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

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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.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

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

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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:

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

‘Pioneer’ exits as Missouri charter school sponsor

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The University of Missouri-Kansas City will no longer sponsor its eight Kansas City charter schools in May. Charter Public School Commission Executive Director Robbyn Wahby tells Missourinet the university wants to focus on research and developing human capital.

Photo courtesy of the University of Missouri-Kansas City

“As with everything, when over time, if you don’t stop and re-evaluate and determine whether this is the best use of your talents and resources, you may miss an opportunity,” she says. “I think that’s what the dean was doing. Smartly, the university was thinking ‘We should be doing what we’re designed to do and then partner with the commission to transfer sponsorship to do what they were designed to do’. They’re really not set up as a regulatory body – one to do the oversight of something outside of the university.”

UMKC has been a Missouri charter school sponsor for about 20 years.

“They were a pioneer in Missouri and were one of the two universities that first sponsored charter public schools,” she says. “So, we really owe them a debt of gratitude in Missouri for them starting this work.”

The charter schools sponsored by UMKC are: Brookside Charter, Pathway Academy, Genesis School, University Academy, Allen Village School, Academy for Integrated Arts, Lee A. Tolbert Community Academy and Frontier Schools.

Robbyn Wahby

In 2017, the schools under UMKC’s watch enrolled a combined total of nearly 5,200 students.

Under state law, Missouri charter schools must have a sponsor to operate. When UMKC School of Education Dean Justin Perry first floated the idea around about ending its sponsorship role, he contacted Wahby. She says he wanted to ensure, first and foremost, that the charter schools would have a new sponsor.

“He didn’t want to start this exploration out without knowing that every school would be able to continue without any problems whatsoever,” she says. “We assured him that would be the case. “It move doesn’t really affect the day-to-day for these students. That’s really what’s really important here – for faculty, for staff in the building, for parents and students – there is no change in their life. The charter stays as is, as it transfers to a new sponsor. There shouldn’t be any concern for anyone. That was really why Dean Perry contacted me right from the beginning – to ensure that there would be absolutely no disruption for students.”

The commission is not making the transfer process complicated. The affected schools must simply submit a letter to the commission requesting a transfer of sponsorship to the commission and the date in which it wants to transfer under the commission’s oversight.

The affected schools can choose to apply to a sponsor other than the commission and the commission can simply be their backup plan.

University Academy and the Academy for Integrated Arts have officially transferred from UMKC to the commission.

Wahby says she hasn’t heard anything “recently” from other sponsors considering an exit. She goes on to say that it’s not uncommon for colleges and universities to drop its sponsorship of charter schools because she says it’s part of charter school development nationwide.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Missouri’s Nobel prize winner expected a call from Sweden, but not for the reason you might think

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University of Missouri professor George Smith says he and his science friends like to play pranks. A standard prank among them is to call each other in the middle of the night – with a Swedish accent – and say they’ve won a Nobel prize. During a press conference to recognize Smith as the latest winner, he says he knew Wednesday’s phone call was the real deal.

Retired University of Missouri professor George Smith wins the 2018 Nobel Prize for chemistry, along with two other researchers

“I kind of knew it wasn’t any of my friends because the connection was so terrible. Sweden is a really advanced country, but I think that they need some work on their phones,” he says.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded Smith and two other researchers this year’s Nobel Prize for chemistry by “harnessing the power of evolution”. Smith becomes the first University of Missouri professor ever to win the honor.

In 1993, Frances Arnold of Caltech in Pasadena conducted the first directed evolution of enzymes, which are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. She has refined the methods now routinely used to create new catalysts. The uses of Arnold’s enzymes include more environmentally-friendly manufacturing of chemical substances, such as pharmaceuticals, and the production of renewable fuels.

In 1985, Smith developed a method to evolve new proteins. He says he worked on the prize-winning technique for not quite 10 years.

Gregory Winter of the MRC molecular biology lab in Cambridge, England used Smith’s phage display for the directed evolution of antibodies, with the goal of producing new pharmaceutical drugs. It is used for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel diseases. The technique can also lead to the discovery of antibodies that can neutralize toxins, combat metastasized cancers and fend off autoimmune diseases.

Smith, who is now retired, was a professor in the Division of Biological Sciences for about 40 years.

During Wednesday’s announcement, Smith displayed humor, modesty and generosity by thanking the university and his co-winners for “winning him the Nobel prize”.

“Think of science as a web of influence and so on and one particular person is in the middle,” he says. “That particular person can’t take full credit for it. You just have to realize that person is a stand in, is a representative of a whole field of knowledge.”

He says science doesn’t work by “picking winners”, deciding which person will make a big breakthrough and a lot of money.

“That’s not how science works,” he says. “Science is a big community of people that are engaged in their work and in their teaching. Someone like me can flourish at Mizzou and I think that’s something Mizzou should be proud of – of nurturing that kind of intellectual community.”
He says he hopes the honor will lead to better things for Mizzou.

“Let’s hope that the hard times that we have lived through for the last couple of years will be a little less hard times,” he says.

Smith has also received $250,000 as part of his prize. He says his family plans to donate the money in a way that would indirectly honor the award.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

For the first time in history, a University of Missouri professor wins Nobel prize

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The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences says a longtime Mizzou professor and two other researchers have been awarded this year’s Nobel Prize for chemistry by “harnessing the power of evolution”. According to the MU News Bureau, George Smith becomes the first University of Missouri professor ever to win the honor.

Photos courtesy of the University of Missouri

The science organization says the 2018 Nobel Laureates in Chemistry have “taken control of evolution and used it for purposes that bring the greatest benefit to humankind”.

Frances Arnold of Caltech in Pasadena gets half of the $1.01 million prize for work leading to the development of new biofuels and pharmaceuticals. Smith and Gregory Winter of the MRC molecular biology lab in Cambridge, England split the other half.

In 1993, Arnold conducted the first directed evolution of enzymes, which are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. She has refined the methods now routinely used to create new catalysts. The uses of Arnold’s enzymes include more environmentally-friendly manufacturing of chemical substances, such as pharmaceuticals, and the production of renewable fuels.

In 1985, Smith developed a method known as phage display, a virus that infects bacteria, can be used to evolve new proteins.

Winter used Smith’s phage display for the directed evolution of antibodies, with the goal of producing new pharmaceuticals. The first one based on this method was approved in 2002 and is used for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel diseases. Since then, phage display has produced anti-bodies that can neutralize toxins, counteract autoimmune diseases and cure metastatic cancer.

Smith, who is now retired, was a Mizzou professor for about 40 years in the Division of Biological Sciences.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Fatalities increasing for Missouri train collisions with vehicles and pedestrians (AUDIO)

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An organization that promotes rail safety education says eight people have been killed in Missouri so far in 2018 in collisions between trains and vehicles or pedestrians.

A Union Pacific train approaches a crossing in Sedalia in 2018 (photo courtesy of Missouri Operation Lifesaver executive director Tim Hull)

A Missourinet reporter rode with a Union Pacific crew on Friday in Jefferson City and observed Jefferson City and Union Pacific Railroad officers issue at least four tickets to drivers who ignored train warning signals. Missouri Operation Lifesaver executive director Tim Hull also rode in the locomotive cab.

“Bringing awareness and getting people to be alert when they get to these railroad crossings, even though if they’re not used very often, that’s when they need to know that if they do hear that whistle or that bell, that they need to pay attention,” Hull says.

Just last week in western Missouri’s Liberty, city employee Cameron Leeds was killed when a train struck a city-owned vehicle he was driving. KSHB-TV reports Leeds was waiting for a westbound train to pass before trying to cross double tracks. That’s when he was struck by an eastbound train.

The number of fatalities in collisions between trains and vehicles or pedestrians has increased in Missouri in 2018, according to Operation Lifesaver.

Hull notes there have already been eight fatalities this year, compared to six during the entire 2017 year. He tells Missourinet a girl in northern Missouri’s Marceline was struck and killed by a train in February while with her dog. Nine-year-old Katawna Clay was killed in the Marceline train incident.

“We try to go into those schools and different civic groups and truck driving schools, school bus drivers and do these educational programs to make them aware and alert of what’s going on,” says Hull.

Hull notes a freight train moving at 55 miles per hour can take about a mile to stop, once the emergency brakes are applied.

Meantime, Union Pacific Railroad officials say some teenagers and photographers are taking families out on railroad tracks to take family pictures.

Union Pacific spokeswoman Lindsey Douglas tells Missourinet it’s illegal to trespass on railroad property.

“Whether it’s a single track, an industrial track, you may not see trains on it very often,” Douglas says. “But it’s still a live, active railroad track. It’s illegal to be out there. It’s just a very unsafe location to do any kind of activity, much less photography.”

Union Pacific Railroad officers teamed up with Jefferson City Police for Friday’s rail safety event.

Operation Lifesaver and Union Pacific also say that if your vehicle ever stalls on railroad tracks, get out and get away from the tracks.

There is an Emergency Notification sign at every crossing, and motorists should call the number provided.

Hull says that if a train is approaching, you should run toward the train but away from the tracks at a 45 degree angle.

That’s because if you run in the direction the train is heading, you could be struck by debris.

 

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Missouri Operation Lifesaver executive director Tim Hull and Union Pacific spokeswoman Lindsey Douglas, which was recorded on September 28, 2018 in Jefferson City:

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Southeast Missouri gets its first autism center

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Southeast Missouri gets its first autism center

An autism center has opened in Cape Girardeau. Autism Support Now Director Leanne Hopper says this is the first autism clinic in southeast Missouri.

“We’re here and ready to expand and work with families in this area,” she says. “I’ve worked in this area for around 16 years as a behavioral analyst, and I’ve seen the need and just want to meet it.”

The location serves children ages two to 18 to work on their social, communication and adaptive skills.

The clinic accepts private insurance and Medicaid. Hopper said staff can work with families to acquire grants to cover therapy costs.

Courtesy of Cape Girardeau television station KFVS

Website ranks Missouri among best states for teachers

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A new study by personal finance website Wallethub ranks Missouri 15th on its list for best states for teachers. It also ranks the Show-Me State 3rd for lowest projected teacher turnover rate.

Website ranks Missouri among best states for teachers

Wallethub’s study analyzes the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia across 22 key metrics, including teachers’ income growth potential, pupil-teacher ratio and teacher safety.

As for Missouri’s eight neighboring states, Illinois is the only one ranking higher than Missouri. It came in 4th and has the second-highest annual teacher salaries based on adjusted for cost of living.

Wallethub says teaching is among the lowest-paid professions that requires a bachelor’s degree and teacher salaries consistently fail to keep up with inflation. Meanwhile, the demands of student performance continue to grow. The ranking aims to help America’s educators find the best opportunities and teaching environments.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about one-fifth of all U.S. public-school teachers leave their positions before the end of their first year. Nearly half last fewer than five years. Many teachers, especially novices, transfer to other schools or abandon the profession altogether “as the result of feeling overwhelmed, ineffective, and unsupported,” according to ASCD, a nonprofit focused on improving the education community.

To view the full report, click here.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Richardson and Mitten pleased with Missouri Legislature’s special session

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There is bipartisan praise from Missouri House leaders about the Legislature’s passage of two key bills during the special session.

State Rep. Travis Fitzwater, R-Holts Summit, speaks about STEM education on the Missouri House floor on September 12, 2018 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The bills involve expanding treatment courts and STEM education.

House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, says both are important.

“These were things that we worked very hard on in the regular session,” Richardson says. “We really applaud Governor Parson’s leadership in identifying these as priorities and worthy of a special session, and we’re really pleased that he called the General Assembly back for the purpose of getting these done.”

House Minority Leader Gina Mitten, D-St. Louis, also praises the passage of both bills.

Lawmakers have approved a bill expanding Missouri’s treatment court system to all counties.

The other bill establishes a statewide STEM career awareness program.

Governor Mike Parson (R) has not scheduled bill-signing ceremonies yet.

State Rep. Travis Fitzwater, R-Holts Summit, sponsored the STEM bill, which allows the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to create a “STEM career awareness program” for students in grades six through eight.

“I think that’s a really, really important piece, enabling kids to have more opportunities to get a substantial education while they’re in high school and in middle school now,” says Fitzwater.

STEM bill supporters, including State Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, say many of today’s computer science jobs go unfilled because not enough students have been trained for the positions.

Speaker Richardson says Missouri must have a trained, educated workforce to compete for 21st century jobs.

Meantime, the top Democrat in the Missouri House is praising the Legislature for passing a bill to expand the treatment court system to all counties.

House Minority Leader Mitten notes U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) spearheaded the creation of Missouri’s first drug treatment court in 1993, when she served as Jackson County Prosecutor.

“I think that it’s a great opportunity to pay homage to Senator McCaskill for her fine work in trailblazing on this piece,” Mitten tells the Capitol Press Corps.

Mitten notes the House approved the bill 141-1.

Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Zel Fischer told lawmakers in January that 15 counties had no access to any type of treatment court.

Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee Chairman Bob Dixon, R-Springfield, says treatment courts work.

He echoes Mitten’s comment about the bill’s bipartisan support.

Chairman Dixon says nearly 25 percent of Missouri prisoners are incarcerated for convictions relating to drug and alcohol abuse.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Parson says Microsoft’s new St. Louis technology center will help retain more Missourians

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(This story is written by Missourinet St. Louis contributor Jill Enders)

St. Louis is home to the newest Microsoft Technology Center, which means about 150 new jobs for the Gateway City.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson speaks at a ribbon-cutting for the new Microsoft Technology Center in St. Louis on September 19, 2018 (Jill Enders photo)

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Wednesday morning for the 29,000 square feet state-of-the-art facility, which is located in the Cortex innovation district in the Central West End.

Governor Mike Parson (R) spoke at the ceremony.

“It’s a big important reason we had that special session (in Jefferson City) was for STEM, on the computer science, the engineering, the math, all the things that we got to do for the future of Missouri,” Parson says. “And as I sit here today and listen to people talk, I understand how important that is that we get it right.”

Missouri lawmakers approved the STEM legislation last week.

State Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, and State Rep. Travis Fitzwater, R-Holts Summit, sponsored the bill, which establishes a statewide STEM career awareness program.

It allows the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to create a “STEM career awareness program” to increase STEM career awareness among students in grades six through eight.

Microsoft, which is based in Washington State, in investing about $50 million into the new facility.

Governor Parson tells reporters he believes the new center will keep and attract more people to the Show-Me State.

“We don’t want Missourians to be leaving our state,” says Parson. “But if we have those good jobs that pay good money and they’re tech jobs and what the demands are going to be, people have more of an opportunity to stay here in Missouri and I believe they’ll take advantage of that and stay here and we’ll become a better state for it.”

St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson (D) and several Microsoft executives joined Governor Parson for the ceremony.

Mayor Krewson describes Parson as a governor “who understands that we have to work together.”

This is the 15th Microsoft Technology Center in the nation.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet