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.
A week of election reform debate in the Kansas Legislature
It has been about four months since Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab expressed confidence in state elections. Still, some legislators are considering significant changes to the election system. Voting rights activists say these measures under review by Republican-led committees could cut thousands of ballots in future elections or make access to voting harder. Republican […]
Wind energy in Kansas and unprecedented regulatory legislation at the statehouse
Republican governors Sam Brownback and Jeff Colyer praised it. Democratic governors Kathleen Sebelius, Mark Parkinson and now Laura Kelly concurred. What were they excited about? They were pointing to wind farm development in Kansas. The state is a hotspot for wind power. On highways through blustery hills and flatlands of Kansas, you can’t miss these […]
Freshman Sen. Ethan Corson on his first legislative session
Kansas voters overhauled the Kansas Senate in 2020, filling more than 1/3 of the 40 seats with newcomers. The chamber has 15 new members, a dozen of whom are Republicans and three who are Democrats. One of those freshman senators is Ethan Corson, D-Prairie Village, who had never before held elective office, but was no […]
Kansas Reflector staff breaks down 2021 legislative session so far
In response to the pandemic and other policy desires, the 2021 Kansas legislative session has been packed with action on several fronts. It’s a long process and the Legislature has weeks left to discuss and amend favored bills, but some measures have already been approved. On this episode of the Kansas Reflector podcast, editor in […]
Voices from the debate over Kansas’ transgender sports bill
Last week, the Kansas Senate Education Committee held a hearing on a bill forbidding any team designated for females to be open to students of the “male sex.” Champions of Senate Bill 208 said it would preserve hard-fought opportunities won by feminists for equal participation in athletics and guarantee a level playing field for girls […]
KNEA, KASB reps talk K-12 public education proposals
No Kansas legislative session is without a debate about the academics, leadership and financing of Kansas public education. This session is no exception. The conversations are made more compelling by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has interrupted in-class teaching, much to the dismay of lawmakers who questioned the wisdom of teaching the state’s 400,000 or so […]
Kansas Treasurer Lynn Rogers’ first month on the job
In December 2020, Gov. Laura Kelly appointed then-Lt. Gov. Lynn Rogers to fill the vacancy of state treasurer left by U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner. Unlike his predecessors, Rogers does not see his new role as a stepping stone for future political positions. Rogers joins Tim Carpenter to discuss his first month in the role of […]
Kansas’ unfunded brain injury program
For years, Kansas declined to include children with brain injuries and some adults with comparable problems in the state’s Medicaid program. Finally, in 2019, the federal government prodded the state into expanding coverage to these vulnerable populations. Here’s the problem: The governor’s budget didn’t include the $8 million needed to finance the brain injury program […]
Missing and murdered Indigenous people top of mind for Kansas lawmaker
As of Jan. 7, 2021, there are over 696 missing American Indian or Alaskan Native, including three in Kansas, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. A 2020 report using data from the Sovereign Bodies Institute, a nonprofit, Indigenous-led research organization, shows 2,306 Native American women and girls in the U.S are missing […]
League of Kansas Municipalities reps discuss how cities have managed COVID-19
League of Kansas Municipalities representatives have seen first hand how more than 600 cities in Kansas have interacted with other levels of the government during the COVID-19 pandemic. Erik Sartorius, executive director, and Trey Cocking, deputy director, can point to positive efforts in which information about emergency equipment, coronavirus testing and distribution of vaccine was […]
Gianfranco Pezzino: COVID-19 from a public health perspective
Gianfranco Pezzino served as Shawnee County’s health officer for 14 years before stepping down abruptly from the position in December. In the middle of the battle against COVID-19, Pezzino found politics overruling science. On this episode of the Kansas Reflector podcast, senior reporter Tim Carpenter sits down with Pezzino to discuss Kansas’ response to the […]
Rep. Aaron Coleman on calls for resignation, policy goals
Aaron Coleman defeated Stan Frownfelter, an entrenched incumbent, for a seat in the Kansas House representing the 37th District. He did it at the age of 20 while championing a Green New Deal reform agenda. But that accomplishment is overshadowed by controversy. On this episode of the Kansas Reflector podcast, Coleman joins senior reporter Tim […]