Economy Archives - Missourinet

Missouri’s governor touts state government restructuring; says DED is being outperformed by other states

March 20, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor says a proposed state government reorganization plan is scheduled to take effect on August 28th. Governor Mike Parson, a Republican, updated the Capitol Press Corps on the restructuring plan during a Tuesday afternoon press conference in Jefferson City.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson (at podium) briefs Capitol reporters about his state government reorganization plan on March 19, 2019 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of the governor’s office)

The restructuring involves four state agencies, primarily the state Department of Economic Development (DED). Monday was the end of the 60-day period in which Missouri lawmakers could vote to oppose the proposal, and that didn’t happen.

Governor Parson is praising the Legislature.

“And I want to thank the Legislature for their support of our efforts to improve state government and make Missouri the best in the Midwest,” Parson tells Capitol reporters.

The proposal involves moving DED’s Division of Workforce Development to the Department of Higher Education and several other moves, which Parson says will allow DED to focus entirely on economic development.

The restructuring plan also involves returning the Division of Energy from DED to the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and making the Missouri Arts Council part of the Lieutenant Governor’s office. It would also move the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Office of Public Counsel to the newly-named Department of Commerce and Insurance.

Governor Parson says Missouri is not competitive with neighboring states, adding that Missouri’s DED houses more functions than any of its Midwest peers.

Parson says the Show-Me State ranks 14th among its Midwest peer states in gross domestic product (GDP) and eighth for wage growth. He says it ranks ninth for job growth.

The governor says the plan will focus DED.

“We must do a better job clearly identifying expectations and priorities, and ensure our agencies are structured in the best way to meet those goals,” says Parson.

Parson says DED has 865 full-time employees, more than any of its Midwest peers.

Missouri DED Director Rob Dixon joined Governor Parson at Tuesday’s press conference. Dixon says other Midwest states are outperforming his agency in nearly every measure, including workforce development.

Dixon backs the governor’s state government restructuring plan, saying that when everything is a priority, “nothing is a priority.”

“In economic development, Missouri is not competitive in economic development with other states and we had to take action or we’re going to continue that negative trend line,” Dixon tells reporters.

Governor Parson says DED has had seven directors in the past decade.

State Sen. Jeanie Riddle, R-Mokane, and State Rep. Travis Fitzwater, R-Holts Summit, also spoke at the press conference. Riddle and Fitzwater both praise the reorganization plan.

2019 Missouri legislative session’s first half is praised by Speaker Haahr

March 19, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s House Speaker says the 2019 session’s first half has been successful. Lawmakers have left Jefferson City for their spring break, and won’t return to the Statehouse until Monday.

Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith (right) and House Speaker Elijah Haahr brief Capitol reporters on March 6, 2019 in Jefferson City (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, briefed the Capitol Press Corps on Thursday. He addressed numerous topics, including job growth, workforce development, transportation and criminal justice reform.

Haahr says the House has given final approval to 70 bills, adding that economic growth remains a top priority for House Republicans.

“We’ve passed four separate workforce development proposals,” Haahr says. “Obviously those were a priority for our members as well as for the executive branch.”

The House has voted 101-49 to approve one of Governor Mike Parson’s (R) top priorities, called the “Fast Track” program. The legislation, which is sponsored by State Rep. Kathy Swan, R-Cape Girardeau, is aimed at adults who are working toward a certification, undergraduate degree or a credential for a high-demand occupation.

The “Fast Track” bill is now in the Senate.

Meantime, Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith’s (R-Carthage) proposal to use $100 million in general revenue for the state road fund has the support of Speaker Haahr.

“We’ve had some fruitful discussions with both Senate leadership and the governor’s office on reaching an agreement, and I think those discussions will continue and I’m hopeful,” says Haahr.

The governor’s office has said they’re confident that a final transportation agreement with lawmakers is possible, before the end of session in May. Chairman Smith says the state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) has paid more than $700 million in debt payments in the past two years.

Speaker Haahr also supports the concept of a proposed constitutional amendment that would reduce the House’s size in Jefferson City. Haahr says the proposal from State Rep. Travis Fitzwater, R-Holts Summit, is a “great idea as far as conceptually.”

“This is something that we’ve discussed for a long time. The House body (163 members) is the fourth-largest in the country. I think it’s something we need to at least consider going forward to how we streamline some of our procedures, and I think his is a good starting point for that discussion,” Haahr says, in response to a question from Missourinet.

Missouri currently has 197 lawmakers, although there are two current House vacancies. Fitzwater’s proposed constitutional amendment would decrease the House’s size from 163 to 136.

If lawmakers approve the plan, it would be placed on the November 2020 statewide ballot.

While Democrats are outnumbered in the Missouri House by a 114-47 margin, the House Minority Leader says their efforts have led the Department of Revenue (DOR) to “abandon its false cover story of a withholding error.”

Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, also briefed Capitol reporters on Thursday. Leader Quade says Democrats pre-filed a tax bill in December, to force the conversation.

“Our efforts to bring awareness to the surprise tax bills countless Missourians are being hit with under the Trump tax law changes count as a major accomplishment for the Democrats this session,” says Quade.

The withholding issue has been the topic of four hearings conducted by the bipartisan Missouri House Special Committee on Government Oversight, and DOR Director Joel Walters is resigning on Friday.

Quade is calling on her House colleagues to approve legislation from State Rep. Dean Dohrman, R-La Monte, which would prevent penalties for delayed payments on outstanding income tax liabilities for the 2018 tax year.

Criminal justice reform has also been a key issue for Quade and House Democrats. Haahr notes the House has already approved six separate criminal justice reform bills. They have strong bipartisan support in the House.

The final day of the 2019 legislative session is Friday May 17.

Toyota to drive $62 million into company’s lone Missouri plant

March 15, 2019 By Alisa Nelson

Japanese automaker Toyota is shifting its investment into high gear in its eastern Missouri factory. It’s pumping $62 million by 2021 in the company’s Bodine Aluminum Plant in Troy. The move is part of the company’s plans to invest a total of $13 billion in its five existing U.S. factories.

Bodine Aluminum in Troy (Photos courtesy of Bodine Aluminum’s Facebook page)

Toyota spokesperson Leah Almeling tells Missourinet the money will not include additional jobs at the roughly 900-worker factory.

“We did add about just over 100 new team members in the last year,” says Almeling. “We currently have 20 open positions but today’s investment really just helps to ensure the stability of our employment levels now and in the future.”

Almeling says the investment will include new equipment to make cylinder heads for every Toyota and Lexus in America.

“This will provide equipment in order to produce an additional 864,000 cylinder heads for Toyota’s new global architecture,” she says.

Almeling says the investment is a direct reflection of the hard work of the company’s employees.

“We’re able to continue to grow our manufacturing presence in the U.S. because of those team members that come in every day and are committed to producing high-quality cylinder heads for us in Troy and then vehicles across the U.S.,” she says.

The non-union plant opened in 1993 and runs three shifts.

Troy, which has about 12,000 residents, is located in Lincoln County – the second-fastest growing county in the state.

Could ‘Hyperloop’ tube travel thrive in Missouri? New group aims to find out, accelerate construction

March 12, 2019 By Alisa Nelson

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, says Missouri became the Gateway to the West about 100 years ago by building an interstate system. During a press conference today at the state Capitol in Jefferson City, Haahr says he wants Missouri to be the gateway to the world by building the first-ever Hyperloop system.

House Speaker Elijah Haahr (Photo courtesy of Tim Bommel, House Communications)

He has announced the creation of a group of elected officials and business people to study whether a revolutionary high-speed tube transportation network called Hyperloop makes financial sense in Missouri and to come up with strategies that could accelerate construction of a proposed route. The special panel will also examine how to make Missouri the “global epicenter” for research and development of Hyperloop technology.

A proposed Hyperloop route is supposed to haul travelers in a tube from St. Louis to Kansas City in 28 minutes with a pit stop in Columbia. A typical road trip from Kansas City to St. Louis might take about four hours, if you don’t factor in stops along the way.

Vice chair Andrew Smith of the St. Louis Regional Chamber says a Hyperloop would unify the state and create a single economic development mega region that would make Missouri competitive with some of the top economic development mega regions in the union.

“When you look at St. Louis and Kansas City combined, you’re talking about an area that really has the same kind of potential as a Boston, Bay Area or Seattle,” says Smith.

Haahr says that the tube system has a much more “far-reaching promise” than a high-speed railroad network.

Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe (Photo courtesy of Tim Bommel, House Communications)

“High-speed rail is about one-third as fast and costs more than the Hyperloop would,” he says.

Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe, who is chairing the group, says Missouri has the ingenuity, technology and resources to figure out the steps to bring the futuristic travel system to the Show-Me State.

“We’re the state that funded the first Transatlantic flight with Charles Lindbergh. We’re the state that built the Eads bridge over the river when no one said it could be done. We’re the state to produce the engineers to help put man on the moon,” says Kehoe.

The Missouri Legislature has been bickering for years about ways to increase infrastructure funding to fix the state’s ailing roads and bridges. Why look at other transportation modes when this problem has not been resolved?

“It’s not like we’re standing here saying we’ve got a concrete proposal to start building Hyperloop next year. We’re looking at the feasibility of doing it long term,” says Haahr. “Second of all, obviously our Legislature this year has spent a lot of time trying to figure out how we’re going to work on I-70, how we’re going to work on roads and bridges around the state. We’re taking those. I think the important thing to remember here is in our opinion, looking 100 years down the road, funding our current infrastructure is important in the short term. Funding the next mode of transportation is important in the long term.”

Photo courtesy of Tim Bommel, House Communications

One scenario that has been previously considered is having a private company operate the tube mode of transportation – taking a lot of the financial burden off the state. However, whether taxpayer funds or an attractive tax incentive package would be included is anyone’s guess. Haahr says the group will also look into funding avenues both federal and private to avoid running out of money before such a network is built.

Other members of group include Senators Caleb Rowden, Tony Luetkemeyer and Brian Williams, Representatives Travis Fitzwater and Derek Grier, Missouri Economic Development Director Rob Dixon, University of Missouri System President Mun Choi, and private sector leaders and subject matter experts from around the state.

Over the next several months, the panel will hold public meetings in St. Louis, Jefferson City, and Kansas City. It plans to have its recommendations ready in September.

Kansas City-based engineering firm Black and Veatch completed a study last year and said building a Hyperloop in Missouri is viable. Its study found that making a Hyperloop track along I-70 from St. Louis to Kansas City would cost about $10 billion. The firm estimates 16,000 to 62,000 people would use the Hyperloop daily.

40 Payless shoe stores to close in Missouri

March 7, 2019 By Alisa Nelson

40 Payless shoe stores to close in Missouri

Kansas-based Payless ShoeSource is closing all of its nearly 2,600 stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, including 40 in Missouri. Some locations, which are scattered all over the state, have already closed or will close by the end of this month. Other stores are expected to stay open through the end of May.

Fourteen of Missouri’s 40 stores closing are in eastern Missouri – impacting about 60 mostly union workers.

Missouri Department of Economic Development spokesperson Maggie Kost tells Missourinet the agency is working with store employees impacted to help them transition into new employment.

Payless has filed for bankruptcy. The company also plans to end online business.

Mid-Missouri company plans to expand, double its workforce

March 6, 2019 By Alisa Nelson

A thermal mechanical hardware design and manufacturing company in mid-Missouri’s Columbia is expanding this year and plans to hire about 25 workers over the next 18 months. ThermAvant Technologies CEO Joe Boswell tells Missourinet the move is fueled by growing demand for its thermal control technology.

ThermAvant Technologies CEO Joe Boswell (Photos courtesy of ThermAvant Technologies)

“Our work directly for the government is getting more mature and then private party customers are starting to see the benefits of our technology and putting them into every day products,” he says. “We are seeing demand for our product this year more than quadrupling what it was in 2017. We are already starting to take orders for 2020 and 2021 that indicate that we’ll continue to do that similar high rate of growth for the next several years.”

What’s thermal control technology? Boswell says to think of it like solutions that require less size, cost, weight and power than conventional cooling methods.

“We do it in a way that is different than what you might think of as an air conditioner or a fan on the back of your computer. We do that type of work, but we make it more multi-functional. All systems have upper and lower temperatures limits,” he says. “What we do is make these thermal mechanical solutions – we regulate or control the temperatures of the devices that our customers are putting into their systems. We also do it in a way that provides mechanical structure or support to them and protection. We do it in a single form factor.”

ThermAvant serves the avionics, spacecraft, computer, radar, and telecommunications industries. The firm has also been engaged by leading agencies, including the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), NASA, National Science Foundation, Army Research Laboratory, Office of Naval Research, and the Missile Defense Agency.

The company, which launched in 2009, runs two shifts on a mostly Monday-Friday basis. It plans to hire workers for full-time permanent positions with benefits. Boswell says the skilled jobs will be “high wage” but would not elaborate on a pay range.

The expansion also includes the company opening in May a 33,000 square foot building in Columbia – quadrupling its current manufacturing space. Boswell says the site is about one mile down the road from its current location.

ThermAvant has also received a $400,000 grant from Missouri Technology Corporation (MTC), a public-private partnership created by the Missouri General Assembly to promote entrepreneurship and foster the growth of new and emerging high-tech companies.

Walters: Missourians who prefer bigger tax refunds need to take proactive action

March 4, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

The state Department of Revenue (DOR) director says he should not have used the term “tax error” when describing a withholding issue that is impacting some Missourians’ tax returns.

State Department of Revenue Director Joel Walters testifies before the Missouri House Special Committee on Government Oversight on February 13, 2019 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Director Joel Walters testified before a bipartisan House oversight committee for a third time last week, and rejects suggestions from some committee members that he’s changed his story.

“But that’s the same story all the way through but all except that I shouldn’t have called it an error, I should have called it a judgment on my part to improve the (tax) calculation, which is what I was trying to do,” Walters testifies.

House Special Committee on Government Oversight Chairman Robert Ross, R-Yukon, responded to Wednesday’s testimony.

“So Director I guess, I mean that would be my point about how the story has changed,” Ross says. “Originally and for the first ten (different overall committee hearings) discussions of this we’ve heard about well there was a ‘error’ in the tables and it seems to be at this point that there was actually not an error in the table.”

Walters testifies DOR has processed about one million tax returns thus far in 2019. He tells Chairman Ross the average refund is down about $78, while the average tax due is up about $65.

Director Walters has previously testified that his department has not done an effective job of communicating about the issue to Missourians.

DOR has established a dedicated phone line for taxpayers who have questions. Walters testifies about 63,000 Missourians have called that number, which is (573) 522-0967.

The Department of Revenue is also placing cards at all Missouri license offices and is mailing fliers to employers requesting that they post the information in employee break rooms.

DOR has also posted a fact sheet on its website, with detailed information about the tax withholding issue. Director Walters is urging you to check your state withholding information.

“Their 2019 will look more like 2018 than it did ’17 and previous years, and if you liked getting a bigger refund like you did in 2017 and previous years, you need to take proactive action, we should be saying that,” Walters testifies.

DOR says Missouri taxpayers unable to resolve their tax obligation immediately can set up a payment plan with the department, either online or by phone.

JCPenney to close three Missouri stores

February 28, 2019 By Alisa Nelson

JCPenney will be closing its Sikeston store in southeast Missouri and its home and furniture stores in south St. Louis County and southwest Missouri’s Springfield. Company spokesperson Dana Harrington tells Missourinet the Sikeston store is scheduled to call its quits on July 5. Remaining inventory will be sold at the home and furniture stores through the summer, with a final closing date expected this fall.

JCPenney to close three Missouri stores

Harrington says the company decisions are the result of an ongoing review of its locations that may not meet its required financial targets or that could be a profitable real estate asset.

“It’s never easy taking actions that directly impact our valued associates and customers, however we feel this is a necessary business decision,” says Harrington.

The company says eligible workers who do not transfer to another location will receive severance benefits. All impacted associates can also participate in a three-hour on-site career training class at no cost to the associate. The class will offer tips on resume writing, answering interview questions and more.

The founder of the company, James Cash Penney, was born in northwest Missouri’s Hamilton.

Major retailer to close stores in several small Missouri towns

February 25, 2019 By Alisa Nelson

Major retailer to close stores in several small Missouri towns

Discount retail chain Shopko is closing its stores in several small Missouri towns this year and putting dozens of workers out of jobs.

The Green Bay, Wisconsin-based company is closing its stores soon in northwest Missouri’s Trenton, Carrollton, Albany and Gallatin, northeast Missouri’s Memphis southeast Missouri’s Doniphan and southwest Missouri’s Eldorado Spings.

The estimated last day of operation for the stores are:
Albany: March 2
Carrollton: April 7
Memphis: April 14
Gallatin and Doniphan: May 5
Trenton and Eldorado Springs: May 12

Shopko reports full- and part-time employees affected by the closures include at least 47 workers.

John Anthony of Missourinet affiliate KTTN in Trenton contributed to this story.

Walters: Missouri Department of Revenue has not done a good job of communicating about tax issue

February 21, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

Members of a bipartisan Missouri House oversight committee grilled the state Department of Revenue (DOR) director again Wednesday in Jefferson City about a tax error that is impacting some people’s tax returns.

State Department of Revenue (DOR) Director Joel Walters testifies before a Missouri House oversight committee on February 13, 2019 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

DOR Director Joel Walters testified again before the House Special Committee on Government Oversight, telling lawmakers that his department has not done an effective job of communicating about the issue to Missourians.

Walters also testified before the oversight committee last week.

He testifies DOR is placing cards at all Missouri license offices and is mailing fliers to employers requesting they post the information in employee break rooms.

Walters says the impact of the federal 2017 tax cut is a primary reason for lower state tax refunds this year. State Rep. Nick Schroer, R-O’Fallon, the committee’s vice chairman, questioned Walters during Wednesday’s committee hearing.

“The vast majority of this is the impact of the (federal) Tax Cut and Jobs Act and the inter-relation between the W-4’s and the withholding,” Walters testifies.

“So what other states have felt the same impact, what other states have had this error?” Schroer asks Walters. “There’s nine other states,” Walters responds.

Walters says Idaho, Utah and Massachusetts are among the nine other states that have been impacted. He testifies that Missouri state tax refunds are about $80 lower than a year ago.

He says the state tax refunds are about $80 lower than a year ago, in part because of an inaccurate calculation involving the federal tax deduction. That error dates back to 2004.

Walters also admits his department has not done a good job of communicating about the tax error. Walters’ comment came in response to a question from Schroer, who says his St. Charles County constituents are livid.

“Then my phone is ringing off the hook. So what has the department done, first off do you believe that the department has done a good job in communicating this to the general public?” Schroer asks.

“No,” Walters told him.

Walters testifies DOR has created a dedicated phone line to answer questions from Missouri taxpayers. That number is (573) 522-0967.

He is encouraging taxpayers with questions to call that number. Walters tells State Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis, that you’ll reach a live operator, when you call.

“Those have not switched to automated phone systems yet, correct?” Merideth asks Walters. “That is something I may do in the future but have not done yet. 100 percent of our calls are answered by a person,” Walters testifies.

Meantime, the committee chairman says DOR Director Walters was reluctant to testify Wednesday before his committee. House Special Committee on Government Oversight Chairman Robert Ross, R-Yukon, spoke to Missourinet after the hearing.

“Initially he (Walters) had some concerns about coming back and frankly answering the questions of the taxpayers of Missouri,” Ross says. “That’s why he’s the director of the Department of Revenue, that’s the expectation, that’s why we pay him to be the director.”

Chairman Ross is most concerned about what he calls the lack of communication from Revenue. Ross also confirms the oversight committee will hold a third hearing on the tax issue next Wednesday in Jefferson City.

Ross reiterates that committee members want to know how the error occurred, and want to make sure “that this sort of situation does not happen again.”