Thursday was Day at the Capitol with my favorite organization, Missouri Press Association.
With some of my Mo Press faves: Mary Wilson (Grandview), me, Kara and Jacob Brower (Monett and Cassville)
I only started going to Day at the Capitol last year, which feels like a waste. Even though the two years were very different, both have been great experiences.
This year we were tasked with doing a bit more for ourselves than just catching up with our legislators, as the trend of bills affecting public notices still hasn't tapered off.
If you're unfamiliar, public notices (or "legals") are official notices that have special requirements on the number of newspapers they have to be posted in. They include several items from foreclosures to election postings, and having them in newspapers means 1. they're somewhere visible and accessible to everyone, including those without internet access 2. they're handled by a third party (the newspaper) which doesn't have a bias on the issue 3. there's a historical record of the posting. These notices are also a large part of how small newspapers are able to keep going in hard economic times when people advertise less, allowing us to continue to do the work we do to keep our communities informed and employ our staff.
So, we were sent out to defend ourselves, but due to the excitement of live government at work, not all of us got very far. The Senate was in a filibuster that had lasted all night.
Inside the mansion. I have more photos on a highlighted Instagram story. My account name is HannahSpaar.
I first went to the office of Oak Grove's new senator, Mike Cierpiot, but he was on the floor. I headed to my own senator's office, that of Denny Hoskins, and was told he was still meeting with constituents. An aide led me to a lounge off the Senate floor, where I was able to see the filibuster in action. The subject was allegedly utility rates, but the discussion I overheard had to deal with DACA, the failures of the University of Missouri System and the over-conservative nature of Claire McCaskill. Yes, these were supposedly democrats.
Well, it turned out that Denny had slipped the staff, likely to take a shower and/or attempt a nap. I couldn't really blame him.
We had a few more items on our schedule inside the Capitol, including a talk with Eric Schmitt, the state treasurer. But as he knew, the next thing on our agenda was lunch, and not just any lunch: unlike last year, we were headed to the Governor's Mansion.
Since last year we went to the governor's office for the press conference, this was my first time in the mansion, which is beautiful.
The meal was great, and then it was time for the conference. It got off to an interesting start, as Eric Greitens, governor, didn't hide the fact that he resented being asked questions about his admitted affair and alleged behavior related to it.
But the conference continued. I happened to have the last question of the conference, which I chose to use for clarifying talk of "school choice" (vouchers), and how Greitens intends to protect high-performing rural districts from the impact of voucher programs. You can my full question and hear his answer in the accompanying audio file.
I really can't say anything other than it's a well-written answer to a completely different question. Nowhere in this answer does he actually address school choice, which is a priority of his, though he never seems to address it head-on and instead resorts to behind-the-scenes actions that I have yet to meet anyone who supports.
The continued success of our school districts is the most important state-level issue for the communities I cover. I wish I had been able to bring home a straight answer.