This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Dec. 17, 2009 - Missouri's political world will begin the New Year without two key young faces -- one behind the scenes, and the other a fixture on TV and on the web.
Dave Catanese, a Springfield, Mo., TV reporter whose political blog on KY3.com has been a must-read for five years among the state's politicians and political junkies, is moving on.
Catanese informed readers Wednesday that he's joining the staff of Politico, the national political website based out of Washington, D.C. Catanese will be a national political reporter for the site.
Catanese says his last day at KY3 TV -- and presumably the last day for his Political Notebook blog -- will be Dec. 29.
Among his fellow political journalists, Catanese is respected as a true professional, with a great sense of humor. (Loved his ad-lib stand-ups in Jefferson City.)
He has written a few short pieces in Politico about Missouri's political scene, and he expects to continue doing so -- especially since next year's U.S. Senate contest is expected to be among the nation's most-watched.
Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill's communications chief -- Adrianne Marsh (aka by her boss as "Hair on Fire") will be leaving to join the staff of U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, the freshman Democrat from Colorado.
Marsh will be his senior communications advisor; Bennet, who was appointed to the post earlier this year (when Salazar became Interior secretary), faces a tough election next year.
Marsh has been with McCaskill since her 2006 campaign for the Senate. During the subsequent four years, Marsh has been a favorite among reporters -- even when she's steamed at them (and, like her boss, lets them know).
Marsh says she's moving on with McCaskill's blessing. The senator's press secretary, Maria Speiser, will move into Marsh's post.
By the way, Marsh also is a cable TV star, as a result of her featured role in an episode of "House Hunters" on HGTV. The episode was initially taped in 2008, but was most recently re-aired last Sunday. In it, cameras joined Marsh as she looked for a new D.C. condominium (she found one with a killer closet).
Maybe she can offer Catanese some advice.