Entertainment Archives

Schatz: The Stanley Cup is coming to the Missouri Capitol this month (AUDIO)

January 20, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The state Senate leader says the Stanley Cup will be coming to the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City by the end of January.

Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, visits with House members on May 17, 2019 in Jefferson City (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, made the announcement during a live interview on Missourinet, after the governor’s State of the State Address.

“We may not get the Blues (to the Capitol), obviously they’re in the middle of the season,” Schatz says. “But I do believe we’re going to see the Stanley Cup, will be sitting in this building towards the end of the month.”

Pro Tem Schatz predicts fans will want to head to the Statehouse, to see the Cup.

“I don’t know the exact day, but it’s coming,” says Schatz. “And I’m kind of hesitant to put it out there (on a live statewide radio interview) because you know what, a lot of people could show up that day if we told them exactly what day it’s going to be here.”

The Blues beat the Boston Bruins last year, to capture the Stanley Cup for the first time in their 52-year history.

Meantime, thousands of hockey fans from North America will be traveling to St. Louis for this weekend’s NHL All-Star Game at the Enterprise Center.

The game, which will be broadcast nationally on NBC, will be played Saturday night at 7 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

All-Star weekend will also feature a Fan Fair at Union Station, and a 5K run Saturday morning in downtown St. Louis.

There will also be an NHL learn-to-play skills jamboree this weekend at the Winterfest Rink in Kiener Plaza.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, which was live on Missourinet on January 15, 2020. The discussion about the Stanley Cup and the Blues is near the end of the interview:

Missouri voters could decide if they want riverboat gambling along Osage River

January 9, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Missouri voters could weigh in at the ballot box about whether to have a riverboat casino along the Osage River. State Representative Rocky Miller, R- Lake Ozark, is proposing a change to the Constitution that would allow people to place their bets along the Osage River. Current law allows riverboat gambling along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.

Rep. Rocky Miller (R-Lake Ozark)

Miller says he’s had this idea on his mind for quite some time.

“When the first riverboat gambling came out in the 90s, I thought ‘Well gosh, why isn’t the Osage River part of the Missouri and Mississippi riverboat gaming license?’ I have no idea why it wasn’t, but I thought we really should be,” he says.

Miller has his eye on the Lake of the Ozarks in mid Missouri.

“I’ve never thought that Lake of the Ozarks is really really a family-friendly destination. There are things that families can do and I love having them there,” he says. “There are great things you can do there – there’s water parks, there’s skee ball. But honestly, compared to Branson, we’ve always been an adult entertainment area.”

Miller says the Netflix show Ozark did not inspire his decision to file the bill, but he says the measure has been referred to as “The Ozark bill”. During the latest season of the hit show, a riverboat casino set sail along the Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri.

Miller tells Missourinet he does not want to expand gambling.

“I think that right now, we just need to right the wrong. I truly would like to see a casino in Lake of the Ozarks, but I think the problems that we have, if we open those flood gates up, we’d have every casino fighting and I think we would end up getting nothing done. This is just a pragmatic, sort of level-headed way of doing it. Let’s add the Osage River. In the future, if a license becomes available, then we’re there to make a pitch for it,” says Miller.

The State Gaming Commission has already licensed 13 casinos – the maximum allowed in Missouri. If passed by the Legislature and people, the measure would let a potential riverboat casino pursue a license along the Osage, if one becomes available.

Miller says he’s “doing battle” against initiative petitions he’s heard might come along to expand gambling.

“This is so that we could kind of head that off at the pass and actually have input,” he says. “Only some rich guy that does the initiative petition and gets the signatures has input into how that’s read. I don’t. You don’t,” he says. “Through the process that we’re going through with my bill, you’re going to have public hearings. You’re going to have input. There’s probably going to be some changes to it.”

As for the economic impact of gambling on the Lake of the Ozarks?

“Cape Girardeau had a benefit of $55 million additional taxes and 726 new jobs,” Miller says. “I don’t know what the magnitude greater Lake of the Ozarks would be but you’ve got to think it would be a much greater magnitude.”

Century Casino operates boats in Cape Girardeau and nearby Caruthersville.

The legislation is HJR 87.

Missouri House GOP and Democratic leaders focused on urban violence

January 9, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Addressing the increasing violence in St. Louis and Kansas City is a priority for Missouri House Republicans and Democrats during the 2020 session, which began Wednesday in Jefferson City.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Color Guard presents the flags to start the 2020 session in the Missouri House on January 8, 2020 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, tells Capitol reporters that the cities need support for witness protection.

“When you have a city like the size of St. Louis facing almost 200 homicides a year, both the police force is sort of overwhelmed and their investigatory unit is sort of overwhelmed,” Haahr says.

There were 194 murders in St. Louis in 2019, along with 148 homicides in Kansas City.

U.S. Attorney Tim Garrison has said that St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield are three of the top 15 most violent cities in the nation, on a per capita basis.

As for House Democrats, they are outnumbered this year in the Missouri House 114-48, with one vacancy. House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, is also focused on increased support for witness protection. But she also tried to draw a distinction between the two parties, during her opening day press conference.

“We will not accept that children dying from gun violence on a weekly basis is the price that we pay for freedom,” says Quade. “And we will demand that common sense be restored to Missouri law to make it harder for the bad guy with the gun to get the gun in the first place.”

At least 13 children were killed in St. Louis City shootings in 2019.

Quade says House Democrats want to punish crime, not poverty.

The Missouri Senate Interim Committee on Public Safety is expected to come up with recommendations to address gun violence, for the 2020 session. The committee is chaired by State Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff.

Speaker Haahr and Leader Quade held back-to-back press conferences at the Statehouse, on opening day.

Meantime, the Missouri House Special Interim Committee on Gaming released its report in December. The committee views the legalization of sports betting as a “legitimate opportunity to increase state revenues” for education and other programs.

18 states will have implemented sports wagering by this year.

Speaker Haahr tells Missourinet there’s a lot of discussion about sports wagering legislation at the Capitol.

“I don’t think any of that discussion particularly falls along party lines,” Haahr says. “I think it sort of cuts across both caucuses and so, we’ll consider those bills as they are filed.”

The House Special Interim Committee on Gaming’s report concluded that Missouri would likely lose revenue if it doesn’t remain competitive with other states.

Major League Baseball (MLB) representative Jeremy Kudon traveled to Jefferson City in November to testify before the gaming committee. He testifies that Missourians are expected to wager $5.5 billion annually on sports, if it’s legalized.

The House has adjourned for the week, and they’ll return to the Capitol on Monday. Next week’s schedule will be light, except for Governor Mike Parson’s State of the State Address on Wednesday.

Speaker Haahr says about 800 House bills have been filed, adding that about 100 will be referred to committee this week. He expects House floor debate to begin during the week of January 20.

Missouri Farm Bureau president wants legislative fix for controversial Rock Island Railroad corridor deal

January 6, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Ameren has initially agreed to transfer ownership of the Rock Island Railroad corridor to the state. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources must first fundraise $9.8 million for development, security and management costs for the 144-mile stretch from southern, central and eastern Missouri.

Supporters of the Rock Island Trail rally at the capitol steps – August 11, 2017

Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst tells Brownfield Ag News that many landowners have little to no input on how that land will be used, which raises concerns, including about biosecurity.

“Access to your farms, people driving by, riding their bikes, whatever. But, just coming through your farm and also just people have livestock facilities close to this line. Clearly we want to be conscience of the chance of disease being transmitted as people move along,” he says.

Hurst says the organization continues to fight against the use of state money to develop the corridor and says a legislative fix is being considered.

“I think that this one is one that will probably be fought out in the Legislature and in the budgeting process and we’ll continue to do what we can to stop the project there,” says Hurst.

He says state parks are already under funded.

“Our argument has been and will continue to be let’s fix what we’ve got before we open a new one,” says Hurst.

Eric Oberg, director of trail development for Rails-to-Trails Conservancy says corridors of this type are few and far between and he hopes it will become a world-class trail.

Julie Harker of Brownfield Ag News contributed to this story.

New Year’s highlights focus on Missouri areas with large number of impaired driving crashes (AUDIO)

December 31, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri state troopers will be visible on highways Tuesday and Wednesday for both New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day traffic enforcement.

A Missouri state trooper on-duty in 2019 (file photo courtesy of Missouri State Highway Patrol)

Missouri State Highway Patrol Lieutenant Collin Stosberg describes impaired driving as the most preventable crime there is.

“We have a zero tolerance so we’ll have troopers and our other law enforcement partners out there arresting those impaired drivers, to make sure that everyone gets to their destination safely,” Stosberg says.

This year’s 30-hour New Year’s holiday counting period begins tonight at 6 and runs through 11:59 p.m. on New Year’s Day. During last year’s 102-hour holiday counting period, 11 Missouri motorists were killed and another 447 suffered injuries in 1,301 traffic crashes.

“We’ll have troopers working all over, especially those areas that are known for a high number of impaired driving crashes and incidents,” says Stosberg.

This year’s counting period is 30-hours, because New Year’s Day is a Wednesday.

Lt. Stosberg encourages anyone who drinks alcohol to use a designated driver or to use a taxi or ride share service.

Troopers are also assisting motorists who run out of gas or need assistance for things like a flat tire. Anyone who faces a traffic emergency should call *55 on their cell phone.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Missouri State Highway Patrol Lieutenant Collin Stosberg, which was recorded on December 27, 2019:

Retired Missouri state trooper serves as Santa Claus for Operation T.O.Y.S. (AUDIO)

December 24, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

A retired Missouri State Highway Patrol captain says serving as Santa Claus again at the recent Operation T.O.Y.S. event in Jefferson City is a rewarding experience.

Longtime Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain Tim Hull served as Santa Claus at the December 15, 2018 Operation T.O.Y.S. event in Jefferson City. He was joined by his daughter, Paige Anderson (file photo from Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth)

Tim Hull, who spent 32 years with the Patrol before retiring, met individually with about 100 children during this month’s event, which took place at Walmart East.

“I like to volunteer to do stuff in the community and get involved, and this is one way to do that,” Hull says.

Operation T.O.Y.S., which stands for Taking Our Youth Shopping, is an opportunity for children who otherwise would not be able to celebrate the holidays.

Hull says it’s a good bonding experience for the children and the officers, adding that he loves doing it. It’s his sixth straight year serving as Santa.

“Also keep my ties with law enforcement that I’ve had for so many years, so it’s a good fit for everybody,” says Hull.

Hull has participated in the Jefferson City event in various roles since 1992.

The 100 children now have Christmas presents for themselves and their families, thanks to Operation T.O.Y.S. Hull tells Missourinet that the kids bought for their families, before themselves.

“I saw one little girl in there with a hammer in her cart, so you know that’s got to be for mom or dad or grandma or grandpa or somebody in the family,” Hull says.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Sergeant Scott White tells Missourinet some of the children bought shoes and coats for their siblings.

Law enforcement officers from mid-Missouri raised money throughout the year to help purchase Christmas presents at the event. Fundraising done by officers and civic groups allowed each child to purchase $150 in gifts for family members and themselves. Groups include the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #19, the Elks Lodge, Lions Clubs and Kiwanis.

Nine law enforcement agencies participated in the event. They were Jefferson City Police, Cole County Sheriff’s deputies, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Missouri Capitol Police, Lincoln University Police, Holts Summit Police and corrections officers and personnel from three Missouri Department of Corrections facilities: the Algoa, Jefferson City and Tipton Correctional Centers.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and retired Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain Tim Hull, which was recorded on December 14, 2019 in Jefferson City:

Missouri state troopers will be visible on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (AUDIO)

December 23, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

You’ll notice additional Missouri state troopers on the road Tuesday and Wednesday, for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day traffic enforcement.

A Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper speaks to a motorist in 2019 (file photo courtesy of Missouri State Highway Patrol Public Information Division)

Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain John Hotz says this year’s 30-hour counting period begins Tuesday evening at 6 and runs through 11:59 on Christmas night.

“We’re encouraging people to make sure that they allot themselves a little bit of extra time, be aware of that extra traffic, be courteous when they’re driving,” Hotz says.

State troopers say 11 Missouri motorists were killed and another 421 suffered injuries during the 2018 Christmas holiday counting period, which was 108-hours. Hotz says there were more than 1,100 traffic crashes during the 2018 holiday.

“We know this time of year a lot of people are celebrating a lot of different things,” says Hotz. “A lot of family gatherings, office parties, those types of things.”

Captain Hotz is also urging you to use a designated driver if you drink during the Christmas period. He tells Missourinet that troopers are participating in the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign during the Christmas holiday counting period. The campaign focuses on removing drunk drivers from the road.

“The Patrol is out there looking for those violators to get them off the road before they can be involved in a traffic crash and injure or kill someone,” Hotz says.

Troopers arrested 106 Missouri motorists for driving while impaired, during the 2018 Christmas holiday period.

Hotz also emphasizes that troopers are on the road to assist motorists who run out of gasoline or need other assistance for things like a flat tire. He encourages anyone who needs assistance or who faces a traffic emergency to call *55 on their cell phone. You can also dial 1-800-525-5555.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain John Hotz, which was recorded on December 23, 2019:

Miss Missouri gets 2nd runner up in Miss America pageant

December 19, 2019 By Alisa Nelson

Miss Missouri Simone Esthers

Miss Missouri made it to the final three in tonight’s Miss America pageant. During the competition in Connecticut, Miss Missouri Simone Esthers discussed the importance of youth mentoring.

“There are 25 million children in the United States right now who are in need of a mentor and do not have one,” she said. “That’s one in three and I was that one child who needed that mentor. I was just another black girl growing up in a single parent home raised by her grandparents. Our at risk children deserve nothing more than knowing they have someone in their corner. They need to know they have a mentor.”

Esthers, a University of Missouri journalism student, also showed off her baton twirling skills.

Miss Virginia took home the crown and Miss Georgia was the first runner up.

Christmas movie filmed in St. Joseph is airing on Showtime

December 19, 2019 By Alisa Nelson

A romantic comedy filmed at a bed-and-breakfast in northwest Missouri’s St. Joseph is airing on Showtime. “Christmas at the Chateau” is about three sisters running a failing bed-and-breakfast and they are rushing to save the business by Christmas. Director Jason Hudson tells KMBC-TV in Kansas City filming in St. Joe was be perfect.

Christmas movie filmed in St. Joseph is airing on Showtime

“I moved to St. Joseph a few years ago – fell in love with the town,” he says. “It’s beautiful. There’s a lot of history. The people around here are great. Ever since I came I thought, ‘We gotta make a movie in St. Joseph.’”

Not only is the movie filmed at The Shakespeare Chateau Inn in St. Joseph, the lead role is a local woman, Kinsey Redmond. She had no idea the filming was going to be in her hometown.

“That was hilarious because I was born here and have lots of family who still live here,” Redmond says. “I grew up here. I know this area,” she says.

The actual owner of the B&B, Isobel McGowen, says she even had a role in the movie.

“I got to play a role near and dear to my heart – that of a difficult guest who is at the bed-and-breakfast and is just really giving the innkeeper fits,” McGowen tells KMBC.

Watch for her dog Andy to make an appearance.

Hudson, an independent filmmaker, thinks “Christmas at the Chateau” is the perfect Christmas movie.

“You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll feel good at the end,” he says. “And those are the ingredients that make a really good Christmas movie.”

Most of the cast and crew are also local.

Holiday Express Train chugging through Missouri

December 13, 2019 By Missourinet Contributor

Kansas City Southern’s Holiday Express Train is rolling through parts of Missouri over the next week.

Photo courtesy of City of Joplin

For the 19th year, the festive six car train is bringing Santa and his elves to the Show-Me state. Guests can check out three of the cars that will be filled with holiday decorations.

The train will make a stop at the Union Depot in southwest Missouri’s Joplin from 4:30 to 8 p.m. Sunday. It will be in west-central Missouri’s Higginsville on Tuesday and make its final stop at Union Station in Kansas City on Wednesday.

The events are free and open to the public.

Since 2001, the project has raised more than $2 million for the Salvation Army.

By Ty Albright of Missourinet affiliate KZRG in Joplin