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Missouri governor answers media questions on multiple topics during 43-minute briefing

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Missouri’s governor addressed numerous topics with reporters Thursday afternoon in Jefferson City, ranging from transportation to sports wagering to the Sunshine law.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson speaks to print, radio and television reporters at the Governor’s Mansion in Jefferson City on January 31, 2019 (Brian Hauswirth photo)

Governor Mike Parson, a Republican, spoke at the Governor’s Mansion during the Missouri Press Association and the Associated Press (AP) day at the Capitol. Parson answered questions from print, radio and television reporters for 43 minutes, and also had lunch with reporters before the question and answer session.

Parson will be in southwest Missouri’s Joplin on Friday morning to tour a deteriorating bridge near I-44 that would be replaced under his proposed $350 million infrastructure plan. Parson says the plan would repair or replace 250 Missouri bridges.

The governor told reporters Thursday that while his plan doesn’t fix Missouri’s infrastructure issue, it will help.

“I’m going to try my best, I’m going to try my best to make sure that that gets through the process to realize that the state of Missouri is doing something,” Parson says.

The governor was a vocal supporter of Proposition D, which would have increased the state’s gasoline tax by ten cents per gallon to help pay for Missouri’s highway system. Missourians defeated the measure at the polls in November by about 173,000 votes.

Parson will tour the Rangeline Road bridge over Joplin’s Kansas City Southern Railroad Friday morning, and will be joined by Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) chief engineer Ed Hassinger. The governor will brief Joplin-area reporters Friday morning at 10, near the bridge.

MoDOT says more than 900 Missouri bridges are in poor condition, while another 1,194 are weight restricted.

Parson also says he believes sports wagering is coming to the Show-Me State. During Thursday’s press event, a reporter asked Parson about legislation from State Sen. Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg, to authorize sports betting.

“And I think it just depends on what the legislators do, but I think that’s going to be an issue that the state of Missouri is going to have to deal with,” says Parson. “And I’m going to see what that package is, or whatever is that comes out of the Legislature before I make a decision.”

The Senate Small Business and Industry Committee heard testimony on the bill Thursday morning. Hoskins, who chairs the committee, tells Missourinet that under his legislation, you would have to register for a sports betting app at one of Missouri’s 13 casinos. He says after registering at a casino, you’d be able to bet anywhere in Missouri, under the bill.

Hoskins predicts sports betting could raise millions of dollars for education and veterans programs.

The governor is not taking a position on a potential merger between St. Louis City and County, which is a controversial issue. Governor Parson was asked about the proposed “Better Together” proposal.

“Now, how it ends up on a statewide vote or it don’t, I’m not sure what the details of that is going to be yet,” Parson says. “I think it’s early to predict that, there’s a lot of moving pieces of that.”

While he’s not taking a position on the issue, Parson says everything must be on the table, adding that Democratic Mayor Lyda Krewson says there are “serious problems” in St. Louis.

State Rep. Bruce Franks, D-St. Louis, has filed legislation to require the potential merger to be approved by a majority of voters in St. Louis City and County.

Parson also says his office has hired a full-time attorney, just to work on Sunshine Law issues and requests. He emphasizes the importance of transparency.

The governor also spoke about his family and the job itself. He says the hardest part of the job is the demand on the position. Parson says the demands are also tough on his family and his farm in southwest Missouri’s Bolivar.

Copyright © 2019 · Missourinet

(AUDIO) Senate committee hears Chiefs bill; Schatz hopes to get Mahomes to Missouri Capitol

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Legislation that would designate the Kansas City Chiefs as Missouri’s official professional football team has been heard by a state Senate committee in Jefferson City.

Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz speaks to Capitol reporters on November 8, 2018 (file photo courtesy of Harrison Sweazea at Senate Communications)

State Sen. Kiki Curls, D-Kansas City, testifies the Chiefs are one of professional football’s most renowned franchises.

“Coming to Kansas City in 1963, they have remained in Kansas City and here in Missouri for 56 years,” Curls says. “Longer than any other NFL team in our state.”

Senator Curls says the team’s name comes from former Kansas City Mayor Harold Roe Bartle, who was nicknamed “The Chief” and helped bring the Chiefs to Kansas City.

Curls testified last week before the Senate Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions and Ethics Committee, which could vote on her concurrent resolution this week.

Curls says her bill demonstrates the franchise’s importance to the community. She testifies that Arrowhead Stadium on game days is louder than a jet.

“Kansas City loves our Chiefs. We’re one of the biggest tailgating teams in the country, and is considered the loudest stadium in the world,” says Curls.

Chiefs lobbyist Rich AuBuchon testified in favor of the legislation, as did a representative from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) in Kansas City. There was no opposition to the bill at the hearing.

During the hearing, Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, told Senator Curls he would like to get Chiefs Pro Bowl quarterback Patrick Mahomes to the Missouri Capitol this year to testify about the bill.

Mahomes, who’s representing the AFC in today’s Pro Bowl in Orlando, threw for 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns this season. Schatz describes Mahomes as a “fantastic asset for our state and just a dynamic athlete,” and tells Missourinet he’d like to see Mahomes in Jefferson City.

“I think it would be fantastic for the opportunity to have him come and represent the Chiefs here, it would be a great opportunity for us (the Senate) and a chance for us to get to meet him,” Schatz says.

Curls tells Senator Schatz she hopes to get Chiefs players to Jefferson City, if the bill passes committee and goes to the Senate floor.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, which was recorded on January 22, 2019 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City:

Copyright © 2019 · Missourinet

Veteran St. Louis Cardinal broadcaster grew up in rural Missouri town (AUDIO)

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Longtime St. Louis Cardinal broadcaster John Rooney will be starting his 14th season in the Cardinal booth in 2019.

Veteran Cardinal broadcaster John Rooney (right) takes a photo with Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth on January 18, 2019 in Jefferson City

Rooney served as the emcee at Friday evening’s Cardinal Caravan event at Missouri Farm Bureau headquarters in Jefferson City. A few hundred Cardinal fans braved frigid temperatures to attend the event.

Rooney, who began broadcasting Cardinal games in 2006 after 18 seasons with the Chicago White Sox, grew up in northwest Missouri’s Richmond.

“It was great growing up in Richmond and really growing up in this part of the country, because back then we listened to a lot of baseball on transistor radios,” Rooney says.

Rooney says he listened to Cardinal radio broadcasts growing up, as well as the Kansas City Athletics, Twins and Phillies. He says he learned different styles by listening to different broadcasts and became “hooked” on baseball.

He credits Royals broadcasters Bud Blattner (Blattner died in 2009) and Denny Matthews for helping him early in his career. He also says he learned from the late Hall of Fame broadcaster Jack Buck, current Cardinal broadcaster Mike Shannon and former Cardinal announcer Bob Starr. Mr. Starr died in 1998.

Rooney says his broadcast partner Mike Shannon should be in Baseball’s Hall of Fame.

“He needs to be in Cooperstown, he needs to be honored because he is one of the beloved team announcers who has the longevity,” says Rooney.

Rooney says Shannon deserves the Ford Frick Award, which is Major League Baseball’s highest award for broadcasters.

Shannon, who graduated from St. Louis’ Christian Brothers College (CBC) High School in 1957, began his career with the Cardinals in 1962.

As for Rooney, he also called Mizzou men’s basketball at one time. While he’s also called NFL and college football, Rooney is best known for baseball.

He says his popular home run call “it’s a goner” originated from an incident near his hometown.

“My mom and I were almost in a big accident coming up the hill near Excelsior Springs, Missouri going toward Richmond and an impaired driver cut that corner and missed us by like a foot,” Rooney says. “Mom said had we been a couple a seconds earlier we all would have been goners.”

Rooney tells Missourinet he used that phrase on home runs in the minor leagues and it’s stayed with him. He doesn’t use it on every home run call.

Cardinal pitchers and catchers report to spring training in Jupiter on February 12, and St. Louis opens the 2019 season on March 28 at Milwaukee.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Cardinal broadcaster John Rooney, which was recorded on January 18, 2019 at Missouri Farm Bureau headquarters in Jefferson City:

Copyright © 2019 · Missourinet

Winter storm warning in Missouri is extended; MoDOT urging you to stay off roads

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The National Weather Service (NWS) in St. Louis says the winter storm warning in eastern and mid-Missouri has been extended through Sunday morning.

MoDOT crews load salt into a spreader in the Kansas City district on January 11, 2019 (photo courtesy of MoDOT spokeswoman Sally Oxenhandler)

The NWS says Columbia has already received 12 to 18 inches of snowfall, making travel there very difficult. Jefferson City has received eight to 12 inches of snow.

St. Louis has received eight to 12 inches of snow, and northeast Missouri’s Bowling Green has received the same amount, according to the NWS.

The heaviest amounts of snow have been near the Interstate 70 corridor.

The NWS says snow will continue through early Sunday morning, but the snowfall intensity is expected to taper off this (Saturday) afternoon and tonight.

The NWS also warns that freezing drizzle will mix in with the remaining light snow, resulting in “light ice accumulations.”

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is using about 1,500 trucks and about 3,000 operators during the winter storm, which is impacting most of the state.

The snowplow operators are working 12-hour shifts.

The snowstorm has also caused major problems on I-44 near St. Louis.

MoDOT says eastbound I-44 in Franklin County re-opened this afternoon, after being closed for about six hours because of the storm.

MoDOT maintenance engineer Kenyon Warbitton tells Missourinet the chemical treatment is working. The area involved is eastbound I-44 at the 250-mile marker, which is near the town of Gray Summit.

Weather Channel meteorologist Jim Cantore did live shots in that area all morning.

Warbitton is still urging Missourians not to travel today, unless necessary. He says we could see a refreeze tonight.

Governor Mike Parson (R) tweeted Saturday morning that he was “very concerned” about the situation on I-44, and he’s urging Missourians to stay off the roads until conditions improve.

The governor notes MoDOT and the Missouri State Highway Patrol need time to fight the storm. Parson spokeswoman Kelli Jones tells Missourinet the governor has been receiving regular updates from the National Weather Service, the Missouri Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).

MoDOT is also warning Kansas City Chiefs fans heading to today’s playoff game at Arrowhead stadium to use extreme caution. MoDOT says your trip “could take hours longer than usual.”

MoDOT says routes to Kansas City “are still covered in all directions.” The Kansas City area had already received more than seven inches of snow, by early this morning.

This afternoon’s kickoff is set for 3:35 p.m. MODOT is also concerned about Colts fans driving from Indianapolis, because Indiana and Illinois have also been impacted by the winter storm.

MoDOT maintenance engineer Todd Miller says crews from southeast Missouri’s Bootheel have been sent to hard-hit St. Louis.

The Bootheel has only received about an inch of snow, which freed up the four workers to head to St. Louis to assist.

Copyright © 2019 · Missourinet

Tennessee-based airline to begin commercial jet service from Fort Leonard Wood to St. Louis Lambert

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(Reporter Gerard Knehans at Missourinet Waynesville affiliate KJPW Radio contributed to this story)

Officials in south-central Missouri’s Waynesville and St. Robert announced on Tuesday that Contour Airlines will be launching commercial jet service from Fort Leonard Wood next month.

A Contour jet flew to the Waynesville-St. Robert Regional Airport (WSRA) for the January 8, 2019 press conference about commercial jet service at Fort Leonard Wood (photo courtesy of the Sustainable Ozarks Partnership)

Tennessee-based Contour will be flying daily from the Waynesville-St. Robert Regional Airport (WSRA) to St. Louis Lambert International Airport. Contour chief executive officer Matt Chaifetz says passengers will enjoy comfortable seating.

“Service will begin on February 12. We’ll be offering 12 weekly roundtrip flights on an ERJ-135 regional jet with 30 seats all featuring the amount of leg room that you’d get in first class on a major airline,” Chaifetz tells Missourinet Waynesville affiliate KJPW Radio.

Chaifetz says introductory fares will begin at $29 each way for tickets purchased before January 22. He says the flight from Fort Leonard Wood to Lambert will be 24 minutes.

Chaifetz and St. Robert’s mayor held a Tuesday press conference to make the announcement.

Missouri House Majority Whip Steve Lynch, R-Waynesville, also attended the event.

Chaifetz says the airline will provide safe, fast and affordable flights.

“We’ll have two daily departures (from WSRA) Monday through Friday,” says Chaifetz. “The first departure will be at 7:25 in the morning and the second departure will be at 2:45 in the afternoon, and we will have two inbound flights on Sunday through Friday.”

Contour will replace Cape Air at the Waynesville-St. Robert Regional Airport. Chaifetz says Cape Air handled about 8,000 flights in 2018.

“We want to make sure that we get the airport across the 8,000 passenger threshold and we think we can do that. In all of our market that we serve we’ve seen a major increase in passenger traffic as a result of our reliability, the aircraft being used and our fare structure,” Chaifetz says.

Contour serves six states, and its website emphasizes that passengers receive a complimentary first checked bag and one carry-on item.

Economic development leaders in the region say the new commercial jet service will benefit the Fort Leonard Wood area’s tourism industry.

The nonprofit organization “Sustainable Ozarks Partnership” says more than 150,000 visitors travel to the Fort Leonard Wood region annually to attend military graduations.

Fort Leonard Wood’s website says it trains about 82,600 military and civilians annually. The website notes it’s home to the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and now trains for the U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School as well as the U.S. Army Engineer School.

Copyright © 2019 · Missourinet

Movie shot in SW Missouri now showing on Showtime

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A movie now appearing on Showtime was shot in southwest Missouri’s Springfield and some cast members are local residents.

Image from the movie Above Ground (Image courtesy of KOLR-TV)

Wes Nichols plays a truck driver in the film “Above Ground”. He said the experience was an eye-opener for someone who’d never been part of a major movie production. “When you’re on the inside looking out, it’s a totally different ballgame,” said Nichols.

Andie Bottrell is a professional actress who lives in Springfield. She’s happy the film has found a platform to be viewed by a mass audience. “You never know if it’s going to see the light of day or not, or how it’s going to be distributed,” said Bottrell.

In October, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch expressed relief that a movie that takes place in Missouri was actually shot in Missouri. The newspaper noted that “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” was filmed in North Carolina and the hit television show “Ozark” is shot in Georgia. Missouri doesn’t offer tax breaks to the film industry like numerous other states.

Bottrell said she enjoyed her role as a main character’s best friend in the movie. “Brenda was a lot of fun to play,” Bottrell said.

Nichols is not an actor, but a small business owner in Springfield who landed a small role. He was amazed at the elaborate effort that goes into filmmaking and the length of time it takes to release the final product. “30, 40, 50 people behind the scenes,” Nichols said. “If you’re ever in a movie, don’t tell anybody until maybe three or four years later.”

As an actress, Bottrell says this is her biggest part yet. After spending six years in Los Angeles, she moved back home. “I felt like that was sort of going to have to be a pause for my career and everything that I had been working on would be put on hold,” said Bottrell. “I never in a million years thought that coming back to Springfield, Missouri, I would end up with a part in a movie that’s on Showtime. But it goes to show that you never know what path life is going to take you on.”

Bottrell plans to continue acting, while Nichols says he’s proud of his work and will probably dabble in acting again. “I think you’ll like it. For a 53-year-old man, I didn’t do too bad,” Nichols said. “You probably have not seen the last of me yet.”

“Above Ground” has been called a neo-noir film, meaning it’s a contemporary rendition of the style common Hollywood crime dramas in the 1940s and 1950s. It’s showing into the new year at various times on Showtime.

(Missourinet media partner KOLR-TV supplied this report, Missourinet’s Jason Taylor contributed)

You’ll see extra Missouri state troopers during New Year’s holiday weekend (AUDIO)

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Missouri state troopers will be visible on the road during the New Year’s holiday weekend.

A Missouri state trooper pulls a motorist over on I-70 (2018 file photo courtesy of the Missouri State Highway Patrol)

Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain John Hotz says the five-day holiday fatality counting period begins Friday evening at 6 and ends at 11:59 on New Year’s night, which is Tuesday.

“We’ll have heavier than normal numbers of troopers out there looking for people who may be both exceeding the speed limit, driving impaired, driving inattentively,” Hotz says.

Troopers will also be assisting motorists.

Captain Hotz urges you to obey the speed limit, wear your seat belt and plan ahead if you drink alcohol.

He says nine people died and another 291 were injured in 845 traffic crashes during Missouri’s 2018 New Year’s holiday counting period.

“That’s a tremendous amount of people that are being killed out there on Missouri highways,” says Hotz. “We want to see that number go down. We’re committed to doing everything we can enforcement-wise, but also through education.”

Troopers say one person was killed or injured every 15 minutes in Missouri traffic crashes, during the 2018 New Year’s holiday counting period.

Hotz wants motorists to designate a sober driver or to take a taxi, if they decide to drink alcohol.

“We’re also encouraging people again to, if alcohol is going to be part of your celebration, to make those decisions in advance before anybody starts drinking as far as how you’re going to get home safely,” Hotz says.

He says the roadway is no place for a driver who’s been drinking.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain John Hotz, which was recorded on December 27, 2018:

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Major Jefferson City event cancelled due to Clean Missouri ballot measure

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Major Jefferson City event cancelled due to Clean Missouri ballot measure

The annual “Taste of Jefferson City” reception won’t happen in January because of the passage of a constitutional amendment known as Clean Missouri. Columbia radio station KSSZ reports the Jefferson City Chamber of Commerce has cancelled the popular meet-and-greet event that brings together lawmakers, lobbyists and Capitol City restaurants.

The amendment passed in November by Missouri voters caps all gifts to lawmakers at $5, restricts campaign donations, makes legislators wait two years before becoming lobbyists and redraws the state’s legislative districts.

Many restaurants aren’t happy with the decision and say the move will negatively affect their business during the session.

By Missourinet affiliate KSSZ in Columbia

Major Missouri tourist attraction closed during government shutdown

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Photo by BIll Greenblatt/UPI

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis is closed during the partial federal government shutdown underway. The 630-foot steel monument is part of the National Park Service, which is among the federal departments disrupted by Capitol Hill’s failure to pass a funding resolution.

Some states are using state or local funding to keep popular tourist attractions open for business during the shutdown. Missouri apparently is not.

The U.S. Senate is expected to get back to business on Thursday in hopes of reopening affected federal offices, including the major tourist draw in eastern Missouri.

Last week, Congress failed to pass a funding bill to keep the government open for business over the holidays and the months to come. President Donald Trump wants $5 billion to build additional wall along the U.S.-Mexico border while Democrats are pursuing more money for border patrol.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Former Missouri deputy featured on television network about deadly 2017 shooting

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A former Grundy County deputy in northwest Missouri has been featured on an Investigation Discovery network program called “Body Cam”. Christian Goode says the show is about a 2017 Oklahoma incident in which he was stabbed by a sex offender who failed to register and had several felony warrants.

Former Missouri deputy featured on television about deadly 2017 shooting

“That’s kind of the one thing that I’ll never forget is hearing that knife open,” Goode tells Missourinet affiliate KTTN in Trenton. “As soon as he opens the knife, he runs forward at me and I had to drop my baton to get my firearm. He hits me in my left abdomen.”

The suspect stabbed the deputy between two of Goode’s ribs, left shoulder and chest.

“The vest stopped the one in the right chest,” Goode says. “At the same time, he’s attacking me and I was firing my weapon.”

Goode says he did not have to have any surgery. The suspect died at the scene.

Goode was able to go home that night and went back to “light” work after six weeks of recovery. He calls himself “blessed” and “thankful” to be alive.

Over the summer, crews with Investigation Discovery interviewed Goode, his wife, and three other officers on the scene of the incident.

“It does show what kind of goes on a little bit behind the scene with kind of the emotions and what we feel to show that we are human,” he says.

The program is available online at the Investigation Discovery website.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet