Topic: Hospitality rooms

Interview of Patrick (Pat) Hubbell, April 9, 2025

Interviewed by Mike Lennen

Long-time lobbyist, Pat Hubbell described in this 2025 oral history interview, how lobbyists work, how they interact with legislators and other advocates, and the importance of this "at the rail" dynamic of the Kansas Legislature. Hubbell's chief clients were railroads but he had others. He worked in the 1970's with Kansas US Senators and Representatives in Washington. particularly while the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (4-R Act) was being worked in Congress. At that time, several railroad companies were going bankrupt, and many believed a loss would have been devastating to Show MoreKansas farmers. Railroads have historically played a key role in transporting Kansas agricultural products. During his interview Hubbell said that the railroads were advocating for fair taxation. They wanted to be treated as a competitor in the transportation sector rather than as a monopoly. “Railroads offer a list of opportunities for people locating businesses in Kansas to have rail service.” Hubbell described his philosophy on lobbying: “we try to find an answer that everybody can agree to. . . Just the fact that you have a lobbyist doesn’t mean you ought to be taking a bill every session to the legislature.”

Highlights -- short excerpts from the interview

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Photo of Dave Ranney, John Marshall, and Mike Shields

Interview of John Marshall, Mike Shields and Dave Ranney, July 30, 2025

Interviewed by Jim McLean

In this 2025 oral history interview, Jim McLean explored with John Marshall, Dave Ranney, and Mike Shields some of the issues they covered as Statehouse reporters and how news coverage has changed over the last fifty years. The three reporters, who all worked at Harris News, describe providing in-depth coverage, such as Marshall’s descriptions of school finance debates, Shields’ work on Kansas water issues, and Ranney’s articles on social services issues that impacted Kansans’ lives. Marshall noted that through Ranney’s reporting on social issues, “we found that for the first time we could raise the consciousness of almost the Show Moreentire community of Kansas. Made this an issue. Made this something that people talked about and were concerned with, especially legislators.” They shared their thoughts on how Harris News made “Kansans aware of Kansas” and the importance of covering local stories about local people and not just Topeka, Kansas City, and Wichita. They noted that today “we’ve lost the quality control of the information being presented out there.” They also recognized Dale Dennis, formerly at the Kansas Department of Education, and Richard "Dick" Ryan, former Director of the Kansas Legislative Research Department, as sources of detailed information to ensure that Kansans received accurate and reliable news from the Statehouse.

Highlights -- short excerpts from the interview

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