By Sherman Smith | editor-in-chief
Good morning! As loyal readers know, opinion editor Clay Wirestone has a new book out called "Opinionated," which tells the story of 20th century newspaper opinion writers in Kansas and makes the case that opinion writing still matters today.
You can catch up with Clay and hear more about his book at 3 p.m. today at the Shawnee County Historical Society in Topeka.
Max McCoy/Kansas Reflector
OPINION
In 1927, a farmer was the victim of a Kansas haunting. But was it real?
By Max McCoy
This is my favorite time of year.
It’s not a date but a feeling. It comes after the first frost but before the first snow, when the wind whispers through the falling leaves and the moon hangs like a lantern over the Kansas prairie. This is the season of my birth, and I still carry a childish affection for it. Bring on the candy corn, jack-o-lanterns and, of course, the ghost stories.
Let me share with you now a Kansas ghost story from 99 years ago, a tale that begins like a Washington Irving story but which ends like Greek tragedy. It is a true story, or at least the reporting around it was true enough, although I cannot vouch for the phantom at its heart.
Pema Baldwin for Colorado Newsline
A record number of women are running for state legislatures this year
A record number of women are running for state legislative seats this November, more than two-thirds of whom are Democrats.
Across the 46 states with legislative seats on the ballot, a total of 3,824 women are running — up from 2022’s previous record of 3,621 women candidates, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. Women make up 35.5% of all state legislative candidates this cycle.
Currently, women hold about one-third of state legislative seats across the country — a record level of representation but nowhere near parity.
John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate
2026 ballot measures are written at a graduate-school reading level, report finds
This year’s statewide ballot measures are written, on average, at a graduate-school reading level, according to a new report.
The readability of 2026’s ballot questions — which ask voters to weigh in on issues as varied as abortion, property taxes, voter ID and firearms — varies by state, political data tracking nonprofit Ballotpedia found in its newest Ballot Measure Readability Report.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Kansas Reflector staff will participate in the following free public forums.
3 p.m. Oct. 25, Cox Communications Heritage Education Center in Topeka. Clay Wirestone speaks about his book. Host: Shawnee County Historical Society.
1o a.m. Nov. 14, Constitution Hall in Topeka. Clay Wirestone speaks with veteran journalist Jim McLean. Host: Kansas Oral History Project.
2 p.m. Nov. 15, Volland Foundation Alma. Clay Wirestone in conversation with editor Sherman Smith. Host: Volland, A Place for Art and Community.
6 p.m. Nov. 21, Flagship Books, Kansas City, Kansas. Clay Wirestone speaks and answers questions about his book.
6 p.m. Dec. 3, Prairie Star Restaurant in Manhattan. Host: League of Women Voters of Manhattan and Riley County.
If you're interested in having us talk in your town, email Sherman Smith at [email protected].
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