Insight Kansas

We are a consortium of political science professors writing weekly columns on Kansas politics for more than twenty partner newspapers across the state.

[Insight Kansas @InsightKansas]

The backlash against data centers only continues to grow, and it cuts across the usual political dividing lines, wrote @MuphdSmith in last week’s column, which got picked up by both Yahoo! and MSN. https://t.co/utmlX21sVb

[Insight Kansas @InsightKansas]

Not all Christians engage in politics to further conservative goals like criminalizing abortion and fighting LGBTQ+ rights. Faith-based groups are organizing to tackle homelessness, mental health, gun violence, and inequalities in criminal justice. https://t.co/PvlutivjMg

[Insight Kansas @InsightKansas]

Soon, Kansas voters will decide whether or not to make Kansas Supreme Court justices elected, rather than appointed and retained. Kansas courts should stay above politics, argued Alex Middlewood in last week’s column. https://t.co/tJXuvLGToJ

[Insight Kansas @InsightKansas]

Parties in power can develop a myopic fog, trying to rewrite longstanding institutional rules in response to short term issues. This is what is happening with the Kansas Legislature’s attempt to change voting laws, wrote Mark Joslyn in last week’s column. https://t.co/2KuwDIudNI

[Insight Kansas @InsightKansas]

From Bill Clinton to Barack Obama to Laura Kelly, Democrat have often won by offering hope. Can they overcome their internecine squabbling to do so again this year, asked @MuphdSmith in last week’s column? https://t.co/H2LqXIXxdZ

[Insight Kansas @InsightKansas]

Unlike magic, politics should not consist of tricks and illusions. But sometimes it does, for example with the upcoming vote on judicial selection. Kansas voters should beware, wrote Bill Fiander in last week’s column. https://t.co/9LXDTaqT19

[Insight Kansas @InsightKansas]

Democrats are lining up to run for certain offices in Kansas this year. So, why so many uncontested legislative seats? Russell Fox posed this question in last week’s column. https://t.co/ZZTPbjTlwQ

[Insight Kansas @InsightKansas]

In todays hyper-polarized era, political debate may seem beside the point. In fact, robust, fair debate is exactly what is called for by controversies past and present, wrote Alex Middlewood in last week’s column. https://t.co/RRkUsHyZmf

[Insight Kansas @InsightKansas]

This session, the #ksleg passed a bill lowering the qualifications for nursing instructors, to address shortages in the field. They should’ve raised pay instead, argued Mark Joslyn in last week’s column. https://t.co/gKl8IfrhjL

[Insight Kansas @InsightKansas]

AI technology is growing rapidly. What are the consequences? What are the risks? How should we prepare? @MuphdSmith summarized the perspectives of a poet, a pastor, a philosopher, and a programmer in last week’s column. https://t.co/9Z1MGBFIQT

[Insight Kansas @InsightKansas]

There’s a lot of talk about faith and politics in the #ksleg and elsewhere these days– but not all Christians, let alone all people of faith, have the same priorities, wrote Russell Fox in last week’s column. https://t.co/Fvj11d0brY

[Insight Kansas @InsightKansas]

Housing costs are skyrocketing. Yet despite promising starts in earlier years, the #ksleg has done little about it during the last two sessions, wrote Bill Fiander in last week’s column. https://t.co/y1FfINvPLX

[Insight Kansas @InsightKansas]

This session, the #ksleg considered a bill to restrict student protest walkouts. But that discourages democracy itself, wrote Alex Middlewood in her recent column. https://t.co/c02vTJtaCa

[Insight Kansas @InsightKansas]

In Kansas and across the country, fewer young men are going to college, opening up a diploma gap between them and women, who continue to attend college and seek professional careers at higher rates. What are the implications of this, asked Mark Joslyn. https://t.co/qN5cYFVlIM

[Insight Kansas @InsightKansas]

Revisionist history appears to be taking hold regarding Governor Sam Brownback’s “Glide Path” tax experiment that began in 2012. Michael Smith set the record straight in last week’s column. #ksleg #moleg https://t.co/vPw8oTHz4V

[Insight Kansas @InsightKansas]

In last week’s column, Russell Fox considered the evidence for a cell phone ban in schools, and found it strong. So, he asked, why is the bill faltering in the Kansas Legislature… and why the carve-out for private schools? https://t.co/w9aPHk1dXq

[Insight Kansas @InsightKansas]

Bills being considered in the Kansas Legislature would limit the use of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in university coursework. But the purpose of higher education is to foster critical thinking, not shield students from it, wrote Alex Middlewood. https://t.co/NMzj455BzN

[Insight Kansas @InsightKansas]

Kansas' economy is showing healthy growth these days--but these are not translating into population gains. Bill Fiander explored the conundrum in last week's column. https://t.co/rBaReaqRU8

[Insight Kansas @InsightKansas]

Kansas Democrats have the longest losing streak in the nation for U.S. Senate races. They haven’t won one since 1932. But if Sharice Davids gets into the race, this just might be their year, wrote Mark Joslyn in last week’s column. https://t.co/PodNBcFzEv

[Insight Kansas @InsightKansas]

Sam Brownback began a tax-cutting experiment that slashed state revenues, increased sales & property taxes, cut the safety net & landed the state in court over school funding. The #ksleg, #moleg & @GovMikeKehoe are already forgetting, wrote @MuphdSmith https://t.co/N2ZwdK07Et