Bob Beatty, a Washburn University political science professor, says the packed Republican primary for U.S. Senate is forcing candidates to the right in hope of snagging an endorsement from President Donald Trump, which may be a risk for the GOP nominee in the November general election.

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Kansas Department of Labor secretary Delia Garcia says agency’s ability to handle unprecedented number of calls and claims has improved after deployment of IT SWAT team, additional help from Amazon call center, and hiring and training of staff members who understand 1970s computer system

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Fanny Fang, whose family runs Asian Market in Manhattan, and Shana Bender, an organizer for the Manhattan Alliance for Peace and Justice, took a stand after Riley County Commissioner Marvin Rodriguez suggested threat of COVID-19 is low because there are no Chinese people in the community.

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Chad Anderson, chief clinical officer for KVC Health Systems, offers advice for coping with the loneliness of being isolated at home.

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By early March, it was obvious to Gov. Laura Kelly that a crisis was looming. She pulled together members of her administration to form the approach that guided a series of executive orders, leading up to the announcement Saturday — a day after this episode was recorded — that she was placing the entire state under orders to stay at home except when necessary.

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The Statehouse was swept up in the response to the spread of the coronavirus in Kansas. As Gov. Laura Kelly began issuing directives on school closures, foreclosures and evictions, some of her partisan rivals bristled. There were charges the governor had overreacted and panicked. This episode tracks conversation in political terms by looking at a five-day period, beginning with last Sunday, March 15.

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Vicki Hiatt, chairwoman of the Kansas Democratic Party, and Ben Meers, the party’s executive director, say the shift to mail-in balloting and ranked-choice voting for the state party’s May 2 presidential primary in Kansas will increase turnout.

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Garden City High School student Austin Morren and Mill Valley High School student Alyssa Canning discuss youth vaping and efforts to address it with Jordan Feuerborn, of Cancer Action Network, and Jordan Roberts, of Tobacco Free Kansas Coalition.

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Students from six state universities in Kansas talk about their research projects during the 17th annual Capitol Graduate Research Summit at the Statehouse.

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