Former Missouri Senator Ron Richard Dies

Show-Me State politicos spent most of today paying their respects to the legacy of one of their colleagues. 

Meanwhile, newsies who worked the statehouse were mostly terrified of this dude at first meeting.

Here are the basics of tonight's report . . .

Ron Richard died on Friday at the age 75. He had been recently diagnosed with bladder cancer.

Many who are currently or were in Missouri politics spent Friday praising Richard as a titan in the state legislature who held top leadership roles during tumultuous times. He was speaker of the House in the midst of the economic calamity of the late 2000s and was the leader of the Senate during a monthslong crisis over the future of then-Gov. Eric Greitens’ governorship.

“It’s a legacy of what it means to be a true public servant,” said former House Speaker Todd Richardson.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

A giant in Missouri legislative politics dies - Missourinet

The only person in Missouri history to hold both positions of Missouri Speaker of the House and Senate President Pro Tem has died. Ron Richard, R-Joplin, was 75 years old. Richard started his political career in the 1990's, where he was elected to the Joplin City Council.

Ron Richard, titan of Missouri's legislative world, dies at 75

When he came to the Missouri legislature in the early 2000s, Ron Richard already built a legacy for himself as a prominent businessman and the mayor of Joplin. And when he departed the legislature because of term limits in 2018, the Joplin Republican left behind a career that is without precedent in Missouri history: the only person ever to serve as House speaker and Senate president pro tem.