The 2023 Missouri legislative session is under way, and legislators have been back in Jefferson City since Jan. 4. Every year brings a new opportunity to address items that matter to our members and hardworking Missourians, and we look forward to developing solutions in the coming months.   more

Just a few more days and that winter desert otherwise known as January will have been crossed and my sights can be set on spring. more

Special marijuana tax votes are scheduled in both Lebanon and Laclede County. I haven't seen anything in the Reflex regarding possible marijuana taxes in Buffalo or Dallas County. Why not? If they are not under active consideration, they should be. It could be an additional source of funding for law enforcement who will be dealing with recreational marijuana users as the new laws take effect. more

By Elizabeth Schull more

With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, clean energy projects have the opportunity to become the most reliable cash crops for Missouri’s vast agricultural landscape. In this federal legislation, $40 billion is earmarked to help rural communities in addition to debt relief to help rural electric cooperatives transition from coal to wind and solar. However, it is not the only money available for these energy projects. Wind and solar can provide millions of dollars annually to landowners and millions more to country coffers in tax revenue. more

To Buffalo and Dallas County, more

At a recent meal at the Fair Grove Senior Center, my tablemates talked about my column. One fellow, who lives in Buffalo, said he always reads Jim Hamilton’s and my columns, in the Reflex. I told him thanks, and I hoped he enjoyed them. more

After we had children, I worked part time at a print shop or baby-sat other children for a few years while caring for our toddlers. Then, when they were ready to enter preschool, I landed a job as a full-time graphic artist at St. Louis Children’s Hospital at the in-house printing plant. more

“When we build, let us think that we build forever.” more

This is a story about an old Buzzard. Life was beating him up. Everything seemed chaotic. Family members taking advantage financially in the court room; bad business dealings; Rino’s in the senate; girls wanting to be boys and boy’s wanting to be girls. Kids thinking they are cats and need a litter box at the school. Satan is in the White House with his two sisters. Can it get any worse the old Buzzard cries out. He’s one step away from a game of Russian roulette when he calls to the Lord “please help me, I think I’m going crazy.” more

Like I said last week, the mill was built for Joseph W. Hine and John Frederick Boegel, in 1883. Then Joseph Roland Hine took over his father’s involvement with the mill in the late 1890s. John Boegel was 35 years old when he and Joseph Hine founded the mill. Joseph Hine passed away in 1928. John Boegel was also a successful farmer, but kept working at the mill until he retired. more

Do you have a set of keys that are a mystery? Over the past few years, I’ve kept finding stray keys.  more

My dad taught me just about everything I ever needed to know about fishing, from starting me early with a riverbank sapling and length of fishing line to teaching me the finesse of handling his classic bamboo fly rod. Under Dad’s diligent tutelage I grew up an avid fisherman. more

Happy new year! Hopefully everyone made it through the “bomb cyclone” without any frozen water pipes and with furnaces and woodstoves still running. We all have been cleaning up lots of wrapping paper, many of us listening to our children play with all their new toys (including a goose call …) and trying to get rid of or at least stay out of the leftover holiday candy. The new year is a time for us all to do a quick reflection of the past year and then look forward and plan for a new and prosperous year. U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development is no different, and we are ready to take a tried-and-true program into the new year with more funds available than usual to help agribusiness and producers. more

Without fail, every time I put my brand-new Farm Bureau calendar up on the wall, I get a few butterflies in my stomach. With every page turn comes a set of experiences, covering everything incredibly familiar and routine to moments that come completely out of left field. Although starting a new year might bring about some jitters, I try to see every page as a challenge to make both my life and the lives of those around me better at every opportunity. more

Though I’ve not heated with wood for 15 years or so, this time of year I really miss backing up to a woodstove, toasting on one side and then the other, just like in the old days. more

Fair Grove’s mill was built for John Frederick Boegel and Joseph W. Hine in 1883. Although it was owned and operated by numerous individuals down through the years, the best-known owner was Clifford Wommack, who passed away in 1969. Thus, the mill now goes by the name “Wommack Mill.” more

They say you never forget your first. When it comes to curse words, that’s certainly true for me. But let the record show, I was completely innocent! And I was probably framed by Bette Midler. Let me explain. more

Have we been isolated to the point that our relationships suffered through the pandemic? Then, the country was tearing itself apart with significant issues with polar opposite opinions, from Black Lives Matter to the Jan. 6 insurrection. Many people are afraid to state their views due to the backlash of harsh words and voided friendships. more

In the Missouri and Arkansas Region, Red Cross disaster response volunteers have also provided relief and comfort after home fires and other local disasters, including responding to tornadoes that ripped across the two-state region, and flooding that impacted the St. Louis area. more