Column

Kyle Troutman: 2024 in review

January 1, 2025

I’ve been pondering this piece for a few days, and every time I do, I land at the same question — where do I even begin? To say this year has been a whirlwind is an understatement. We started 2024 with a gleam in our eyes, coming off our first year of ownership of the Democrat where we enjoyed incredible support and success.

Janet Mills: Thrive in 2025

January 1, 2025

Make a toast, sing Auld Lang Syne, and eat some black-eyed peas for good luck! The clock strikes twelve midnight on Dec. 31, and a fresh New Year is ushered in.

Kyle Troutman: A completely Cassville Christmas

December 24, 2024

Idon’t know about you, but this year, I feel like my heart has grown a size or two amidst the outpouring of local Christmas cheer. I’m no Scrooge by any means, but Christmas — especially as a parent — can bring equal amounts of stress and joy.

’Twas on the press before Christmas

December 17, 2024

’ Twas 7 days before Christmas, and at The Cassville Democrat, Busy hands were a’typing requests for iPhones and snacks. Each year we ask second- graders their wishes from Santa, And while most requests are common, some make us say, my lanta! There are more than 250 printed for Kringle this year, And we hope they bring parents and and the jolly ole elf cheer.

December 17, 2024

Seed catalogs are out, and it’s time to select spring garden plants, with tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, beans and squash being the popular choices. These are all grown as annuals, plants that grow for a single season and are started again from seed the following year.

Michelle Hilburn: Cherishing the love, the magic, and the moments

December 17, 2024

The holiday season is here, and like many educators, I’m running on fumes. The holidays are stressful both in and out of the classroom.

Kyle Troutman: Sunshine shade

December 4, 2024

The Missouri Sunshine Law, enacted in 1973, declares Missouri’s commitment to openness in government, and there have been some interesting changes this year to the way some records are handled. Probably the biggest change came very early in the year, when files like probable cause statements for criminal charges became publicly accessible on CaseNet without the need for a login.

Jeremiah Buntin: The Recorder of Deeds

December 4, 2024

The Missouri Governors Records from the Missouri State Archives and accessible through the Missouri Digital Heritage website is an interesting place to investigate the nooks and crannies of history. These records from 1837-1901 mostly consist of handwritten letters asking the governor for favors such as pardons and appointments, or signed petitions for various causes, or resignations from local offices. In 1852, Barry County Clerk William Hubbert, of Cassville, wrote Missouri Governor Austin Augustus King notifying him of a vacancy in the State Senate caused by the death of Littleberry Mason and that an election would be held immediately.

Kyle Troutman: 10 thanks

November 27, 2024

Some weeks, I sit down to write this piece and come up with little inspiration. It’s in these moments I’m thankful for my wife, Jordan.

November 27, 2024

The rain was falling with misty, unrelenting force as President Calvin Coolidge rose to deliver the greatest speech of his life. It was Monday, July 6, 1926, and the rain beat the president’s face as he stood before a crowd of 35,000 on the grounds of the Sesquicentennial Exposition in Philadelphia, the birthplace of American independence and constitutionalism. “Despite a fine drizzle, which became a heavy downpour,” The New York Times reported the next day, “the crowds patiently lined twenty miles of streets to pay their respects” to a man whose cool and quiet demeanor hid a patriotic intellect that could not be contained.