Outdoors Archives - Missourinet

40,000 expected to pack mid-Missouri town for popular pumpkin festival

October 11, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

Thousands of people are expected to pack the tiny mid-Missouri town of Hartsburg for this weekend’s popular Pumpkin Festival.

Children enjoy the Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival (2018 file photo courtesy of Festival website)

This is the 28th annual Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival. Festival treasurer and parade coordinator Jeri Cooper tells Missourinet they’re expecting about 40,000 people to attend the event, which takes place Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday morning’s parade begins at 9.

Hartsburg is in Boone County, between Columbia and Jefferson City. Its population is about 100.

The Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival started in 1991 as a celebration of the pumpkin and the promotion for Hartsburg, which is known as “The Garden Spot of Boone County” for its rich Missouri bottom soil. Some of the most productive farmland in the state can be found there.

Hartsburg produces fruits and vegetables as well.

The event, including parking, is free. With thousands of vehicles coming into the small town, most people will park in area fields, and others park along the roadside. The festival will be operating trams and shuttles.

Organizers also encourage you to bring cash to the festival, since some vendors don’t access debit or credit cards.

Traffic will be heavy along Highway 63. Mizzou’s 108th Homecoming is also taking place Saturday in Columbia, with thousands of people heading there.

You can find more information about the pumpkin festival here.

Dog survives squabble with bobcat in northern Missouri

October 11, 2019 By Missourinet Contributor

Bobcat photo courtesy of Missouri Department of Conservation

A dog is recovering from getting into a scuffle this week with a bobcat near northern Missouri’s Mexico. According to Audrain County Conservation Agent Norman Steelman, bobcats don’t typically come that close to homes.

Steelman tells Missourinet affiliate KXEO in Mexico that bobcat reports are becoming more common in the area and encourages Missourians to leave them alone if they see one. There are currently no known diseases involving bobcats in Audrain County.

The big cat did not survive. Its remains are being sent to the Missouri Department of Conservation Resource Science Division.

Thousands heading to rural Missouri town for popular apple festival

October 4, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

More than 30,000 people are expected to attend this weekend’s 40th annual Olde Tyme Apple Festival in mid-Missouri’s Versailles.

The Olde Tyme Apple Festival celebrates the fall harvest. This is Doris Hilty, innkeeper at Hilty Bed and Breakfast in Versailles (2018 file photo courtesy of Beenders-Walker Group)

The readers of “Rural Missouri” magazine have voted the Olde Tyme Apple Festival as the best annual festival in Missouri. Versailles has about 2,400 residents.

It commemorates the traditional fall apple harvest in the Versailles area. People drive from across Missouri to attend the festival, which includes treats like fresh-baked apple pies, apple dumplings and caramel apples.

The event begins Friday evening at 6 in downtown Versailles, with the apple dumplin’ and darlin’ contest.

Saturday’s events include a pancake breakfast from 6:30 to 9 at the Westminster Presbyterian Church, and the numerous vendor booths open at 9 a.m. The Olde Tyme Apple Festival parade starts at 10 a.m. at the Morgan County R-II school, and there will also be a marching band contest. There will also be live music on Saturday, and a car show that goes all day.

Sunday’s events include a community worship service and a noon three-person scramble golf tournament at Rolling Hills Country Club.

Click here for the entire schedule of events.

Flash flood watch in effect for parts of northern Missouri; severe storms also possible (AUDIO)

October 1, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Pleasant Hill has issued a flash flood watch for parts of north-central and northwest Missouri, through Wednesday.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Pleasant Hill says isolated tornadoes and 60-mile per hour winds are possible today across far northwest Missouri (October 1, 2019 map courtesy of NWS Twitter page)

NWS meteorologist Chris Bowman says communities in the watch area have already been inundated with rainfall.

“Some of the cities would be St. Joseph, Maryville, Bethany and up to Atchison County, Missouri,” Bowman says.

The NWS says towns like Tarkio and Fairfax could receive three to four inches of additional rainfall, by Thursday. Northern Missouri communities like Bethany, Princeton and Unionville received four to six inches of rain this weekend.

The state Department of Transportation’s (MoDOT) traveler map shows 58 roads are currently closed due to flooding, primarily in northwest Missouri.

Mr. Bowman tells Missourinet this weather pattern is not typical for October.

“We’ve got a lot of moisture streaming northward. You can just walk outside and right away feel that it’s humid,” says Bowman.

The NWS in Pleasant Hill also says severe storms are possible Tuesday afternoon and evening in far northwest Missouri, with 60 mile per-hour wind gusts possible and an isolated tornado risk. Hail up to one inch is also possible.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with National Weather Service (NWS) Pleasant Hill meteorologist Chris Bowman, which was recorded on October 1, 2019:

Enforcement credited for decrease in fatalities at Missouri rail crossings (AUDIO/VIDEO)

September 29, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

Jefferson City Police pulled about ten motorists over during a railroad crossing enforcement operation Friday, at a busy crossing just west of the Missouri Capitol.

A Union Pacific locomotive travels during an enforcement operation on September 27, 2019 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of Missouri Operation Lifesaver Executive Director Tim Hull)

The operation’s aim was to raise awareness of rail crossings.

A Missourinet reporter who rode with the Union Pacific crew on Friday observed a few drivers on cell phones, pulling in front of the train. Those motorists were pulled over. The intersection is between the Statehouse and the Kirkpatrick Building.

An organization that promotes rail safety education says the number of people killed in Missouri at railroad crossings has dropped from a year ago. Missouri Operation Lifesaver Executive Director Tim Hull observed Friday’s enforcement operation.

“That’s what we’re out here trying to do is make sure everybody knows that anytime is train time,” Hull says. “Always expect a train, anytime. It could be there.”

Hull, a former Missouri State Highway Patrol captain, credits enforcement operations like the one Friday with the steep decrease in fatalities at Missouri railroad crossings.

“Working those in conjunction with the enforcement operations like we saw today do the job of getting that information out there, making people aware of it,” says Hull.

Hull tells Missourinet that in 2018, there were nine fatalities and 22 injuries at Missouri railroad crossings, putting the state tenth in the nation in fatalities. He notes that so far in 2019, there has been one fatality and eight injuries at crossings.

Hull says a freight train moving at 55 miles per hour can take about a mile to stop, once the emergency brakes are applied. Operation Lifesaver says a person or vehicle is struck by a train about every three hours in the United States.

“It’s important to remember as you approach those railroad tracks to slow down, look, listen and live,” Hull says. “Because that’s the key to keep those incidents from happening.”

Operation Lifesaver also says there have been ten railroad trespassing incidents in Missouri in 2019, with six fatalities.

A similar operation was conducted a year ago in Jefferson City.

Union Pacific crews also say that people sometimes place shopping carts in the railroad tracks between Jefferson City and Kansas City, so the train can hit them.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with Missouri Operation Lifesaver Executive Director Tim Hull, which was recorded on September 27, 2019 in Jefferson City:

The first motorist has just been pulled over by @JeffCityPolice. The driver just pulled in front of this 412,000 pound @UnionPacific locomotive. The driver is now being ticketed. @Missourinet pic.twitter.com/mVs2oQlZh4

— Brian Hauswirth (@Brianontheair) September 27, 2019

Supreme Court hears complex rural Missouri CAFO and Clean Water Commission case

September 27, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

The state Supreme Court has heard oral arguments this week in Jefferson City involving a proposed concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) in northwest Missouri’s Grundy County.

The case before the Supreme Court involves whether or not a 2016 state law is constitutional.

Trenton Farms LLC wants to build a swine operation, which is opposed by a group called “Hickory Neighbors United.” Hickory attorney Stephen Jeffery tells the court that a 2016 state law changing the composition of the Missouri Clean Water Commission is unconstitutional because it violates the single subject clause.

“Senate amendment number one is put onto House bill 1713 which amends (RSMO) 644.021 which alters the composition of the Clean Water Commission,” Jeffery tells the judges.

RSMO stands for revised statutes of Missouri.

Jeffery alleges that public representation on the Clean Water Commission “has been severely curtailed” due to the Legislature’s action. He says that because of the law, there is no longer a requirement that at least four members of the Clean Water Commission represent the public.

Much of Jeffery’s legal argument is based on the single subject clause. He says the law was amended, with about one week to go in the 2016 session.

“The membership of the Clean Water Commission has nothing to do with regulating water systems and all the other statutory provisions that were contained in House bill 1713,” says Jeffery.

The law was vetoed by then-Governor Jay Nixon (D) in 2016, but the GOP-controlled Legislature overrode that veto in September 2016, along with 12 other vetoes.

Grundy County residents on both sides of the controversial issue made the three-hour drive from Trenton to Jefferson City on Wednesday to hear oral arguments at the Missouri Supreme Court. CAFO supporters say it’s about economic development and jobs, while opponents worry about water and air quality.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued the case on behalf of Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt. Sauer is urging the Supreme Court to uphold the 2016 law, saying it’s constitutional. Solicitor General Sauer disagrees with CAFO critics who say the law violates the single subject clause.

“Regulation of water systems is clearly well within the scope of the broad umbrella categories for single subjects that this court has upheld in numerous cases,” Sauer tells the court.

He also says Hickory Neighbors lacks the legal standing to challenge the Clean Water Commission’s composition. Sauer also tells the court that Hickory Neighbors did not raise constitutional challenges on time.

The Supreme Court heard 34 minutes of oral arguments on Wednesday morning. They have not announced when they’ll issue a ruling in the case.

Click here to read the legal briefs from “Hickory Neighbors United” attorney Stephen Jeffery.

Click here to read the legal briefs from Solicitor General D. John Sauer.

120 dead dogs found on rural Missouri property; kennels stacked three-five high

September 25, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

A west-central Missouri woman has posted bond, after more than 100 dead dogs were allegedly discovered on her Cole Camp property.

49-year-old Tiffany Lynn Woodington is charged in Benton County Circuit Court with ten counts of felony animal abuse. Judge Mark Brandon Pilley set bond at $100,000, and online court records indicate Woodington has posted bond.

Animal abuse is a class E felony, in Missouri.

Her next court appearance is set for Tuesday morning at 8 in Warsaw, before Judge Pilley.

Prosecutors in Benton County charged Woodington after about 120 dead dogs were discovered on her Cole Camp property, between a house and an abandoned school bus. Our Springfield television partner KOLR-10 reports Benton County Sheriff’s deputies and the Missouri Humane Society searched the property, and found kennels stacked three to five high.

KOLR-10 reports 38 other dogs and cats were found alive, but several of them have had to be euthanized.

Missouri lawmaker warns of economic impact of Kansas City’s violent crime

September 18, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

The top Democrat on the Missouri House Special Committee on Tourism says violent crime is hurting business in his hometown of Kansas City.

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 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Kansas City Police say there have been 110 homicides in 2019, and five of the victims were children. State Rep. Richard Brown, D-Kansas City, tells Capitol reporters 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,” Brown says. “A patron was shot and killed in the 18th and Vine Jazz District.”

The popular Power and Light District includes restaurants, bars, live music and shopping.

Representative Brown, who’s the treasurer of Missouri’s Legislative Black Caucus, notes Kansas City is trying to attract the World Cup. The city is one of 17 finalist cities to host 2026 World Cup matches. Brown says fans won’t come if they don’t feel safe.

“Patrons who attend the Westport entertainment district now have to go through metal detectors on the weekend, and right now the (Country Club) Plaza is on life support because of the lack of patronage to the businesses on the weekends because of past violence,” says Brown.

He says a meaningful conversation must take place at the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City.

Meantime, Governor Mike Parson (R) told Capitol reporters Friday afternoon that he’ll be meeting soon with Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas (D) and others about the issue of violent crime. The governor says it will take a coordinated effort among federal, state and community leaders.

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

That is the governor’s position as well on the crime issue in St. Louis City and County. 13 children have died from shootings in St. Louis City in 2019, and the “St. Louis Post-Dispatch” reports six children in St. Louis County have died from gunshot wounds since January.

Parson met recently at the Statehouse with Representative Brown and other Black Caucus leaders. State Rep. Ashley Bland Manlove, D-Kansas City, says Kansas City and St. Louis have consistently ranked in the top ten deadliest cities for at least a decade.

Lightning, hail and a few tornadoes possible across Missouri this evening (AUDIO)

August 26, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

The National Weather Service (NWS) in St. Louis says severe thunderstorms are likely Monday evening across a large section of Missouri, stretching from Columbia to Jefferson City to the Lake of the Ozarks to Springfield.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in St. Louis says severe storms could impact Columbia, Jefferson City and Springfield tonight (map courtesy of NWS St. Louis Twitter page)

NWS meteorologist Jared Maples tells Missourinet the time frame will be from about 5 to midnight.

“Will extend from about Columbia and Jefferson City and just increase to the southwest of there, and a lot of that is probably going to come from this complex that is ongoing right now,” Maples says.

He says lightning, large hail and wind gusts up to 65 miles-per-hour are expected, adding that a few tornadoes are also possible.

“That’s what everybody should keep their eyes and ears open for and have several sources for warning information for that type of threat,” says Maples.

The NWS in Kansas City has issued several severe thunderstorm warnings for western Missouri today, and the NWS Springfield office has also issued several severe thunderstorm warnings.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with NWS St. Louis meteorologist Jared Maples, which was recorded on August 26, 2019:

Report: Ohio shooter made ‘pornogrind’ band appearances at former Missouri venue

August 6, 2019 By Alisa Nelson

A shooter who allegedly killed nine people on Sunday at a popular nightlife district in Dayton, Ohio was reportedly part of a band that made appearances at a former Missouri venue. Connor Betts, 24, was killed on Sunday about 30 seconds after he opened fire.

Report: Ohio shooter made band appearances at former Missouri venue

Online website Vice News reports Betts was heavily involved in the music scene often referred to as “goregrind” or “pornogrind” – extreme metal music known for songs about violence, raping and killing women.

Betts occasionally sang with the group Menstrual Munchies at a former Columbia location in central Missouri called UPS – short for Under the Porn Shop for its location beneath the Venus Adult Megastore near I-70.

The article says Betts was a loner and emotionally withdrawn who identified as an anti-fascist and insulted Nazis and gun violence. Members of the band recently started distancing themselves from Betts for talking in realistic ways about violence described in the music. He also told them about getting suspended from high school for keeping a “hit list” and a “rape list” of classmates he wanted to hurt.