Voters may not have realized it and neither did my colleagues in the campaign cognoscenti. But last Thursday night, we started out watching a couple of ho-hum presidential candidate town hall events — and ended…

As the nation watches Republicans rush to approve President Donald Trump’s nominee Amy Coney Barrett to a seat on the Supreme Court, it’s worth asking whether the hurried effort undermines the primary argument conservatives make…

COVID-19 is threatening the way Kansas schools do their work.  Randy Watson, state education commissioner, told members of the Kansas Association of School Boards recently that the way schools deliver education currently is “not sustainable.” …

Allen County commissioner Bruce Symes and I crossed paths Thursday afternoon outside of the courthouse. Even with my face mask on, he could tell I was smiling.  “I just voted!” I exclaimed. “The magic never…

Politicians you send to Topeka this November will slice and dice the entire state—into congressional and state legislative districts.  Gerrymandering is when politicians manipulate district boundaries for political gain: maximizing the seats that their side…

As I watched Gretchen Whitmer, governor of Michigan, express her gratitude Thursday afternoon to law enforcement officers for arresting six men plotting to kidnap her and do her bodily harm, I marveled at her composure.…

Rarely are lawmakers across the political spectrum so unified. And rarely do they act so rapidly. As we commemorate National Newspaper Week, I’ve been considering the question why America Needs Journalists. My thoughts seem to…

There’s a term swirling around the countryside these days: “Trump money.” It refers to the growing pile of subsidies hitting farm country during this election year. At a recent campaign rally in Wisconsin, President Donald…

A look at winners of the Pulitzer Prize in the past two years underscores why America needs journalists. It’s not just nationally recognized media giants pursuing stories around the globe that win journalism’s most prestigious…

There has long been an east-west tension in Kansas. It’s not as obvious as the partisan hostility that plagues our politics, but it’s been a factor in Kansas’ government — and has helped define our…