Politically Speaking

On the latest edition of Politically Speaking, St. Louis Public Radio’s Julie O’Donoghue and Jason Rosenbaum take a look at some of the local, state and national stories that made news this week.

That includes the unsuccessful proposal from the head of the Bi-State Development Agency to revive the Loop Trolley, which shut down after a string of financial difficulties.

Here's what else is touched on during the show:

- O’Donoghue and Rosenbaum talked about how the St. Louis County Council is trying to retool its vagrancy laws.

- The Kansas City Star’s Bryan Lowry returns to the program to talk about how Missouri Sens. Josh Hawley and Roy Blunt are maneuvering through President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.

- And for the final segment, Rosenbaum and O’Donoghue discuss legislation spurred on by Drag Queen Story Hours at libraries throughout the state.

Sen. Dan Hegeman returns to Politically Speaking to talk with St. Louis Public Radio’s Julie O’Donoghue and Jason Rosenbaum about Missouri’s finances and his proposal to change state legislative redistricting.

The Cosby Republican represents Missouri’s 12th Senate District, which takes in a huge swath of northwest Missouri. He represents the largest Senate district in the state of Missouri.

On the first Politically Speaking round-up show of 2020, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum, Julie O’Donoghue and Jaclyn Driscoll recap Gov. Mike Parson’s State of the State address.

During Parson’s speech, the GOP chief executive focused on the effort to get a handle on violent crime in Missouri’s biggest cities — and discussed how his administration is managing the state’s Medicaid program.

Here’s what else was discussed on this week’s show:

-St. Louis Public Radio’s Rachel Lippmann joined the program to discuss what Alderwoman Cara Spencer’s entry into the 2021 St. Louis mayor’s contest means for Mayor Lyda Krewson’s re-election chances.

-St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Jack Suntrup discussed a Missouri Ethics Commission decision that led an unsuccessful medical marijuana campaign to publicize its formerly secret donors.

-Rosenbaum touched on how a documentary about former St. Louis state Rep. Bruce Franks was nominated for an Academy Award this week.

State Rep. Cody Smith is the latest guest on the Politically Speaking podcast. The Carthage Republican spoke with St. Louis Public Radio’s Julie O’Donoghue about his role as House budget chairman — and his thoughts on overhauling Missouri’s criminal justice system.

Smith was first elected to the Missouri House in 2016 to a seat encompassing parts of Jasper County in southwest Missouri. He became House budget chairman after his predecessor, Scott Fitzpatrick, was appointed as state treasurer.

Missouri House Rep. Rasheen Aldridge represents the 78th district in St. Louis, which includes Hyde Park, Old North St. Louis, Carr Square, downtown, Soulard, Benton Park and LaSalle. At 25, he's one of the youngest elected officials in the statehouse.

On the latest episode of Politically Speaking, St. Louis Public Radio's Julie O'Donoghue, Jaclyn Driscoll and Jason Rosenbaum take a look at the big issues Missouri lawmakers may take on during the 2020 session.

Some of the topics could include overhauling a recently-enacted change to Missouri state legislative redistricting, as well as measures to curb gun violence and expand gambling.

State Rep. Jim Murphy is the latest guest on Politically Speaking. The south St. Louis County Republican joined St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Julie O’Donoghue to talk about what to expect in the 2020 legislative session.

Murphy represents Missouri’s 94th House District, which includes places like Mehlville and Green Park. It is one of the most competitive House seats in the state, as it famously flipped between Democrat Vicki Englund and Republican Cloria Brown for roughly a decade.

The 2010s brought about immense change to the world of Missouri politics. At the beginning of the decade, the Show Me State was a competitive electoral battleground where both political parties had a chance to make significant gains. By 2019, Republicans took near complete control of state government and key federal posts.

So how did we get here? On the last episode of Politically Speaking of the 2010s, St. Louis Public Radio’s Julie O’Donoghue, Rachel Lippmann and Jo Mannies join me to break down the 10 stories that defined the decade.

State Rep. Dan Shaul joined St. Louis Public Radio’s Julie O’Donoghue and Jason Rosenbaum on the latest edition of Politically Speaking.

The Imperial Republican represents the 113th District in the Missouri House. That takes in a portion of northern Jefferson County, particularly parts of Arnold, Imperial and Barnhart.

Shaul is the chairman of the Special Interim Committee on Gaming. That committee held hearings over the summer on the proliferation of gaming machines in truck stops and gas station — and the expansion of sports betting.

There was some pretty big news that dropped right after our weekly round up show hit the Internet: St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson announced on St. Louis Public Radio's St. Louis on the Air that a bid to bring a private operator to run St. Louis Lambert Airport was dead.

We felt this was big enough news to create a mini-episode where St. Louis Public Radio's Julie O'Donoghue and Jason Rosenbaum talk with Corinne Ruff, who had been closely following airport privatization for months.