Missouri Press Association
Serving Missouri Newspapers Since 1867
MPA members, as always, can strengthen their own cause by covering the representatives and senators who serve them in Jefferson City. No one likes to be forgotten or ignored in their own district.
As one told me a couple of weeks ago, “The only time I hear from my local paper is when this [particular piece of legislation affecting news-papers] comes up.”
If you don’t have room in your paper or the inclination to publish their Capitol reports, at least interview them once or twice each legislative session. Then, when we ask them to vote for or against bills affecting newspapers, they’ll be more receptive. I can easily make the argument that they deserve the coverage regardless. Which bills are they sponsoring this session? What do they believe are the key issues? How do they feel about doing away with the state income tax?
Another idea is to do a feature story − if one lives in your coverage area − on any of the 35 House members who are being “termed out” this year. Elected in 2018, these representatives are spending their final months in the Capitol, although some are running for the Senate. What do they consider their greatest accomplishments? What are their plans?
Here’s the list: Danny Busick (R-Newtown), Greg Sharpe (R-Ewing), Louis Riggs (R-Hannibal), Bill Falkner (R-St. Joseph), Brenda Shields (R-St. Joseph), Yolanda Young (D-Kansas City), Jon Patterson (R-Lee’s Summit), Jeff Coleman (R-Grain Valley), Keri Ingle (D-Lee’s Summit), Mark Sharp (D-Kansas City), Peggy McGaugh (R-Carrollton), Kent Haden (R-Mexico), Brad Pollitt (R-Sedalia), Rodger Reedy (R-Windsor), Rudy Veit (R-Wardsville), Dave Griffith (R-Jefferson City), LaDonna Appelbaum (D-St. Louis), Doug Clemens (D-St. Ann), Raychel Proudie (D-Ferguson), LaKeySha Bosley (D-St. Louis), Steve Butz (D-St. Louis), Ian Mackey (D-St. Louis), Jim Murphy (R-St. Louis), Dale Wright (R-Farmington), Mike McGirl (R-Potosi), Don Mayhew (R-Crocker), Ann Kelley (R-Lamar), Jeff Knight (R-Lebanon), John Black (R-Marshfield), Barry Hovis (R-Whitewater), Hardy Billington (R-Poplar Bluff), Scott Cupps (R-Shell Knob), Dirk Deaton (R-Seneca), Lane Roberts (R-Joplin), and Bob Bromley (R-Carl Junction).
Trivia: Which one of the 35 reps was once my student at Missouri Southern State University? See answer below.
If you’re needing a photo of a particular rep, you can contact House photojournalist Tim Bommel at Tim.Bommel@house.mo.gov to see if he has a stock photo from either committee work or floor debate. If you’re looking for a photo of your senator, email Harrison Sweazea at hsweazea@senate.mo.gov.
The House also has Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, and Flickr pages that provide additional resources to journalists. Links to these social media pages can be found at https://house.mo.gov/SocialMedia.aspx.
If anyone would like to be added to the Capitol Press Corps email list, they can email Bommel at tim.bommel@house.mo.gov with the following information: name, media organization, email address, and phone number.
One more thing to pass on: a state representative recently asked me why some Missouri papers publish so many far-left editorials. “Seventy percent of the people in my district are conservative,” he said. “I hate to see it when they cancel their subscriptions because of these columns.”
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Soon after leaving the Governor’s Mansion luncheon that wrapped up our Day at the Capitol on Feb. 19, I received a text from one attendee: “My car is gone! It’s either been stolen or towed.” When I tried calling him, it went straight to voicemail. Shortly after, he texted me again: “I’m with the cops now.” Later on, he confessed: “I had forgotten where I had parked. My car was a block away.”
This could happen to anyone, especially to me.
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Trivia answer: Rep. Dave Griffith was my student and the sports editor of the student newspaper I advised at MSSU. Prior to coming to college, he served in the U.S. Army 8th Special Forces Group as a Green Beret. With his communications degree in hand, he spent 23 years working for KRCG-TV in Jefferson City and then six years as the executive director of the American Red Cross.
