Missouri News

Politically Speaking: The 10 Biggest Missouri Political Stories Of The Decade

St. Louis Public Radio | By Jason Rosenbaum,

Julie O'Donoghue, Rachel Lippmann, Jo Mannies, Rachel Lippmann

Published December 31, 2019 at 5:27 AM CST

The latest episode of Politically Speaking features St. Louis Public Radio's political team counting down the top stories of the decade.

Politically speaking, Missouri politics changed dramatically throughout the 2010s.

At the beginning of the decade, the Show-Me State was a place where Democrats dominated in high-stakes statewide contests — while Republicans prevailed in state legislative elections. By the end of 2019, Republicans maintained unprecedented control over Missouri politics.

Missouri didn’t get to this point overnight. The state experienced pivotal elections, shocking scandals and personal tragedy. St. Louis in particular dealt with a mix of political upheaval and a whole lot of protest — as well as calls for and opposition to major structural changes.

So on the final Politically Speaking episode of the decade, St. Louis Public Radio’s Julie O’Donoghue, Jason Rosenbaum, Rachel Lippmann and Jo Mannies count down their picks for the biggest stories of the 2010s.

The four political journalists explained how each of their selections made an impact on the state — and what lessons they may provide for residents.

The podcast is sponsored by the St. Louis-based law firm of Capes Sokol.

Follow Julie O’Donoghue on Twitter: @jsodonoghue

Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum

Follow Rachel Lippmann on Twitter: @rlippmann

Follow Jo Mannies on Twitter: @jmannies

Music: “Dancing on My Own” by Robyn

Missouri News

Jason Rosenbaum

Since entering the world of professional journalism in 2006, Jason Rosenbaum dove head first into the world of politics, policy and even rock and roll music. A graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Rosenbaum spent more than four years in the Missouri State Capitol writing for the Columbia Daily Tribune, Missouri Lawyers Media and the St. Louis Beacon.

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Julie O'Donoghue

Rachel Lippmann

Lippmann returned to her native St. Louis after spending two years covering state government in Lansing, Michigan. She earned her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and followed (though not directly) in Maria Altman's footsteps in Springfield, also earning her graduate degree in public affairs reporting. She's also done reporting stints in Detroit, Michigan and Austin, Texas. Rachel likes to fill her free time with good books, good friends, good food, and good baseball.

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Jo Mannies

Jo Mannies has been covering Missouri politics and government for almost four decades, much of that time as a reporter and columnist at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She was the first woman to cover St. Louis City Hall, was the newspaper’s second woman sportswriter in its history, and spent four years in the Post-Dispatch Washington Bureau. She joined the St. Louis Beacon in 2009. She has won several local, regional and national awards, and has covered every president since Jimmy Carter. She scared fellow first-graders in the late 1950s when she showed them how close Alaska was to Russia and met Richard M. Nixon when she was in high school. She graduated from Valparaiso University in northwest Indiana, and was the daughter of a high school basketball coach. She is married and has two grown children, both lawyers. She’s a history and movie buff, cultivates a massive flower garden, and bakes banana bread regularly for her colleagues.

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Rachel Lippmann