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Libertarian Nick Kasoff joins Politically Speaking to talk about his bid for St. Louis County executive.

Kasoff is one of four candidates running in the Nov. 6 election. They include incumbent Democratic County Executive Steve Stenger, GOP challenger Paul Berry III and Constitution Party nominee Andrew Ostrowski.

This week’s Politically Speaking zeroes in on how President Donald Trump will affect Missouri’s election cycle — particularly U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill’s re-election bid against Attorney General Josh Hawley.

On the surface, Trump should benefit Hawley — especially since the GOP chief executive won Missouri by nearly 19 percentage points in 2016. Missouri’s public opinion polls show his approval ratings hovering around 50 percent. But Trump has faced a torrent of controversy this week with the Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen court proceedings.

A new Belleville News-Democrat investigation challenges common perceptions about how safe MetroLink is. Joe Bustos and Kelsey Landis discuss their findings.

An Illinois issues forum explores fiscal issues and why people are leaving the state.

What happens to all those used baseballs the umpires toss out of St. Louis Cardinals games? That question from a listener prompted one St. Louis Public Radio reporter to hunt for some answers.

Paul Gallant and Richard Weiss discuss grandparenting and the book “The Grand Journey: Lessons Learned While Navigating Wild Animals and Wilder Times with our Grandkids.”

The historic battleship that was the site of the Japanese surrender during WWII is undergoing major renovations as it prepares for the 75th anniversary of the end of the war.

State Rep. Karla May joins Politically Speaking to talk about her ouster of Sen. Jake Hummel in Missouri’s 4th District.

May is a four-term Democratic lawmaker who represents a portion of western St. Louis in the Missouri House. Her dominating victory over Hummel was arguably the biggest statehouse surprise in the Aug. 7 primary. If May wins in November, she will represent St. Louis with Sen. Jamilah Nasheed. It would mark the first time that two African-American women have represented the city in the Missouri Senate.

Mark Smith, Brenda Talent and Bill Freivogel discuss recent local and national headlines during this month’s Legal Roundtable.

When a chance college dorm meeting prompts parlay about urban ag and life's design, can a live/work partnership based on decay, and inspired by nature, be far behind?

In the everyday and enterprise of Tim Kiefer and Beth Grolmes-Kiefer, for sure YES.

                   
These two purposeful young sustainably-focused city residents are putting their ideals to work, raising and selling the outputs of hens, and transforming vacant property from poison-ivy infestation to rich-soil productivity. How? Primarily by collecting to rot the kitchen and garden scraps of others.

Perennial City Composting is a novel subscription service, providing St. Louis City and central-county area customers with regular organic waste pickup. Their on-the-road amenity feeds abandoned lot soil toward Tim and Beth's near-term goal of NOURISHing their subscribers with veggies from the composted scraps these same folks pay them to haul away.

This Earthworms conversation spotlights the Kiefer's unique, hard-working and visionary efforts, while also enlightening Beth and Tim to options host Jean Ponzi knows from her STL work and previous shows.

Listeners: Be ready to Rot & Roll!

Music: Jingle Bells - played live at KDHX by the Civiltones

Earthworms is honored by engineering this week from Andy Coco, host of KDHX Rhythm Section and station Production Director. THANKS!

Related Earthworms Conversations:

Elaine Ingham: Soil Science Rocks Plant Health (Nov 2017)Fungus Farming for Food & Fun - McCully Heritage Project (Feb 2018)

Food Policy Coalition Grows Health & Resouces (Dec 2015)The Easy Chicken - Fowl Fun Comes to You (Dec 2016)

Developer Joe Edwards and Delmar Loop executive director Rachelle L’Ecuyer discuss the state of the Loop as it awaits an operating trolley and continues to evolve as a dining, shopping and entertainment hub.

Chris King and Sean Joe discuss what sparked their idea to influence the narratives that surround young black males.

With the potential privatization of St. Louis Lambert International Airport still “up in the air,” St. Louis Public Radio’s Melody Walker offers analysis of the latest developments.

The digital age has ushered in many advancements and fresh possibilities – and also new concerns. One of those has to do with the need to protect vital scientific and public data.

St. Louis Public Radio's Ryan Delaney talks about his recent travels in Africa, where he caught up with some fellow St. Louisans.

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill joins Politically Speaking to talk about her quest for a third term in one of the nation’s most closely watched Senate contests.

The Missouri Democrat was first elected to the Senate in 2006. Before that, McCaskill served as Missouri’s auditor, Jackson County prosecutor and a member of the Missouri House of Representatives.

This time around, McCaskill is squaring off against Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, a Republican who is emphasizing his conservative bonafides — and his endorsements from President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.

Friday’s edition of Politically Speaking looks at three different storylines to watch as candidates and campaigns ramp up for the November election.

The first one that St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies tackle is how U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill is meeting with Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s latest pick for the U.S. Supreme Court. Both sides of the political spectrum are pressuring McCaskill, which comes as she runs against GOP Attorney General Josh Hawley.

As the expensive and competitive Senate race between McCaskill and Hawley continues, unidentified money is flowing into ballot initiatives — including a bid to raise Missouri’s minimum wage to $12 an hour. A group called the Sixteen Thirty Fund has given nearly a million dollars to that initiative — and has refused to say where its money comes from.

Meanwhile, the GOP nominee for state auditor, Saundra McDowell, is facing questions about whether she’s qualified to run for the statewide office. The Kansas City Star wrote this week about how legal scholars wonder if McDowell has lived in Missouri long enough to be auditor. McDowell said in a statement that she believes qualifies.

With a growing lack of transparency clouding money’s influence on politics around the United States, a new film digs into the issue by zooming in on one state in particular: Montana.

"We Live Here" producer/host Tim Lloyd provides an update on the Missouri Supreme Court's ruling in favor of Latasha Johnson's landlord.

Host Don Marsh talks with STLPR's Ashley Lisenby and the Southern Illinoisan's Molly Parker about the impact of the situation on residents of East St. Louis.