Local Columns

Opinion: Here’s how two down-ballot races will shift the Kansas education agenda

Voters in Northeast Kansas will soon decide the shape of the Kansas State Board of Education for the next two years. Candidates chosen by statewide primaries in August have set the stage for a general election that may alter the way the Kansas State Department of Education has operated for, at ...

Opinion: What we can learn from Aug. 2 turnout

Abortion rights may not be on the ballot, but they will undoubtedly influence the November election. You’ve probably heard a lot of people try to extrapolate from the Aug. 2 results to forecast what will happen on Nov. 8. Doing so is like trying to fit a square peg into a round ...

Opinion: Exploring a ‘Bill of Rights’ for parents

When asked about K-12 education in the last gubernatorial debate between Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly and Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt, the responses zeroed in on “parents’ rights.” Schmidt announced that, if elected, he would support a parents’ rights bill. Kelly was ...

Opinion: How are you voting on the legislative veto?

Kansans will soon vote on Constitutional Amendment 1 (also called HCR 5014), which creates a “legislative veto.” At stake is an important but dull topic to most: checks and balances. Civics 101 time. Legislatures make laws, often using vague language. Governors and the state agencies ...

Opinion: Will Kansans go for Kobach again?

Meet the new Kris Kobach. Is he the same as the old Kris Kobach? Before Kobach narrowly won the Republican primary for governor in 2018, an independent group supporting then-Gov. Jeff Colyer ran an ad featuring the tagline “Call Kris Kobach. Tell him we can’t afford his antics.” ...

Opinion: What Emporia State University has lost

The news coming out of Emporia last week, with at least 30 members of the faculty of Emporia State University fired on one day, was terribly sad. Not just because the firings were a blow to the education of hundreds of ESU students, but also because it reflects a failure to understand just ...