I’ll begin my column this week with a sincere apology to all of our subscribers. We have received an abundance of calls and visits regarding last week’s delivery of the Jackson County Advocate. The paper was delivered on-time to area post offices on Wednesday, October 23 for delivery on Thursday, October 24, just as it usually is. Once the papers left our possession, it is unclear what happened.

Since taking ownership of the Advocate in 2012, we have never missed a printing deadline, and we work diligently to complete the paper on time each week. I can assure you we won’t in the future. We will do our best to work with the post office to ensure timely deliveries (as this is not the first time we have had a widespread miss).

We work hard to deliver a product each week that we can be proud of, and frankly, there’s nothing to be proud of if no one is reading what we wrote. We ask for your patience, and cross our fingers that this will be remedied soon.

In the meantime, if you do not receive a paper for whatever reason on your normal delivery day, please feel free to stop by our office during our normal business hours to grab a copy. I’d hate for more in our community to not have their news that they have come to rely on since 1953.

Conversation with the Congressman

It’s not everyday that I receive an invitation to have a one-on-one with our government leaders. However, on Friday afternoon, over pizza and soda, I sat down with Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II. When I received the phone call on Thursday afternoon requesting the meeting, after accepting (one does not turn down an offer from a Congressman like that), my first thought was, “Oh no, what did I do to make him mad?”

I racked my brain, trying to remember if there was anything over the past few weeks that we have printed that might be of concern. Drawing a blank, I woke up Friday and got myself ready for the day as if I were meeting a celebrity. And, to be honest, Cleaver is a bit of a celebrity in the most Kansas City way. He even has a boulevard named after him.

From the moment Cleaver walked into Providence Pizza on Friday, though, my mind was put at ease (he wanted to meet there because that’s where he brought the Grandview High School basketball team after their state championship earlier this spring). After some brief chit-chat, he dove right into the elephant in the White House.

“The only reason he’s (President Trump) not going to get indicted is if he wins the election,” Cleaver said. “If he loses the election, he’ll be indicted. He’s in trouble. This is a weird moment in time, probably for the whole country.”

He talked about how farmers across America have started to rebel in a sense, and that farmers in Missouri have had a tough time with both tariffs and flooding. He said 70% of farmers in the country voted for Donald Trump. And while he won their votes at the time, Cleaver said that some are now saying that because of the administration and decisions that have been made since Trump took office, they are at risk of losing their farms and having trouble selling their crops.

“Some people think that if the President is impeached in the House, that that’s it and he packs up and goes home,” said Cleaver. “That’s not how it works. I’ve realized that a lot of Americans believe that when you say impeachment that the President leaves.”

Even with the latest developments in the impeachment process, including two arrests last week, Cleaver doesn’t believe that President Trump will be impeached. He added that there is speculation that Rudolph Giuliani, who currently serves as President Trump’s personal attorney, will also be indicted.

“I’m a simple preacher. I didn’t go to a fancy, nice school,” said Cleaver, “but I would not sit and have lunch in a public restaurant with two Russian-born believed-to-be mafia people like Giuliani. I mean, geez. He could have been anything.”

Cleaver said he thinks the country is at the tip of the iceberg, and that more things will come forth in the next few months (he even said it might give us all headaches).

Bringing the conversation home, Cleaver said he would like to be included in conversations that affect our community. He has seen growth and good things from Grandview and looks forward to seeing the Gateway Village soccer project come to fruition (don’t we all?).

“That project is a game-changer,” Cleaver said. He serves on a Congressional Modernization committee and has noted that the Gateway project is something that they have agreed to earmark funds in order to see it get underway. “I would be able to help with the financing piece.”

He asked me how business is going, and whether we’ve seen any hits either due to tariffs or the political discussions taking place across the country regarding the press.

“The attack on your industry is being felt across the globe,” said Cleaver. “If we lose our newspapers, we are in trouble. Most of the things everyone hears about in Washington was found out by newspapers. I don’t know what needs to be done, but you guys can fix things.”

We finished our talk with local school districts, elected officials, and other entities that we cover on a weekly basis. He reiterated that he’d like to keep the lines of communication open.

So, I’m not in trouble. That’s a relief. It was nice to actually sit down and just chat for a while with him. No agenda. No list of questions. Just a conversation. I’m always open to those sorts of invites. Maybe next time we can grab tacos.

This week, newspapers across the country are celebrating. From the dailies, to the monthlies, and all those in between, for 79 years we have all collaboratively honored our craft with a week commemorating everything that our industry stands for. As we celebrate National Newspaper Week, we recognize the service we provide our communities, and we emphasize the importance of our role, as both a forum and a voice.

“The power of the press rests in the ability of journalists to hold government accountable, to mobilize public opinion on matters that are important to individuals, communities or the nation, and to provide necessary information of value,” says Gene Policinski, a founding editor of USA Today, and chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum Institute and of the Institute’s First Amendment Center.

Holding government, locally, regionally, and nationally, accountable is at the core of what we do. But, at least at this paper, we are much more than government watchdogs. We live in the community we work in. We celebrate state wins right along with you. We mourn the losses of lifelong residents just as you do. And, we visit the same businesses and eat at the same restaurants as most of you.

Our hearts are poured into our pages week after week, whether we’re writing good news or bad. We consider our work a privilege, and we understand that our job here is never really done. As long as there are stories to tell, and as long as there are people to read them, we’ll be here keeping a watchful eye on things, and cheering our community along with each of you.

Over the weekend, along with celebrating my birthday on the 28th, I also had the opportunity to celebrate good journalism with my friends at the Missouri Press Association’s annual banquet and Better Newspaper Contest awards luncheon. The Jackson County Advocate brought home some accolades, too.

Two first-place plaques will be hanging on the wall in our office soon, one for best story about religion (for the feature on Flourish Furnishings) and one for best story about history (for the piece on the forgotten cemetery in South Kansas City). We also received second, third and honorable mention awards for: best coverage of government (I took second and honorable mention in this category); best story about rural life or agriculture (feature on the Terrace Lake community garden); best sports feature story; best business story; and best sports news story or package.

Of course, we don’t do what we do for the awards. But, being recognized for a job well done is always nice, and is very much appreciated. I look forward to celebrating more journalism next week, as it is National Newspaper Week. I love what I do. I love being able to tell the stories of the community; your stories. I love getting to know the people and places in my hometown, and I love uncovering the nitty gritty when necessary, too.

It’s not about the awards. It’s about telling the story of us. And that’s what matters most. So, celebrate with me this week. Cheers to a newspaper that remains an award-winning hometown news source since 1953. Cheers to the Turnbaugh family, who I hope are still proud of their little family business. And, finally, cheers to each of you, who continue to support local journalism simply by subscribing or picking up a copy of this paper week after week. We couldn’t do it without you. Thank you.