By Anna Kaminski | reporter
Here’s a riddle for you: What do an artist, a political science professor and the Kansas Reflector staff have in common?
I’ll give you a moment.
All have been recently featured on an episode of the Kansas Reflector Podcast. Whatever your weekend plans may be — cleaning, roadtripping, lying in a patch of grass and tuning out the world — I invite you to give an episode a listen.
Every Monday a member of the Kansas Reflector staff hosts an episode that dives deep into a particular issue or topic. I’ve been working on developing our podcast, adding and subtracting some features, and I’m pretty excited to roll out changes soon. If you’re interested in tracking our progress and hearing more from Kansas Reflector, you can find our episodes on major podcasting platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify and SoundCloud and on our website at kansasreflector.com/podcasts. Or just click the handy banner below! On to the news.
Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector
Kansas State Board of Education starts work on technology use policies for public schools
TOPEKA — The Kansas State Board of Education is pushing ahead with drafting recommendations for public school districts on use of technology in classrooms and crafting a potential mandate that local school boards implement policies controlling student access to computers.
The 10-member State Board of Education shared a sense of urgency Wednesday for development by November of consensus on boundaries and expectations for laptops and pads that have become common in K-12 schools. That three-month timeframe would enable the state board to implement its version of best practices before the 2027 Kansas Legislature convened in January to consider its own education agenda.
Grace Hills for Kansas Reflector
Kansas firefighters union advocating for staffing increase alleges government violated free speech
TOPEKA — A Kansas firefighters union and county government are “at loggerheads with each other,” a federal judge said Wednesday, complaining they threw the case at him to solve after months of conflict.
The Kansas City, Kansas Professional Firefighters Association’s lawsuit against the Unified Government of Wyandotte County was filed against the backdrop of a December fire that left four firefighters with second- and third-degree burns. A federal agency investigated the incident, finding that one of the factors that contributed to the injuries was understaffing.
Getty Images
OPINION
How American society shields perpetrators of child sexual abuse
By Sarah Lischer
Widespread denial accompanied the public exposure of Jeffrey Epstein’s decades-long sexual abuse and trafficking of girls and women.
After the U.S. Justice Department released millions of case documents on Epstein in January 2026, billionaires, politicians, heads of state and academics proclaimed their ignorance of Epstein’s global network of sexual exploitation.
Why would so many intelligent and powerful people repeatedly trumpet their lack of awareness, especially after Epstein’s 2008 plea agreement to underage prostitution charges?
Kansas Court of Appeals agrees with order forbidding cross-party nominations, fusion voting
TOPEKA — The Kansas Court of Appeals affirmed a district court decision Friday dismissing claims that state law forbidding fusion voting and cross-party nomination of candidates violated the Kansas Constitution.
The Court of Appeals acknowledged laws requiring candidates to accept a single political party’s nomination and appear once on a ballot touched upon the plaintiffs’ rights to speech and assembly.
Congressional approval not needed for White House ballroom, Trump tells high court
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday to intervene in a lower court decision that halts his $400 million White House ballroom construction unless he receives authorization from Congress.
The administration requested the justices grant an immediate stay to a 2-1 federal appeals court decision that sided with historic preservationists who argued Trump doesn’t have the authority to build a 90,000-square-foot ballroom where the White House East Wing stood until Trump ordered its demolition in October 2025.
Flock Safety tightens safeguards as states, cities question surveillance network
Flock Safety is tightening privacy and oversight controls for its nationwide network of automated license plate readers as more communities pull back from the technology and lawmakers across the political spectrum push for new restrictions.
The company announced Thursday that it will recommend that police agencies retain license plate reader data for seven days, down from 30, while adding tools to restrict data sharing between agencies and detect potentially abusive searches.
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.
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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