Brian Hauswirth, Author at Missourinet

Missouri unveils new COVID-19 vaccine website

November 25, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor has announced the launch of a new vaccine website, which answers common questions and clarifies what it calls misinformation.

The new website is mostopscovid.com, and provides Missourians with information about the safety of the vaccines, research and production processes and when they could be eligible for vaccination.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson (left) tours Milbank Manufacturing in Kansas City on November 20, 2020 (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

Governor Mike Parson emphasizes that safety involving the vaccines is not being sacrificed. The governor says research and development of multiple COVID-19 vaccines continue to show promising safety and effectiveness findings.

One tab on the website is titled “get the facts”, and says you cannot get COVID-19 from the vaccine. Another tab is called “rumor control”.

Missouri submitted its 111-page plan for administering the impending COVID vaccine to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in October.

State health officials say there are currently 2,680 COVID patients in Missouri hospitals, including 664 in the ICU. The state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) says there have been 24,922 new COVID cases in the past week, which is down about 1,000 from Friday. There have been 78 new COVID deaths in the past week.

Missouri Supreme Court issues key ruling involving juvenile murderer

November 24, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A Missouri prisoner who was 16 when she killed a man during a meth transaction in western Missouri’s Cass County will remain in prison for now, under a key ruling Tuesday from the Missouri Supreme Court.

Convicted killer Jessica Hicklin is currently incarcerated at the Potosi Correctional Center in Mineral Point (June 2020 file photo courtesy of the Missouri Department of Corrections)

The inmate, 41-year-old Jessica Hicklin, was sentenced in April 1997 to mandatory life without parole. Hicklin is incarcerated at the maximum-security Potosi Correctional Center in southeast Missouri’s Mineral Point.

Prosecutors say Hicklin was 16 when Sean Smith was shot and killed.

Hicklin began challenging her sentence after the U.S. Supreme Court held in 2012 that juveniles cannot be given mandatory sentences of life without parole.

In Tuesday’s 20-page unanimous decision, the Missouri Supreme Court rejected Hicklin’s claim that the Missouri statute giving her parole eligibility after 25 years is unconstitutional.

In its ruling, the state court notes U.S. Supreme Court precedent gives states two options for fixing mandatory juvenile life-without-parole sentences for juveniles already sentenced: either resentence them or give them meaningful opportunity for release after considering certain circumstances, including their youth.

Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC) spokeswoman Karen Pojmann tells Missourinet that Hicklin’s parole hearing is tentatively set for July 2021. The murder happened in 1995, and Hicklin entered state prison in April 1997 but received credit for time served in the county jail.

Hicklin also contended that the authority of Missouri’s Probation and Parole Board violates the state’s separation of powers. The Missouri Supreme Court rejected that.

Tuesday’s decision was written by Missouri Supreme Court Judge Laura Denvir Stith. You can read the full 20-page ruling here.

Schatz: Missouri Senate to return next week; two senators who tested positive for COVID have recovered (AUDIO)

November 24, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri Senate leader says two state senators and a Senate staff member who tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered.

Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz (R-Sullivan) briefs Capitol reporters on March 12, 2020 in Jefferson City, as Democratic Leader John Rizzo (D-Kansas City) and Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden (R-Columbia) look on (file photo from Missourinet’s Alisa Nelson)

Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, says the full Senate plans to return to Jefferson City next week.

“I haven’t spoken to both of them (the two state senators who tested positive for COVID) but I’ve spoken with one of those senators and he has fully recovered and feeling fine. And I do believe the other senator according to reports, that he is fine also and fully recovered,” Schatz says.

Schatz and Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, announced last Monday that the Senate would postpone debate and votes on the proposed $1.2 billion supplemental budget until after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, due to the positive COVID cases. Schatz says that decision was not made lightly and was done in the best interest of protecting senators, staff members and the public.

Pro Tem Schatz tells Missourinet that the Senate will return next Tuesday afternoon to debate and vote on the supplemental budget. He says the Senate needs two days to get it done, and that will include time for committee hearings.

“Our plan is we adjourned until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, December 1,” says Schatz. “So we are planning to come back and take up some of the appropriations work that the House has sent over to us.”

The House approved the supplemental budget on November 10, on a bipartisan 133-4 vote. The budget deploys federal resources across numerous state departments.

It also provides more authority to spend federal dollars on personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing. It also addresses Missouri’s unemployment fund shortage.

Schatz expects a final vote on the supplemental budget next Wednesday. If the Senate approves it as is, it would go straight to the governor’s desk. If any changes are made, the budget would go to a conference committee.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, which was recorded on November 23, 2020:

Christmas tree from rural southeast Missouri to be displayed on Governor’s Mansion lawn in Jefferson City

November 23, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The Christmas tree that will be displayed on the Governor’s Mansion lawn this year will be from a small town in southeast Missouri.

Missouri Office of Administration (OA) staff help install the Governor’s Mansion lawn Christmas tree in Jefferson City on December 2, 2019 (file photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

Governor Mike Parson says the tree that will be displayed on the Mansion lawn is a 40-foot Norway spruce donated by Doris Baker, who’s from southeast Missouri’s Desloge. It’s a town of about 5,000 residents, near Farmington.

Ms. Baker has donated her tree because it became too large for her yard.

The tree will arrive in Jefferson City on Monday morning between 7 and 8, and it’s so big that part of Madison Street outside the mansion will be closed, when it arrives.

Missouri Office of Administration (OA) staff will install the Mansion lawn tree.

The governor’s office has also announced that the annual lighting of the tree will take place on Friday December 4, at 6 p.m. That will be followed by candlelight tours that evening until 8. This year’s candlelight tours will be by reservation-only, due to COVID concerns.

Governor Parson’s office says it will announce additional details about the tours early next week.

Columbia’s mayor touts radiopharmaceutical corridor and three massive construction projects (AUDIO)

November 23, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Columbia’s mayor says his fast-growing city and all of mid-Missouri will benefit greatly from three massive projects happening in the area.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson (left) and Columbia Mayor Brian Treece (center) speak to businessman Greg Steinhoff on November 17, 2020 at a groundbreaking ceremony at Columbia Regional Airport (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

Mayor Brian Treece notes that more than $500 million in new construction will be happening in the next 12 to 24 months, with some already underway.

“Between a new I-70 bridge at Rocheport, a $200 million NextGen precisional health complex, that will bring life saving cures to Columbia. And now a new $38 million airport terminal (at Columbia Regional). That’s great for mid-Missouri,” Treece says.

The NextGen Precision Health Institute, a $220 million facility, is under construction. It’s expected to train the next generation of scientists who will help Missouri address future health care needs.

The NextGen project is the UM System’s top capital priority, and enjoys bipartisan support in the Legislature from lawmakers such as Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, State Rep. Sara Walsh, R-Ashland, and State Rep. (and State Sen.-Elect) Greg Razer, D-Kansas City.

Mizzou says researchers in medicine and engineering will work in the institute, to advance lifesaving research.

As for the I-70 Rocheport bridge, Missouri has received an $81 million federal grant to replace the current bridge, which was built in 1960. More than 12-million vehicles cross that bridge annually, including three million trucks.

Rocheport is just west of Columbia.

Mayor Treece also predicts that a new terminal that will be built at Columbia Regional Airport (COU) will be a generational investment that will pay big dividends in future economic development for his city and for central Missouri. The mayor says the terminal will also be huge for the University of Missouri.

“For new businesses that want to come to mid-Missouri, that want to take advantage of the University of Missouri’s nuclear reactor and building a radiopharmaceutical corridor right here in central Missouri for life-saving cures that we all benefit from,” says Treece.

The current COU terminal was built in 1968, and Columbia will soon begin flying to Charlotte. Mayor Treece says the new terminal will put further destinations in play, and says Atlanta and Phoenix are two major hub cities Columbia would like to fly to.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with Columbia Mayor Brian Treece, which was recorded on November 17, 2020 at Columbia Regional Airport:

Mercy Springfield nurse says they’re running out of room for COVID and acute patients

November 23, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

(Missourinet Springfield television partner KOLR-10 contributed to this story)

Springfield’s mayor and hospital leaders and employees there are renewing their call for a statewide mask mandate. They held a Friday afternoon press conference.

The Missouri National Guard assists at a COVID-19 testing site in Callaway County on November 17, 2020 (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

Mayor Ken McClure, a Republican who served as chief of staff to former Governor Matt Blunt, says that while guidelines are fine, people are not following them.

Mercy Hospital Springfield registered nurse Wanda Brown agrees, saying Springfield hospitals are overwhelmed.

“At Mercy Springfield, we now have four COVID units, one of which is our dedicated COVID ICU. All of our units are continually full and are becoming overwhelmed,” Brown tells reporters.

The state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) says there are currently 2,817 COVID patients in Missouri hospitals, an increase of 83 from Friday. DHSS says 646 of those COVID patients are in the ICU, and 336 are on ventilators.

DHSS says there have been 24,570 new COVID cases in the past week, an average of 3,510 per day.

Ms. Brown says Mercy Springfield is running out of room for both COVID and acute patients.

“I know we have all heard statements made of how hospitals are not overwhelmed, and our ICU’s are not full. But this is untrue and it is misleading and I think it provides a false sense of security for our community,” says Brown.

Missourinet Springfield television partner KOLR-10 reports CoxHealth leaders also spoke at Friday’s press conference. You can read KOLR-10’s story here.

As for Governor Mike Parson, he told Missourinet last week that while he’s opposed to a mask mandate, he has and continues to urge you to wear a mask. He’s been promoting a program called the “Show Me You Care” campaign, which emphasizes the need for you to wear a mask, to wash your hands, practice good hygiene and to social distance.

During that interview with Missourinet, Governor Parson emphasized that the next 30 to 60 days are crucial. His administration has issued a statewide public health warning, due to the spread of COVID across the state.

Missouri is averaging 3,908 new COVID cases per day; public health warning issued

November 20, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The Parson administration has issued a statewide public health warning, due to the continued increase in new COVID cases statewide.

The state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) says there are currently 2,588 COVID patients in Missouri hospitals, an increase of 135 in the past 24 hours. 608 of those patients are in the ICU and 310 are on ventilators.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson (right) visits a COVID-19 testing site in mid-Missouri’s Fulton on November 17, 2020 (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

DHSS says there have been 27,358 new COVID cases in Missouri in the past week, an average of 3,908 new cases per day.

The department has also issued a holiday travel advisory, urging you to minimize travel outside of Missouri and to wear a mask.

Departing Missouri House Speaker Haahr reflects on successes, disappointments (AUDIO)

November 19, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s outgoing House Speaker says life issues and the largest tax cut in state history are some of his biggest successes in the Legislature.

Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, gavels the chamber into session on August 24, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, was first elected to the House in 2012. He’s finishing his eighth and final year in the House, due to term limits. He’s also finishing his term as Speaker.

“I was very proud of the work we did on the pro-life bill last year, I thought that was a big thing,” Haahr says. “Prior to me being Speaker, I carried also the largest tax cut in Missouri history and that was a really big one, I think, for our constituencies in the state.”

The 2019 abortion legislation essentially banned abortions once a fetal heartbeat was detected. The House vote was 110-44, and the Senate approved it last year after about 15 hours of filibuster and negotiations behind the scenes.

Haahr is the first and only House Speaker from Springfield in state history, and says that symbolizes Springfield and southwest Missouri’s growing political and economic influence. He says boosting funding for Missouri State University is another success he’s proud of.

“Worked really hard last year on bringing Missouri State University’s funding on parity with other schools, and so we did a $10 million increase to them to get them to a place where they’re funded equally with all the other schools,” says Haahr.

Haahr says this has been talked about for years and even decades, and that to get it done while he was Speaker is very important.

While Haahr has been Speaker, State Rep. Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, has served as House Minority Leader. While the two have disagreed on issues like abortion and Medicaid expansion, they have worked together on issues involving Greene County, such as Missouri State funding and Hailey’s Law, which was sponsored by State Rep. Curtis Trent, R-Springfield.

Haahr has said several times from the House dais that while he and Leader Quade frequently disagree on policy, they both share a love for Springfield.

Haahr became speaker on November 1, 2018. His predecessor, former House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, resigned the day before to take over as state Medicaid director. Haahr campaigned hard for House GOP candidates across the state in the fall of 2018, helping Republican Mary Elizabeth Coleman unseat State Rep. Mike Revis, D-Fenton. He also helped protect Republican seats in swing districts across the state.

Not all of Haahr’s priorities have passed in the Legislature, even with GOP supermajorities in both chambers and a Republican in the governor’s mansion.

During an interview in his Capitol office in Jefferson City last week, Haahr reflected on some of his disappointments. He says Hyperloop is one of his biggest disappointments.

“I had made a real strong push to try to bring the Hyperloop to Missouri,” Haahr says. “And they chose West Virginia. We were one of the three finalists that got really close but we didn’t get it. I think in 15 or 20 years that will have a transformative impact on West Virginia’s economy.”

Speaker Haahr says that would have jump-started Missouri as a leader on an issue of transportation importance.

Virgin Hyperloop chose West Virginia for its futuristic tube travel test track and certification center, but has said Missouri is not out of the picture. Haahr is hopeful that will still happen.

Haahr is speaker until the end of the year, and expects the House to be in session in December to take up COVID liability during the ongoing special session.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with outgoing Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, which was recorded on November 10, 2020 at the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City:

Missouri’s governor reiterates opposition to statewide mask mandate; promotes Show Me You Care campaign (AUDIO)

November 18, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor has been using stops this week to tout a program called the “Show Me You Care” campaign, which emphasizes the need for you to wear a mask, practice good hygiene and to social distance.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson briefs Capitol reporters in Jefferson City on November 12, 2020 (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

Governor Mike Parson says everyone must step up to stop the spread of COVID.

The state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) says there have been 30,049 new COVID cases in the past week, an average of 4,293 cases per day. There have also been 62 new deaths during that timeframe.

Missourinet spoke to Governor Parson Tuesday, after he spoke at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new $23 million terminal at Columbia Regional Airport (COU). The governor is emphasizing the need for everyone to “step up” to battle COVID.

“I think everybody has got a little virus fatigue over nine months, but the reality of it, it’s a different time today,” Parson says. “We’re seeing these cases go at a pretty fast pace here. Everybody has got to do their part.”

The governor is also emphasizing the importance of washing your hands and avoiding large gatherings. He also says rural Missouri must step up, saying that the increasing COVID numbers statewide are concerning.

DHSS says there are currently 2,453 COVID patients in Missouri hospitals, including 582 in the ICU and 298 on ventilators.

Governor Parson says the next 30 to 60 days is crucial. Missourinet asked the governor on Tuesday about the Missouri Hospital Association’s renewed call for him to issue a statewide mask mandate.

“From day one I’ve recommended that people wear a mask, but I’m not going to mandate that for the state of Missouri. I’ve answered that question numerous times and that hasn’t changed any. People … again, I’m a fan of local control. I think that’s where it needs to be,” says Parson.

The governor has maintained that position throughout the pandemic, saying that he’s not anti-mask but is anti-mandate.

State Rep. Martha Stevens, D-Columbia, the ranking Democrat on the House Special Committee on Aging, called for a statewide mask mandate again on Wednesday.

“Our frontline workers and communities are looking for leadership as things get worse and worse across Missouri,” Representative Stevens tweeted.

Governor Parson and DHSS Director Dr. Randall Williams will brief Capitol reporters on Thursday morning at 9 in Jefferson City.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with Missouri Governor Mike Parson, which was recorded on November 17, 2020 at Columbia Regional Airport:

UPDATE: Missouri’s Hawley praises bipartisan movement on duck boat legislation

November 18, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

After being stuck in committee on Capitol Hill for 19 months, bipartisan duck boat legislation from U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) is expected to be voted on Wednesday morning by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

It’s the first bill the committee is scheduled to take up Wednesday, and it comes a little more than a month after Senator Hawley told Missourinet that he was prepared to go straight to the Senate floor, if there wasn’t movement on the bill.

Missouri State Highway Patrol crews assist the U.S. Coast Guard during the duck boat recovery efforts on July 23, 2018 (file photo courtesy of the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Twitter page)

The other new development is that Hawley’s bill now has a powerful Democratic co-sponsor, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois). Senator Duckworth serves on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and is the ranking Democrat on its subcommittee on transportation and safety.

Hawley and Duckworth also serve together on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Missouri Senator Roy Blunt (R) and U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) are the other co-sponsors.

“For decades now, Congress has failed to take action to help stop these tragedies from happening again,” Hawley says. “The (2018) disaster on Table Rock Lake was sadly not an isolated incident. My colleagues on both sides of the aisle share my concerns and have come together to implement basic safety standards in every state in which these rides are available.”

17 people were killed in the 2018 duck boat tragedy on southwest Missouri’s Table Rock Lake.

Senator Hawley’s legislation would require the U.S. Coast Guard to implement recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), including requiring duck boats to remove canopies. The bill would require amphibious passenger vessels to be equipped to stay afloat, in the event of flooding. It also requires new reporting efforts.

During an October 2 interview with Missourinet, a frustrated Hawley said that the time had come for him to go to the U.S. Senate floor and try to pass the duck boat legislation himself. He had planned to seek what’s known as unanimous consent.

That won’t be necessary, now that the Commerce Committee has scheduled a vote.

The duck boat legislation was one of the first filed by Senator Hawley, after he was sworn-in in 2019. It’s very similar to the bill filed by Hawley’s predecessor, former U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D). Her bill was also stuck in committee.

17 of the 31 people aboard the boat called Stretch Duck 7 died, after a storm with 70-mile-per-hour winds came through Table Rock Lake. The NTSB says the Coast Guard’s failure to require sufficient design of amphibious vessels contributed to the boat’s sinking.