State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick is the latest guest on Politically Speaking, where he talked with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum about his first few months in the statewide office.

Fitzpatrick is a Republican who served three full terms in the Missouri House, including two years as the chairman of the powerful House Budget Committee. Gov. Mike Parson appointed the Barry County Republican to be treasurer after Eric Schmitt was picked to be attorney general.

Fitzpatrick is a native of Shell Knob, a Barry County community that’s about 40 miles away from Branson.

He started a dock repair business while he was in high school, a company that grew dramatically while he was in college. After state Rep. David Sater termed out of the Missouri House, Fitzpatrick prevailed in a contested Republican primary for his seat – the real contest in the heavily Republican district. He became House Budget Chairman in 2017, which gave him a major say over how to craft Missouri’s spending priorities.