Economy Archives - Missourinet

Chinn: high-speed internet crucial to attract next-generation Missouri farmers (AUDIO)

October 18, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) director says technology is important in attracting young farmers.

State Rep. Curtis Trent, R-Springfield, speaks in committee on May 23, 2018 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

MDA says the average age of a Missouri farmer is 58.

“Two of the top priorities the governor has is workforce development and infrastructure,” MDA Director Chris Chinn says. “And I think those play in very nicely to how we bring that next-generation back home.”

Chinn says high-speed internet is crucial to attracting those next-generation farmers.

She says the entire Cabinet is working closely with Governor Mike Parson, a Bolivar farmer, on getting high-speed internet to rural areas.

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R) told lawmakers in April that 51 percent of rural Missourians lack access to broadband. During that address to the Missouri House in Jefferson City, Blunt predicted that broadband will be just as important during the next 50 years as the telephone was over the past 50 years.

“We need to make sure that they (next-generation farmers) have the tools and the skills that they need to come back to the farm prepared and ready. The infrastructure is all about, you know, the high-speed internet,” says Chinn.

She says the aim is to make Missouri the best place for businesses to grow and to relocate.

Missouri lawmakers approved a bipartisan bill this year from State Rep. Curtis Trent, R-Springfield, which enables the state’s rural electric cooperatives to make unused capacity available for residential and commercial purposes.

The bill also declares that the expansion of broadband service is in the best interests of Missourians.

Outgoing House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, noted earlier this year that Missouri ranked 40th in the nation in access to broadband service.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) Director Chris Chinn and Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Brownfield’s Tom Steever, which was recorded on October 15, 2018 at MDA headquarters in Jefferson City:

Missouri’s proposed gas tax increase receives support from business and labor (AUDIO)

October 17, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe told business leaders in Columbia on Tuesday that a proposed gasoline tax increase is receiving bipartisan support.

Missouri Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe addresses the Columbia Chamber of Commerce about Proposition D on October 16, 2018 (Brian Hauswirth photo)

Missourians will be casting ballots in November on Proposition D, which is a ten-cent gasoline tax increase.

Kehoe delivered a presentation to the Columbia Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, noting the measure has support from groups ranging from the Teamsters Union to the Missouri Chamber of Commerce. He says roads are not a Democratic or Republican issue.

“Trying to keep our roads safe and trying to make sure our bridges are intact for our school buses and families to drive over, that’s a non-partisan issue,” Kehoe says.

Governor Mike Parson, a Republican and U.S. Sens. Claire McCaskill, D, and Roy Blunt, R, are among leaders in both parties supporting Proposition D.

If approved, the tax increase would be phased in over four years, at 2.5 cents annually. Kehoe says Proposition D would mean more than $2 billion in new state funding for roads and bridges.

He says there’s a contractor in southwest Missouri’s Joplin who goes to Texas and Arkansas to work because there aren’t enough projects in the Show-Me State.

“The estimate is after full funding in ten years it puts about an additional 20,000 Missourians to work,” says Kehoe. “And those are the people you go to church with, those are the people you see in the grocery store.”

Missouri’s 17-cent gasoline tax has remained the same since 1996. Proposition D supporters say that because of inflation, the 17-cent gasoline tax is worth just seven cents of the value it had 22 years ago.

Proposition D would also establish an “emergency state freight bottleneck fund”. Columbia Chamber of Commerce President Matt McCormick notes the bottleneck fund would address locations like heavily-congested I-70 and Highway 63 in Columbia.

“It is a massive bottleneck in our community and it’s probably one of the worst, I would say it’s probably one of the worst on I-70 right now,” McCormick says.

Traffic is especially heavy on I-70 and Highway 63 during morning and afternoon rush-hour traffic and during Mizzou football Saturdays.

Kehoe tells the audience there’s also a major bottleneck at Interstates 70 and 64, near Wentzville.

Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) Director Patrick McKenna says Proposition D is crucial for Missouri, adding that MoDOT has about $8 billion in unfunded needs.

The Columbia Chamber of Commerce has endorsed Proposition D.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe, which was recorded on October 16, 2018 at the Drury Plaza Hotel Columbia East:

Missouri’s governor hopes to see more young people get involved in agriculture

October 16, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

Governor Mike Parson proclaimed October as Missouri Pork Month during a Monday ceremony in Jefferson City, to recognize the commitment of the state’s pork producers.

The Pork Place restaurant at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia (2017 file photo courtesy of the Missouri Pork Association)

Parson presented the proclamation at the state Department of Agriculture (MDA) headquarters in Jefferson City. Missouri Pork Association (MPA) Executive Vice President Don Nikodim says the state’s pork industry contributes $1 billion annually to the state’s economy.

“Agriculture we know is the backbone of the state when you think about who the economic driver is,” Nikodim says. “And the pork industry is a big part of that. We rank seventh nationally in pork production here in Missouri.”

Nikodim praises Parson, saying he understands what happens in rural Missouri. MDA Director Chris Chinn and Missouri Pork Association President Francis Forst of Lamar joined Parson and Nikodim for Monday’s ceremony.

MDA says the average age of a Missouri farmer is 58.

Governor Parson hopes to see more young people get involved in agriculture. The Bolivar Republican tells Missourinet this ties-in with his workforce development efforts.

“Ag (agriculture) is going to play a role in that, and how do we make sure that we’ve got young men and women in school and high school for example, that understand agriculture and what all those jobs are out there,” says Parson.

The governor notes Missouri pork producers raise more than 3.4 million hogs in the state, and tells MDA employees that agriculture has changed for the better.

“The reality of it is today we can’t farm like we used to, we just can’t,” Parson says. “And do you what’s going to be the new thing to all of us that’s going to have a little hard time accepting that, but technology is going to play a huge role.”

Agriculture Director Chinn says high-speed internet is crucial to attract next-generation farmers, adding that they want to come home and use it on the farm and ranch.

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R) addressed the Missouri House in April in Jefferson City, telling them that 51 percent of rural Missourians don’t have access to broadband.

Chinn also notes this is the first time her staff can remember a governor personally coming for the October proclamation. Nikodim tells Missourinet he believes Governor John Ashcroft was the last governor to do it.

Parson says it’s important for him to support the state’s top industry.

Lieutenant Governor’s program showcases Missouri-made items to buy

October 15, 2018 By Alisa Nelson

During this first annual Buy Missouri Week underway, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe wants the public to “support our own backyard folks” and purchase Missouri-made goods the state has to offer. He says the Buy Missouri program, which includes about 150 companies both large and small, aims to boost the state’s economy and businesses. They are promoted for free on the website Kehoe’s office runs – BuyMissouri.net – with the hope of getting many more.

Buy Missouri Week is underway

“It’s very exciting. All across Missouri, there’s somebody down some road that nobody even knew about maybe in the community that says ‘Hey did you know they make whatever down that road? They make pontoon boats, they make sausage.’ It’s fascinating to find all those places out,” Kehoe says. “When you buy Missouri-made products, you’re likely helping somebody that you go to church with, that’s on the soccer field with you or the parents of somebody that your kids go to school with.”

It’s not even Halloween yet, but some Missourians are already thinking about the holidays. Kehoe, a Republican from Jefferson City, says the website is a good place to go shopping and find gifts.

“If you want a consumable, outdoor equipment, building supplies, or whatever it is you’re looking for, you can look and find a company that manufactures one of those products and then you might want to consider that as you go out and shop,” Kehoe says.

The list of goods goes on and on. BuyMissouri.net promotes all sorts of items, like automobiles, clothing, tool boxes, food and beauty products, agriculture goods, adult beverages, windows, and various candies.

“Missouri products are everything from GM cars and trucks built in Wentzville, Ford cars and trucks in Kansas City, Quaker windows in Freeburg, which is one of the nation’s largest window manufacturers, all the way down to someone who manufactures charcoal,” he says.

Kehoe says the most unique product he’s encountered is Cherry Mash – a popular sweet treat made for the past 100 years in northwest Missouri’s St. Joseph.

“Most people are familiar with it, have seen it on the shelves, have eaten it, have bought it,” Kehoe chuckles.

Gov. Mike Parson, R, pioneered the Buy Missouri Initiative as lieutenant governor. Kehoe sponsored Senate Bill 891 establishing Buy Missouri Week. It was signed into law having received overwhelming bi-partisan support in both legislative chambers.

To sign up for the program or browse the different products, click here.

Company to build massive manufacturing facility in rural Missouri town (AUDIO)

October 12, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED) says a leader in the window and door industry plans to build a $65 million plant in the mid-Missouri town of Eldon. Freeburg-based Quaker Windows and Doors plans to purchase more than 100 acres in Eldon to construct a new 200,000 square foot manufacturing facility. DED says the decision will create 300 new full-time jobs in Eldon, which is about 30 miles south of Jefferson City.

Quaker Windows and Doors plans to start construction in Eldon by December, and expects to begin manufacturing at the new facility next fall.

Company to build massive manufacturing facility in rural Missouri town

Eldon Mayor Larry Henderson is thrilled.

“Well I think it’s a very positive thing for all people involved,” Henderson says. “For Quaker Windows and for our community and for the people that live here and things of that nature.”

Henderson is pleased that Quaker, which has two large campuses in Freeburg, will partner with the Eldon Career Center to offer apprenticeships for high school juniors and seniors.

“Well I think that would be a very good opportunity for children who want to come out of high school and go right into work in a technical atmosphere,” says Henderson. “I think that’s very positive.”

DED notes there are about 1,900 students in the Eldon School District, and 1,100 of them qualify for free and reduced lunch.

Mayor Henderson tells Missourinet he agrees with Eldon School Superintendent Matt Davis, who says their vision is to create a community that kids want to come back home to.

“If we have opportunities here for our children, they will continue to make this area their home, and that’s what we’d really like to do,” Henderson says.

The company began operations in 1949, and was started by Marge and Bud Knoll. The Knoll family was well known across central Missouri.

Missouri Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe (R) praises Quaker Windows and says they’re “at the top of their industry, in terms of both quality and customer service.”

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Eldon Mayor Larry Henderson, which was recorded on October 11, 2018:

Hartzler and congressional committee work on differences to replace expired farm bill

October 8, 2018 By Alisa Nelson

The 2014 Farm Bill has expired, however the bulk of the programs authorized by that bill continue. The Farm Bill is a five-year reauthorization of agriculture programs, conservation, nutrition, trade, credit, and other programs important to rural America. West-central Missouri Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler, a Republican serving as a farm bill conference committee member, says the primary disagreement is the food stamp benefit work requirements favored by House Republicans.

Rep. Vicky Hartzler

“We should be investing in individuals who are work-capable, who are currently receiving food assistance, so that they can get the job skills needed to help fill part of the 6.9 million open jobs right now in this country,” Hartzler tells Brownfield Ag News.

Some lawmakers, both Republican and Democrat, oppose the worker requirements.

Hartzler says there are also differences between House and Senate versions of the Conservation Reserve Program. In exchange for a yearly rental payment, farmers enrolled in the program agree to remove environmentally sensitive plants and land from production to improve environmental health.

“The House expanded the number of acres to 29 million acres for CRP, but lowered the rental rates,” says Hartzler. “The Senate did not increase the number of acres by that amount.”

Hartzler a Republican serving on the committee, says Democrats are stalling.

“They may be viewing that they may have the opportunity to be a majority party in either the House or the Senate next year and re-write the Farm Bill according to their wishes,” Hartzler says.

She says conference committee members agree about the importance of crop insurance.

Tom Steever of Brownfield Ag News contributed to this story.

Soybean plant planned for Missouri Bootheel expected to create 60 new jobs

October 3, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

A state lawmaker who represents southeast Missouri says a soybean processing plant planned for the Caruthersville area will be a “real shot in the arm” to the impoverished region. Nine out of the ten poorest counties in the state are in southeast Missouri. State Rep. Don Rone, R-Portageville, says Sedes Soy Crush will build the soybean crushing/processing facility near Caruthersville, at the Pemiscot County Port. He says the facility will create about 60 new jobs.

State Rep. Don Rone speaks on the Missouri House floor on March 7, 2018 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Rone says the plant will process non-GMO specialty soybeans that focus on high proteins.

“It’s a new seed, it’s going to be processed, it’s non-GMO,” Rone says. “The oil and the meal will be non-GMO.”

Sedes Soy Crush is part of Palindromes Incorporated. The company website says Palindromes is focused on sustainable and socially-responsible access to the world’s most basic needs, such as food and water.

“It’s (the plant) going to export the meal into Arkansas into the chicken industry, and hopefully abroad to the oil business to Europe, non-GMO,” says Rone.

Rone tells Missourinet the construction and 60 new jobs will help the region.

Caruthersville is located on the Mississippi River. Its website says more than 30% of the town’s residents are living below the poverty level. Four of Missouri’s highest counties with free and reduced school lunch participation rates are located in the Bootheel. Despite high poverty rates, there has been positive economic news in southeast Missouri, in addition to the soybean plant.

Rone says the newly-reopened smelter in Marston has hired more than 400 employees, and says it is considering whether to open a third line and a rod and wire mill.

That would mean an additional 150 to 200 jobs.

And New Madrid city administrator Richard McGill says the city is still in the running for a steel mill, adding that good progress has been made in discussions with the steel mill owner.

Proposition D spokesman: Gas tax boost would create jobs, send money to Missouri’s Main Street

October 3, 2018 By Alisa Nelson

In November, Missouri voters will decide if the state’s gas tax should increase by 2.5-cents per gallon annually over four years. The money generated would help to fund road improvements and Missouri State Highway Patrol road enforcement. The measure – referred to as Proposition D – is estimated to raise about $412 million annually.

Proposition D spokesman: Gas tax boost would create jobs, send money to Missouri’s Main Street

Missouri’s gas tax has not been increased since 1996. The state currently has the 49th lowest state motor fuel tax in the nation but has the 7th largest state highway system in America.

Scott Charton, the spokesman for Safer MO, the group leading the cause, spoke during the campaign’s recent kickoff in Branson.

“Proposition D will help us fix our roads and bridges. It will create jobs and it brings money right back to Main Street in communities like Joplin,” he told Missourinet affiliate KZRG in Joplin.

State Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard, R-Joplin, is another who supports the initiative.

“If you have an out of balanced tire or have a flat on a road that’s not maintained, that could cost you what this tax would be for ten years,” said Richard.

The effort has plenty of bipartisan support. The Missouri Legislature passed the measure during this year’s regular session. Groups and officials supporting it include the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, labor unions, the Missouri State Troopers Association, agricultural groups led by Missouri Farm Bureau, the Missouri Association of REALTORS, the Missouri Municipal League, the Missouri Association of Counties, Gov. Mike Parson, Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe, U.S. Sens. Claire McCaskill and Roy Blunt and many other public officials.

Frontier to begin service from St. Louis to popular Florida destination this fall (AUDIO)

September 28, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

Frontier Airlines has announced that it will be starting new non-stop service between St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) and West Palm Beach this fall.

A Frontier plane in St. Louis (photo courtesy of St. Louis Lambert International Airport)

Lambert spokesman Jeff Lea says southeast Florida, along the Atlantic Ocean coast, is a popular destination during the winter and spring months.

“Starting November 15th, Frontier will begin two days a week operating 150-seat Airbus A319, and then in February when spring is just around the corner they’re going to bump it up to three weekly flights,” Lea says.

The St. Louis Cardinals baseball club hold its spring training at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, which is just 15 miles north of Palm Beach International Airport (PBI).

Lea notes Denver-based Frontier currently flies from St. Louis to five other markets: Cancun, Denver, Jacksonville, Las Vegas and Orlando.

“And I think they’re really focusing on you know maybe the leisure market, those non-business travel segments, and really determining where the hot spots that they can, you know, fill the need,” says Lea.

Lea says the flight to Cancun is a daily flight, adding that Frontier has “heavy loads to Cancun on a daily basis.”

Meantime, St. Louis Lambert International has recorded 36 straight months of passenger growth, according to Lea. He tells Missourinet that 2018 has been a strong year.

“Our August report came out, we are trending had about a 7% growth in our total passenger activity for August,” Lea says. “And for the year, for the calendar year going the first eight months or so, we are tracking at 6% growth.”

June marked the end of St. Louis’ fiscal year, and Lea notes Lambert saw an increase of about 774,000 passengers over fiscal year 2017.

Minnesota-based Sun Country Airlines will launch service at Lambert on Wednesday, with flights to Fort Myers, Florida.

Lea says Sun Country will also begin flying from St. Louis to Tampa in November.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and St. Louis Lambert International Airport spokesman Jeff Lea, which was recorded on September 27, 2018:

Trump cites national security concerns for considering tariffs on automakers. McCaskill calls the reason ‘a stretch’.

September 28, 2018 By Alisa Nelson

President Donald Trump has set his sights on foreign automakers and auto parts for another round of potential tariffs. As part of Trump’s ongoing trade war, he cites national security threats for considering the tariffs. During a committee hearing this week in Washington, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, says she’s baffled by the Republican President’s reason.

Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill speaks to reporters at Missouri Farm Bureau headquarters in Jefferson City on August 10, 2018 (file photo from Jason Taylor)

“It’s a real head scratcher that this administration is doing this under 232 – national security. It seems to me that this is a stretch on national security,” she says.

McCaskill says the tariffs could backfire on Missouri because auto manufacturing plays a critical role here.

“We are a major auto hub in Missouri. We have over 10,000 members of UAW employed at General Motors, Ford and Toyota. We are the birthplace of the Ford- 150, which we are very proud of, along with the Chevy Colorado and the GMC Canyon. 167,000 is the estimate of workers we have in Missouri associated with the manufacturing of automobiles—so it is a big deal to my state how we handle this,” says McCaskill. “So far, these tariffs are impacting farmers in my state, workers in my state, and consumers in my state—all negatively.”

Of the latest $200 billion in tariffs, McCaskill says the trade war has already cost Missouri jobs and hurt farmers and ranchers.

“I don’t understand why we’d dramatically escalate it,” she says.

McCaskill has sent a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce relaying concerns that Missouri manufacturing and agriculture leaders raised during a roundtable she held this month in St. Louis.