Topic: Kansas Health Foundation
Interview of Mike Matson and Mike Swenson, August 18, 2025
Interviewed by Jim McLean
In this 2025 oral history interview, Mike Matson and Mike Swenson described how they transitioned from being members of the Statehouse press corps to serving as press secretaries for governors Graves and Carlin, respectively. In the role of press secretary, they served as spokesperson for the governor and worked to get his message out, but they describe their role as including serving the public interest as a credible source of information. They understood the importance of working with the press to share their governor’s policy agenda and to get their message out to the Show Morepublic. Swenson explained how Governor Carlin was able to bring the leadership of both parties and cabinet members together to ‘hammer’ things out. Matson described how the Graves administration was faced with the challenge of a “conservative Republican in charge of the House…[that] was not interested in having the conversations that we’re talking about.” Governor Graves had to form coalitions with moderate members of both parties “in order to enact policy they felt most Kansans supported.”
Highlights -- short excerpts from the interview
- Transitions
- Getting the Word Out
- Balancing Demands
- The Editorial Filter
- Softball
- Just Have the Conversation
- Doing What Needs to Be Done
Interview of Jill Docking, April 1, 2026
Interviewed by Chris Courtwright
This very thorough and comprehensive interview of Jill Docking, took place on the third floor of the reconfigured Docking State Office Building in Topeka under the portrait of her father-in-law, Governor Robert Docking. The interviewer, Chris Courtright, takes her through a number of significant milestones in Kansas political history, having married into one of Kansas' most prominent political families. She has run for office herself, in 1996 for the U.S. Senate, and again in 2014 as the Lt. Governor candidate with Paul Davis at the head of the ticket. She was a tireless advocate for higher education Show Moreas a member of the Kansas Board of Regents. She serves on numerous boards such as the Kansas Health Foundation and promotes health, financial fitness and philanthropy. The stories she tells are entertaining, but they also illuminate important events in Kansas history. As the interview moves to its conclusion, Docking talks about gaps in the health care system and comments on the divisiveness in our political system as being "a cancer in this country." She sees the number of people running for public office as a positive swing and she is still engaged, supporting numerous candidates. She is still working, and not retiring!
Highlights -- short excerpts from the interview