Sometimes Springfield is in the national spotlight for all the right reasons, such as when Sen. Barack Obama announced his campaign for the presidency on the lawn of the Old State Capitol. Lately we've been making national headlines for terrible reasons – first the death of Earl Moore in December 2022 at the hands of the EMTs who were called to assist him, and now the death of Sonya Massey at the hands of a sheriff's deputy after she called 911. The murder charges filed in both cases are a good start, but Springfield has a long way to go to reconcile its troubled racial history. Acknowledging the systemic factors at play instead of blaming a bad apple here or there would help. Admitting the problem is always the first step.
–Michelle Ownbey, publisher