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Popular Missouri destination named one of best fall foliage spots in America

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A USA Today readers poll ranks Lake of the Ozarks second in destinations for fall foliage. Central Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks finished in the polling behind Michigan’s Upper Peninsula but topped eight other destinations, including the Pocono Mountains, Door County in Wisconsin, the White Mountains in New Hampshire, among others.

A scenic overlook at Ha Ha Tonka State Park near Camdenton, MO at the Lake of the Ozarks (PHOTO COURTESY OF LAKE OF THE OZARKS TRI-COUNTY LODGING ASSOCIATION & CONVENTION AND VISITOR BUREAU)

“Every autumn, we have many visitors return to the Lake of the Ozarks area for the changing of the seasons,” says Tim Jacobsen, executive director of the Lake of the Ozarks Convention and Visitor Bureau. “The majority of our fall visitors come from Missouri, but we get a lot from all over the Midwest and the west coast, as well, because they don’t get to experience fall like we do here in Central Missouri. They plan their entire vacations around it. Perhaps with this recognition, we’ll see more visitors from around the country traveling to our beautiful destination to enjoy our stunning scenery.”

The peak of the fall color at the Lake of the Ozarks typically occurs in mid- to late-October, when the trees are at the height of their fall display. The peak season varies from year to year, depending on the weather and can span until early November.

The Lake of the Ozarks has more than 1,100 miles of shoreline, with forests stretching along most of it with vibrant shades of red, orange and yellow in the fall.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Missouri line workers in Florida use chain saws, just to clear roads (AUDIO)

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Missouri line workers from the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives (AMEC) who’ve been sent to the Sunshine State to help Floridians impacted by Hurricane Michael are encountering brutal conditions.

Florida’s governor says Hurricane Michael is the worst storm to ever hit the Panhandle (October 2018 photo courtesy of the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives)

AMEC spokesman Jim McCarty tells Missourinet the 123 Missouri line workers who are in Quincy, Florida had to use their chain saws for more than three hours Friday, just to clear roads to get to Talquin Electric headquarters near Tallahassee.

Florida Governor Rick Scott says it’s the worst storm to ever hit the Panhandle, and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson tells CNN it’s the “worst destruction that the Panhandle has seen for however long that I’ve been living. It’s akin to Hurricane Andrew in 1992 where everything was leveled.”

McCarty notes the Talquin Electric Cooperative was near the center of the massive storm.

He notes Talquin sustained severe damage to its distribution and transmission lines, which are complicating power restoration efforts.

“At the height of the outages, 98 percent of Talquin members were without power. Talquin’s infrastructure has sustained comprehensive damage – approximately 1,000 broken poles and numerous downed wires – throughout the entire service territory, that will lead to extended restoration times,” Talquin Electric wrote on its Facebook page.

McCarty also notes that the Quincy area has numerous trees, which were tossed into lines by Hurricane Michael. He says photos from the scene “show a tangle of wire, broken poles and trees that will have to be cleared before lines can be replaced.”

The 123 linemen represent 23 Missouri cooperatives. Linemen from as far away as Osage Valley Electric Cooperative in western Missouri’s Butler and Tri-County Electric Cooperative in northeast Missouri’s Lancaster are in Florida.

McCarty is still requesting prayers for the workers, noting they are seeing damage that is much more extensive than South Carolina in September. He also notes crews are on the lookout for alligators.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Missouri electric cooperative crews heading to Florida (AUDIO)

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CNN reports Hurricane Michael is the strongest storm to make landfall in the continental United States since Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

Linemen from Webster Electric Cooperative in Marshfield pray before their deployment to Florida on October 10, 2018 (photo courtesy of Paul Newton and the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives)

The Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives (AMEC) has sent 123 linemen from 23 cooperatives to Alabama to stage, in a safe place. AMEC spokesman Jim McCarty tells Missourinet those linemen will be heading to the Florida Panhandle community of Quincy, which is near Tallahassee.

“Just as soon as it’s safe for them (Missouri line workers) to travel, they’ll be heading down to Florida,” McCarty says. “Just as soon as those trucks roll in and they can get a safety briefing, they’ll get out and start turning on the lights again.”

Linemen from as far away as United Electric Cooperative in northwest Missouri’s Maryville and Tri-County Electric Cooperative in northeast Missouri’s Lancaster are heading to Florida.

McCarty expects the Missouri line workers to arrive in Florida by Friday.

Florida Governor Rick Scott describes Hurricane Michael as “the worst storm that the Florida Panhandle has ever seen.” McCarty says the Missouri line workers will work in swampy conditions in the Quincy area, adding that it will be difficult to get trucks into the impacted areas.

“Likely they’ll see poles that are snapped off, they’ll be quite a few of those. A lot of trees will fly into the lines. Sometimes the biggest challenge is just untangling the mess,” says McCarty.

McCarty is requesting prayers for the workers, saying they’ll see damage that’s much more extensive than South Carolina last month. He notes Missouri crews also responded to Florida after 2017’s Hurricane Irma.

October 2018 map courtesy of Jim McCarty at the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives

“And those Florida crews what they saw a lot of were spiders, great big spiders and they were everywhere,” McCarty says. “And they’ll (Missouri crews) always probably have somebody watching for alligators.”

AMEC also sent 165 line workers to South Carolina in September, after Hurricane Florence.

 

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Jim McCarty:

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Elite disaster responders from Missouri still helping in North Carolina

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The state’s elite group of disaster responders is helping with search, rescue and evacuation operations in Brunswick County, North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence. Spokesman Gale Blomenkamp says Missouri Task Force 1 is coordinating with other responders for relief.

Missouri Task Force 1 boats deployed to North Carolina during Hurricane Florence (Image courtesy of Boone County Fire Protection District)

“The crews are doing good,” says Blomenkamp. “They’re also working with U.S. Coast Guard boats and high water rescue vehicles. The crews are out doing more recon work and checking on neighborhoods and subdivisions to see how people are faring.”

The Boone County Fire Protection District is the sponsoring agency of the Missouri Task Force, which is under the oversight of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  Only 28 of the elite squads exist in the country and are strategically located in different regions.

Blomenkamp says communities in North Carolina have been receptive to the help coming from Missouri.

“Well they’re gracious and very pleased that we’re there to help them,” Blomenkamp says. “They’ve been great hosts, so to speak, for our men and women, treating us very. The comments on Facebook just prove that people are glad that we’re there. And we’re glad to be there to help.”

KTVI-TV reported late Tuesday night that Task Force 1 have rescued 59 flood victims, checked on over 500 people sheltering in place, evacuated 8 animals and rescued 12 individuals trapped in rising floodwaters in a van.

Missouri Task Force 1 will remain in North Carolina for the time being to help with any additional problems that stem from flooding. All of the 28 task forces across the country are designed to assist out-of-state and with local emergency agencies facing a disaster response.

When they operate in-state, their expenses are financed by the state. Missouri tax dollars were used through the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) when the Columbia team was dispatched to assist with relief during floods in 2017.  FEMA picks up the tab when teams are sent out of state.

Fifty members of Missouri’s Task Force 1 were deployed to North Carolina more than a week ago.

Missourinet media partner KWIX contributed to this report

Missouri line workers assist in power restoration efforts in South Carolina (AUDIO)

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About 100 Missouri line workers are heading back to the Show-Me State Tuesday from South Carolina and about 65 workers remain there.

Missouri line workers attempt to restore power in a swampy area in Kingstree, South Carolina on September 17, 2018 (photo courtesy of Jim McCarty at the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives)

Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives spokesman Jim McCarty says the remaining workers are stationed in Kingstree and Darlington.

He also notes a tanker truck from Jefferson City-based Central Electric Power Cooperative has delivered diesel fuel to cooperatives in both South and North Carolina.

“There were able to fill trucks up in South Carolina and before crews came home there, there was a need for the remaining fuel in North Carolina so it was dispatched north,” McCarty says.

McCarty says many of the Missouri crews have had to use boats to get to impacted areas in South Carolina. He says the workers are focusing on individual and smaller outages, which is time-consuming.

“It’s the kind of work they do everyday after a storm here in Missouri, however these guys traded their bucket trucks in some cases for boats and had to float into swampy areas and areas that had been flooded by the storm,” says McCarty.

Crews also have to be on the lookout for alligators and snakes.

The Missouri electric cooperatives have sent construction and service crews to assist in power restoration efforts.

CNN reports Florence has killed 32 people and has trapped hundreds more. North Carolina’s governor warns that rivers are still rising.

The Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives says South Carolina residents are appreciative of the Missouri line workers who’ve traveled there. McCarty tells Missourinet crews from the Kearney-based Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative also received a pleasant surprise, when they stopped to eat lunch in Tennessee on their way to the Palmetto State.

“When they got finished and went to pay their bill, they were told that people around them recognized they were linemen, that they were heading into the hurricane zone and passed the hat and paid for their lunch,” McCarty says.

McCarty says Missouri’s electric cooperatives also sent crews to Florida and Georgia in 2017 after Hurricane Irma.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives spokesman Jim McCarty, which was recorded on September 17, 2018:

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

 

Missouri House observes moment of silence for fallen Greene County deputy

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Missouri Governor Mike Parson has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at all government buildings in Missouri on Thursday, to honor Greene County Deputy Aaron Roberts.

The Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City

Mr. Roberts died in the line of duty on Friday in Fair Grove, while responding to a 911 call.

Authorities say Roberts’ patrol car was swept away by flood waters.

State Rep. Sonya Anderson, R-Springfield, became emotional this afternoon, while speaking about Deputy Roberts on the House floor.

“We need to remember the sacrifice that they give everyday,” Anderson says. “And I just have no words for what his family is going through.”

The Missouri House observed a moment of silence today for Roberts, who will be buried Thursday.

“Deputy Sheriff Aaron P. Roberts exemplified the finest traditions of our Missouri law enforcement officers,” Governor Parson said in a statement.

The Greene County Sheriff’s Office says a public visitation will take place from 12:30 to 1:30 Thursday afternoon at Praise Assembly on North Glenstone in Springfield.

The funeral service begins at 2 p.m.

The Sheriff’s office says a graveside service will take place at Greenlawn Memorial Garden North on North National in Springfield.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Missouri-based disaster relief organization to assist with Hurricane Florence

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Missouri has several organizations that have mobilized for Florence, a category 4 hurricane expected to leave mass destruction this week on the southeast U.S. coast.

Task Force One based in mid-Missouri’s Columbia has deployed 50 members and 100,000 pounds of equipment to Raleigh, North Carolina as part of its emergency response effort.

Meanwhile, southwest Missouri’s Convoy of Hope Wednesday deployed an advance team from its Springfield headquarters to assess the storm.

It’ll dispatch a larger group Thursday of about 15 people in a dozen vehicles that’ll bring food and water as well as generators, cleaning supplies and personal hygiene kits.

Jeff Nene with Convoy of Hope told KOLR-TV that Hurricane Florence is a much more dangerous storm than the recent Tropical Storm Gordon, which caused moderate damage along the gulf coast.

“The difference between Gordon and Florence is night and day,” said Nene.  “With Florence, she knows where she wants to go and she’s headed there in a hurry.”

The emergency response organization told KOLR it has new equipment it’s sending to help with Florence, including a mobile housing unit that can sleep 19 people and a mobile kitchen unit.  The kitchen will provide food for workers so that donated food can be used exclusively to help hurricane victims.

Nene told KOLR he thinks cleanup efforts could be tough if Hurricane Florence reaches land at maximum strength.

“If it hits at a cat 4, there is going to be significant wind damage along the coast and inland a ways,” Nene said.  “But when it hits, it’s going to slow down and it’s going to dump a ton of rain.”

The Nonprofit, faith-based humanitarian organization says it’ll be working closely with local, state and federal officials in its emergency response.

“We’ve started making phone calls and touching base with people we can partner with along the coast there,” said Nene.

Convoy of Hope is part of the missions arms of the Springfield-based Assembly of God church.

KOLR-TV contributed to this report

Gordon brings Flash Flood Watch across most of Missouri

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There’s been plenty of water cooler talk about the rain from Tropical Storm Gordon moving through Missouri.

Tropical Depression Gordon Impact on Missouri(Image courtesy of the National Weather Service)

Gordon struck the southern Gulf Coast at 70 mph, just shy of hurricane strength, near Pascagoula, Mississippi, late Tuesday.  It was never a Hurricane and later weakened into a depression on Wednesday.

Missourians can expect most of the rain to fall between Thursday night and Sunday morning.   A Flash Flood Watch is in effect for most of the state, except for the southeast and far western portions, from noon Friday through Midnight Saturday night.

The heaviest rain is predicted to fall in an area from Springfield in southwest Missouri extending north and east through Rolla and St. Louis along I-44 into the northeast part of the state.  Those parts of the state could receive up to six inches of precipitation during a period of time lasting two days or less.

Meteorologist Jayson Gosselyn with the National Weather Service in St. Louis points out the rain will be unusual for the Midwest because it’ll have tropical characteristics.  “By tropical characteristics I mean the rainfall rates will be quite heavy,” said Gosselyn.  “You may not have a lot of thunder and lightning with it, but that doesn’t mean you’re not going to get potential heavy rainfall rates,”

Gosselyn says flash flooding will occur if a lot of rain falls quickly, but the full impact of storms won’t be realized immediately on bigger rivers such as the Mississippi, Missouri and Meramec.  “The bigger rivers are still going to be coming up into next week after the rain has already fallen,” Gosselyn said.  “It takes time for all those smaller tributaries to rise and flow into the bigger rivers.”

The most likely portion of the Mississippi River to see significant flooding will be between St. Louis and Chester, Illinois.  Moderate flooding could occur on the Missouri River between Hermann and St. Charles.

Eastern Missouri could see 3-6 inches of rain resulting from Tropical Depression Gordon while 4-6 inches could fall in the southwest portion of the state.

Meteorologist Jeff Raberding with the National Weather Service in Springfield says the heaviest rainfall in southern Missouri will take place from Friday night into Saturday morning.  “It’s the tropical nature of this storm that’s going to drop heavy rain in kind of a short amount of time,” said Raberding.  “So, we’ll likely have some either flash flooding or river flooding and flooding in general.”

Raberling advises drivers in southwest Missouri to be on the lookout for road closures and low-lying water areas.  But he also says flooding will probably pose fewer problems in southwest Missouri because the region is coming out of a drought.

“A lot of our river flows in this part of the state are low, so they can take that water,” Raberling said.  “In other parts of the state where they’ve had quite a bit of rain, it’s going to be a little different there.  It’s going to manifest itself much quicker much quicker into flooding than it would be, say, in our part of the state.”

The rain was already coming down in large quantities ahead of Gordon in west central Missouri where three to four inches fell Thursday.

Meteorologist Jared Leighton is with the National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill, which handles forecasting responsibilities for western and northwestern Missouri.  Far western counties that border Kansas, including the metro Kansas City area, are not included in the flash flood watch.

Leighton says counties east of Kansas City will experience significant rain from Gordon.  “Definitely east of I-35 and south of I-70 we’re still pegging some of those heavier rains, maybe on the order of 3-5 inches across some of those areas,” said Leighton.

While there’ll likely be flood conditions across much of the state, the portion of northwest Missouri most ravaged by the drought will not see heavy rain.

Leighton says those areas will also need more precipitation than what the aftermath of Gordon is bringing.  “Both the combination of we need a little than even one of these types of events, as well as this event is probably going to miss contributes to keeping that drought going probably a little bit longer,” Leighton said.

Eight counties in northern Missouri along with four in the central part of the state and the metro Kansas City area are experiencing the second highest level of drought, D-3, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.  The most severe condition, D-4, is afflicting the immediate Kansas City area.

Cleaver: Missouri’s governor has changed the tone in Jefferson City (AUDIO)

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A Missouri congressman who’s a Senior Whip in the House Democratic Caucus on Capitol Hill is praising Governor Mike Parson’s (R) approach and tone.

Missouri Congressman Emanuel Cleaver speaks to Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth at the State Fair in Sedalia on August 16, 2018 (photo by Ashley Byrd)

U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Kansas City, says the governor called him in June after Parson was sworn-in to request a meeting. Cleaver says they had a great discussion.

“He told me some of the things that I like to hear, which is he’s not into trying to separate people on the basis of politics. He wants to work with people to make good things happen,” Cleaver says. “And I said Governor you’re singing my song.”

Congressman Cleaver tells Missourinet it’s the first time a governor had requested a meeting with him, adding that it meant even more to him because Parson is a Republican.

“And then when he (Governor Parson) told me that he was going to put a list together of things that he wanted to do, and infrastructure was one of them, I said governor you and I are going to have a partnership,” says Cleaver. “You can expect all the support you need from me.”

Cleaver is critical of what he describes as America’s “poisonous political atmosphere.”

He also notes Parson’s approach is much different than former Republican Governor Eric Greitens. Cleaver says tone can both alienate and attract.

Missouri Congressman Emanuel Cleaver (right) hosted a drought meeting with farmers in Richmond on August 8, 2018 (photo courtesy of Congressman Cleaver’s office)

“This governor can do something that maybe the federal government can mimic,” Cleaver says. “Number one, I think infrastructure, but number two, he’s not nasty. He’s not throwing out verbal bombs anyplace.”

Cleaver met with Governor Parson at the State Fair in Sedalia this month and earlier this summer at the Statehouse in Jefferson City. Infrastructure and drought relief are top priorities for both men.

In addition to Kansas City, Cleaver also represents heavily-rural Lafayette, Ray and Saline counties in western Missouri. Cleaver says the drought has impacted farmers, especially cattle farmers, in his district. He hosted a meeting earlier this month in Richmond about drought assistance, and has written a letter to the governor in support of a community development block grant for water towers.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Kansas City, which was recorded on August 16, 2018 in Sedalia:

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Missouri Senator Blunt briefs Branson reporters about duck boat tragedy

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(Operations manager Scott McCaulley at Missourinet Branson affiliate KRZK Radio contributed to this story)

Missouri Senator Roy Blunt (R) says Congress could pass legislation aimed at improving duck boat safety, following the July incident on Table Rock Lake near Branson which killed 17 people.

Missouri State Highway Patrol crews assist the U.S. Coast Guard during the Duck boat recovery efforts on July 23, 2018 (file photo courtesy of the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Twitter page)

Blunt traveled to Branson this past weekend to tour Faith Community Health, where he discussed health care and the opioid epidemic.

Senator Blunt spoke to Missourinet Branson affiliate KRZK Radio (FM 106.3) on Saturday at the event. Blunt tells KRZK that he’s contacting the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), to find out how the duck boat investigation is going.

“There may very well be some legislative effort that needs to be made to ensure that safety standards that are established are met,” Blunt says.

Blunt serves on the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which has oversight over the NTSB.

While Blunt’s Missouri colleague, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) has filed legislation aimed at improving duck boat safety, Blunt wants Congress to be deliberative.

He notes the U.S. House is not in session during August, as House members are back in their districts.

“But there’s no particular reason in my view to rush to a piece of legislation when the information is going to be out there,” says Blunt. “I was here (Table Rock Lake) and met with the investigators the very day they got here.”

Senator McCaskill’s bill would mandate recommendations proposed by federal safety investigators in 1999, when 13 people were killed in a duck boat incident in Arkansas.

Her bill would require amphibious passenger vessels to be equipped to stay afloat in the event of flooding. It would also require duck boats to remove canopies, and calls for increased inspections until all vessels are upgraded.

“Nearly 20 years ago following a similar incident, recommendations were made to help prevent tragedies like we experienced in Branson but they were largely ignored,” McCaskill said on July 31. “It’ll take some time before we know exactly what went wrong in Branson, but there’s absolutely no reason to wait to take this commonsense step.”

U.S. Rep. Billy Long, R-Springfield, whose district includes Branson, has said Congress must do whatever is needed to try to prevent future tragedies from happening.

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley (R) says there are multiple investigations into the tragedy.

Hawley says the NTSB and the U.S. Coast Guard are investigating the sinking of the vessel itself.

Hawley says the Missouri State Highway Patrol is overseeing the investigation into the circumstances that led to the incident.

The “Kansas City Star” reported Tuesday that the U.S. Coast Guard has referred the deadly July duck boat incident to federal prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s office for Missouri’s Western District.

Meantime, Senator Blunt tells KRZK that the Table Rock Lake incident is a tragedy for everyone involved.

“The people that were responsible for that business, I know they’ve been devastated by this in many ways including emotionally,” Blunt says. “The (Indiana) family that lost almost their entire family on that duck boat.”

Blunt says that family will never recover. He also says it has impacted rescuers and survivors.

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