Brian Hauswirth, Author at Missourinet

Legislation designating Arch as Missouri’s official monument is one vote away from final passage (AUDIO)

May 14, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

Bipartisan one-sentence legislation designating the St. Louis Gateway Arch as the official state monument needs one final vote on Friday from the Missouri House, before heading to the governor’s desk.

The bill sponsor, State Rep. Dale Wright (R-Farmington), tells Missourinet that students from Farmington’s Jefferson Elementary School discovered that Missouri doesn’t have an official monument. The students and their teacher, Janice Chatman, asked him to sponsor the bill. Wright did so, and the students traveled to Jefferson City earlier this year to testify for it.

State Reps. Dale Wright (left) and Rasheen Aldridge (D-St. Louis) are teaming up on the St. Louis Arch legislation, and are working to bridge the urban-rural divide at the Capitol (May 13, 2021 photo from Brian Hauswirth)

“You know, most of our kids in school, they study about governance and they talk about it, but they don’t really get to participate in it. And here, these kids got to participate in their governance,” Wright says.

The Arch is 630 feet tall, making it the tallest man-made monument in the nation. The Arch is located in the district of State Rep. Rasheen Aldridge (D-St. Louis).

“I think it’s so cool how our youth in the state of Missouri was able to say they wanted to see something like this happen. And the Representative (Dale Wright) filed it, and like he said, it’s one hurdle away to actually becoming law,” says Aldridge.

Wright, a conservative Republican, and Aldridge, a progressive Democrat, have teamed up on the bill. Representative Aldridge praises Wright for filing the bill, and says it’s helping to bridge the urban-rural divide at the Capitol.

“There’s just something about the Arch that has so much history that brings people to the Arch that want to see it. I think this is a really good bill, and it’s a good way to show just because the gentleman (Representative Wright) does not live in St. Louis City, that we can do positive stuff for other parts of the areas,” Aldridge says.

The Arch, which was completed in 1965, is 43,000 tons. It’s taller than the Statue of Liberty and the Washington Monument. The Arch’s website notes that planning for the monument began in 1935, when then-President Franklin Roosevelt (D) designated property near the St. Louis riverfront to be developed as the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. That is now known as Gateway Arch National Park.

The bill needs one more House vote by Friday at 6 p.m., before it would go to Governor Parson. Representative Wright believes the governor will sign the bill, and would like him to come to the Farmington school for the bill-signing ceremony. Wright says the students could also come to Jefferson City for a ceremony.

The Senate bill containing the Wright-Aldridge Arch language is Senate Bill 72, which is sponsored by State Sen. Karla Eslinger (R-Wasola).

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and State Reps. Dale Wright (R-Farmington) and Rasheen Aldridge (D-St. Louis), which was recorded at the Statehouse in Jefferson City on May 13, 2021:

Major police legislation heading to Missouri Governor Parson’s desk

May 13, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

Bipartisan law enforcement legislation that bans most police chokeholds and eliminates residency requirements for Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) officers is now heading to the Missouri governor’s desk, after receiving final House approval Thursday afternoon in Jefferson City.

State Rep. Lane Roberts (R-Joplin), the House Crime Prevention Committee Chair, speaks on the House floor on May 10, 2021 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Senate Bill 53 is sponsored by State Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (R-Parkville) and State Rep. Lane Roberts (R-Joplin). Representative Roberts is a former Missouri Department of Public Safety (DPS) director, and a former Joplin police chief.

The final House vote was 140-4. State Rep. Rasheen Aldridge (D-St. Louis), who protested after Ferguson in 2014, praises the bill. He says it protects law enforcement officers and also holds them accountable.

Representative Aldridge tells Missourinet that law enforcement and the community worked together.

“You see somebody like me who’s a protester and you see a police officer being able to say hey, we may look at things differently but we want the same thing. Police are not going to leave my community, and they have a job to do. How can we make sure that the relationship between law enforcement and the communities are better,” Aldridge says.

The bill eliminates residency requirements for Kansas City police officers, a major issue for State Rep. Doug Richey (R-Excelsior Springs).

“I know that it will continue to be a benefit in terms of trying to secure more officers that are desperately needed on the part of the KCPD,” Richey tells the House.

State Rep. Mark Sharp (D-South Kansas City) agrees, saying there’s a shortage of Kansas City Police officers and that the bill is needed to help with the city’s crime.

Under the bill, police officers could only use a respiratory chokehold when the officer or another officer is facing serious physical injury or death.

The bill also requires the Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC) to administer a community corrections program, to encourage establishing local sentencing alternatives for nonviolent offenders, who care for dependent children. It also requires Missouri prisons and jails to ensure that feminine hygiene products are available at no cost to female offenders.

The bill also makes posting the names, home addresses, phone numbers and social security numbers of law enforcement officers, corrections officers, parole officers and prosecutors or their immediate family members a class E felony.

The bill also says that if someone knowingly directs a laser pointer at a uniformed police officer or other first responder, it’s a class A misdemeanor.

Representative Roberts emphasizes that the bill contains things that some lawmakers in both parties don’t like. The bill also contains an emergency clause.

Legislation aimed at helping Missouri police officers cope with stress and trauma from critical incidents heads to conference committee

May 12, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

Bipartisan legislation establishing a critical incident stress management program within the state Department of Public Safety (DPS) is heading to a Missouri legislative conference committee, after receiving House approval on Wednesday afternoon.

State Rep. Ron Hicks (R-Defiance) speaks on the Missouri House floor on March 2, 2021 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

State Rep. Ron Hicks (R-Defiance), the bill sponsor, tells colleagues that police officers need help in dealing with stress and psychological trauma from critical incidents. He describes a deadly crash a few years ago near the Lake of the Ozarks.

“And I had come across a scene, where the (Missouri) Highway Patrol officers’ faces were nothing but lights out. And it was a scene where children had been killed in a car accident, along with their mother. And the things that those officers had to see are things that I hope none of you (House members) ever have to see,” Hicks says.

Senate bill 57 requires that officers meet with a program service provider once every three to five years for a mental health check-in. Hicks’ bill creates a public safety fund to provide services for police officers in coping with stress and trauma resulting from critical and deadly incidents.

“Something they can come to and they can use to get some of the help they needed, or maybe they didn’t even know they needed it,” says Hicks.

Because the Missouri House added an amendment Wednesday for a law enforcement officers’ bill of rights, the bill now heads to a conference committee. While both chambers have approved the overall bill, it’s not the same version.

While the debate on the law enforcement officers’ bill of rights amendment from State Rep. Nick Schroer (R-O’Fallon) was heated at the start, things cooled down during the discussion. State Rep. LaKeySha Bosley (D-St. Louis), the House Democratic Caucus vice-chair, supports Schroer’s amendment.

“To just give support in some way if we could to our law enforcement officers who do such a good job, the good ones, who do such a good job of serving us and serving our communities and just making sure that they feel as if they have backup,” Representative Bosley tells the House.

The Schroer amendment passed on a voice vote. Supporters say some red and some blue states have approved this. Opponents, such as State Rep. Peter Merideth (D-St. Louis) say St. Louis’ Police Chief opposes the amendment.

The overall Hicks bill received House approval on a 117-0 vote. 28 House members voted present.

State Sen. Karla May (D-St. Louis) is carrying the Senate version of Hicks’ bill. Lawmakers have until 6 p.m. on Friday to try to get the same bill language through both chambers.

Missouri’s governor says federal unemployment programs have incentivized people to stay out of the workforce; Democrats criticize Parson directive

May 12, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

Saying that there’s a labor shortage across Missouri, Governor Mike Parson (R) has issued a directive to the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DOLIR) to end all federal pandemic-related unemployment benefits. Missouri’s House Democratic Leader is blasting the decision.

Governor Mike Parson meets an employee at Quaker Windows in mid-Missouri’s Eldon on May 6, 2021 (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

Governor Parson made the announcement during a Tuesday afternoon briefing at the Statehouse in Jefferson City, telling Capitol reporters that businesses are struggling from labor shortages. He says they’ve resulted from excessive federal unemployment programs.

“While these federal benefits provided necessary financial assistance during the height of COVID-19, they were intended to be temporary. Continuing these programs only worsens the workforce issues we’re currently facing,” Parson says.

This will also impact pandemic emergency unemployment compensation. Under the governor’s directive, the maximum unemployment checks in Missouri will decrease from $620 to $320 per week. He emphasizes that the additional $300 per week from the federal government was intended to be temporary.

Governor Parson says Missouri’s unemployment rate is now 4.2 percent, and that the state is now first in the nation in small business wage growth. The governor says there are currently more than 221,000 job postings statewide.

“It’s time that we end these programs that have incentivized people to stay out of the workforce. This is an important step towards returning to normalcy, and strengthening our economy,” says Parson.

Under the directive, the state will also deny federal program funding that extended pandemic benefits to gig workers, like Uber and Lyft drivers.

He says there are labor shortages across the state.

“I’ll tell you, all you got to do is get out and drive down the road anywhere in Missouri and there’s “help wanted” in every location in the state of Missouri, whether it’s a small business or big businesses,” Parson says.

Parson was joined at the Statehouse briefing by Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe (R), who says that from Sarcoxie to Hannibal and everywhere in between, business owners are worried about the shortage of employees. Kehoe praises the governor’s decision, describing it as bold and decisive.

As for DOLIR, Director Anna Hui says that during the 2008 recession, the federal unemployment supplement was $25 per week. The federal supplement during the COVID pandemic has been $600 and later $300 per week, respectively. You can read Director Hui’s letter to federal labor officials here.

The governor’s directive will take effect at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, June 12.

U.S. Rep. Cori Bush (D-St. Louis) is blasting Governor Parson’s announcement, saying he’s hurting people. Congresswoman Bush tweeted on Tuesday.

Missouri House Minority Leader Crystal Quade (D-Springfield) is also critical of the governor’s directive.

“Contrary to what the governor claims, the free market – not some federal boogeyman – is primarily responsible for Missouri’s tight labor market. When there are more open jobs than available workers, businesses must increase wages to attract prospective employees, particularly in industries with a high risk of COVID-19 exposure. That’s how supply and demand works. If companies provide a livable wage, applicants will respond. The notion that Missourians are refusing to work so they can temporarily collect $300 a week is an offensive right-wing myth,” Leader Quade says, in a written statement.

Missouri’s operating budget approved by lawmakers includes historic increase for foster children and families (AUDIO)

May 10, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri foster care advocates are praising Friday’s passage of the $35.1 billion state operating budget, saying it provides unprecedented support for the foster families who care for the thousands of children in Missouri foster care.

Missouri House Budget Committee Chair Cody Smith (R-Carthage) briefs Capitol reporters on May 7, 2021, as Speaker Rob Vescovo (left) and Speaker Pro Tem John Wiemann listen (photo courtesy of Benjamin Peters at House Communications)

House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith (R-Carthage) tells Missourinet that the budget provides a $90 million increase for foster and adoptive children.

“And that comes from the leadership of Speaker Rob Vescovo (of Arnold), who is very passionate about foster kids in the state of Missouri,” Smith says.

Speaker Vescovo (R-Arnold), who was adopted, has made the issue a top priority. It was a major them of his opening-day address in January.

Missouri currently has 13,939 foster children, according to the latest statistics from the state Department of Social Services (DSS). The $90 million dollar increase boosts the clothing allowance for foster children and foster teens, and also increases the diaper allowance for Missourians caring for infants.

Kids Win Missouri, which advocates for foster children, is praising the increase. The group advocates for policies that support the health, education, safety and development of children and their families, especially those who are at-risk.

“In the teenage years, youth quickly grow out of their clothes and these expenses are one of the larger financial burdens of foster parents that often isn’t adequately reimbursed,” Kids Win Missouri policy director Craig Stevenson tells Missourinet. “This increased support by the House and Senate budget leaders will go a long way to help our teenage youth in care, who are often among the hardest to find placement for.”

Chairman Smith says the $90 million increase will have a major impact.

“And we expect that would potentially be enough to get all of the children that are currently in the foster care system in Missouri out to permanent homes through the adoption process,” says Smith.

The budget increases the monthly maintenance payments that foster guardian and adoptive parents receive.

During an interview with Missourinet, Chairman Smith also addressed the controversial issue of Medicaid expansion and Friday’s heated House floor debate. He says the Legislature’s decision to not fund Medicaid expansion is a sound one.

Smith says that it’s critical instead to focus on Missouri’s most vulnerable residents.

“By not appropriating for Medicaid expansion, we were able to add increases to a lot of sectors of the budget that go toward the most vulnerable in our state’s population,” Smith says.

That includes additional funding for adult day care and home-delivered meals, and $88 million for funding long-term care services in nursing homes.

House Democrats called for funding Medicaid expansion, noting 53 percent of Missouri voters approved it in August. They say it would help the working poor. State Rep. Sarah Unsicker (D-Shrewsbury) says 49 percent of low wage workers without insurance are in the industries of hospitality, retail and health care and social assistance.

The $35 billion budget also includes a two percent pay increase for all of Missouri’s approximately 53,000 state employees.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith (R-Carthage), which was recorded on May 7, 2021:

Final week in Missouri legislative session: Wayfair, gas tax, PDMP and Grain Belt still unresolved

May 9, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

Expect some long days and nights at the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City this week, with just five days left in the 2021 legislative session. There are still a number of major bills that are pending, including legislation on transportation, prescription drug monitoring, Wayfair legislation and eminent domain.

State Sen. Holly Rehder (R-Scott City) speaks on the Missouri Senate floor in Jefferson City on March 9, 2021 (file photo courtesy of Harrison Sweazea at Senate Communications)

The session ends Friday evening at 6, under the state Constitution.

The gas tax legislation is the top priority for powerful Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz (R-Sullivan). Schatz’s Senate Bill 262 would increase Missouri’s gas tax by 12.5 cents per gallon, by 2025. The increase would be phased in by 2.5 cents each year.

Schatz, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, the trucking industry and other supporters note Missouri’s 17-cent gas tax has remained the same since 1996. They also note that the state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) has had to dip into reserves for federal matching funds. The bill has bipartisan support. Opposition has primarily come from Republicans who oppose new taxes.

Schatz’s bill has received final approval in the Missouri Senate, and has been referred to the House Fiscal Review Committee. He’s hopeful that it will get to the Missouri House floor before Friday’s deadline.

Another key bill we’re watching this week is prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) legislation from State Sen. Holly Rehder (R-Scott City). She’s filed PDMP for the ninth straight year: eight in the House and this year in the Senate. The bill has passed several times over the years, but it’s never been the same version in both chambers.

A PDMP is an electronic database that collects data on controlled substance prescriptions within a state. Missouri is the only state in the nation without a PDMP.

State Rep. J. Eggleston (R-Maysville) speaks on the Missouri House floor on March 4, 2021 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Rehder’s Senate Bill 63 would establish the “Joint Oversight Task Force of Prescription Drug Monitoring” within the state Office of Administration. Members would be selected from the Board of Registration for the Healing Arts, the Board of Pharmacy, the Board of Nursing and the Missouri Dental Board.

Rehder’s bill received final approval from the Missouri Senate in early April. It’s waiting for debate in the Missouri House. She and other supporters say 49 states currently have a PDMP, and that informed doctors make better decisions. Opponents, such as State Sen. Mike Moon (R-Ash Grove) worry about potential data breaches.

Another key bill that’s a priority for GOP Governor Mike Parson involves Wayfair. State Sen. Andrew Koenig (R-Manchester) has filed Senate Bill 153. It received final Senate approval in March, and is waiting for debate in the Missouri House. State Rep. J. Eggleston (R-Maysville) is the House sponsor.

Governor Parson called on lawmakers to address Wayfair, during his January State of the State Address.

“I hope the House and Senate will consider legislation to address the unfair advantage online retailers have over small businesses in Missouri,” Parson told lawmakers in January. “I am a strong supporter of lower taxes- in fact, I have signed several tax cuts into law. However, our small businesses, especially in smaller communities, are getting crushed right now because they cannot compete with huge online retailers.”

Another key bill that could hit the Senate floor this week involves eminent domain and the Grain Belt project in rural northern Missouri.

Governor Mike Parson, Congressman Jason Smith (to the governor’s right) and State Sen. Jason Bean (R-Holcomb) discuss the feral hog issue with USDA and the U.S. Forest Service on March 29, 2021 (photo courtesy of the governor’s Twitter page)

State Sen. Jason Bean (R-Holcomb) has filed Senate Bill 508, which has been heard by the Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and Environment Committee. Under the bill, the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) could not issue a certificate of convenience and necessity for a merchant line, until county commissioners in each county through which the line will be built pass a resolution supporting the project.

Senator Bean’s bill is aimed at Grain Belt, also known as Invenergy. The PSC has approved their request to build, own and manage a high-voltage transmission line across eight northern Missouri counties. Those counties are Buchanan, Clinton, Caldwell, Carroll, Chariton, Randolph, Monroe and Ralls.

The PSC has determined there is a need for the service, and that the service promotes the public interest.

However, the Missouri Farm Bureau, the state’s largest general farm organization, has urged lawmakers to approve Bean’s legislation, saying it’s about protecting private property. Missouri Farm Bureau says using eminent domain for this project sets a dangerous precedent and “makes it easier for our state to become the transmission superhighway for the Green New Deal.”

Invenergy says this would be Missouri’s largest energy infrastructure project, and that it would support 1,500 construction jobs over three years. They also say it would deliver millions of dollars in annual energy savings for 39 Missouri towns, and would improve electric reliability to help avoid future emergency outages.

The Missouri House approved a bill related to Bean’s earlier this session.

One issue that we likely won’t hear much discussion on during the final week is gaming. State Sen. Denny Hoskins (R-Warrensburg), who chairs the Senate Economic Development Committee, told Missourinet last week that he doesn’t see a path forward for any gaming bill this session.

Missouri House Democrats appeal directly to GOP Governor on Medicaid expansion; rural Republicans say their constituents voted against it

May 8, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri Legislature has voted to give final approval to an approximately $35 billion state operating budget, a budget that does not contain funding for Medicaid expansion.

Missouri House Minority Leader Crystal Quade (D-Springfield) briefs Capitol reporters in Jefferson City on May 7, 2021, as Rep. Peter Merideth (D-St. Louis) listens (photo courtesy of Ben Peters at House Communications)

Democratic lawmakers are appealing directly to GOP Governor Mike Parson, urging him to work to implement Medicaid expansion. GOP lawmakers say the money is best spent on the most vulnerable, including those with developmental disabilities.

Medicaid is officially known as MO HealthNet, and it’s a federal and state program that assists with medical costs for residents with limited incomes.

Medicaid expansion supporters say Amendment Two, the August ballot measure that passed, would help the working poor. They note it would expand Medicaid for residents between the ages of 19 and 64 with an income level at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty level.

State Rep. Sarah Unsicker (D-Shrewsbury) was one of several House Democrats who spoke on the House floor on Friday. She tells her House colleagues that 49 percent of low wage workers without insurance are in the industries of hospitality, retail and health care and social assistance.

“Nearly 13 percent of uninsured workers work in health care and social assistance. People who work in the industry of health care can’t get insurance through their employer. Having uninsured health care workers puts the health of their patients at risk,” Unsicker says.

She says there are 21 rural Missouri counties where more than 20 percent of the adult population is uninsured, including in northeast Missouri’s Scotland County. Unsicker says one of three adults there is uninsured.

“Oregon, Shannon, Knox, Ripley, McDonald, Morgan, Ozark, Cedar, Taney, Dunklin, Douglas, New Madrid, Wayne, Mississippi, Crawford, Carter, Wright, Grundy, Texas and Pemiscot counties,” says Unsicker.

She says residents in those rural counties would benefit the most from Medicaid expansion.

State Rep. Hannah Kelly (R-Mountain Grove) speaks on the Missouri House floor on April 12, 2021 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

In August, 53 percent of Missouri voters approved Amendment Two, but it failed in 105 of the state’s 114 counties. The opposition to Medicaid expansion comes from rural GOP lawmakers in districts that voted against Medicaid expansion.

One of the counties mentioned by Representative Unsicker is southern Missouri’s Wright County, which is represented by Assistant House Majority Floor Leader Hannah Kelly (R-Mountain Grove). She spoke on the floor Friday, after Unsicker.

“And I would like for the record that Wright County overwhelmingly defeated Medicaid expansion. And my people talk to me every weekend when I come home about how glad they are for the end result of what we’re here to do today,” Kelly says.

House Democrats say Medicaid expansion would help rural areas, noting ten rural Missouri hospitals have closed since 2014. But State Rep. Dirk Deaton (R-Noel) says rural Missourians don’t want Medicaid expansion, including his constituents in McDonald County. That was also one of the counties mentioned by Unsicker.

“And I take issue and I wonder if you (Representative Kelly) do, with the thought that we don’t know what’s good for own counties and our people. Rural Missouri voted overwhelmingly against Medicaid expansion, but yet we seemingly are too backwards to know what’s good for us,” says Deaton.

House Republicans also note that the number of Missourians on Medicaid has increased from 903,000 in April 2020 to 1,059,000 today, and that the state Department of Social Services’ budget continues to grow.

House Minority Leader Crystal Quade (D-Springfield) is urging the governor to work to implement Medicaid expansion. Leader Quade notes the governor is a former sheriff, saying that he’s built a solid reputation for respecting and upholding the law.

While he opposed the August ballot measure and warned about its cost, Governor Parson called for Medicaid expansion implementation, during his January State of the State Address in Jefferson City.

“Like I have said many times, I will always uphold the will of the voters, and we will move forward with expanding Medicaid coverage to approximately 275,000 Missourians,” he told state lawmakers in January.

While most of the media focus from Friday’s heated debate has been on Medicaid expansion, there were numerous other parts of the budget that received strong, bipartisan support.

The budget provides a $90 million increase for Missouri foster and adoptive children, and also boosts the clothing allowance for foster children and foster teens.

It also includes a two percent pay increase for all of Missouri’s approximately 53,000 state employees.

Missouri lawmaker reflects on President Truman’s legacy and historical connection to Excelsior Springs (AUDIO)

May 7, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

Most Missouri state offices will be closed on Friday, in observance of Truman Day. Harry Truman, America’s 33rd President, was born 137 years ago in southwest Missouri’s Lamar. He was born in 1884.

Former President Harry Truman was inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians on February 18, 1991 in Jefferson City. The sculptor was
William Williams (file photo courtesy of House Communications)

Truman was vice president in 1945, when President Franklin Roosevelt died. President Truman served as the nation’s 33rd president, from 1945 to 1953. State Rep. Doug Richey (R-Excelsior Springs) describes President Truman as inspiring and fascinating.

“He was a man that overcame tremendous hurdles in his life. I mean, even throughout his political career. As president even,” Richey says.

President Truman implemented the Marshall Plan to help rebuild western Europe’s economy after World War II, and he also issued the executive order that integrated the U.S. military. He also started the Truman Doctrine.

Truman was an underdog in the 1948 presidential election, against Republican Thomas Dewey and two other candidates who had been Democrats: segregationist South Carolina Governor Strom Thurmond ran on a state’s rights platform, and former Vice President Henry Wallace was the Progressive Party nominee.

Richey notes President Truman checked into a famous Excelsior Springs hotel on election day 1948.

“Rather than remaining in Kansas City and Independence for that evening, he retired to Excelsior Springs and spent the evening at the Elms Hotel. And the hotel has the records on it, it’s fascinating: he had a sandwich, buttermilk and a massage,” says Richey.

While polls that fall showed Governor Dewey winning the race, historians note the polls were conducted primarily by telephones, which were very expensive at that time. Truman ran as a populist and won. Truman ran a “whistle stop” campaign, visiting the country by train.

Richey says tourists travel to Excelsior Springs from all over the world to visit the Elms Hotel and Spa. He says about 65,000 people stay at or tour the hotel and spa each year.

“It’s really interesting to think that in Excelsior Springs Missouri, the president of the United States of America, the most powerful man in the world at the time, was in a hotel room sleeping, thinking that he was going to lose his re-election bid. And he’s awakened by his staff: you just won,” Richey says.

Richey praises President Truman, describing him as an example of a regular American playing a pivotal role on the world stage.

Truman left the White House in 1953 and returned to Independence. In 1965, then-President Lyndon Johnson signed the Medicare bill at the Truman Presidential Library. He presented the first two Medicare cards to Truman and his wife Bess. Truman fought for health care, while in office.

Former President Truman died in December 1972 in Kansas City, at the age of 88. He was inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians in Jefferson City, in 1991. His bronze bust is still on display at the Statehouse.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with State Rep. Doug Richey (R-Excelsior Springs), which was recorded at the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City on May 6, 2021:

Hoskins: There’s no path forward for any Missouri gaming bill this session

May 6, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

Gaming legislation appears to be dead this session, after the recent impasse on video lottery terminal (VLT) legislation in the Missouri Senate.

State Sen. Denny Hoskins (R-Warrensburg) presides over the Missouri Senate on January 19, 2021 (file photo courtesy of Harrison Sweazea of Senate Communications)

Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz (R-Sullivan) tells our Sullivan affiliate KTUI that he has numerous concerns with the gaming bill from fellow State Sen. Denny Hoskins (R-Warrensburg). It’s Senate Bill 98.

“I think there’s a hesitancy especially on my part and the Legislature, to expand gaming and allow the types of machines that are out there that are illegal right now, to continue to grow in number,” Schatz says.

A judge in western Missouri’s Platte County ruled in September that two “no chance” slot machines found at a Parkville convenience store violate state gambling laws. That case could end up at the Missouri Supreme Court in Jefferson City.

As for Senator Denny Hoskins, he tells Missourinet that he doesn’t see a path forward for any gaming bill this session.

“Unfortunately, it appears my gaming bill will not pass this session,” says Hoskins. “It would have provided $200 million for our kids’ schools and veterans homes. After last week’s impasse, I look forward to working with my colleagues in the interim to find a solution to bring Sportsbook and regulated VLTs to Missouri.”

The battle over alleged illegal slot machines in Missouri has pitted two powerful GOP state senators who are normally allies on issues: Pro Tem Dave Schatz and Senate Economic Development Committee Chairman Hoskins. They still agree on many legislative issues, but not this one.

The slot machines are found in places like truck stops, convenience stores and restaurants. Schatz says there are about 20,000 of these slot machines in Missouri. He describes them as “a tax on most poor people.”

“If every one of them generated $100 a day, and again that’s somewhat of a conservative figure, but that’s $2 million a day in revenue that’s three-quarters-of a-billion dollars annually that’s going into those machines. It’s not being taxed, it’s not being regulated, nothing is coming back to the state,” says Schatz.

The Missouri Lottery’s executive director has testified that the slot machines are hurting public education in the Show-Me State. She also testified that there’s a major issue with the slot machines along the I-44 corridor, from St. James to Lebanon.

Senator Hoskins says Senate Bill 98 is the result of five years of work and compromise. He says he’s met with any and every party willing to come to the table, to negotiate a regulatory framework for gaming in Missouri.

Hoskins believes Missourians desire safe, legal and fair gaming opportunities.

Missouri House votes to give final approval to feral hog legislation; bill to be tweaked in Senate

April 30, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

Legislation boosting criminal penalties for those who knowingly release feral hogs into the wild is heading to the Missouri Senate, after receiving final House approval on Thursday. The bipartisan vote was 108-38.

State Rep. Don Rone (R-Portageville), who chairs the Missouri House Agriculture Policy Committee, speaks on the House floor on April 27, 2021 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Bill 508 is sponsored by State Rep. Don Rone (R-Portageville), who chairs the Missouri House Agriculture Policy Committee. State Rep. Tracy McCreery (D-Olivette), the committee’s ranking Democrat, urged her colleagues to vote for the bill.

“When you have groups like the (Missouri) Farm Bureau and the (Missouri) Department of Conservation and soybeans and corn all working together and saying let’s give this a try. Let’s do everything we can do to help eradicate an invasive species,” McCreery says.

The Sierra Club also backs the bill.

Feral hogs are a major issue across southern Missouri, especially in and near the Mark Twain National Forest. Governor Parson has been warning that feral hogs are a danger to the state and pose serious safety risks to residents.

State Rep. Scott Cupps (R-Cassville), who voted for the bill, tells colleagues that it will be tweaked in the Senate to address concerns from some House members.

“There is an agreement to change the first offense from a felony to a misdemeanor. So the first offense will be a misdemeanor and then upon a second offense, it will be a (class E) felony,” says Cupps, who chairs the House subcommittee on appropriations for Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources.

The bill is also backed by the Missouri Parks Association (MPA), which says some residents are transporting and releasing feral hogs on public land. MPA says feral hogs are destroying Missouri’s native ecosystems, and have damaged the Taum Sauk, Roaring River and St. Francois state parks.

Governor Parson met in late March in Jefferson City with U.S. Rep. Jason Smith (R-Salem), Missouri Department of Conservation Director Sara Parker-Pauley, the United States Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Forest Service and state lawmakers like State Sen. Jason Bean (R-Holcomb), about the feral hog issue.

Congressman Smith, who represents 30 southern Missouri counties, says the majority of the feral hogs in Missouri are in his 8th Congressional District.

“We hope to have them eradicated one day, they’re awful. The best feral hog is a dead feral hog,” Smith told Missourinet in late March.