We're as sports- and entertainment-minded as most, but a Missouri Senate plan to dedicate millions of dollars collected from out-of-state athletes and entertainers to professional-sports facilities leaves us cold.

Those tens of millions of dollars collected from sports and entertainment figures appearing in Missouri ought to go into the general fund for use in propping up programs that serve the poor, the aged and the infirm.

According to The Associated Press, 64 percent of the tax money coming in from the tax on entertainers and athletes would go to sports facilities around the state. Money would be used, for instance, to help pay off the dome in the St. Louis Rams' stadium and improve the stadiums of the Kansas Chiefs and Kansas City Royals. The tax take is estimated at $30 million by 2007.

Channeling $15 million to $20 million or so to pro stadiums simply makes little sense in this time of budgetary belt-tightening. The good news is that serious opposition appears to be developing in the House. The bill deserves the courtesy of a hearing and then should be squashed.

-- Joplin Globe

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The story of the 20th century was a tale of people moving from the country to the city.

People came to big cities for jobs, opportunities and excitement. As the population of the rural areas decreased, so did the numbers of vital professionals -- most specifically, doctors.

Rural residents who live a long way from physicians have a higher rate of severe health problems, often because they postpone seeing a doctor until it's too late. That's partly because of the time investment required to see a doctor who might be hours away.

That's why it's good to see the University of Missouri focusing on training doctors to work in small, country towns. Additionally, since 1987, 18 graduates of the Cox Family Practice Residency Program have set up shop in towns of less than 10,000 people.

This is good for the health of our state.

While cities have their bright lights and booming nightlife, more people may realize that bigger doesn't necessarily mean better. Modern technology makes it possible to do more and more business from anywhere. Shoppers can go online instead of heading to the mall. We may not have an urban to rural migration, but with increasing numbers of rural doctors, there's no reason to leave the country.

-- Springfield News-Leader