Election Day Preview, SNAP Shortfalls, and Missouri’s Data Center Debate | Roundtable
David Stokes, Elias Tsapelas, and Avery Frank join Zach Lawhorn to discuss local ballot measures in Missouri, including new hotel...
Springfield Voters Should Be Skeptical About Convention Center Claims
A version of this commentary appeared in the Springfield Business Journal. On November 4, Springfield voters will decide on a proposal...
Springfield Needs Charter Schools
A version of the following commentary appeared in the Springfield News-Leader. Of Missouri’s four largest cities—Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, and...
Missouri Should Rethink Fire Code Rules that Block Small Apartments
New research suggests Missouri cities could allow more apartment buildings—without compromising safety—by rethinking outdated fire code requirements. The study by...
Missouri Should Rethink Fire Code Rules that Block Small Apartments
New research suggests Missouri cities could allow more apartment buildings—without compromising safety—by rethinking outdated fire code requirements. The study by...
We Shouldn’t Pay Teachers for Master’s Degrees
One of the most consistent findings in education research is that teachers with master’s degrees are no more effective than...
Statistics Shows Crime Numbers Converging for Major Missouri Cities
The violent crime statistics in the cities of St. Louis, Kansas City, and Springfield tell a much different story today...
2025 Economic Trends for the U.S. and Missouri with Aaron Hedlund and Elijah Haahr
In December 2024, in Springfield, Missouri, the Show-Me Institute and Show-Me Opportunity hosted an event featuring Dr. Aaron Hedlund, Chief...
Yes, We Should Privatize the Post Office
The white whale of government privatization in Missouri is Springfield’s City Utilities, a municipal utility behemoth that should be broken...
Columbia Should Privatize Its Water and Electric Utilities
A version of this commentary appeared in the Columbia Missourian. Columbia is currently considering raising its municipal water rates. The proposed...
Missouri Charter School Students Win
Missouri’s two flagship cities—St. Louis and Kansas City—face myriad challenges, such as declining population in St. Louis and high rates...
Independence Could Benefit from Privatizing Utilities
A version of this commentary appeared in the Examiner of Jackson County. Independence is one of the few cities in...
Springfield Should Eliminate Its Economic Development Agencies
A version of this commentary appeared in the Springfield News-Leader. In July 2010, Missouri politicians joined the state’s economic development...
Would an Income-tax Cut Benefit Missouri?
Missouri’s economic growth has consistently lagged that of much of the country—so badly, in fact, that our state’s gross domestic...
More of the Same in Springfield’s New Buc-ee’s CID
The Springfield City Council just repeated an all-too-common Missouri mistake. The council passed a bill creating a new community improvement...
Springfield Does Not Need a Land Bank
A version of this commentary appeared in the Springfield News-Leader. In government, nothing succeeds like failure. How else to explain...
Springfield Should Reject Subsidies for Sports Town
A version of this commentary appeared in the Springfield News-Leader. It is important to learn from one’s mistakes, and when it...
Policy Presentation: Missouri School Rankings (Springfield)
Missouri schools are failing to teach the core subjects of reading and math, and the most recent test scores show that students...
Yes, Mr. Pratt, Critical Race Theory is Being Taught and Trained in Missouri K-12
Wes Pratt is the chief diversity officer of Missouri State University, and late last week Mr. Pratt gave a presentation...
Critical Race Theory in Missouri (Springfield)
Patrick Ishmael, the Show-Me Institute’s director of government accountability, sent Sunshine Law requests to Missouri schools to find out which...
