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Top Stories: Protesting in downtown St. Louis last night caused several traffic problems. And Richmond Heights State Rep. Stacey Newman says “police riot” tactics being used during peaceful protests in the St. Louis area are unacceptable. Newman and area faith leaders say a tactic used by some officers to surround individuals and box them into a dead end is dangerous.
Missouri’s largest utility has announced a major expansion of its renewable power generation to serve customers.
The investor owned company Monday said its dramatically increasing the amount of wind and solar generation to provide cost-effective and sustainable energy.
It plans to add 700 megawatts of wind generation by 2020 at a cost of roughly $1 billion. The utility claims even more wind generation is possible in the next few years because of improving technology and economics.
Ajay Arora, Ameren’s vice president for environmental services and generation resource planning, says higher towers and longer blades have made it possible for wind turbines to be situated in more locations. “With the new technology, we are able to access locations that had lower wind speeds that weren’t quite as affordable as they are now,” said Arora.
Ameren also says it’s adding 100 megawatts of solar generation over the next 10 years which is expected to be developed in multiple phases.
Arora says solar panels could be installed at major facilities such as a stadium, or in fields similar to wind farms. “We’ll plan for the most reliable and affordable combination of distributors and customer premises (for) solar, as well as the larger utility scale (for) solar that may be further out, similar to a wind farm.”
Earlier this year, Ameren announced plans to build a solar generation facility at St. Louis Lambert International Airport. That facility is expected to be complete in 2018.
The utility also says it’s establishing a goal of reducing its carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050 from the 2005 level. According to Arora, this will require all coal fired power plants to be retired between now and then. “So essentially half of our coal fired generation will be retired in the next 20 years, and all it by 2050.”
The Sioux Plant near West Alton is targeted to be retired by Ameren Missouri in 2034
Ameren has announced its intention to shudder two coal fired facilities – the Meramec Power Station near St. Louis in 2022, and the Sioux Power Plant near West Alton in 2034. Phasing out coal will require the use of other sources, such as future battery storage technology, to offset periods when renewables aren’t producing adequate power.
Ameren Missouri President Michael Moehn claims the reduction in carbon emissions is a trend setting move in the industry. “We are the first investor-owned utility in the state, and among the first in the country, to announce a carbon emissions goal of this magnitude,” Moehn said.
The Sierra Club, a prominent environmental group, gives Ameren’s announcement qualified approval. Andy Knott with the Sierra Club’s Missouri Chapter says it’s a positive shift toward renewable energy, but calls the rate of adoption and carbon reduction goals sluggish compared to other utilities.
“By 2020, Ameren would still be at only eight percent clean energy, while other utilities like Kansas City Power & Light are already more than double that,” said Knott. “And next year, city utilities in Springfield, Missouri will be at more than triple what Ameren in proposing.”
Ameren claims it’s bumping up its renewable power generation from five to fifteen percent. Knott notes Ameren is calculating percentages based on megawatt hours actually used, versus the Sierra Club’s assessment based on total capacity of power generation.
He says the utility’s goal simply meets the Missouri Clean Energy Act, also known as Proposition C, which was passed by voters in 2008. “They probably are at 5% now because that’s what the state renewable energy standard is. And they’ll have to get to 15% by 2021, because that’s where the state renewable energy standard is.”
Knott thinks Ameren’s own research likely indicates wind is now the cheapest form of energy production. “They’ve obviously run the models. And they even say this in their press release, that clean energy is the cheapest moving ahead.”
With 1.2 million electric customers, Ameren is well over twice the size of the state’s second largest investor owned power supplier, Kansas City Power & Light, which has roughly 590,000. Empire District in the state’s southwest corridor serves 168,000 customers.
Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. (AECI), which is the non-profit cooperatives in Missouri, generate power for 875,000 customers.
The Missouri Supreme Court will hear a case Tuesday in Jefferson City involving ownership of the former St. Louis Rams practice facility in Earth City.
Former fans of the St. Louis Rams football team, leave memorabilia hanging on a fence at the teams practice facility in Earth City, Missouri, one day after it was announced that the football team will relocate to Los Angeles on January 13, 2016. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
A lease agreement with the Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority allows the football team to purchase the premises for one dollar in 2024.
The Authority filed a petition asking a judge to declare the purchase option inoperable in March of last year. The following month the Rams filed an arbitration demand seeking a declaration that the option is valid, signaling an ownership interest by the team.
The Judge, Michael D. Burton of the Circuit Court of St. Louis County, denied a motion by the Authority to have the arbitration stayed. His decision was then overturned by the Court of Appeals for Eastern Missouri in St. Louis.
Before the Supreme Court, the Authority contends that an arbitration agreement in the original lease is invalid because the lease itself allows the Rams to take monetary claims to court while it prohibits the Authority from doing so.
The Authority is also arguing that if the high bench determines the arbitration agreement is valid, then it doesn’t apply to its petition to declare the purchase option inoperable. Judge Burton stands by his decision to move the issue before an arbitration panel.
The facility, previously known as Rams Park, is 300,000 square feet, It was vacated when the St. Louis Rams relocated to Los Angeles in January of 2016.
The sports authority, which also owns the Dome at America’s Center, formerly known as the Edward Jones Dome, leased the Earth City facility to the football team for $25,000 a year.
The one-dollar purchase arrangement was a bargaining chip in swaying the Rams to move to St. Louis in 1995.
The ongoing court action indicates the Rams want an ownership stake in the practice facility.
In June 2016, sports authority chairman James Shrewsbury told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch “They want it because it’s worth a lot of money. It’s a valuable asset.”
Top Stories: Kansas City Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt has issued a statement after President Donald Trump targeted the NFL in a series of heated comments over the weekend. Hunt released a statement Sunday, saying he believes in honoring the American Flag – and also supporting those who made the sacrifices to protect our freedoms – including the right to a differing opinion. And health care providers in Missouri are worried about funding for several key programs as Congress closes in on a September 30th deadline to renew them. Among them are Low Volume facilities which treat small quantities of people that are highly dependent on Medicare.
Missouri health care providers are concerned about federal funding for several key programs as Congress closes in on a September 30th deadline to renew them.
Photo courtesy of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Three of them deal with reimbursements to hospitals. They include funding for Medicare dependent and low volume hospitals, as well as those that handle an especially large number of uninsured people who are unable to pay for care. Providers or also concerned about renewal of a coverage program known as the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP.
All four of the programs are bipartisan in nature, but are being delayed while the U.S. Senate considers legislation to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Providers who handle the biggest share of uninsured people receive funding from the Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) program. The subsidy dates to the Reagan administration in 1987.
The ACA called for the program to be downsized under the assumption the expenses would be offset by additional Medicaid coverage and participation in the health exchanges.
State such as Missouri that haven’t expanded Medicaid would take a major hit to their DSH funding. Those cuts have been delayed numerous times by Congress, but there’s no framework to stop them now.
Truman Medical Centers in Kansas City is the state’s largest provider of care for low-income uninsured people, with 25% percent of its patients having no means to pay.
President and CEO Charlie Shields says his hospital will lose a big chunk of funding if the scheduled DSH cuts are implemented. “We estimate next year that’s $14.4 million that we lose,” said Shields. “And when I say lose, it’s not the hospital losing money. It’s care that we provide for the uninsured that becomes increasingly more challenging under this scenario.”
Missouri would stand to lose $2.2 billion by 2025 if all the scheduled cuts take place without any measures to offset them. Texas is one of the other 18 states in addition to Missouri that hasn’t expanded Medicaid. Shields thinks, given the hardships brought on by Hurricane Harvey, there may be room for Texas and Missouri lawmakers to work together to secure DSH funding.
“I think we anticipate them receiving more levels of people at hospitals that lack insurance. Our hope is that states like Texas will partner with states like Missouri, and our legislative delegations will work to find a resolution on this.”
Also of concern heading up to the September 30th deadline are two sources of reimbursement that rural providers tend to rely on – the Medicare Dependent and Low Volume Hospital systems.
Low Volume facilities treat small quantities of people that are highly dependent on Medicare. Dave Dillon with the Missouri Hospital Association says those hospitals feel the squeeze because they deal with fewer people who have more medical complications.
“The patients in rural communities tend to be older, they tend to be sicker,” said Dillon. “So, Medicare as a payer is more important to rural hospitals than it is to urban hospitals, because they have a lower volume of patients, and they have Medicare as a primary payer more often.”
The Medicare Dependent Hospital program assists hospitals with a high volume of patients – more than 60% – who fall under the federal program. Capital Region Medical Center in Jefferson City is the biggest beneficiary this subsidy in the state.
Capitol Region spokesperson Lindsay Huhman says a sudden loss of funding would leave the hospital with a shortage of $3 million, and services would have to be cut somewhere. “If we have to look at other areas to make up those costs, that’s potentially reducing some of the care that we can provide.” 22 hospitals in Missouri receive either Medicare Dependent or Low Volume funding. Eight qualify for Medicare Dependent subsidies.
Chip Hahn of the Federation of American Hospitals says because such facilities are concentrated in rural communities, they have an outsized economic impact. “It’s one of the defining resources in the community,” Kahn said. “Obviously people depend on it for their healthcare, but it usually is the largest employer.”
The Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, enjoys strong bipartisan support. It’s thought that the other three that face an end of the month deadline could be bundled together with CHIP and renewed together. In 2015, the Medicare Dependent or Low Volume programs were extended under such an arrangement.
CHIP was created by Congress in 1997 to provide health coverage for uninsured children in moderate – to low – income working families who are not eligible for Medicaid. Dillon, with the Missouri Hospital Association, says the popular program is important to maintain for a number of reasons.
“It provides access to folks who otherwise wouldn’t have health insurance for their children – access to well care for young kids, to vaccinations and preventive care that are really important for young children.”
If the four expiring programs are not renewed by September 30th, their funding will begin to dry up within a few months.
Top Stories: Vermont U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders references recent unrest in St. Louis during his Thursday visit to Westminster College in mid-Missouri’s Fulton. And a bipartisan group of six state lawmakers from the Kansas City area agree on what the problem is with the selection process to build a new airport terminal. They had wanted the entire city council to examine all four proposals that were submitted instead of allowing a special committee to make the choice.
After a prolonged selection process, the Kansas City Council voted overwhelmingly, 10-2 Thursday, to embrace Maryland-based Edgemoor as its developer for a proposed single terminal project at Kansas City International Airport (KCI).
The vote was 10-2 among council members, despite efforts from state lawmakers earlier in the week to influence their decision.
Current terminal at Kansas City International Airport
A bipartisan group of three Republicans and three Democrats, in a letter and through other measures, tried to persuade the council to examine all four proposals that were submitted for the project instead of allowing a special committee to make the choice, which was for Edgemoor.
All six lawmakers had criticized the six-member KCI Selection Committee’s selection process.
House Democrat Gregg Razer’s 25th district includes local firm Burns & McDonnell, who’s plan was rejected. “I would just like to see that the full council has the full slate of applicants, or presenters, Burns and McDonnell being one of them,” says Razer.
Senate Republican Ryan Silvey has looked at the Kansas City code, and notes a distinction that’s often made at the state level – the difference between “shall” and “may”.
“Section 3-31(c)(2) of KC Ordinance says that all submissions ‘shall be ranked,’” said Silvey, the 17th District Senator. “One of the first things you learn when dealing with the law is that ‘shall’ is absolute. Based on what I have read, it appears the process did not follow the procurement laws in place for the city or the State of Missouri, as neither has an option of ‘disqualification,’ or ‘fail to advance.’”
Burns & McDonnell made its own pitch at a news conference earlier this week, where one of the firm’s vice presidents called for the proposals of all four firms vying for the roughly $1 billion contract to be advanced so that the full City Council can make a decision.
Representative Razer points to a study Burns & McDonnell provided him with as proof the KCI Selection Committee made a mistake in offering one choice. “When I looked over the legal analysis that they provided, it did appear that the committee did not have the legal authority to not allow Burns and McDonnell to go before the full city council.”
Republican House Majority Floor Leader Mike Cierpiot represents the 30th District, which includes some eastern suburbs of Kansas City. He’s less bullish on the KCI project overall than the other lawmakers, but is even more skeptical of the way the selection went.
“While I am not fully convinced we need a new airport, if one is to be put before voters it should be a plan that uses the world class local talent we have right in our own backyard,” says Cierpoit. “It is further troubling to read the opinions presented by the top legal minds in Missouri who say the process violates city and state laws, as well as the Constitution of Missouri.”
Cierpoit’s Democratic counterpart in Jefferson City, House Minority Floor Leader Gail McCann Beatty of the 36th District, questions the grounds of the selection process as it stands. “(The) legal opinions certainly beg the question about whether or not this process followed the laws of Kansas City and the State of Missouri,” McCann Beatty says.
House Democrat DaRon McGee of the 36th District in South Kansas City has concluded the selection committee erred.
“I have studied the city ordinances governing a qualifications based selection process, and it is clear to me that the city selection committee violated these ordinances and its own request for qualifications by not ranking the qualifications of all four groups of proposers as required” McGee says.
The city council was unswayed by the the efforts of the state lawmakers.
With the selection of Edgemoor now in place, voters will go to the polls November 7th to decide whether or not the airport terminal is actually built.
More than 3,000 people jammed into the big tent next to Bass Pro Shops flagship location in Springfield Wednesday night for a gala grand opening of the Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium.
Bass Pro Shops – Image courtesy of Bass Pro Shops
Bass Pro founder and CEO Johnny Morris’ vision for a world-class conservation-focused venue was nine years in the making. There were numerous appearances by celebrities and politicians, including a tribute to Morris from Kevin Costner.
“Somehow Johnny has managed to touch us all,” Costner said. “Your friendship is legendary, but it’s your sense of detail, the love of the land and the animals that inhabit it that are forever on display for all of us.”
The number of stars and dignitaries on hand for the Wednesday event was astonishing.
Governor Eric Greitens was held up in the St. Louis area because of unrest following a controversial court decision. But local Congressman Billy Long of the 7th District was a special guest.
Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush offered representation from both parties to have occupied the oval office. The two men were honorary Co-Chairmen and Featured Guest. The gathering’s chief honoree, Former President George H.W. Bus, is suffering from health issues and was unable to attend.
Country music legends appearing included Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, Craig Morgan, Easton Corbin, Chris Janson and Tracy Byrd.
The list of auto racing legends was dominated by NASCAR stars, but also included power broker Chip Ganassi, who fields teams in both NASCAR and IndyCar.
The Fishing Legends camp was fronted by familiar names – Bill Dance and Jimmy Houston – but included at least 20 additional members. And there were no fewer than 10 Hunting Legends.
As well, actor Mark Wahlberg was a strong presence, offering a celebrity dive into one of the tanks at the aquarium.
Bass Pro CEO Johnny Morris addressed the audience where, among other things, he said outdoor enthusiasm has a long lineage in the U.S.
“What tonight is all about is celebrating the sportsmen and women in this country,” said Morris. “The anglers and the hunters, who really from the time of those who came before us, the Native Americans, and the time of Roosevelt and Audubon, and to today, the impact they’ve had not just for hunting and fishing, but for all our nature.”
The $290 million, 350,000-square-foot Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium aquarium and museum officially opens to the public tomorrow Friday.
In a hearing where both sides called the subject matter “a case of honesty”, the Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments in Jefferson City on Wednesday about whether an attorney should be disciplined over his own felony plea.
The Missouri Supreme Court Building in Jefferson City
The lawyer in question, a nervous Dustin Dunfield of Nevada, represented himself before the high bench. Without elaborating, he stated he wasn’t able to get an attorney to agree to serve as his counsel.
In 1996, Dunfield pleaded guilty to statutory rape and was given a two year suspended sentence and placed on probation for two years.
In 2007, he admitted on his application for law school in Arkansas that he’d pleaded guilty to the rape charges. And in 2010, he admitted to the same plea twice when he applied to become a lawyer in both Arkansas and Missouri.
But in 2014, he swore on a candidate declaration form that he had not been convicted, found guilty or pleaded guilty to a felony under state law. At the time, Dunfield was running for county prosecutor in southwest Missouri’s Vernon County.
State law bars anybody who has been convicted, found guilty, or pleaded guilty to a felony from qualifying for public office.
Incumbent Prosecutor Lynn Ewing, who was also running for re-election, challenged Dunfield’s candidacy in court. Meanwhile, Dunfield moved to have his guilty plea set aside, and for his name to be removed from the state sex offender registry.
Both cases ended up in the same place on the same day, before Newton County Circuit Judge Timothy Perigo, who heard arguments in nearby Cedar County.
Judge Perigo found that “contestee” Dunfield had been found guilty of statutory rape and declared him ineligible to be a prosecuting attorney. Dunfield’s name was ordered to be removed from the ballot.
The judge also denied Dunfield’s motion to have his guilty plea set aside as well as his petition to have his name removed from the sexual offender registry. Judge Perigo “advised” Dunfield to register as a sex offender within three days.
After the court determined Dunfield ineligible for office, Prosecutor Ewing filed to have him punished before the state Chief Disciplinary Counsel.
A regional three-person Disciplinary Hearing Panel determined Dunfield had broken rules by stating he had not been found guilty in his candidate declaration form. The panel recommended that Dunfield be suspended from practicing law for two years, but with the suspension stayed, and replaced with a two-year period of probation.
The Chief Disciplinary Counsel disagreed and is asking the Supreme Court to suspend Dunfield indefinitely, without an option to apply for reinstatement for one year.
Before the high court, Disciplinary Counsel Attorney Kevin Rapp said Dunfield had changed his position multiple times throughout the legal process surrounding him.
“He’s been all over the place, and offered different multiple explanations of whether or not he plead guilty,” said Rapp. “It’s basically whatever suits him at the time, being when you’re applying for admission to bar of facing disciplinary action, whether or not you plead guilty.”
Dunfield, representing himself, admitted he was wrong to have said he hadn’t pleaded guilty when filing for office, but contended he did so under good faith because he’d been advised that he wouldn’t be breaking any rules.
“I had spoken to a local judge,” said Dunfield. “(I) had talked to my former public defender, had gotten a hold of the Missouri Ethics Commission. Everyone that I spoke to was of the opinion that I could fill that form out in the negative.”
Dunfield confessed that he couldn’t confirm any opinion from the Ethics Commission because the commission had told him in writing that they wouldn’t issue a comment.
Chief Justice Zel Fischer questioned how Dunfield could declare he didn’t plead guilty, after stating that he did multiple times before he’d become a lawyer.
“So you’re trying to convince me that you got less informed, or less intelligent about what that question was asking you, after having gone to law school and consulted lawyers and a judge,” said Fischer. “That’s what I’m supposed to believe.”
Dunfield’s original 1996 felony statutory rape conviction was tossed out in 2016, but it’s current status has no bearing on whether he was justified when he made his various plea declarations.
The Supreme Court, as is their custom, will release a decision in the case at a later date. In Missouri, the high bench is the final word on any complaints or disciplinary action against attorneys licensed in the state.
Top Stories: A wide range of high-profile celebrities and politicians have been part of the long awaited grand opening of the Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium in Springfield. It’s the vision of Bass Pro Shops founder and CEO Johnny Morris, who says outdoor enthusiasm has a long lineage in the U.S. And The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) says the number of school districts holding classes four days a week has increased in the past year from 15 to 18. Neosho State Representative Bill Reiboldt supports the 2011 law that provided the optional four-day school week.
