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House Democrats submit recommendations for COVID-19 response

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In a press conference at the State Capitol Thursday, Missouri House Minority Leader Quade says Democrats would like to see the state take the following coronavirus actions. House Speaker Elliah Haahr tells Missourinet he has not had a chance to review them.

COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE

  • Request the governor call a state of emergency under Article IV, Section 27a, so that the General Assembly can access the Budget Reserve Fund for the emergency resources necessary to respond to this public health crisis.
  • Provide state funding to reimburse medical providers for treatment provided to non-insured individuals over the next month.
  • Provide additional funding to county health departments.
  • Authorize mandatory paid sick leave for companies with 50 or more employees, with a six-month sunset provision.
  • Provide additional funding for non-profit organizations that provide food to children in the event schools are closed.
  • Furlough non-violent prisoners from the Missouri Department of Corrections.
  • Implement an emergency rule authorizing the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance to require insurance providers to cover COVID-19 testing.
  • Provide economic protections to hourly state employees.
  • Implement an emergency rule authorizing the Department of Health and Senior Services to erect temporary hospitals and quarantine facilities.
  • Provide additional funding for mobile testing units.
  • Direct the Missouri Department of Social Services to refrain from implementing new SNAP rules that are set to take effect April 1 and will cost many families access to nutritional food.
  • Implement and emergency order suspending utility services from being shut off.
  • Implement an emergency order suspending home evictions.
  • Cancel plans to implement Medicaid rate cuts for hospitals and other health care providers.

March Madness canceled along with other major conference restrictions

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-Details to follow from Sports Director Bill Pollock

Concerns about the coronavirus have led to big changes for Missouri sporting events.

The NCAA announced, “NCAA President Mark Emmert and the Board of Governors canceled the Division I men’s and women’s 2020 basketball tournaments, as well as all remaining winter and spring championships.

The SEC conference has suspended all regular-season games for all sports until March 30. The Big 12 has canceled its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments in Kansas City.

In the Class One Boys and Girls High School Final Four in Springfield, each school is limited to 150 fans.

The St. Louis Blues are done for the season after the NHL announced the rest of the league’s season has been suspended. Major League Baseball has suspended spring training and the season will be delayed by at least two weeks.

 

Missouri Attorney General sues televangelist Jim Bakker to stop false coronavirus cure claims

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Missouri’s Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a lawsuit against Jim Bakker and Morningside Church Productions to stop him from selling a fake treatment for coronavirus.

Attorney General Eric Schmitt says Jim Bakker in a nationwide broadcast falsely claimed that his product called “Silver Solution” can cure coronavirus.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the New York Attorney General have also issued cease and desist letters to the Jim Bakker Show to stop making claims on the web about the product that are not supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence.

The FDA says currently there are no vaccines, pills, potions or other prescription or over-the-counter products to treat or cure coronavirus disease.

In 1989, Bakker was convicted on 24 counts of defrauding followers in his SC-based ministry at Heritage USA.  He later wrote that in prison he realized he was “contradicting Christ in the pursuit of money.”

After serving five years, Bakker returned to televangelism — this time near Branson, Missouri, a popular tourist destination. He raises funds in part by selling “end of days” products like bulk foods and generators.

Annual marchers protest outside Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis

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Reported by Jill Enders, St. Louis

Hundreds of anti-abortion demonstrators from around the country were in St. Louis over the weekend for the 3rd annual March on the Arch.

On Saturday, activists gathered outside of Missouri’s last remaining abortion clinic, Planned Parenthood in the Central West End. Brian Westbrook, the executive director for the Coalition for Life, St. Louis, says the purpose of this demonstration is to call for an end to abortion.

“We keep praying. We keep fasting and we come and set alternatives to the women who are considering abortion and by doing that and by offering help and assistance, these women who are left on the sidelines, that’s how we’re going to end abortion. It’s about helping and loving.” Westbrook said.

Rep. Coleman

Representative Mary Elizabeth Coleman, R-Arnold, was among the guest speakers during the rally that was held prior to the annual march to the Gateway Arch.

“Women deserve better and you know it and I know it. And we know that though you are small, you are strong, and God’s timing is not our timing.” Coleman said.

Planned Parenthood clinic officials were not available to the press on site for comment.

The Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission is expected to decide March 16 whether Planned Parenthood of St. Louis can keep its license. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services wants to revoke its license, citing concerns of failed abortions.

Blunt proposes to revamp lower Missouri River management

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Missouri U.S. Senators Roy Blunt and Josh Hawley, along with Senators from Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas, want to overhaul the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers’ management of the lower Missouri River. Blunt, a Republican, says their bill introduced this week is designed to reduce flood risk and improve flood protection along the lower river basin. He says last year’s flooding from March through August made for an unbelievable year.

Missouri U.S. Senator Roy Blunt

“We think the Corps can plan better,” he tells Brownfield Ag News. “But we think the Corps needs some direction and some flexibility to be able to plan better and that’s what this legislation would do.”

Blunt says the bill requires the Corps to come up with a project feasibility study and gives it flexibility for any project where the federal share is less than $75 million to be able to move forward more quickly.

Blunt says it lets the Corps look at the southern Missouri River basin as a unique waterway.

“We’re not trying to get into opening the entire plan or needlessly involve our friends north of us on the Missouri River when they don’t need to be involved. Certainly would welcome input from them,” he says.

Blunt says the Corps will have to look at how navigation and flood control can be a bigger priority.

“All of our input from farm families, farm organizations, businesses and communities along the river has been very positive so far and we hope we can continue to move forward in a unified way to get this done,” says Blunt.

Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst applauds the bill and says it is a huge step forward.

By Julie Harker of Brownfield Ag News

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Coronavirus concerns blamed for gas price drop in Missouri and nationwide

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Fears about coronavirus are leading to lower gasoline prices in Missouri and across the nation. The respiratory illness has infected tens of thousands of people around the world and killed more than 3,000 others.

Coronavirus concerns blamed for gas price drop in Missouri and nationwide

With tens of millions of people quarantined in China, fewer people are using fuel, dramatically lowering demand. Rose White, with AAA auto club, says crude oil prices have dropped $9 a barrel during the past two weeks.

“With that, we’ve seen prices tumble across the nation,” White says. “In fact, just over the weekend, price dropped another five-cents a gallon with unleaded averaging $2.27 across the state.”

China is one of the world’s top petroleum users. With much of that nation grinding to a halt from the virus, global demand for gas has dropped significantly.

“U.S. stock levels are high right now, up about 1.4 million barrels above what we had seen just a year ago,” White says. “Typically at this time of year, we do see prices fluctuate a bit as refineries shut down operations for those mandatory inspections.”

White says fuel prices could continue to drop.

“I think it’s going to last a long time because I don’t know if we’ve seen the full impact yet of the coronavirus,” White says. “Certainly, OPEC is very concerned about the situation to the point that they are debating whether or not they should curb production an additional one million barrels per day.”

Missouri’s current average of 2.16 per gallon is 27 cents below the national average.

Matt Kelley of Radio Iowa contributed to this story

St. Louis is a step closer to having a Major League Soccer Stadium

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An HOK Image of where a new MLS stadium would be built in downtown St. Louis

A new Major League Soccer Stadium in St. Louis is one step closer to becoming a reality. The St. Louis Board of Aldermen has given final approval on two bills critical to constructing a new stadium in downtown St. Louis. Both bills passed by a vote of 22-1. President of Board of Aldermen Lewis Reed calls this a victory for the city.

“I just very, very happy. It’s an exciting day for the city of St. Louis,” he says.

Alderwoman Sharon Tyus being the lone no vote.

“When I voted no on the Rams deal, I said that I am an attorney. I can read. That’s it not a good deal that you left a loophole that says in 15 or 20 years, if we don’t have the same stadium – the top of the line – then we will let them leave. That was a dumb idea in 1991. And what happen, they took that very loophole. So, no. I think that I am going to use whatever I have to get them to do development in north St. Louis,” she says.

Construction is expected to begin later this year and is anticipated to be completed in 2022.

By Missourinet contributor Jill Enders

Missouri leaders to address coronavirus control, health director meets with White House

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Dr. Randall Williams (courtesy Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services)

Missouri’s health director will testify Monday in Jefferson City before a newly-created state House committee related to the new coronavirus. House Speaker Elijah Haahr announced the formation of the committee Thursday, saying state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) Director Dr. Randall Williams has briefed his office on the state’s response plan to protect Missourians’ health. Speaker Haahr says that the more information Missourians have, the better equipped the state will be to mitigate the virus’ spread.

Williams said in an agency statement released today, “Prior to the national health emergency being declared on January 31, our incident management team from DHSS had already begun daily meetings (on Jan. 27) as part of our normal preparedness and response duties. Part of our responsibilities also includes being an effective liaison to local public health departments who were briefed last week in Jefferson City with the latest information from federal partners.”

This week, Williams traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with his counterparts from around the nation to discuss preparations across our country with the acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and the Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar.”

“I am pleased that our efforts here in Missouri are strategically aligned with our federal and national partners.”

The Missouri State Public Health Laboratory has been approved by the CDC to begin providing testing. The test uses real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction to detect the virus which causes COVID-19, and it can provide same-day results.

“Our Missouri team has been working to educate and collaborate with a robust network of response organizations including the State Emergency Management Agency, all 16 State departments, the Missouri State Public Health Laboratory, clinicians, local public health departments, medical associations, hospital associations, airports, school nurses, student health departments at colleges, and others to provide timely and accurate information in preparation for the possibility of a future positive case,” Dr. Williams also said in the press statement.

Missouri DHSS has established a website at www.health.mo.gov/coronavirus to provide information and links to resources and education material on COVID-19.

 

Missouri county is a step closer to banning wind energy projects

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Members of the Buchanan County Planning and Zoning Commission in northwest Missouri have gone beyond proposing regulations for wind farms in the county. The commission, instead, has proposed banning wind farms in Buchanan County altogether.

Missouri county is a step closer to banning wind energy projects

The commission, meeting to discuss proposed regulations for commercial wind energy development, voted 8 to 4 to ban wind turbines. Its recommendation now goes to the Buchanan County Commission to consider.

The vote comes after 13 months of study which included hiring a consultant to draft proposed wind energy regulations.

Northwest Missouri has several large wind farms, including outside of Maryville and Burlington Junction in Nodaway County and Grant City in Worth County.

A group, Friends of Buchanan County, formed to fight against wind energy. The group argued wind power turbines made for a poor fit in a densely-populated county. It advocated a ban, but also gathered more than 700 signatures on petitions that called for a mile setback from property lines for commercial wind developments if the county did adopt regulations, a requirement which would have been difficult for any wind energy company to meet.

The County Commissioners and the Planning and Zoning Commission held two nights of public hearings last month on proposed wind regulations. All who testified opposed wind power development in Buchanan County. No one spoke in favor.

Previous stories:

Campaign launches to oppose wind turbines in Missouri county
https://wp.me/p16gMv-vRz

Missouri county slowly moves toward wind farm regulations
https://wp.me/p16gMv-vDv

By Brent Martin of Missourinet affiliate KFEQ in St. Joseph

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

St. Louis County residents speak out at public meeting on search for new police chief

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-Jill Enders, St. Louis

The public is getting the chance to provide input on the search to replace retiring St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar.  Belmar recently announced he’ll retire April 30, after six years in the position.

St. Louis County Board Of Police Commissioners Photo By Jill Enders

Wednesday, the  St. Louis County Board of Police Commissioners hosted the first of a series of public meetings for feedback on the selection.

St. Louis County Police Officer Shanette Hall asked for more diversity.

“When you begin to make your choice, I ask that you remember a face that looks just like mine. And remember there are about one hundred or so African American police officers that are on our police department as well and you can ask, ‘What is it that I can do to make sure that they are also heard, like everybody else,” she said.

Paul Warden of north St. Louis County, was among about one hundred residents who turned out for the meeting.

“The current situation in north county will not get better unless we have more police on the ground,” he said, “I hope it’s somebody who will be focused on making all St. Louis County safer, especially from my perspective, making north county safer.”

Jennings Councilman Terry Wilson was among the community leaders who voiced his input.

“I think we need someone that is community-oriented and has relationships, strong relationships with all of St. Louis County. And I beleive that we need someone who is ready to lead on day one,” said Wilson.

The next meeting will be held on February 26th.