Up To Date

A Preview Of The 2021 Kansas Legislative Session

By Steve Kraske,

Published January 11, 2021 at 4:32 PM CST

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Lawmakers return to a markedly different Kansas Statehouse, one converted to protect those within its walls from contracting or spreading the coronavirus.

State legislators are starting the new session the same way the 2020 session ended — with a pandemic raging throughout the state.

COVID-19 means some testimony will be delivered virtually and access to the Statehouse will be limited. But lawmakers will still be considering issues from abortion to legalizing sports betting and medical marijuana.

House Speaker Ron Ryckman, R-78 Kansas
Brad Cooper, editor-in-chief of the Sunflower State Journal

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Up To Date Talk Show Kansas House Ron Ryckman Kansas Legislature legislative session Topeka Podcast politics Government

Steve Kraske

When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.

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Chris Young

Chris Young is an Assistant Producer for KCUR’s Up To Date. Contact him at chrisy@kcur.org.

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Mackenzie Martin

Whether it’s something happening right now or something that happened 100 years ago, some stories don’t fit in the short few minutes of a newscast. As a podcast producer and reporter at KCUR Studios, I help investigate questions and local curiosities in a way that brings listeners along for adventures with plot twists and thought-provoking ideas. Sometimes there isn’t an easy answer in the end – but my hope is that we all leave with a greater understanding of the city we live in. Reach me at mackenzie@kcur.org.

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