DEXTER NATIVE CHARLES KRUSE IS ON LIST TO BE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE

An exclusive report by this newspaper's Jack Stapleton disclosed that Dexter native Charles Kruse is among those prominently mentioned as a possible secretary of agriculture should Texas Gov. George W. Bush win the presidency.

Kruse is the Stoddard County farmer and former Missouri director of agriculture during the 1980s who since 1992 has served as president of the Missouri Farm Bureau. He is also a retired brigadier general after a long career in the Missouri National Guard.

During the 1990s, Kruse emerged as a bona fide national leader in agriculture policy. He is at home in the highest councils in which agricultural policy is discussed. We join his many friends and supporters in hoping he gets to fill this important post.