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.
-
-
Just hours before an Ohio law banning foreign nationals from contributing to ballot issue campaigns was set to take effect, a federal judge blocked part of it. -
The GOP's plan to recruit and train thousands of volunteers to be on alert for potential election problems in Ohio and 17 other states has gotten the attention of voting rights advocates. -
Voter fraud is extremely rare, but Republicans say they plan to bring in thousands of volunteers to watch for issues on election day nationwide and in Ohio. -
A Franklin County judge has agreed to halt Ohio’s 2021 law requiring a 24-hour waiting period before a patient can get an abortion. -
As the Democratic National Convention went into its final day in Chicago, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) was in southern Ohio, campaigning in what is one of the most competitive Senate races in the country. -
Ohio Democrats hope for a boost from Harris/Walz ticket, but expert says right now it seems unlikelyRepublican Donald Trump won the former swing state of Ohio by eight points in 2016 and 2020, but Ohio Democrats are hopeful. -
At the Democratic National Convention, someone who played a key role in Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s administration said she's thinking of running for that office. -
After nearly four years, a lawsuit filed by two Ohio cities over the state’s criminal background check system used by gun sellers, employers and others has been settled. -
The Ohio AFL-CIO will highlight wage theft lawsuits that Bernie Moreno settled with former employees, his stated opposition to a minimum wage and other union concerns.
