Scott Rothschild / LJWorld.com

Staff

Scott Rothschild (Statehouse Reporter)

I cover the state Legislature, government and politics.

I have been a reporter in Kansas since 1998, and prior to that covered news in Texas for various papers and later for The Associated Press.

For two of the past three years, I have been awarded first place in beat reporting from Capitolbeat, an association of Statehouse reporters and editors. I live in Topeka with my wife and two teenage sons.

You can follow me on Twitter, where I try to provide instant updates on news and what's going on in the Statehouse.

Recent stories

Kobach considering filing charges against protesters who came to his home: By Scott Rothschild; June 17, 2013; Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is considering filing criminal charges against immigration reform advocates who protested on his home’s porch over the weekend. Those who helped organize and participated in the protest said nothing improper happened. Reports indicated anywhere from 100 to 300 people showed up at Kobach’s home in western Wyandotte County on Saturday. By Scott Rothschild
U.S. Supreme Court strikes down voter registration law similar to the one in Kansas: By Scott Rothschild; 10:39 a.m., June 17, 2013 Updated 05:19 p.m.; The U.S. Supreme Court today rejected an Arizona law that requires proof of citizenship to register to vote. The case has implications for Kansas, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee, which have similar laws. By Scott Rothschild
Endangered whooping cranes in middle of fight over management of Quivira National Wildlife Refuge: By Scott Rothschild; June 16, 2013; For the whooping crane, the tallest bird in North America and one of the rarest, the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge is a welcome sight. But a proposal to expand opportunities to hunt other animals at the refuge is opposed by birdwatchers who say the whoopers will be at risk. By Scott Rothschild
$10 million biotech center expansion groundbreaking set for Friday at KU: By Scott Rothschild; June 10, 2013; Gov. Sam Brownback will join Kansas University, city and business leaders for a groundbreaking ceremony to note the $10 million expansion of the Bioscience & Technology Business Center, which is already the largest business incubator network in the Midwest.
Regents, Legislature going in opposite directions on higher education funding: By Scott Rothschild; June 9, 2013; Robba Moran — a member of the Kansas Board of Regents and wife of U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan. — says that when her husband comes home to Hays on the weekend, the two of them have a whinefest. He whines about federal agencies. Her whine? “I have a Legislature that doesn’t seem to value education,” she says. Robba Moran, a Republican, and other Republicans and Democrats on the regents last week blasted the Legislature for cutting the higher education budget. By Scott Rothschild
Mock funeral crowd mourns ‘death’ of Kansas: By Scott Rothschild & Nicole Wentling; June 8, 2013; About 150 people, most wearing black and carrying signs, lined up two-by-two and marched south on Massachusetts Street on Saturday in a mock funeral procession for the state of Kansas. By Nicole Wentling
Amid budget cuts to higher education, KU gets funding for adult stem cell center: By Scott Rothschild; June 7, 2013; As Kansas University officials bemoaned legislative budget cuts, Kansas Board of Regents member Ed McKechnie wondered if those cuts could be alleviated somewhat by diverting funds that KU received in another area but didn’t request. McKechnie, of Arcadia, was talking about the $2 million allocated over two years to start and run the Midwest Stem Cell Therapy Center at the KU Medical Center. By Scott Rothschild
KU, all regents schools seek tuition, fee increases: By Scott Rothschild; June 6, 2013; The cost of going to Kansas University next year will likely go up again. In the wake of budget cuts to higher education, approved by the Kansas Legislature, officials on Thursday unveiled tuition increase proposals. By Scott Rothschild
Budget cuts to higher education lead to request for higher tuition: By Scott Rothschild; June 6, 2013; College students at public universities in Kansas will pay more in tuition because of budget cuts to higher education that were approved by the Legislature, officials said Thursday. In considering proposed tuition increases at Kansas University and other universities, Kansas Board of Regents members roundly criticized the budget cuts approved this weekend by Republican legislators. Short-sighted, vindictive, hypocritical, and irresponsible were just some of the adjectives used by regents to describe the $66 million, or 5.7 percent cut to higher education over the next 2 years. By Scott Rothschild
Regents blast higher education budget cuts approved by Legislature, say tuition will increase, call on Brownback to veto portion of cuts: By Scott Rothschild; 10:19 a.m., June 6, 2013 Updated 03:25 p.m.; The Kansas Board of Regents on Thursday blasted the Legislature for cutting higher education and urged Gov. Sam Brownback to veto the part of the budget that caps salary expenses at public universities. Displeasure over the Legislature’s budget came as the regents started consideration of tuition increases, which the schools said were going to be higher because of the legislative budget cuts. By Scott Rothschild

Full story list

Recent photos

House Speaker Ray Merrick, R-Stilwell, (left) speaks with state Rep. Mark Hutton, R-Wichita, after a tax increase proposal by Hutton and state Rep. Gene Suellentrop, R-Wichita, was defeated on Thursday. Merrick voted against the plan.

Here is the tax proposal under consideration in the House.

Lines form Wednesday outside the Statehouse to sign a banner asking Gov. Sam Brownback to "carve out" long-term care for those with disabilities from KanCare.

Cinda Schneweis, of Lawrence, writes her message to Gov. Sam Brownback during a rally Wednesday outside the Statehouse. The rally was in support of leaving in place the current system of providing long-term care services for those with developmental disabilities.