HeyJaredThe View from Rural Missouri by Jess Piper
My name is Jess and I was a high school Literature teacher for 16 years until I decided to run as a Democrat in a rural, red district in Missouri. I bring you news and politics from Missouri and beyond from a rural progressive point of view.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 11
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- Sep 24, 2026
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- Jul 7, 2026
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If They Wanted To, They Would (opens the original)
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There’s an old saying that I have heard all my life, and it has been stuck in my head for years…“If they wanted to, they would.”I remember my grandma using the line often, but especially when referring to my grandpa, whom she eventually left after over 50 years of marriage. When he refused to attend an event for one of the kids or grandkids. Or when he “forgot” birthdays and anniversaries. Or when he flew off the handle when the house wasn’t spotless or she didn’t have time to put on a fresh pot
He’s Underwater (opens the original)
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I don’t think people should know who I am, or recognize my name, but after I recently made a social media post about rural America, a man told me that I should try to be “the change I want to see.” He then pointed me toward a social media influencer, who honestly seems more like a grifter, and suggested that I reach out to her and try to do better for my own rural community. He suggested I run for office, or try to help others running for office…maybe I could even help them raise money or awaren
Puppy Mills to SNAP (opens the original)
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Missouri is a beautiful state, both for our natural beauty and for our people. Missouri is also an ugly state because of the imposed tyranny of a GOP supermajority that has had its boot on our neck for 22 years. The party that has harmed our social safety nets. From SNAP to puppy mills. From Medicaid to animal abuse.Cruelty abounds.But the ugliest thing I can say about Missouri is that we mistreat the most defenseless and at risk among us — the most vulnerable. Children and animals. What does it
Letters to God (opens the original)
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I didn’t have the most stable home growing up. I guess I could call my childhood chaotic to save the feelings of those who raised me. Throughout the chaos of dozens of moves and almost as many new schools and a revolving door of step-parents, I had one method to deal with the upheaval…I always wrote letters to god. So many letters that I wrote and placed in the highest point in my bedroom — the top of my closet. I left the letters open and face up so god could see them and read them easily.I don
Déjà Vu (opens the original)
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I crisscrossed the state a few times last week to speak to rural Democrats, and I don’t remember where I was when I looked up to see a huge electronic billboard on the interstate proclaiming, “Vote Yes on Amendment 3. Ban transition surgeries on minors.”If I were not so involved in Missouri politics, I might have been confused about the sign. Amendment 3 is a ballot question about abortion rights — it has nothing to do with “gender transition” surgeries. The simple fact is that no minor in the s
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