Circuit clerk turns attention from courts to chickens

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Steve Helms admits he's got a short attention span when it comes to careers.

The outgoing Greene County Circuit Clerk is leaving the office after six years. After missing out for a seat on the county commission, Helms is turning his attention to chickens.

To be more precise, Helms is starting a media company, with the first project focused on homesteading.

"I've enjoyed gardening, have for years," he said. "I've got rabbits and chickens in the last few years, and that's always fun. It's a hobby, and if I can make some money out of it, that's great."

Helms has started a company called Kirkwood Media, which includes the website CityHomesteader.net.

The site will include a podcast about homesteading, which starts Saturday, and he'd eventually like to move it to radio.

"I think it's a really hot topic and growing," he said.

He said even people living within city limits in Springfield are into gardening, beekeeping and raising chickens. He got some experience on the radio with KWTO in recent years and thought he'd put the two together.

He's recently been to the Mother Earth News Fair, where he spoke to experts from across the nation about things like cooling a home for free, using bio gas for energy, and baking bread with natural yeast.

He wants to spend the next year, on the podcast, talking about different ways to reduce energy cost in a home by 75 percent.

"I'm not talking about living in a cave," he said. "I want all the modern conveniences."

He said he wants to help people make their lives more affordable. He said it's those conservative principles that fuel his interest in homesteading.

"I guess some people think, 'He's going to that natural, hippie stuff,' and some people think you're going to that survival prepper stuff," Helms said. "I'm neither. I think this is as mainstream as you can get and as conservative as you can get."

The media company won't likely stop with homesteading. Helms said he's in early talks with a psychologist about a radio show. And he could have a show about politics, though he'd like to get at least a little break from that sort of thing.

"Unfortunately, I have a problem of getting bored with things," he said. "Not in a bad way, but I'll use (the Circuit Clerk) job as an example. I've enjoyed working in the courthouse for the last six years or so, and I think my personality or style is wanting to go in, fix things, improve things and then move on."

He said he's never done one thing for more than seven years.

After high school, he worked construction. Then, he spent a year in real estate before getting married and joining the military for seven years. He then dipped his toes in owning rental properties, retail and a tree service business before trying his hand at politics.

"My view on life is, if you're doing something you enjoy, why would you want to retire?" he said. "I personally don't think human beings were created to work at something they don't like for 40 years and then wilt away the last 10 playing golf or fishing."

That's not to say a return to politics is out of the question.

"I wouldn't say that I would rule out any future political run," he said. "The reason I got into politics is because I wanted to have a change, not because I wanted to make some huge rise into politics."

He said he's learned, during his time in office, that change doesn't necessarily have to come from within government.

"We can have just as much of an impact outside politics," he said. "I don't see my goal as being any different. I just plan on possibly using a different avenue to get us there."