A group of Missouri senators that goes by the nickname "The Eleven" has united in bipartisan fashion for a worthy cause: improving child literacy rates.
As part of that effort, the group has written a new children's book. It's called "You Can, Too!" and chronicles the lives of all 36 women, including The Eleven themselves, who have served in the Missouri Senate.
"We were invited as a group to just go have dinner one night together in a quiet, relaxing environment, and we started talking about what we could do as the 11 of us," says Sen. Jill Schupp. "We decided that a great bipartisan issue important to the present and the future of the state of Missouri is to make sure every child could read."
Putting together "You Can, Too!" was one of the ideas that came out of that dinner. With funding from the Missouri Humanities Council, Missouri Life published 10,000 copies of the book. The books are being distributed to classrooms and libraries across the state.
Senators Holly Thompson Rehder and Jeanie Riddle joined Schupp to talk to Steve Kraske about the book and about policy issues as the Senate reconvenes for the 2022 legislative session.
- State Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder (R - Scott City)
- State Sen. Jill Schupp (D - Creve Couer)
- State Sen. Jeanie Riddle (R - Mokane)
