For 159 years, since its first edition rolled off the presses in Bloomfield, Missouri in the early days of the Civil War, the Stars and Stripes has been the voice and watchdog for members of the U.S. … more

Wandering Missouri’s statehouse continually reminds me of the unusual locations for my stories. I learned the importance of Capitol hideaways from Gov. Warren Hearnes in the early 1970s. When … more

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently announced that Americans’ life expectancy rose for the first time since 2014. Two of the main reasons were declines in the number of deaths … more

Recently, I visited Washington County Memorial Hospital to meet with hospital leaders and community members who rely on the day-to-day services of the hospital to discuss how to improve access to … more

A recent lawsuit filed against the Missouri House has highlighted a growing conflict between demands for openness in government versus the expectation of Missouri citizens for personal … more

2020 is off to a strong start for rural Missouri, thanks to several big things the Trump administration and the Republican-led Senate have gotten done together. With two new trade deals, … more

The Missouri Ethics Commission has struck another blow against “dark money.” The term describes money spent on behalf of candidates and ballot issues using a legal loophole that avoids … more

After unconstitutionally delaying the transmission for almost four weeks, Speaker Pelosi finally sent the Articles of Impeachment to the United States Senate last week. The Speaker supposedly … more

With the start of the 2020 Missouri legislative session last week, I’m very excited to be back at the Capital. As we start the New Year, the Missouri economy is strong and we have a very low … more

Every year, I crisscross southern Missouri, visiting farms, farmers, and families in each of the 30 counties which make up our congressional district. The places I visit are diverse — some … more