Kansas Reflector Podcast

The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked economic upheaval that places more Americans at risk of being homeless, exacerbating the issue existing long before the current health crisis. A surge in evictions during 2020 prompted a federal order to temporarily halt such ousters, enabling many Americans to stay in their home, but the pandemic created poignant challenges for those already without a fixed resid...

Lack of affordable or permanent housing is not a new issue to Kansas, but amid the pandemic thousands of Kansas have come face to face with the threat of eviction. Estimates indicate 27,000 Kansas renters are currently behind on their rent and about 14,600 renters are at risk of eviction. COVID-19-related moratoriums and relief programs have provided temporary relief for some, housing advocates wa...

When extreme heat descends on the Kansas City metro, you can feel it radiate off of buildings and dark pavement. Built-up areas, like downtown, become nearly unbearable — superheating well beyond the outlying areas. It’s called the urban heat island effect, and Kansas City, dominated by highways and parking lots, gets hit hard. On this week’s Kansas Reflector podcast, reporter Allison Kite dives i...

Tony Mattivi, a retired assistant U.S. attorney, is the latest entrant in the quest to find a replacement for Attorney General Derek Schmidt. He joins a GOP field that already includes Kris Kobach, the former secretary of state, and Sen. Kellie Warren, of Leawood. Mattivi sits down with Tim Carpenter to discuss how his experience led him to run for attorney general of Kansas and what makes him qua...

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt is working hard to return to an office in the Capitol where he previously served as a state senator. Now he is campaigning for the Republican Party's nomination for governor in 2022. Schmidt joins senior reporter Tim Carpenter on the Reflector podcast to discuss the campaign and a potential shot at challenging incumbent Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.

The Kansas foster care system has been the subject of numerous heartbreaking stories as a surge in the number of children entering foster care strained the capabilities of the system and placed children's safety in jeopardy. While progress has been made in recent years, a lot of work remains. Laura Howard, secretary of the Department for Children and Families and the Kansas Department for Aging an...

Selma, Memphis, Little Rock, Montgomery and Topeka: The city names alone are a roadmap of the nation's struggle for equality in terms of voting rights, educational opportunity, and jobs. These landmark cities are also on the U.S. civil rights trail. Joining Tim Carpenter on the Kansas Reflector podcast is Lee Sentel, Alabama's tourism director and the man behind a 128-page guide to more than 120 h...

In June of 2020, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and outcry for social and racial progress, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly established the Commission on Racial Equity and Justice. The first year of work was spent focusing on law enforcement and policing with more than 60 recommendations for different levels of government submitted in a final report. Now, the commission has released an interim r...

Since July 5, more than 500 workers on strike have been posted across from a Frito-Lay plant in Topeka demanding higher wages and more limited hours. Union members rejected a contract offer from Frito-Lay with an annual 2% wage increase because for many workers that would be less than 50 cents per hour. Additionally, many employees are subjected to forced overtime and work up to 84-hour weeks beca...

In 2018, Republican Jeff Colyer fell 172 votes short of beating Kris Kobach in the closest statewide GOP primary election in Kansas history. He is confident he would have beaten Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat seeking re-election in 2022. Now Colyer is competing against Attorney General Derek Schmidt in the Republican gubernatorial primary for the opportunity to finally go toe-to-toe with her. He sit...

The Kansas River, or the Kaw, as some say, is a little-known treasure to most Kansans. Riverkeeper Dawn Buehler — advocate, scientist, educator and investigator — speaks to the environmental importance and recreational opportunities offered by this waterway.

In 2010, the Capitol in Topeka was abuzz with 125 representatives and 40 senators eager to take on the state's political challenges. This 165-person group included Sen. Laura Kelly, now the governor, and Sen. Jeff Colyer, who made it to the governor's office a step ahead of her. Another half-dozen or so individuals moved on by climbing the political ladder, but they were the tip of the iceberg in...

Advocates worry a decade of progress improving the lives of Kansas children could be undermined by COVID-19 if policymakers can't sustain recovery from the pandemic. Even before COVID-19 infected the world, Kansas trailed more than 20 states in terms of child well-being based on a series of metrics tracked annually by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The newly released 2021 Kids Count report by the...

A new report by the Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice is re-examining barriers to food access faced by many southwest Kansans. For example, SNAP food assistance participation has decreased even though the need has increased in Stevens, Seward, Grant, Ford and Finney counties. Jami Reever, executive director of the Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice and Martha Terhaar, Thriving C...

Most years, the Kansas Capitol would attract more than 6,500 visitors to see the state history contained there. But with a pandemic raging last year, activity grinded to a halt. Now, the Kansas Historical Society plans to reopen the Statehouse for tours on June 14. Joe Brentano, the Capitol Visitor’s Center coordinator, has given these tours for the past 14 years. He provides a tour for Kansas Ref...

Scattered across Kansas are an assortment of private colleges ranging in size from 300 to 3,600 students. That list includes Baker and Friends universities, Benedictine and Bethany colleges, MidAmerica Nazarene, McPherson College, University of St. Mary and others. What do they all have in common? They're part of the Kansas Independent College Association. Joining the Kansas Reflector podcast and...

Kansas voters thought they gained some distance between politicians and all those ads, mailers and speeches during the 2020 election cycle. Not so fast! The 2022 campaign season upon us and fans of the electoral process can expect competitive races for governor, attorney general, the U.S. House and state treasurer. Senior reporter Tim Carpenter is joined on this week's Kansas reflector podcast by...

On Saturday, March 7, 2020, at the Capitol, Lee Norman confirmed the unsettling but inevitable news that Kansas had its first case of the novel coronavirus. Since then, more than 311,000 Kansans have been infected. Overall, more than 5000 infected Kansans have died. Norman, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, has been at the center of this public health storm. He sat down...

After four months of the legislative session, the Kansas Legislature reached bedrock and key areas of public policy. The evidence emerges in the most simplistic forms in the snappy yes or no votes of bills and amendment resolutions, and also in poignant and sometimes lengthy speeches on the House and Senate floors. Senior reporter Tim Carpenter is joined by opinion editor C.J. Janovy, editor in ch...

The Republican-dominated Kansas Legislature covered Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's desk with a pile of bills that turned out to include an unusual amount of veto bait. In all, she vetoed eight bills and line-item vetoed more than a dozen provisions of a massive budget bill. House and Senate Republicans are licking their chops. They say they can't wait to return to Topeka on Monday for the tradition...

The House and Senate frequently begin their work on behalf of Kansans standing side-by-side with heads bowed in prayer. In these moments, religious leaders and sometimes legislators urge all 165 members to follow the Good Word and to go about their political objectives as instruments of peace. The elected are directed repeatedly to sow love where there is hatred, pardon those who injure others, br...

A bill overwhelmingly passed by the Kansas Legislature and signed by Gov. Laura Kelly allows investor-owned utility companies to issue ratepayer-backed bonds to retire expensive power plants and transition to alternatives, such as wind or solar power. The bonds also enable utility companies to deal with price shocks on natural gas from February's cold snap. Paul Johnson, a public interest advocate...

A seemingly innocuous bill approving a series of new distinctive license plates sparked debate last week in the Kansas Legislature. That’s because one plate included would be based on the Gadsden flag — a design critics say has ties to slavery. Cristopher Gadsden designed the yellow Revolutionary War symbol bearing a hissing snake and the words “Don’t Tread on Me.” He was a merchant and slave owne...

Political scientists Bob Beatty, of Washburn University, and Michael Smith, of Emporia State University, consider the work of the House and Senate this legislative session, as well as the performance of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Republicans who want to take her job in 2022.

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 legislators argue re...