Editorials

By Phill Brooks
    A surprise has emerged from this year's session of Missouri's legislature. The General Assembly has returned to an era when the leadership exercised less power to control the legislative agenda in choosing winners and losers.

    Although there is some debate about who said it, most of us have at least heard the famous quote: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

By Blake Hurst
    Bacon is popular, but living near a hog farm is not. Bacon isn’t possible without hogs, so if we want bacon, we’re going to have to raise pigs. Missouri Senate Bill 391 is opposed by people who either don’t like bacon or don’t realize how it’s made. The bill would require that county regulations aimed at livestock production ought not be “inconsistent with or more stringent than” state regulations. Senate Bill 391 would simply mean that farmers would face consistent rules across the state.

 By Ann Schlueter
    As the chief operating officer of a small rural hospital in Fairfax, Mo., I see the difficulty rural Missourians have in accessing health care daily. Our hospital, Community Hospital—Fairfax, is fortunate to have strong local support and a solid financial foundation. Despite the challenges rural hospitals experience, our hospital has been able to make the investments needed to remain an essential community asset in Fairfax, an important health care resource for communities throughout far-northwest Missouri. Increasingly, stories like ours are the exception and not the rule.