By Clay Wirestone | opinion editor
Good morning! Happy Labor Day to you and yours. I hope you’re celebrating it by avoiding as much labor as possible. For the newsletter this Monday, I’ve jotted a handful of musings about just how lucky we are to live in the here and now.
Clay Wirestone / Kansas Reflector
OPINION
The entirety of humanity sweeps me along as I drive across the capacious expanse of Kansas
By Clay Wirestone
Driving across the toasted green plains of Kansas toward an event in Lindsborg on Sunday, I found myself overwhelmed with gratitude.
Not gratitude toward a particular person or institution, although goodness knows I’ve been beyond lucky in my associations with both. No, I found myself grateful on a much deeper level — grateful for the ability to live and work and exist at this moment in 2026, in this place — the state of Kansas.
I understand if you don’t share that feeling. There’s a lot awry in the world around us. Political ads for this fall’s election already pollute the airwaves, and the threat of technological upheaval lurks around every corner.
Yet I am nonetheless lucky. And I suspect that you are too.
This past week, I found myself returning to a deceptively simple webpage called Any Human Ever. I would recommend you click on the link and go try it yourself, but in essence the site allows you to simulate, at random, the life of any human being who has ever lived. Ever.
Getty Images
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to allow Postal Service vote-by-mail rule
A U.S. Postal Service rule restricting mail-in voting, like the executive order from President Donald Trump that spurred it, is unconstitutional, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani said in a Friday order extending a freeze on the policy.
Virginia Mercury
Labor unions are growing, but where depends on state politics
Last year, the nation added more than 411,000 union members — the largest annual growth since 2008, according to a study published just ahead of the Labor Day holiday by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the Project for Middle Class Renewal at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
LGBTQ+ adults more likely to miss or forgo healthcare, survey finds
LGBTQ+ adults are more likely than other adults to miss healthcare appointments due to cost or other reasons — with a third reporting their health worsened as a result, according to a new survey by health policy research group KFF.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Kansas Reflector staff will participate in the following free public forums.
3 p.m. Sept. 26, Washburn Library in Topeka. Opinion editor Clay Wirestone will participate in the panel “Why UPK: University Press of Kansas Celebrates 80 Years.” Host: Kansas Book Festival.
2 p.m. Sept. 27, Red Rocks Visitor Center in Emporia. Host: Red Rocks.
7 p.m. Sept. 29, Raven Book Store in Lawrence. Book release event for opinion editor Clay Wirestone’s “Opinionated.” Editor-in-chief Sherman Smith will moderate.
6 p.m. Oct. 12, Riverbank Brewing in Council Grove. Opinion editor Clay Wirestone talks about his book and the latest news. Host: Flint Hills Books.
5:30 p.m. Oct. 19, Frank Carlson Library in Concordia. Host: NCK Voters.
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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