Former Kansas Rep. Jim Karleskint, a Vietnam War veteran who now lobbies for Veterans of Foreign Wars, says lobbying by for-profit claim consultants paved the way for legislation that would allow them to charge a fee for helping veterans, a service others provide for free.

Clinician and trauma therapist Tara Wallace talks about practices by Medicaid managed care organizations that harm mental health professionals, their clients and the already fragile Kansas network.

Former Gov. Jeff Colyer says experience in legislative and executive branch affairs and a lifetime as surgeon prepares him to return to the Capitol as governor in January 2027.

Charlotte O’Hara positions herself as the antidote to "career politicians" who are seeking the GOP nomination for governor. She talks about her career and upbringing, as well as views on abortion, computers and cellphones in schools, and "corporate welfare" given to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Justice K.J. Wall talks solutions to the declining numbers of attorneys in roughly half of the state of Kansas.

Kansas State Treasurer Steven Johnson talks about hiring a new program manager for Kansas 529 educational savings plans and updating investment options and tools parents can use to figure out the cost of post-secondary education.

Cynthia Lane, director of the state's Blueprint for Literacy program, says Kansas is improving literacy instruction from preschool to college levels. She says the next step is to blend Blueprint for Literacy with the Kansas State Board of Education's literacy program known as Every Child Can Read.

Kansas Reflector editor in chief Sherman Smith leads a discussion with reporters Tim Carpenter, Anna Kaminski and Morgan Chilson to recap the busy first week of the 2026 session of the Kansas Legislature, from the governor's State of the State speech and GOP response to hearings, debates, rallies, a high-profile court case and vaccines.

Kansas Reflector senior reporter Tim Carpenter and editor in chief Sherman Smith provide a rundown of state and political news from 2025 and insights into what to look for in 2026.

Rep. Allen Reavis, an Atchison Republican, Rep. Lon Pishny, a Garden City Republican, and Nathan Eberline, executive director of the League of Kansas Municipalities, talk about their plans for the newly formed Local Government Caucus.