Brian Hauswirth, Author at Missourinet

Missouri Governor’s ham breakfast in Sedalia will be packed on Thursday

August 15, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

Thursday’s 66th annual Governor’s ham breakfast at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia is sold out.

2018 Missouri State Fair logo (courtesy of the Missouri State Fair and the Missouri Department of Agriculture)

State Fair marketing director Keri Mergen tells Missourinet all 1,000 meal tickets for the breakfast have been sold.

State Fair Director Mark Wolfe describes the ham breakfast as a unique event.

“You know I always tell people, buy your ticket, get it in advance so you make sure that you get one,” Wolfe says.

You can still purchase a $10 ticket to get inside the director’s tent, without breakfast.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson (R) will deliver the keynote address at tomorrow’s breakfast, which begins at 8 a.m. at the State Fairgrounds.

Director Wolfe says the ham breakfast is an opportunity for you to mingle with policymakers.

“It’s a great opportunity for folks that maybe don’t normally get a chance to meet their legislators or their congressional folks face-to-face, you know in a casual setting like that where you can just stand and visit,” says Wolfe.

U.S. Reps. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Kansas City) and Jason Smith (R-Salem) will be among those at the ham breakfast, along with U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Harrisonville).

Many Missouri lawmakers will also attend, along with local leaders and commodity group officials.

The Governor’s ham breakfast is a traditional gathering of Missouri elected officials and ag leaders.

Thursday is “Governor’s, Legislators’ and Judges’ Day” at the State Fair.

It’s also Throwback Thursday, with a $5 gate admission all day for those 13 and older.

Children 12 and under will get in free.

The theme for the 116th Missouri State Fair is “Come Home.”

The fair runs through Sunday, August 19.

Northern Missouri radio station owner and community leader dies

August 14, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

The longtime owner of Missourinet Chillicothe affiliate KCHI Radio (AM 1010 and FM 102.5) has died.

Longtime KCHI Radio owner Dan Leatherman (photo courtesy of KCHI Radio)

KCHI has announced that 57-year-old Dan Leatherman died Sunday.

He bought the radio station in April 1996, placing a strong emphasis on local news and local and high school sports coverage.

Veteran KCHI news director Tom Tingerthal tells Missourinet Leatherman “knew the value of small town and small market radio and the importance of the station to the community.”

KCHI has written a story, focusing on Leatherman’s emphasis on the community.

Their story noted that he loved small town radio and believed in the value of radio to the local community.

“If it’s important to the local community, cover it and tell them what they need to know,” KCHI’s story quotes Leatherman as saying frequently.

KCHI’s article notes that Leatherman described the radio station as Chillicothe’s biggest cheerleader.

Leatherman’s motto was “think local.”

Leatherman was well-known in radio across the state, as well as in the northwest Missouri business community.

He served at one time as the Chillicothe Area Chamber of Commerce President, and also served on the Hedrick Medical Center Board.

Funeral services have been scheduled for Leatherman.

KCHI reports a parish rosary is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at 4 at Heritage Funeral Home in Chillicothe, with visitation to follow until 8 p.m.

Funeral services are scheduled for Thursday morning at 10 at St. Columban Catholic Church in Chillicothe.

This is the second death in 2018 involving a prominent media member in Chillicothe.

Longtime Chillicothe Mayor Chuck Haney died in May at the age of 81.

Haney and Leatherman were friends. Haney was a Missouri Press Association Hall of Famer, spending years as a reporter, newspaper publisher and radio broadcaster, primarily in northwest Missouri.

The Affordable Care Act is a key issue in Missouri’s U.S. Senate race

August 14, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill (D) and her challenger in November, Attorney General Josh Hawley (R), are clashing over health care.

Senator Claire McCaskill and Attorney General Josh Hawley spoke at this Missouri Farm Bureau podium in Jefferson City on August 10, 2018 (Brian Hauswirth photo)

The issue was discussed several times during a Friday forum at the Missouri Farm Bureau in Jefferson City.

Hawley tells the Capitol Press Corps that health care costs in Missouri are “absolutely unaffordable.”

“And that is because of Senator McCaskill’s failed left-wing policies,” Hawley says. “Did not have to be this way. If she had worked for a bipartisan bill way back in 2009, we wouldn’t be here.”

The Affordable Care Act has emerged as a key issue in the Senate race between McCaskill and Hawley.

Hawley is blasting “Obamacare”, saying health insurance premiums for individuals have increased by 105%.

“We should pass reforms that get health care costs down, insurance costs down, that multiply options for families and cover people with pre-existing conditions and young folks on their parents’ insurance up to age 26,” says Hawley.

Senator McCaskill notes Hawley has joined 19 other states in a lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act.

McCaskill says the lawsuit “would gut critical protections for those with pre-existing conditions.”

After her Friday presentation at Farm Bureau, a Jefferson City newspaper reporter asked McCaskill what she thinks the biggest issues between the two candidates will be between now and November.

“Well I think the protection of people with pre-existing conditions and making sure that rural Missourians aren’t charged more for health insurance just because they live in the country, all the consumer protections that he’s trying to wipe out with his lawsuit. That’s a really big issue,” McCaskill tells reporters.

Senator Claire McCaskill with reporters after speaking to the Missouri Farm Bureau 8-10-2018

Senator McCaskill has written a column about the issue that was released Monday. Her message is that Missourians deserve health care that’s fair.

In that column, McCaskill says the Trump Administration has “opened the floodgates” for insurance companies to offer “junk” insurance plans that may not cover emergency room visits, maternity care or prescriptions.

McCaskill says Missourians are worried about health care, and whether they’ll be able to afford a trip to the emergency room.

Hawley tells Farm Bureau members Congress should repeal and replace “Obamacare” with a plan that protects those with pre-existing conditions. He notes health insurance costs for individuals are up by 105%.

Hawley announced in April that, as part of a 20-state coalition, he had filed a motion seeking a preliminary injunction against the Affordable Care Act.

The 20-state coalition filed a lawsuit in February challenging the constitutionality of Obamacare, saying that when Congress passed tax reform, it essentially rendered the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional by eliminating the tax penalty in the individual mandate.

Both McCaskill and Hawley emphasized the importance of rural health care during their Friday presentation.

The two also blasted each other, over which candidate can work best across the aisle.

Senator McCaskill says 24 of her bills have been signed into law by Republican President Donald Trump.

Attorney General Josh Hawley with reporters after speaking to the Missouri Farm Bureau 8-10-2018

“I think what Missourians want is somebody who is capable of independence from their party, capable of saying, telling (former Senate Majority and Minority Leader) Harry Reid and (current Senate Minority Leader) Chuck Schumer no, I’m not voting with you,” says McCaskill. “You don’t see that with my opponent.”

The two candidates agree on some key issues.

Both are blasting insurance companies, saying they are making record profits, while premiums are increasing.

And both McCaskill and Hawley oppose privatizing the United States Postal Service (USPS).

Farm Bureau members raised concern about potential post office closings, during Friday’s event.

More than 200 Missouri Farm Bureau members from 86 counties participated in the forum.

Farm Bureau trustees voted 82-4 on Friday afternoon to endorse Hawley.

Libertarian nominee Japheth Campbell and Green Party nominee Jo Crain will also appear on your November ballot.

Missouri’s McCaskill and Hawley have similar positions on rural post offices

August 13, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s senior senator and her GOP opponent in November both oppose privatizing the United States Postal Service (USPS).

Senator Claire McCaskill and Attorney General Josh Hawley spoke at this Missouri Farm Bureau podium in Jefferson City on August 10, 2018 (Brian Hauswirth photo)

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) and Republican Attorney General Josh Hawley delivered separate presentations Friday to more than 200 Missouri Farm Bureau members in Jefferson City.

McCaskill, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, tells Missourinet she’s worked hard on this issue.

“Maintaining six-day delivery, maintaining every post office, giving communities input when post offices close,” McCaskill says. “Privatization would be terrible for rural Missouri.”

McCaskill’s committee held a Senate hearing in July on the potential USPS privatization.

“There is no way a privatization model delivers the same level of service to rural America as they currently receive. I know what privatization means for rural Missouri, and I will not go there on postal,” McCaskill said at the July 18 hearing in Washington.

While they’ve clashed on numerous other issues, McCaskill and Hawley have similar positions on privatization.

Both were asked about it by Farm Bureau members on Friday.

Hawley, who grew up in western Missouri’s Lexington, emphasized his Lafayette County roots while speaking at Farm Bureau. He also notes that his wife, Erin, grew up on a New Mexico ranch, miles away from a post office.

Hawley tells Missourinet he wants to preserve our network of rural post offices.

“I’m always for reform that makes things more efficient, but I worry about reforms that shut down rural post offices and make access to that more difficult for folks who live in rural areas,” says Hawley.

The USPS website notes the Postal Service has the nation’s largest retail network, “bigger than McDonald’s, Starbucks and Walmart combined, domestically.”

The Postal Service does not receive tax dollars for operating expenses.

Missouri Farm Bureau members from 86 counties participated in Friday’s forum.

Farm Bureau trustees voted 82-4 to endorse Hawley, who beat ten other candidates to win the GOP Senate nomination last Tuesday.

McCaskill and Hawley were the only two Senate candidates at Friday’s forum.

While Libertarian nominee Japheth Campbell and Green Party nominee Jo Crain were not invited to participate, they will appear on the November ballot.

McCaskill is seeking her third Senate term. Hawley was elected Missouri Attorney General in 2016.

Missouri’s Jay Randolph: 2018 PGA Championship will be the most successful in history (AUDIO)

August 10, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

St. Louisan and longtime NBC Sports broadcaster Jay Randolph says the 100th PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis County will be long remembered by those in attendance.

The logo for the 100th PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club, courtesy of Explore St. Louis

Randolph says crowds were 20-deep when Tiger Woods teed off Thursday morning. Woods has won 14 major golf championships.

Randolph predicts the 2018 PGA Championship will be the most successful PGA Championship in history.

“We have over 4,000 volunteers, we have nearly 1,000 media members who are here and we have the greatest players anywhere all together here,” Randolph says.

Bellerive also hosted the 1992 PGA Championship, which Randolph describes as the most successful in the history of the PGA.

Randolph says this year’s tournament is even bigger.

Explore St. Louis is projecting a $100 million economic impact, with about 80,000 out-of-town visitors for the tournament.

More than 30 area hotels are under contract for the event.

Randolph compares the impact of this tournament to the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis.

He says volunteers have come from as far away as Europe.

Thousands of golf fans are expected to head to Bellerive again on Friday morning for round two of the PGA Championship.

Randolph notes the tournament is sold-out.

“We’ll have over 30,000 people here on the golf course on Saturday and Sunday, but it’s a culmination of so many people doing so much work,” says Randolph.

Randolph also notes more than 100 golf course superintendents from across the country have traveled to St. Louis to assist the Bellerive groundskeeping crew.

He says they have done a remarkable job.

Randolph spent 22 years at NBC, and broadcast the Bob Hope Desert Classic for 16 straight years.

He also worked at St. Louis’ NBC affiliate, KSDK, for about 24 years, and spent years broadcasting Cardinal baseball on Channel 5.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Jay Randolph, which was recorded on August 9, 2018:

Attorney General Sessions expected in Kansas City in December

August 9, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

The U.S. Attorney General is expected to travel to Kansas City in December for a national conference about violent crime.

U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri Tim Garrison (2018 photo courtesy of the U.S. Attorney’s website)

The 2018 Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) national conference will take place from December 5-7 at the Westin Kansas City at Crown Center.

Project Safe Neighborhoods is the Justice Department’s initiative aimed at violent crime.

The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, Tim Garrison, tells Missourinet he expects Attorney General Jeff Sessions to attend the conference.

Garrison also says all 93 U.S. Attorneys are scheduled to attend the PSN conference.

“And they’ll be bringing their criminal leadership, each office has both criminal and civil attorneys, and I expect that Attorney General Sessions will be there,” Garrison says.

The Justice Department says federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement officers are also expected to attend. They’ll share ideas about violent crime reduction.

The conference is by invitation-only.

Attorney General Sessions describes Project Safe Neighborhoods as the “centerpiece” of the Trump administration’s crime reduction strategy.

Sessions has also placed an emphasis on allocating more Assistant U.S. Attorney positions to focus on violent crime, along with a National Gang Strategic Initiative.

Garrison, who’s the top-ranking federal law enforcement official in Missouri’s Western District, says Missouri has three of the top 15 most violent cities in the nation, on a per capita basis.

Those cities are St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield, according to Garrison.

Garrison briefed President Donald Trump’s chief of staff in July about the violence issues in Kansas City.

Garrison says General John Kelly was “floored” when he learned Missouri has three of the top 15 most violent cities in America, on a per capita basis.

Mr. Garrison tells Missourinet Kansas City has a higher murder rate than Chicago, and notes Missouri has the fifth-highest murder rate in the nation.

Jeff Sessions is a former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama.

Sessions served in the U.S. Senate from 1997-2017.

Missouri’s Rehder looks ahead after Tuesday’s right-to-work defeat

August 8, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri House sponsor of the 2017 right-to-work bill indicates she’ll continue to push for the measure.

State Rep. Holly Rehder speaks on the Missouri House floor on March 15, 2018 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Tuesday’s right-to-work referendum, which was Proposition A, was rejected by Missourians. The vote was about 937,000 to 452,000.

More than 67 percent of Missourians voted against Proposition A.

Veteran State Rep. Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, who sponsored the 2017 House right-to-work bill, issued a statement to Missourinet on Wednesday.

Rehder, who chairs the powerful Missouri House Economic Development Committee, says she’s not giving up on her efforts.

“Last night’s results should not surprise anyone who has followed this issue. We knew that big labor would throw in everything they had to defeat right to work. Spending millions of dollars to confuse voters led to the results last night. Unions will do anything to cling to power but the data is clear, the right to work states around us have seen wages go up and the number of jobs increase. This fight is not going away and I look forward to continuing to push for labor reform,” Rehder’s statement reads.

Rehder, who represents Mississippi and Scott counties, is unopposed in November for her fourth and final term in the Missouri House.

Voters in both Mississippi and Scott counties in her district rejected right-to-work, which says that a person cannot be required to join or refrain from joining a labor organization, as a condition of employment.

Missouri Democratic Party Chairman Stephen Webber, a former state lawmaker who served in the House with Rehder, issued a statement late Tuesday after the votes came in.

“Tonight, Missouri voters rejected a top Republican priority and sent a resounding message that we will not leave working people behind. Standing together, Democrats and working families successfully fought off this shameless attack on the middle class from corrupt Republican politicians in Jeff City,” Webber said in his statement.

Senate Minority Leader Gina Walsh, D-Bellefontaine Neighbors, has warned that right-to-work will lead to lower wages and decreased safety protections.

Rehder disagrees with that, and has told Missourinet that right-to-work would increase union jobs in Missouri.

Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Dan Mehan, who appeared live on Missourinet’s election night coverage Tuesday, also says right-to-work remains “an important and worthy goal” that the Chamber will continue to pursue.

Shelbina businesswoman wins GOP primary in key northeast Missouri race

August 8, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

A northeast Missouri businesswoman has captured the GOP nomination for a key state Senate seat being vacated in January by term-limited State Sen. Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown.

Veteran State Senator Brian Munzlinger (2016 file photo courtesy of Senate Communications)

Shelbina businesswoman Cindy O’Laughlin captured 37 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s four-way GOP primary, beating three incumbent state lawmakers.

O’Laughlin beat State Reps. Craig Redmon, R-Canton, Lindell Shumake, R-Hannibal and Nate Walker, R-Kirksville.

The sprawling district covers 14 counties in northeast and north-central Missouri, stretching from Clark County on the Iowa border to Chariton County, west of Moberly.

O’Laughlin carried only four of the counties, but two of them were large counties: Randolph and Macon. Moberly and Macon are the two biggest towns in those counties.

O’Laughlin will face Hannibal Democrat Crystal Stephens in November.

Former State Sen. Wes Shoemyer, D-Clarence, was the last Democrat to represent this district.

Republicans have held the seat since 2010, when Munzlinger unseated Shoemyer.

Redmon and Shumake are in their eighth and final years in the Missouri House, due to term limits.

Munzlinger is the powerful chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

PGA Championship at Bellerive projected to have a $100 million impact (AUDIO)

August 7, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

The 100th PGA Championship begins Thursday at historic Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis County.

The logo for the 100th PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club, courtesy of Explore St. Louis

Bellerive also hosted the U.S. Open in 1965 and the 1992 PGA Championship.

Explore St. Louis chief marketing officer Brian Hall says they’re projecting about a $100 million economic impact, with about 80,000 out-of-town visitors for the tournament.

“Many of them are staying not just for a day or two, they’re staying for the entire week,” Hall says. “So it’s a week-long celebration of the game of golf, played by the best in golf.”

Explore St. Louis is the official destination marketing organization responsible for marketing St. Louis City and County as a convention site and as a leisure travel destination.

The organization’s website notes more than 700 local and regional businesses partner with Explore St. Louis.

Hall says Explore St. Louis worked with the PGA on lodging, and that more than 30 area hotels are under contract for the event.

He says reporters from across the globe have traveled to or will be traveling to St. Louis.

“We’re going to have an estimated 1,000 journalists from around the world who are not just going to be reporting on the game of golf as it’s played in the championship play over at Bellerive, but they’re going to be reporting on St. Louis as well,” says Hall.

Historic Bellerive Country Club

Hall tells Missourinet that CBS Sports came in about a month ago to shoot B-roll of the Gateway Arch, Forest Park and many other area attractions.

That video will be shown during the broadcasts.

Hall says there will be about 30 hours of live television programming from Bellerive.

Practice rounds continue Tuesday and Wednesday, and round one is Thursday at Bellerive, which is located on Ladue Road.

Bellerive Country Club’s website notes the club is named after Louis St. Ange De Bellerive, the last French commander in North America.

Hall says the St. Louis region is on a roll.

“A month ago we just re-opened the Gateway Arch, incredible new tourism experience,” Hall says. “And to have this right on the heels of that opening that captured international attention, this is really, really exciting for the entire region.”

Explore St. Louis says the Gateway City welcomes more than 25 million annual visitors for leisure, conventions, meetings and business travel.

Hall says Cardinal Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith chairs the PGA’s Foundation, which is called “PGA Reach”.

Hall says the organization will be assisting many of the Boys and Girls Clubs in the St. Louis region.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Explore St. Louis chief marketing officer Brian Hall, which was recorded on August 2, 2018:

2018 Missouri State Fair opens Thursday in Sedalia (AUDIO)

August 6, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

Thousands of people are expected to travel Thursday to west-central Missouri’s Sedalia for the opening of the 2018 State Fair.

2018 Missouri State Fair logo (courtesy of the Missouri State Fair and the Missouri Department of Agriculture)

Governor Mike Parson (R) is expected to speak at Thursday’s noon opening ceremony, on the fairgrounds.

State Fair Director Mark Wolfe says one of the biggest changes in 2018 involves six nights of fireworks, which are being sponsored by Bryant Motors of Sedalia.

“Normally we have three (fireworks displays), so the first three nights of the fair, (and) the 15th, and then the 17th and the 18th the last Friday and Saturday of the fair we’ll have some really big fireworks shows,” Wolfe says.

You’ll also notice four new photo stations at the fairgrounds, featuring fair scenes.

There are also four new solar cell phone charging stations across the fairgrounds. They are available year-round.

The theme for the 116th Missouri State Fair is “Come Home.”

The State Fair’s public campground opened Thursday morning.

Meantime, Director Wolfe says one in five Missourians are hungry and that in parts of rural Missouri, one in three children face being hungry on a regular basis.

He says the 2018 goal is for Missouri FFA members and volunteers to pack 100,000 meals at the State Fair.

“We had about 300 or 350 FFA students that came in last year,” says Wolfe. “All the food was purchased in bulk and they set up down in the Lowell Mohler Assembly Hall and packed these meals and they packed 52,000 meals in a little over two hours.”

Wolfe says because of those 2017 efforts, 900 pounds of nutritious, fresh produce were donated to a “Feeding Missouri” regional food bank.

More than $146,000 was raised for “Feeding Missouri” to sustain food supply efforts throughout the year.

Children struggling with food insecurity are at greater risk of health problems and lower school test scores.

Missouri State Fair officials are encouraging you to bring canned goods to this year’s fair in Sedalia.

This is the eighth year the State Fair has conducted a food drive, and Wolfe says the “Missouri Farmers Care Food Drive $2 Tuesday” is next Tuesday, August 14th.

“The promotion is if you as a fairgoer, if you come to the fair that day and bring two canned food items with you, we’ll let you in for a $2 admission. Regular admission is $10, so it’s a pretty good discount and gives everybody a chance to give back to those a little less fortunate.”

The 2018 fair runs through August 19.

In addition to Thursday’s noon opening ceremony, the opening day parade will take place Thursday evening at 6 on Missouri State Fair Boulevard in Sedalia.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Missouri State Fair Director Mark Wolfe, which was recorded on July 30, 2018: