Military

Hawley says Trump’s progress on North Korea talks is ‘monumental’

June 15, 2018 By Alisa Nelson

U.S. President Donald Trump motions to the crowds as he exits Air Force One upon his arrival at St. Louis-Lambert International Airport in St. Louis on March 14, 2018. Trump is in St. Louis for a roundtable meeting with Boeing officials and to attend a fund raising dinner for U.S. Senate hopeful, Missouri Attorney General, Josh Hawley. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley supports President Donald Trump’s attempts to get North Korea to end its nuclear weapons program. As part of his “100-stop Working Tour” Thursday in St. Charles, Hawley says Trump’s progress on the issue is monumental.

“We’ve seen new news that they are going to engage in demolition of a site,” Hawley says. “I think it is tangible sort of proof that this was great. There is a lot of work left to do, as Secretary Pompeo said. But, I don’t know how you can be anything other than thrilled.”

Critics say an agreement between Trump, a Republican, and North Korea’s dictator includes intentions to denuclearize with no clear details about how to make it happen.

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, D, is not sold on Trump’s work with North Korea.

“I am not optimistic that a guy (Kim Jong Un) who’s willing to kill his family to stay in power is going to give up nuclear weapons,” she says.

Hawley is the presumptive Republican front-runner for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by McCaskill.

Todd Sauter contributed to this story.

B-17 bomber flights will be offered this weekend in Chesterfield

May 31, 2018 By Missourinet Contributor

(This story is written by Missourinet St. Louis contributor Todd Sauter)

The B-17 Flying Fortress at Chesterfield’s Spirit of St. Louis Airport (May 28, 2018 photo courtesy of Missourinet St. Louis contributor Todd Sauter)

The Liberty Foundation has organized a “Salute to Veterans” tour near St. Louis, which gives you the chance to fly this weekend in a B-17 bomber that’s never been available to the public for flight experiences.

The B-17 Flying Fortress is regarded as the most famous bomber of World War II, and the “Madras Maiden” is one of just 12 still flying, with flight and tour opportunities available.

“For those that cannot afford to spend $450 to ride on a B-17, we open the airplane at the end of the day when the rides are complete to the public, free of charge, and they can tour the airplane. Families can come out and they can go through the airplane front to back,” volunteer Captain Bob Hill tells Missourinet.

The airplane is an educational outreach tool, and flights are available this Saturday and Sunday (June 2-3), with proceeds going to keep the plane flying.

A flight costs $450 this weekend at Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield, which is near the Missouri River. Each flight experience lasts about 45 minutes.

This B-17, which was built in 1944, has nine available seats on each flight.

The B-17 Flying Fortress, from a different angle at Chesterfield’s Spirit of St. Louis Airport (photo courtesy of Missourinet St. Louis contributor Todd Sauter)

The airport’s website notes Spirit has a 7,485 foot all-weather runway, along with a 5,000 foot parallel runway.

You can find more information about this weekend’s flights by visiting www.libertyfoundation.org or by calling (918) 340-0243.

McCaskill survey: Missouri VA hospitals continue to improve for America’s war heroes

May 29, 2018 By Alisa Nelson

About 1,200 Missouri veterans report steady progress in the quality of care they have received at the state’s Veterans Administration hospitals. During a stop in St. Louis, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, says it pleases her to hear about the improvements described in her annual survey results of the state’s five VA medical centers.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri

“There’s a different culture today than there was when I began this work back in 2010,” she says. “The people are friendly. People are outgoing. You can tell that they are serving with the kind of attitude that is respectful to veterans.”

McCaskill began offering the surveys after reports surfaced of medical care problems at the John Cochran VA Medical Center in St. Louis. For several years, the facility has battled to keep someone at the top in a long-term capacity.

Another improved point in the survey shows an estimated 64% of Missouri veterans report they would recommend to other veterans going to a state VA hospital they’ve received care from.

“Veterans first love their country and their family and then they love veterans. They want their fellow veterans to get the very best,” McCaskill says. “We always look at one of the most important indicators of whether or not we are doing well with veterans healthcare is will a veteran recommend it to another veteran.”

Missouri has hundreds of thousands of veterans. The five VA hospitals included in the survey include ones in St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbia, southeast Missouri’s Poplar Bluff and Fayetteville, AR.

McCaskill says she is seeing a “real issue” with complaints about the Veterans Choice program. The recently-created plan was established to serve veterans who live further away from a VA hospital or cannot see a specialty doctor within a reasonable amount of time. It reimburses patients for instead using private healthcare services. McCaskill wants future surveys to include feedback from veterans who use this program.

McCaskill goes on to say she does not want to give up on the Veterans Administration system and will fight to improve the current structure. She says she opposes President Donald Trump’s efforts to privatize the entire organization.

“Blowing up the veterans system to throw every veteran out into the waters of the healthcare delivery system that is so dysfunctional right now is not the way to go,” she says. “I think it’s fine to make it a choice, especially since they are having to wait for appointments. Most veterans in this state want their own system, they appreciate their own system and they support their own system.”

To see the survey results, click below.

Missouri Veterans Commission plans numerous Memorial Day ceremonies (AUDIO)

May 28, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri Veterans Commission is encouraging you to attend a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, at a veterans cemetery or veterans home.

The Missouri State Veterans home at St. James (2015 file photo courtesy of the Missouri Veterans Commission)

Veterans Commission spokesman Daniel Bell tells Missourinet the commission cares for our veterans in perpetuity.

“And this is a way for us to honor and remember and pay homage to their sacrifice, their courage and the selflessness that embodies military service,” Bell says.

Today’s service at the Jacksonville Veterans Cemetery near Moberly starts at 9 a.m.

The ceremonies at the Bloomfield, Higginsville and Fort Leonard Wood Veterans Cemeteries begin at 1, and the ceremony at the Springfield Veterans Cemetery starts at 1:30.

Bloomfield is located in southeast Missouri, and Higginville is in western Missouri.

Memorial Day ceremonies will also take place at three of Missouri’s veterans homes on Monday.

“It’s a way to preserve their memories, but also we try to get the next generation involved to remember their legacy,” says Bell. “It’s an ongoing thing to keep it going generational to remember what these men and women have done for our country.”

Monday morning’s ceremony at the Mexico Veterans Home in mid-Missouri begins at 9.

The St. Louis Veterans Home in Bellefontaine Neighbors has scheduled a 10 a.m. ceremony, and the Warrensburg Veterans Home’s ceremony is at 3 p.m.

The Missouri Veterans Commission operates seven veterans homes, with more than 1,300 beds, according to its website.

The commission is also encouraging residents to observe the national “moment of remembrance”, on this Memorial Day.

Bell says participation is voluntary and informal.

“Please take time to do what’s called the moment of remembrance, which is at 3 p.m. wherever location you’re at or whatever time zone, just take a moment of silence to remember those who served our country,” Bell says.

Bell says the moment of remembrance honors those who sacrificed for our freedom. Congress approved the National Moment of Remembrance Act in 2000.

Bell also praises volunteers from the American Legion, VFW, the Boy Scouts and other organizations, for placing American flags at the state veterans cemeteries.

The Memorial Day guest speakers at the state cemeteries are:

** Bloomfield: Col. Jack Jackson

** Ford Leonard Wood: Major Kent Savre, the Commanding General there

** Higginsville: Charles “Chuck” Lear, a U.S. Marine, Vietnam veteran and champion para-athlete archer

** Jacksonville: Macon County Associate Judge Phil Prewitt

** Springfield: Col. Dean Thompson, the associate general manager for Springfield City Utilities

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Missouri Veterans Commission spokesman Daniel Bell, which was recorded on May 25, 2018:

Mid-Missouri military air show prepares for takeoff

May 26, 2018 By Alisa Nelson

Photos courtesy of Salute to Veterans Corp.

The Salute to Veterans Airshow at the Columbia Regional Airport in central Missouri has existed for the past 30 years for one reason. Salute to Veterans Corporation spokesperson Jessica Houston tells Missourinet having the event during the Memorial Day weekend is fitting.

“Our mission is to honor, remember and salute our veterans,” she says. “Giving us as civilians a chance to say thank you for what they did for us and what they went through and to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice and died in the wars. This is a time set aside to say thank you and remember them for their service and maybe in ways they had never experienced before. I think that pulls on the heart strings of a lot of people who attend.”

Houston says many who have worn the uniform to fight for America will be there, along with thousands of others.

“It is the largest free airshow put on, on a non-military air base,” Houston says.

Photos courtesy of Salute to Veterans Corp.

Planes from a variety of eras, including WWI and WWII and the Vietnam War will blaze through the sky. Parachute and skydiving teams will also be leaping around.

“These guys are working on it all year round,” she says. “These guys have been doing it for years and you can see that based on the quality of performance.”

The free show will be from 9 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday rain or shine.

Parking is expected to be challenging. A roundtrip parking shuttle is available for $5 from the Jefferson City Airport and at the Trowbridge parking lot near the Mizzou campus. It will run continuously during this weekend’s show.

The Salute to Veterans Parade will be on Memorial Day, starting at 10 a.m. in downtown Columbia.

McCaskill backs Trump’s move to pull the plug on North Korea meeting

May 25, 2018 By Alisa Nelson

Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri)

A meeting next month in Singapore between U.S. and North Korea officials will not happen after all. President Donald Trump, R, has backed out of the summit following North Korea leader Kim Jong Un referring to Vice President Pence as a “political dummy”.

The meeting was meant to discuss North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and U.S.-led sanctions against the Asian nation. U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, calls Trump’s move “prudent.”

“When you try to force feed a diplomatic solution with a leader that is willing to starve his people and kill his relatives to hold onto power, it generally will have a bad ending,” says McCaskill. “I think slowing down the process, there’s a reason why these kinds of meetings have not occurred before. If we could start fresh with an eye toward what can we be doing to enhance our relationships with our allies around the world and focus on that, then I think our national security would be best protected.”

In a letter to the Asian dictator, Trump indicates he’s willing to consider a future meeting if the hostility chills.

Northwest Missouri man charged in deadly road rage episode

May 11, 2018 By Missourinet Contributor

Cody M. Harter is a member of the USAF Reserves and had been deployed overseas.-photo courtesy Lee’s Summit police

A 58-year-old northwest Missouri man has been charged in connection to the fatal stabbing of Cody Harter of St. Joseph. Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker says Nicholas Webb of Pleasant Hill faces 2nd degree murder and armed criminal action charges.

As previously reported by Missourinet affiliate KFEQ in St. Joseph, Lee’s Summit Police say emergency crews were dispatched to a report of a man stumbling into highway traffic on Saturday evening. They found Harter with a large wound and his vehicle was still at the scene. Witnesses and surveillance video of the victim’s and the suspect’s vehicles led police to the suspect.

On Wednesday, Lee’s Summit police took Webb into custody. Prosecutors have requested a $500,000 bond.

Funeral services for Harter, a member of the Air Force, will be held this morning in St. Joseph.

Story courtesy of Missourinet affiliate KFEQ in St. Joseph

Remains identified of southwest Missouri sailor killed in Pearl Harbor attack

May 9, 2018 By Alisa Nelson

Clifford Goodwin of southwest Missouri’s Diamond was on the USS Oklahoma when it was attacked on December 7, 1941. The 24-year-old Missouri sailor was one of more than 2,400 killed in action during Japan’s surprise attack on the U.S. naval base of Pearl Harbor. The strike, which also included 1,100 injured soldiers, marked America’s entry into World War II.

Seaman First Class (S1c) Clifford George Goodwin

Goodwin enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1940 and reported for duty on the USS Oklahoma a few months later. He chose the ship at the invitation of his brother, Dan Goodwin, and was granted his choice.

Goodwin’s niece, Mary Putnam of Joplin, tells Missourinet that Dan lived about one mile from the base. At the time of the attack, Dan was at home with his wife. When they heard the air strikes, Dan headed to the USS Oklahoma to find it had capsized.

From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew. Goodwin’s remains were buried in a casket with other unknown sailors’ remains in a national cemetery in Hawaii.

The remains of Goodwin were recently identified through DNA. Kim Woodard, co-owner of Mason-Woodard Mortuary, tells Missourinet affiliate KZRG in Joplin the family will get some closure when Goodwin is laid to rest on Saturday.

“They are just elated to be able to be bringing him home. It’s very important,” she says. “There will be over 60 surviving family members in attendance and they’re coming from all over the United States.”

Putnam says family from overseas will also be attending the service.

She says Goodwin’s remains will be flying into the Tulsa International Airport on Friday afternoon. The Patriot Guard Riders of Oklahoma will lead a hearse carrying Goodwin’s remains from the airport to the mortuary in Joplin.

The funeral service will be at 11 a.m. at the First Baptist Church in Diamond. Goodwin’s funeral will include full military honors.

Joe Lancello of Missourinet affiliate KZRG in Joplin contributed to this story

Southwest Missouri lawmaker discusses his refusal to sign special session petition

May 7, 2018 By Missourinet Contributor

State Rep. Bill White did not sign on the dotted line in support of calling a special session to consider impeaching Governor Eric Greitens. White, a fellow Republican from Joplin, tells Missourinet affiliate KZRG calling one is premature.

Photos courtesy of KZRG

“There’s no reason, now, for us to sign authorizing a special session. We can do that at any time. There’s a lot of pressure, in my opinion, going on here,” he says.

Despite White’s opposition, enough signatures have been gathered to begin a special session.

“There seems to be artificial deadlines out there that we must do it right now before the end of the session,” he says.

White is a senior member in the Missouri House and is serving his eighth and final year in that chamber.

The regular session will end on May 18. The special session will start 30 minutes after the regular session ends.

In the Missouri House, 138 members have signed the petition. In the Senate, 29 members support a special session.

Lawmakers will consider allegations that Greitens took and transmitted an unauthorized nude photo of his mistress in 2015 and misused charity resources to fund his political campaign.

Greitens denies any criminal accusations.

By Sarah Novotny of Missourinet affiliate KZRG in Joplin

Missouri House gives initial approval to medical marijuana bill

April 24, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri House voted Monday evening in Jefferson City to give initial approval to legislation that would allow people suffering from terminal illnesses and debilitating medical conditions to use medical marijuana.

State Rep. Jim Neely speaks on the Missouri House floor on April 23, 2018 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

State Rep. Jim Neely, R-Cameron, a physician at northwest Missouri’s Cameron Regional Medical Center, is the bill sponsor. He spoke several times Monday on the House floor.

“My bill has to do with people that are terminal, and so I’m trying to provide some comfort to the folks who are in the last stages of life,” Neely says.

Supporters of the Neely bill say medical marijuana saves lives and is less addictive than opioids.

Opponents say marijuana is still illegal under federal law. The Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys testified against the bill in committee earlier this year.

Under Neely’s bill, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services would be authorized to issue medical cannabis registration cards to residents 18 and older who can provide a signed statement from a doctor that they meet the bill’s criteria.

“The idea behind that (his legislation) is a result of my observation as a person who has worked in health care for several decades, and it just seems like this is the right thing to do,” says Neely.

Under the bill, terminal illness is defined as a disease that “without life-saving procedures will result in death in the near future or a state of permanent unconsciousness from which recovery is unlikely.”

The House, after a lengthy debate on Monday evening, also approved an amendment from State Rep. Shamed Dogan, R-Ballwin, adding epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, Crohn’s disease and other diseases to the bill.

State Rep. Travis Fitzwater, R-Holts Summit, tells the House he has two family members who suffer from MS, his mother and his sister.

State Rep. Gina Mitten, D-St. Louis, delivered a passionate floor speech, urging colleagues to help people like Fitzwater’s family members.

The House also approved veteran State Rep. Paul Curtman’s, R-Pacific, amendment that would allow veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder to use medical marijuana.

Curtman, who served in the Marine infantry for four years, tells colleagues a Missouri Marine he knew suffered and was ordered by the VA to take numerous pills, which Curtman says didn’t help him.

“So, this Marine found some cannabis that he was able to use for medical purposes, but since it was illegal his neighbor called the police, ratted him out. The police came, arrested him,” Curtman says.

Curtman’s voice cracked on the floor, as he told the House the Marine ended up committing suicide.

The bill was approved on a voice vote, and needs one more House vote before heading to the Missouri Senate.