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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The owners of the Cleveland Browns fired back after the state’s budget director and researchers for state lawmakers were sharply critical of the team’s proposal for a $3.4 billion domed stadium development. -
Office of Budget and Management Director Kimberly Murnieks says the state shouldn’t put up $600 million bonds for the project, which is included in the budget approved by House Republicans earlier this month. -
This is the first publicly-released analysis from a legislative or state office of tax revenue estimates for the project from the owners of the Browns, who are seeking $600m in state-backed bonds to help finance it. -
So far, there’s been no publicly-released independent analysis of tax revenue estimates provided by the owners of the Cleveland Browns from the legislature or from the state. -
The House budget eliminates a 30-year-old commission intended to enforce campaign finance laws in Ohio. -
A year-long court battle over a proposed amendment to end qualified immunity for Ohio's government employees, including police officers, is over. -
The Ohio Supreme Court will decide if LGBTQ people in relationships before the US Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in 2015 have the same parental rights as married opposite sex parents. -
Ohio's May 6 ballot will feature local primaries and money asks, but only one statewide question, on whether to renew a nearly 40-year-old initiative that allows the state to issue bonds to pay for local infrastructure projects. -
Union groups have begun an effort they hinted at when Republican lawmakers passed Senate Bill 1 earlier this year. -
A proposal that rail advocates say will move Ohio toward reviving passenger train service is back on track.
