Guest Commentaries

Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, has introduced a bill to promote further openness and transparency in Missouri's government.

With the latest extension of the Farm Bill, there is concern that the legislation can no longer address many of the challenges farmers and the agricultural industry face.

There are about 300,000 fewer hunters today than a decade ago and the number of hunters in the overall population has fallen from 7 percent to 6 percent. So, bring in the kids.

Republicans don’t want the party stuck any longer with the image that it will do whatever it can to make life difficult for illegal immigrants. We must adopt a new and better approach. Sensible immigration changes are essential to the success of this country.

Columbia needs to move away from its current stance on city planning and move toward a more constructive agenda.

Gov. Nixon has laid out his funding plans for 2013, but they are expected to be challenged by the Republican General Assembly.

Gov. Nixon said he will do everything he can to pass a campaign contribution limit bill.

Before Congress starts cutting defense spending, a strategic debate is needed.

Jason Kander said last week that petition submissions will be posted online for a five-day public comment period before his office drafts summary language for the measures.

Missouri lawmakers should rewrite the criminal code, reduced penalties for some crimes, streamlined the code and keep their eyes on the ultimate prize: fix the system so in the long run, prison populations drop.

How new chief party leader Xi Jinping handles the media-censorship issue will reveal much about how he intends to proceed in the future.

Sometime in coming days or weeks, Ameren is expected to ask for a new surcharge, which charges consumers for ongoing costs of replacing old infrastructure.

Pseudoephedrine in medicines should be carefully tracked without causing collateral damage to cold sufferers.

Coke's new commercials addressing obesity are just trying to conceal the truth behind their sugary drinks.

Peoples' Visioning wants Columbia to raise its Renewable Energy Standard to 80 percent by 2015.

Chuck Hagel, if confirmed by the Senate, will become the first ever enlisted veteran — an ex-Army sergeant — to serve as secretary of defense, and the first Vietnam veteran.

Missouri workers aren't getting paid what they're owed by the Second Injury Fund — a program that has been broken for more than two years.

Gov. Jay Nixon has proposed lengthening the school year from a minimum of 174 days to the national average of 180 days.

Playing it safe has gotten Jay Nixon elected four times as state attorney general and twice as governor in an increasingly Republican state, but it won't cement his legacy.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012 updated projection, in 2043 non-Hispanic white Americans will cease to be a majority. The change is in process already, and it influenced recent presidential voting to such an extent that a few commentators had to address it.