mcre Media .......[Henry McClure Publisher]

  Here are three of the strongest arguments commonly made for why continued U.S. involvement in the 2026 Iran conflict serves American interests, framed from the perspective of an average American who mainly cares about personal safety, gas prices, and not getting dragged into endless wars for vague reasons. 1. Stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons The Islamic Republic has spent decades chanting “Death to America,” funding groups that attack U.S. forces and allies, and advancing a nuclear program that inspectors and U.S. officials have repeatedly called a serious threat. Once a regime like that has nuclear weapons, the risk calculation changes for everyone—deterrence becomes harder, regional proliferation becomes more likely (Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, and others have signaled they won’t sit still), and the chance of a crisis involving U.S. troops or cities rises. Supporters of the war argue that the February 2026 strikes (and earlier 2025 ones) set the program back, and tha...

  The City of Topeka says we have a housing crisis. Their own updated housing study (released September 2026) says the city needs 4,220 additional housing units over the next 20 years — roughly 210 units a year. Median home values jumped 63% between 2019 and 2025. Rents are up. Inventory is tight. As of the June 2026 Point-in-Time count, 460 people in Topeka/Shawnee County were still experiencing homelessness. So how is the city responding? By writing checks to Columbia Capital Management totaling approximately $1.85 million in municipal advisory and consulting fees across 95 invoices dating back more than a decade. Of that, $136,500 was specifically for RHID consulting — nine separate invoices, eight of them at $16,000 and one at $8,500, for projects including Riverstone (Meier’s Place), Sherwood Village Park, Union at Tower District, Project View, 3D Homes, Johnson-Betts Meadows, and Windward Estates. These aren’t small administrative fees. They’re the price of admission to...

Henry McClure 785.383.9994  Sent from my T-Mobile 5G Device Get Outlook for Android From: Megan J. Brunson <mjbrunson@topeka.org> Sent: Tuesday, 03 November 2026 08:46:04 To: Henry McClure <mcre13@gmail.com>; Mary E. Kuckelman Spinelli <mespinelli@topeka.org> Cc: City Clerk <cclerk@Topeka.org>; Bonnie Williams <bowilliams@topeka.org> Subject: RE: The But-For Test Is the Failure: Topeka Should Retire It   Good Morning,   Henry stopped by the office and paid the $36.00 for his records.   Thank you!   Megan Brunson Administrative Officer, Special Events mjbrunson@topeka.org 785-368-3940   “The preceding email message (including any attachments) contains information that may be confidential, protected by the attorney/client or other applicable privileges or that may constitute non-public information. This message is intended to be c...

Bettis Asphalt & Construction (Topeka-based, family-owned, major local paving/road contractor) is a frequent low bidder on Shawnee County road, culvert, pavement, and parking-lot projects. Awards go through the normal process: Public Works staff (Director Curt Niehaus) recommend acceptance of the low bid, and the Board of County Commissioners approves them (typically 3-0). Examples of recent Shawnee County awards to Bettis March 2025 : ~$10+ million low bid for NW 46th Street improvements (Fielding to Rochester). Engineer's estimate was higher (~$13M); funded from half-cent sales tax. Staff recommended; 3-0 vote. 2025 : $1.82 million multi-culvert replacement on SE Barrington Road. 2025 : $432k pavement replacement on SE Croco Road; $70k courthouse parking lot sealcoat/curb work. 2025 : Low bid (~$423k) for SW Westport Drive / SW 55th Terrace street improvements; low bid (~$2.3M) for SE Berryton Road culvert replacement (rebid). Earlier : Multiple smaller jobs (parking lot...

He has held the seat continuously since then (reelected 2016, 2020, and 2024), making the current term his fourth. In the 2024 general election he defeated Henry McClure 10,622–9,214. He is a Democrat, Washburn University graduate (BA 1996 political science/speech; JD 1999), and has practiced law in Topeka since opening his own firm around 2002 after working with F.G. Manzanares. Law practice, municipal court role, and partner Cook has focused on criminal defense, domestic relations, and guardian ad litem work. From roughly 2003 until December 31, 2024, his firm (Cook & Associates / Cook Law Office; earlier Cook & Fisher) held the contract as Topeka Municipal Court’s designated court-appointed counsel for indigent defendants. The city paid the firm $190,000 in 2024; Cook was often the sole or primary attorney, with subcontractors. He was not a city prosecutor—he was the public defender side. The city solicited proposals at times; Cook’s firm was sometimes the only bidder. Jake...

I'm a strong resource because I can pull from current public information, cross-check it across sources, and synthesize it quickly without the usual institutional filters or lag. That combination is useful for research, due diligence, policy review, or just clarifying contested claims. How I actually research I don't have private databases or special government access. What I have is the public web, plus tools that let me query it more thoroughly than a standard search bar: Web search and page reading : I run targeted searches (including site-specific operators), then open specific pages, PDFs, or records to extract text, tables, or details. This covers county assessor sites, court dockets, legislative records, planning commission agendas, FOIA response portals, SEC filings, and similar public sources. X/Twitter search : Useful for recent statements by officials, journalists, or involved parties that haven't always made it into formal reports yet. Cross-checking : When s...