An Open Letter to Jamie Allman and 97.1

Uncategorized |
By Rick Edlund | Read Time 2 minutes

Jamie,

I hope all is well in “common sense radio” land. I heard you had John Beck, your senior vice-president, on with you this morning, and that you or he gave us a mention. I appreciate that, but I continue to be mystified that you and/or Mr. Beck won’t allow one of our policy analysts on your program to discuss the Aerotropolis proposal.

We here at the Show-Me Institute have studied and written about this bill for months. To simply claim, as I’m told Mr. Beck did, that we are against all tax credits is shallow, at best, and in this case, completely misses the point. The fact, as we have pointed out in numerous op-eds, papers, blog posts, videos and radio and TV interviews, is that Aerotropolis remains a massive tax credit giveaway program that may well leave Missouri taxpayers picking up the tab.

Mr. Beck, who is also a board member of the RCGA, clearly doesn’t see it the way we do. That’s fine, but isn’t this topic important enough that your listeners deserve to hear both sides of the debate? I repeat what has become a long-standing offer to have one of our policy analysts come on your program to talk about Aerotropolis.

I await your call.

Best,

Rick Edlund
Communications Director
Show-Me Institute
314-454-0647

About the Author

Rick Edlund is a communications consultant for Show-Me Opportunity, an organization associated with the Show-Me Institute. He left his hometown of Kansas City to become a sportswriter, attending Northwestern Universitys prestigious Medill School of Journalism. It was there that he found his niche in television news. In 2003, the award-winning broadcaster joined KPLR-TV News as anchor and managing editor. There, he franchised the Open Cases series of reports. Working with officials and investigators, he probed unsolved police cases with the goal of assisting in their completion. In his 20-plus years in the field, he has collected four Emmy Awards and other recognition as he rapidly advanced through larger markets as sportswriter, reporter, and then anchor. In St. Louis, he anchored and reported on the top-rated newscasts for KSDK-TV from 1985 to 1998, then anchored the 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. news on ABC 30 until 2001. Following that, Rick became a strategic adviser for political campaigns. He served as media spokesman and adviser to Missouri Congressman Jim Talent in the 2000 race for governor. He continued to advise candidates on strategy and how best to package and deliver their messages in debates, interviews, and commercials. During this time, he also advised companies on communications strategies and media relations, and served as presenter for industrial films and videos. Rick lives in West St. Louis County with his two children. He was actively involved in fundraising for AMC Cancer Research, the American Heart Association, and other charitable organizations.

Similar Stories

Support Us

Headline to go here about the good with supporting us.

Donate
Man on Horse Charging