Nick Gosnell: With us this morning is Mike Murphy. He is running as a Republican for Kansas Senate District 34. And I'm going to do the best I can, Mike, to not ask you the exact same questions that I asked you prior to the primary, but that may be a challenge. So we'll see how it goes. I guess, let's just start, let's just dive right in. Let's just start with taxes and spending, because people talk about taxes all the time, but you don't hear talk about spending near as often. Now, I've heard it from you, and I want to give you an opportunity to do that.

Mike Murphy: Oh, okay. Well, thanks for the opportunity, and appreciate you having me in. Yeah, it's kind of like the weather. People talk about it, but nobody does anything about it, right? This is the same thing. People, they want their stuff, they want their services, they want this, they want that. And then they complain when they get the tax bill. Well, the bottom line is, is taxes are too high and spending is too high. And we're just going to have to find some ways. It's going to be tough, because every time you, you know, you rob Peter to pay Paul, you can always count on the support of Paul. When you start taking money from Paul, he's going to start squawking. And that's what we end up with. You know, there are those third rail subjects, you know, whether we're talking health care, child care, things like that, that lots of times, but we're taking hard-earned money from people to pay for a lot of these things. And when government does things, they waste a lot, because they've got no vested interest in that money. So I think we need to, excuse me, we need to figure out a way to get to a point to where we can start cutting some things. There's no way we can cut taxes unless we cut spending.

Nick Gosnell: Well, and it seems a little counterintuitive, unless you've been in Topeka and kind of understand how things work. But having to have a person to oversee the people that do the actual work, which is what happens in government, because you've got to have not only the people that do the actual work, but then you've got to have the oversight people to make sure that the people doing the actual work are working, because that's the people that then talk to people that run for the legislature and those sorts of things. Well, that's an additional person, isn't it? Now, to call it waste might be overstating it a bit, but when you have a private business that has the workers do the work, and then they get the rewards, there tends to be less people than when you have a government entity do it, because then you've got to have those oversight people, and then you have to have the people that are doing all of the individual functions of different pieces of a program and so on. So like I said, not necessarily that it's waste, but it's definitely not as efficient as when it's done by the private sector, is it?

Mike Murphy: Right. When you add layers, I like to look at it just like our homes, like our families. We can mow our own grass, or we can hire it done. It costs more to hire it done. Now, it's nice to go play while your lawn's being cut, and any number of other things. I'm a weird guy. I still change the oil in my car and stuff like that at home. Most people don't do that, but the bottom line is there's things that government could do, like you said, without some of those layers, and the other thing that I like to compare with a family is you can't just come in next month and say, I need more money. My expenses have gone up. I want to go on vacation. I want things like that. Mr. Boss, I need more money. Well, that's what government does. Government just says, okay, they just take it. They just say, well, here we go. We need more money. We just take it. We're going to have to change the way we think. I don't know any other way to put it.

Nick Gosnell: Well, and part of the issue is that in Topeka, people are concerned with making sure that their district gets a piece of this pie often, as much as they are concerned with the fact that the pie just keeps getting more stuffed with stuff from the people to the government. They don't think that, or at least I would say a majority probably don't think the way that you've just articulated.

Mike Murphy: No, I agree. I agree. And then the other thing too is you've got these things we call lobbyists. Some lobbyists are wonderful. I mean, they really are. They're very good. Some of them are not so much. And we get in a situation where then, of course, where they're wanting to add their piece of pie in. And there's been some adjustments to some of that. I know they're looking at where they're doing like the omnibus and stuff like that because historically there's a lot of stuff been thrown in there at the end that never really went through the process. And so we need to do a better job of watching those sorts of things.

Nick Gosnell: It's a lot bigger district than it was four years ago because they redrew the lines. So now it's Reno, Kingman, and I think Barber counties. So all the way down to the state line for you. Has that changed at all what you see the district wanting? Because you've talked to folks all around.

Mike Murphy: Maybe a little bit. In reality, of course, what happened was is Reno County lost, well, Hutch proper lost some numbers over that 10-year period. And so they had to pick it up. And in reality, there was only the rest of Kingman County that was added. And then all of Barber County was about another 5,000 people or so. So it's not a lot of people. It's a lot of land. But they're good people. I'll tell you what, that's salt of the earth when you get out of town. And a lot of people don't see Hutch as a big city. But when you live out in the country, 10 miles from the nearest town, Hutch is a big city. So your outlook on life is a little different.

Nick Gosnell: Now, how much of what the state does budget-wise, we always talk about it, and we talked about it at length before the break. But how much of it can really be changed right now? Because you said in your interview with me back in August, there are large chunks of the state budget that are, I don't want to say they're set, but they're more or less things that are those third rail topics you talked about before.

Mike Murphy: Yeah, well, we've got about 15% of the budget we can legitimately work with because the rest of it is education and Medicaid. So there's ways to cut some of those things. I think the schools and all like that could be trimmed a little bit because, and I know that sounds horrible, they'll scream at me for that. But the bottom line is that there's a lot of money being thrown at problems. And I think when we've looked at some of the post-audit reports, that there's money that's being spent that has no effect. And we need to be looking at that. There's also, whenever time you look at government programs like Medicaid, Medicare, there's always fraud and abuse. And so I think it's incumbent on us to look at those things and try to, because I mean, that's our taxpayers' money and we need to be good stewards.

Nick Gosnell: Now, I'm going to get burned at home when I get home for saying what I'm about to say, Mike, but there are 200 and some odd school districts in the state of Kansas and there are about 100 counties, 105. It seems like to me you might be able to do with fewer districts if you could figure out how to draw the maps so kids aren't on the bus all day. But that's just looking at it from the outside.

Mike Murphy: Well, you know, and I look at it and I'm thinking, I know this isn't realistic in today's world, but the old one-room schoolhouses served us well. And we, yeah, we were not able to have the bands and the sports and everything like that, but those kids were educated and that's what we really are doing.

Nick Gosnell: So let's talk about Medicaid for a second, because if it's already 23% of the budget and Medicaid expansion, which has been up there for years and years and hasn't gone through for, let's call it, nine or ten years since the last time in 2014 when it was vetoed by Governor Brownback, how much bigger part of the budget would it become if that actually happened? Has anybody given you any numbers on that?

Mike Murphy: It's hard to, you know, it's hard to say. It would certainly be more money. I don't know. When you start trying to get that information, you get all sorts of different answers. And so I don't really know. All I know is that when you add that, most states, I think, they're 160% above the projection. So whatever it is they say is going to be added, it's going to be more. So it's a real problem. And once again, I think I said at the forum the other night, Medicaid was designed to really help the intellectually and the physically disabled. That was really its general purpose. We've expanded it already to encompass a whole lot more, and those people have been left behind. And I think we should back up a little bit before we start looking at adding more. I think we should back up and help the ones it was really designed for.

Nick Gosnell: Well, and not every doctor or medical provider takes that either.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;So let's talk about, like, if there was, have you ever been at the concession stand at a high school football game, Mike?

Nick Gosnell: When you go in the middle of the first quarter, and the game's going on, and there are five people at the concession stand, pretty easy to go get your hot dog. When you go at halftime, especially if you go after the band quits playing, you're going to wait, you won't get back to your seat until the middle of third quarter.

Nick Gosnell: Is that where we would be if we actually expanded Medicaid?

Mike Murphy: That's a part of it. And also, sometimes these hospitals and such say, well, we really need this. But the bottom line is that Medicaid pays about 30 percent of what private insurance does. And if a lot of people go on that are eligible for, like, Obamacare or whatever like that, you actually are forced onto Medicaid if you are eligible for Medicaid. And so you're going to have people that have maybe been going to the doctor, and the doctor and hospital being reimbursed 100 percent, now they're going to get 30. I think trying to put the numbers together is really difficult to say, well, we're going to get that.&nbsp; And once again, we're playing with taxpayer dollars. I've got a little, have you seen Thomas Massey's little badge that he wears, the debt badge?

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;No, I have not.

Mike Murphy:&nbsp;It's pretty cool. I've got one actually now. I should have brought it so you could see it. It's got the running total of the national debt, which is now, is actually I read last night in the last three weeks has gone up $400 billion. So we are on track of spending around a trillion dollars in deficit spending every 100 days. So to say we're going to get all this federal dollars and everything for something, it's a shell game.

Nick Gosnell: Again, we're talking to Mike Murphy. He's running for District 34 in the Kansas Senate. So where can folks find out more about your campaign?

Mike Murphy: IlikeMike4Kansas, the number four. <a href="http://Ilikemike4ks.com">Ilikemike4ks.com</a> and look for your vote. I like Mike on November 5th or before. Vote early, vote often.

Nick Gosnell: I think we'll try to do it once and leave it at that.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1693414188298.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>Nick Gosnell: With us this morning is Mike Murphy. He is running as a Republican for Kansas Senate District 34. And I'm going to do the best I can, Mike, to not ask you the exact same questions that I asked you prior to the primary, but that may be a challenge. So we'll see how it goes. I guess, let's just start, let's just dive right in. Let's just start with taxes and spending, because people talk about taxes all the time, but you don't hear talk about spending near as often. Now, I've heard it from you, and I want to give you an opportunity to do that. Mike Murphy: Oh, okay. Well, thanks for the opportunity, and appreciate you having me in. Yeah, it's kind of like the weather. People talk about it, but nobody does anything about it, right? This is the same thing. People, they want their stuff, they want their services, they want this, they want that. And then they complain when they get the tax bill. Well, the bottom line is, is taxes are too high and spending is too high. And we're just going to have to find some ways. It's going to be tough, because every time you, you know, you rob Peter to pay Paul, you can always count on the support of Paul. When you start taking money from Paul, he's going to start squawking. And that's what we end up with. You know, there are those third rail subjects, you know, whether we're talking health care, child care, things like that, that lots of times, but we're taking hard-earned money from people to pay for a lot of these things. And when government does things, they waste a lot, because they've got no vested interest in that money. So I think we need to, excuse me, we need to figure out a way to get to a point to where we can start cutting some things. There's no way we can cut taxes unless we cut spending. Nick Gosnell: Well, and it seems a little counterintuitive, unless you've been in Topeka and kind of understand how things work. But having to have a person to oversee the people that do the actual work, which is what happens in government, because you've got to have not only the people that do the actual work, but then you've got to have the oversight people to make sure that the people doing the actual work are working, because that's the people that then talk to people that run for the legislature and those sorts of things. Well, that's an additional person, isn't it? Now, to call it waste might be overstating it a bit, but when you have a private business that has the workers do the work, and then they get the rewards, there tends to be less people than when you have a government entity do it, because then you've got to have those oversight people, and then you have to have the people that are doing all of the individual functions of different pieces of a program and so on. So like I said, not necessarily that it's waste, but it's definitely not as efficient as when it's done by the private sector, is it? Mike Murphy: Right. When you add layers, I like to look at it just like our homes, like our families. We can mow our own grass, or we can hire it done. It costs more to hire it done. Now, it's nice to go play while your lawn's being cut, and any number of other things. I'm a weird guy. I still change the oil in my car and stuff like that at home. Most people don't do that, but the bottom line is there's things that government could do, like you said, without some of those layers, and the other thing that I like to compare with a family is you can't just come in next month and say, I need more money. My expenses have gone up. I want to go on vacation. I want things like that. Mr. Boss, I need more money. Well, that's what government does. Government just says, okay, they just take it. They just say, well, here we go. We need more money. We just take it. We're going to have to change the way we think. I don't know any other way to put it.Nick Gosnell: Well, and part of the issue is that in Topeka, people are concerned with making sure that their district gets a piece of this pie often, as much as they are concerned with the fact that the pie just keeps getting more stuffed with stuff from the people to the government. They don't think that, or at least I would say a majority probably don't think the way that you've just articulated. Mike Murphy: No, I agree. I agree. And then the other thing too is you've got these things we call lobbyists. Some lobbyists are wonderful. I mean, they really are. They're very good. Some of them are not so much. And we get in a situation where then, of course, where they're wanting to add their piece of pie in. And there's been some adjustments to some of that. I know they're looking at where they're doing like the omnibus and stuff like that because historically there's a lot of stuff been thrown in there at the end that never really went through the process. And so we need to do a better job of watching those sorts of things. Nick Gosnell: It's a lot bigger district than it was four years ago because they redrew the lines. So now it's Reno, Kingman, and I think Barber counties. So all the way down to the state line for you. Has that changed at all what you see the district wanting? Because you've talked to folks all around.Mike Murphy: Maybe a little bit. In reality, of course, what happened was is Reno County lost, well, Hutch proper lost some numbers over that 10-year period. And so they had to pick it up. And in reality, there was only the rest of Kingman County that was added. And then all of Barber County was about another 5,000 people or so. So it's not a lot of people. It's a lot of land. But they're good people. I'll tell you what, that's salt of the earth when you get out of town. And a lot of people don't see Hutch as a big city. But when you live out in the country, 10 miles from the nearest town, Hutch is a big city. So your outlook on life is a little different. Nick Gosnell: Now, how much of what the state does budget-wise, we always talk about it, and we talked about it at length before the break. But how much of it can really be changed right now? Because you said in your interview with me back in August, there are large chunks of the state budget that are, I don't want to say they're set, but they're more or less things that are those third rail topics you talked about before.Mike Murphy: Yeah, well, we've got about 15% of the budget we can legitimately work with because the rest of it is education and Medicaid. So there's ways to cut some of those things. I think the schools and all like that could be trimmed a little bit because, and I know that sounds horrible, they'll scream at me for that. But the bottom line is that there's a lot of money being thrown at problems. And I think when we've looked at some of the post-audit reports, that there's money that's being spent that has no effect. And we need to be looking at that. There's also, whenever time you look at government programs like Medicaid, Medicare, there's always fraud and abuse. And so I think it's incumbent on us to look at those things and try to, because I mean, that's our taxpayers' money and we need to be good stewards. Nick Gosnell: Now, I'm going to get burned at home when I get home for saying what I'm about to say, Mike, but there are 200 and some odd school districts in the state of Kansas and there are about 100 counties, 105. It seems like to me you might be able to do with fewer districts if you could figure out how to draw the maps so kids aren't on the bus all day. But that's just looking at it from the outside.Mike Murphy: Well, you know, and I look at it and I'm thinking, I know this isn't realistic in today's world, but the old one-room schoolhouses served us well. And we, yeah, we were not able to have the bands and the sports and everything like that, but those kids were educated and that's what we really are doing. Nick Gosnell: So let's talk about Medicaid for a second, because if it's already 23% of the budget and Medicaid expansion, which has been up there for years and years and hasn't gone through for, let's call it, nine or ten years since the last time in 2014 when it was vetoed by Governor Brownback, how much bigger part of the budget would it become if that actually happened? Has anybody given you any numbers on that? Mike Murphy: It's hard to, you know, it's hard to say. It would certainly be more money. I don't know. When you start trying to get that information, you get all sorts of different answers. And so I don't really know. All I know is that when you add that, most states, I think, they're 160% above the projection. So whatever it is they say is going to be added, it's going to be more. So it's a real problem. And once again, I think I said at the forum the other night, Medicaid was designed to really help the intellectually and the physically disabled. That was really its general purpose. We've expanded it already to encompass a whole lot more, and those people have been left behind. And I think we should back up a little bit before we start looking at adding more. I think we should back up and help the ones it was really designed for. Nick Gosnell: Well, and not every doctor or medical provider takes that either. Mike Murphy: That's correct. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;So let's talk about, like, if there was, have you ever been at the concession stand at a high school football game, Mike? Mike Murphy: Oh yeah. Nick Gosnell: When you go in the middle of the first quarter, and the game's going on, and there are five people at the concession stand, pretty easy to go get your hot dog. When you go at halftime, especially if you go after the band quits playing, you're going to wait, you won't get back to your seat until the middle of third quarter. Mike Murphy: Yeah, you're right. Nick Gosnell: Is that where we would be if we actually expanded Medicaid? Mike Murphy: That's a part of it. And also, sometimes these hospitals and such say, well, we really need this. But the bottom line is that Medicaid pays about 30 percent of what private insurance does. And if a lot of people go on that are eligible for, like, Obamacare or whatever like that, you actually are forced onto Medicaid if you are eligible for Medicaid. And so you're going to have people that have maybe been going to the doctor, and the doctor and hospital being reimbursed 100 percent, now they're going to get 30. I think trying to put the numbers together is really difficult to say, well, we're going to get that.&nbsp; And once again, we're playing with taxpayer dollars. I've got a little, have you seen Thomas Massey's little badge that he wears, the debt badge? Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;No, I have not. Mike Murphy:&nbsp;It's pretty cool. I've got one actually now. I should have brought it so you could see it. It's got the running total of the national debt, which is now, is actually I read last night in the last three weeks has gone up $400 billion. So we are on track of spending around a trillion dollars in deficit spending every 100 days. So to say we're going to get all this federal dollars and everything for something, it's a shell game. Nick Gosnell: Again, we're talking to Mike Murphy. He's running for District 34 in the Kansas Senate. So where can folks find out more about your campaign? Mike Murphy: IlikeMike4Kansas, the number four. <a href="http://Ilikemike4ks.com">Ilikemike4ks.com</a> and look for your vote. I like Mike on November 5th or before. Vote early, vote often. Nick Gosnell: I think we'll try to do it once and leave it at that.Mike Murphy: Do it once. Okay.The audio interview is below.<div><iframe title="Mike Murphy" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);height:150px;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=3ixme-171b27a-pb&from=pb6admin&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=60a0c8&font-color=&logo_link=episode_page&btn-skin=ff6d00" loading="lazy"></iframe></div>

🎧 Transcript: Mike Murphy, Senate District 34

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🎧 LISTEN:  Blue Dragon 🏐 drop four set match to Butler; KU 🏐 wins over Iowa State

🎧 LISTEN: Reno County Museum

🎧 LISTEN: Lindsey Hatfield

🎧 LISTEN: Richard Winger

🎧 LISTEN: October 23, 2024 News

🎧 LISTEN: State golf results, NBA history made

🎧 LISTEN: Parson & Pope w/Larry Burks of ICT NAACP

Nick Gosnell: Richard Winger, he is running for District 4 for the County Commission as a Republican. He'll be on your ballot if you live in most of the city of Hutchinson here for the November 5th ballot, but there are parts of the city that have different County Commissioners, but it's mostly the city of Hutch. That's what the district is for, District 4. So I guess, Richard, most folks may know you from your days at Pools Plus. Why throw yourself into the deep end of the pool to run for County Commission?

Richard Winger: Well, when I was working at Pools Plus, you work some long hours and you, of course, are all over the state. But over the course of a number of years, I've had a number of people saying that I should run and to think about it at least. And so after I retired from Pools Plus, I went to actually went to work for the county in the maintenance department, worked there for about six months.&nbsp; My body was telling me I enjoyed the job, but my body was saying no. And so then I went to work for the college and I've been there almost a year now. And so I actually have more time available. I still love this city and this county. And so I thought it was the right time for me to put my hat in the ring. And I like I said, I've lived here since 1973.&nbsp; I've always enjoyed this city and the surroundings around it.

Nick Gosnell: All right. So a county commissioner, because they have a permanent administrator that they've hired, the day to day stuff anymore is usually done through the administrator's office or if it's a legal matter through the county counselor's office.&nbsp; The chief piece of what a county commissioner does is budgeting. What do you know about that and about how the county is doing it and anything that you might have to say regarding the county budget?

Richard Winger:&nbsp;Of course, you run a budget in your house, so you start there, hopefully when you're younger and stuff. Working through Pools Plus, we would do bids and quotes. And of course, you have a budget to do that and you have to be able to get it done under budget or at budget, but try not to go over the budget. As for the county, I would love to see the county be more effective and efficient. I know we were talking about at the forum forward thinking and sometimes that's great and in most cases it is, but there's times though where forward thinking means that you're going to need to raise taxes and that's not always a necessary thing. You can look at the budget and maybe skimp or not have something in a budget in this area that is not utilized like it used to be and use it for something else.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;Now, there is one area of the county that has been particularly used over the time since I've been here in Hutchinson. And just to remind folks, my official hire date was December 31st of 2019. I started in January of 2020, so immediately prior to the pandemic. So, the health department kind of got pushed to the front of the line a little bit during the COVID period, but they do a whole lot more than just the emergency stuff that happened during COVID. And I know that your wife worked at the health department for a long time, so you have at least a little bit of inside information on the workings of that. How important is the work of the health department?

Richard Winger:&nbsp;It's very important. It does a number of age groups from infants and toddlers all the way up to elderly people. It actually brings in a revenue stream. Most people don't realize that. They just think they use taxes to support it, but it actually does bring in a revenue stream. They do shots. Women's, infants, and children's department is very important for those young mothers with young children. I use it. I've used it since I was here. I got a TB test when I first went to work at McDonald's, so that tells you how long ago that's been. But I also go there for my shots. They work on, they have foot clinics for those people with diabetes and other things where they can't reach their feet anymore, so they help you take care of that.&nbsp; They do all kinds of things that most people don't realize, not just, you know, emergency care and things like that.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;Okay. There are a lot of areas of the county that, for want of a better way of putting it, are branch offices of the state.&nbsp; By that I mean, like your county treasurer's office is, generally speaking, locked in to do whatever the statute tells them to do as far as county treasurer is concerned. County appraiser is much the same way. The statute and the parameters within that kind of control what happens there.&nbsp; So, how much real change can you make in those departments that are basically controlled by things that were passed at a level higher than yours? And how much can you say, hey, listen, what can we do operationally here? Where does that line get drawn?

Richard Winger:&nbsp;Well, operationally, it would probably be the most area that we can control because it would incur, you know, the facility that the operations in, the people that work there, talking about if it's a mandated thing from the state, then there really isn't much you can do. The money is supposed to be allocated and used for that part, and so you really can't do a whole lot with that. That being said, if you have access to, you know, the House and Senate members at the capitol, you might be able to visit with them about some of those, you know, things that are being done and see if you can get them lowered.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;There will be two new members of the county commission for certain. Your race is one where both people would be new, and then there's another race that's where both people would be new. But three of the five county commissioners, at least in theory, assuming that there isn't a huge write-in vote in Hirst's district, will be ones that come back that are still there from before. So you have the three that have done it for a long time, or relatively, or that have done it before, and the two that have not done it yet. How do you persuade the majority to not just keep doing what they're doing?

Richard Winger:&nbsp;That's the point we were just kind of talking about. You have to have a quorum, I mean, of voters. And so there's five of us now, would be five of us. So you have to have a three to two vote or four one, or even five oh if it's unanimous. I'm one of those guys, I don't believe in kicking the can down the road, but I also am pretty persuasive when I'm visiting with somebody about something that needs to be done, and I feel strong about it. I can usually get my point across and my goal would be to convince the other commissioners that this is the way we need to go. I've also known a number of the commissioners for a while just through work, and I've worked for them and done things with them, volunteer and other things. So I think I can be a team player, but also not just sit on the bench and not participate either.&nbsp; I want to be one of those that would contribute.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;All right. So the big areas of the budget that are things that need to, the county needs to work through, public works is a huge part of the budget as far as dollars are concerned, but that's kind of another one of those areas where, for want of a better way of putting it, if the bridge needs fixed, the bridge needs fixed.&nbsp; So there's a lot of that that is difficult to do much about other than just be proper with maintenance and those sorts of things. How do you say to those folks the difference between we want to do maintenance now so that we have longest life that we possibly can for everything we have to, well, we don't have the budget to do everything all the time. It's something you had to deal with in maintaining things in the business you were in too, I suppose.

Richard Winger:&nbsp;Exactly. And I really, that's one of the things that I noticed when I first moved here. And even as a younger person, a lot of times things, the maintenance wouldn't get done and then it would be broke.&nbsp; And then it's like, okay, we have to fix it. And it's always easier to keep that car longer. If you do that, those minor details and oil changes and things early on, and it makes it last longer. So in the county, you just got to figure out the budget and do a timely schedule on different things. Most people don't see the infrastructure around the city. They just see the city unless you're out a farmer or you're driving out in the county for another reason.&nbsp; You don't see the roads, you don't see the bridges, and they are utilized a lot around this city. We have some great interstate or four lane highways now, but the county roads are still utilized a lot.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;Well, and so part of the constant maintenance is that the county commission has a certain number of lane miles. And I don't have the number off the top of my head. I apologize. Don Brittain will probably send me an email saying, it's this number. And that's fine, Don, go ahead and send it to me later. And I'll be sure that I know what it is. But there's a certain number of lane miles that you have to do each year to be able to get through the entire county over the course of several years. Because you can't, there's not an infinite amount of money. You can't do them all every year. So sometimes when budgets are tight, that's one of the things that gets cut back on is that maintenance stuff like we talked about. Are there other areas where the county could go, you know, maybe we don't do this, but we focus on the other things for the purposes of those folks outside of the city of Hutchinson, like we just talked about?

Richard Winger:&nbsp;Well, so there are, Don Brittain is great for that department. And there's 19 other department leaders, and they all work to keep their budgets within the limits that they're supposed to. I know like in roads and bridges, there's also where they go out and they do ditches and they do this or that with heavy equipment. And maybe it's one of those things where they can't do that because they need that money to go to a road. Maybe they have a bridge that had an accident on it and it damaged part of the bridge and that would have to come from that expense to be fixed.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;Again, Richard, if people want to find out more about you, what's the easiest way to find out more about your campaign or get a hold of you if they want to talk to you between now and election day?

Richard Winger:&nbsp;Well, I have my cell phone and I answer it.&nbsp; I've heard a few people that are running say that. So it's 620-664-0662. If I don't answer, pardon me, leave me a voicemail and I'll be glad to get back with you. I also have a website on Facebook that my wife put together. It's Winger for County Commission on Facebook. And then we also have an email. It's <a href="mailto:winglaf6@yahoo.com">winglaf6@yahoo.com</a>. That's W-I-N-G-L-A-F, the number six at yahoo.com. That's correct.

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 </figure>Nick Gosnell: Richard Winger, he is running for District 4 for the County Commission as a Republican. He'll be on your ballot if you live in most of the city of Hutchinson here for the November 5th ballot, but there are parts of the city that have different County Commissioners, but it's mostly the city of Hutch. That's what the district is for, District 4. So I guess, Richard, most folks may know you from your days at Pools Plus. Why throw yourself into the deep end of the pool to run for County Commission? Richard Winger: Well, when I was working at Pools Plus, you work some long hours and you, of course, are all over the state. But over the course of a number of years, I've had a number of people saying that I should run and to think about it at least. And so after I retired from Pools Plus, I went to actually went to work for the county in the maintenance department, worked there for about six months.&nbsp; My body was telling me I enjoyed the job, but my body was saying no. And so then I went to work for the college and I've been there almost a year now. And so I actually have more time available. I still love this city and this county. And so I thought it was the right time for me to put my hat in the ring. And I like I said, I've lived here since 1973.&nbsp; I've always enjoyed this city and the surroundings around it. Nick Gosnell: All right. So a county commissioner, because they have a permanent administrator that they've hired, the day to day stuff anymore is usually done through the administrator's office or if it's a legal matter through the county counselor's office.&nbsp; The chief piece of what a county commissioner does is budgeting. What do you know about that and about how the county is doing it and anything that you might have to say regarding the county budget? Richard Winger:&nbsp;Of course, you run a budget in your house, so you start there, hopefully when you're younger and stuff. Working through Pools Plus, we would do bids and quotes. And of course, you have a budget to do that and you have to be able to get it done under budget or at budget, but try not to go over the budget. As for the county, I would love to see the county be more effective and efficient. I know we were talking about at the forum forward thinking and sometimes that's great and in most cases it is, but there's times though where forward thinking means that you're going to need to raise taxes and that's not always a necessary thing. You can look at the budget and maybe skimp or not have something in a budget in this area that is not utilized like it used to be and use it for something else. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;Now, there is one area of the county that has been particularly used over the time since I've been here in Hutchinson. And just to remind folks, my official hire date was December 31st of 2019. I started in January of 2020, so immediately prior to the pandemic. So, the health department kind of got pushed to the front of the line a little bit during the COVID period, but they do a whole lot more than just the emergency stuff that happened during COVID. And I know that your wife worked at the health department for a long time, so you have at least a little bit of inside information on the workings of that. How important is the work of the health department? Richard Winger:&nbsp;It's very important. It does a number of age groups from infants and toddlers all the way up to elderly people. It actually brings in a revenue stream. Most people don't realize that. They just think they use taxes to support it, but it actually does bring in a revenue stream. They do shots. Women's, infants, and children's department is very important for those young mothers with young children. I use it. I've used it since I was here. I got a TB test when I first went to work at McDonald's, so that tells you how long ago that's been. But I also go there for my shots. They work on, they have foot clinics for those people with diabetes and other things where they can't reach their feet anymore, so they help you take care of that.&nbsp; They do all kinds of things that most people don't realize, not just, you know, emergency care and things like that. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;Okay. There are a lot of areas of the county that, for want of a better way of putting it, are branch offices of the state.&nbsp; By that I mean, like your county treasurer's office is, generally speaking, locked in to do whatever the statute tells them to do as far as county treasurer is concerned. County appraiser is much the same way. The statute and the parameters within that kind of control what happens there.&nbsp; So, how much real change can you make in those departments that are basically controlled by things that were passed at a level higher than yours? And how much can you say, hey, listen, what can we do operationally here? Where does that line get drawn? Richard Winger:&nbsp;Well, operationally, it would probably be the most area that we can control because it would incur, you know, the facility that the operations in, the people that work there, talking about if it's a mandated thing from the state, then there really isn't much you can do. The money is supposed to be allocated and used for that part, and so you really can't do a whole lot with that. That being said, if you have access to, you know, the House and Senate members at the capitol, you might be able to visit with them about some of those, you know, things that are being done and see if you can get them lowered. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;There will be two new members of the county commission for certain. Your race is one where both people would be new, and then there's another race that's where both people would be new. But three of the five county commissioners, at least in theory, assuming that there isn't a huge write-in vote in Hirst's district, will be ones that come back that are still there from before. So you have the three that have done it for a long time, or relatively, or that have done it before, and the two that have not done it yet. How do you persuade the majority to not just keep doing what they're doing? Richard Winger:&nbsp;That's the point we were just kind of talking about. You have to have a quorum, I mean, of voters. And so there's five of us now, would be five of us. So you have to have a three to two vote or four one, or even five oh if it's unanimous. I'm one of those guys, I don't believe in kicking the can down the road, but I also am pretty persuasive when I'm visiting with somebody about something that needs to be done, and I feel strong about it. I can usually get my point across and my goal would be to convince the other commissioners that this is the way we need to go. I've also known a number of the commissioners for a while just through work, and I've worked for them and done things with them, volunteer and other things. So I think I can be a team player, but also not just sit on the bench and not participate either.&nbsp; I want to be one of those that would contribute. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;All right. So the big areas of the budget that are things that need to, the county needs to work through, public works is a huge part of the budget as far as dollars are concerned, but that's kind of another one of those areas where, for want of a better way of putting it, if the bridge needs fixed, the bridge needs fixed.&nbsp; So there's a lot of that that is difficult to do much about other than just be proper with maintenance and those sorts of things. How do you say to those folks the difference between we want to do maintenance now so that we have longest life that we possibly can for everything we have to, well, we don't have the budget to do everything all the time. It's something you had to deal with in maintaining things in the business you were in too, I suppose. Richard Winger:&nbsp;Exactly. And I really, that's one of the things that I noticed when I first moved here. And even as a younger person, a lot of times things, the maintenance wouldn't get done and then it would be broke.&nbsp; And then it's like, okay, we have to fix it. And it's always easier to keep that car longer. If you do that, those minor details and oil changes and things early on, and it makes it last longer. So in the county, you just got to figure out the budget and do a timely schedule on different things. Most people don't see the infrastructure around the city. They just see the city unless you're out a farmer or you're driving out in the county for another reason.&nbsp; You don't see the roads, you don't see the bridges, and they are utilized a lot around this city. We have some great interstate or four lane highways now, but the county roads are still utilized a lot. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;Well, and so part of the constant maintenance is that the county commission has a certain number of lane miles. And I don't have the number off the top of my head. I apologize. Don Brittain will probably send me an email saying, it's this number. And that's fine, Don, go ahead and send it to me later. And I'll be sure that I know what it is. But there's a certain number of lane miles that you have to do each year to be able to get through the entire county over the course of several years. Because you can't, there's not an infinite amount of money. You can't do them all every year. So sometimes when budgets are tight, that's one of the things that gets cut back on is that maintenance stuff like we talked about. Are there other areas where the county could go, you know, maybe we don't do this, but we focus on the other things for the purposes of those folks outside of the city of Hutchinson, like we just talked about? Richard Winger:&nbsp;Well, so there are, Don Brittain is great for that department. And there's 19 other department leaders, and they all work to keep their budgets within the limits that they're supposed to. I know like in roads and bridges, there's also where they go out and they do ditches and they do this or that with heavy equipment. And maybe it's one of those things where they can't do that because they need that money to go to a road. Maybe they have a bridge that had an accident on it and it damaged part of the bridge and that would have to come from that expense to be fixed. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;Again, Richard, if people want to find out more about you, what's the easiest way to find out more about your campaign or get a hold of you if they want to talk to you between now and election day? Richard Winger:&nbsp;Well, I have my cell phone and I answer it.&nbsp; I've heard a few people that are running say that. So it's 620-664-0662. If I don't answer, pardon me, leave me a voicemail and I'll be glad to get back with you. I also have a website on Facebook that my wife put together. It's Winger for County Commission on Facebook. And then we also have an email. It's <a href="mailto:winglaf6@yahoo.com">winglaf6@yahoo.com</a>. That's W-I-N-G-L-A-F, the number six at yahoo.com. That's correct.Below is the audio interview.<div><iframe title="Richard Winger" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);height:150px;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=etgk2-1718497-pb&from=pb6admin&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=60a0c8&font-color=&logo_link=episode_page&btn-skin=ff6d00" loading="lazy"></iframe></div>

Transcript: Richard Winger, County Commission 4

Nick Gosnell: Lindsey Hatfield, she is running as a Democrat for the County Commission District 4 seat, which is the seat that includes most of the city of Hutchinson. And good morning, Lindsey.

Lindsey Hatfield: Good morning, Nick. Thanks for having me.

Nick Gosnell: You bet. So first of all, for those folks that don't know you, who is Lindsey Hatfield? And why did you decide to run?

Lindsey Hatfield: I am a Reno County native. I was born and raised here, went to Bueller High School, graduated. Actually, I met my husband, I say this a lot, but I met him at the Hutchinson Mall about 20 years ago when the mall was a booming place to work. And he and I, excuse me, we moved away when I graduated and went to college. And then in 2018, after we had been married for some time and had a couple of kids, we decided to come back to Reno County to raise our kids and put down roots here because I loved growing up here. And I knew that this would be an amazing place to raise our family and my whole, the rest of my family, my mom and sisters are here. So that's why we came back. And since coming back, I've opened a small business. I own Salt City Scoops, which is a little food trailer that we run mostly in the spring and summertime. We sell ice cream cookie sandwiches. And I also work from home full time in property management. So I do have that full-time job. And then we do that Salt City Scoops on the side. And I'm PTO vice president. I got involved in my kids' school. They go to Allen STEM Magnet School. And we've just been really enjoying a calmer, wonderful way of life for our kids in Hutchinson because I loved growing up here.

Nick Gosnell: All right. So how does running for county commission help support that way of life?

Lindsey Hatfield: Well, the running for it does not support a calmer. It's a lot of work right now. But I knew when we moved back, I wanted to get involved. Part of my, I had some frustration with our town and our counties is the feeling that it's not progressing, that we are somewhat of a regressive county commission.&nbsp; And I feel like we need different leadership, younger leadership, people who have a different vision for Reno County, who are at a different place in their lives and really are going to be here for the rest of their lives. And so I knew I wanted to get involved. And to me, it's just about helping to create a community that I want to continue living in for the rest of my life.&nbsp; And I want my kids to put down roots and stay here as well.

Nick Gosnell: Economic development is such a big part of what every county wants to do. And yesterday was a massive day for Reno County economic development with the building of the power plant by Evergy.&nbsp; Now that has been proposed for 2030, they're going to start construction in 2027. And between the power that will be available and the water rights that are available in the city of Hutchinson, it seems like the county is primed for further economic development. How would you as a member of the county commission set policy to foster that and to keep that momentum going forward?

Lindsey Hatfield: Yeah, first of all, I was so excited. I got an email an hour before, well, I got it the night before, but I read it an hour before that press conference and I went over there. It was such an exciting press conference to be there live when it was announced. So how I would help foster that is economic development is such an important part of our community.&nbsp; And I would make sure that any, so any ideas that are brought forth to the county commission, we really are supporting. We're supporting places like our chamber of commerce and other programs in Hutchinson that are really doing the hard heavy lifting for economic development and making sure that we support them in any way that we can, because that is really economic development is the only way we're going to progress and move forward as a county.

Nick Gosnell: As I said to your opponent when I interviewed him earlier on this morning, no matter who wins, it looks like there's going to be two new county commissioners and three, I don't want to say old county commissioners, but three remaining county commissioners. That's it. So how do you persuade when a majority of the commission at least has pointed in a direction and now you, now you need to persuade at least one of them if you want to change the direction at all?

Lindsey Hatfield: Sure. I don't think of it so much as persuasion as just having a conversation and working with them and maybe getting them to understand where I'm coming from. Obviously when you work with anybody, it's a give and take, right? So I want to hear what they have to say and really take that in and, and, and discuss that. And I would hope that they would be willing to give the same back to me so that we could find common ground because really, I think we all probably share the same, what we want for Reno County, how we want it to be. It's just getting there and finding the way to that.

Nick Gosnell: The Reno County health department was put out front as all health departments across the state were during COVID. But the health department does a whole lot of things that, that have nothing to do with infectious disease. And when we're getting back to, I'm praying, normal life, at least closer to normal than we've been in the last five years, talk about the importance of supporting what they do, speaking generally, because the health department is one of the larger departments that the county actually has some oversight over in a way that they maybe don't the other ones that are just for want of a better way of putting it, branch offices of the state, like the treasurer and so on.

Lindsey Hatfield: Right. So that was really the catalyst for me running for this position was the fact that our incumbent, the person who's currently there, essentially felt like wanted to dismantle the health department. And, and, and to me, it's such a vital and important part of our community. As a kid, I got vaccinated there. And I know that it's the only place in Reno County that women can get access to WIC, women, infant and children, which is from pregnancy all through age five.&nbsp; It's extremely important. That's not all that they do, but it is the health of our community. It has to be a place for everyone in the county to be able to come and receive health services. And so that is our responsibility, not only to fund that, but to make sure that it continues and continues to help us have a thriving community.

Nick Gosnell: All right. The county commission, the basic function of it now, as opposed to maybe what it was 20, 30 years ago, now, now that they have a professional administrator, it isn't so much about the day to day deciding what the, uh, what, what check gets written today, as much as it is getting the general direction of the budget and the priorities for the county as a whole from a year to year basis. So what is your experience in that area of things in terms of budgeting and saying, okay, this is a good idea, but maybe not right now. Or this is an idea that we need to do now to set the, to set the pace for future years. How do you make those decisions? How does that go through your mind when you're making decisions for the short, medium and long term?

Lindsey Hatfield: Right. This is where I think my day job helps a lot because I work in property management or asset management. So you're dealing with an asset, a property and Reno County is also an asset, right? And so part of that is creating a budget for your year, looking at your income and your expenses. But a lot, a big part of asset management is not having deferred maintenance. So taking care of the little things, not putting a bandaid over something that's just going to cost you more money down the road. Um, so for me, I'm very comfortable creating budgets, working with budgets cause it's what I do in my day job. And it's really about planning for the big expenses.&nbsp; You're not going to have to replace your roof every year, but eventually you're going to need to replace your roof. You can't keep spending thousands of dollars, patching it and patching it and patching it when really you just need to replace it. So I have a lot of experience with that side sort of stuff with property management and, and I'm very comfortable with budgets.

Nick Gosnell: All right. And there are some areas, as I alluded to earlier, that are branch offices of the state, like the county treasurer basically has to follow whatever the statute says with regard to that county appraiser for all of the frustration that people have with their appraisals and the changes in that kind of stuff. Most of that is statutorily based and has to do with just comparables and those sorts of things.&nbsp; I've talked to the appraiser about that. So in those areas where you may not have a ton of ability to change what they do because the statute says what it says, well, how do you, how do you say to them, okay, yeah, we know you have to do this, but maybe you can do it in a different way, uh, in an effort to, to save the taxpayers money where it's even possible.

Lindsey Hatfield: I think you just hit the nail on the head. You say to them, I know you have to do this, but let's rethink this. Is there a different way that we can do this, hopefully to save people money? Uh, I mean, that's, that's getting into the nitty gritty of it. And I'm sure if I'm elected, um, you know, I'll have a lot of experience with that.&nbsp; But for me, it's all about trying to find new ways of doing things different than what we have been doing. Because to me, it feels like a lot of what we're doing is not helping us progress and move forward as a county. And we're just sort of stagnant and, and that's not my vision for the future.&nbsp; And I think a lot of people who live here, that's not our vision. We want to see people moving back to Reno County and not moving away. And that's what's been happening.&nbsp; So we just need new leadership with a vision who is willing to try something different than what we've been doing.

Nick Gosnell: All right. So how can folks find out more about your campaign and find out more about, uh, just how you plan to deal with issues? They can do so online, right?

Lindsey Hatfield: Yeah. I have a website <a href="http://voteforhatfield.com">voteforhatfield.com</a>. You can go there and you can find out all about me. You can also email me <a href="mailto:Hatfieldforcommissioner@gmail.com">Hatfieldforcommissioner@gmail.com</a>. I'm happy to answer any emails as well, and I live in Hyde Park. I have, I'm right across from the Hyde Park here or that little, you know, the grassy Hyde Park. So come over and say hi, if you want to, we've got all our scary Halloween decorations out right now.

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 </figure>Nick Gosnell: Lindsey Hatfield, she is running as a Democrat for the County Commission District 4 seat, which is the seat that includes most of the city of Hutchinson. And good morning, Lindsey. Lindsey Hatfield: Good morning, Nick. Thanks for having me. Nick Gosnell: You bet. So first of all, for those folks that don't know you, who is Lindsey Hatfield? And why did you decide to run? Lindsey Hatfield: I am a Reno County native. I was born and raised here, went to Bueller High School, graduated. Actually, I met my husband, I say this a lot, but I met him at the Hutchinson Mall about 20 years ago when the mall was a booming place to work. And he and I, excuse me, we moved away when I graduated and went to college. And then in 2018, after we had been married for some time and had a couple of kids, we decided to come back to Reno County to raise our kids and put down roots here because I loved growing up here. And I knew that this would be an amazing place to raise our family and my whole, the rest of my family, my mom and sisters are here. So that's why we came back. And since coming back, I've opened a small business. I own Salt City Scoops, which is a little food trailer that we run mostly in the spring and summertime. We sell ice cream cookie sandwiches. And I also work from home full time in property management. So I do have that full-time job. And then we do that Salt City Scoops on the side. And I'm PTO vice president. I got involved in my kids' school. They go to Allen STEM Magnet School. And we've just been really enjoying a calmer, wonderful way of life for our kids in Hutchinson because I loved growing up here.Nick Gosnell: All right. So how does running for county commission help support that way of life? Lindsey Hatfield: Well, the running for it does not support a calmer. It's a lot of work right now. But I knew when we moved back, I wanted to get involved. Part of my, I had some frustration with our town and our counties is the feeling that it's not progressing, that we are somewhat of a regressive county commission.&nbsp; And I feel like we need different leadership, younger leadership, people who have a different vision for Reno County, who are at a different place in their lives and really are going to be here for the rest of their lives. And so I knew I wanted to get involved. And to me, it's just about helping to create a community that I want to continue living in for the rest of my life.&nbsp; And I want my kids to put down roots and stay here as well. Nick Gosnell: Economic development is such a big part of what every county wants to do. And yesterday was a massive day for Reno County economic development with the building of the power plant by Evergy.&nbsp; Now that has been proposed for 2030, they're going to start construction in 2027. And between the power that will be available and the water rights that are available in the city of Hutchinson, it seems like the county is primed for further economic development. How would you as a member of the county commission set policy to foster that and to keep that momentum going forward? Lindsey Hatfield: Yeah, first of all, I was so excited. I got an email an hour before, well, I got it the night before, but I read it an hour before that press conference and I went over there. It was such an exciting press conference to be there live when it was announced. So how I would help foster that is economic development is such an important part of our community.&nbsp; And I would make sure that any, so any ideas that are brought forth to the county commission, we really are supporting. We're supporting places like our chamber of commerce and other programs in Hutchinson that are really doing the hard heavy lifting for economic development and making sure that we support them in any way that we can, because that is really economic development is the only way we're going to progress and move forward as a county. Nick Gosnell: As I said to your opponent when I interviewed him earlier on this morning, no matter who wins, it looks like there's going to be two new county commissioners and three, I don't want to say old county commissioners, but three remaining county commissioners. That's it. So how do you persuade when a majority of the commission at least has pointed in a direction and now you, now you need to persuade at least one of them if you want to change the direction at all? Lindsey Hatfield: Sure. I don't think of it so much as persuasion as just having a conversation and working with them and maybe getting them to understand where I'm coming from. Obviously when you work with anybody, it's a give and take, right? So I want to hear what they have to say and really take that in and, and, and discuss that. And I would hope that they would be willing to give the same back to me so that we could find common ground because really, I think we all probably share the same, what we want for Reno County, how we want it to be. It's just getting there and finding the way to that. Nick Gosnell: The Reno County health department was put out front as all health departments across the state were during COVID. But the health department does a whole lot of things that, that have nothing to do with infectious disease. And when we're getting back to, I'm praying, normal life, at least closer to normal than we've been in the last five years, talk about the importance of supporting what they do, speaking generally, because the health department is one of the larger departments that the county actually has some oversight over in a way that they maybe don't the other ones that are just for want of a better way of putting it, branch offices of the state, like the treasurer and so on. Lindsey Hatfield: Right. So that was really the catalyst for me running for this position was the fact that our incumbent, the person who's currently there, essentially felt like wanted to dismantle the health department. And, and, and to me, it's such a vital and important part of our community. As a kid, I got vaccinated there. And I know that it's the only place in Reno County that women can get access to WIC, women, infant and children, which is from pregnancy all through age five.&nbsp; It's extremely important. That's not all that they do, but it is the health of our community. It has to be a place for everyone in the county to be able to come and receive health services. And so that is our responsibility, not only to fund that, but to make sure that it continues and continues to help us have a thriving community. Nick Gosnell: All right. The county commission, the basic function of it now, as opposed to maybe what it was 20, 30 years ago, now, now that they have a professional administrator, it isn't so much about the day to day deciding what the, uh, what, what check gets written today, as much as it is getting the general direction of the budget and the priorities for the county as a whole from a year to year basis. So what is your experience in that area of things in terms of budgeting and saying, okay, this is a good idea, but maybe not right now. Or this is an idea that we need to do now to set the, to set the pace for future years. How do you make those decisions? How does that go through your mind when you're making decisions for the short, medium and long term? Lindsey Hatfield: Right. This is where I think my day job helps a lot because I work in property management or asset management. So you're dealing with an asset, a property and Reno County is also an asset, right? And so part of that is creating a budget for your year, looking at your income and your expenses. But a lot, a big part of asset management is not having deferred maintenance. So taking care of the little things, not putting a bandaid over something that's just going to cost you more money down the road. Um, so for me, I'm very comfortable creating budgets, working with budgets cause it's what I do in my day job. And it's really about planning for the big expenses.&nbsp; You're not going to have to replace your roof every year, but eventually you're going to need to replace your roof. You can't keep spending thousands of dollars, patching it and patching it and patching it when really you just need to replace it. So I have a lot of experience with that side sort of stuff with property management and, and I'm very comfortable with budgets. Nick Gosnell: All right. And there are some areas, as I alluded to earlier, that are branch offices of the state, like the county treasurer basically has to follow whatever the statute says with regard to that county appraiser for all of the frustration that people have with their appraisals and the changes in that kind of stuff. Most of that is statutorily based and has to do with just comparables and those sorts of things.&nbsp; I've talked to the appraiser about that. So in those areas where you may not have a ton of ability to change what they do because the statute says what it says, well, how do you, how do you say to them, okay, yeah, we know you have to do this, but maybe you can do it in a different way, uh, in an effort to, to save the taxpayers money where it's even possible. Lindsey Hatfield: I think you just hit the nail on the head. You say to them, I know you have to do this, but let's rethink this. Is there a different way that we can do this, hopefully to save people money? Uh, I mean, that's, that's getting into the nitty gritty of it. And I'm sure if I'm elected, um, you know, I'll have a lot of experience with that.&nbsp; But for me, it's all about trying to find new ways of doing things different than what we have been doing. Because to me, it feels like a lot of what we're doing is not helping us progress and move forward as a county. And we're just sort of stagnant and, and that's not my vision for the future.&nbsp; And I think a lot of people who live here, that's not our vision. We want to see people moving back to Reno County and not moving away. And that's what's been happening.&nbsp; So we just need new leadership with a vision who is willing to try something different than what we've been doing. Nick Gosnell: All right. So how can folks find out more about your campaign and find out more about, uh, just how you plan to deal with issues? They can do so online, right? Lindsey Hatfield: Yeah. I have a website <a href="http://voteforhatfield.com">voteforhatfield.com</a>. You can go there and you can find out all about me. You can also email me <a href="mailto:Hatfieldforcommissioner@gmail.com">Hatfieldforcommissioner@gmail.com</a>. I'm happy to answer any emails as well, and I live in Hyde Park. I have, I'm right across from the Hyde Park here or that little, you know, the grassy Hyde Park. So come over and say hi, if you want to, we've got all our scary Halloween decorations out right now.Below is the audio interview.<div><iframe title="Lindsey Hatfield" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);height:150px;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=shi38-17184ac-pb&from=pb6admin&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=60a0c8&font-color=&logo_link=episode_page&btn-skin=ff6d00" loading="lazy"></iframe></div>

🎧 Transcript: Lindsey Hatfield, County Commission 4

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/11/1701263164849.png" alt="Early Morning Sports with Rob Dreher" />
 <figcaption>Early Morning Sports with Rob Dreher</figcaption>
 </figure><div><iframe title="Early Morning Sports for Oct. 22, 2024" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);height:150px;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=z4mu3-1716478-pb&from=pb6admin&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=60a0c8&font-color=&logo_link=episode_page&btn-skin=ff6d00" loading="lazy"></iframe></div>

🎧 LISTEN: Latest HutchCC in the national rankings, Blue Dragon 🏐 goes 3-0

EAGLE Media's Rob Dreher visits with HutchCC head football coach Drew Dallas for the sixth edition of "Dragon Talk" of the 2024 football season. Dreher will visit with Dallas every Monday, with episodes airing on Monday at 6 p.m. throughout the football season on KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5).&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1693268716902.png" alt="Dragon Talk with Drew Dallas logo" />
 <figcaption>Dragon Talk with Drew Dallas logo</figcaption>
 </figure>EAGLE Media's Rob Dreher visits with HutchCC head football coach Drew Dallas for the sixth edition of "Dragon Talk" of the 2024 football season. Dreher will visit with Dallas every Monday, with episodes airing on Monday at 6 p.m. throughout the football season on KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5).&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<div><iframe title="Dragon Talk with Drew Dallas (Oct. 21, 2024)" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);height:150px;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=a4fzj-1714e42-pb&from=pb6admin&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=60a0c8&font-color=&logo_link=episode_page&btn-skin=ff6d00" loading="lazy"></iframe></div>

🎧 LISTEN: Dragon Talk with Drew Dallas

🎧 LISTEN: Hispanic Health Fair

🎧 LISTEN: Youth of the Year contestants

🎧 LISTEN: October 21, 2024 News

🎧 LISTEN: October 21, 2024 Morning Sports

COFFEYVILLE, Kan. — Voice of the Blue Dragons, Sean Boston, visited with sophomore linebacker, Kedrick Walker, for Episode 7 of the "Under the Helmet" segment, which aired earlier today on KHUT-FM and KWBW-AM/FM.

"Under the Helmet" is a weekly interview that airs during halftime of the HutchCC football game. The segment gives the fans a chance to learn more about each player both on and off the field.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725460457761.png" alt="Under the Helmet" />
 <figcaption>Under the Helmet</figcaption>
 </figure>COFFEYVILLE, Kan. — Voice of the Blue Dragons, Sean Boston, visited with sophomore linebacker, Kedrick Walker, for Episode 7 of the "Under the Helmet" segment, which aired earlier today on KHUT-FM and KWBW-AM/FM.<div><iframe title="HutchCC &quot;Under the Helmet&quot; - 10/19/24 - Kedrick Walker" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);height:150px;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=zirev-170e059-pb&from=pb6admin&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=60a0c8&font-color=auto&logo_link=episode_page&btn-skin=ff6d00" loading="lazy"></iframe></div>"Under the Helmet" is a weekly interview that airs during halftime of the HutchCC football game. The segment gives the fans a chance to learn more about each player both on and off the field.&nbsp;&nbsp;

🎧 LISTEN: "Under the Helmet" with HutchCC LB Kedrick Walker

COFFEYVILLE, Kan. — No. 1 Hutchinson (6-0, 2-0) returns to Montgomery County for the second time in as many weeks.

<a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/00be49d3-6cea-4894-842a-095cc7d89e91">Hutchinson defeated Independence last Saturday 48-7</a> and prepares for No. 12 Coffeyville (4-2, 1-1) today.

Dragon running back Waymond Jordan Jr. (pictured above) is coming off his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season. Jordan Jr. is averaging 124 yards per game on the ground and will face a stout Red Raven rushing defense that has only surrendered one 100-yard rusher this season.

Join Sean Boston, Daren Dunn and Steve Carpenter as they prepare you for the 1 p.m. kickoff from Veterans Memorial Stadium.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728769390111.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>COFFEYVILLE, Kan. — No. 1 Hutchinson (6-0, 2-0) returns to Montgomery County for the second time in as many weeks.<a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/00be49d3-6cea-4894-842a-095cc7d89e91">Hutchinson defeated Independence last Saturday 48-7</a> and prepares for No. 12 Coffeyville (4-2, 1-1) today.Dragon running back Waymond Jordan Jr. (pictured above) is coming off his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season. Jordan Jr. is averaging 124 yards per game on the ground and will face a stout Red Raven rushing defense that has only surrendered one 100-yard rusher this season.Join Sean Boston, Daren Dunn and Steve Carpenter as they prepare you for the 1 p.m. kickoff from Veterans Memorial Stadium.<div><iframe title="CTK SEG 1 at Coffeyville" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);height:150px;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=waa52-170fcce-pb&from=pb6admin&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=60a0c8&font-color=auto&logo_link=episode_page&btn-skin=ff6d00" loading="lazy"></iframe></div><div><iframe title="CTK SEG 2 at Coffeyville" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);height:150px;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=bu597-170fcde-pb&from=pb6admin&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=60a0c8&font-color=auto&logo_link=episode_page&btn-skin=ff6d00" loading="lazy"></iframe></div><div><iframe title="CTK SEG 3 at Coffeyville" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);height:150px;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=u7w8h-170fd13-pb&from=pb6admin&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=60a0c8&font-color=auto&logo_link=episode_page&btn-skin=ff6d00" loading="lazy"></iframe></div>

🏈🎧 LISTEN: Countdown To Kickoff at No. 12 Coffeyville

🎧 LISTEN: Lynnette Krieger-Zook-House 104

🎧 LISTEN: Paul Waggoner-House 104

Country 102.9's&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/patjames/">Pat James</a>&nbsp;brings you some ideas on events to attend this weekend around the Hutchinson area. Click the play button to listen.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

<a target="_blank" href="https://hutchpost.com/category/podcasts">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to listen to more Hutch Post podcasts on demand! <a target="_blank" href="https://hutchpost.com/pages/community-calendar">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to submit an event for this podcast or to see area events listed on the Visit Hutch Event Calendar.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1701449832848.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Country 102.9's&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/patjames/">Pat James</a>&nbsp;brings you some ideas on events to attend this weekend around the Hutchinson area. Click the play button to listen.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<div><iframe title="🎧 LISTEN: 'Happening Around Hutch' this weekend (Aug. 19-20)" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);height:150px;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=qks3e-170fb8e-pb&from=pb6admin&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=60a0c8&font-color=auto&logo_link=episode_page&btn-skin=ff6d00" loading="lazy"></iframe
</div><a target="_blank" href="https://hutchpost.com/category/podcasts">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to listen to more Hutch Post podcasts on demand! <a target="_blank" href="https://hutchpost.com/pages/community-calendar">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to submit an event for this podcast or to see area events listed on the Visit Hutch Event Calendar.&nbsp;&nbsp;

🎧 LISTEN: 'Happening Around Hutch' this weekend

Nick Gosnell: In studio with us this morning is incumbent in the House 104th District Republican Paul Waggoner. Good morning, Paul.

Paul Waggoner: Good morning, Nick.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;All right, so let's talk a little bit about just what you've been able to do since you've been in Topeka. It's four years now or six for you now?

Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;No, I've had three terms, so it's six years.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;&nbsp;Okay, so what do you feel like have been the greatest accomplishments for you in the six years in?

Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;Well, you know, being up in the legislature, part of what you're doing is responding to constituent concerns. You know, in my opening year, I had a project with a constituent whose KPERS was being harmed by the rules that we currently had. You know, we had a bill to go forward to solve that situation, which actually was not only affecting her, but a number of other people. You know, I had a tax bill that was to provide a sales tax exemption for like pregnancy care centers, much like we have at Open Door, which eventually did pass in this most recent situation, our recent session, you know, and had also a bill on on indexing taxes to inflation, at least as far as the as far as what the exemptions are. And that has gotten some traction. I don't think we made it in the final round, but but it definitely brought brought the topic up to fore. And, you know, and even Nick, I would also say in the last number of years having to jump in with folks on the state fair racetrack issues that it was very, very close to being demolished. I had some citizens reach out to me went to one of the meetings and saw that this was an issue that really needed addressing, because it's not only problems people have with the government itself, but also with governmental agencies. And again, it was very successful grassroots effort. I'm totally amazed by what they were able to pull off.&nbsp; William Nusser and the whole group really turned what was an incredibly impossible situation into a victory.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;Yeah, I said this to Rob at the time, I thought that I thought it was a long shot at the time that we we saw each other at that first meeting. I'll be honest with you, Paul.&nbsp; But candidly, it went from I think it's about a 10% chance they get anything done to now they've gone through a whole season and they are hammering out the final details of a contract. We didn't do a story because they haven't finished it yet. But at the last fair board meeting on October 15th, there were still some I's to dot and T's to cross to get a contract for 2025.&nbsp; But it definitely seems like that's going to happen. And so not only was this trial year successful, but it looks like they want to go forward with it, which, again, I think you and I would both say was it was something that really the people involved were the ones that that helped to push it. But at the same time, you have to have that pressure on the Topeka side, too, because so much of what the fair does, not the year to year stuff, because you talked a little bit about that at the candidate forum, but the long term projects the legislature has a heavy hand in.

Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;Indeed, indeed. I mean, it makes a difference what your local legislator does. And I wanted to step up and use my contacts, people I know to to make this happen.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;And it did. All right. So having said that now next is what will you do if you're able to be reelected? What's the what are the goals for the next two years for you?

Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;Well, the goals for the next few years, one is getting the budget under control because the state of Kansas spending is on just a terrible trajectory. We have had some, you know, real buy in, I think, from leadership here in the last six months where we're looking at a legislative committee to bring the legislator with legislature with bigger input into it than rather it just all coming from the governor. I think some of the taxing on the on the tax rates on indexing for inflation is one thing. Also, there was a bill we also passed in 2022, which is the K-40 SVR is a form. But where people who are retired, if your income is under $53,000 and your house value is under $350,000, the state of Kansas will actually rebate you any increase that you get in your property taxes. And and for a lot of middle income folks and and such, that's a huge benefit because property taxes are a problem, particularly when you're on a fixed income.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;OK, I don't think I knew about that form, Paul.&nbsp; Now I'm not close to retirement yet, but but that's very interesting for the for the older folks in particular. And I know also I'm trying to remember this was part of the larger tax bill to get in the final bill, the the Social Security income exemption piece.

Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;Yeah, no, no.&nbsp; The Social Security part totally went through. There was an expansion of this of this K-40 SVR form that that was going to raise the limits that got vetoed by Governor Kelly. And we didn't quite have the votes to override the veto.&nbsp; But that's something we'll look at again next year.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;Just full disclosure, because I live in Inman, I am Paul's constituent right now. So so I get I get my text responded to a little quicker than some reporters do, I guess is how I'll put it.

Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;Actually, I didn't I didn't know you lived in my district. Oh, you OK, well, learn something new anyway.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;So that said, Paul, when you've knocked on doors because I've seen your palm card, we weren't didn't happen to be home. What have people said in the district?

Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;Well, you know, folks, going door to door is very important to getting the pulse of the district. You know, there are things about the economy, you know, taxes, especially property taxes. You know, I get a lot of thank you's about on the racetrack issue, you know, but mostly, you know, I get a lot of kind of, you know, doing a good job and keep it up.&nbsp; You know, I've been on the ballot twice, reelected twice. You know, I've had opponents who outspent me by over 50 percent. And yet yet I win my district by over 20 percentage points. And I just it just boggles my mind that when you have folks in comparison on the south side of the of the town where, you know, they outspend their opponents by 15 to one and barely win by one percentage point. I just honestly think that people need to be listening to what people say at the doors, but also what they say at the ballot box. And I'm just very, very glad to be going door to door. And I do get a lot of good feedback.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;So here my my thing with you, though, is that if you really want to know what happened, follow him on Facebook. You go and you you drill you drill down into the reasons why you voted the way you voted, not just what you voted, which is which is nice for folks to see.

Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;You know, I I think people appreciate the fact that I have, frankly, a reputation up in Topeka, whether you agree or disagree with me. You know, the Wagner, you know, goes after he researches. He tries to get some facts and bring things to the fore. You know, we had a bill that we killed on the floor that was an insurance bill that was just just poorly written. It was actually backed by leadership. But but the more you looked at it, the worse, the worse it was.&nbsp; And, you know, people responded and voted it out.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;All right. It is just really interesting to to hear how things happen in Topeka. But your committee assignments, that's something you've been on the same committees here for a little while, I think one different new one this time around.

Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;Yeah, I had been on insurance originally and then they put me back on it here this last time, which is which is a good committee for me because I'm a business person. You know, we have a manufacturing business out by Yoder, you know, a lot of experience there.&nbsp; I am vice chairman of elections. Elections, again, it is truly important as far as election integrity, having rules that make sense. I'm on the welfare reform committee, which, you know, you know, it's interesting how welfare reform, which was a very nonpartisan issue in the 1990s, has become kind of partisan because we've we try we had a bill that actually had some work requirements on people from age 50 to 59, which is already on.&nbsp; And and we really were fought even locally by the Democrats. But up in Topeka as well, as far as that, they just did not think that was a good idea. And ultimately, we did not or no, we did get that passed over the governor's veto.&nbsp; Probably going forward, I'll probably be put on a budget committee again. I had been on one earlier, vice chairman, just simply because I am good with numbers and I'm a business person. So, you know, budgets are something I'm very familiar with.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;&nbsp;Is there any chance at all you could end up on an appropriate on the appropriations committee, given your budget experience?

Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;Well, if you're a chairman of one of the budget committees, you are on appropriations. And so you really get into it quite a lot then. And so we'll see what happens.&nbsp; But I do know it's a very serious effort on the part of the GOP majority, at least to get the budget under control this next session.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;And when we talked, I talked a little bit with Kyler Sweely, the Republican running for the hundred and second yesterday about this. But I want to give you a chance to talk about it because you alluded to it that Governor Kelly. And right now, the budget starts with the governor's budget and then gets edited from there. And there's at least a push to have it start from the legislative level and go up, go up from there through the legislative process. And I'm guessing that's something you support.

Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;No, I really do. I was vice chairman of general government budget, my second term. And it was really super frustrating because you have these different agencies and these were smaller agencies with one to five million dollar budgets.&nbsp; But you have like three of them making their presentation in the course of an hour and a half and then you vote the next day on their process. And just it's just not it's more of a rubber stamping of a budget than it is actually dealing with the nuts and bolts of what really goes into, you know, these agency budgets. And so that's that's the way that it's been done, though.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;Like I said during my interview with Kyler, and if you want to go back and read the transcript, you can. But that's the way it's been done. It was done that way under Brownback and Colyer too.&nbsp; It's been done that way regardless of party for a while. But yeah, but but the question is, is that still the right way to run a railroad? Because the legislator legislature is the appropriators.

Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;Yeah, well, I think I mean, the legislature, too many people at the end of the session, they just vote for the budget.&nbsp; They don't really read it. They don't understand it. They just vote it because they just want to get out of there and go home.&nbsp; And and I really I don't think that's that's that's the way to run a railroad.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;Fair enough. OK, Paul, how can people find out more about your campaign? Sure.&nbsp;

Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;We have Representative Paul Waggoner on Facebook. Our website is <a href="https://www.waggonerforkansas.org/">waggonerforkansas.org</a>, where I will mention I do actually list all of my votes since I've been up there in Topeka, which is something that is not done by other representatives in this area. I don't cherry pick votes, but but I do have the entire thing.&nbsp; You can click on it, plus my positions on a number of issues, because I think transparency with the voters is very important, that you want them to understand how you think and your basic take on the issues and not just again, not just cherry pick a few votes and try and present a certain face. So, again, it's been good. It's been good to serve the district and looking forward to doing it again next session.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1693410500058.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Nick Gosnell: In studio with us this morning is incumbent in the House 104th District Republican Paul Waggoner. Good morning, Paul. Paul Waggoner: Good morning, Nick. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;All right, so let's talk a little bit about just what you've been able to do since you've been in Topeka. It's four years now or six for you now? Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;No, I've had three terms, so it's six years. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;&nbsp;Okay, so what do you feel like have been the greatest accomplishments for you in the six years in? Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;Well, you know, being up in the legislature, part of what you're doing is responding to constituent concerns. You know, in my opening year, I had a project with a constituent whose KPERS was being harmed by the rules that we currently had. You know, we had a bill to go forward to solve that situation, which actually was not only affecting her, but a number of other people. You know, I had a tax bill that was to provide a sales tax exemption for like pregnancy care centers, much like we have at Open Door, which eventually did pass in this most recent situation, our recent session, you know, and had also a bill on on indexing taxes to inflation, at least as far as the as far as what the exemptions are. And that has gotten some traction. I don't think we made it in the final round, but but it definitely brought brought the topic up to fore. And, you know, and even Nick, I would also say in the last number of years having to jump in with folks on the state fair racetrack issues that it was very, very close to being demolished. I had some citizens reach out to me went to one of the meetings and saw that this was an issue that really needed addressing, because it's not only problems people have with the government itself, but also with governmental agencies. And again, it was very successful grassroots effort. I'm totally amazed by what they were able to pull off.&nbsp; William Nusser and the whole group really turned what was an incredibly impossible situation into a victory. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;Yeah, I said this to Rob at the time, I thought that I thought it was a long shot at the time that we we saw each other at that first meeting. I'll be honest with you, Paul.&nbsp; But candidly, it went from I think it's about a 10% chance they get anything done to now they've gone through a whole season and they are hammering out the final details of a contract. We didn't do a story because they haven't finished it yet. But at the last fair board meeting on October 15th, there were still some I's to dot and T's to cross to get a contract for 2025.&nbsp; But it definitely seems like that's going to happen. And so not only was this trial year successful, but it looks like they want to go forward with it, which, again, I think you and I would both say was it was something that really the people involved were the ones that that helped to push it. But at the same time, you have to have that pressure on the Topeka side, too, because so much of what the fair does, not the year to year stuff, because you talked a little bit about that at the candidate forum, but the long term projects the legislature has a heavy hand in. Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;Indeed, indeed. I mean, it makes a difference what your local legislator does. And I wanted to step up and use my contacts, people I know to to make this happen. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;And it did. All right. So having said that now next is what will you do if you're able to be reelected? What's the what are the goals for the next two years for you? Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;Well, the goals for the next few years, one is getting the budget under control because the state of Kansas spending is on just a terrible trajectory. We have had some, you know, real buy in, I think, from leadership here in the last six months where we're looking at a legislative committee to bring the legislator with legislature with bigger input into it than rather it just all coming from the governor. I think some of the taxing on the on the tax rates on indexing for inflation is one thing. Also, there was a bill we also passed in 2022, which is the K-40 SVR is a form. But where people who are retired, if your income is under $53,000 and your house value is under $350,000, the state of Kansas will actually rebate you any increase that you get in your property taxes. And and for a lot of middle income folks and and such, that's a huge benefit because property taxes are a problem, particularly when you're on a fixed income. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;OK, I don't think I knew about that form, Paul.&nbsp; Now I'm not close to retirement yet, but but that's very interesting for the for the older folks in particular. And I know also I'm trying to remember this was part of the larger tax bill to get in the final bill, the the Social Security income exemption piece. Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;Yeah, no, no.&nbsp; The Social Security part totally went through. There was an expansion of this of this K-40 SVR form that that was going to raise the limits that got vetoed by Governor Kelly. And we didn't quite have the votes to override the veto.&nbsp; But that's something we'll look at again next year. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;Just full disclosure, because I live in Inman, I am Paul's constituent right now. So so I get I get my text responded to a little quicker than some reporters do, I guess is how I'll put it. Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;Actually, I didn't I didn't know you lived in my district. Oh, you OK, well, learn something new anyway. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;So that said, Paul, when you've knocked on doors because I've seen your palm card, we weren't didn't happen to be home. What have people said in the district? Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;Well, you know, folks, going door to door is very important to getting the pulse of the district. You know, there are things about the economy, you know, taxes, especially property taxes. You know, I get a lot of thank you's about on the racetrack issue, you know, but mostly, you know, I get a lot of kind of, you know, doing a good job and keep it up.&nbsp; You know, I've been on the ballot twice, reelected twice. You know, I've had opponents who outspent me by over 50 percent. And yet yet I win my district by over 20 percentage points. And I just it just boggles my mind that when you have folks in comparison on the south side of the of the town where, you know, they outspend their opponents by 15 to one and barely win by one percentage point. I just honestly think that people need to be listening to what people say at the doors, but also what they say at the ballot box. And I'm just very, very glad to be going door to door. And I do get a lot of good feedback. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;So here my my thing with you, though, is that if you really want to know what happened, follow him on Facebook. You go and you you drill you drill down into the reasons why you voted the way you voted, not just what you voted, which is which is nice for folks to see. Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;You know, I I think people appreciate the fact that I have, frankly, a reputation up in Topeka, whether you agree or disagree with me. You know, the Wagner, you know, goes after he researches. He tries to get some facts and bring things to the fore. You know, we had a bill that we killed on the floor that was an insurance bill that was just just poorly written. It was actually backed by leadership. But but the more you looked at it, the worse, the worse it was.&nbsp; And, you know, people responded and voted it out. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;All right. It is just really interesting to to hear how things happen in Topeka. But your committee assignments, that's something you've been on the same committees here for a little while, I think one different new one this time around. Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;Yeah, I had been on insurance originally and then they put me back on it here this last time, which is which is a good committee for me because I'm a business person. You know, we have a manufacturing business out by Yoder, you know, a lot of experience there.&nbsp; I am vice chairman of elections. Elections, again, it is truly important as far as election integrity, having rules that make sense. I'm on the welfare reform committee, which, you know, you know, it's interesting how welfare reform, which was a very nonpartisan issue in the 1990s, has become kind of partisan because we've we try we had a bill that actually had some work requirements on people from age 50 to 59, which is already on.&nbsp; And and we really were fought even locally by the Democrats. But up in Topeka as well, as far as that, they just did not think that was a good idea. And ultimately, we did not or no, we did get that passed over the governor's veto.&nbsp; Probably going forward, I'll probably be put on a budget committee again. I had been on one earlier, vice chairman, just simply because I am good with numbers and I'm a business person. So, you know, budgets are something I'm very familiar with. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;&nbsp;Is there any chance at all you could end up on an appropriate on the appropriations committee, given your budget experience? Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;Well, if you're a chairman of one of the budget committees, you are on appropriations. And so you really get into it quite a lot then. And so we'll see what happens.&nbsp; But I do know it's a very serious effort on the part of the GOP majority, at least to get the budget under control this next session. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;And when we talked, I talked a little bit with Kyler Sweely, the Republican running for the hundred and second yesterday about this. But I want to give you a chance to talk about it because you alluded to it that Governor Kelly. And right now, the budget starts with the governor's budget and then gets edited from there. And there's at least a push to have it start from the legislative level and go up, go up from there through the legislative process. And I'm guessing that's something you support. Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;No, I really do. I was vice chairman of general government budget, my second term. And it was really super frustrating because you have these different agencies and these were smaller agencies with one to five million dollar budgets.&nbsp; But you have like three of them making their presentation in the course of an hour and a half and then you vote the next day on their process. And just it's just not it's more of a rubber stamping of a budget than it is actually dealing with the nuts and bolts of what really goes into, you know, these agency budgets. And so that's that's the way that it's been done, though. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;Like I said during my interview with Kyler, and if you want to go back and read the transcript, you can. But that's the way it's been done. It was done that way under Brownback and Colyer too.&nbsp; It's been done that way regardless of party for a while. But yeah, but but the question is, is that still the right way to run a railroad? Because the legislator legislature is the appropriators. Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;Yeah, well, I think I mean, the legislature, too many people at the end of the session, they just vote for the budget.&nbsp; They don't really read it. They don't understand it. They just vote it because they just want to get out of there and go home.&nbsp; And and I really I don't think that's that's that's the way to run a railroad. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;Fair enough. OK, Paul, how can people find out more about your campaign? Sure.&nbsp; Paul Waggoner:&nbsp;We have Representative Paul Waggoner on Facebook. Our website is <a href="https://www.waggonerforkansas.org/">waggonerforkansas.org</a>, where I will mention I do actually list all of my votes since I've been up there in Topeka, which is something that is not done by other representatives in this area. I don't cherry pick votes, but but I do have the entire thing.&nbsp; You can click on it, plus my positions on a number of issues, because I think transparency with the voters is very important, that you want them to understand how you think and your basic take on the issues and not just again, not just cherry pick a few votes and try and present a certain face. So, again, it's been good. It's been good to serve the district and looking forward to doing it again next session.Below is the audio interview.<div><iframe title="Paul Waggoner-House 104" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);height:150px;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=97zhi-1710b8b-pb&from=pb6admin&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=60a0c8&font-color=auto&logo_link=episode_page&btn-skin=ff6d00" loading="lazy"></iframe></div>

Transcript: Paul Waggoner

Nick Gosnell: In studio with us this morning is Lynnette Krieger-Zook. She is running for House District 104, which includes Buhler, Inman, and the northeastern part of Hutchinson as a Democrat. And Lynnette, good morning.

Lynnette Krieger-Zook: Good morning, Nick.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;All right. Well, let's talk, first of all, your background, because I think people need to know just where you come from when you start to make decisions.&nbsp; And that really comes from the classroom, doesn't it?

Lynnette Krieger-Zook:&nbsp;It does. I am a retired special ed teacher. I moved here 31 years ago to teach early ed center, which was known across the state as a premier early childhood special ed school setting, and it continues to be that. And then I moved on to Hutch Public Schools, where I did kindergarten special ed, Head Start special ed. And then my final year, I actually taught online kindergarten. In addition, for the past five years, I've been the Hutchinson NEA president, which is the Teacher Educators Union. And I have worked really hard in that leadership role to build relationships and respect with both the board and administration. And I would say that has become very fruitful in that collaboration work. Negotiations can be somewhat tense. We all want the same thing, which is the best public school education for our children. We just come at it from different angles. And the result was we were able to compromise, give the teachers a $4,000 raise. And in response to that, the board then raised the classified staff by a dollar, which was a win-win in this economy.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;Exactly for that. Now, 308, the key to that, in my opinion, Lynette, is that it got done before school got started.&nbsp; That hardly ever happens. And that means that those relationships have been built. Because otherwise, it can take and did actually in the first year, I can't remember if it was the first year of Dr. Johnson being in the district or if it was the first year of Dr. Johnson being superintendent, it took until October or November to get that accomplished. But once you have those basic relationships built, that's a big point in that. Now, you'll forgive me, but I'm a special ed dad. My middle son is autistic and goes to the program at McPherson because I live in Inman.&nbsp; And so I've got to ask you about education leading off. Just what do you think that the legislature has done well with education? And what do you think the legislature has done poorly with education?

Lynnette Krieger-Zook:&nbsp;Well, I think the poorest of the legislation was under Brownback where the funds kept getting cut and cut and we had frozen salaries. So Hutchinson and Reno County have teachers that have taught for years and have worked through all of these different legislatures.&nbsp; What happens in public schools is controlled often by the legislature. What has worked well is the legislature stepping up to the court order and working at fully funding public education. That is important.&nbsp; And it should be noted that two years ago, special ed funding, because that is important to you, Nick, and many of our listeners, special ed funding is a federal requirement. The federal government does not meet its standards. And so I continue to advocate for the federal government to carry their share of their mandated portion also.&nbsp; But Reno County Education Co-op covers all of rural Kansas, Reno County, and Hutch public schools. And a total of $7 million was removed from general fund from those two entities collectively into special ed in order to meet the needs of our students. The other thing I think I would speak to about special ed is the accountability of teachers.&nbsp; As you know, because you've probably sat through many IEP meetings with your son, as a special ed teacher, together we set goals, that's called collaboration. We work together with the family, therapists, everyone on the team. If those goals are not being met every nine to 12 weeks, we have to sit down, write a report to parents.&nbsp; And if they're not being met, we have to come back together and figure out a way, how can we best meet that student's needs so that they can succeed at any level.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;And that's an important point. And we've talked about it before with some of the school superintendents. And I'm gonna follow up because the special education, basically there's two pieces to special ed funding. One is the federal funds through a bill called IDEA. They're supposed to fund 40%.&nbsp; They were in the teens last I knew, I haven't looked lately. And the state then is supposed to fund 92% of excess cost. And there was an argument in the legislature, at least this last session, I wanna say maybe even this last two sessions, that the formula they were using to find that number was wrong. And that the state was really doing what they're supposed to do, but the math was wrong on it. And I don't know whether I believe that or not, Lynette, but that was the policy discussion in Topeka.

Lynnette Krieger-Zook:&nbsp;I would agree. And I clearly wanna state that that is my why for running. My opponent was one of two that voted no to fully fund public education. And as a constituent, I have written him and asked him to help me understand why he voted no. And that's never been answered by him.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;We were talking about education, Lynette, obviously, because that's where your career has been spent. But a companion to that is what happens to those kids after they become adults. And part of the issue with that is things like waiver services, which for those that aren't familiar, that don't have somebody that deals with this every time, they basically are state funding to help try to level the playing field for those that may have not been able to go into the workforce normally or so on because of their disabilities. And there is a long wait list still for waivers across the state, regardless of which type it is. And that seems to me to be something that the state could do from a funding perspective, at least right now.

Lynnette Krieger-Zook:&nbsp;Absolutely. We are now tailing parents with children with disabilities in kindergarten, five years age, to go ahead and put their name on the wait list, because we know it takes 12 to 13 years. I have families that their children are in their 20s and 30s before they get it.&nbsp; On the positive side, ClayWorks is a great example. My former students, actually, I buy their clay projects from it. It's such a delight. TECH was actually started by my husband's aunt initially as a mom with a child with Down syndrome in the 50s when these children were just told to be put away in institution. And that's how TECH started. We have disabilities organizations and they need the state funding.&nbsp; We need to take care of, as a civil society, the most vulnerable of our population.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;Now, there are lots of different areas where there are differences of opinion on things regarding specific issues at the state level. But the biggest difference I saw in the legislative forum that took place earlier this week, between those that are running as Republicans and those that are running as Democrats for office, seemed to be their position on Medicaid expansion. What's yours?

Lynnette Krieger-Zook:&nbsp;I absolutely support Medicaid expansion. I've been doing this since 2017, going to Topeka to speak about it. Let me just share that a lot of, often it is heard that they are not working people.&nbsp; My son is a server. Many of you listening have probably been served by him at Roma's or at Airport Steakhouse, making $2.15 an hour, working part-time jobs, trying to live on tips. The issue is that because we don't have Medicaid expansion, they don't qualify for the lower Affordable Care Act insurance.&nbsp; In fact, when we've applied for the last several years, it has been $500 a month and a $10,000 deductible because we have not expanded Medicaid. We do need valuing life, recognizes that healthcare access is actually a life and death issue. I value life and I support Medicaid expansion.&nbsp; It has cost Kansans $7 billion that we have taken in federal taxes and given to East and West Coast states that have Medicaid expansion. It's time to bring those federal dollars to our people.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;So for you, what are the other issues? We talked education a lot.&nbsp; We talked about Medicaid expansion. What are some of the other issues that you say, if I get to Topeka, this is what I'm going to work on.

Lynnette Krieger-Zook:&nbsp;Absolutely.&nbsp; And that's why I've been walking. I'm now over 5,000 houses that I've knocked on. I've gotten to multiple events in Inman, Buhler, Hutchinson, which includes city council meetings, school board meetings, community events.&nbsp; Last night I was at Empty Bowls and then I wandered through Third Thursday and you just listen to people both at the door and on the street. And because of that, tax reform has certainly come up. I'm listening to seniors that have moved out of their home, are living in less expensive rentals because they can't afford the property taxes. I know that in Topeka, there's a lot of gridlock. And what we need is to be able to work across the aisle for our communities. Only when you have conversations across the aisle, can you begin to have compromise and work on these budget bills.&nbsp; And that's what I've done in my leadership within USD 308 and in my community involvement in various organizations.

Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;Well, and the partisan split of the legislature this last time around was somewhere around, I want to say it was 84 to 85 Republicans to 40 Democrats. I might be one off.&nbsp; And the key number there is 84. 84 votes are needed to overturn a governor's veto. And so in order for there to be meaningful work across the aisle, that number needs to be something where you don't have one party can just get everybody on their side to agree and override vetoes.&nbsp; Because then if you have to get some votes from the other side, then you have to at least listen to what they have to say.

Lynnette Krieger-Zook:&nbsp;We do have to listen to each other. And I think that's what a representative truly does. They represent their community. They go to Topeka and we work through together for what best serves our community and the state of Kansas. When you have a super majority, and you're just battling what you have is food sales tax that took years to come down to zero or just getting there in January.&nbsp; That's ridiculous. Our people are hurting with food costs and not having food sales tax for the last three years would have put dollars back in the pocket of people in Reno County and McPherson County and across Kansas.

Again, we've been talking to Lynette Krieger-Zook.&nbsp; Lynette, how can people find out more about your campaign? We've been actively engaged in social media, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. You can go to my website,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lynnetteforkansas.com/">https://www.lynnetteforkansas.com/</a>. Any of those places, you can message me, you can send me an email noted on my website, or you can call me, which is on my literature as I've gone door to door also on my website.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1693410500058.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Nick Gosnell: In studio with us this morning is Lynnette Krieger-Zook. She is running for House District 104, which includes Buhler, Inman, and the northeastern part of Hutchinson as a Democrat. And Lynnette, good morning. Lynnette Krieger-Zook: Good morning, Nick. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;All right. Well, let's talk, first of all, your background, because I think people need to know just where you come from when you start to make decisions.&nbsp; And that really comes from the classroom, doesn't it? Lynnette Krieger-Zook:&nbsp;It does. I am a retired special ed teacher. I moved here 31 years ago to teach early ed center, which was known across the state as a premier early childhood special ed school setting, and it continues to be that. And then I moved on to Hutch Public Schools, where I did kindergarten special ed, Head Start special ed. And then my final year, I actually taught online kindergarten. In addition, for the past five years, I've been the Hutchinson NEA president, which is the Teacher Educators Union. And I have worked really hard in that leadership role to build relationships and respect with both the board and administration. And I would say that has become very fruitful in that collaboration work. Negotiations can be somewhat tense. We all want the same thing, which is the best public school education for our children. We just come at it from different angles. And the result was we were able to compromise, give the teachers a $4,000 raise. And in response to that, the board then raised the classified staff by a dollar, which was a win-win in this economy. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;Exactly for that. Now, 308, the key to that, in my opinion, Lynette, is that it got done before school got started.&nbsp; That hardly ever happens. And that means that those relationships have been built. Because otherwise, it can take and did actually in the first year, I can't remember if it was the first year of Dr. Johnson being in the district or if it was the first year of Dr. Johnson being superintendent, it took until October or November to get that accomplished. But once you have those basic relationships built, that's a big point in that. Now, you'll forgive me, but I'm a special ed dad. My middle son is autistic and goes to the program at McPherson because I live in Inman.&nbsp; And so I've got to ask you about education leading off. Just what do you think that the legislature has done well with education? And what do you think the legislature has done poorly with education? Lynnette Krieger-Zook:&nbsp;Well, I think the poorest of the legislation was under Brownback where the funds kept getting cut and cut and we had frozen salaries. So Hutchinson and Reno County have teachers that have taught for years and have worked through all of these different legislatures.&nbsp; What happens in public schools is controlled often by the legislature. What has worked well is the legislature stepping up to the court order and working at fully funding public education. That is important.&nbsp; And it should be noted that two years ago, special ed funding, because that is important to you, Nick, and many of our listeners, special ed funding is a federal requirement. The federal government does not meet its standards. And so I continue to advocate for the federal government to carry their share of their mandated portion also.&nbsp; But Reno County Education Co-op covers all of rural Kansas, Reno County, and Hutch public schools. And a total of $7 million was removed from general fund from those two entities collectively into special ed in order to meet the needs of our students. The other thing I think I would speak to about special ed is the accountability of teachers.&nbsp; As you know, because you've probably sat through many IEP meetings with your son, as a special ed teacher, together we set goals, that's called collaboration. We work together with the family, therapists, everyone on the team. If those goals are not being met every nine to 12 weeks, we have to sit down, write a report to parents.&nbsp; And if they're not being met, we have to come back together and figure out a way, how can we best meet that student's needs so that they can succeed at any level. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;And that's an important point. And we've talked about it before with some of the school superintendents. And I'm gonna follow up because the special education, basically there's two pieces to special ed funding. One is the federal funds through a bill called IDEA. They're supposed to fund 40%.&nbsp; They were in the teens last I knew, I haven't looked lately. And the state then is supposed to fund 92% of excess cost. And there was an argument in the legislature, at least this last session, I wanna say maybe even this last two sessions, that the formula they were using to find that number was wrong. And that the state was really doing what they're supposed to do, but the math was wrong on it. And I don't know whether I believe that or not, Lynette, but that was the policy discussion in Topeka. Lynnette Krieger-Zook:&nbsp;I would agree. And I clearly wanna state that that is my why for running. My opponent was one of two that voted no to fully fund public education. And as a constituent, I have written him and asked him to help me understand why he voted no. And that's never been answered by him. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;We were talking about education, Lynette, obviously, because that's where your career has been spent. But a companion to that is what happens to those kids after they become adults. And part of the issue with that is things like waiver services, which for those that aren't familiar, that don't have somebody that deals with this every time, they basically are state funding to help try to level the playing field for those that may have not been able to go into the workforce normally or so on because of their disabilities. And there is a long wait list still for waivers across the state, regardless of which type it is. And that seems to me to be something that the state could do from a funding perspective, at least right now.Lynnette Krieger-Zook:&nbsp;Absolutely. We are now tailing parents with children with disabilities in kindergarten, five years age, to go ahead and put their name on the wait list, because we know it takes 12 to 13 years. I have families that their children are in their 20s and 30s before they get it.&nbsp; On the positive side, ClayWorks is a great example. My former students, actually, I buy their clay projects from it. It's such a delight. TECH was actually started by my husband's aunt initially as a mom with a child with Down syndrome in the 50s when these children were just told to be put away in institution. And that's how TECH started. We have disabilities organizations and they need the state funding.&nbsp; We need to take care of, as a civil society, the most vulnerable of our population. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;Now, there are lots of different areas where there are differences of opinion on things regarding specific issues at the state level. But the biggest difference I saw in the legislative forum that took place earlier this week, between those that are running as Republicans and those that are running as Democrats for office, seemed to be their position on Medicaid expansion. What's yours? Lynnette Krieger-Zook:&nbsp;I absolutely support Medicaid expansion. I've been doing this since 2017, going to Topeka to speak about it. Let me just share that a lot of, often it is heard that they are not working people.&nbsp; My son is a server. Many of you listening have probably been served by him at Roma's or at Airport Steakhouse, making $2.15 an hour, working part-time jobs, trying to live on tips. The issue is that because we don't have Medicaid expansion, they don't qualify for the lower Affordable Care Act insurance.&nbsp; In fact, when we've applied for the last several years, it has been $500 a month and a $10,000 deductible because we have not expanded Medicaid. We do need valuing life, recognizes that healthcare access is actually a life and death issue. I value life and I support Medicaid expansion.&nbsp; It has cost Kansans $7 billion that we have taken in federal taxes and given to East and West Coast states that have Medicaid expansion. It's time to bring those federal dollars to our people. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;So for you, what are the other issues? We talked education a lot.&nbsp; We talked about Medicaid expansion. What are some of the other issues that you say, if I get to Topeka, this is what I'm going to work on. Lynnette Krieger-Zook:&nbsp;Absolutely.&nbsp; And that's why I've been walking. I'm now over 5,000 houses that I've knocked on. I've gotten to multiple events in Inman, Buhler, Hutchinson, which includes city council meetings, school board meetings, community events.&nbsp; Last night I was at Empty Bowls and then I wandered through Third Thursday and you just listen to people both at the door and on the street. And because of that, tax reform has certainly come up. I'm listening to seniors that have moved out of their home, are living in less expensive rentals because they can't afford the property taxes. I know that in Topeka, there's a lot of gridlock. And what we need is to be able to work across the aisle for our communities. Only when you have conversations across the aisle, can you begin to have compromise and work on these budget bills.&nbsp; And that's what I've done in my leadership within USD 308 and in my community involvement in various organizations. Nick Gosnell:&nbsp;Well, and the partisan split of the legislature this last time around was somewhere around, I want to say it was 84 to 85 Republicans to 40 Democrats. I might be one off.&nbsp; And the key number there is 84. 84 votes are needed to overturn a governor's veto. And so in order for there to be meaningful work across the aisle, that number needs to be something where you don't have one party can just get everybody on their side to agree and override vetoes.&nbsp; Because then if you have to get some votes from the other side, then you have to at least listen to what they have to say. Lynnette Krieger-Zook:&nbsp;We do have to listen to each other. And I think that's what a representative truly does. They represent their community. They go to Topeka and we work through together for what best serves our community and the state of Kansas. When you have a super majority, and you're just battling what you have is food sales tax that took years to come down to zero or just getting there in January.&nbsp; That's ridiculous. Our people are hurting with food costs and not having food sales tax for the last three years would have put dollars back in the pocket of people in Reno County and McPherson County and across Kansas. Again, we've been talking to Lynette Krieger-Zook.&nbsp; Lynette, how can people find out more about your campaign? We've been actively engaged in social media, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. You can go to my website,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lynnetteforkansas.com/">https://www.lynnetteforkansas.com/</a>. Any of those places, you can message me, you can send me an email noted on my website, or you can call me, which is on my literature as I've gone door to door also on my website.Below is the audio interview.<div><iframe title="Lynnette Krieger-Zook-House 104" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);height:150px;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=y9ggb-1710b8e-pb&from=pb6admin&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=60a0c8&font-color=auto&logo_link=episode_page&btn-skin=ff6d00" loading="lazy"></iframe></div>

Transcript: Lynnette Krieger-Zook

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