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Bob Priddy: Term limits are on the Nov. 3 ballot, breaking with prior practices

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by Bob Priddy for Missourinet

A proposal on the November 3 ballot further limits Missourians’ abilities to vote for incumbents they like.

Amendment 1 extends the two-term limit for Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, and State auditor. The governor and the state treasurer already are term-limited.

But history shows Missourians might have a hypocritical streak on this issue.

When given a chance to vote for more terms for candidates, Missouri voters have a propensity to do it. It’s how Peter Kinder served three terms as lieutenant governor; Jay Nixon served sixteen as state attorney general; Forest Smith served four terms as state auditor. One of his successors, Haskell Holman, served 18 years.

Missourians limited their opportunities to vote when they supported term limits in 1992, with limits kicking in with the 1994 election—at which time many legislators who already had served eight or more years were elected for even more.

 

 

 

Bob Priddy: Peaceful transfer of power was once blocked in Missouri

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Bob Priddy for Missourinet

President Trump’s back and forth on a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election might remind historians of a time when Missouri Democrats took the same approach.

Democrats had a stranglehold on state offices and on the legislature in 1940 when Forrest Donnell was the only Republican elected to statewide office.  In those days, the Missouri Speaker of the House was the official who proclaimed the official winners of statewide elections and Speaker Morris Osburn refused to certify Donnell’s election.

The loser, Democrat Larry McDaniel, and state Democratic Party Chairman C. Marion Hulen claimed voting irregularities made McDaniel a winner by 30-thousand votes, not the 36-hundred margin that made Donnell governor.

The Missouri Supreme Court ordered Donnell to be sworn in, six weeks late, and to serve until a recount showed he had lost.

The recount became a disaster for McDaniel, who withdrew his challenge without consulting Democratic leaders who had urged him to fight.

Donnell became the last Republican governor until Christopher Bond was elected 32 years later.

Bob Priddy has been writing a history of the Missouri Capitol, to be published by The University of Missouri Press

Bob Priddy: election history this week as 5 statewide officials run for their jobs for the first time

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Bob Priddy, special to Missourinet

Missourians are voting in a unique election this year because five statewide officeholders are trying to keep a job nobody elected them to hold four years ago.

Missouri historian Bob Priddy explains that Governor Mike Parson, Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe, Attorney General Eric Schmitt, and Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick were not elected to their present offices in 2016.

The resignation of Governor Eric Greitens created a jobs shuffle at the top of state government.

In 2016, Parson was elected Lieutenant Governor. Schmitt was elected State treasurer. Kehoe was headed back to private life as a term-limited senator and Fitzpatrick was facing ouster from the House because of term limits. Parson moved up with the resignation of Governor Eric Greitens and promptly appointed Kehoe as Lieutenant Governor. Schmitt was elected State Treasurer then was appointed Attorney General when Josh Hawley ended Claire McCaskill’s U.S. Senate career.  Fitzpatrick, House Budget Committee chair, was appointed by Parson as Schmitt’s successor as Treasurer.

The only statewide officeholder who is running for reelection, not just election this year, is Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, who has stayed where voters put him four years ago.

They all have opponents who hope to short-circuit their historic bids on election day. 

 

Aryan gang members indicted for operations in Missouri and nearby states

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The federal government has indicted twenty-four defendants, including alleged Aryan Circle (AC) gang members and associates, on charges of racketeering conspiracy, violent crimes in aid of racketeering, drug conspiracy, and unlawful firearms trafficking in states including Missouri.

According to court documents, the AC is a violent, race‑based organization that operates inside federal prisons across the country and outside prisons in states including Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Missouri.  The group was originally a spin-off of the prison-based Aryan Brotherhood of Texas. According to federal prosecutors, the AC’s structure and influence have expanded outside of prisons to rural and suburban areas in various states.

These indictments are part of “Operation Noble Virtue,” a larger investigation into AC leadership that has resulted in seventeen federal convictions in six jurisdictions to date.

One of the indictments in the Eastern District of Texas charges six alleged AC members and associates with a racketeering conspiracy that includes acts involving murder, five alleged AC members with assault resulting in serious bodily injury in aid of racketeering, and two alleged AC members with kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping in aid of racketeering. An alleged AC member charged in Texas is Jesse Paul Blankenship, aka “JP,” 39, of Missouri.

Court records further indicate that the AC enforces its rules and promotes discipline among its members, prospects, and associates through murder, attempted murder, assault, and threats against those who violate the rules or pose a threat to the organization.

Compiled from DOJ reports

Flood effect: navigation damage threatens barge traffic on Missouri River

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Work is underway to repair damage to the Missouri River’s navigation channel. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Kansas City District Commander, Col. Bill Hannan, says three years of high water as well as widespread flooding have left damage in their wake, threatening barge season on the Missouri River.

St. Joseph Port (Photo courtesy of Brent Martin of KFEQ)

“The flood of 2019 also, along with devastating a lot of levees along the river, created about $200 million in damages to navigation structures,” Hannan tells Missourinet affiliate KFEQ in St. Joseph. “And so, what has happened in the last three weeks is the river levels have returned to normal, they’re not low, they’re just normal service levels that we would see, but because of all that damage to navigation structures, it’s creating shallow spots in the navigation channel on the river.”

While the Corps estimates the damage at $200 million, it has only $20 million in its budget to make repairs.

The Corps says all that water rushing down the Missouri River the last three years, including the widespread flooding of last year, damaged half to three-quarters of the 7,000 river training structures on the lower Missouri River.

Money isn’t the only problem. It takes time to fully scour the Missouri River channel and return it to its authorized nine-foot by 300-foot condition.

Hannan isn’t looking to Congress for more money. He points out Congress has already made its allocation to repair damage done by disasters throughout the country last year, including the devastation Missouri River flooding did to the Midwest last year.

“We are now trying to find every piece of money we can in the Corps of Engineers to see if we can apply some more resources to fix some of these problems on the river,” Hannan says.

He says Corps crews as well as contractor crews are doing their best to guide barges away from the damaged areas of the navigation channel while awaiting repair.

Hannan understands the importance of barge traffic with harvest fast approaching.

“We are doing absolutely everything we can to not let the barge traffic stop, because we know the agricultural community is really dependent to move their goods and the fall harvest here,” Hannan says. “So, we’re going to give 100% effort in the Corps of Engineers to do everything we can to keep that traffic moving.”

By Brent Martin of KFEQ in St. Joseph

Northern Missouri school district declares teachers as essential workers

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Green City School District teachers in northern Missouri have been declared as essential workers during the COVID-19 outbreak. Superintendent Tenille Banner tells Missourinet affiliate KWIX in Moberly the declaration gives its teachers three options.

Northern Missouri school district declares teachers as essential workers

“They can choose to teach from home using a video conferencing method. If they’re not comfortable coming in, they can go ahead and use their sick leave to come in,” she says. “Or if they are comfortable showing no symptoms – totally asymptomatic – they can come in, wear a mask, do some extra social distancing, and still be able to conduct and teach their classes.”

When the district surveyed teachers, they said they wanted to keep classes going and students in school if possible.

“One of our biggest fears was that we would have to shut down school because our teachers would be quarantined and unable to teach – not necessarily because they had tested positive but just because they had been listed as a close contact,” she says.

Banner says so far, the district has had a couple of students quarantined before the school year started, but for now, every student is in class.

By Scott Lunte of Missourinet affiliate KWIX in Moberly

Missouri counties mailing new ballots after Amendment 3 language goof

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Nearly 2,000 Buchanan County voters in northwest Missouri will be sent new ballots after receiving absentee ballots with language thrown out by the courts. Some voters in southwest Missouri’s Vernon County were reportedly also given ballots with the wrong language.

Missouri counties mailing new ballots after getting wrong Amendment 3 language

Buchanan County Clerk Mary Baack-Garvey says the county received ballots with the original language for Amendment Three, which has been rewritten by the courts.

“One of our voters and citizens here in Buchanan County noticed it, absolutely appreciate the fact that they did, because I can’t image if this happened on Election Day,” Baack-Garvey tells Missourinet affiliate KFEQ in St. Joseph. “So, I do commend that person for citing that error. That way all we have to do is 17-Hundred and not, let’s say, 55,000 on Election Day.”

Because they took ballots to vote absentee, the voters can be easily identified. Baack-Garvey says every voter given the incorrect ballot will be sent a new one.

“We had 27 people come here and vote in person. We have the list of their names and we’re going to mail them an absentee ballot to make sure that if they want to change the way they voted on Amendment Three, they can,” Baack-Garvey says. “On the 1,700 absentee voters, we’re sending them a brand new ballot.”

Amendment Three is a largely Republican-backed effort passed by the Missouri Legislature and placed on the November ballot. It asks voters to change the redistricting rules adopted as part of the Clean Missouri initiative two years ago.

Baack-Garvey says the county received the incorrect ballots from a vendor who had not corrected the Amendment Three language thrown out by the courts.

Brent Martin of Missourinet affiliate KFEQ contributed to this story.

U.S. Ag Secretary attends grand opening of new St. Louis food tech company’s headquarters

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Benson Hill grand opening

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Missouri Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn gave remarks during the grand opening of food tech company Benson Hill’s headquarters in St. Louis Monday.

Perdue said the work of Benson Hill will go a long way in helping feed the estimated 9 billion people on the planet by 2050.

“The kind of things we know about different genes and genomes and germplasm today based on what companies like Benson Hill do, and what they will know more in the future about affecting the palatability, the flavor and nutritional qualities will go a long way,” he said.

Chinn said the 39 North Innovation District in St. Louis is the perfect location for Benson Hill.

Benson Hill

“The culture of ag innovation and ag business in Missouri is thriving and it’s strong. St. Louis has more plant scientists than any other place in the world, so this is a great fit for Benson Hill,” said Chinn.

The 160,000 square foot building will be the home Benson Hill’s team of experts in plant biology, agronomy, data analytics, machine learning and food science all focused on the innovation of better food and ingredient options from plant to plate.

By Rhiannon Branch of Brownfield Ag News

Trucking industry still looking for more Missouri drivers

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COVID-19 has put a spotlight on the importance of many Missouri industries, including those sitting behind the wheel of big rigs. Dave Pfiffner, the director of the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) Transportation Institute, says truckers have been going the distance to try and get essential items to consumers.

Trucking industry still looking for more Missouri drivers

“There were shortages of a lot of different things, meats, if you look at foodstuffs and consumable supplies — those seemed to be the areas where there were issues,” Pfiffner says.

He says the industry has been dealing with a shortage of drivers with no change in sight.

“If you look at the average age of a truck driver out there now — it’s in the mid-50s — so it’s a very grey fleet. A lot of folks looking to retire over the next five to ten years,” according to Pfiffner. “And there’s not as many people coming in on the other end to make up for those losses.”

Pfiffner says those looking to get into the industry can pretty much determine what they want to do – everything from driving a big rig to delivery, cement mixers and garbage pick up.

“There are jobs available in really every segment of the industry right now,” he says. “Some people think of truck just as you’re over the road, you’re away from home all the time. That’s not actually the case, there’s a huge number of jobs out there that are considered local jobs.”

Pfiffner says industry workers can make a decent living, with some earning $60,000 annually within two years.

By Dar Danielson of Radio Iowa

St. Joseph leaders say spike in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations prompted mask order

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The northwest Missouri city of St. Joseph has issued an emergency order requiring individuals to wear masks or face coverings at all indoor public places. The order began today and will be in place for 30 days.

St. Joseph leaders say spike in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations prompted mask order

St. Joseph Mayor Bill McMurray says the number of COVID-19 patients at Mosaic Life Care is what prompted the expansion of the mask order.

“They’ve gone from like 16 up to 36 and that’s a huge spike, so we have to tamp those numbers back down and this is just a risk management method to do that,” McMurray says. “We’ve built in some exceptions, but we really need people to take this seriously. This virus has had a huge spike here in our community and we have to fight back, we cannot just go on with business as usual, at least for the next 30 days, and hopefully by doing that, we’ll get these numbers back down.”

Health Director Debra Bradley says they are very concerned at the St. Joseph Health Department about the spike in COVID-19 cases and individuals in the hospital.

“We want to do what we can to protect our community as a whole so that’s why we’re supporting this mask mandate, we’ve been asking for it for a while anyway, hopefully this will help turn the corner on the numbers while also keeping our businesses open,” Bradley says. “They’re not the most comfortable thing to wear, but we’re in this together, we’re here to help each other out.”

The mask mandate put in place July 13 in St. Joseph required individuals to wear a mask in retail stores of 10,000 square feet or more. The new emergency declaration requires masks be worn in all indoor public places if a six-foot distance cannot be maintained. Exceptions include children under the age of five, those with certain medical conditions or while eating food at a restaurant or bar.

Deputy Mayor Kent O’Dell says, in recent meetings, he was on the side of not issuing a more expanded measure.

“We’ve tried holding back the city mandates for five, six weeks now and I’ve been a big part of that, but the numbers have gotten out of hand so therefore, the time has come,” O’Dell says. “It’s unfortunate, but it’s time for everybody to show a little compassion, a little consideration for others for a small period.”

During a press conference Tuesday at City Hall, O’Dell said he wanted to apologize to healthcare professionals.

“I never thought that this would happen or it would explode like the way it has,” O’Dell says. “I was planning on acting before these kind of (COVID-19) numbers hit. It’s unfortunate now that nurses and doctors are being hit, overwhelmed with these numbers now. Normal hospital operations and now 36 COVID patients on top of everything else so I want to apologize to those guys for what’s happening.”

Mosaic Life Care in St. Joseph has 48 rooms on the 4th floor and 48 rooms on the 5th floor that are negative pressure rooms available for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, if needed.

By Sarah Thomack of Missourinet affiliate KFEQ in St. Joseph