By Phill Brooks
For the second year, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has proposed an historic and controversial shift in how highways are funded.
His idea, approved by the legislature last year and recommended again this year, allocates for highways a small piece of "General Revenue" that finances the bulk of non-highway functions of state government including health, welfare and education.
Editorials
State must step up to protect local history
History has been a hot topic in Cuba lately—specifically the city’s historic preservation ordinance, which will likely be repealed and replaced. It should get everyone thinking about preserving our history, especially the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Rural broadband getting state and federal push
By Eric Bohl
To be a part of the modern world, high-speed internet access is no longer optional. We’ve been saying this since at least the 1990s, yet Missouri continues to lag behind other states. Somehow we have entered the third decade of the 2000s with more than 1.2 million Missourians still lacking access to broadband internet. This is more than any other state except California and Texas.
Be sure to check out Patriot Nations exhibit
If you don’t know much about the history of U.S. military service by Native Americans, then you have a great opportunity to education yourself over the next month by stopping by Recklein Auditorium in Cuba and seeing the Smithsonian exhibit “Patriot Nations: Native Americans in Our Nation’s Armed Forces” that is currently on display.
In shadow of impeachment, trade deals gain steam
By Eric Bohl
While the political media focuses on the impeachment saga in Congress, the Trump Administration has been making progress on two major trade negotiations. Tensions with China appear to have eased substantially with the announcement of a “Phase One” trade deal. This initial deal will cover some of the largest disagreements between the world’s top two economic powerhouses. The U.S., Mexico and Canada also appear close to finalizing the modernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).