Don Coover is one of us

FIGHTING FOR A FOREVER FREE STATE

#35, January 2026

Don Coover is one of us

By J. T. Knoll

Don Coover is the kind of guy you could drive from Pittsburg to Kansas City with and not want to get out the car by the time you hit Fort Scott. Which is to say, he’s not full of himself.

This I discovered when he spoke in Pittsburg to a gathering in the ballroom of the historic Stilwell Hotel on December 4th, dressed in jeans, long sleeve shirt and worn boots.

Coover said he’s spent most of his life as a registered Republican, but he is running as a Democrat against 2nd Congressional District, incumbent Republican, Derek Schmidt.

He’s a West Point graduate who served in the Army from 1973 to the 1980s. He runs a beef cattle genetics company that provides reproductive technologies for cattle, sheep and goats. He lives on a ranch in Galesburg with his wife. He has two stepchildren and a granddaughter.

Coover said in his talk (and I agree) that he doesn’t think there’s much difference between a moderate Republican and a moderate Democrat. He entered the race because he believes the country is moving away from the liberty and values he defended while in the Army.

The gathering of 70 local Dems started with a mouthwatering buffet prepared by Sally Harryman and opened with remarks by Marsha Weeks, one of the organizers of the event.

The first speaker was Coover’s campaign treasurer, Anthony Hensley. It was apparent in Hensley’s remarks that this isn’t his first rodeo. Indeed, he served an historic 44 years in the Kansas Legislature, first elected in 1976 and remaining until 2021, making him the state's longest-serving legislator, with time in both the House and the Senate.

Hensley’s acumen, wit and overall demeanor brought a tear and a smile as he reminded me of our beloved neighbor and long-serving, Kansas Senator, Phil Martin, who died two years ago this week.

Hensley spoke to the historical reality that Republican Kansans will break ranks and vote for a Democrat if they agree with their values, capabilities and agenda, citing, among others, current Kansas Governor, Laura Kelly, as a prime example.

Don Coover’s remarks, which were interlaced with self-deprecating humor, were simple and to the point and spoke to his considerable intellect and emotional honesty. He said he’s ‘middle of the road’. That he doesn’t agree with everything that the Democrats say and do … but doesn’t disagree with all of them either. The same goes for the Republicans.

The tariffs, according to Coover, are crippling Kansas farmers and small business. This he knows from his direct contact with them as a vet and rancher. Likewise, he disagrees with the immigration raids, saying they’re not constructive.

He also spoke to the broken health care system, especially as it relates to rural Kansans, not only in the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs and insurance premiums but also the continued closing of rural hospitals.

Overall, he sees what’s happening in Washington as chaos, and that his incumbent opponent, Derek Schmidt, is part of it because he believes Schmidt’s afraid to do what’s right by Kansans and the nation.

A couple of days after the gathering one of my friends pointed out that he was a little disappointed because Coover didn’t lay out much in the way of specific plans on how his was gonna’ fix things.

My response was that was the very thing that I liked about him. He didn’t appear to be giving a stump speech, making sure he hit all his talking points. He told about himself and his family, expressed his concerns about what is happening in Washington, and committed himself to upholding honesty and liberty.

In short, he didn’t come off like he was all that interested in becoming important but rather getting Kansas and the country back on track toward the principals we all share.

Also, that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to get it done.

Dr. Don Coover’s website is

Don Coover for Congress https://doncooverforcongress.com

J.T Knoll is a columnist for The Morning Sun and can be reached at 620-704-1309, 401 W. Euclid, Pittsburg, KS, or jtknoll@swbell.net

Our first gathering of the new year

The next meeting will be on Jan. 18 at 1 pm at the Crawford County Democratic Headquarters.

We are hoping that all can make it!

Venezuelan oil

We’re close to war with Venezuela,

And we’re wondering “Just what the hell?”

The reasons the White House keeps telling

Aren’t going over too well.

Is the goal in this, stopping cocaine?

If it is they need to explain,

Why do we sink little boats when we find ‘em,

Yet we pardon the leaders behind ‘em?

This is a mystery to no one.

It looks like just what it is.

It’s a storybook tale of Trump’s grifting,

Any money involved becomes his.

The boats that we’ve sunk up to now,

And the people who died as well,

If it’s legal I’d like to know how,

But we’ve not enough evidence to tell.

We’ve taken command of a ship,

Like pirates in days of yore.

The legalities we decided to skip,

When has illegal, stopped him before?

Today we were told there are others,

More freighters filled up with oil.

And just like the days of the pirates,

The oil is regarded as spoils.

There’s a question now we have created,

“What the hell do we do with this oil?”

And a second issue that is also related,

Would we allow this on American soil?

The whole world is watching in shame,

At the loss of our nation’s good name.

Once we were faithful and upstanding,

Now we’re arrogant and demanding,

With their faith in us never the same.

— Mike Sand

Young Democrats update

After a busy period leading up to the local elections, the Crawford County Young Democrats have been taking some needed time to regroup and prepare for the upcoming midterm elections.

Canvassing and phone banking will take quite a few volunteering hours, and we are preparing for that in part by having a little less going on now. While we have had fewer activities in the last two months, we have not been completely idle either.

We’ve continued our ongoing volunteer initiative at the Wesley House, which we began earlier this year. For this, we’ve been having people volunteer every fourth, and when applicable, on the fifth Sunday. This has been a great opportunity to give back, and to assert our place as a positive part of this community. Additionally, we also had a Christmas bake sale. Many thanks to everyone who participated in this, whether by baking or by purchasing items.

The fundraisers we’ve done this year have allowed us to contribute to the Crawford County Democrats projects, most notably renting the pavilion for the last No Kings protest. We have also been continuing to have our monthly meeting, and our number of sign-ups are steadily increasing. Overall, we’re really looking forward to a productive and successful 2026!

— Sophia Stapleton

Book group report

By Harriet Bachner and Linda Pratt

The book for January is The Widows of Malabar Hill, a historical mystery novel by Sujata Massey.

All of us lauded our book selection for December, The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon. The characters were well developed and relatable and the mysterious events of the murder continued to evolve with elusive clues throughout the novel. Even though the setting was in the late 18th century, after the Revolutionary War and the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, the dilemmas and struggles of the central characters, Martha and Ephraim Ballard, their children and their neighbors resonated with current crises. Lawhon’s writing style for this murder mystery is quite engaging and though this novel is several hundred pages, we all agreed that this book is a real page turner, difficult to put aside.

For the December book group meeting we also engaged in what became a hilarious book exchange called Yankee Swap. We each brought a wrapped book or two to share, get rid of, or maybe one that had some humorous meaning for our gift book exchange. Despite some dissatisfaction with the books some of us selected, no one was willing to swap for another’s book. A few of these books may be donated to the CCD Headquarters Library, so you may see some book titles that don’t quite fit with the political, social, current event themes of the books in our headquarters library.

Our January book, The Widows of Malabar Hill, is a historical mystery novel by Sujata Massey. Set in 1920s India, it is the story of Bombay's only female lawyer investigating a suspicious will on behalf of three Muslim widows living in full purdah. The investigation takes a turn toward the murderous.....

We have also selected our February book. We're going to read Lord of the Flies. It is considered a modern classic, often described as a parable, allegory and a morality tale.

The next book group meeting is at 6:30pm on Wednesday, January 21, at the Democratic Headquarters. Each month we initially plan to meet on the third Wednesday of the month, but sometimes scheduled conflicts emerge and thus we change to a later Wednesday. We will send folks information about any date change.

We look forward to new folks joining us for lively conversation, laughter and a delicious potluck dinner even if you haven't read the book or don’t have a dish for potluck. Bring a friend and something to share if you wish.

Hope to see you there.

The Last Class

On Monday, Dec. 8, a small group of folks gathered in an Axe Library classroom at Pittsburg State University to watch the documentary, The Last Class. The Liberal Ladies organized this opportunity and PSU Axe librarian Jorge Leon reserved a comfortable room for us to watch the film together. The producer Heather Kinlaw Lofthouse, director Elliot Kirschner, and editor Josh Melrod decided to have the documentary live streamed due to the overwhelming national response.

The Last Class focuses on Robert Reich’s final semester teaching “Wealth and Poverty” at UC Berkeley. This film highlights Dr. Robert Reich’s teaching career, his emphasis on critical thinking and issues relating to inequality. He reflects upon retirement from his 40+ years teaching career and his career as an economist and former Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration. He is known as a best-selling author and for his public service, but he considers teaching to be his “true calling.” This film depicts this “master teacher” grappling with aging and his concerns for his students who are moving into an unsettling time in the world. He encourages his students to “not accept that society must stay the way it is” and ponders on “who will be the teachers of tomorrow?” Dr. Reich struggles with retirement from teaching with humor, frank introspection, and emotional tenderness.

Some of us who viewed the film are retired educators (and retired PSU faculty too) and Reich’s experiences mentoring students and teaching resonated with the teachers in this group. We encourage our friends, former colleagues, and teachers to see the film when it is shown in a theater or if/when it is streamed on-line again.

Here are links to the course that Dr. Reich taught and he is now offering it entirely on-line with the course syllabus and the associated readings. Wealth & Poverty - YouTube You will be able to experience his teaching and view all the media that he used in teaching this course during his last semester as a professor. Wealth and Poverty — Inequality Media with Robert Reich

— Harriet Bachner

Open mic

I never thought about writing about open mic. For me it is an experience. You have to be there. I guess you can say it is an event. I suppose it can be thought of as a concept. But in the end it must be experienced.

A short history of open mic: I started attending open mics not long after I began playing guitar, about 2012, at Wheat State Pizza when Rev Kev was putting it on. After he moved, Kelli Zellner held it at a store at the mall and then downtown. Then Kelli stopped being the coordinator and I took over to keep it going. It was next at Root Coffeehouse at Eighth Street and Broadway, and then near Fourth Street and Broadway when Root moved. When Root changed ownership and decided to limit open mic, we moved to TJ Lelands at 108 W. 6th Street where we currently continue to play.

In essence, open mic is an opportunity for people to express themselves through music and other various types of performances. We have a sign-up board for people to put their name down for three songs or 15 minutes. All people and all genres are accepted. Our open mic has a decidedly liberal slant and an older average age, partly, I think, due to the earlier hours it runs, 5:30pm to 8:30 or 9:00pm. Other open mics I’ve attended generally start later, like 9pm, and the crowd is much younger and the music much louder.

So, who comes? People who have been playing music or writing poetry their whole lives are the typical performers. Also, people who are coming to perform or express themselves much later in life. There are folk singers, country and cowboy singers, and people who lead sing-alongs. There are people who write their own stuff and people who do covers of other people’s songs or read from other’s poetry. We’ve had some interesting musical collaborations. We’ve heard some good stories from storytellers. We’ve had comedians. We’ve had people do a combination of all of the above.

Perhaps the greatest thing is that the people who attend come to listen. TJ Lelands has two rooms, the bar itself and the stage is in a separate room. There is something very satisfying about playing your music or reading for an audience who listen. Other open mics have a different vibe. Elsewhere, people come to talk, eat, and drink, not necessarily to listen. And there is very little that is predictable except the time slot and the limits imposed by the three songs or the 15-minute rule. We never know what’s going to come next.

So, if you want to participate in a “coming together” or want to experience a unique spontaneous sharing of people’s souls as expressed through music and poetry? Come next time. We usually have open mic on the third Tuesday of each month. Send your email address to me and I’ll send you the info.

— George Weeks, gmweeks@cox.net

Fly heaven

No swatting

Everything is rotten

My babies eat their fill

No birds

No cold, No too hot

Poop everywhere

No windows, no screens

No bats, No cars

Lots of dead bodies

Palestine is heaven

Every day soldiers make

Dead babies, dead children, dead women

Dead doctors, dead teachers,

Dead poets, dead Grandpas, dead Grandmas

Every day: blown up bodies, starved bodies, shot bodies, sick bodies

All praise be to Zionism

All praise be to Trump and Biden and Netanyahu

All praise to Democrats and Republicans and

Ordinary people who can close their eyes, close their ears, hold their nose,

And forget their silence creates fly heaven.

— Jim Orwig

December meeting notes from LL

Liberal Ladies met on 12/3 at Dem HQ. Kay Long, who rescues cats and dogs and feeds birds, noticed that after a newly mixed batch of seeds and milo she had no birds for two weeks! So if you mix your own seeds with milo be sure it hasn't been sprayed with chemicals. She also recommended a podcast with Robert De Niro called “Bobby.” He is a fierce liberal.

Harriet reminded everyone about donations to Safehouse.

Jean told of her finds at places like the Doggy Bag. She gets bargains and animals get benefits.

Nancy Tomassi's daughter-in-law lost her job where she had been advancing and being praised for her work. Possibly because of tariffs.

Jean noted that England will no longer share intelligence with the U.S. for fear it will be shared with some rogue nations.

Kay saw a $1 bill stamped with this message: "Trump lies and he is a traitor." Several women remembered this stamp from earlier years. It still applies.

The group lamented the downgrading of teachers and nurses as professionals.

Nancy T. reported on the cards she has sent for birthdays and illness, and flowers to Shirley because of the death of her Mother.

Harriet told of a rotating sign (somewhere, I missed the location) that rotates messages like, "Trump is a liar" and "Trump is a sex offender."

Karen commented about the language of Trump and a lot of his cabinet. The words they choose are very demeaning to the Presidency and to the country.

Harriet and Penny brought up his cabinet and advisors and the unlawful things they support and encourage: the killing of men in fishing boats and in the water. Running drugs is not punishable by death. Harriet told of two Columbian sailors who are suing Trump.

I mentioned a fundraiser sponsored by Marcia and George Weeks at the Stilwell. It's for Don Coover, our most excellent candidate for the 2nd District, U.S. House of Representatives.

Harriet reminded us of the showing of the Robert Reich movie “The Last Class” to be shown for free at Axe Library on 12/8.

Nancy Tomassi collected donations to get gift certificates for Toast and In the Garden to thank Emily for all she does for us.

I asked how everyone was soothing themselves through these turbulent times. Kay watched a documentary about an axe murder in 1980. Candy Montgomery murdered the wife of her ex lover after the wife hit her with the axe. Candy was not convicted! Harriet is soothed by watching and reading Heather Cox Richardson. Others agreed with her presenting facts to counteract the blizzard of lies.

We would meet next on 12/31, at noon, at Dem HQ, not the 30th as I had been saying.

Liberal Ladies met on 12/17 at my house for a Christmas Celebration. Along with potato soup, we had a table full of beautiful and delicious snacks. We had an empty chair for Emily that I added one of my favorite frogs to. You might miss that sweet little frog in the crowd of women. We had a big pile of donations for Safehouse under the tree. These were delivered after the party by Ruth Miller, Harriet Bachner, Jean Hurlbert and Janice Arthur. Safehouse wass very appreciative.

— Susy Hammons

PDA interviews Don Coover

Don Who? Don Coover, in case you were wondering who would like to represent the people of the Second Congressional District. Dr. (of Veterinary Medicine) Coover reached a level of frustration with the apparent ignorance or indifference of Derek Schmidt to the lives of ordinary Kansans, who need health care and medical facilities within minutes instead of hours; Kansans who need healthcare that does not lead to bankruptcy; Kansas ranchers and farmers who need fair prices for their grains and livestock; and Kansans who oppose foreign policies that benefit the military-industrial complex and destroy good will towards the United States. Dr. Coover’s brother, Kelly, had a solution to his brother’s grumpiness: Replace Derek Schmidt. Defeat him in the election of 2026. Kelly was able to convince his brother that the time was right and Don Coover was the right person.

Here’s a link to a Kansas Reflector article about Dr. Coover: Southeast Kansas farmer challenges Republican incumbent for 2nd District congressional seat • Kansas Reflector

I’ve had the opportunity to chat with Don on several occasions and personally believe he would make a great representative in Congress. It’s my impression that his thoughts about policy priorities are congruent with policies that progressives support. On Dec. 10, he joined the zoom meeting of the Kansas Chapter of Progressive Democrats of America to talk about his growing up on a Kansas farm, his West Point education, military service, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine education and his return to his roots to ranch and serve the ranching community through his practice and business. Then he answered questions from the 15 people who attended and his day was not finished until he tended to his animals. Learn more about his campaign at Don Coover for Congress .

The Jan. 14 meeting of the Kansas Chapter of PDA will have Jennifer Day as our guest. She is running for Kansas Secretary of State in 2026. What does the Kansas Secretary of State do? That’s a good question and offhand I did not know, so I googled it. As it turns out, it is a rather important job. Here’s a brief description verbatim from the website: The Secretary of State’s office is one of four offices authorized by the Kansas Constitution. The duties of the office are defined by almost 1,000 state laws, with the primary responsibility for administering elections, collecting certain records of Kansas businesses, and publishing the official publications for the State of Kansas. Information about those services and duties can be found by navigating through the website or by contacting the office.

The next Kansas chapter of PDA meeting will be publicized in Mobilize. Sign up, join us, be prepared to ask questions, and have a rare opportunity to have a conversation with the person who may be our next Secretary of the State of Kansas.

— Jim Orwig, co-leader of Kansas Chapter of PDA

A Happy Birthday to the HQ boss!

The headquarters was mostly closed through December, so there is not much to report. Operating hours for 2026 will be posted to the Facebook group and in the window as soon as they’re decided. Please get in touch with me if you can contribute an hour or two towards staffing the office. Until election season revs up, opening 10-4 everyday seems a bit excessive, but HQ is always available for meetings.

Also, I wrote a little blurb last month about a friend of mine in Chicago who was picked up by ICE. When I read it, I was upest because it didn’t sound serious enough. So, I’d like to rephrase: People are being illegally arrested and stored like animals less than a day’s drive from here. I’m ready for a protest and a good fundraiser. Action meeting at HQ on January 8 (the second Thursday, for future reference) at 4pm.

— Sally Harryman, sally@crawfordcountyksdems.org

We want to hear from you!

Article submissions are needed from Crawford County Democrats and friends about issues and topics we should all be thinking about. Let us publish your thoughts in this Revue, for distribution to our fellow county Democrats and others across the state. Back issues of thr newsletter are also on the website at https://www.crawfordcountyksdems.org/newsletter.

Please email your thoughts or those of your caucuses and interest groups for publication in the county party’s newsletter to news@crawfordcountyksdems.org. Accompanying photographs or other ideas for illustrating your articles are also welcome. Feel free to ask questions by text or phone of newsletter crew Harriet at 620-704-8566 or Phil at 708-466-0659. Also please include your phone number with your message in case we have questions for you.

We truly are looking forward to hearing from you!

By Crawford County Democratic Party

Dr. Emily Walters, Chair

EDUCATING VOTERS AND WINNING VOTES

Newsletter contacts: Harriet Bachner & Phil Burgert news@crawfordcountyksdems.org