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The penny is going away, but most Americans will get used to it. The U.S. Treasury stopped making pennies after it started costing 3.69 cents to make just one. The government says it ended production of new pennies in late 2025. You can still use old pennies, but now cash transactions round to the nearest nickel. This change is a reminder that even small price differences can add up quickly. That is why everyone in Missouri should pay attention to the latest tax debate. A 201

The Missouri Senate has just taken an unprecedented step. Using a rarely invoked maneuver called the “previous question,” Republican leadership forced through initiative petition reform and a redrawn congressional map known as “Missouri First.” None of this comes as a surprise. Reports confirm that President Donald Trump himself called into a state Senate caucus meeting to demand support, inflating his poll numbers and insisting he needed Missouri to help secure control of th

Representative Kem Smith (originally written May 21, 2025) What’s happening in St. Louis is not just a weather event. It’s a humanitarian crisis. Tornadoes cut a mile-long, seven-mile-wide path through densely populated neighborhoods, leaving devastation in their wake. The damage is overwhelming, the scale is vast, and the slow-moving silence from some corners of leadership is deafening. This past weekend, my family and I worked alongside neighbors helping a sleep-deprived ma

Published in St. Louis Post Dispatch https://bit.ly/43cxbXR By Representative Dr. Kem Smith I've been counting. There are 114 men, one nonbinary member, and 47 women serving in Missouri's 103rd General Assembly. And I have been counting how many among us could even imagine what it’s like to be trapped—physically, financially, emotionally—inside a system that offers no mercy, only mandates. Imagine this: You're a woman. You live in an underfunded, marginalized community. Alon