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. She was also a moderator or panelist for US Senate debates for the last four Senatorial elections and for a gubernatorial debate in 2006. She's also led debates and discussions on statewide issues such as drug sentencing, marijuana legalization, redistricting and the collective bargaining law known as Senate Bill 5. Each year she anchors the Bureau's live coverage of the Governor's State of the State, and has led coverage of the inaugurations of the last three governors.
She's produced features for NPR and "Marketplace", and has been interviewed by NPR, the BBC, CBS, NBC 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 Ann Fisher" 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.
Karen, her husband and their son Jack live on Columbus' northeast side.
-
The House Speaker has quashed a plan to bring back the August special election for the purpose of voting on a proposal to require 60% voter approval for constitutional amendments, three months before a vote on a reproductive rights amendment. -
Two Republicans propose measures that make it more likely that a statewide vote on toughening the process of amending the Ohio constitution will happen in August, three months before a reproductive rights amendment would go before voters.
-
Activists and volunteers with Ohio chapters of the group Moms Demand Action gathered in Columbus to meet with state lawmakers, who've been expanding gun rights in the last decade.
-
Gov. Mike DeWine opposes speed limit increases, and suggests he'll strike them if they get into the final version of the Ohio transportation budget.
-
A key Republican leader said there's a possibility the 60% voter approval plan could go to a statewide vote in August, three months before an amendment that guarantees reproductive rights could be voted on in November.
-
House Bill 1 would create a flat tax and change property taxes, but a report estimated those changes will actually hike taxes for Ohio homeowners and farmers.
-
More than a dozen bills have been proposed to repeal all or the repeal of House Bill 6, which was stripped of its subsidies to Ohio’s nuclear plants in 2021.
-
Senators still must vote on the transportation budget, which includes rail safety measures and a change to traffic camera programs along with increased speed limits and the elimination of the rural highway program.
-
The bill from Republicans in the Ohio Senate would ban mandatory diversity training, prohibit strikes by public university employees and end partnerships with Chinese institutions.
-
Ohio's attorney general has filed a 58-count complaint against Norfolk Southern seeking recovery of costs, damages and civil penalties for the derailment, which he said was "entirely avoidable".
