Kansas state education commissioner Randy Watson's main focus is not on the politics of the Kansas State Board of Education. Instead, it's on improving the lives of young people, he said.

The Kansas legislature wrapped up a two-day veto session Friday, combing through a pile of bills rejected by Gov. Laura Kelly and forcing a fair number of those into law. Meanwhile, lawmakers finished up an array of other business for the year. Senior reporters Tim Carpenter and Morgan Chilson help us make sense of this whirlwind of activity.

Reagan Herrman, a 15-year-old Emporia resident, survived an episode of cardiac arrest during a 2023 basketball game when trained personnel made use of an automated external defibrillator that restarted her heart. She advocates for cardiac emergency planning in public schools and funding for districts to acquire AED equipment and training.

Lawmakers in Kansas, which has some of the most relaxed gun laws in the country, debated firearm legislation this year that revolved around law enforcement. Shannon Little with Moms Demand Action is hopeful that future legislative sessions could include gun violence prevention laws.

Kansas Reflector opinion editor Clay Wirestone, reporter Anna Kaminski and editor in chief Sherman Smith talk about three recent examples where lawmakers have hidden their work from public scrutiny or directed animus toward journalists.

Rep. Alexis Simmons, a Topeka Democrat, joins former Kansas Republican Party executive director Kris Van Meteren to outline their reservations about a bill that would simultaneously double campaign contribution limits for Kansas Legislature and statewide office positions while also removing caps on donations to county, district or state party committees.

Chris Koliba, a public administration professor at the University of Kansas, is concerned academic standards don't forcefully answer growing threats to core democratic ideals.

Freshman Sen. Patrick Schmidt, a Topeka Democrat, talks about property tax relief, gerrymandering, misplaced priorities, conflicts of interest, and this year's condensed session schedule.

At the end of six weeks worth of session, the Kansas Legislature is barreling ahead at high speed with each chamber passing a bevy of bills. Kansas Reflector staff take stock of where legislators have ended up with a compressed schedule and tensions flaring.

The State of Kansas requires local counties to provide an array of services, from health and safety to road maintenance and administering elections. But lawmakers at the Statehouse are applying scrutiny to counties for the property taxes that largely pay for those services.

Bruce Chladny, executive director of the Kansas Association of Counties, and Jay Hall, the association's deputy director and general counsel, talk about the tension between state and local governments.