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Missouri gaining ground along broadband superhighway, but many more miles to go

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A new report says Missouri ranks 32nd in the nation in broadband internet access – a positive step from 41st just a couple years ago. Federal and state aid have helped to boost access around Missouri.

The report says 23% of Missouri students still do not have access to high-speed internet. Plus, it says the state ranks in the bottom five for access to low-cost internet.

Missouri gaining ground along broadband superhighway, but many more miles to go (Photo courtesy of Alisa Nelson)

During a state Board of Education meeting Tuesday, Tim Arbeiter, state Director of Missouri’s Broadband Development Office, said there is still a lot of work to do.

“Within the next three years, I think we could probably cut our divide in half. But I still think we are going to have challenges ahead of us in the affordability space. As I listen to my colleagues across the state, when affordability programs are active and live, there is still some hesitancy from populations to hook on. We don’t know the aspects and the why to that. So, we need to understand that little piece a little bit better,” said Arbeiter.

Arbeiter said Missouri has 255 broadband internet providers, including cable, wireless, electric, and telecommunication companies.

Rob Dixon, the director of the state Department of Economic Development, said Missouri’s economy will not grow without continuing to boost broadband access.

“It’s a key plank in our overall economic development strategy,” says Dixon. “The big question of is it an affordability issue or is it an access issue or is it a device issue. The answer is yes on all of those things. And so, it is a pretty challenging issue all around.”

He said data shows Missouri is a mixed bag in its state of broadband.

“The bottom line message I think that we have is there is still very much a gap that we are trying to close, but we are moving in that right direction. We’re still on the wrong side of that list but we are moving forward. It’s a difficult issue to talk about kind of in a positive way because there is still such a big gap that we are trying to close. I think that’s why there’s so much urgency around this issue,” says Dixon.

Board member Pamela Westbrooks-Hodge of Pasadena Hills said some individuals in the corporate community want to help.

“Maybe where they plug in and play is with these short-term actions,” she said.

Members talked about broadband coverage being spotty from house to house. During the pandemic, some communities have set up portable wifi connections for students to access internet from a building or a parked bus, for instance.

“A lot of homework being done at the McDonalds,” said Board President Charlie Shields of St. Joseph.

To view the report, click here.

Copyright © 2021 · Missourinet

Missouri Representative says requiring student broadband access report will help to close digital divide

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The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) could be required to report annually about the number of K-12 students with limited or no access to high-speed internet at home. During a House committee hearing, Representative Louis Riggs, R-Hannibal, said he is proposing to require the department to include the total number of students statewide and by district without access.

State Rep. Louis Riggs, R-Hannibal, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on March 9, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Riggs has been an educator at Hannibal-LaGrange University for more than 11 years.

“The one thing we are able to take away from the COVID-19 experience is that the knowledge that our broadband access across Missouri is nowhere it should be, which is not a mystery considering we are 41st in the nation for access,” he said.

According to Riggs, schools currently have anecdotal information about student broadband access and his bill would give the state hard data.

Last year, DESE released a survey showing one in five Missouri students – about 200,000 – do not have broadband internet access at home. The survey, with responses from the state’s roughly 555 school districts and charter schools, says affordability of internet service and devices is the main problem.

Riggs said the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) maps are out of date that show underserved or unserved broadband access areas. Accurate maps can be used in the application process to obtain state or federal funding.

“The FCC requires providers to give them information but it’s not always real time data. So, we’re trying to basically get this broadband money out. We want to put it in places where the internet isn’t. This helps to determine where it isn’t,” said Riggs. “The folks who are unserved are the ones who get it first.”

Representative Paula Brown, D-Hazelwood, said internet companies are not required to offer service.

“I love where you are going with this. I just am not I see us getting from all the data to requiring somebody to provide service in that area,” said Brown. “We’re going to get the money there, but that doesn’t mean we can still make a company do it, unless of course you want to make internet a public utility.”

Shelly Mantel, a Mountain View-Birch Tree School Board member in southern Missouri and member of the Missouri School Boards’ Association, supports the measure. Mantel is an occupational therapist who serves students in nine school districts.

“So, I’ve had lots of contact with school districts struggling to meet the needs of their students, mostly because of a lot of reliability issues with our internet,” she said.

Mantel wants internet to be a utility.

“We have students in our district that don’t have running water, don’t have electricity for various reasons. But most of them have running water and electricity, which is imperative to a healthy lifestyle. Internet now is that third utility,” said Mantel. “If we don’t have access to internet, we can’t educate our children.”

She said her district shut down in February for two weeks.

“We don’t have reliable internet. So, no learning occurred in my district. The homework gap just gets wider and wider for smaller, unsupported districts. Our district itself, our school, has really good broadband. But our outliers – Shannon County is where our high school and one of our elementary schools is. Less than 9% coverage in our region,” she said. “So how can you provide online education when only 9% of your student body has reliable internet?”

Mantel said Shannon County is one of the poorest counties in the state and maybe the nation.

“The best way out of poverty is through education,” Mantel said. “We have to provide a way out for these children and if we are not providing a quality public education, then through the resources that the same children have in Columbia Public Schools, or Nixa, or Camdenton where they have a nice tax base, we are just doing an injustice to our children.”

The Missouri House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee has not yet voted on the Riggs bill.

To review House Bill 580, click here.

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Robot deliveries could be coming to a Missouri neighborhood near you

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Missouri could allow robots to deliver goods to your home. A bill sponsored by state Senator Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, aims to let robots cruise mainly along sidewalks and crosswalks to deliver items around the state. During a state Senate Transportation, Infrastructure, and Public Safety Committee hearing today, Hough says the effort is a work in progress.

Missouri Capitol

Under the bill, the robots could not block public rights of way, must obey traffic and pedestrian control signals, operate 10 miles per hour or less on a sidewalk, and must be equipped to come to a controlled stop.

Tom Dempsey, a lobbyist for Amazon and a former Missouri Senate President, says the e-commerce retailer supports the legislation. He says Amazon’s delivery gadget, called Scout, is a “last mile device”.

“Amazon launched a fully electric autonomous delivery system that operates in pedestrian areas like sidewalks and crosswalks. Our device is the size of a small cooler that you would bring to a beach and operates at about the same speed as the average person walks,” says Dempsey. “Scout is 100% electric and is helping Amazon drive towards our goal of making all Amazon shipments net zero carbon with 50% of all shipments net zero carbon by 2030.”

Dempsey provided previous written testimony from Jeff Cleland, who leads state and local transportation policy at Amazon. Scout was launched in January 2019. Cleland says Scout is readily visible to others and is able to stop, or safely navigate around pedestrians, pets, and obstacles. To date, more than 15 states and the District of Columbia have passed personal delivery device legislation.

Henrio Thelemaque, with FedEx, says the company supports the measure. It has a personal delivery device called Roxo.

“As we’ve all seen with COVID-19, if you are not participating in e-commerce, you potentially are going to struggle in the business of retail or any other business. The goal is to work with these smaller retailers and larger retailers to find ways for them to participate in the new market,” he says.

The devices would be exempt from motor vehicle registration requirements and must maintain a general liability insurance policy of at least $100,000. If they are operated at night, the robots would be required to be equipped with lighting. They cannot be used to transport hazardous materials.

Shannon Cooper, lobbying on behalf of the city of Kansas City, says the city does not oppose the bill but hopes some scenarios will be taken into consideration when crafting the bill. Cooper is a former state Representative from Clinton.

“Obviously our concern would be some unintended accidents with these machines, or batteries dying and setting around on the street corners like we see with these crazy scooters everywhere. The sponsor has indicated he’ll be happy to work with us,” says Cooper. “We just want to make sure at the end of the day, the city and our residents are protected from these machines and there’s enough liability coverage if there is a horrible accident.”

The committee has not voted yet on the plan. To view Senate Bill 176, click here.

Copyright © 2021 · Missourinet

Missouri astronaut to participate in another spacewalk today

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Southern Missouri native Mike Hopkins is involved in a spacewalk today, marking his second one in a week. Today’s spacewalk will make additional upgrades to the International Space Station. Hopkins, a NASA astronaut from Richland, has been living aboard the floating space structure since November.

During an interview last fall, Hopkins told Missourinet the space mission is his second one.

“I’m excited to float again. There’s nothing like that,” he said. “It’s an experience that is hard to describe and that’s actually one of my goals when I go up this time is to figure out how to describe – how to put it into words to people down on Earth.”

He is commanding a crew of three others. They blasted off in the same SpaceX vehicle that launched into space last summer with St. Louis County native Bob Behnken on board.

Hopkins and company plan to return to Earth in the spring.

He has family in Richland and central Missouri’s Camdenton.

NASA TV coverage of today’s spacewalk begins at 4:30 a.m. CST. The walk is expected to begin around 6 a.m. and last about six and a half hours.

Previous stories:

Missouri native rockets to space on historic mission: https://www.missourinet.com/2020/11/15/missouri-native-rockets-to-space-on-historic-mission/

(AUDIO) Missouri native prepares to blast off to space: https://www.missourinet.com/2020/09/30/audio-missouri-native-prepares-to-blast-off-to-space/

Copyright © 2021 · Missourinet

Conservative publisher to roll out Hawley’s book

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U.S. Senator Josh Hawley, R-Missouri

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, has a new publisher for his upcoming book. Conservative publishing company Regnery has announced on Twitter today that Hawley’s book, “The Tyranny of Big Tech” will come out in the spring.

Simon & Schuster publishing company dropped its agreement with Hawley after Trump rioters tore through the U.S. Capitol on January 6, killing five people and vandalizing the place. Hawley, who has been largely silent since the attack, accused the publisher of “assaulting” his First Amendment rights, which only applies to the government – not to private companies.

Hawley led an effort to challenge the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory. He cited voter fraud allegations that several courts have struck down.

Since the attack, Hawley has lost some key supporters, including Missouri megadonors David Humphreys of Joplin and Sam Fox of St. Louis. At the same time, he has plenty of people still on his side.

Over the weekend, Loews Hotels announced it would not be hosting Hawley’s fundraiser next month in Florida:

“We are horrified and opposed to the events at the Capitol and all who supported and incited the actions. In light of those events and for the safety of our guests and team members, we have informed the host of the Feb. fundraiser that it will no longer be held at Loews Hotels,” the statement says.

In the book, Hawley argues that big tech companies like Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple wield enormous market power and regulate and influence the news. Hawley says they organize, manipulate, and direct the conversations that Americans are having. He has been focusing on the work of big tech companies since his short time as Missouri Attorney General.

Copyright © 2021 · Missourinet

Central Missouri lawmaker files bill aimed at helping forensic investigators at scenes (AUDIO)

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Legislation aimed at providing forensic investigators with better access to crime and crash scenes has been filed by a mid-Missouri state lawmaker.

State Rep. Sara Walsh, R-Ashland, speaks outside the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City on September 10, 2019 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

State Rep. Sara Walsh, R-Ashland, says forensic investigators often can’t get past the vehicles backed up at the scene.

“It would allow forensic investigators, coroners and medical examiners to display fixed, flashing or rotating red or blue lights on their vehicle when they’re responding to a crime scene or accident,” Walsh says.

Under current Missouri law, forensic investigators are not authorized to use lights or sirens when responding to scenes. Walsh notes that in some interstate traffic fatalities, vehicles are backed up for miles.

“If they (forensic investigators) are in their personal vehicle responding at late hours, a lot of folks that are there waiting in the traffic backup just think they are an impatient citizen, when they really need to get to the head of the line to be able to do their work,” says Walsh.

She notes that law enforcement officers cannot finish their work, until the forensic investigator has arrived and finished his or her work.

Walsh represents Boone, Cole, Cooper and Moniteau counties in the Missouri House, and chairs the House Subcommittee on Appropriations for Public Safety.

She credits local central Missouri forensic investigators and Columbia Police Officers Association (CPOA) Executive Director Dale Roberts for bringing this issue to her attention. Roberts is a constituent in her district.

Walsh predicts the bill will have other benefits as well.

“There might even potentially it could help solve the problem of secondary accidents, because anytime you’ve got traffic backups sometimes folks will run into traffic not seeing that it’s stopped,” Walsh says.

Walsh describes her two-page bill, House Bill 380, as bipartisan. She’s hopeful it will pass in January.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with State Rep. Sara Walsh, R-Ashland, which was recorded on December 9, 2020:

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Missouri native gives update from space

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A crew of astronauts, including southern Missouri native Mike Hopkins, is getting settled in aboard the International Space Station (ISS). They lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center on November 15 and are spending the next six months in space.

Missouri astronaut Mike Hopkins and crew

The crew is part of the first manned operational space flight of a U.S. commercial shuttle. The space mission marks the second one for Hopkins.

During an update with NASA, Hopkins, the commander, talks about the rocket’s name – “Resilience.”

“It’s been a tough year and the fact that SpaceX and NASA were able to get our spacecraft ready to go – the rocket ready to go – throughout this year, throughout the pandemic and all of that, we were inspired by everybody’s efforts to do that. So that’s why we named it Resilience and we hope that it puts a smile to peoples’ face – it brings hope to them,” says Hopkins.

He says a longstanding astronaut tradition is to take along a sidekick to space and show viewers at home. Their choice seems appropriate given their location.

“We had just started watching the (Star Wars) series and it’s hard not to like baby Yoda,” says Hopkins. “I think the ride into space was probably a little rougher than baby Yoda was used to.”

The space station spans the area of an American football field and weighs more than 861,000 lbs. The complex has more livable room than a five-bedroom home, with two bathrooms, a gym and a 360-degree bay window.

Hopkins grew up in southern Missouri’s Richland near Fort Leonard Wood. He also has family in the Lake of the Ozarks area in central Missouri.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Pfizer V.P. in Missouri optimistic about new vaccine, says “science is winning”

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Pfizer labs in Chesterfield, Missouri are ready to mass-produce a new COVID-19 vaccine as soon as the FDA approves its success rate and safety data.  Pfizer and BioNtech have teamed up to develop a successful mRNA-based vaccine and have reached a 90 percent success rate in its studies so far.

At a press conference with Missouri Gov. Mike Parson Thursday, Vice President of Biotherapeutics Pharmaceutical Science Christine Smith, the site manager for the Chesterfield facility said there is more work to do. Their industry-leading study continues until they get to 164 confirmed cases of the vaccine’s success. The company must provide safety data for the FDA 60 days after giving a second injection to test subjects.

Pfizer V.P. Christine Smith updates media Nov. 12, 2020

Smith said the safety step is critical for the candidate vaccine.

“We’ve not seen any serious safety concerns, I cannot underscore the importance of knowing more about the safety profile of our candidate. We’ll know more about these results in the coming weeks before we submit the file for emergency use authorization. And we are preparing the necessary manufacturing data to submit to the FDA to demonstrate the safety and quality of the vaccine product produced,” she said.

With approval, she says they can start distributing the vaccine by the end of the year, “because we — Pfizer and BioNtech — have already started to make it.”

Missourians would get the vaccine from the Chesterfield facility, which would reduce travel and handling of shipments that must be stored at minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit. Read related story.

Smith thanked the 43-thousand participants who enrolled across the world, including “many Missourians.”

“We are one step closer, science is winning,” she said.

 

 

Missouri gets $6 million in federal aid to create thousands of tech apprenticeships

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The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation is deploying $6 million in federal funding to create 5,300 new tech industry apprenticeships. During a virtual event Monday, President Dan Mehan calls the investment a game changer.

Missouri gets $6 million in federal aid to create thousands of tech apprenticeships

“There is an apprenticeship revolution going on in Missouri,” he says. “Over the last two years, our state ranks second in the number of completed apprenticeships – second only behind California.”

More than 10,000 Missourians have gone through an apprenticeship program that gives them real-world and traditional learning through a paid work experience. The effort is meant to give participants a feel for whether they would like to make a living in the profession.

According to the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, about 94% of apprentices are retained by their employers after they complete their apprenticeships and the average annual salary is not too shabby – about $70,000. The Chamber says the pay leads to a $300,000 lifetime earning advantage over non-apprentices.

Mehan says the state is “poised for strong growth” in apprenticeships thanks to a number of developments this year.

Mehan says House Bill 2046, passed this year by the Missouri Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Mike Parson, will boost the state’s apprenticeship efforts. The plan, sponsored by Rep. Derek Grier, R-Chesterfield, gives students industry credentials after they finish their program.

“This progress could not have come at a better time,” says Mehan. “We all know our state faces many challenges as we continue to confront COVID-19 and seek to grow our economy out of it. One of our biggest challenges will be training workers who find themselves unemployed or underemployed due to the pandemic. Apprenticeships will be a very important tool as we work to help get these workers back on the job and likewise ensure that Missouri employers have the talent they need to grow and power our economy.”

Another development Mehan points to is Missouri Apprentice Connect – the first in the nation apprenticeship matching program. The free service can be found by going to MoApprenticeConnect.com

Dr. Mardy Leathers, director of the Missouri Office of Workforce Development, says there is a wide variety of businesses contributing to the state’s apprenticeship success.

“In Missouri, it would be easy if I could rattle off the names of a couple employers. But the reality is, there are 493 employers who have apprenticeship programs in the state. So, we have a lot of employers who engage,” says Leathers. “It’s actually a great thing that I can’t rattle those names off because we have so many.”

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, helped to secure the federal grant. Blunt chairs a subcommittee that funds U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and others.

“Nobody has taken better advantage of this than Missouri has,” says Blunt. “We’ve got a new Office of Apprenticeships and Work-Based Learning that has been set up in the Department of Higher Education. I think what these apprenticeship programs do and what our state, what you’ve done and what Governor Parson has done and others have done, is realize we have to look at the workplace a little differently.”

Cerner Corporation – a global healthcare technology company in Kansas City – was the lead partner in bringing the federal grant to Missouri.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

All aboard! Missouri astronaut gears up for space

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The countdown is approaching for NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins of southern Missouri’s Richland. In T minus five days, Hopkins and three others are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station.

Hopkins is leading the four-person crew on a mission that will make space their home for about the next six months. They arrived Sunday to the Kennedy Space Center.

PHOTO DATE: 12-29-16
LOCATION: Bldg. 8, Room 183 – Photo Studio
SUBJECT: Official astronaut portrait of Mike Hopkins in an EMU suit.
PHOTOGRAPHER: BILL STAFFORD

“It’s really been an incredible effort by an incredible group of people. For the crew – we’re ready,” said Hopkins.

He will be joined by NASA astronauts Shannon Walker and Victor Glover, as well as Soichi Noguchi from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The crew is blasting off in the same vehicle that launched into space over the summer with St. Louis County native Bob Behnken on board.

The space mission will mark the second one for Hopkins. He has logged 166 days in space and conducted two spacewalks totaling 12 hours and 58 minutes.

“I’m excited to float again. There’s nothing like that,” he told Missourinet during an interview in September. “It’s an experience that is hard to describe and that’s actually one of my goals when I go up this time is to figure out how to describe – how to put it into words to people down on Earth.”

Hopkins has also served his country in the U.S. Air Force and is currently a colonel in the newly-launched U.S. Space Force – a space warfare branch of America’s military.

Saturday’s liftoff is scheduled for 6:49 p.m. CST at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Previous story:

(AUDIO) Missouri native prepares to blast off to space
https://www.missourinet.com/2020/09/30/audio-missouri-native-prepares-to-blast-off-to-space/

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