards dive into K-12 education issues likely to be on the agenda during the 2023 legislative session. Read more: Kansas education policy reform in upcoming legislative session likely to mirror 2022 bills Auto-generated transcript of this episode
Oversight committee examines Kansas foster care problems and looks for solutions
A joint committee of the Kansas House and Senate convened for two days to explore concerns about the state’s foster care system. During 15 hours of testimony and questioning, a diverse collection of foster parents, academics, lawyers, contractors, state officials and others delved into their experiences with a system responsible for 7,000 children in need […]
Kansas Reflector staff recaps and analyzes election results
Senior reporter Tim Carpenter leads a discussion with editor in chief Sherman Smith, opinion editor Clay Wirestone and reporter Rachel Mipro about campaigns for governor, Congress, attorney general and the Statehouse, as well as votes on constitutional amendments and judicial retention. Read more: Kansas voters deliver thundering midterm message: Underestimate women at your peril Auto-generated […]
The impact of the February 2021 natural gas price hike on Kansas consumers
In February 2021, it got really cold in Kansas. It was about 15 degrees below zero for more than a week. Natural gas prices shot up, in terms of BTUs, from $2.54 on Feb. 1 to $622 by Feb. 17. Then, as if the market had been manipulated again, it dropped back to $2.46 by […]
Political scientists discuss Kansas Speaks survey
The new Kansas Speaks survey of public opinion generated by the Docking Institute of Public Affairs is out. It checks the pulse of Kansans on dozens of issues — a list that ranges from views on public officials, the economy, abortion, election security, housing, marijuana to health care. Here to mine some of the numerical […]
Kansas Treasurer Lynn Rogers interested in banking duties, not Congress
Democrat Lynn Rogers says the Kansas State Treasurer’s Office has the ability to help Kansans in their day-to-day lives by providing economic recovery loans, administering the college savings plans, and returning unclaimed property. He hopes to hang onto the job of treasurer by defeating Republican state Rep. Steven Johnson, a farmer from Assaria, in the […]
Tiffany Muller on big money politics, threats to democracy, and returning to Kansas
Tiffany Muller returned to Kansas, where she made history in 2004 by becoming the first openly LGBTQ public official in Kansas, to campaign on behalf of Democrats. Muller — now president of End Citizens United, an organization that wants to get big money out of politics — says Republican candidates Kris Kobach and Derek Schmidt […]
USDA official sees rural Kansas as ‘the best-kept secret out there’
Kansas is known for sunflowers, bison, farms and rural communities. But as our country and state grow ever more closely connected and urbanized, what does that mean for small towns and communities across the Sunflower State? Christy Davis, the Kansas director for USDA Rural Development, helps us answer that question. Read more: ‘It means community’: […]
New deal to transfer Kansas community college credits to private colleges
Matt Lindsey, president of the Kansas Independent College Association, and Heather Morgan, executive director of the Kansas Community College Association, talk about a new transfer agreement among 39 colleges in those organizations. The agreement guarantees students earning a two-year degree at a community college the opportunity to enroll at one of the independent colleges as […]
How transgender hate in governor’s race and schools harms Kansas kids
Republican Derek Schmidt’s gubernatorial campaign has embraced anti-transgender hate speech, and the Gardner Edgerton School District has entertained a discriminatory policy. D.C. Hiegert, an American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas legal fellow focusing on LGBTQ issues, and Brenan Riffel, a Kansas Reflector columnist and University of Kansas graduate student, talk with opinion editor Clay Wirestone and […]
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran on veterans, 988 hotline, abortion and staying in office
Republican U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran says he has grown more knowledgeable during his quarter-century of service in the nation’s capital — while his disdain for the game of politics has deepened. He faces a challenge from Democrat Mark Holland in November. Moran talks about expanding health care benefits for military veterans suffering from toxic exposure, […]