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Missouri pitches to Amazon a three-city innovation corridor

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Missouri officials say they have unleashed the combined strength of the entire state by proposing to Amazon an innovation corridor that connects St. Louis, Columbia and Kansas City. With the state’s support, Kansas City and St. Louis officials have submitted their own bids to Amazon. A state Department of Economic Development spokesperson says state law prohibits the release of specific details about the state’s proposal to Amazon, including any possible incentives.

Missouri pitches to Amazon a three-city innovation corridor

In a conference call with reporters, Missouri Department of Economic Development Director Rob Dixon says economic development projects are not driven primarily by incentives.

Missouri Chief Operating Officer Drew Erdmann says the state has provided a transformative proposal that could involve a supersonic and futuristic tube transportation system, such as a Hyperloop. The subway-esque mode of transportation could take people from Kansas City to St. Louis in 31 minutes.

“If you want to live in Columbia and have a college town lifestyle, you’re still imagining the world 10 or 15 years from now, with Hyperloop, you’re still 15 minutes away from a campus that may be in St. Louis or in Kansas City,” says Erdmann.

At stake is the creation of 50,000 new jobs and a $5 billion investment by Amazon that has drawn interest from cities all over the U.S. map. The company is looking for a metropolitan area with one million residents, an international airport, and a business-friendly environment. It estimates HQ2 to have a $38 billion economic impact in whatever city it is based it.

Erdmann says access to a Hyperloop system would help accelerate Amazon’s growth.

“It’s not all about Hyperloop. It is about the broader vision in the next 10, 15, 20 years, being able to look out beyond the assets of today that we believe makes us very competitive and unique. In essence, we would offer the opportunity for a labor force getting close to three million people,” says Erdmann.

Hyperloop is not a done deal. Missouri has been selected as a finalist for the International Hyperloop One competition for a route that includes Kansas City, Columbia and St. Louis.

MODOT, the St. Louis Regional Chamber, the KC Tech Council, University of Missouri System, and the Missouri Innovation Center in Columbia are raising $1.5 million to study whether Missourians could meet the demand to sustain the futuristic technology. A MODOT official says the mode of transportation would be a private venture that would not increase taxes.

The public version of Missouri’s proposal, along with videos of Governor Eric Greitens and Hyperloop One CEO Rob Lloyd are available on the initiative’s website at www.makeMOHQ2home.com

$120 Million Multi-state Settlement with GM over faulty ignition switches includes Missouri

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Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley has announced a $120 million multi-state settlement with General Motors.

The lawsuit from 49 states and the District of Columbia allegef GM knew as early as 2004 that faulty ignition switches posed a safety defect.  In 2014, the company issued seven recalls which affected 9 million vehicles.

Under certain conditions, the switches could move out of the “Run” position to the “Accessory” or “Off” position.  When that happened, drivers experienced a loss of electrical systems, including power steering and power brakes.

If a collision occurred while the ignition switch was in the “Accessory” or “Off” position, the vehicle’s airbags may also have not deployed, increasing the risk of serious injury or death in certain types of crashes.

The states alleged that GM’s continued use of the faulty switches well after it had knowledge the defect violated state consumer protection laws, including Missouri’s Merchandising Practices Act.

In its settlement, GM agreed to make numerous procedural changes and agreed to pay the attorneys general a total of $120 Million, of which Missouri’s share is approximately $2 million.

Other provisions of the settlement require GM to:

​Not represent that a motor vehicle is “safe” unless they have complied with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety standards applicable to the motor vehicle at issue.

Not represent that certified pre-owned vehicles that GM advertises are safe, have been repaired for safety issues, or have been subject to rigorous inspection, unless such vehicles are not subject to any open recalls relating to safety or have been repaired pursuant to such a recall.

​Instruct its dealers that all applicable recall repairs must be completed before any GM motor vehicle sold in the U.S. and included in a recall is eligible for certification and, if there is a recall on any certified pre-owned vehicle sold in the U.S., the required repair must be completed before the vehicle is delivered to a customer.

Leading cause of death among teens continues to be traffic accidents

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In 2016, more than 3,500 teens were killed in car crashes nationwide, including in Missouri. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports about a quarter of the teen drivers involved in fatal crashes had been drinking alcohol.

This week is National Teen Driver Safety Week and Matt Nasworthy, a spokesperson for AAA, says car crashes remain the leading cause of death for teens across the country.

Photo courtesy of MODOT

“As an age group, teen drivers get involved in more crashes than anyone else on the road,” Nasworthy says.

Although distracted driving is dangerous for anyone, regardless of age, Nasworthy says it appears to be a bigger problem for teens. The distraction doesn’t always involve a cell phone.

“We see that almost six out of 10 of their crashes are caused by distraction…and the number one distraction for teen drivers is having other teen passengers in the car,” Nasworthy says.

Teenage passengers are being encouraged to help the driver keep their focus on the road.

“What we want teens to do is to make sure they’re not getting involved in unnecessary conversations, not pulling the driver’s attention away from the road to look at something else, or text or answer a phone,” Nasworthy says.

A passenger can also assist the teen driver by handling the controls of the radio and the air conditioner or heat.

By Radio Iowa’s Pat Curtis

Task force squabbles over where most road money is spent, starts to unify behind gas tax

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The Missouri 21st Century Transportation System Task Force held a meeting in Jefferson City Wednesday.

I-70 corridor in Missouri, photo courtesy of MODOT

The first portion of the two-hour forum dealt with the distribution of money for roads while the second half centered on way to increase transportation funding.

During four previous sessions held over four months in various locations around the state, there were questions of whether funding was being distributed fairly.

At an August hearing in Springfield, two individuals testified back-to-back, arguing from opposite points of view.  One person claimed rural roads are crumbling because most of the money is sent to urban areas.  The other insisted that rural areas are well taken care while infrastructure in metro areas is collapsing.

There was no public testimony at Wednesday’s meeting, but there was still plenty of bickering among task force members over the perceived problem.

Two former members of the state Transportation Commission, the body charged with distributing road money, defended to current funding formula.  Ex commissioner Jim Simpson said the arrangement has largely been effective since its inception in 2003.

“In 14 years it has worked well,” said Simpson.  “Is it perfect?  Probably not.  But I think it is formula based on objective analysis, on needs analysis.  It is about as fair and equitable, I think, as one could find.”

Simpson noted there had been a roughly 50-50 split between urban and rural funding over the past 10 years, and said the real problem is a lack of resources for all regions of the state.

Some task force members complained that the committee was losing its way by spending so much time debating where the money was going to.  Republican State Senator Dave Schatz of Sullivan, who is Vice-Chairman of the task force, warned members that in-fighting over distribution of money would threaten any spending plan they might place before voters.

“As part of being a package that goes to the general public in order to get them to invest in transportation, we’re going to lose the argument at the end of the day when it becomes (a fight) over rural versus urban, Franklin County over St. Louis County, or any other part of this state,” said Schatz.  “We live in Missouri.”

The task force also spent time discussing the ramifications of losing matching federal dollars when the state can’t come up with its contribution for a project.  Republican Representative Kevin Corlew of Kansas City, who chairs the task force, thinks it’s highly important to have enough transportation funding to cover those costs.

“When a federal program is there that says ‘We have this money available if you match us’, if we don’t have it as a state, we lose out,” said Corlew.

Missouri’s current arrangement for matching federal transportation money is an 80%-to20% split, meaning that for every $1 shelled out by the state, the federal government chips in $4.

The task force meeting eventually segued into a discussion about options to boost funding for roads.

In 2016, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) invested $1.388 billion on state roads and bridges.  The agency has pegged the need for additional funding at $825 million.

MoDOT Chief Engineer Ed Hassinger noted that the motor fuel tax hasn’t been increased since 1996, and said a sizable boost would be needed just to keep up with inflation.    “Really just to get back to even, we’re talking something between eight and ten cents a gallon,” said Hassinger.

Senator Schatz said a group of task force members he’s personally met with agrees that voters should be asked to cast a ballot on a motor fuel tax increase.  “That’s looking at somewhere (in the) ten cent area, as far as the increase in the motor fuel tax, maybe with a disparity of an additional tax on diesel.”

Republican Senator Bill Eigel of St. Charles said he would never support any tax hike, but offered a revenue neutral idea for increasing road funding.  “I do think that there could be broader support in adjusting something as the fuel tax if it was done in conjunction with a broader tax reform package that reduced the overall tax burdens on the people of the state of Missouri,” said Eigel.

Eigel’s comments were no surprise to other lawmakers who are members of the task force.  He’s indicated numerous times that he would be resistant any revenue stream that included a tax increase, saying Missouri’s $27 Billion budget is enough of a tax burden.

Task Force Chairman Corlew has concluded that the committee should release a three-part report when it finishes its business in January.  He said it should make an immediate recommendation for investment in roads, offer a more sustainable long-term revenue source (to offset the increase in hybrid and electric vehicles), and identify legislative measure to help stabilize the transportation system.

The Transportation Task Force is next scheduled to hold a hearing next Wednesday, October 18th in St. Louis.

Governor Greitens: 800 new National Guard jobs are coming to Missouri (AUDIO)

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Governor Eric Greitens (R) announced Tuesday in Jefferson City that 800 new Missouri National Guard jobs are coming to the Show-Me State.

Missouri Governor Eric Greitens speaks to reporters at the Jefferson City Memorial Airport on October 10, 2017 (Brian Hauswirth photo)

Greitens and Missouri National Guard Adjutant General Stephen Danner made the announcement during a press conference at the Jefferson City Memorial Airport.

Greitens tells the Capitol Press Corps he’s been working closely with Danner since January, to support and “grow” the Guard.

“Lots of transportation units, military police units, some cyber units that all going to be coming to Missouri,” Greitens says. “But these are 800 new jobs that are coming into the state of Missouri.”

The governor says the 800 new Missouri Guard jobs will have a $15 million economic impact.

“Some of these units are being transferred from other states into Missouri,” says Greitens. “And this is something we’ve had conversations with the National Guard Bureau, Army and Air Force leadership, through my service on the Council of Governors, we’ve been talking with other governors and other Adjutant Generals about.”

Greitens describes transportation as “an incredibly important military skill set.” The new jobs include a new Transportation Battalion in southeast Missouri’s Fredericktown and a new Transportation Company in southwest Missouri’s Anderson and Monett.

“In the middle of a tornado, an ice storm, historic flooding, when we need to open up roads and we need to make sure that transportation is working freely so that emergency services can get in and out, that’s a critical role that our National Guard can play,” Greitens says.

The new units also include the 1231st Transportation Company in Bridgeton and Columbia and the 1136th Military Police Company in Lebanon and Rolla.

Greitens and the Guard say that by the end of 2019, the new 1251st Transportation Company in Farmington and Perryville is expected to be in place, along with the 529th Trial Defense Team in Jefferson City and the 1135th Maintenance Company in Kansas City.

The governor tells reporters that he’s assisting in recruiting for the Missouri National Guard, saying men and women learn leadership, teamwork and service in the Guard. Greitens also notes the new jobs include access to health care and education benefits.

Greitens says the new units “are the result of direct negotiations” with the National Guard Bureau and other states.

Missouri has about 9,300 Army National Guard soldiers.

The Missouri National Guard website notes the National Guard is the only military branch that supports both the President and the governor of the Guard’s home state. It’s called a dual mission.

The website notes “the Missouri National Guard answers to both President Donald Trump and Governor Eric Greitens.”

 

Missouri Governor Eric Greitens briefed Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and the Capitol Press Corps on October 10, 2017 at the Jefferson City Memorial Airport. Click here to listen to the full media briefing:

 

 

Coalition hyped up about tubes taking you from KC to St. Louis in 31 minutes

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A futuristic tube-like system that could take passengers from Kansas City to St. Louis in 31 minutes might not be that far into the future. A company called Hyperloop One is developing the innovative subway-esque pod system that could transport cargo and commuters as fast as 750 miles per hour.

Photo courtesy of Hyperloop One

MODOT engineer Tom Blair tells Missourinet several Missouri groups are trying to raise about $1.5 million to learn if it makes financial sense to have the mode of transportation along I-70.

“That lineal electric motor sort of launches you, if you will. You or the freight are inside of a pod, whatever size that pod is. It’s key that this is not a train,” says Blair. “That pod is traveling on a magnetic levitation rail system. It lowers the friction versus traditional rail where you have the big trains screeching along the rail lines that create a lot of friction, consume a lot of energy and make it a lot harder and is more costly to move those trains.”

The study could include ridership forecasts and determining how much state money would be required to fund the private operation that Blair says would not increase taxes.

The technology could revolutionize Missouri’s aging transportation network and create less wear and tear on vehicles and the state’s roadways.

“The actual travel time is less than a traditional vehicle, plane or train. Maybe if there’s no stops along the way, it might even entice you to get into it and say ‘Wow, I just got from St. Louis to Kansas City in 31 minutes,’” says Blair.

The fuel tax, which helps to finance the replacement and upkeep of Missouri’s roads and bridges, has not been increased in more than 20 years.

Trade group says Missouri has an acute shortage of construction industry workers

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The state of employment across the country and in Missouri has been one of slow job growth and stagnant wages since the Great Recession of 2007.

Image provided by Associated General Contractors of Missouri

But a trade group representing one industry claims conditions are far better for its workers. The Asociated General Contractors of Missouri (AGC) says construction workers are in short supply and their wages are far higher than average.

The organization released the new AGC of America Workforce Survey during its annual “BuildMO Week” which wraps up Friday.  It found that the industry contributed almost 4%, or $11 billion of the state’s $301 billion Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Construction wages totaled $7 billion in Missouri. According to the survey, industry workers’ pay averaged $56,000, which is 20% more than all private sector employees in the state.

The study also showed that there’s a critical shortage of skilled workers statewide. About 71% of Missouri contractors surveyed said they have difficulty filling some hourly craft positions and 20% report they are having trouble filling some salaried field positions. About 41% report they are having difficulty filling some office salary positions.

Republican State Representative Bill Reiboldt of Neosho recently told Missourinet that the Missouri Transportation Department sent construction workers south of the state border to help with interstate highway construction.

“A lot of our construction people have gone to Arkansas to work through the northwest Arkansas area,” said Reiboldt. “I-49 has really changed.”

AGC Missouri kicked off BuildMO Week Monday with a conference in Springfield, which included a bipartisan group of elected and business leaders.

Democratic state Representative Crystal Quade of Springfield, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce President Matt Morrow and Springfield Mayor Ken McClure joined AGC President Len Toenjes to highlight a partnership that could help connect job seekers with positions in the worker-starved Missouri construction industry.

The AGCMO Student Chapter at Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC) was recently established, which offers networking and industry opportunities for students.  Toenjes thinks the partnership will help boost employment numbers in Missouri’s construction sector.

“The career and technical education programs provided at OTC and other schools throughout our state are so important,” said Toenjes.  “The hiring situation is very favorable right now for students trained in the trades.”

OTC Chancellor Dr. Hal Higdon says the job picture is outstanding for people who get the proper training. “We know from our follow-up surveys that 100% of our construction technology graduates are employed,” said Higdon. “There are plenty of job opportunities in construction for people with the right skills who are willing to work hard.”

According to the AGC survey, construction employed more than 118,700 people throughout the state in August. Toenjes thinks the shortage of available construction workers is tied to acute economic problems during the previous decade.

“In 2008 when we had our severe economic downturn, we lost a lot of skilled craft workers. And now 10 years later as we’re coming back out of this, those folks are gone. They’ve gone on to other careers or they’ve retired.”

A second BuildMO Week conference was held Tuesday at North County Technical School in Florissant, near St. Louis.

AGC of Missouri says it represents more than 500 commercial, industrial, heavy and highway contractors, industry partners and related firms in 110 counties in the state.

Study: Drivers at high risk of having car vs. deer accidents in Missouri

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White-Tailed deer (photo courtesy; Missouri Department of Conservation/Noppadol Paothong)

A new study shows Missouri remains a “high risk” state for deer collisions. State Farm Insurance’s 2017 deer-collision study shows Missouri drivers have a 1 in 112 chance of hitting a large animal like a deer or elk. The data is based on insurance claims.

Drivers in West Virginia are at the greatest risk with a 1-in-43 chance of hitting a deer with their cars. Missouri is 17th on this year’s list – unchanged from last year.

According to State Farm, the top five states for deer collisions are West Virginia, Montana, Pennsylvania, Iowa and Wisconsin.

For more information on the report, click here.

By Pat Curtis of Radio Iowa

Missouri lawmaker wants to increase penalties for those who block interstates without permit (AUDIO)

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A Missouri lawmaker will file legislation in January to increase penalties on those who impede traffic on roads and interstates without a permit.

State Rep. Nick Schroer (R-O’Fallon) speaks on the Missouri House floor in March 2017 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

St. Louis Police say they made 143 arrests on Tuesday night, after protesters blocked traffic on Interstate 64 (Highway 40), near Kingshighway.

State Rep. Nick Schroer, R-O’Fallon, tells Missourinet the First Amendment does not allow for the intentional disruption of the flow of traffic.

“It’s a situation that presents a clear and present danger that allows state governments, and even the federal government if they wanted to, to chime in and enact policies and penalties, so to speak,” Schroer says.

Schroer, an attorney, says the current penalty is a misdemeanor, if it’s prosecuted at all. He is still working on the bill, including the specifics of what the proposed penalties would be.

Schroer, who was elected to the House in 2016, says it’s also a safety issue.

“This is something that is unsafe to the protesters, it’s unsafe to the families, to the pedestrians, the civilians driving their cars,” says Schroer.

A similar bill from veteran State Rep. Nick Marshall, R-Parkville, died in the Missouri House Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee in March.

Under the Marshall bill, the offense of unlawful traffic interference on a public street or highway would have been a class A misdemeanor for the first violation and a class E felony for subsequent violations. The offense of unlawful traffic interference committed on an interstate highway would have been a class E felony.

Critics of the Marshall bill included the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and State Rep. Bruce Franks Jr., D-St. Louis, who said during the March hearing that protests are meant to make people feel uncomfortable.

“To make people uncomfortable, to let people know that it’s not going to be business as usual, and actually make your voice heard,” Franks said in March.

The “St. Louis Post-Dispatch” reports Representative Franks was one of the 143 people arrested on Tuesday night.

Franks has been a protest leader following the September not guilty verdict of former St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley. Stockley was charged in St. Louis City with first degree murder and armed criminal action, for the December 2011 shooting death of Anthony Lamar Smith during a police pursuit.

As for Schroer, he tells Missourinet some protesters have damaged motorists’ vehicles, citing an alleged September incident on Main Street in St. Charles.

Schroer says his bill will protect the First Amendment rights of protesters. He also says this is about interstate commerce.

Missouri lawmakers can begin pre-filing bills on Friday, December 1.

The 2018 session will begin in Jefferson City on Wednesday January 3.

 

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet news director Brian Hauswirth and State Rep. Nick Schroer, which was recorded on October 4, 2017:

 

Missouri Supreme Court looks at wrongful death case complicated by juror’s statement

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The state Supreme Court is considering a case from southeast Missouri’s Stoddard County on whether a juror properly disclosed her previous involvement in litigation.

The Missouri Supreme Court Building in Jefferson City

In a $19 million wrongful death lawsuit against it, Fort Worth, Texas based BNSF Railway contends juror Kimberly Cornell intentionally failed to disclose that her son was killed in an auto accident, and that she was also involved in his wrongful death lawsuit.

BNSF attorneys were interested in the disposition of potential jurors in order to protect the company against possible bias.

Before trial, the court mailed a questionnaire to prospective jurors.  The form sent to Cornell misspelled her last name as Carnell.

She filled it out, claiming she’d never been a party to a lawsuit or made a claim against anyone, but didn’t correct the misspelled name.

Her name continued to be incorrect on subsequent documents, including on one used by BNSF attorneys to corroborate statements of potential jurors.

A deputy county clerk, Cindy Wheeler, became aware of the misspelling on the first morning of the trial when the jury was being selected, and says she informed an attorney on both sides of the case about the discrepancy.

BNSF says it wasn’t informed about the misspelling of Cornell’s last name until after the trial.  It contends it otherwise conducted a reasonable search to check the accuracy of potential juror statements.

The company claims there is no mention in any court records of the misspelling of Juror Cornell’s name before or during jury selection, or during the trial.

Attorney Booker Shaw argued on behalf of BNSF before the high court.  “It’s unreasonable to believe that there is no mention anywhere in this record, contemporaneous with such an unusual event, by the court or by the clerk that there was notification given to counsel, that counsel was given an opportunity or time to conduct this search,” said Shaw.

Attorney Michael Manners argued for Sherry Spence, the plaintiff in the wrongful death case.  Manners referenced post trial transcripts in noting that deputy county clerk Wheeler stated she informed attorneys on both sides prior to jury selection of the misspelling of Cornell’s last name.

“Clearly, unequivocally they (BNSF) knew about it before the commencement of voir dire (jury selection),” said Manners.  “And we know from the record that it was four-and-a-half hours from the time voir dire (jury selection) until the jury was seated.”

Manners argued that attorneys for BNSF had ample time to corroborate the accuracy of potential juror statements through a web search, but acknowledged there was no verbal announcement recorded by a court reporter of the name discrepancy.

Spence brought the wrongful death lawsuit after her husband, Scott Spence, was struck and killed by a BNSF train on a railroad crossing on a county road in southeast Missouri’s Pemiscot County.

Spence filed a wrongful death case against BNSF and two employees – the engineer and conductor of the train.  The employees were later dropped from the suit.

The case went to trial in late April 2015.  In May of 2015, the trial court entered a judgement against BNSF, calling on the rail company to pay Spence $19 million plus court costs and interest at the rate of 5.25% per annum.

In December 2016, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Southern District in Springfield reversed the trial court’s judgment.

The state Supreme Court is considering the trial court’s decision and will issue a decision at a later date.  BNSF is seeking a new trial in the case.