The Kansas News Service

We’re the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of public media newsrooms delivering critical reporting of sound and substance. Our work is broadcast every day to virtually all of Kansas, and shared online and in newspapers in every corner of the state.

The Kansas News Service deploys journalists across the state to cover stories that truly matter in people’s lives. We work to make sense of the issues and events affecting the health and well-being of Kansans, their communities, and the state overall — with an emphasis on education, health and the gears of government.

The news service team is anchored in Topeka, but reporters also work from Wichita and Garden City. They travel wherever a story takes them.

The Kansas News Service gathers and produces stories in the same way, and to the same standards, as the biggest news organizations around. But as a nonprofit, we’re free from commercial pressures — demands for web clicks, for instance — that can pull other journalists away from important stories.

The Kansas News Service is directed by KCUR 89.3 in Kansas City, in partnership with KMUW in Wichita, Kansas Public Radio in Lawrence and High Plains Public Radio in Garden City. Other public and commercial stations carry our work. There’s virtually no spot in Kansas that can’t pull in a signal from a station with the rich content of the news service.

Here's the part of our team based at KCUR.

Zane Irwin

Political discussions might make you want to leave the room. But whether you’re tuned in or not, powerful people are making decisions that shape your everyday life, from access to health care to the price of a cup of coffee. As political reporter for the Kansas News Service and KCUR, I’ll illuminate how elections, policies and other political developments affect normal people in the Sunflower State. You can reach me at zaneirwin@kcur.org

A man wearing a green shirt sits smiling for the camera on a gray background.

Stephen Koranda

As the Kansas News Service managing editor, I help our statewide team of reporters find the important issues and breaking news that impact people statewide. We refine our daily stories to illustrate the issues and events that affect the health, well-being and economic stability of the people of Kansas. Email me at skoranda@kcur.org.

Celia Llopis-Jepsen

I'm the creator of the environmental podcast Up From Dust. I write about how the world is transforming around us, from topsoil loss and invasive species to climate change. My goal is to explain why these stories matter to Kansas, and to report on the farmers, ranchers, scientists and other engaged people working to make Kansas more resilient. Email me at celia@kcur.org.

Dylan Lysen

As the Kansas social services and criminal justice reporter, I want to inform our audience about how the state government wants to help its residents and keep their communities safe. Sometimes that means I follow developments in the Legislature and explain how lawmakers alter laws and services of the state government. Other times, it means questioning the effectiveness of state programs and law enforcement methods. And most importantly, it includes making sure the voices of everyday Kansans are heard. You can reach me at dlysen@kcur.org, 816-235-8027 or on Threads, @DylanLysen.

Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga

Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga reports on health disparities in access and health outcomes in both rural and urban areas.

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Emily Younker

Emily Younker is the news editor for the Kansas News Service. She previously spent 14 years at her hometown newspaper, The Joplin Globe in Joplin, Missouri, where she was part of the award-winning team that covered the deadly May 22, 2011, tornado and its aftermath. Email her at eyounker@kcur.org.