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Ken Newton - Senior Reporter/Columnist

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Federal Notes: Bond participates in energy-bill boycott
by Ken Newton
Friday, Nov. 6, 2009

When the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee counted votes Thursday on greenhouse gas-reducing legislation, no mark stood next to Missouri Sen. Kit Bond’s name.
Nor that of any other Republican.

Student balances college with rodeo riding
by Ken Newton
Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009

The student stands in the stable stall, shovel in hand, and considers a 21-year-old’s lifestyle choice.
Responsibility comes with the gig, Amy Hudlemeyer says. Paps, the sorrel who loves to run, never cleans up after himself.
She puts the scoop to work on horse droppings, not the typical university experience. Only gloom commends the afternoon, and a cold rain taps hard against the metal roof.
It’s not difficult to imagine fellow students with different pursuits this gloomy day.

Graves: Nation can't afford health care bill
by Ken Newton
Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009

Congressman Sam Graves claims to be working on his legislative reading. But where it concerns the 1,990-page health care reform bill, the lawmaker remains confident of his math. The nation can’t afford it, he says. “You can’t add a trillion dollars to the budget and not increase the deficit,” Mr. Graves said Tuesday. “I don’t think Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi is fooling anybody by trying to convince them that it’s not going to.”

A wall falls, but worries soldier on
by Ken Newton
Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009

The second-graders in Mrs. White’s class became schooled in the distraction of desk-diving.

Confucius says honor is confusing
by Ken Newton
Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009

Language translation proves a tricky enterprise, one not meant for the dim.

Jenkins remains unimpressed with health care legislation
by Ken Newton
Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009

HIAWATHA, Kan. — Health care reform legislation that ran to more than 1,000 pages did little to impress Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins in the summer. At nearly twice the length now, it holds roughly the same appeal.

Federal Notes: Bond: Legislation won’t lower the temperature
by Ken Newton
Friday, Oct. 30, 2009

Don’t tell Missourians about taking care of Mother Earth. They’ve long been stewards of the land, Sen. Kit Bond believes.

House committee clears Graves of ethics complaint
by Ken Newton
Friday, Oct. 30, 2009

A U.S. House committee has cleared Congressman Sam Graves of an alleged ethics violation.

Son steps from war into battle for mother’s life
by Ken Newton
Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009

Nothing seems so certain at an airport’s arrival gate as the back-of-the-plane seating of a person expected. The anticipation, extended by moments, grew for Buddy and Lori Calloway.
They stood behind the security glass and focused on the door under the Gate 12 sign, United Express passengers strolling into the Kansas City International terminal. The jetliner from Washington Dulles carried their oldest son, Cody, and he had yet to emerge.
Most of the past three and a half years, Cody lived abroad, the soldier stationed in Germany except for the 15 months deployed to Iraq. His brief leaves proved bliss ... until they ended. The parents knew both ends of this airport ritual, the send-offs and homecomings.
“Our goodbyes are horrible,” Mrs. Calloway says, waiting. “This is like heaven.”

Levy allies have week for selling
by Ken Newton
Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009

Unemployment rates averaged more than 20 percent in 1935, the Great Depression still gripping the United States.

Congressman, strong on defense, plays football for charity
by Ken Newton
Monday, Oct. 26, 2009

A former defensive back for the Tarkio High School Indians will play Tuesday night in the Longest Yard football classic in Washington, D.C.

Cry fowl: Foes fight over flock
by Ken Newton
Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009

Homesteaders, rejoice! Missouri’s urban chicken movement has taken wing.

Former senator offers bioterrorism warnings
by Ken Newton
Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009

Missourian Jim Talent left U.S. Senate service nearly three years ago, but his work in public service remains in high gear.

Bridge program may face cuts
by Ken Newton
Friday, Oct. 23, 2009

The pony truss bridge stretches about 130 feet over the Middle Fork of the Grand River, a mile or so north of Gentry, Mo. On a gravel road, its daily traffic count hits double digits, far short of triple digits.

For her, it’s all in a day’s work
by Ken Newton
Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009

Edie Hector traces her curiosity to the womb. Can’t help having an active mind, even prenatally.
She tells the story of her mother in labor, her father in a panic and Green Lake standing between them and help. They set off in a rowboat, and Edie came into the world afloat.
“I didn’t wait,” she says. “I got bored before we got there.”

Recovery might belie confidence
by Ken Newton
Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009

Amid the basalt, thick among the sandstone and limestone monoliths, energies reside. So we were told.

America seeks reason and a voice
by Ken Newton
Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009

People on my mother’s side left the British Isles and put down roots in southern Tennessee, hard against the Alabama line. A faction would later settle on the sandy ground of Missouri’s Bootheel.
I come from a long line of slow talkers.

Levy group reports campaign finances
by Ken Newton
Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009

The committee campaigning for an increase in the St. Joseph School District tax levy has raised about $50,000, a spokesman for the group said Friday.
More than 120 individuals, businesses and school groups have given money, said Seth Wright of the campaign, called “Our Children. Our Future. Our Decision.”
“Between what we have in the door and the commitments we’ve been able to obtain, we’re confident we’ll be able to run a successful campaign,” he said.

McCaskill wants task force to focus on deficit
by Ken Newton
Friday, Oct. 16, 2009

Claire McCaskill has joined a group of Senate colleagues in pushing for a group to focus on deficit reduction.

Boy’s light shines as his dream church emerges
by Ken Newton
Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009

Folks gathered early, stepping inside but leaving on their coats. Many brought refreshments for the table in back. Some chatted moist-eyed.
A fellow maneuvered Folgers grounds into a coffee machine and, minutes later, proclaimed the output “a little stout.” A second critic suggested the brew could walk on its own.
Musicians excused their way past the guests, carrying guitar cases and an upright bass. They would provide the soundtrack, bluegrass and gospel played in celebration on an afternoon recalling the worst kind of sadness.

Veterans call for energy independence
by Ken Newton
Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009

Ed May remembers the oil embargo of the 1970s. When the first Gulf War broke out, the Army staff sergeant deployed from his post in Germany and found himself in oily rain as Saddam Hussein’s troops ignited the energy fields of Kuwait.

Businesses don't know friendliness
by Ken Newton
Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009

People in the “you lie” era of governance think they know about partisan division. At worst, call it bad manners.

One shot and mayhem on roadways
by Ken Newton
Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009

Wooded mountains provide the backdrop and heavenly choirs sound as if directed by St. Peter himself.

Congressman promotes health care
by Ken Newton
Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009

HIAWATHA, Kan. — Jerry Moran claims he ran for Congress with the sole purpose of wanting to save rural communities. Doing that, the lawmaker insists, means saving small-town health facilities.

Finding the good in people
by Ken Newton
Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009

The waiting area, seats along walls and tables for filling out forms, looks nondescript in that government-issue way. Fliers vie for attention on a bulletin board, a mosaic of safety-net programs.
In the State Office Building in St. Joseph, sterility comes as part of the decor. It begs for humanity.
Meet Cathy Coy.

A car relic and history left behind
by Ken Newton
Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009

People leave some history comfortably as history. The purge feels right, like parting with worn-out furniture on Clean Sweep Day.

Bills stoke energy debate
by Ken Newton
Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009

She speaks on behalf of legislation to create green jobs, but Susan Brown jokes about mixed feelings.
Her company, Energy Savings Store, deals in solar and wind design and installation. Ms. Brown says there should be 20 such stores in the Kansas City area, and she shouldn’t want the competition that legislative incentives would spawn.
“Right now, we’re swamped,” she says. “There’s plenty of business for us.”

Andy, we never knew you were red
by Ken Newton
Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009

Cultural cues elude the dim-witted, and that explains my reluctance to believe that Paul McCartney had died.

St. Joseph included in water resources bill
by Ken Newton
Friday, Oct. 2, 2009

The Energy and Water Appropriations Bill passed Thursday by the U.S. House contains a couple of flood-protection items for St. Joseph.

Guitarist embraces diverse life
by Ken Newton
Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009

Light played just beyond the curtain, inches from the performer’s feet. Anthony Glise took notice.
He would be announced into that light, onto the stage haunted by Horowitz and Stern, Bernstein and Mahler. None of Carnegie Hall’s ghosts rattled the guitarist, but he fixated, for mere seconds, on the sliver of dark between himself and the brightness on the other side.
“I remember thinking, the minute I step into that light, I’m on,” he says. And time slowed in this consideration.

Coastal interests in clean-energy legislation
by Ken Newton
Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009

Arguments rage over the existence of global warming and the methods proposed to address it. Set aside the science one moment and allow Missourians a fairly obvious observation on national politics.

St. Joseph man believes timing right in run for Congress
by Ken Newton
Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009

A St. Joseph man with no declared party affiliation and a desire to restore federal separation of powers has decided to run for Congress in Missouri’s 6th District.

Grim find as economy goes leaky
by Ken Newton
Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009

My parents referred to the old days as a vague period of imposed privation followed by a time of economic self-restraint.

The threats of fantasy and reality
by Ken Newton
Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009

Jade-faced and ominous, the wicked witch looked better with age.

Bond accuses Obama of ‘wavering’ on Afghanistan
by Ken Newton
Friday, Sept. 25, 2009

Missouri Sen. Kit Bond sees America’s problems in Afghanistan as failed communications: the United States has been off message, while Islamic terrorists have honed theirs.

McCaskill continues fight for earmark reform
by Ken Newton
Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009

Once an auditor, always an auditor, and Sen. Claire McCaskill continues to take exception to the earmarking process as employed by Congress.

Blunt and Carnahan in dead heat for Senate seat
by Ken Newton
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009

A poll released Wednesday by Rasmussen Reports has next year's U.S. Senate race in Missouri as a dead heat.

Swagger evident at university
by Ken Newton
Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009

Nothing in my background suggests an expertise on the workings of higher education.

Darkness on the edge of mankind
by Ken Newton
Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009

Lights went dark last week at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. A monument to man’s thirst to explore yielded to nature’s finicky requirements of travel.

Veterans honored in Maysville
by Ken Newton
Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009

The oranges and umbers of harvest season submit always to red, white and blue in small towns. Crop festivals wash themselves in patriotism. In a community like Maysville, where the Census Bureau claims about one in six adults are military veterans, an appreciation of service pervades such gatherings.

County Democrats ready to reunite
by Ken Newton
Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009

Democrats of Buchanan County split into two clubs more than a decade ago, a dispute over a meeting place causing the friction.
Bygones now bygone, the Democrats have again decided to meet as one organization.

State senators spar over czars
by Ken Newton
Friday, Sept. 18, 2009

To hear it told by members of Congress and cable commentators, an outbreak of autocrats has hit Washington.

Force and finesse
by Ken Newton
Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009

The artist stands on a building mound of red cedar shavings, a small and fragrant knoll. From this, an eagle rises.
“It will look better in just about a second,” Mike Peterie says, talking a shade louder than usual to offset his ear protection. He puts down the chain saw and picks up an angle grinder, working it in circles on the wooden skull and producing a finer dust.
Another 10 hours or so remain with this piece, and the carver knows patience pays. Roughing a cedar log into the general outline of a broad-winged bird requires some finesse, but the blunt cuts of the chain saw must give way to smaller tools and finer work.

Steelman won't run for Senate
by Ken Newton
Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009

The Associated Press reported Wednesday morning that Sarah Steelman has decided not to run for the Republican nomination for Missouri's U.S. Senate seat in 2010.

Animal health bill passes after some debate
by Ken Newton
Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009

Few things happen easily in Congress these days, and a resolution mentioning St. Joseph generated a brisk discussion in the U.S. House on Tuesday.

Money and the mouth in Congress
by Ken Newton
Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009

Most mornings, my breakfast consists of something made of oats.

Life now leaves only duel of words
by Ken Newton
Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009

Patronage politics led to a grim moment for Gen. William A. White. He took a gunshot over a postmastership.

Federal Notes: Legislators express views on Obama's health-care speech
by Ken Newton
Friday, Sept. 11, 2009

The opportunity exists for across-the-aisle cooperation in crafting health-care reform, Sen. Sam Brownback believes. But the Kansas lawmaker says certain conditions must be met.

Bad manners don't end political careers
by Ken Newton
Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009

Word spread on Thursday morning that the political opponent of Rep. Joe Wilson raised big money immediately after the South Carolina congressman heckled President Obama in the U.S. House chamber.

Brothers spin similar tales
by Ken Newton
Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009

Eugene Willett rubs it in like any older brother would. Rick Willett accepts taunts with a younger sibling’s good nature.
They work a short sidewalk apart, in different buildings of the Tri-County School District. Eugene teaches in the newer structure.
“Rick is happy that he doesn’t have air-conditioning,” big brother says. “I’m happy that I do.”