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KMRN: Five tractor trailers jackknifed Friday on icy I-35 in northwest Missouri (AUDIO)

January 17, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Law enforcement officials in northern Missouri’s Harrison County are asking residents and travelers to stay off the roads there, until heavy freezing rain and sleet stops.

A Missouri state trooper assists a motorist who slid off the road in mid-Missouri on January 17, 2020 (photo courtesy of MSHP Troop F Twitter)

National Weather Service (NWS) Pleasant Hill meteorologist Andy Bailey notes heavily-traveled I-35 runs through Harrison County.

“Lots of slide offs, lots of accidents there and Harrison County has actually put out a request for people not to travel,” Bailey says.

Harrison County is located on the Missouri-Iowa border. Impacted towns include Bethany, Brooklyn and Gilman City.

The freezing rain also caused conditions to deteriorate Friday morning on I-35 between Cameron and Kearney. Reporter Jeremy Shields from Missourinet Cameron affiliate KMRN (AM 1360) reports he saw five tractor trailers jackknife this morning in that area. Shields says truck drivers struggled in the ice.

The NWS warns that road conditions across northern Missouri will be treacherous throughout the afternoon, because of heavy freezing rain and sleet. Bailey is urging motorists to stay off the road, if possible.

“If it is still snowing in northeast Missouri, that will probably change in the coming hours as that warm air overspreads the area turning things over to freezing rain up there,” says Bailey.

Freezing rain has also been happening in Trenton today.

As for mid-Missouri, Bailey says temperatures in Jefferson City and Columbia will stay at or below freezing until about 5 p.m., when they are expected to go above freezing. He emphasizes that one degree is critical.

Ice has been reported across central Missouri today, including Jefferson City, Columbia and Boonville.

Bailey also says overpasses and side streets were problematic earlier today in the Kansas City metro. A Lee’s Summit fire truck overturned this morning.

Meantime, the National Weather Service (NWS) in Springfield has issued a flood watch through Saturday morning, across the Ozarks. Impacted towns include Springfield, Branson and Lebanon.

More than an inch of additional rainfall is possible tonight, into Saturday.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with National Weather Service (NWS) Pleasant Hill meteorologist Andy Bailey, which was recorded on January 17, 2020:

Poplar Bluff, Sedalia, Bloomfield, Columbia and Wentzville highlighted in Missouri State of State (AUDIO)

January 17, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor says more than 40,000 new jobs have been created since he took office in June 2018 and that the state’s 3.1 percent unemployment rate is at a historic low.

North Carolina-based Nucor is building a $400 million steel rebar manufacturing plant in west-central Missouri’s Sedalia (August 2019 file photo courtesy of Nucor)

During this week’s State of the State Address, Governor Mike Parson (R) emphasized the success of Missouri’s economy, and took the opportunity to highlight rural Missouri towns that are seeing capital investment.

Parson tells state lawmakers that big cities aren’t the only ones generating new jobs.

“Aurora Organic Dairy opened a new processing plant in Columbia, creating over 100 new jobs,” Parson says. “And Purina invested $115 million to expand in Bloomfield, Missouri.”

Bloomfield, a southeast Missouri town of about 1,900, is north of Dexter. Parson traveled there in September to tour the Nestle Purina plant, which makes Tidy Cats brand cat litter.

The plant’s expansion is creating about 30 new jobs, and the state Department of Economic Development (DED) says the expansion is adding a 110,000 square foot processing and packaging facility.

Parson met with Nestle CEO Mark Schneider in Switzerland in June, during his first European trade mission. The governor has noted that Nestle employs more than 3,500 Missourians in Bloomfield, Chesterfield, Earth City, Gray Summit, St. Joseph, St. Louis and Trenton.

During Wednesday’s State of the State, Governor Parson also announced that North Carolina-based Nucor Steel is close to starting production at its $400 million steel mill in Sedalia. Parson also announced that gasoline engine manufacturer Briggs and Stratton is creating 130 new jobs in southeast Missouri’s Poplar Bluff.

State DED Director Rob Dixon praises the news.

“These are companies that are international companies that are looking at Missouri and looking at rural Missouri in particular because of the strength of our workforce, the quality of the people that live here,” says Dixon.

The steel mill in west-central Missouri’s Sedalia is one of the largest projects Missouri has landed in the past decade. The average salary for a Nucor steelworker will be $65,000.

The governor says the average salary for the 130 new jobs at Briggs and Stratton in Poplar Bluff will be $36,531. The company is investing $15 million in the expansion.

Briggs and Stratton is already one of the largest employers in Poplar Bluff, according to the Chamber of Commerce there.

The governor also discussed the eastern Missouri town of Wentzville, during State of the State.

Parson says the decision by General Motors (GM) to invest $1.5 billion into its plant in Wentzville represents one of the largest single-project investments from the private sector in Missouri. Director Dixon tells Missourinet that GM’s Wentzville plant supports about 12,000 jobs across Missouri.

“We secured the long-term viability of that plant in Wentzville. That benefits not just Wentzville, but the entire state,” Dixon says.

DED says out of Missouri’s 227 automotive suppliers, 178 supply GM.

The Wentzville plant produces the GMC Canyon and the Chevrolet Colorado. About 4,600 employees work there.

Wentzville, which is known as the “Crossroads of the Nation”, is one of Missouri’s fastest-growing cities. It sits on I-70 in St. Charles County.

Its current population is about 41,000. The city’s website notes Wentzville’s population jumped from 6,896 in 2000 to 29,070 in the 2010 census.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and State Department of Economic Development Director Rob Dixon, which was recorded on January 15, 2020 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City:

National Weather Service warns Friday’s commute will be hazardous across much of Missouri (AUDIO)

January 16, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a winter weather advisory for northern, west-central, western and southwest Missouri.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Pleasant Hill has updated their forecast for January 17, 2020 (map courtesy of NWS Pleasant Hill Twitter)

NWS Pleasant Hill meteorologist Scott Blair says Kansas City, St. Joseph, Sedalia, Columbia and Jefferson City will see snow and ice on Friday.

“What we’re looking at is a wintry mess out there and really it’s going to be a transition of precipitation types throughout this whole event,” Blair says.

He says the storm system will be moving from southwest to northeast Missouri.

The storm is expected to begin Friday morning in the 3-8 a.m. time frame. Blair tells Missourinet that Friday’s morning and evening commutes will be hazardous for Kansas City, Warrensburg, Columbia and Osage Beach.

“What we’re going to be seeing is snowfall starting out in these places Friday morning,” says Blair. “And as a little bit warmer weather moves into the area we’ll see that precipitation type change to a little bit of sleet and then eventually some freezing rain,” says Blair.

Springfield, Lebanon, Rolla and West Plains are also expected to see ice on Friday.

The Highway 63 corridor will see the heaviest amounts of ice, with up to a quarter-of-an-inch expected in Jefferson City, Columbia and Kirksville. Far western Missouri’s Butler and Nevada could also see up to a quarter-of-an-inch of ice.

The NWS says northwest Missouri will see the heaviest snowfall on Friday, with more than three inches expected in Maryville and Bethany.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Scott Blair, which was recorded on January 16, 2020:

Missouri lawmakers on both sides react to governor’s State of the State (AUDIO)

January 16, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor proposed about $1 million in funding for witness protection during Wednesday’s State of the State Address in Jefferson City, in an effort to battle increasing violence in urban cities.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Color Guard presents the flags before Governor Mike Parson’s State of the State Address on January 15, 2020 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Governor Mike Parson’s (R) plan is being praised by State Rep. Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, who says witnesses fear retribution.

“I hear law enforcement say that very thing that there are people that they know that know who these individuals are that are committing these crimes but they’re scared to death to come forward because they don’t want to be the next victim,” Basye says.

Basye’s district includes Columbia, which had 12 shooting deaths in 2019. Columbia Mayor Brian Treece and Police Chief Geoff Jones were special guests of Governor Parson at the State of the State Address.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, Kansas City Police Chief Richard Smith, St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson, St. Louis Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards, Springfield Mayor Ken McClure and Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams were also special guests.

There were 194 murders in St. Louis and 148 in Kansas City in 2019.

Meantime, the governor received a standing ovation during his State of the State, when he announced that a new bridge will be built to replace the deteriorating Buck O’Neil Bridge in Kansas City. The bridge, which was built in 1956, crosses the Missouri River.

State Rep. Greg Razer, D-Kansas City, describes the project as huge.

“It’s a major, not just for the city of Kansas City but the entire region,” says Razer. “That’s a huge regional priority, it’s something that has to be done.”

About 44,000 vehicles use the bridge daily. Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) Director Patrick McKenna tells Missourinet that federal, state and local funding will pay for the $200 million project. McKenna expects construction of the new bridge to begin in about two years.

Director McKenna notes Parson’s 2019 bridge bonding program created a substitute funding mechanism, adding that Kansas City has committed about $60 million for the project. A grant is funding $25 million more.

Governor Parson also praises economic progress happening in Kansas City, noting it beat more than 130 cities around the nation to land two major divisions in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), bringing more than 500 new jobs to the region.

Representative Razer praises the bipartisan and bi-state cooperation between Missouri and Kansas that took place, noting the jobs will pay about $100,000 annually.

“Kansas City is excited to welcome them (USDA employees) to their new home, to Missouri, to Kansas City,” Razer says. “We’re excited to have these 500 new Kansas Citians coming to Missouri.”

USDA is relocating its Economic Research Service (ERS) and its National Institute of Food and Agriculture Policy (NIFA) agencies to Pennsylvania Avenue in Kansas City.

State Reps. Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, and Greg Razer, D-Kansas City, joined news director Brian Hauswirth live on Missourinet on January 15, 2020. They reacted to Governor Mike Parson’s State of the State Address and discussed other key legislative issues. Click here to listen to the first part of the interview:

Click here to listen to the second part of the interview:

Transportation, infrastructure and violence will be themes in Missouri governor’s State of the State (AUDIO)

January 15, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor says infrastructure and workforce development will be two of his main themes during Wednesday afternoon’s State of the State Address in Jefferson City. The speech will begin at about 3.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson waves to state lawmakers and the audience during his State of the State Address on January 16, 2019, as House Speaker Elijah Haahr (left) and Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe applaud (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Governor Mike Parson (R) says the state is on the right track.

“We’re going to talk about infrastructure, we’re going to talk about transportation, we’re going to talk about the state of the state, the economy of our state, why things are moving forward,” Parson says.

The governor will also address education, saying he wants to make sure high school students are ready for tomorrow’s workforce.

Rural health care will also be a theme, according to Governor Parson.

Increasing violence in St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield and Columbia will also be a topic during State of the State. In 2019, there were 194 murders in St. Louis and 148 homicides in Kansas City.

“You’ll see me talk about some of the violence in some of the urban cities, we’ve got to address that issue,” says Parson. “So I think there will be some discussion on that.”

St. Louis Police testified before the House Judiciary Committee in Jefferson City on Tuesday, saying there were 194 murders, 2,600 shootings and 349 carjackings in St. Louis in 2019.

St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson testified at Tuesday’s hearing, in support of legislation that would allow St. Louis City police officers to live outside the city. Krewson’s spokesman, Jacob Long, tells Missourinet that Mayor Krewson will join Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, Columbia Mayor Brian Treece and Springfield Mayor Ken McClure in a bipartisan fashion to attend the State of the State.

Long notes this is a continuation of ongoing meetings the four mayors have had with the governor’s office relating to public safety and violent crime.

Addressing the growing violence is also a top priority for House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, and their respective caucuses.

Speaker Haahr and Leader Quade addressed the issue with Capitol reporters during the opening day of session. Both are focused on witness protection.

Haahr and Quade both represent Springfield, and Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams tells Missourinet he’ll attend the State of the State Address with Mayor McClure.

The State of the State Address is an opportunity for the governor to outline his 2020 legislative priorities. It will be delivered in the House chamber, before a joint session of the Legislature.

Missourinet will have live coverage of State of the State, starting Wednesday at 3. We’ll also have live interviews with state lawmakers in both parties, after the address. News director Brian Hauswirth will anchor our coverage.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with Missouri Governor Mike Parson (R), which was recorded on January 7, 2020 at the Missouri Asphalt Pavement Association’s conference in Columbia:

Cody Smith: Missouri revenue has been strong enough to avoid withholds

January 14, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor will outline his legislative priorities and will release some details of his budget blueprint during Wednesday’s State of the State Address in Jefferson City.

Missouri House Budget Committee Chair Cody Smith, R-Carthage, speaks during a joint budget committee hearing on May 7, 2019 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Governor Mike Parson (R) signed a $29.7 billion state operating budget into law last summer, which included a three percent pay raise for state employees. It also included an $8 million retention pay plan aimed at wage increases for state Department of Corrections (DOC) staff.

State Budget Director Dan Haug will unveil the Parson administration’s budget blueprint to Capitol reporters, before Wednesday’s State of the State Address. The governor will deliver his State of the State Address at about 3 to a joint session of the Legislature.

One of the biggest things we’ll learn on Wednesday is whether Governor Parson’s proposed budget includes a pay increase for state employees. More than 14,000 state employees work in Jefferson City, making state government the town’s largest employer.

State revenues have been increasing.

Director Haug announced last week that net general revenue collections for 2019 fiscal year-to-date increased 5.2 percent compared to December 2018, from $4.31 billion last year to $4.53 billion this year.

Haug says Missouri’s individual income tax collections increased 5.1 percent for the year, from $3.1 billion last year to $3.26 billion this year. Corporate income and corporate franchise tax collections jumped almost 21 percent for the year.

House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, tells Missourinet that revenue has been strong enough to avoid withholds.

The state Constitution requires Missouri lawmakers to approve a balanced budget by early May.

Once the governor unveils his proposed budget, each agency and statewide elected official will testify before the House Budget and Senate Appropriations Committees. Those hearings traditionally go well into February.

Missouri Legislature asked to tax, restrict vaping

January 13, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

State Senator Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, wants to tax vaping products like tobacco merchandise. Missouri’s current tobacco tax is 17 cents per package of 20 – ranking it the lowest in the nation.

Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield

Hough is proposing to make it a misdemeanor for anyone who sells vaping products with THC, a chemical in marijuana, or any other controlled substances in them.

The measure follows a nationwide outbreak of vaping-related lung illnesses, including some deaths. About 36 cases, including two deaths, have been reported in Missouri.

At a November press conference, Governor Mike Parson said he wants the Legislature to consider potential measures to address vaping. Department of Health and Senior Services Director Randall Williams said he hopes all vaping-related options are on the table during the session.

“One of those would be looking specifically looking at Vitamin E, which we now think is the ideological agent. In the meantime, let me make sure I’m very clear on this – we think it is very dangerous to put Vitamin E in vaping products,” says Williams.

Hough’s bill would also ban vaping statewide in public places, public schools, daycares and other designated areas.

Some Missouri cities have already put restrictions on electronic cigarettes.

Hough’s bill is SB 829.

Missouri Farm Bureau wants state’s newly-created broadband program to be permanent

January 13, 2020 By Missourinet Contributor

The Missouri Farm Bureau says the state’s broadband grant program should stick around. Unless the legislature takes action, the newly-created effort expires in August 2021. In 2018, state lawmakers passed legislation to create the program and in 2019, they funded the effort with $5 million.

Missouri Farm Bureau wants state’s newly-created broadband program to be permanent

The Missouri Farm Bureau’s director of public affairs and advocacy, Eric Bohl, tells Brownfield Ag News it is asking the legislature to continue to fund rural broadband in the state.

“Hopefully we’ll also be able to remove a sunset that was in that initial bill that set up the office so that that office can move forward indefinitely because it’s going to be something that we need for the indefinite future,” he says.

Bohl says the $5 million is solely for the grant program, not the office. The office is funded within the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

He says the $5 million in matching grants will lead to at least $10 million in broadband internet upgrades.

Missouri is one of the worst states in rural broadband reach. Bohl says rural broadband is critical to making farming more efficient and improving the quality of life for rural residents.

“Unfortunately, there are over a million people in rural Missouri that do not have broadband internet access and there’s only two other states that have more than a million people, and those are California and Texas,” Bohl says.

He says the lack of broadband in rural areas hinders the economic development of rural communities and makes them less attractive for younger people to return to the farm.

For internet service to be considered broadband, it must have speeds of at least 25 megabits per second download and three megabits per second upload.

Will Robinson of Brownfield Ag News contributed to this story

Major winter storm to bring ice, sleet, snow and freezing rain to Missouri (AUDIO)

January 10, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

At least 30 school districts across northern Missouri dismissed classes early Friday afternoon, to get students home before roads deteriorate during a major winter storm.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Pleasant Hill has updated the timing of the winter storm that will impact much of Missouri (January 10, 2020 map courtesy of NWS Twitter)

The National Weather Service (NWS) says freezing rain has started in northwest Missouri, part of a winter storm system that will impact much of the state this weekend. State transportation officials say roads in northwest Missouri are already covered or partially covered in snow or ice.

NWS Pleasant Hill meteorologist Scott Blair says the complicated system is bringing a combination of sleet and snow to far northwest Missouri.

“What we have ongoing right now is some freezing rain and that is going to cause quite a lot of problems as we continue on in the afternoon hours through those evening hour time frames,” Blair says.

Maryville and Bethany are expected to see five to eight inches of snow.

Mr. Blair says a line stretching from Kansas City to Chillicothe to Kirksville should see rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow.

“And as that colder air arrives after sunset we will start seeing that potential for both freezing rain and then eventually sleet to move into the area,” says Blair.

Four to six inches of snow are expected in Chillicothe and St. Joseph. Cities like Columbia and Moberly could see up to a quarter-of-an-inch of ice. Jefferson City could see some ice as well.

The NWS and the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) are also warning you to be on the alert for refreezing of roads Saturday night into Sunday morning, across central, northern and western Missouri. Blair urges you to be cautious.

“The key point takeaway is don’t worry so much about the exact amount of snow forecast,” Blair says. “Just remember that this is going to be a combination of both a glaze of ice, followed by snow on top of that.”

Missourinet Cameron affiliate KMRN (AM 1360) reports more than 25 schools in northwest and north-central Missouri are dismissing early today. They include the St. Joseph, Gallatin and Princeton School Districts. Our Moberly affiliate KWIX (AM 1230) reports four districts have dismissed early in their listening area, including the Green City and Milan School Districts.

The NWS says a flash flood watch is in effect for southern and central Missouri, including Columbia and Springfield.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Scott Blair, which was recorded on January 10, 2020:

Missouri issues licenses for medical marijuana-infused product manufacturers

January 10, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Missouri issues licenses for medical marijuana-infused product manufacturers

The state has issued 86 licenses today for medical marijuana-infused product manufacturers. These items would be used by means other than smoking, including, edibles, ointments, tinctures and concentrated liquids.

The companies chosen are the top-scoring sites that meet all eligibility requirements.

The list of sites chosen and denied could be released by the end of the day. The information will be listed here.

In 2018, Missouri voters approved the sale of medical marijuana. Medical marijuana sales are expected to begin in the spring.

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