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Missouri River likely to enter minor flood stage this week

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Levels on the Missouri River could move into minor flood stage from Nebraska City to northwest Missouri’s St. Joseph this week. Chairman Tom Waters with the Missouri Levee and Drainage District Association says the area isn’t prepared for a high-than-normal runoff predicted.

The Missouri River spread out into St. Joseph in 2019/Photo by Brent Martin

“The big issue for us is soil moisture,” Waters tells Missourinet affiliate KFEQ in St. Joseph. “Normally, North and South Dakota, Montana through the summer and fall, it dries out and you go into winter dry, the soil moisture is dry and then it snows, you have your spring rains, but when the soil thaws it’s hungry and it soaks up a lot of that water. There’s not any of that water that is going to be soaked up this year. So, any snow, any rainfall we have we know today that that is going to run into the river and cause river levels to be higher.”

That makes members of the Missouri Levee and Drainage District Association nervous, according to Waters.

“Membership’s very anxious about what’s going on here,” Waters says. “We’ve seen people that had their 2018 crop in a bin that was flooded and lost, weren’t able to plant a 2019 crop and now going into 2020. If they don’t get this crop in, they may be out of business.”

Waters says the only good that could come out of the widespread damage from last year’s floods is that it could finally change attitudes about how best to manage the Missouri River.

Waters perceives a shift in attitudes after the 2019 floods which wasn’t the case after either the 1993 or the 2011 floods.

“Everybody realizes we have to do something different,” according to Waters. “We went through this in 2011. We went through it in 1993 and we didn’t do a lot different. I think we’re seeing some signs and hints it’s going to be different this time so that maybe five or ten years down the road we won’t have such a problem.”

Another wrinkle has been added. The US Army Corps of Engineers is on standby to help in whatever way it can in the battle against the coronavirus. At present, the Corps doesn’t believe that will hamper continuing efforts to rebuild the levees damaged by last year’s floods. Levees in the Omaha District of the Corps of Engineers have mostly been repaired. Several levees in the Kansas City District remain damaged, making vast areas of northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas vulnerable to flooding.

By Brent Martin of Missourinet affiliate KFEQ in St. Joseph

(VIDEO) Summary of today’s press briefing about coronavirus in Missouri

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Gov. Mike Parson announced today that more than 1,300 people have tested positive for the coronavirus and fourteen people have died. Some 15,600 people have been tested for the respiratory disease.

Gov. Mike Parson (Photos courtesy of Parson’s Flickr page)

Parson opened up the briefing by mentioning that state and federal officials are looking at several potential temporary hospital sites around the state to care for coronavirus patients if needed. Parson says they have three main questions in mind.

“Including located in areas with the possibility of deficient bed counts, areas large enough for patient population and areas where utilities are available to start immediate construction if necessary,” says Parson.

Potential sites include the Kemper Arena and Independence Event Center in Kansas City, Hearnes Center in Columbia, the Edward Jones Dome and America’s Center in St. Louis, the Show-Me Center in Cape Girardeau, Hammons Student Center and JQH Arena in Springfield and Missouri Southern State University’s Leggett and Platt Athletic Center in Joplin.

Missouri’s website to file unemployment claims apparently crashed after too many people were trying to submit claims. Parson says the problem has been fixed but the office continues to be flooded with calls and claims.

“There’s just thousands upon thousands of people trying to reach that office every day,” says Parson. “And we’re doing everything we can to process those claims and we’ll continue to do that. We’ve got people working around the clock over there and again, these are just things that’s never happened before and we’ve just got to work through them.”

For the week ending March 21, more than 42,000 unemployment claims were filed, up from nearly 4,000 filed the previous week.

State Auditor Nicole Galloway is calling on the governor to issue a statewide stay-at-home order to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. Galloway, a Democrat running for governor, says public health experts, organizations representing healthcare workers, business and faith leaders, local governments and others have urged Parson to issue the order. Parson responded to Galloway’s call.

Missouri Department of Natural Resources Director Carol Comer

“I would say the state auditor needs to worry about being the state auditor right now,” says Parson. “All of us elected officials right now need to have one thing in mind – it’s what do we do to help with the COVID-19 situation. This is not the time to play politics out of this issue and try to figure out who gets one up. There will be plenty of time for that down the road. Plenty of time, but today is not the time.”

To address overcrowding and social distancing problems over the weekend, state Department of Natural Resources Director Carol Comer says Missouri is temporarily closing four state parks and partially closing another one.

The state parks closing are Castlewood, Elephant Rocks, Watkins Woolen Mill State Historic Site and Park, and Weston Bend. St. Joe State Park will close the off-road vehicle riding area. The changes take effect at 5 p.m. on Thursday and are scheduled to continue until April 30.

Missouri Department of Corrections Director Anne Precythe

At the time of the press conference, Missouri Department of Corrections Director Anne Precythe says there are no positive cases within the prison system. She says a prisoner who previously tested positive for COVID-19 has since tested negative twice. He remains in the hospital for other health problems.

Two staff who do not work in a prison have tested positive. Eighteen inmates have been tested. Thirteen have tested negative. Four are pending and the other one is the case that is now negative.

The toilet paper craze has led the TP factory within the former Crossroads Correctional Center in northwest Missouri’s Cameron to boost its hours of operation. Precythe says the factory has ramped up production by 20%.

“Increasing hours of run time by adding an additional shift, has allowed us to manufacture approximately 3,500 cases of tissue each week,” says Precythe.

Each case contains 96 rolls of tissue. Government agencies and nonprofits can buy the TP through Missouri Vocational Enterprises.

The Jefferson City Correctional Center in mid Missouri is making 4,000 protective gowns.

“The Veterans Commission reached out to us with the need for protective gowns,” says Precythe. “Our clothing plant in Jefferson City created a prototype, which has been approved.”

Missouri’s seven veterans homes are in Cameron, Cape Girardeau, Mexico, Mount Vernon, St. James, St. Louis and Warrensburg.

Missouri Department of Public Safety Director Sandy Karsten

Keeping social distance during severe weather could be complicated. The tornado shelter director in southern Missouri’s Houston, Glenn McKinney, reached out to Missourinet this week, to say he hadn’t received any direction from the state about how to strike that balance. At today’s press briefing, state Public Safety Director Sandy Karsten says the number one priority is to take shelter.

“I know it has to be on the minds of many Missourians as we face severe weather forecasts and certainly watch what has happened in our neighboring states,” says Karsten. “In the situation of tornado safe rooms, we would ask that you also have a plan in which you consider the social distancing – the no more than 10 people and six feet apart. We understand that that may be difficult in certain situations.”

Missourians can take shelter and also protect themselves from coronavirus germs by covering their face, eyes and body.

Watch today’s press briefing below.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Parson mobilizes National Guard in Missouri’s fight against coronavirus

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Gov. Mike Parson has signed an executive order to begin having Missouri National Guard members aid in the state’s battle against COVID-19. In a press release, Parson says soldiers will help to provide more immediate resources to Missourians and enhance the state’s ability to overcome the global pandemic.

Parson mobilizes National Guard in Missouri’s fight against coronavirus

Parson made the decision after conferring with some state department leaders.

“The COVID-19 crisis is constantly developing and changing, but we are taking steps each and every day to slow the spread and protect public health and safety,” says Parson. “Mobilizing the National Guard will help us provide more immediate resources to our citizens and enhance Missouri’s ability to overcome this global pandemic.”

During a Capitol press conference, Parson says he has signed an executive order to call on guard members to help.

“But I want to be perfectly clear, this is not about putting Missouri under martial law,” says Parson. “This is a planning stage operation to provide more assistance to Missourians and increase our capacity to deploy resources quickly. “The Guard will play a major role in supporting state and local communities, including the potential support of COVID-19 testing and transporting equipment and supplies – just as we did during the floods last year.”

Adjutant General Levon Cumpton says the Guard is providing specialized health and safety training to all personnel being mobilized in addition to guidance already received from the federal government.

“The National Guard is ready and poised to assist local and state civilian authorities in response to COVID-19,” Brigadier General Levon Cumpton says. “The Guard has flexibility in utilizing resources and deploying them around the state where they are most appropriate.”

According to National Guard Col. Anna Friederich-Maggard, 75 full-time members have been mobilized at this time.

Here’s the executive order: https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/MOGOV/2020/03/26/file_attachments/1412149/EO%2020-06%20MONG.pdf

(AUDIO) Governor answers several burning questions about Missouri’s response to COVID-19

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Gov. Mike Parson visited with Missourinet today about the state’s response efforts to COVID-19. Here’s the full interview:

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Parson: fallen Springfield officer “is a hero we will never forget”

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(Updated with information from Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams, that the funeral service is private)

Missouri’s governor has ordered U.S. and Missouri flags to be flown at half-staff Saturday at all government buildings in southwest Missouri’s Greene County, in honor of a fallen Springfield police officer.

Springfield Police Officer Christopher Walsh, who served two tours in Iraq, was shot and killed in the line of duty in Springfield on March 15, 2020 (photo courtesy of Springfield Police Department website)

Officer Christopher Walsh was shot and killed in the line of duty late Sunday night, while responding to a Kum and Go convenience store, where three civilians had been shot and killed. Another civilian was critically wounded.

Governor Mike Parson says Officer Walsh was killed while trying to provide medical help to one of the shooting victims. The governor notes Officer Walsh served two deployments in Iraq, and served for 14 years in the U.S. Army Reserve.

Governor Parson describes Officer Walsh as “a hero we will never forget.”

“Officer Christopher Walsh leaves us with a legacy of brave, selfless service to Missouri and our nation that is an inspiration to us all. His commitment to public service included two deployments in support of Operation Iraqui Freedom during his 14 years in the U.S. Army Reserve and three years as an officer with the Springfield Police Department. On Sunday, he was tragically and senselessly killed after rushing to an active shooting scene and courageously attempting to provide life-saving care to a civilian shooting victim. Officer Walsh is a hero we will never forget,” Governor Parson said, in a written statement.

Springfield Police say the suspect, 31-year-old Joaquin Roman, also shot Springfield Officer Josiah Overton, who suffered non-life threatening injuries. Roman was found dead inside the store, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Officer Walsh’s funeral service is Saturday. Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams tells Missourinet that the funeral is private, for family and invited guests only.

Click here to read the governor’s proclamation.

A fund has been established, to assist Officer Walsh’s family.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

President triggers Defense Production Act for private companies to help make crucial supplies

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President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act today, giving him the power to force non-defense companies to produce items that are in support of national defense.

Joe Driskill, Missouri Military Advocate in the state Department of Economic Development says, “The president, by law, has the power to force companies under the criminal penalties to switch over to the production of items that are important in national emergencies.

The specific focus was on getting companies that produce products that could be changed over to a priority product, in this case, durable medical equipment like ventilators and disposable medical supplies like masks and gowns and protective equipment to do so and they are apparently lacking that and are in short supply.”

One problem is that some of the products we do need are produced in China, which is not exporting at this time because of its own COVID-19 needs.

Stay tuned as we talk to companies in Missouri who can ramp up production to meet the nation’s needs.

Remains identified of missing Missouri WWII soldier

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A southwest Missouri soldier, who was captured and killed as a prisoner of war during World War II, has been accounted for. The Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) has announced that that the remains have been identified of U.S. Army Sgt. John V. Phillips, 25, of Cassville.

U.S. Army Sgt. John V. Phillips

In 1941, Phillips was a member of Headquarters Company, 31st Infantry Regiment, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.

Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps. Phillips was among those reported captured after the surrender of Corregidor and held at the Cabanatuan POW camp. More than 2,500 POWs died in this camp during the war.

According to prison camp and other historical records, Phillips died July 27, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery, in Common Grave 225. Following the war, American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) personnel exhumed those buried at the Cabanatuan cemetery and relocated the remains to a temporary U.S. military mausoleum near Manila.

In late 1947, the AGRS examined the remains in an attempt to identify them. Due to the circumstances of the POW deaths and burials, the extensive commingling, and the limited identification technologies of the time, all of the remains could not be individually identified. The unidentified remains were interred as “unknowns” in the present-day Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.

In March 2018, remains associated with Common Grave 225 were disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.

To identify Phillips’ remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.

Phillips’ name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, an American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) site along with others missing from WWII. Although interred as an “unknown” in Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Phillips’ grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the ABMC. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Phillips will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. The date has yet to be determined.

By Ty Albright of Missourinet affiliate KZRG in Joplin

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Flags to fly at half-staff at all Missouri fire stations on Saturday to honor McCormick (AUDIO)

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Funeral services are scheduled for Saturday morning in Lee’s Summit for a firefighter/paramedic who died Sunday (January 5) while battling a house fire in western Missouri’s Peculiar.

State Rep. Mike Haffner, R-Pleasant Hill, addresses the Missouri House about the death of firefighter Charles McCormick during a January 8, 2020 floor speech. State Rep. Joe Runions, D-Grandview, is to Haffner’s right (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The service will begin Saturday at 11 a.m. at Abundant Life Church. Firefighters from across the state are expected to attend.

Governor Mike Parson has ordered U.S. and Missouri flags to be flown at half-staff at every fire station in Missouri on Saturday, in honor of Charles McCormick. The governor has also ordered flags to be flown at half-staff Saturday at the Fire Fighters Memorial of Missouri, which is located in mid-Missouri’s Kingdom City. Flags will also be at half-staff at all government buildings in Cass County.

“Firefighter-paramedic Charles McCormick lived his life as a devoted public servant committed to protecting others,” Governor Parson said in a written statement. “He made the ultimate sacrifice, and he will always be remembered for his legacy of bravely serving his community, state and nation so that others could be safe. Firefighter-Paramedic McCormick’s tragic passing serves as a reminder of the sacrifices made by members of Missouri’s fire service, who take on risks each day to protect their neighbors and people they may never meet.”

During Wednesday’s opening day of the 2020 legislative session in Jefferson City, the Missouri House honored the 30-year-old McCormick with a moment of silence.

State Rep. Mike Haffner, R-Pleasant Hill, asked Cass County’s House delegation from both parties to join him. State Rep. Joe Runions, D-Grandview, stood at Haffner’s right, with other delegation members nearby.

“We’re deeply saddened by this tragic loss,” Haffner said on the House floor. “Our first responders make great sacrifices to serve and protect.”

Representative Haffner praises Mr. McCormick’s military service and his courage. McCormick served in the Missouri National Guard’s 1135th Engineer Company from 2011 to 2014.

“We’re eternally grateful for his service and his sacrifice. On behalf of the people of the great state of Missouri, I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to his fellow firefighters, particularly to his family,” Haffner said on the floor.

Governor Parson says McCormick is survived by his wife and three young sons.

Click here to listen to the Missouri House floor comments from State Rep. Mike Haffner, which took place on January 8, 2020 in Jefferson City:

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Missouri Congressmen weigh in on Trump’s call to attack Iranian general

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Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer

Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer backs President Donald Trump’s decision to order last week’s airstrike killing Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. The East-Central Missouri Republican tells Missourinet affiliate KWIX in Moberly that the president’s call sends a strong message to Iran.

“It wasn’t necessarily a reprisal for Iran killing some folks earlier in the week and for the raid on our embassy,” says Luetkemeyer. “This is something that they have been looking at for quite some time. Soleimani has been responsible for lots of planning and various terror attacks over the years. The numbers are horrific that they equate to him or give to him for his actions.”

Luetkemeyer says Trump made the right judgement call.

U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Kansas City (September 2018 file photo courtesy of Congressman Cleaver’s office)

“Apparently he (Soleimani) was in the process of planning another series of attacks on some of our embassies and some of our places where some of our American folks meet,” says Luetkemeyer. “You had two choices – either allow him to do this or to take him out and stop this nonsense. Knowing that your information is and then looking at past history about at how this guy operates, knowing that he is going to be doing these things, let’s stop this and protect American lives and property.”

Fellow Missouri Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, a Kansas City Democrat, says he fears Trump’s decision is a grave miscalculation. He says Trump’s “monumental escalation” in tensions with Iran, without consulting congressional leadership and America’s allies abroad, could be disastrous.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Cierpiot files Missouri Korean War Memorial legislation

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Legislation that would designate a memorial in Kansas City as the state’s official Korean War Veterans Memorial has been filed by a western Missouri lawmaker.

The Missouri Korean War Veterans Memorial is located in Washington Square Park in Kansas City (file photo courtesy of Kansas City Parks Department website)

State Sen. Mike Cierpiot, R-Lee’s Summit, has filed the legislation, which designates the Missouri Korean War Veterans Memorial in Kansas City for that status.

The Korean War took place between 1950 and 1953.

The memorial, which was dedicated in 2011, is located at Pershing and Main in Kansas City, in Washington Square Park.

The Kansas City Parks Department notes about 37,000 American soldiers died during the Korean War, including more than 900 Missourians. More than 100 of them lived in the Kansas City region.

Cierpiot’s legislation is Senate Bill 656. Missouri’s 2020 legislative session begins on January 8 in Jefferson City.

Copyright © 2019 · Missourinet