Medicaid’s Checkup: Part 1
One of the few things healthcare providers almost unanimously agree on is the importance of annual checkups. Among other benefits,...
Nuclear Energy Is a Bipartisan Solution
As the new year approaches and a new presidential administration prepares to take office, we may see significant changes in...
Downtown St. Louis Doesn’t Need Subsidies
State lawmakers in Missouri are considering a $102 million tax credit program to convert empty downtown St. Louis office buildings,...
Missouri’s Accountability Crisis, Ghost Students and Tax Hikes
James Shuls, David Stokes, and Avery Frank join Zach Lawhorn to discuss what the latest test scores reveal about Missouri...
The Four-Day School Week and Finances
Missouri’s continuous decline in public school enrollment and the drying up of federal COVID funds have left school districts across...
Public Education in Missouri Is Shrinking
Since its peak in 2007, Missouri’s public school enrollment has dropped by about 40,000 students. Analyses of trends in private...
A Blueprint for Missouri in 2025
Download the full 2025 Blueprint here In this episode, Susan Pendergrass, James Shuls, Elias Tsapelas, Aaron Hedlund, David Stokes, Patrick...
Absurd Light Rail Project Marches Onward
Metro is hosting a series of public meetings on its proposed new light rail line in St. Louis. Now called...
Kansas City and St. Louis Road Quality
Our roads are crucial for commerce, safety, and daily life. Yet the state’s extensive road network presents challenges that have...
Where Did the Report Cards Go?
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is an agency in the executive branch that carries out the...
Public Schools without Boundaries with Jude Schwalbach
Susan Pendergrass speaks with Jude Schwalbach, policy analyst at the Reason Foundation, about his report Public Schools Without Boundaries: 2024....
Will the New Commissioner of Education Bring More Accountability to Missouri School Districts?
I guess we have our answer. On November 25, 2024, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released...
What to Make of Big Tech’s Pivot to Nuclear
The American nuclear industry is making headlines seemingly every week, with developments in construction, innovation, legislation, and regulation. Recently, there...
Does St. Louis Need a City Manager?
A version of this commentary appeared in the St. Louis Business Journal. Back in 2022, in response to the seemingly...
Make Missouri Education Great
President-Elect Trump has repeatedly stated his desire to close the U.S. Department of Education and return education back to the...
Homeschooling Trends in Missouri with Collin Hitt
Susan Pendergrass speaks with Dr. Collin Hitt, Executive Director of the SLU PRiME Center and co-author of the paper “Taking...
Missouri’s (Hopefully Successful) DMV Makeover
When I hear the term driver’s license, I either think of Olivia Rodrigo’s breakout song or the prospect of waiting...
Let’s Grow Missouri, Literally
We often talk about growing Missouri in abstract ways. We want to grow the economy, grow the tax base, grow...
Missouri’s Mean Streets
Traffic fatalities in both Kansas City and St. Louis have seen significant increases, drawing concern from local leaders and community...
A Fork in the Road in Kirkwood
On November 5, Kirkwood residents will vote on Proposition T, which, if passed, will create a citywide transportation development district...
