Topic: Good Old Boys' Club
The Skirts – Conversation with Audrey Langworthy and Sandy Praeger, October 18, 2019
Interviewed by Joan Wagnon
The participants in this short Statehouse Conversation, former Kansas State Senators Audrey Langworthy and Sandy Praeger, reflect on the changes in attitudes toward women senators during their service. Three new Republican women were elected to the Senate in 1984. Because they shared an office, they frequently arrived in the Senate chamber together, causing their male colleagues to remark, "Here come the Skirts!" Langworthy and Praeger had both taught school, served on the same committees, and had also been elected to their respective city councils prior to running for the Senate. By the mid-1990's the number of women had increased significantly Show Moreso the differences were not so stark as before. Show Less
Interview of Alicia Salisbury, October 23, 2020
Interviewed by Patty Clark
Former Senator Alicia Salisbury grew up in a political family--both father and grandfather served in the legislature--so her sixteen years of service as a Kansas Senator continued the family tradition. She also was a serious legislator who believed in community service as witnessed by the numerous boards and committees on which she served, both volunteer and elected. Salisbury's driving interests were improving the economy of Kansas and bringing growth in wealth to her community and state. Salisbury's 2020 oral history interview chronicles her work ethic. With her children no longer at home, she had the Show Moretime and the interest to dive into a wide assortment of issues, from workforce development, to interstate banking, to telecommunication reform, to a blue ribbon panel on workers compensation. Salisbury worked long hours and focused on constituent services. She boldly asked for the committees that interested her and championed changes where necessary. Salisbury succeeded in changing the Labor and Industry Committee into the Commerce Committee to handle everything from economic development strategies to workers compensation. She tackled tough issues with a sense of humor and the skills of collaboration learned as a volunteer leader. This interview describes her determination, her commitment, and her legacy to the state of Kansas as Vice President of the Senate. Show Less
Interview of Joe Hoagland, January 23, 2023
Interviewed by Richard Walker
Kansas government underwent a massive change in the 1970's. Governors Docking and Bennett began reorganizing state government and bringing together a lot of independent commissions and state agencies that were operating autonomously into a cabinet system under the direction of a Secretary, such as the departments of Revenue and Transportation. Joe Hoagland's interview expands the understanding of how Kansas government was modernized during that period and how new legislative leaders were developed and empowered to act. Hoagland was involved with several significant legislative issues: the 911 emergency phone system, the comparative negligence act, Show Moremandatory prison sentence for crimes committed with a firearm, banning the sale of handguns, small claims process. Hoagland, himself is an interesting person with many talents and wide-ranging interests. His business activities have been beneficial to Kansas, our country and the world. Sports lovers will like his description of being a professional baseball scout and the first one to discover Albert Pujols. His airline-related businesses took him abroad, living in Brussels, Belgium for over 20 years. He describes traveling around the world 15 times. He als describes his work to develop a new breed of cattle and establish the American Black Hereford Association. He developed a cellphone app to track the movement of cattle in the beef supply chain.
Highlight -- a short excerpt from the interview