(This story is written by Missourinet St. Louis contributor Jill Enders)

Missouri’s governor said the upcoming special session is crucial to the future of the Show-Me State.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson speaks to reporters at the Launchcode Mentor Center in St. Louis on September 4, 2018 (Jill Enders photo)

Governor Mike Parson (R) traveled the state on Tuesday to speak on the issues of STEM education and expanding drug treatment courts, which will be the focus of next week’s special session. He stopped at LaunchCode Mentor Center on Delmar in St. Louis, a non-profit that provides training for tech careers.

Parson told reporters STEM education and drug treatment courts are related.

“Believe it or not those drug courts are going to play a part in workforce development, cause what we should be trying to do instead of sentencing people to prison, we should be figuring how to get them cleaned up and how do we get them into the workforce and how do we put them to work,” Parson said.

Parson called on lawmakers to pass legislation focusing on computer science course access and STEM education.

The GOP governor was joined at LaunchCode by Senate Minority Leader Gina Walsh, D-Bellefontaine Neighbors, and House Minority Leader Gina Mitten, D-St. Louis, highlighting bipartisanship.

The special session will start on Monday and is expected to end next Friday, which is September 14. To save money, it will be held in conjunction with the annual veto session. The logistical details are still being worked out.

Governor Parson also made stops Tuesday in Springfield and in Hannibal.

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