Opinion articles provide independent perspectives on key community issues, separate from our newsroom reporting.

Dave Helling

Deep Background podcast: Questions about a Shawnee Mission principal and masks in JoCo

Face masks are a political football in Johnson County and around the nation.
Face masks are a political football in Johnson County and around the nation. tljungblad@kcstar.com

Shawnee Mission Horizons High School Principal Paul Colwell has been accused of sexist, racist and bullying behavior at the alternative school. And Johnson County commissioners took a vote recently over whether to defy Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s statewide mask order - an option counties were recently granted by the Legislature. The Star’s Sarah Ritter joins Dave Helling and Derek Donovan of the editorial board in a discussion of these two big Johnson County issues.

Dave Helling
Opinion Contributor,
The Kansas City Star
Dave Helling has covered politics in Kansas and Missouri for four decades. He has worked in television news, and is a regular contributor to local broadcast programs. Helling writes editorials and columns for the Star, and is the co-host of the weekly “4Star Politics” show. He was awarded the 2018 ASNE Burl Osborne award for editorial leadership.
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