Karen Kasler
Bureau ChiefContact Karen at 614-578-6375 or at kkasler@statehousenews.org.
Karen Kasler grew up in Lancaster, attended Otterbein College in Westerville, and found her professional break at WCBE-FM in Columbus. Karen was selected as a Fellow in the Kiplinger Master's Degree Program for Mid-Career Journalists at Ohio State University in 1994. She worked at WTVN-AM and WBNS-TV, both in Columbus, then for eight years was the afternoon drive anchor and assignment editor for WTAM-AM, Cleveland.
Since returning to Columbus in 2004, Karen has covered major elections and the controversies surrounding them. She served as moderator for the Ohio Debate Commission's Republican US Senate debate in 2022, its Supreme Court debate in 2020 and its gubernatorial debate in 2018. In addition to other election-related debates, she's led forums on statewide issues including redistricting, tax policy, drug sentencing, marijuana legalization and the collective bargaining law known as Senate Bill 5.
She's produced features for NPR and "Marketplace", and has been interviewed by NPR, the BBC, CBS, NBC, Radio New Zealand and stations around the country. She's a regular panelist on ideastream's "The Sound of Ideas" and a frequent guest on WOSU-TV’s “Columbus on the Record”, WOSU-FM's "All Sides with Anna Staver" and WVXU's "Cincinnati Edition".
Karen has been honored by the Cleveland Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists and the Association of Capitol Editors and Reporters, and holds a National Headliner Award. She's won several awards from the Ohio AP, and is a four-time winner of the AP's Best Broadcast Writing award. She's a three-time Emmy nominee for "The State of Ohio". She's a past president of the Ohio Associated Press and has served on the Board of Directors for the Central Ohio Society of Professional Journalists. Karen is also a former adjunct professor at Capital University in Columbus.
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Renters in Ohio have to earn more money each year to afford a basic two-bedroom apartment, but their wages aren't keeping up with housing costs. -
It’s the first tax-related specifics that Amy Acton has released since April, and it includes rebates and exemptions targeted toward specific categories of homeowners. -
An amendment to abolish property taxes won’t go before Ohio voters this November. But the group behind that effort is still circulating petitions across the state to try for next year’s ballot. -
Republican former governor John Kasich and Democratic former Cincinnati mayor John Cranley are urging local officials and experts to get prepared for a public health crisis. -
Ohio—which President Trump won three times, including in 2020—is on that list of states that Trump said had their voter rolls compromised by China. -
The number of out-of-state tourists who traveled to Ohio and residents visiting different parts of the state set a record last year. -
As the Ohio Chamber of Commerce's PAC announced it's endorsing Republican candidate for governor Vivek Ramaswamy, he reiterated his plans to eliminate Ohio’s income tax and the tax on capital gains. -
SNAP or food stamp benefit cards with computer chips in them is something advocates for low-income Ohioans have long pushed for. -
The bill mandates that home health care workers paid by Ohio Medicaid electronically verify when they are working with clients and when they leave. -
The Republican behind last year’s law that sought to crack down on what conservatives view as liberal bias at public universities in Ohio has introduced a bill to fulfill a requirement in that law.
