Editorials

It’s an exciting season of renewal in downtown Maryville. Our vibrant downtown will look very different come the end of summer with the slated completions of the downtown alleyway and pavilion projects. Both initiatives will lean into a pedestrian-friendly zone that will encourage foot traffic through the area and to local businesses. The alleyway, which…

In a briefing to the City Council last week, City Manager Ryan Heiland revealed that most owners of short-term rentals have not registered their properties as required and that many do not pay the required 5 percent transient guest tax, as hotels do. While we agree this is obviously a problem and are grateful the…

We can’t say we were surprised, exactly, at the overwhelming attendance at Tuesday morning’s Power Hour hosted by the Greater Maryville Chamber of Commerce. But the around 140 people who took off from work or made their way in the blistering cold to pack into the Nodaway County Administration Center sent a clear message about…

Next week, the Greater Maryville Chamber of Commerce is offering an opportunity for people to hear information about upcoming changes to public school funding. We encourage anyone who wants to stay informed about the impacts of decisions made in Jefferson City on our local schools to attend the Chamber’s first Power Hour of 2026 from…

Each year when we attend the Maryville Public Library’s Children’s Business Fair, we’re struck not just by the impressive entrepreneurial minds at work — and there are many — but also by the immeasurable benefits of the event itself. Every young entrepreneur has worked hard on their business idea, taking it from just that —…

We believe our mission is right there in our name: to be a forum for community discussion. In the news and sports pages, you’ll find what’s happening in our community. But on the opinion page, we hope you’ll find how our community feels about what’s happening. As we begin a new year, we hope you’ll…

As we get older, the days and years blur together, with little to separate one from the next in hindsight. Instead, each day and each year is what we make it. What will we make of 2026? Like so many of you (we imagine), we start each year with a resolution to do better in…

We can get so numb in this day and age to the constant inundation of world-ending warnings that besiege us at all times from all directions. It’s not that we don’t agree with some of them. It’s more — what am I supposed to do about it? Maybe you read the conclusion of The Forum’s…

In this week’s edition of The Forum, you’ll find the first of a two-part report about rural public education funding. The first part focuses on Gov. Mike Kehoe’s Missouri School Funding Modernization Task Force, which is working on overhauling the state’s funding formula for K-12 schools. This can seem like the kind of thing that…

At the end of the year, Nodaway County will join so many other areas across the state and nation in being home to only one newspaper. It’s no use to wax nostalgic about how there was a time when each town in a county like Nodaway would have its own newspaper, packed to the gills…