Last week, Governor Mike Parson commuted the prison sentence of a criminal who in 2021 drove drunk and struck a stalled vehicle on I-435 in Kansas City at roughly 84 miles per hour. There were children in the stalled car. One child, a five-year-old girl, suffered a broken skull, bleeding under the skull, bruising of the brain and a traumatic brain injury. The drunk man’s blood alcohol level at the time of the crash was .113. Yahoo News reports that the criminal had already served time for a road rage incident in 2007 in which he pointed a gun at another driver. more

“Long ago, and oh, so far away,” my roommate Debbie (yes, another one!) and I often went to a little Irish bar in Waldo in Kansas City to listen to the music played by an Irish band. They rollicked and rolled some traditional Irish music, such as “Galway Girl,” made us cry as they sang “Oh, Danny Boy” and “Wild Colonial Boy,” and gave us what we would have recognized as “standards,” such as “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.” But the one song that tightened our throats so much that we couldn’t sing along was “Irish Lullaby,” the final song in one of Debbie’s – and Max’s and my – favorite Christmas movies: “Going My Way,” with Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald. more

We do not see Irish-brand wine much in the U.S. The better Irish wines are actually grown in South America and labeled in Ireland. more

In modern parlance, such a question of human value seems borderline absurd. We’ve been told since childhood that we’re special and can become anything we want. For many of us, the cognitive reflex in responding to such a question is to answer in the affirmative without a second thought. more

While spring calving and spring bull sales may dominate producers’ current thought process, planning for weaned fall calves might slip through the cracks. Two items to pay close attention to for weaned calves are value of gain and cost per pound of gain. Having an idea of these two calculations can provide some guidance on how weaned calves should be managed. more

On July 9, 1876, robbers stopped the train near Otterville and took approximately $16,000. The robbery was attributed to Jesse James and his gang, but serious questions remain as to whether they were guilty. The Sedalia Bazoo wrote a great deal about the robbery, and firmly embedded the story in the minds of Pettis Countians. more

Last night around 11 p.m., we heard a familiar noise from the darkened hallway outside our bedroom door. It was part moan, part growl and part muffled meow. Tom and I glanced at each other because we knew what that sound meant. Percy had another mouse. more

Sadly, the question is not how many more innocents need to become victims of senseless mass gun violence. more

My childhood babysitter and her husband lived down a wooded lane that opened into the Illinois floodplain, in a single-wide trailer across the driveway from her sister’s farmhouse. The two old married couples shared many things, and they kept a large vegetable garden together, perfectly tilled with wide rows of fat cabbages, sweet cherry tomatoes, and blackberry brambles tied up to stakes with strips of old cloth. more

I’m one for two this week – a little worse than Jimmy the Greek – but I would rather have reversed my wins. First, as I predicted, Donald Trump doesn’t have $500 million lying around, and then, as I didn’t predict, the Supremes inexplicably accepted an appeal based on the premise that the President is above the law. more

I am not Catholic, but I attend the Catholic church quite often. I admire the reverence, the traditions, and the spirit of Mass. Feb. 14 was Ash Wednesday, a holy day of fasting and the beginning of Lent, and I attended the morning service. During Mass, the priest places the ashes on your forehead in the shape of a cross. He then reminds each of us of our mortality, “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” There’s really no way to sugarcoat that reality. more

When there’s a bomb threat or, God forbid, an explosion, we run away and report it so attackers can be arrested and punished. more

Small businesses drive our economy forward, providing jobs and essential resources like food and fuel for local communities that might not have access for miles around. more

It’s still winter, but it sure seems like spring has sprung in Pettis County! My crocuses are blooming, the winter lettuce I kept under cover is looking healthy again, and things are poking up everywhere: tulips, daffodils, sedums, chives, irises, and poppies. I’m getting excited and mightily resisting the temptation to plant my spring vegetables way too early. more

When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, I opined that other decisions based on the right to privacy, as was Roe, would be subject to not only scrutiny but also to complete dismissal. These include not only a woman’s right to make decisions about her health care in concert with her doctor, but also birth control, marriage equality, and, generally, the right of consenting adults to keep the government out of their bedrooms. more

Allow me to qualify what I am about to write by saying, “I have no fashion sense!” I am aware of this and if it were not for my wife, I would be one of those people you see wearing their pajamas to Walmart. more

Life was at a comfortable cruising altitude, and we were happy to be along for the ride. But then it nosedived, and some unseen force shoved me and my mom into a small room and slammed the door behind us. We looked around and realized we were alone in the cockpit, expected to take control and make a thousand different decisions to safely land the plane. more

Because of premiums won at international shows, Louis Monsees and Sons of Limestone Valley Farm near Smithton were recognized throughout the world as breeders of quality mules, jacks, and jennets. According to the Sedalia Democrat, the farm’s annual sales drew buyers from several states and brought in high dollars, largely due to Monsees’ reputation not only for offering quality stock but also for his “truthfulness and honesty.” more

Independent counsel Robert Hur’s report on President Joe Biden’s mishandling of highly classified material has been submitted to the Justice Department. It’s both critical and exonerating. more

The Kansas City Chiefs’ triumphant Super Bowl parade on Wednesday turned to tragedy as a group of young men, involved in what authorities call “a dispute between several people,” exchanged gunfire in the packed crowd, killing one bystander and injuring at least 20 others. The wounded include many children. more