Columnists

I recommend everyone read Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance, the Republican VP nominee who is an accomplished writer as well as able politician. The book is about Vance’s dysfunctional upbringing in the Rust Belt where opportunity has been shrinking for decades due to the loss of sustaining industry. There are other life factors vividly described…

I spent a couple of days last week down in Arkansas White River country, ending up all the way down in Mt. View, restocking some my outdoor books. While at Mt View I stopped in a woodcarvers shop and I haven’t seen anything like it since I first saw Peter Engler’s carvings at Silver Dollar…

Warning: The following remarks may offend some politicians. Reader discretion is advised. My least favorite part of the August Primary has been by far the amount of political text messages I have received. I understand well that the days of my cell phone number being semi-private are over. I know that some company somewhere has…

Social Security touches the lives of nearly every American. Millions count on us — retirees, people no longer able to work due to disability, dependents, and survivors. As a member of the Rural Partners Network, we want to continue reaching out to rural communities. We make it easy for you to access our programs and…

“What was that?” I whispered out loud to my cat Truffles. Just then the phone rang. It was my son Jackson, FaceTiming me from Arizona. “Jackson,” I exclaimed. “You won’t guess what JUST happened to me!” I must have looked a little manic because he worriedly replied, “Mom, are you OK?” I proceeded to share…

Jeff Ramori killed a wild turkey last October in Crawford County not far from Steelville, and checked it legally. He then cleaned it and froze it. Shortly afterward a young conservation agent showed up and knocked on his door and wanted Jeff to show him the turkey and take him to where he had killed…

Did you know that Social Security’s Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program provides cash payments to children with disabilities whose families have limited income and resources? A child must meet all of the following disability requirements to be considered medically eligible for SSI: – The child, if not blind, generally must not be working or earning…

I was wrong, darn it. I thought President Biden would hang on despite the typhoon of pessimism during the latter days of his tenure, but Joe gave it up without so much as a whimper. The Big Guy is now the lamest of ducks with little impact behind his endorsements and no interest in his…

Every year about this time, fall webworms begin to appear in trees around the Ozarks. I have a quick solution for the ones I find around my place. I take a long pole, stuff newspapers all around the end of it, light the newspapers with a match and hold the flame beneath the webs, which…

Social Security helps you secure today and tomorrow with financial benefits, information, and tools that support you through life’s journey. If you don’t have enough Social Security credits to get benefits on your own record, you may be able to receive benefits as a spouse. Your spouse must be receiving benefits for you to get…