Back to profile

Ken Newton

Stories by Ken

Census questionnaires head to households

With echoes of Madison and Jefferson, U.S. Census questionnaires will arrive in American mailboxes this week.

Motivations seem clear on the beach

One story goes that Cucumber Beach got its name in the 1950s when a Floridian showed up in British Honduras to while away the winters and grow vegetables for export to the United States.

Tease photo

Teen teaches her passions to others

Kids want to impress Hannah Klaassen with their swizzle. They look up to Hannah, a kid herself at 15 but a seasoned instructor in the Learn to Skate curriculum. She began on the ice a decade ago and, in large measure since, has never really left.

Graves: Obama broke jobs pledge

Northwest Missouri Congressman Sam Graves issued a statement Wednesday afternoon in advance of President Obama's trip to the state to promote health-care-reform.

Tease photo

A lasting legacy of global understanding

Mary Jean Eisenhower lived an enchanted childhood, from her christening in the White House to her precocity in climbing on French President Charles de Gaulle’s lap and questioning the thickness of his reading glasses.

Lager: Missouri government will look different

If Missourians don't know what their state government looks like, they should look quickly. State Sen. Brad Lager foresees a makeover.

Tease photo

Graves warns of potential change to Clean Water Act

One word can make a big difference in the meaning of federal law. In this case, Northwest Missouri Congressman Sam Graves says, the word “navigable” should signal caution. Mr. Graves, speaking to a St. Joseph gathering Monday afternoon, said removal of the word “navigable” from the Clean Water Act would prove a threat to property rights and expand the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency.

People can send message about savings

Americans still regard their bar-code culture with a wary eye. Scanners at the checkout line quicken purchases, but buyers watch the readouts, sure a discount or sale price will get missed in the merchandise database.

Outsiders and ticking under a table

Alfred Hitchcock knew how to navigate suspense. From his shape, the legendary director looked capable of navigating a restaurant menu.

Graves: Hail to the Gipper

If Northwest Missouri Congressman Sam Graves has his way, Americans should spend one for the Gipper. Spend a $50 bill, that is.

Transportation lacks a plan, Sen. Bond says

The United States commits billions of dollars to the nation’s transportation needs. What lacks, Sen. Kit Bond believes, is a detailed plan for the spending.

Bond praises First Lady's crusade against childhood obesity

Missouri Sen. Kit Bond sent a letter to First Lady Michelle Obama Wednesday offering encouragement for her work combating childhood obesity.

Political events scheduled around St. Joseph

A former Missouri Republican Party chairman will be the featured speaker at Buchanan County’s Lincoln Day dinner Saturday.

Brownback holds lead in governor's race, survey says

The transition from one of 100 U.S. senators to one of 50 U.S. governors seems at hand for a Kansas Republican, poll results indicate today.

Our nation safeguards all contempt

Along a stretch of interstate that I used to travel quite often, a billboard carried a one-word message.

Group pushes energy bill

Clean energy legislation at the federal level would create more jobs for Missourians and create a boon for rural areas, an environment group said in St. Joseph Monday.

A bad week in the world of wieners

Culinary history stands as one of the lesser known disciplines of academe.

Time has shifted area’s politics

Political trends have made Northwest Missouri into Kansas. That ignores geography, of course, but a map of shifting party allegiance in Northwest Missouri and other rural parts of the state suggests the voting dynamics in Thomas Frank’s best-seller “What’s Wrong With Kansas?” That book presented a case study of the neighboring state’s drift from native conservatism to rock-ribbed support of Republicans.

Group finds flaws in tax system proposal

An opponent of Missouri legislative proposals to scrap the current state income tax and replace it with a broadened sales tax foresees two scenarios, both bad. In one, said Amy Blouin of the Missouri Budget Project, Missourians would vote for a constitutional amendment suggesting a sales tax of just more than 5 percent and then get a much higher rate. The other has the state General Assembly lacking political will to increase the tax rate to accommodate the amendment’s revenue-neutral aspirations.

Missouri senators back jobs bill

Missouri's senators voted in favor of the jobs bill that passed their chamber Wednesday morning.

Two representatives to square off in state Senate race

The expected political faceoff to succeed St. Joseph's state Sen. Charlie Shields took an official standing in Jefferson City on Tuesday.

No control, but a value in preparation

The number, for anyone interested in the accounting of catastrophe, stands at 198. That many years ago, the last of the New Madrid earthquakes rattled the southeastern part of Missouri.

Filing for state office upgraded

State Sen. Charlie Shields remembers a pre-Internet world where holding state office meant a requisite visit to one particular wall in Jefferson City.

New brand takes chill out of season

Word came last week that the war in Iraq, almost seven years old, has a new name.

Graves suggests No Child Left Behind reforms

Leaders of the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee announced Thursday a bipartisan effort to rewrite No Child Left Behind, the nation’s pre-eminent law concerning schools.

What has the stimulus done?

Missouri’s 6th Congressional District, only two of whose 26 counties gave electoral majorities to President Obama, got more than $314 million last year from the federal economic stimulus program. Funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which became law a year ago Wednesday, has gone toward Northwest Missouri road work, urban trails, college work-study assistance, water projects, law enforcement and health care hires, among other things. Mr. Obama and members of his administration fanned out across the nation Wednesday, hailing the job creation that arose from the stimulus legislation. The closest landing was in Kansas City, where Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood handed out $50 million for improvements to a blighted urban area and a bus transit system.

McCaskill sees progress in war effort and oversight

The United States’ war in Afghanistan began more than 3,000 days ago, and Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill said Tuesday she sees real progress being made there, both militarily and in accounting for wartime expenditures.

McCaskill: Bayh announcement wasn't a shock

U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh's announcement Monday that he would not seek another term might have surprised Washington pundits and politicians, but not his Democratic Senate colleague Claire McCaskill.

Indicator breaks up an equalizer

t. Joseph needs no canary in the mine shaft when it comes to economic distress. The early warnings and more substantive indicators arrive, for the most part, in the same vehicle.

A short history of crib notes

Video footage showed (Sarah) Palin glancing down at the palm of her left hand — on which the words “energy,” “budget cuts,” “tax” and “lift American spirits” had been written in ink — during a question-and-answer session at the grass-roots Tea Party convention last week. — The Times of London

Census change could result in lesser population count

A bureaucratic decision might have shrunk St. Joseph. And Cameron and Chillicothe and Maryville. The potential for shrinkage comes with an order by the U.S. Census Bureau director to accelerate the release of prison populations and allow wiggle room for states to shift inmate counts to communities apart from the correctional facilities.

Bond finds fault with security adviser

A squabble over national security intelligence has a Missouri senator at odds with the White House and its top terrorism fighter.

Tease photo

Wood carver, former POW finds peace in his hobby

The scroll saw manages a meager hum as its thin blade bites plywood at 1,000 or so strokes per minute. John Hankins rigged a box fan with a filter to grab sawdust generated from the workshop’s drills, routers and sanders. Though the room looks tidy, the woodworker laments the futility. “One thing you can’t get rid of is the dust,” he shrugs.

Lager will speak at GOP gathering

State Sen. Brad Lager will be the featured speaker when the Northwest Missouri Republican Club holds its February meeting.

Blue Dogs want their say

The Blue Dogs again want their say. A 54-member group of U.S. House Democrats -- known collectively as the Blue Dog Coalition -- has announced a challenge to President Obama's budgetary spending freeze.

Midlands energize innovations

For the record, Atchison County, in the far northwestern corner of Missouri, has 12 times the Native American population as Nantucket County in Massachusetts.

Missourians laud end of animal-ID program

As Tea Party activists gathered in Nashville over the weekend, rallying their cause of rebellion against Washington's bloat, farm-country reformers celebrated a quieter grassroots victory.

New glass shatters lean times

Civilization comes with its rough patches. Blame it on the economy if you wish, but some glitches in the social order seem long established.

President appoints Nixon to Council of Governors

President Obama has picked Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon to serve on his Council of Governors.

Bond to Obama: Keep secrets secret

Missouri Sen. Kit Bond advised President Obama on Thursday to keep sensitive security information secret. The written scolding concerned the White House handling of a Nigerian who tried to blow up a U.S.-bound jetliner on Christmas Day.

Census 2010: Panel warns residents of scams

The Census 2010 logo features the phrase “It’s In Our Hands,” a reference to the civic participation needed to complete the constitutionally mandated population count. But members of the St. Joseph Complete Count Committee want to make sure the form in “our hands” is the genuine article. Some other questionnaires are making the rounds, some dishonest, some from another arm of government. Those interested in seeing a full local count don’t want people to be ripped off or confused.

Complete Count group: Watch for census scams

The Census 2010 logo features the phrase "It's In Our Hands." But members of the St. Joseph Complete Count Committee want to make sure the form in "our hands" is the genuine article.

Tease photo

Mother of triplets counts her blessings

The doctor had news for Mavis McClurg. Looks like twins. She cried. Twins were out of the question. A grandmother, Mrs. McClurg had her first child in 1937, her fifth one in 1955. This was the family of Ivan and Mavis when she learned of the pregnancy in 1959. Even the doctor was shocked, she remembers.

Lawmakers find fault with budget plan

The region's U.S. House members had little good to say about President Obama's proposed Fiscal 2011 budget.

Awaiting an uprising over asphalt

Some politicians will do anything to boost a photo op. What’s a soiled sole when compared to a good visual?

Timeless thoughts for a new boy

Ancient Corinth bore the scars of its commercial status, a center of overland and seafaring trade on the Greek isthmus.

Tease photo

Ceramic sculptor inspired by nature

Curiosity left Andy Rogers with pockets full of the natural world. People hike for different reasons. He returned home with seeds, nuts and fungi. The detail, the texture, the nuance of these small objects fascinated him, stuck in an artistic memory.

DeZago cites qualifications to be Kansas attorney general

Ralph DeZago finds political entitlement a poor way to run government.

McCaskill: Bipartisan work still possible

Americans want bipartisan cooperation in Washington, and that remains within reach, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill said Wednesday. But she insisted members of the Republican Party must meet such an effort halfway.

Lawmakers react to president's speech

Members of the Missouri and Kansas congressional delegations voiced their opinions about President Obama's State of the Union Address Wednesday night. (Also see this for a transcript of the president's speech.)

Older