Kansas Reflector Podcast

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.

Heather Cessna talks about why she is resigning as executive director of the Kansas State Board of Indigents' Defense Services, and the constitutional crisis created by decades of underfunding public defense work.

Community development financial institutions support “underserved” small businesses and entrepreneurs who may have challenges accessing capital through traditional means, a CDFI leader says. Ruben Alonso, CEO of AltCap, a nonprofit CDFI based in Kansas City, Missouri, talks about the importance of access to capital for Kansas small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Johnny Szlauderbach, director of communications and strategic projects for Freedom's Frontier, talks about the National Heritage Area's rich history, efforts to partner with "passion projects" in "very rural areas," and how a proposal before Congress to defund the program would cause it to "cease to exist."

Kathryn Boyd, CEO and president of the Wichita-based abortion clinic Trust Women, talks about the impacts on Kansas clinics after a total ban on abortion was enacted in Missouri.

Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab knocks down election conspiracy theories and talks about his campaign for the state's top office. He also gives an update about his health.

Alan Featherstone, of Kansas State University's Agricultural Economics department, and Hal Luthi, of the Kansas Cattlemen's Association and a third-generation farmer, talk trade, the farm bill and hopes for the future.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, is in the midst of her second and final term. As she considers how to use her remaining political capital, she reflects on the accomplishments and pitfalls of the 2025 legislative session, which was dominated by Republican supermajorities.

Immigration attorney Rekha Sharma-Crawford filed a federal lawsuit against the sudden termination of five international students status terminations — and has successfully temporarily blocked the terminations. She argues that the terminations were cruel, opaque, and have significantly harmed the students’ wellbeing.

Sen. Cindy Holscher, D-Overland Park, says public comments to the Senate Committee on Government Efficiency, or COGE, show how out of step the Legislature is with Kansans.

Former state health secretary Lee Norman looks back five years to contemplate what was learned and lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kansas state education commissioner Randy Watson's main focus is not on the politics of the Kansas State Board of Education. Instead, it's on improving the lives of young people, he said.

The Kansas legislature wrapped up a two-day veto session Friday, combing through a pile of bills rejected by Gov. Laura Kelly and forcing a fair number of those into law. Meanwhile, lawmakers finished up an array of other business for the year. Senior reporters Tim Carpenter and Morgan Chilson help us make sense of this whirlwind of activity.

Reagan Herrman, a 15-year-old Emporia resident, survived an episode of cardiac arrest during a 2023 basketball game when trained personnel made use of an automated external defibrillator that restarted her heart. She advocates for cardiac emergency planning in public schools and funding for districts to acquire AED equipment and training.

Lawmakers in Kansas, which has some of the most relaxed gun laws in the country, debated firearm legislation this year that revolved around law enforcement. Shannon Little with Moms Demand Action is hopeful that future legislative sessions could include gun violence prevention laws.

Kansas Reflector opinion editor Clay Wirestone, reporter Anna Kaminski and editor in chief Sherman Smith talk about three recent examples where lawmakers have hidden their work from public scrutiny or directed animus toward journalists.

Rep. Alexis Simmons, a Topeka Democrat, joins former Kansas Republican Party executive director Kris Van Meteren to outline their reservations about a bill that would simultaneously double campaign contribution limits for Kansas Legislature and statewide office positions while also removing caps on donations to county, district or state party committees.

Chris Koliba, a public administration professor at the University of Kansas, is concerned academic standards don't forcefully answer growing threats to core democratic ideals.

Freshman Sen. Patrick Schmidt, a Topeka Democrat, talks about property tax relief, gerrymandering, misplaced priorities, conflicts of interest, and this year's condensed session schedule.

At the end of six weeks worth of session, the Kansas Legislature is barreling ahead at high speed with each chamber passing a bevy of bills. Kansas Reflector staff take stock of where legislators have ended up with a compressed schedule and tensions flaring.

The State of Kansas requires local counties to provide an array of services, from health and safety to road maintenance and administering elections. But lawmakers at the Statehouse are applying scrutiny to counties for the property taxes that largely pay for those services. Bruce Chladny, executive director of the Kansas Association of Counties, and Jay Hall, the association's deputy director and...

Author Katherine Rose-Mockry talks about the example set by University of Kansas students in the 1970s who founded the Kansas Gay Liberation Front. She writes about them in her new book, "Liberating Lawrence."

Blake Flanders, president and CEO of the state Board of Regents talks cyberattacks on campuses, employee salary increases and need-based student aid.