July 30, 2021 3:33 am Outgoing Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican, ends a 30-year career in the Legislature with a plea to be vigilant protecting the vision and the founding principles that have made America the most prosperous and entrepreneurial nation on earth. (Nick Krug for Kansas Reflector)
Audio Astra reviews recent audio reporting on Kansas news, including podcasts and radio stories. Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association and teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the University of Kansas.
Kansas politics overwhelms other topics in the audio reporting space, but especially this week as podcasts from the Reflector, KCUR and the Topeka Capital-Journal discuss different slices of the political world with drastically different approaches. From a long-form interview to a polished audio production to a lighthearted chat about a deadly topic, Kansas podcasters try many approaches this week.
Shawnee Mission Post
The Shawnee Mission School District voted Monday night to require elementary students to wear masks at school. Middle and high school students will be encouraged but not required to wear masks.
On Monday night, amid growing concerns about the delta variant of the coronavirus, SMSD became the only public school district in northern Johnson County to require at least some students to wear masks upon returning for in-person learning next month.
The Shawnee Mission School District will require elementary students to wear masks at school after the board of education on Monday approved a COVID-19 mitigation plan for the coming school year.
Extremely cold conditions, bouts of snow to descend upon Kansas City for the weekend Robert A. Cronkleton, The Kansas City Star
Feb. 12 The worst weather conditions of this winter so far will descend upon Kansas City this weekend, with wind chills falling to -20 degrees overnight and bouts of snow likely, according to FOX4 meteorologist Karli Ritter. It is cold this morning, bitterly cold in fact and we have wind chill advisories that are going to be in effect until noon today, said Ritter, who provide weather updates to The Star.
Shortly before 7 a.m. the temperature fell to 1 degree at Kansas City International Airport. When you factored in a 13 mph wind, the wind chill value was -17 degrees.
$264 million SMSD bond issue promises upgrades, more teachers
The future of the Shawnee Mission School District is now in the hands of voters.
and last updated 2021-01-21 19:38:29-05
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. â The Shawnee Mission School District said, if passed, a $264 million bond will help them improve education for students.
The district will
use the money from the bond to rebuild five elementary schools, implement security and restrooms upgrades, improve learning spaces, and renovate the early childhood center and the career and tech center.
The five elementary schools to be replaced are: Westwood View, Pawnee, John Diemer, Tomahawk, and Rushton.
Shawnee Mission School District
A student raises her hand in a modern classroom at Rhein Benninghoven Elementary, which was built in 2017. Shawnee Mission wants to rebuild some of its oldest elementary schools with rising maintenance costs.
The middle of a pandemic is a tough time to ask taxpayers for more money. But Shawnee Mission is dealing with a crisis of teacher morale and aging buildings in need of maintenance.
Teacher burnout didn’t start with the pandemic.
Shawnee Mission teachers have felt the stress for years. Middle and high school teachers in Shawnee Mission teach one more class per day than educators in other Johnson County districts. Last year, they told the administration that what they were doing was unsustainable as contract talks broke down.