This will be my final blog in The Marshall Democrat-News. I have enjoyed writing about my thoughts and the campaign. At times, people took issue with some of the things I wrote about, but at least they took the time to read them. The primary election will be on Aug. ...

Anyone that made it through second grade knows that honeybees are vital to our food supply and thus, our very existence. It is no secret that over the past 30 years or so, the honeybee population has suffered. This is mostly due to increased pesticide usage. ...

As my campaign progresses, I am meeting more and more people. Many of them don’t even care much that there is an election coming. This goes along with national statistics showing that in 2016, about 58 percent of eligible voters went to the polls. ...

This blog is going to take some time to do. It is going to cost me emotionally. By the time this is in the paper, it will be old news, as I write these blogs the week before they appear. David Kemm died last week. If you have lived in Marshall for any amount of time and did not know David, then you weren’t paying attention...

This has been a long, hot spring turning into a hot summer. The corn looks great; it is tall and green and seems sturdy. However, looks are deceiving; I was told by quite a few people while campaigning that the corn is in trouble. We needed rain, and quickly. ...

I’ve really stepped up the campaigning this past week. There have been several city council meetings throughout the district. I am also planning on going to Hughesville’s and Houstonia’s this month. Melody and I walked door-to-door in Sweet Springs this morning. ...

We have an infestation of starlings at our house. Most years, we have a nice compliment of robins, doves, sparrows and the odd cardinal or blue jay. Not this year; this year we have starlings. They kicked the robins out of their nests and took them over. ...

I admit it, I wasn’t a fan of Governor Greitens, but I did believe he was due a fair date in court. Apparently things weren’t going his way, so he resigned for reasons of his own. There are going to be other legal woes facing him, but no longer from the Missouri House, which can now move on to other issues facing the state. ...

It’s time to get back to work! The past few weeks have brought a few new events to my campaign. I have begun fundraising. The candidate in the 54th District, James Williams, states that fundraising makes him uncomfortable. It makes me a bit that way, but I need to overcome it, as these things do take money. ...

This will be a bittersweet posting this week. Twelve years ago, my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Over the years, mom disappeared, and not always with grace. There were tough times. She blamed me for taking her car, for having her go to an institution, and for generally messing with her life. ...

This week I plan on going off topic a bit. Instead of centering on my recent activities, I want to take a small leap into the future. As we get closer to Election Day, there could very well be a spate of negative advertising and campaigning. This happened in 2012 and 2014 against Gary Grigsby, who was the Democratic candidate in those particular election years. I have yet to discuss this with John Cozort, 2016’s Democratic candidate...

I want to state right away that I am the vice president of “Friends of Jim.” This is the organization in charge of Jim the Wonder Dog’s legacy. It also runs the Welcome Center/ Museum here in Marshall. Our building abuts the southern edge of the Wonder Dog Park...

First off, I need to apologize for missing the better part of a week in my blog. I was in Arizona for six days and it was a very busy time; so, no blog for last week. This will be the blog for the remainder of this week and for next week...

If you are my age, you were probably a fan of the Beatles or the Rolling Stones. In those days, it seemed to be a competition. I remember big arguments with people saying the Stones died when Brian Jones died, or that the Beatles were just a bunch of pretty faces with a pop sound. ...

Hi again everyone! Back to the campaign again this week, but a quick reminder to vote on April 3. City councils and school boards are on many ballots, and in Saline County, there is the sales tax proposal, which I discussed last week...

I was pretty busy this week, and I have been talking with people that might be interested in being on my election committee, as well. I went to several meetings and have been in e-mail contact with a lot of people. However, I am taking this week off from writing about my campaign for state representative of the 51st District to discuss the proposed Saline County sales tax proposal that is up for a vote on April 3...

It is a lot of fun to have this forum for communication. Last week, I went over the geography of the 51st District. This week I want to discuss what I have been up to. On Feb. 27, my friend and I drove to Jefferson City with the intention of me filing for the state representative position. ...

I would like to start my new blog off by thanking The Marshall Democrat-News for the opportunity to talk about my campaign, my feelings about the campaign, and also to share with all of you this entire adventure as I run for office. My intention is to give you a window into my weekly activities, and the good and not so good events that I face for the next five to eight months...