Kansas Reflector Podcast

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.