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Missouri town bans indoor vaping in public places

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The St. Joseph City Council in northwest Missouri has unanimously approved a ban on vaping in public places. The ordinance follows the city ban on smoking cigarettes indoors.

Missouri town bans indoor vaping in public places

St. Joseph Health Director Debra Bradley acknowledges that electronic cigarettes have helped some people to quit smoking but says concerns have grown recently about the draw vaping has for young people.

Bradley told Missourinet affiliate KFEQ in St. Joseph that since e-cigarettes have only been around for a little more than a decade, there are no long-term studies yet on the impacts of vaping or secondhand effects. But Bradley says the city wants to be extra cautious rather than not cautious enough.

As of October 15, 23 vaping-related illnesses and one vaping related death have been reported in Missouri. About 70% of Missouri’s cases involve the use of THC and illegal vaping cartridges.

Brent Martin of Missourinet affiliate KFEQ in St. Joseph contributed to this story

Feds give Missouri $2 million to bolster school security measures

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The U.S. Department of Justice has awarded more than $85 million in grants nationwide, including in Missouri, to help schools improve security methods. The Show-Me State’s slice is $1 million to six Missouri schools to prepare students, teachers, and first responders in cases of school threats. The Missouri Department of Public Safety is also getting nearly $1 million to create or boost state school safety centers.

Feds give Missouri $2 million to bolster school security measures

Recipients of grant awards are:

• Raytown Consolidated School District 2: $250,000 (anonymous reporting technology)
• Warsaw R-IX School District: $142,068 (school violence prevention)
• City of Breckenridge: $120,593 (school violence prevention)
• Stoutland R-II School District: $84,055 (school violence prevention)
• South Pemiscot R-V Schools: $96,663 (school violence prevention)
• Lawson R-XIV School District: $315,572 (school violence prevention)

“Our kids’ schools should be safe environments where they can focus on learning, free from threats of violence,” said Tim Garrison, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri. “These STOP School Violence grants help provide the resources our schools need to protect students, including partnering with local law enforcement.”

The grants can be used for things like training, technology, metal detectors, among other things.

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National Weather Service: two tornadoes hit southwest Missouri county (AUDIO)

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The National Weather Service (NWS) in Springfield confirms two tornadoes touched down overnight in southwest Missouri’s Christian County, which is south of Springfield. No serious injuries are reported.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Springfield issued a tornado warning for Springfield, Nixa and Strafford on October 21, 2019 (map courtesy of NWS Springfield Twitter)

NWS Springfield meteorologist Doug Kramer tells Missourinet the tornadoes struck in rural areas of Christian County. NWS survey teams remain in the field this afternoon, viewing storm damage.

Kramer says it’s too early to tell if Springfield storm damage was caused by tornadoes or straight line winds.

Springfield City Utilities reports 1,575 customers remain without power this afternoon, and the utility is bringing in additional contract crews to assist in power restoration efforts.

Our Springfield television partner KOLR-10 reports massive tree damage in Springfield, including trees on top of houses.

The NWS issued multiple tornado warnings overnight, including warnings for Springfield, Fort Leonard Wood and Willow Springs. Kramer says there were no deaths of serious injuries in the storms.

“You go from like Lawrence and Barry County all the way into south central Missouri and the eastern Ozarks, there’s quite a bit of damage that occurred with that line of storms last night,” Kramer says.

Kramer notes most of the storm damage in southern Missouri is south of Interstate 44.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with NWS Springfield meteorologist Doug Kramer, which was recorded earlier today on October 21, 2019:

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Lone grocery store in southern Missouri town, struck by May tornado, reopens

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A small southern Missouri town whose only grocery store was struck by a May tornado has good news.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Springfield issued a tornado warning for Hartville on May 21, 2019. They issued seven other tornado warnings that day as well (file May 21, 2019 map courtesy of NWS Springfield Twitter}

Hartville’s Town and Country Supermarket re-opened on Thursday, almost five months after taking a direct hit from the May 21 tornado. The storm caused the grocery store’s ceiling to cave in and windows to blow out.

Hartville is about an hour east of Springfield. The National Weather Service (NWS) in Springfield issued eight tornado warnings that day.

State Rep. Hannah Kelly, R-Mountain Grove, whose district covers Wright and Webster counties, says the grocery store’s re-opening is crucial to her constituents in Hartville, especially elderly residents and those without transportation. Kelly tells Missourinet residents have had to drive 45 minutes to Lebanon or 40 minutes to Mountain Grove to get to another grocery store.

Hartville has about 600 residents. There were no fatalities nor serious injuries in the May tornado.

Kelly has credited the Town and Country Supermarket’s manager for saving lives during the tornado, by huddling everyone inside the freezer. Manager Josh Dugger told Missourinet Springfield television partner KOLR-10 in May that 25 employees and customers went inside the produce cooler to wait out the storm. He said the storm “popped all our ears.”

The May 21st tornado also caused damage outside the Wright County Courthouse, where people huddled inside the basement during the storm.

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State program aims to help Missourians with disabilities save without fear of losing federal benefits

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The state manages about 1,100 accounts for Missourians with disabilities and their families to save money and invest, tax-free. The MO ABLE program is one of the largest of its kind in the country. State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick’s office oversees the program, which allow users to save without fear of losing their federal needs-based benefits like Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income.

Missouri Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick (Photos courtesy of the Treasurer’s Office)

Fitzpatrick tells Missourinet MO ABLE works like a college savings account or a 401K. He says says Missourians with disabilities can be very valuable in the workplace.

“ABLE is kind of a financial tool that allows some people that may not work because of fear of having assets and those assets causing them to lose access to benefits like Medicaid and SSI. ABLE is a program that lets people establish an account to save for the future and the money that goes into that account is not part of the asset test that is done to determine whether or not somebody is eligible for those federal benefits,” says Fitzpatrick.

He says the government-sanctioned accounts can be used for saving but it also can be used like a checking account. A loadable debit card can be attached to the account. Qualified expenses must improve the quality of life, independence or help to provide care for the individual with a disability.

“I mean it can be used on housing. It can be used on transportation. It can be used on education. It can be used on personal care assistance,” says Fitzpatrick. “It can be used on just a huge variety of things. The things we use as an example of like what is not a qualified expense would be like going to the casino and gambling with it or going to the liquor store and buying alcohol.”

The program gives account holders a tax deduction when money is deposited – up to $15,000.

“Those contributions, for whoever contributed to them, would reduce their Missouri taxable income up to that 15,000 dollars that they put into that account,” he says. “So, it would reduce their tax bill basically by their marginal rate times the contribution.”

Fitzpatrick, who previously served as the Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman, is also encouraging Missouri businesses to add payroll deductions for MO ABLE accounts to company benefits packages.

To learn more about MO ABLE, click here.

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St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbia and Springfield mayors to discuss crime with Governor Parson

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The mayors of four large Missouri cities will be in southwest Missouri’s Springfield on Friday morning to have a closed-door meeting with Governor Mike Parson about crime and violence in their communities.

State Rep. Richard Brown, D-Kansas City, briefs Capitol reporters in Jefferson City on September 10, 2019. House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, is at right (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Governor Parson (R) will meet with Springfield Mayor Ken McClure, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson and Columbia Mayor Brian Treece. They’ll meet Friday morning from 10:30 until 11:15, and then they’re expected to come out of the meeting and address reporters.

U.S. Attorney Tim Garrison has told Missourinet that Missouri has three of the top 15 most violent cities in the nation, on a per capita basis. Those three cities are St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield. Garrison told that to then White House Chief of Staff General John Kelly last July, and Garrison says Kelly was “floored.”

Governor Parson told Capitol reporters in September that the violent crime issue will take a coordinated effort among federal, state and community leaders.

“This will never be fixed by one agency. It won’t. It’s going to take a lot of people a long time to try to fix this problem,” Parson said that day.

Kansas City Police say there have been 118 homicides in 2019, and five of them were children.

During last month’s special session, State Rep. Richard Brown, D-Kansas City, told Capitol reporters that the time for action is now, adding that God wants state lawmakers to take action instead of praying.

“In Kansas City in the month of August, we had a double homicide in the Power and Light district. A patron was shot and killed in the 18th and Vine Jazz District,” Brown said in September. He’s the ranking Democrat on the Missouri House Special Committee on Tourism, and says violent crime is hurting business in Kansas City.

During the special session, State Sen. Jamiliah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, noted at least 13 children have been killed in St. Louis city shootings in 2019. Senator Nasheed has called on the Senate to hold a hearing in St. Louis, where the parents of murdered children can testify. Nasheed has described the gun violence in her hometown as an epidemic.

In mid-Missouri’s Columbia, there were five murders during the month of September.

Missourinet Springfield affiliate KSGF will be outside of Friday morning’s meeting, and will talk to participants as they come out.

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Missouri’s flu season could be a rough one this year

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This flu season could be tough, according to Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Director Dr. Randall Williams. He tells Missourinet he’s highly encouraging citizens to get a flu shot by the end of this month. Some people, such as older people, young children, and people with certain health conditions, are at high risk for serious flu complications.

Dr. Randall Williams (Photo courtesy of Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services)

“While the CDC (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention) asks us not to predict what we think the flu season is going to be because it can be so variable, we have concerns that this is going to be a tough flu season. My sense is, again knowing that we never can predict accurately, but that we think it’s going to be an early flu season and it will be more like two years ago than last year,” says Williams.

According to state data, Missouri had nearly 134,000 flu cases two years ago. The state recorded 279 influenza-associated deaths. Last year, Missouri had nearly 77,000 flu cases with 92 flu-related deaths.

He does not know if the type A strain will necessarily be the case this time around, like it was two years ago.

“There’s just one that finds a niche and you can never really predict that because it might be the same strain but for that particular reason for whatever year it just becomes more infectious,” he says.

Williams says the level of flu cases is somewhat dependent on the strain and the unique situations of that year.

“For instance, if the weather is warm and more people are outside, then that would tend to decrease the amount of people coming into contact with each other,” Williams says. “But if we have a very cold winter and people are very much coming together, then that’s going to potentiate any type of infectious epidemic.”

Safeguards health officials recommend include:
• Avoid close contact with sick people.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after touching shared objects or surfaces such as door knobs, light switches, remote controls, shopping counters, debit card readers, etc. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
• Clean and disinfect commonly touched surfaces.
• Stay home while you’re sick and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

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Missouri’s governor to discuss vaping illnesses at Tuesday press conference

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We will learn new details Tuesday morning in Jefferson City about Missouri’s vaping issues with young people.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson signs legislation on July 10, 2019 in Jefferson City (file photo courtesy of Governor Parson’s office)

Governor Mike Parson has called a Statehouse press conference for Tuesday morning at 8:30, where he will be joined by Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) Director Dr. Randall Williams, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Commissioner Dr. Margie Vandeven and Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control State Supervisor Dottie Taylor.

Governor Parson says there have been 22 reports of vaping-related illnesses in Missouri since October 4, including one death. The majority of the illnesses involve people ages 15-24.

The DHSS announced on September 19 that a man in his 40’s died that week at Mercy Hospital St. Louis, due to an illness associated with the use of e-cigarettes. DHSS investigated and concluded that it was a vaping-related lung injury after lung samples were taken of the man, who started vaping in May.

DHSS and Mercy St. Louis say the man had no prior illness, and began vaping because of chronic pain issues. Mercy says the man’s lungs were unable to provide enough gas exchange, leading to heart failure and cardiac arrest.

There’s no word on whether the man was vaping a nicotine e-cigarette or an illegal THC cartridge.

“We are sad to report that this illness associated with vaping has now resulted in a death in Missouri and extend our condolences to his family,” DHSS Director Williams said in a September news release. “As previously stated, we encourage Missourians to follow the CDC guidance to refrain from using e-cigarette products if you are concerned about these specific health risks, especially while the investigation is ongoing.”

DHSS says the illness doesn’t spread from person to person. Symptoms include fatigue, fever, shortness of breath, nausea and vomiting. The department encourages anyone who’s concerned about their health after using e-cigarettes to call the local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222.

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Fatality rate on rural American roads is double that of urban roads, Chao tells St. Louis audience

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

ST. LOUIS- The U.S. Transportation Secretary traveled to St. Louis on Tuesday to unveil a new initiative aimed at addressing disparities in transportation infrastructure in rural America.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao speaks to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation officials in St. Louis on October 8, 2019 (Jill Enders photo)

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao delivered the keynote address at the annual American Association of State Highway and Transportation officials meeting, which is taking place at the Marriott St. Louis Grand Hotel. She emphasizes that the fatality rate on rural America roads is twice that of urban roads.

Chao has announced a new program called the Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success initiative, which is known as R.O.U.T.E.S.

“Rural America, which has a disproportionately high rate of fatalities and is historically neglected, needs to have its transportation needs addressed,” Chao tells the audience.

“We will bring together leaders and staff in key infrastructure modes – highways, aviation, transit and railroads, to examine grant programs’ potential to better support the nation’s critical rural transportation infrastructure,” Chao adds.

The main focus of her address was the high rate of traffic fatalities in rural America. Secretary Chao cites numerous transportation safety statistics.

“Rural communities and their transportation networks are vital to our nation. 69 percent of the nation’s lane miles are in rural areas. Two-thirds of rail freight originates in rural areas. But rural transportation infrastructure is challenged by disparities. The disproportionate rate of crash fatalities in rural areas is especially alarming. 19 percent of Americans live in rural areas. Yet, 72 percent of large truck occupant fatalities, 67 percent of pickup occupant fatalities and 58 percent of SUV occupant fatalities occur in rural areas. The fatality rate on rural roads is twice that on urban roads,” Secretary Chao tells the audience.

She’s also announced the formation of a rural transportation infrastructure council to lead this initiative. It will be called the ROUTES Council.

This new internal deliberative body at the Department will identify critical rural transportation concerns and will coordinate efforts among DOT’s different modal administrations. The Council will also create a rural resources handbook and will hold its first meeting in November.

Elaine Chao served as the U.S. Labor Secretary from 2001-2009 under President George W. Bush, and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s website notes she is the first Asian-American woman to be appointed to the President’s cabinet in American history.

The U.S. Transportation Department was established by Congress in October 1966.

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Missouri lawmakers to tackle Medicaid expansion issue on Tuesday

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A Missouri House subcommittee will hear testimony on the issue of Medicaid expansion Tuesday at the Statehouse in Jefferson City.

State Rep. Steve Helms, R-Springfield

The House Subcommittee on Health Care Reform will hold Tuesday’s hearing at 12:30.

Subcommittee chairman Steve Helms, R-Springfield, tells Missourinet his committee aim is to improve access to health care and make it more affordable for Missourians. Helms says the subcommittee is looking at ways to reduce costs for individuals.

Helms also tells Missourinet the subcommittee will issue a report to the full committee.

Medicaid expansion has primarily been a party-line issue in the Legislature, and Republicans currently control the House 113-43.

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, opposes Medicaid expansion, saying it would take dollars out of the classroom. He notes it would require a ten percent match for the 90 percent draw down.

Speaker Haahr says Medicaid expansion “would blow a sizable hole in our general revenue budget,” because of the match.

Missouri House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, briefs Capitol reporters on September 11, 2019, along with Assistant Minority Leader Tommie Pierson, D-St. Louis, and Minority Whip Keri Ingle, D-Lee’s Summit (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, shares Speaker Haahr’s position, because of the impact on the state budget.

House Democratic Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, supports Medicaid expansion, saying 100,000 children have lost their Medicaid health care coverage. She says it’s an emergency.

Statistics provided by the state Department of Social Services (DSS) show the number of Missourians on Medicaid has decreased from 953,000 in August 2018 to 850,000 now.

State Rep. Deb Lavender, D-Kirkwood, predicts state revenue will increase, if Medicaid expansion happens. Lavender is the ranking Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Appropriations for Health, Mental Health and Social Services.

Lavender notes eight rural Missouri hospitals have closed in recent years.

Missouri’s Medicaid budget is now about one-third of the state’s approximately $29 billion operating budget.

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