Column

Jon Horner: Surviving the February blues — How to make it to the opening of trout season
The calendar has flipped over to February, it’s easy to feel the winter blues. The initial spark of New Year’s resolutions can fizzle out, the days are still short and gray, and the holiday season feels like a distant memory.

Dakoda Pettigrew: American Insights — The greatness of Jimmy Carter
The crowd roared, stymieing the opening words of an awkward statesman from Georgia who stood before the Democratic National Convention at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Thursday, July 15, 1976, to accept the party’s nomination for president of the United States.

Kyle Troutman: Assessing needs
An interesting exercise occurred last Tuesday following the Cassville City Council meeting and Southwest Missouri Council of Government’s leading of three public hearings for proposed grant-funded projects.

Merlyn Johnson: An eye on politics in education
The 2025 Missouri legislative session convened on Jan. 8, and Gov.

Dakoda Pettigrew: American Insights — the purpose of government
On Tuesday, March 4, 1913, Woodrow Wilson delivered his first inaugural address. The day “dawned cloudy,” Irwin Hoover recalled, “but the weather cleared and by mid-morning it was warm and comfortable.”

Kyle Troutman: Precipitating memories
“This is the most snow I’ve ever seen in my life!” That’s what my 9-year-old exclaimed Friday morning as we woke up to 5-and-ahalf inches of pristine, wet, heavy, perfect-forsnowmen- and-sledding snowfall. School had already been canceled the night before, and we took advantage of the call to sleep in a bit before bundling up and heading to the hill.

Dakoda Pettigrew: American Insights — Double V
There is a small but noisy minority “who want to see no evil and hear no evil, even though they know in their hearts that evil exists,” FDR said on Sunday, Dec. 29, 1940.

Kyle Troutman: Taking a look ahead
Last week, we took a look back at 2024; this week, we’re looking ahead. With the kids back in school and normal routines resuming (finally), 2025 is in full swing, and we have a lot to look forward to here at the Cassville Democrat.

Jeremiah Buntin: What’s in store for the new year
The changing over to a new year always reminds me of the book title “Seeds of Time” by H. Harold Shamel that we have in the Barry County Museum bookstore.

Jon Horner: A new chapter awaits
Here we are at the end of 2024. Now, we are getting ready to open the next page of our lives to a new chapter called 2025.