Opinion | Sedalia Democrat

Takeaways from those pedestrians’ conversation

Assuming that your normal walking speed is around 3 mph, it would take you about 2.5 hours to tread from Sedalia to Georgetown, an eight-mile distance. Now try to imagine that you and a friend … more

By P.C. Thomas Sedalia Bible Academy | 4/24/25

Native warm season grass yield and quality

Beginning in the spring of 2020, I worked with the Ag Department at State Fair Community College to establish native warm season grass plots. The following species were planted: Switchgrass, … more

By Gene Schmitz University of Missouri Extension | 4/24/25

My time capsule

My time capsule isn’t really a capsule; it is just a big box that holds pictures of my friends and family taken over the years. However, I think of the box as a time capsule because it holds … more

By Jack Miller, Contributing Columnist | 4/21/25

First National Bank - before and after the fall

Sedalia’s First National Bank, which failed in 1894, had a long history in Sedalia. The bank was founded in 1866 by Cyrus Newkirk and A.D. Jaynes in a frame building at 122 S. Ohio Avenue. … more

By Rhonda Chalfant, Contributing Columnist | 4/21/25

Checking on the Class of 2025

In 1995, I got my first job after college from a "help wanted" ad posted in a newspaper's classified ads. (Remember those?) The headline on the ad said they were looking for an "aspiring journalist" … more

By Gwen Rockwood Syndicated Columnist | 4/21/25

Letter: Now that the election is over

Dear Editor, Now that the election is over, I would like to put an end to the many lies, half- truths and misconceptions that have been shared in a most ugly fashion around our community. … more

4/21/25

The importance of American front porches

I love the American front porch. There's a certain beauty to sitting on it in the late afternoon, listening to the birds sing, and enjoying life. I once lived on a busy street. My house … more

By Faith Bemiss-McKinney, fbemiss@sedaliademocrat.com | 4/21/25

Practicing a compassionate approach to elderly health care

I am proud to be a new member of the Bothwell Regional Health Center medical team practicing at Bothwell Internal Medicine Specialists with Nurse Practitioners Leah Hermanson and Shawna Sapaugh and … more

By Michael Yuhas, MD Internal Medicine Specialist | 4/21/25

Rejection and resurrection

This weekend, we celebrate Easter. Some will celebrate it with Easter baskets, bunnies, Easter egg hunts, candy, and get-togethers. All of those can be fun. When I was a kid, my parents would make … more

By Bob Wauchope Lead Pastor at Maplewood Church | 4/17/25

What we have is a pothole, what we need is a grownup

“It doesn’t matter who started it. I’m going to finish it!” Do you ever remember your mom saying this, when you and your siblings were fighting? Usually it happened after … more

By Liz Schleicher, Contributing Columnist | 4/17/25

It could happen to you

Jeff Berman. Seeing this name still makes me nervous. He was the man who turned me from a confident young woman into a jiggly, wobbly pile of Jello. Before Jeff Berman, I knew I … more

By Deborah Mitchell, Contributing Columnist | 4/17/25

Missouri Republicans do nothing as Trump steals our funds

U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt is confused about what his job is — or unwilling to do it. Asked recently about the Trump Administration impounding $8.5 million of Title X funds granted to the … more

By Bridgette Dunlap Guest Columnist | 4/17/25

Interesting news, wolves, fireflies and aliens

This past week or so has been an interesting news week for me — I am talking about other news, not the falling stock market, El Salvador's penal colonies, tariffs, etc. Sometimes, you have to … more

By Faith Bemiss-McKinney, fbemiss@sedaliademocrat.com | 4/17/25

The little blue house

There is a five-acre piece of ground about a mile South of Smithton, on Bluhm Road, where a little blue house once stood. more

By Jack Miller Contributing Columnist | 4/14/25

Who was Jimmie Thompson?

The nationwide panic of 1893 did not really affect Sedalia. Instead, Sedalia experienced an economic depression caused by the collapse of the First National Bank. more

By Rhonda Chalfant Contributing Columnist | 4/14/25

Multitasking is a myth

Have you ever gotten good at the wrong thing? I think it might have happened to me. more

By Gwen Rockwood Syndicated Columnist | 4/14/25

Kite Festival a treat for all ages

HIGGINSVILLE — Kites always bring back fond memories for me. I was an only child, so I often had to entertain myself. I remember when my family lived across the street from Mark Twain Elementary School, and I spent windy spring days learning to fly a kite I'd bought from the dime store on the school's playground. more

By Faith Bemiss-McKinney Contributing Columnist | 4/14/25

Left, right, left, right

It’s hard to write today. I feel as if I am in a whirlwind being thrown hither, thither, and yon. I am trying to keep up with the insanity going on in our government and the stock market, but I feel as if I am at a really long tennis game, trying to keep my eyes on the ball. Left, right, left, right. Bounce, bounce. more

By Deborah Mitchell Contributing Columnist | 4/10/25

MLB therapy

The day after Opening Day, I sent my father a sports meme. In it, an angry man points at himself in the mirror accusatorily: “You WILL NOT let a baseball team affect your daily emotions for the next seven months.” more

By Liz Schleicher Contributing Columnist | 4/10/25

Flowers ignore the law of gravity

Spring officially arrived on March 20, and soon thereafter my daffodils and hyacinths were in full bloom. more

By Doug Kneibert Contributing Columnist | 4/10/25