Want investigative reporting in the Joplin area? Here's your chance to prove it

One year has passed since I began the experiment of creating several blogs to join the Turner Report in coverage of Joplin area, Missouri, and national news.

The emphasis one year later is on four of those blogs- The Turner Report, Inside Joplin, Inside Joplin Obituaries, and Turner Resports.

The four combine for between 8,000 and 10,000 visitors a day.

Over these past several months, I have had dozens of people tell me that they appreciate me my coverage of the Joplin R-8 School District, or the fact that I have reported on the special interests and their effect on area politicians, including Seventh District Congressman Billy Long and Sen. Ron Richard.

I have had people tell me that they appreciate the investigative reporting I have done on C. J/ Huff, Billy Long, Wallace-Bajjali, Mike Woolston, Northpark Mall owners CBL & Associates and others.

I have been told that people appreciate the fact that they read some stories on this blog weeks before they appear in the Joplin Globe and many times they are reading stories that will never grace the pages of the area's "newspaper of record."

It was through the Turner Report that readers learned about the following:

-Money laundering, bankruptcy fraud and fraud charges against the developer of 1717 Marketplace on Rangeline

- A wrongful death lawsuit filed against the Carl Junction School District

-Billy Long paid for $100,000 worth of meals out of his campaign account

-The technician that the Huff Administration put in charge of student laptops had pornographic photos of 10 Joplin High School students on his laptop when he was arrested at Northpark Mal for trying to have sex with an underage girl.

-Joplin master developer Wallace-Bajjali had been involved in at least seven bankruptcies, had to pay $120,000 in fines to the SEC and was ordered to repay investors $450,000 by December 31, 2012. To this date, Wallace-Bajjali has not paid a cent.

-Joplin City Councilman and former Mayor Mike Woolston  made the rounds of the tornado-stricken area trying to convince landowners to sell their property, using his status as a city official, but not saying for whom he was working.

-Northpark Mall owners CBL & Associates are $4.8 billion in debt and their CEO had a $5.2 million pay package last year, including more than $400,000 in private plane travel.

-The Turner Report offered comprehensive coverage on the Joplin Progress Committee's attempts to influence city and school elections.

-I could list several dozen investigative pieces about education in the Joplin R-8 School District, but just to mention a couple- the Turner Report was the first to reveal the $8 million in "might-as-well" spending, the infamous six-and-a-half mile ribbon, and the long list of paid speaking engagements that C. J.. Huff has made on weekdays.

I have done my best to search through records, documents, videos, and websites to find information for my readers.

I would like to continue to do all of this and even expand upon it.

More likely than not, I will.

But I could certainly use some help.

At this point, one year into its existence- despite having those 8,000 to 10,000 visitors a day, my subscribers number in the dozens. My books and the advertising on my site enable me to break even or finish slightly ahead or slightly behind each month, but not much more.

I am not going to put the Turner Report behind a pay wall. It is going to remain free. You will have to decide if what I am doing is worth anything to you.

The "Subscribe" button is on the upper right hand side of the page. For those of you who are already subscribers, feel free to cancel your subscriptions and check back in- you will receive a better deal.

The button offers three options- $1 a week, $3 a month (a savings of approximately $1 over the weekly price) and $30 per year (a savings of $22 over the weekly price and $6 over the monthly price).

For those who are uncomfortable with using PayPal or credit cards, checks for the one-year amount, $30, can be mailed to the following address: Randy Turner, 2306 E. 8th, Apt. G, Joplin, MO 64801.

.Thanks for your time and consideration