We've moved!
You’ll find Johnson County coverage [here](http://www.kansascity.com/joco913/).
Steve Rose
Is Kansas following California down the rabbit hole?
The polarization of America is epitomized in Berkeley and Johnson County, as well as California and Kansas. I would prefer something in …
Debate on guns’ role in society divides even law enforcement
Johnson County Sheriff Frank Denning and Overland Park Chief of Police John Douglass do not see eye to eye on gun control. …
School board race offers voters a choice: satisfied, or not?
Voters will really be selecting an attitude when the cast ballots April 2 for the districtwide at-large position on the Shawnee Mission …
Efforts to bolster elementary literacy deserve full support
To allow a third-grader into fourth grade who cannot read is a travesty. Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s proposal to end the practice …
Behind the scenes, Kris Kobach is busy building his fiefdom
Secretary of State Kris Kobach is one of the most clever and brilliant Kansas politicians in recent times, so he tries to make you think he is looking out for Kansans. And he says so eloquently. Meanwhile, Kobach …
Topeka lawmakers seem determined to make us their puppets
A dangerous, heavy-handed bill in the Kansas House of Representatives would nullify the outcome of an election held in Johnson County 13 years ago. This is but a part of a bill that robs all citizens statewide of …
Steve Rose - The parallel universe of home-schooled students
When I found out there was no regulation enforcement of home-schooling in Kansas, it seemed to me that the system should be trashed. But as I learned more, my attitude has changed.
Steve Rose - History will judge those who stand against equality
The Boy Scouts of America are finally considering joining the modern era, one where gays are — for most people, at least …
Steve Rose
Betting on sports could be a jackpot for states like Kansas
If we can wager in a casino, or bet on the lottery, why shouldn’t we, in Kansas, allow sports betting in our casinos? Why not legitimize it, eliminate corruption, and tax it? It would bring in extra revenue …
Putting special-needs students in mainstream is better for all
Some took a recent column I wrote about my growing up in Johnson County in the 1950s to mean I am nostalgic for the days when special-needs kids were segregated and that I was promoting that system. Nothing …
KanCare’s start seems to make critics seem prescient
KanCare, the privatization of Medicaid health services in Kansas for the 380,000 poor — approximately 40,000 of whom live in Johnson County — is only about two weeks old. It is supposed to save the state a billion …
Steve Rose
Yoder’s vote on ‘fiscal cliff’ was one that really didn’t matter
For those who claim U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder is just another “tea-partier,” because he voted seemingly to send us over the “fiscal cliff,” I would say to them: If you believe that, you do not know much about …
Steve Rose
Thoughts of the good life gone by fill Memory Lane
As I round home stretch, heading for Medicare age, I thought it would be interesting — at least for me — to record the 10 things I fondly recall growing up in Johnson County before the age of …
Steve Rose
Tomorrow’s headlines, just in time for 2013
This year was a busy year for journalists, between the presidential election and the “fiscal cliff.” But next year will have its own set of major stories. Here are some of the headlines and stories you are likely …
Steve Rose
There’s much to accomplish before a south county loop
On Dec. 7, 1995, four out of five Johnson County commissioners voted to kill plans for the 21st Century Parkway. I called the decision the flub of the century. Now it seems like those commissioners were right. We …
Steve Rose
Merrick must be a needed advocate for county’s schools
Next month Ray Merrick will become the first speaker of the Kansas House from Johnson County in 30 years, and do we …
Steve Rose
Heaven or hell? It all depends on your perspective
If you want to talk about hell, it is not the “Gateway” Interchange in Johnson County of Interstate 35, Interstate 435, and Kansas 10. Rather, it is the nightmarish scenario of what that interchange would be like if …
Steve Rose
As institutions make transitions, visionaries must take up the torch
As time passes, a changing of the guard in this community’s leadership is to be expected. But we are losing a whole regiment of leaders — at once. To lose any one of these leaders would be challenging …
Steve Rose
Roeland Park seems to be in good hands for fiscal challenges ahead
There is an old joke about a man who heard from God that the world will be covered by a flood in just two weeks. Responded the man, “That gives us two weeks to learn to live under …