GM Expands in Wentzville
As often as not, something significant, with the potential to push everything else aside, will stay off the radar at the beginning of the legislative session and emerge at the end of the session. Such is the case with an incentives plan to entice General Motors to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in a […]
A River Battle
First comes the water, then come the politics. The Missouri River has been a battleground for a long time, as upstream and downstream states struggle for control, often putting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the middle, like a single parent with a pair of intemperate kids. And there’s nothing like a flood to […]
Tube to the Future
Imagine it’s 1903 and a couple of brothers who sell and repair bicycles for a living keep pestering you to invest in their idea to develop a machine that would allow people to move from place to place without touching the ground. You’re convinced the only thing in their sky will be pie, not people. […]
Placing a Bet on Sports Wagering
Did you make a bet with a friend on the outcome of this year’s Super Bowl game or the NCAA basketball tournament? Is there an office pool at your work? Every year, tens of millions of Americans wager on the outcome of sporting events and do so without giving a second thought to the illegality […]
A Capitol Conversation: The House Investigator
In every election cycle, there are lawmakers who watch from the sidelines. They wait for their own terms of office to come to an end and feel relieved at having not spent the summer raising money, pressing the flesh, eating bad campaign food, and stressing over whether they have any real future in politics. Term […]
A Capitol Conversation: The Missouri State Capitol Undergoes Restoration
If you’re like a lot of readers, your eyes — and ears — now hurt from the endless stream of tribal political rhetoric that defined the 2018 campaign season. This month’s column puts that aside in favor of a truly capitol conversation. Anyone who has driven past the Missouri State Capitol building since the spring […]
A Capitol Conversation: An Overview of the Issues on November’s Ballot
The summer of our political discontent is over, and Missouri voters will soon decide who sits in the U.S. Senate and who audits the state’s books. They will also decide a number of public policy issues that generally had to fight their way onto the November ballot. Those issues include three measures pertaining to the […]
A Capitol Conversation: The McCaskill-Hawley Race
Missouri’s August primary election produced few surprises, particularly with the race for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Democrat Claire McCaskill. The incumbent won re-nomination in a walk over six challengers. Republican Josh Hawley, currently the state’s attorney general, garnered more than half the total vote in a field of eleven Republican candidates. It’s […]
A Capitol Conversation: A Look into Mike Kehoe’s Past
Can Missouri Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe keep his new title? At this writing, he’s up one round to none. Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem has tossed out a legal challenge to Kehoe’s appointment brought by the Missouri Democratic Party and individual plaintiff Darrell Cope, of Hartville. Beetem said the plaintiffs lacked legal standing. Beyond […]
A Capitol Conversation: Transition of Power: Introducing Governor Mike Parson
Sometimes, fate is realized with irony. With all of the political drama surrounding the resignation of former Governor Eric Greitens and the ensuing elevation of former Lieutenant Governor Mike Parson to the office of Missouri governor, it’s tempting to assume that Parson was thrust into a spotlight for which he was not really prepared. The […]
A Capitol Conversation: An Encounter with President Trump
This time, it’s personal. Well, sort of. I thought I’d share some reflections of a recent working trip to Washington, D.C. It afforded me a rare and interesting opportunity to meet with the President of the United States in the Oval Office. On Friday, May 18, as I was waist-deep in the final day of the 2018 […]
A Capitol Conversation: The State Budget
Jefferson City is a company town. The company is the State of Missouri. You cannot throw a rock and not hit someone who works for the state, or is married to someone who works for the state, or lives next door to someone who works for the state. As a result, anyone who reports news […]