Opinion

Body As Missouri farmers and farm families look to 2026, planning and budgeting for health insurance and child care is essential.

Body Some people move through Christmas with an ease that feels almost unreal. The season starts and they seem to fall into it without hesitation, as if the decorating and planning and celebrating come with instructions the rest of us never received.

Body Some weeks move in a blur of responsibilities, long days and quiet pressure. You handle the things that must be done and keep going because that is what life expects from most of us. Work does not slow down when you need it to. Families do not pause their needs.

Body It starts with the sound of a crying baby. A woman’s voice trembles as she tells whoever answers the phone that her newborn hasn’t eaten since last night.

Body Family is the thread that stitches our lives into something meaningful even when those stitches aren’t always neat or perfect. If there’s anything this past year has taught me, it’s that time with the people we love is the most sacred currency we’ll ever hold.

Body Some people move through the world with minds that sit quietly in the background. They hear a phrase like “imagine an apple” and nothing happens. No picture, color or scene. Just a blank page.

Body The Richmond News, Nov. 28, 2025 Ruby Jean Watkins (nee Hagy) passed away peacefully Saturday, Nov.

Body It starts with the sound of a crying baby. A woman’s voice trembles as she tells whoever answers the phone that her newborn hasn’t eaten since last night.

Body After my dog Percy died earlier this year, the house turned quiet in a way that settled deep. Food bowls stayed lined against the wall, still clean, the couch cushion he claimed kept its dip for months and silence filled every corner once full of sound and movement.

Body Dear Editor, I am assisting a young lady who has been a domestic violence victim over and over again and the system continues to fail. I want to share a letter from her sister, which was sent to Judge Lori Baskins.