Column

Kristina Atwood: Stay scam savvy
Every week, it seems like we hear about a new scam that we need to keep our eye out for, whether it comes in the form of a person going door-to-door, a phone call, text message, mail, or email. We have to pay attention to mail that looks official, but isn’t, text messages, phone calls, and email that appears to come from an official sounding number or uses official sounding and sometimes threatening messages which aren’t true, and people who come to the door that look official and may not be.

Dakoda Pettigrew: American Insights — Lincoln in Peoria
With the flourish of his signature, President Franklin Pierce set America down the path toward civil war. On May 30, 1854, the fourteenth president signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, repealing the Missouri Compromise and opening the territories to slavery through popular sovereignty.

Kyle Troutman: Part II: The new normal
A couple weeks ago, a panel of five brave high school students answered some uncomfortable questions in front of about 50 adults gathered at the FEMA Event Center.

Jeremiah Buntin: Roaring River’s other ‘Mountain Maid’
Most residents and vacationers in the Ozarks region are familiar with the story of Jean Wallace, the clairvoyant recluse living in her Roaring River cabin in the hills south of Cassville until its destruction by fire in 1940, claiming the life of the Mountain Maid of Roaring River.

Sheila Harris: Feces by another name
My heart is a little bit broken. With the proliferation of land-applied industrial processing waste in Barry County, I’m already seeing, firsthand, the degradation of the natural resources for which the Ozarks are known.

Kyle Troutman: Part I: The new normal
The future of our youth is at stake. No, this is not hyperbole. If you’re reading this, chances are you remember a time in your life when the internet did…

Janet Mills: It’s not easy being green
In the grand feast of life, green veggies often get a bad rap. I remember Kermit the frog used to lament, “It’s not easy being green.” Like Kermit, the humble green vegetable often finds itself ignored, disdained, picked last from the buffet array, and readily pushed to the side of the plate.

Jon Horner: The many meanings of March Madness
Yes, we have turned the page of the calendar to the month of March.
Kyle Troutman: Any time is a good time
I spent enough time at Roaring River State Park over last weekend I probably should’ve just camped. Friday’s March 1 opening was one of the finest in recent memory.

Drake Thomas: Larger than life — Your tiny human with giant emotions
I am a firm believer that whoever coined the term “No use crying over spilled milk” spent little to no time with children, because if they had, I truly think the phrase would have been “Crying over spilled milk is completely understandable.”