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Interview of Kim Moore, May 7, 2026

Interviewed by Robert St. Peter

Kim Moore was the President of the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund for 31 years. He started out as a lawyer with a large Wichita law firm trying to save banks from regulators in the 1980's, but yearned for "something he could be passionate about." He saw that possibility in the Health Ministry Fund position so he moved his family to Hutchinson and "took a big risk" (and a big pay cut) that this foundation would be a way to align his spiritual views with practical opportunities including oral health, a safety net, rural health, access to care, Show Moreearly childhood programs and hospice care, to name a few. His interview details how the foundation's programs developed and the coalitions he created with communities and organization across the state as well as the battles they fought. After leaving the Health Ministry Fund in 2018, Moore continued as a consultant to non-profit groups.

Highlights -- short excerpts from the interview

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Interview of Marvin Barkis, October 27, 2017

Interviewed by H. Edward (Ed) Flentje

Marvin Barkis discussed, in detail, the various processes within the House of Representatives in its day-to-day work. He pointed out differences in working as the majority versus the minority party and talked about working with the governors during his terms in office. When Barkis was the minority leader, he tried to build a sense of community among party members to facilitate working together. Barkis also described making changes in legislative procedures to promote efficiency. Much of the interview focused these internal procedures. Barkis' primary legislative passion was children’s issues and the interview covered the various attempts to Show Morework on a variety of topics to aid children. He also discusses his involvement with school finance, reapportionment, and the death penalty. Show Less

Interview of Rochelle Chronister, January 22, 2015

Interviewed by Burdett Loomis

Rochelle Chronister quickly rose to a leadership position after her election in 1978. She was responsible for recruiting many Republican women to the legislature. She talks in the interview about her job as Assistant Majority Leader and recruitment. Her description of how the Appropriation committee works shows how she became interested in SRS from handling their budget, and that led to becoming Secretary of SRS under Governor Graves. There is one example of her research skills in developing a new program on mediation. She downsized SRS as Secretary and worked on changing the culture of Show Morea highly bureaucratic organization. She worked to ensure that her female colleagues were included and worked across the aisle on numerous measures. She concludes the interview by talking about her family and how they responded to her being away so much. She once chartered a plane to get home in time to attend her daughter's tea. That Chronister was an effective legislator and politician is clear from reading this interesting interview.

An audio tape of an earlier 1991 interview by Washburn University faculty is available on the Washburn University website.

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Interview of Dave Heinemann, July 10, 2014

Interviewed by Burdett Loomis

In this 2014 oral history interview, Dave Heinemann recalled his long career in the Kansas House representing Garden City, a career that spanned the years during which there were important changes in Kansas government. He served during an era when rural influence in the Legislature was waning due to fundamental changes in legislative districts. Heinemann's recollections of how legislators served their constituents and how they worked with one another to craft legislation paint a picture of collaboration in the creation of public policy. His perspective points to the importance of personal relationships with colleagues within the chamber, Show Moreacross the rotunda in the Senate, and with the Governor's office.

Another oral history interview of Heinemann is included in the Reflections on Water collection on this site.

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Interview of James (Jim) Maag, July 17, 2014

Interviewed by Burdett Loomis

In this 2014 oral history interview, Jim Maag reflected on his service in the Kansas House of Representatives (1969-1976) including his term as Speaker pro tem (1975-1976). It was a time of significant change and modernization of the Kansas Legislature and its processes. Maag provided a clear view into the evolution of the Legislature into a more professional organization. He comments on the bipartisan approaches to policymaking during that era when the urban-rural split affected the dynamic more often than purely partisan considerations. Maag was witness to the impact of the 'one person, one vote' Show Morecourt case as well as the increased number of women legislators and the reduced number of attorneys. His recollections draw a vivid picture of an institution in transition. Maag's connection with the Legislature continued in his role of legislative liaison for Governor Bennett and later as a lobbyist for the Kansas Bankers Association.

A video recording of a portion of this interview is available on this site.

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Interview of Carolyn Campbell, March 25, 2022

Interviewed by Eric. Sexton

"Mrs. Campbell", as Carolyn Campbell is known around the Statehouse, has experienced an important part of state history in Kansas government. Following her 1991 retirement from Southwestern Bell, she worked for countless numbers of legislators; then used that experience, to become an elected official in her own right -- serving on both local and state school boards. Campbell was the first African American to serve on the Kansas Board of Education. Campbell started her oral history interview with this: "I am a proud product of segregation. I tell that because folks sometimes think, “Oh, that’s Show Moretoo bad,” but I want everybody to know that as a black child in Topeka with the four all-black elementary schools that we had, we got excellent education, and we were told that we could be whatever we wanted to be, and we were valued every day. " This interview covers her experiences as a 12-year member of the Topeka Public Schools Board of Education, and later her eight years on the State Board of Education.

Highlights -- short excerpts from the interview

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Side by side photos of Mike Swenson and Mike Matson

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

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Interview of Sarah Kessinger, December 11, 2025

Interviewed by Jim McLean

In this 2025 oral history interview, Sarah Kessinger described her reporting career before taking on the challenge of publishing a weekly newspaper. Kessinger was Statehouse reporter for Harris News that served many community newspapers across Kansas. At the time of this interview, she was the editor and publisher of The Marysville Advocate. She observed that small, locally-owned newspapers look for ways to get the next generation to understand that “a newspaper is there as a resource for them to become better informed and better citizens in their community.” She also noted that, "there’s a lot Show Moreof rhetoric online that people believe, and that rhetoric doesn’t have to be vetted like we have to vet what we report and make sure that it’s accurate…we have a legal liability to report the truth.” She also highlighted as an issue confronting newspapers the lack of communication from national, state, and local elected officials. Kessinger questioned whether government officials realize the “damage they’re doing by shutting out the media and not being transparent.” In Kessinger's opinion, if media “can’t keep [important issues] in front of the public, then we all lose in the end. It’s a weaker society in general.”

Highlights -- short excerpts from the interview

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Interview of Maynard Oliverius, March 6, 2026

Interviewed by Robert St. Peter

Maynard Oliverius lays out in clear terms the policy choices the federal government made that shaped the health care system in the country today. Starting in 1946 with the Hill-Burton Act that paid for new hospital facilities, then the creation in 1965 of Medicare and Medicaid to ensure that seniors had a way to pay for health care and medical research, he tracks federal changes through the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid Expansion. He also notes that Kansas was leading other states in health rankings in the early 1990's, but now has fallen significantly behind other states' efforts Show Moreto improve the health of their residents. Access to health care has become a major problem for many Kansans. The interview also touches on the growth of Stormont Vail under his leadership and how it is now a major medical center serving northeast Kansas and is a locally owned, locally operated nonprofit organization. Oliverius concludes by offering his opinion that ideally the country needs to move to a single payer system in order to provide access for all - he describes it as "medicare for all." He expressed concern about the current direction of health policy nationally. Show Less

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