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.
Secretary of State Scott Schwab talks Kansas elections
Scott Schwab has served as the Kansas Secretary of State since 2019. Before election to be the state’s top elections official, the Republican served in the Kansas house for 15 years, representing part of Johnson County. Schwab joins senior reporter Tim Carpenter for the Kansas Reflector podcast to break down recent election law, the safety […]
The state of Kansas water, now and in the future
Parts of western Kansas have just a decade or two of water left. One city’s drinking water was contaminated with uranium. For years, the state hasn’t been paying its bills to the federal government to store drinking water in dams in eastern Kansas. Last year, a state House committee started studying the water situation. They […]
Bob Beatty on the legacy of former Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson
As a politically active college student in Wichita, Mark Parkinson audaciously ran for a seat in the Kansas House at age 20. He didn’t win, but he learned the value of sweating through a door-to-door campaign. He went on to serve in the Kansas House and Senate, lead the Kansas Republican Party and made friends […]
Improving postpartum health outcomes in Kansas
The birth of a child is a blend of anxiety and joy, but it can also give rise to a feeling of malaise in mothers that often dissipates in a couple of weeks. A longer-lasting form of this condition is referred to as postpartum depression. Prompt treatment can help moms manage symptoms and bond with […]
Inside the special report: Kansas Reflector editors and columnist talk TEFFI
Few in the Kansas Legislative or investment world understood what a TEFFI was when lawmakers approved a bill last year allowing the launch of a so-called technology-enabled fiduciary financial institution. Founder Brad Heppner’s vision includes investments in rural Kansas and attracted support from local and state officials. But a three-month Kansas Reflector investigation spearheaded by […]
Looking ahead to veto override attempts
The legislative process in Kansas is a numbers game that often boils down to the trifecta of 63, 21 and one. These figures represent the narrowest margin a bill can clear the House and Senate respectively, and the one reflects the governor’s power to veto a bill. Legislators do have recourse when the governor rejects […]
Kansas Reflector staff delivers legislative roundup
The Kansas Legislature is in the middle of a three week break with senators and representatives having wrapped up a whirlwind regular session on Friday, April 1. What bills made it through? What bills did not? To break it all down on the Reflector Podcast is editor in chief Sherman Smith, senior reporter Tim Carpenter […]
Kansas LGBTQ lawmakers challenge anti-trans bill
In the closing hours of the Kansas legislative session, a familiar proposal resurfaced that would ban transgender athletes from participating in school sports. After two years of debate, battle lines are clearly drawn on the issue. Republicans who support the bill say it will protect girls and women from having to compete with boys and […]
U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids on Ukraine, infrastructure, redistricting
There is never never a shortage of issues to talk about in Washington, D.C., politics. U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat from Kansas City, Kansas, is running for reelection in 2022. She joins Tim Carpenter on the Reflector Podcast to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine, national and state infrastructure, redistricting and more. Read more […]
Steven Johnson campaigns for state treasurer
Rep. Steven Johnson, an Assaria Republican, talks about his campaign for the Republican nomination for state treasurer and his pitch to the state GOP convention. Read more.
Haley Kottler on latest attempt to restrict programs for Kansans in need
On Thursday, when the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee held a hearing on Senate Bill 501, a measure that would restrict access to an array of public assistance programs, such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The bill’s main advocate wasn’t a Kansas legislator: It was the Florida-based Opportunity Solutions Project, the […]
Rep. Jo Ella Hoye on gun control laws in Kansas
There’s a push in the Kansas Legislature to require state courts and law enforcement agencies to temporarily take custody of firearms from people convicted of domestic battery. A bill in the Senate would close a loophole in a 2018 law banning convicted domestic abusers from buying firearms in Kansas, which mirrors federal standards, but that […]