Agriculture Archives - Missourinet

North Missouri businessman receives ten years in federal prison for $142 million grain fraud scheme

August 17, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

A prominent northwest Missouri businessman and former school board member will spend the next ten years in federal prison for a $142 million grain fraud scheme, after being sentenced Friday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Morfitt tells Missourinet that Randy Constant was sentenced on Friday to 122 months in federal prison, which is about ten years. Constant had faced up to 20 years in prison.

Officials from the U.S. Attorney’s office, the FBI and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have called a press conference for Monday morning at 11:30 in Cedar Rapids to discuss the case. The press conference will take place at the federal courthouse.

The 61-year-old Constant is well-known across north Missouri, and is a former Chillicothe School Board member.

Constant pleaded guilty in federal court in Iowa in December to one count of wire fraud. He admits the grain fraud scheme totaled more than $142 million, and that he misled customers into thinking they were buying certified organic grain when it was not organic.

It’s unclear which prison that Constant will serve his sentence at. That decision will be up to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

Pork Place at the Missouri State Fair celebrates 40 years (AUDIO)

August 16, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

SEDALIA, Mo.- A popular restaurant at the State Fair in west-central Missouri’s Sedalia is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

The Pork Place restaurant opened in 1979 at the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia (2019 photo courtesy of Missouri Pork Association)

Missouri Pork Association Executive Vice President Don Nikodim tells Missourinet the Pork Place opened in 1979, under a small tent. It’s now in an air-conditioned building, with seating for a few hundred people.

“It’s a cool, clean place to come eat, we’ve got a super crew back here. Bob and Patty Wheeler have managed this thing for years for us, and they do a phenomenal job,” Nikodim says.

The Pork Place menu now includes pork chops, pork burgers, pulled pork, ribs and candy bacon. It also includes a quick service window for those wanting to grab a quick pork burger and drink, on the run.

“We think we’ve got the best food on the (state) fairgrounds, and we think we got the best prices to go with it, so enjoy,” says Nikodim.

He says the Pork Place connects pork producers with consumers, adding that the pork industry contributes $1 billion annually to the state’s economy. Governor Mike Parson says Missouri pork producers raise more than 3.4 million hogs in the state.

Governor Parson and state Department of Agriculture (MDA) Director Chris Chinn joined Mr. Nikodim at the Pork Place on Thursday, for a ceremony to mark the restaurant’s 40th anniversary. The celebration included a large cake.

The 2019 State Fair ends on Sunday.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with Missouri Pork Association Executive Vice President Don Nikodim, which was recorded on August 15, 2019 at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia:

Blunt pleased with USDA’s Kansas City relocation decision (AUDIO)

August 16, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

SEDALIA, Mo.- The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) decision to relocate two major facilities to the greater Kansas City area is being praised by Missouri’s senior senator.

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R) flips steaks at the Missouri Beef House at the State Fair in Sedalia on August 15, 2019 (photo courtesy of Missouri Cattlemen’s Association Twitter page)

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R) spoke to Missourinet at the governor’s ham breakfast Thursday in west-central Missouri’s Sedalia.

“I think that’s one of the great things about the USDA deciding to move those ag research jobs from Washington D.C. to the Kansas City area with access to all our great land grant institutions in the middle of the country,” Blunt says.

USDA plans to relocate its Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agricultural Policy. U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Kansas City, says the decision will draw more than 550 jobs to the Kansas City region, with average wages between $80,000 and $100,000.

Meantime, Senator Blunt is hopeful that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will manage the Missouri River differently.

“Since the 2004 (Corps) management plan, we’ve had moderate to high flooding every year but two, with the same rainfall we had in many years before that that didn’t produce that flooding,” says Blunt.

Blunt, Governor Parson and members of the state’s congressional delegation held a press conference on the flooding issue at Thursday’s fair. They were joined by Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst.

Parson says more than 80 Missouri levees have overtopped or breached in 2019.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full four-minute interview with U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R), which was recorded at the State Fair in Sedalia on August 15, 2019:

Rural Missouri businessman to be sentenced Friday for $142 million grain fraud scheme

August 15, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

A northwest Missouri businessman and former school board member will learn his fate Friday morning in Cedar Rapids, when he’s sentenced for a $142 million grain fraud scheme.

61-year-old Randy Constant is a prominent businessman in north Missouri and is also a former Chillicothe School Board member.

Constant pleaded guilty in December in federal court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to one count of wire fraud.

Constant will be sentenced by Judge C.J. Williams in federal court in Iowa.

Constant admits the grain fraud scheme misled customers into thinking they were buying certified organic grain when it was not organic.

He faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.

Both the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the FBI investigated the case.

Missouri and Kansas governors end border war; working together on USDA relocation

August 15, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

The governors of Missouri and Kansas have signed a historic agreement that officially ends the economic “border war” between the two states. Missouri Governor Mike Parson (R) says incentivizing companies to move a few miles does not result in new jobs.

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly and Missouri Governor Mike Parson sign an agreement ending the border war on August 13, 2019 in Kansas City, Kansas (photo courtesy of Governor Parson’s Twitter page)

“I think there’s a much better use for taxpayer money that we can be utilizing,” Parson says. “And the incentives that we were doing before it seemed to me to be a waste.”

Parson says both states have spent “well over $100 million” on the border war. The two governors signed a joint commitment, during a Tuesday summit at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas.

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly (D) says the border war was a mistake. Without naming him, she says former Kansas Governor Sam Brownback (R) passed up an opportunity to end this a few years ago.

“We (Kansas) have really been through a world of hurt in the past eight years and we’ve got an economy to grow, jobs to grow, population to grow,” Kelly tells reporters.

The Kansas City-based Hall Family Foundation says more than 10,000 jobs moved between Missouri and Kansas in the past decade, with an incentive cost of $330 million.

The Kansas City Chamber of Commerce describes the agreement as a “historic day.”

Governors Parson and Kelly say they’re also working together, with the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) announcement that they’ve selected the greater Kansas City area for the relocation of two major facilities.

For 67th year, ham and eggs bring together thousands of Missouri politicians and constituents

August 14, 2019 By Alisa Nelson

In 1953, the first Governor’s Ham Breakfast was held at the State Fair in west-central Missouri’s Sedalia. That would have been around the time when Democratic Governor Phil Donnelly was in office.

For 67th year, ham and eggs bring together thousands of Missouri politicians and constituents

The finishing touches are being put on Thursday’s 67th annual breakfast – an event where you can find hundreds of Missouri political figures and thousands of Missourians there to rub elbows with them. State Fair Marketing Director Kari Mergen tells Missourinet all 1,000 meal tickets have been sold.

“Some of our State Fair arena events will go into the thousands,” Mergen says. “Our office helps to coordinate the Ham Breakfast event and we coordinate a lot of the other special events that happen on the fairgrounds. This is one of the top events.”

Plenty of standing room only tickets for spectators are still available for $10.

The breakfast is especially popular during a presidential election year when so many candidates are running.

“We kind of joke about that internally sometimes ‘It’s a presidential election year – it’s probably going to sell out.’ This year is not a presidential election year but it did sell out,” Mergen says. “It doesn’t always sell out but it sells really well. I can safely say I think in the 900s even on a slow year. I think that’s just a fact that Missouri agriculture is a great group of people that want to come together and the State Fair is certainly a great place for that. The governor is a great advocate of agriculture. I think people want him to come to the breakfast to support him and support Missouri agriculture is definitely evident in the fact that the event is so well attended.”

What does it take to serve breakfast to 1,000 people? It’s not a small task for the catering service. About 2,000 eggs, 5,000 ounces of ham, 200 pounds of hash browns and 100 gallons of coffee will be used for what some consider to be the most important meal of the day. Several Missouri partners provide some of the food.

Some of the proceeds go to the State Fair Foundation and agriculture scholarships. Mergen says the auction portion brings in big bucks.

“Actually last year, all three of those set a record, she says. “Last year’s Grand Champion ham sold for $16,000. The reserve sold for $10,000 and the bacon sold for $9,000.”

The tickets for the breakfast do include fair admission for the day. Mergen says she thinks the event helps to boost fair attendance for the day.

The breakfast starts at 8 a.m. Thursday at the Fair Director’s tent.

Missouri Governor’s ham breakfast on Thursday is sold out

August 13, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

The popular Governor’s ham breakfast at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia is now a sellout, with 1,000 tickets sold.

The Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia (2018 file photo courtesy of State Fair)

Thursday morning’s breakfast begins at 8 o’clock, at the director’s tent on the state fairgrounds.

The event is popular because of its food but also because it’s an opportunity for voters to meet the governor and many lawmakers.

Governor Mike Parson (R) will be at the breakfast, along with most of the statewide elected officials, several members of the state’s congressional delegation, and a number of state lawmakers from both parties.

U.S. Reps. Billy Long, R-Springfield, and Jason Smith, R-Salem, will be among those attending the breakfast, which takes place under a large tent.

“It’s a popular event for sure,” State Fair Director Mark Wolfe tells Missourinet. “A chance for folks if they want to have a chance to meet the governor face-to-face and meet their legislators face-to-face, that’s a great opportunity over there.”

The breakfast also attracts candidates from both parties and judges.

The State Fair is Missouri’s largest agricultural expo. The 2019 fair ends on Sunday August 18.

Bellefontaine Neighbors “hammered” by seven inches of rain; Missouri heat advisory remains (AUDIO)

August 12, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

The National Weather Service (NWS) in St. Louis says parts of north St. Louis County received more than six inches of rain and flooding early Monday morning. NWS hydrologist Mark Fuchs tells Missourinet far north county was “hammered” by rain.

“Folks in north County had upwards of over seven inches of rain, measured, in automated rain gauges up around Bellefontaine Neighbors and Glasgow Village,” Fuchs says.

The NWS issued numerous flash flood warnings across the St. Louis metropolitan area this morning.

“Just an incredible amount of water and quite a bit of flash flooding across north county,” says Fuchs.

Meantime, virtually all of Missouri remains under a heat advisory until 9 p.m. Monday. The heat index in Columbia and Jefferson City makes it feel like 107 degrees, and the heat index in southeast Missouri’s Poplar Bluff is about 110.

Fuchs tells Missourinet the heat has created a dangerous situation in which heat-related illnesses are possible.

“We’re looking at heat indices in parts of west-central Missouri, heat indices might exceed 110 degrees. And the same is true down in southeast Missouri,” Fuchs says.

You’re being urged to drink plenty of water and to avoid strenuous activity during the hottest part of the day.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with NWS hydrologist Mark Fuchs, which was recorded on August 12, 2019:

Congressman Graves: Corps’ priorities for Missouri River are backwards (AUDIO)

August 10, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

A congressman who represents flood-damaged northern Missouri is blasting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, saying it’s “long past time” that flood control is the top priority for the Missouri River.

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, tours the MFA Rail facility near northwest Missouri’s Hamilton on October 8, 2018 (file photo courtesy of Congressman Graves’ office)

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, the ranking Republican on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, visited flood-impacted Brunswick on Friday. Brunswick, a Chariton County town of about 800, sustained severe flooding from the Grand River this summer.

Graves met with Brunswick officials to discuss flood recovery efforts. He tells Missourinet he’s losing his patience.

“This is so frustrating, it’s getting old, it’s getting tiresome, it’s affecting people’s lives, it’s affecting communities,” Graves says.

He says flooding has caused devastation across north Missouri, including Brunswick. Graves describes the Corps’ management priorities on the Missouri River as “backwards.”

“And it’s so frustrating, you just literally want to pull your hair out,” says Graves. “And we continue to pound on the Corps and push the Corps and we can’t seem to get anywhere with them.”

Graves agrees with Governor Mike Parson’s call for the Corps to manage the Missouri River differently.

Parson notes that he and fellow governors from Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska have met with the Corps, urging them to give states a seat at the table. Parson says states must have a significant say in Missouri River management.

Graves represents 36 counties across north Missouri. His sprawling district, which has more square miles than nine states, spans from the Missouri to the Mississippi rivers.

Graves’ district includes Brunswick, St. Joseph and Hannibal.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, which was recorded on August 7, 2019:

FEMA denies disaster aid to residents in 19 Missouri counties

August 9, 2019 By Alisa Nelson

Photos courtesy of MoDOT

The State Emergency Management Agency is asking the federal government to reconsider its decision to deny disaster aid to residents in 19 Missouri counties. The state’s appeal involves a federal disaster declaration from severe flooding and storms this year.

The counties Missouri wants included in a federal disaster declaration are: Adair, Barton, Cape Girardeau, Christian, Clark, Cooper, Dallas, Douglas, Gasconade, Grundy, Harrison, Hickory, Howard, Laclede, Macon, Marion, Polk, Ste. Genevieve, and St. Louis counties.

In the appeal sent to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Missouri says about 35% of families in these counties are low income and need federal help.