Cynthia Lane, director of the state's Blueprint for Literacy program, says Kansas is improving literacy instruction from preschool to college levels. She says the next step is to blend Blueprint for Literacy with the Kansas State Board of Education's literacy program known as Every Child Can Read.
This episode recaps the busy first week of the Kansas legislative session, detailing Governor Kelly's final State of the State speech highlighting her achievements and calling for civility, and the Republican response from House Speaker Dan Hawkins. Discussions covered controversial committee hearings on gender markers for driver's licenses, the State of the Judiciary address advocating for specialty courts and rural attorney support, and legislative proposals on property tax caps and the state budget. The podcast also touched on state house rallies, the ongoing legal power struggle between the Governor and Attorney General, a symbolic House floor debate, and the state's stance on child vaccination schedules.
Kansas Reflector senior reporter Tim Carpenter and editor in chief Sherman Smith provide a rundown of state and political news from 2025 and insights into what to look for in 2026.
Rep. Allen Reavis, an Atchison Republican, Rep. Lon Pishny, a Garden City Republican, and Nathan Eberline, executive director of the League of Kansas Municipalities, talk about their plans for the newly formed Local Government Caucus.
Tina Thompson returned to the Catholic Church after decades away as a priest, becoming the first Kansas member of the Roman Catholic Women Priests.
The Alliance of Former Chief Justices is dedicated to preserving judicial independence and the rule of law. Former Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawton Nuss talks about the new alliance, the threats he faced while serving on the court, and an upcoming vote on how justices are selected in Kansas.
Mark McCormick has written for Kansas Reflector since the summer of 2021, The distinguished journalist has a long career, with stents at the Wichita Eagle, the Kansas African American Museum and the ACLU of Kansas. He also co wrote a book with his lifelong friend, Barry Sanders. McCormick was inducted into the Kansas Press Association's Hall of Fame in November, and he came to the podcast to talk about his life and work.
Gary LaGrange, CEO of Valor Honey, and Brian McCornack, Kansas State University entomologist and head of the newly formed American Honey Institute, talk about challenges in the honey industry. Imported honey may contain cheap sweeteners, for instance, and the institute will focus on advocating for proper labeling and growing the industry.
Linda Heitzman-Powell, a researcher and professor in pediatrics, helped create a program that gives parents, organizations and service providers across the world the tools they need to help children with autism thrive.
Jennifer Ifft, Kansas State University extension specialist in agriculture policy, talks about what is included in the net farm income measurement, which shows Kansans will see an increase of 88% this year. She shares policy impacts on the industry and why it's important that the federal government support farmers.
For the Kansas Reflector podcast, former Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple speaks publicly for the first time about a Republican donor who tipped him off to a covert operation against his 2020 campaign. He later lost a bid for re-election.
The Kansas Museum of History has been closed for three years while getting a dramatic makeover, but it's about to reopen with a day of fun and activities planned for Nov. 22. Museum director Sarah Bell talks about the reimagined gallery space at the museum.
Kansas Reflector opinion editor Clay Wirestone leads senior reporters Tim Carpenter and Morgan Chilson through a discussion of the annual Kansas Speaks opinion survey from the Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort Hays State University. Plus, they all discuss Halloween costumes!
Negative effects of "big, beautiful bill" will be wide reaching for Kansans. A recent multi-city tour by several state nonprofit groups focused on informing residents about the threat. April Holman of the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, Haley Kottler of Kansas Appleseed and Adrienne Olejnick of Kansas Appleseed joined the podcast to tell us more.
Katie Batza, associate professor of women, gender and sexuality studies at University of Kansas, recently published "AIDS in the Heartland: How Unlikely Coalitions Created a Blueprint for LGBTQ Politics." It explores the pandemic from perspectives of family, friends and others who grappled with AIDS far from population epicenters for the disease in San Francisco or New York City.
Republican leaders of the Kansas Legislature are working to cobble together the necessary two-thirds majority of the House and Senate to call a special session in November. The original purpose was to redraw the four Kansas congressional districts to make it easy to defeat U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat. But there are maybe a dozen or so House GOP members not thrilled about redistricting in 2025 when it wasn't scheduled to be done again until 2032. Republican leaders want to appeal to diss...
In her biggest electoral test, Johnson County Sen. Cindy Holscher is asking red-state Kansas to make her the Democratic Party's nominee for governor so she can attempt to follow in footsteps of Gov. Laura Kelly.
University Press of Kansas editor Alec Loganbill explains his goals with Plainspoken Books, a new publishing imprint with a regional reach.
University of Kansas international law professor John Head talks about the need for long-term planning and other steps to address critical agricultural and environmental crises.
Researchers at the University of Kansas take an intense look at the substance use disorder system in Kansas, exploring tactics and strategies that can support the one in five Kansans who abuse drugs and alcohol. Lead researchers Janine Hron and Silke von Esenwein share what they learned about the gaps and strengths in the state's system.
Mike Perry at PerryUndem and David Jordan at United Methodist Health Ministry Fund talk about new research that suggests how residents in Kansas and across the U.S. feel about the current economic situation and what they think should be done about it.
Kansas state Sen. Ethan Corson, a Fairway Democrat seeking the party's nomination for governor in 2026, says the state benefits from centrist, moderate leadership in the governor's office.
An Overland Park immigration attorney says she wants to use her professional expertise to fix what's broken on the federal level and adequately represent Kansans' interests.
Christy Davis, one of three candidates seeking the Kansas Democratic Party's nomination for U.S. Senate, is eager to challenge in 2026 incumbent U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican loyal to President Donald Trump.
It's been two years since police staged a chilling raid on the Marion County Record, seizing computers and phones — but not silencing the hard-hitting newspaper. The situation spawned one state and five federal lawsuits, as well as a criminal charge against former police chief Gideon Cody. Eric Meyer, the owner, publisher and editor of the Marion County Record, talks about how his life has changed over the past two years, the status of his lawsuit over the raid, and the need for powerful journal...
Kansas Reflector reporter Morgan Chilson talks about the stories of perseverance and resilience and the challenges remaining for the Grinnell, Kansas, community. Grinnell was hit by an EF-3 tornado on May 18, 2025, and lost a large residential neighborhood and sustained damage to schools, a church and businesses.
Dorothy Barnett, executive director of Climate + Energy Project, talks about federal green energy policy, new natural gas plants planned by Evergy and costs of energy for Kansans.
Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt, a Topeka Republican who worked for 40 years as a pharmacist, says she is seeking the GOP nomination for governor to fully represent the interests of Kansans following the second term of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.
Ellis County artist Amy Warfield talks about her artwork, her motivation for submitting a suggestion to the Kansas Senate Committee on Government Efficiency, or COGE, and a disconnect between the Legislature's priorities and what people need.
Kansas Reflector opinion editor Clay Wirestone leads a discussion with editor Sherman Smith and senior reporter Morgan Chilson on federal immigration enforcement efforts and CoreCivic's lucrative, secret, no-bid contract to house detainees in Leavenworth.
