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Missouri River likely to enter minor flood stage this week

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Levels on the Missouri River could move into minor flood stage from Nebraska City to northwest Missouri’s St. Joseph this week. Chairman Tom Waters with the Missouri Levee and Drainage District Association says the area isn’t prepared for a high-than-normal runoff predicted.

The Missouri River spread out into St. Joseph in 2019/Photo by Brent Martin

“The big issue for us is soil moisture,” Waters tells Missourinet affiliate KFEQ in St. Joseph. “Normally, North and South Dakota, Montana through the summer and fall, it dries out and you go into winter dry, the soil moisture is dry and then it snows, you have your spring rains, but when the soil thaws it’s hungry and it soaks up a lot of that water. There’s not any of that water that is going to be soaked up this year. So, any snow, any rainfall we have we know today that that is going to run into the river and cause river levels to be higher.”

That makes members of the Missouri Levee and Drainage District Association nervous, according to Waters.

“Membership’s very anxious about what’s going on here,” Waters says. “We’ve seen people that had their 2018 crop in a bin that was flooded and lost, weren’t able to plant a 2019 crop and now going into 2020. If they don’t get this crop in, they may be out of business.”

Waters says the only good that could come out of the widespread damage from last year’s floods is that it could finally change attitudes about how best to manage the Missouri River.

Waters perceives a shift in attitudes after the 2019 floods which wasn’t the case after either the 1993 or the 2011 floods.

“Everybody realizes we have to do something different,” according to Waters. “We went through this in 2011. We went through it in 1993 and we didn’t do a lot different. I think we’re seeing some signs and hints it’s going to be different this time so that maybe five or ten years down the road we won’t have such a problem.”

Another wrinkle has been added. The US Army Corps of Engineers is on standby to help in whatever way it can in the battle against the coronavirus. At present, the Corps doesn’t believe that will hamper continuing efforts to rebuild the levees damaged by last year’s floods. Levees in the Omaha District of the Corps of Engineers have mostly been repaired. Several levees in the Kansas City District remain damaged, making vast areas of northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas vulnerable to flooding.

By Brent Martin of Missourinet affiliate KFEQ in St. Joseph

(VIDEO) Summary of today’s press briefing about coronavirus in Missouri

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Gov. Mike Parson announced today that more than 1,300 people have tested positive for the coronavirus and fourteen people have died. Some 15,600 people have been tested for the respiratory disease.

Gov. Mike Parson (Photos courtesy of Parson’s Flickr page)

Parson opened up the briefing by mentioning that state and federal officials are looking at several potential temporary hospital sites around the state to care for coronavirus patients if needed. Parson says they have three main questions in mind.

“Including located in areas with the possibility of deficient bed counts, areas large enough for patient population and areas where utilities are available to start immediate construction if necessary,” says Parson.

Potential sites include the Kemper Arena and Independence Event Center in Kansas City, Hearnes Center in Columbia, the Edward Jones Dome and America’s Center in St. Louis, the Show-Me Center in Cape Girardeau, Hammons Student Center and JQH Arena in Springfield and Missouri Southern State University’s Leggett and Platt Athletic Center in Joplin.

Missouri’s website to file unemployment claims apparently crashed after too many people were trying to submit claims. Parson says the problem has been fixed but the office continues to be flooded with calls and claims.

“There’s just thousands upon thousands of people trying to reach that office every day,” says Parson. “And we’re doing everything we can to process those claims and we’ll continue to do that. We’ve got people working around the clock over there and again, these are just things that’s never happened before and we’ve just got to work through them.”

For the week ending March 21, more than 42,000 unemployment claims were filed, up from nearly 4,000 filed the previous week.

State Auditor Nicole Galloway is calling on the governor to issue a statewide stay-at-home order to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. Galloway, a Democrat running for governor, says public health experts, organizations representing healthcare workers, business and faith leaders, local governments and others have urged Parson to issue the order. Parson responded to Galloway’s call.

Missouri Department of Natural Resources Director Carol Comer

“I would say the state auditor needs to worry about being the state auditor right now,” says Parson. “All of us elected officials right now need to have one thing in mind – it’s what do we do to help with the COVID-19 situation. This is not the time to play politics out of this issue and try to figure out who gets one up. There will be plenty of time for that down the road. Plenty of time, but today is not the time.”

To address overcrowding and social distancing problems over the weekend, state Department of Natural Resources Director Carol Comer says Missouri is temporarily closing four state parks and partially closing another one.

The state parks closing are Castlewood, Elephant Rocks, Watkins Woolen Mill State Historic Site and Park, and Weston Bend. St. Joe State Park will close the off-road vehicle riding area. The changes take effect at 5 p.m. on Thursday and are scheduled to continue until April 30.

Missouri Department of Corrections Director Anne Precythe

At the time of the press conference, Missouri Department of Corrections Director Anne Precythe says there are no positive cases within the prison system. She says a prisoner who previously tested positive for COVID-19 has since tested negative twice. He remains in the hospital for other health problems.

Two staff who do not work in a prison have tested positive. Eighteen inmates have been tested. Thirteen have tested negative. Four are pending and the other one is the case that is now negative.

The toilet paper craze has led the TP factory within the former Crossroads Correctional Center in northwest Missouri’s Cameron to boost its hours of operation. Precythe says the factory has ramped up production by 20%.

“Increasing hours of run time by adding an additional shift, has allowed us to manufacture approximately 3,500 cases of tissue each week,” says Precythe.

Each case contains 96 rolls of tissue. Government agencies and nonprofits can buy the TP through Missouri Vocational Enterprises.

The Jefferson City Correctional Center in mid Missouri is making 4,000 protective gowns.

“The Veterans Commission reached out to us with the need for protective gowns,” says Precythe. “Our clothing plant in Jefferson City created a prototype, which has been approved.”

Missouri’s seven veterans homes are in Cameron, Cape Girardeau, Mexico, Mount Vernon, St. James, St. Louis and Warrensburg.

Missouri Department of Public Safety Director Sandy Karsten

Keeping social distance during severe weather could be complicated. The tornado shelter director in southern Missouri’s Houston, Glenn McKinney, reached out to Missourinet this week, to say he hadn’t received any direction from the state about how to strike that balance. At today’s press briefing, state Public Safety Director Sandy Karsten says the number one priority is to take shelter.

“I know it has to be on the minds of many Missourians as we face severe weather forecasts and certainly watch what has happened in our neighboring states,” says Karsten. “In the situation of tornado safe rooms, we would ask that you also have a plan in which you consider the social distancing – the no more than 10 people and six feet apart. We understand that that may be difficult in certain situations.”

Missourians can take shelter and also protect themselves from coronavirus germs by covering their face, eyes and body.

Watch today’s press briefing below.

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Missouri insurance officials offer advice to residents impacted by major hail storm

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A major insurance company says more than 3,100 insurance claims have already been processed in Missouri, from this weekend’s hail storm and severe weather.

Jefferson City received some of the heaviest damage from the March 27, 2020 hail storm (photo courtesy of the Missouri Limestone Producers Association)

About 1,800 of those claims involve vehicles, and the other 1,250 are for homes.

State Farm Insurance says the heaviest damage is reported in mid-Missouri’s Cole County, in the Jefferson City area. Other concentrated areas of damage include eastern Missouri’s Warren, Lincoln, St. Charles and St. Louis counties.

Some residents saw baseball-sized hail, while others saw golf ball-sized hail.

State Farm spokesman Chris Pilcic tells Missourinet that a drone team should be active this week, along with an automobile tent in Jefferson City. The tent will be by appointment only.

The state Department of Commerce and Insurance is requesting that Missourians who have insurance questions or concerns call the department’s Insurance Consumer Hotline.

That number is 1-800-726-7390.

“Severe weather continues to occur, even in the midst of a pandemic. The Missouri Department of Insurance and the entire insurance industry are prepared to assist Missourians as they undertake the recovery process following these storms,” State Department of Insurance Director Chlora Lindley-Myers says, in a news release.

She advises you to make temporary repairs to prevent further damage. She also recommends not making permanent repairs until your insurance company has inspected your damage.

Director Lindley-Myers also reminds you to watch the repair contractors who inspect your property. The department says unscrupulous companies will cause damage, to increase the repair cost.

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NOAA forecasts another year of widespread river flooding, but not as severe as 2019

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From NOAA reports

NOAA forecasters predict widespread flooding this spring, but do not expect it to be as severe or prolonged overall as the historic floods in 2019. Major to moderate flooding is likely from the Northern Plains south to the Gulf Coast, with the most significant flood potential in parts of North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota.

NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center is forecasting above-average temperatures across the country this spring.

Kevin Low, a hydrologist with the Missouri Basin River Forecast Center, says this spring NOAA is anticipating minor to moderate flooding along the Missouri River from Nebraska City to the mouth of the river in St. Louis.

Forecasters expect above-average precipitation from the Northern Plains, southward through the lower Mississippi Valley.

Warmer-than-average temperatures are most likely from coast to coast this Spring.

Blunt proposes to revamp lower Missouri River management

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Missouri U.S. Senators Roy Blunt and Josh Hawley, along with Senators from Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas, want to overhaul the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers’ management of the lower Missouri River. Blunt, a Republican, says their bill introduced this week is designed to reduce flood risk and improve flood protection along the lower river basin. He says last year’s flooding from March through August made for an unbelievable year.

Missouri U.S. Senator Roy Blunt

“We think the Corps can plan better,” he tells Brownfield Ag News. “But we think the Corps needs some direction and some flexibility to be able to plan better and that’s what this legislation would do.”

Blunt says the bill requires the Corps to come up with a project feasibility study and gives it flexibility for any project where the federal share is less than $75 million to be able to move forward more quickly.

Blunt says it lets the Corps look at the southern Missouri River basin as a unique waterway.

“We’re not trying to get into opening the entire plan or needlessly involve our friends north of us on the Missouri River when they don’t need to be involved. Certainly would welcome input from them,” he says.

Blunt says the Corps will have to look at how navigation and flood control can be a bigger priority.

“All of our input from farm families, farm organizations, businesses and communities along the river has been very positive so far and we hope we can continue to move forward in a unified way to get this done,” says Blunt.

Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst applauds the bill and says it is a huge step forward.

By Julie Harker of Brownfield Ag News

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Task force gets some positive news on Missouri spring flooding potential

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The National Weather Service says Missouri faces above-average flood risk this spring because soil is still saturated from last spring’s flooding. About 1.2 million acres of Missouri farmland was damaged by flooding in 2019.

Missouri Agriculture Director Chris Chinn (Photo courtesy of Brownfield Ag News)

But, Missouri Agriculture Director Chris Chinn says the Governor’s Flood Advisory Task Force has received a glimmer of good news from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers about the potential for spring flooding.

“The reservoirs up north right now have more storage capacity than they did last year at this time. So that’s a positive piece of information that we were really glad to hear,” says Chinn.

Chinn is a member of that task force. She farms in northeast Missouri’s Clarence.

“Last year at this time, we had a really deep freeze in the ground. Right now, we don’t have that,” she says. “So, we’re not going into the spring in the exact same situations that we were last year.”

Chinn says a lot of farm ground is unprotected.

“We do have a lot of levees right now that have not been able to be repaired because the water simply did not recede,” she says.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture, Missouri Farm Bureau, Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the Coalition to Protect the Missouri River are hosting meetings in northwest Missouri March 2nd and 3rd for farmers to meet with state and federal emergency management officials and the USDA’s RMA, FSA and NRCS agencies to ask questions and share their concerns.

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Missouri’s Luetkemeyer and Parson warn about possible spring flooding (AUDIO)

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A Missouri congressman whose district includes the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers is worried about possible flooding again this spring.

U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-St. Elizabeth, spoke in Jefferson City on February 17, 2020 (photo from Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth)

U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-St. Elizabeth, expressed his concerns during an interview with Missourinet this week in Jefferson City. Luetkemeyer’s district includes Jefferson City, Hermann, Washington and St. Charles.

“I know they didn’t get as much water out of the reservoirs up north as they wanted, so that’s a bad combination,” Luetkemeyer says. “Too much water already is in storage.”

Luetkemeyer, who serves on the Mississippi River Flood Valley Association, says it’s time for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to come up with a plan for the Missouri River. He says a plan is needed, noting the state saw record flooding in 2019.

“And you start from St. Louis and go all the way back to Gavins Point, and working with the Corps to have them sit down and do the analysis of what it would take,” says Luetkemeyer.

He says a plan has been in place for 80 years involving the Mississippi River, between St. Louis and New Orleans. Luetkemeyer emphasizes that the plan works.

Congressman Luetkemeyer has met with Missouri Governor Mike Parson (R) and members of the state’s congressional delegation to discuss the flooding issue. Luetkemeyer says it’s a bipartisan issue.

As for the governor, he says President Donald Trump shares his concerns about possible flooding again this spring along the Missouri River. Parson tells Missourinet that he spoke to the president about the issue a few weeks ago.

“He seemed to be engaged on that, he said that he would try to help with that, so that was very encouraging for him to be talking about that,” Parson says.

Parson and the governors of neighboring Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska have met with the Corps of Engineers three times to discuss what needs to be done differently in the future.

The governor’s proposed budget sets aside $4 million in disaster recovery funds.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-St. Elizabeth, which was recorded on February 17, 2020 at Jefferson City’s Capitol Plaza Hotel:

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Missouri’s governor focusing on rural broadband, especially for schools (AUDIO)

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Governor Mike Parson (R) emphasized the importance of broadband in rural Missouri during a Jefferson City appearance on Tuesday, and is praising USDA’s announcement that the state will receive $61 million to expand it.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson delivers his State of the State Address on January 15, 2020 in Jefferson City, as House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, looks on (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The governor discussed the issue, while addressing a few hundred Missouri Farm Bureau members at Jefferson City’s Capitol Plaza Hotel. While the Farm Bureau event was closed to the news media, Parson spoke with Missourinet after his presentation.

“If we can get electricity in every home, and we did that back years ago, we can get internet to everybody’s home to where they can be out there and be competitive,” Parson says.

One of the grants announced in late January by USDA is a $2.5 million grant to help the Green Hills Telephone Corporation expand its fiber network in northwest Missouri’s Caldwell and Livingston counties. That’s expected to help a fire district and two educational facilities.

Governor Parson has noted that there are about ten Missouri school districts that still don’t have broadband. The governor says broadband ties-in with education and his workforce development initiatives.

“We’ve got to make sure we got broadband available to our schools, to give those kids a fighting chance out there in today’s world in technology and everything,” says Parson.

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R) also praises USDA’s announcement, calling it an important step toward ending what he calls the digital divide. Senator Blunt says one-third of rural Missourians lack access to broadband.

As for Governor Parson, he’s also emphasizing the importance of infrastructure, rural health care and the rural way of life.

“I always say the agriculture is so important to our state and what it means for the way of life for a lot of these people (Farm Bureau members), but really for what it means for everyday Missourians no matter where you’re from,” Parson says.

The governor is also concerned about possible flooding again this spring. He tells Missourinet he spoke to President Trump about the issue a few weeks ago, and that the president is engaged on the issue.

Parson’s proposed budget sets aside $4 million in disaster recovery funds.

Agriculture is an $88 billion industry in Missouri. The state has about 100,000 farms.

Click here to listen to the full three-minute interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Governor Mike Parson (R), which was recorded on February 18, 2020 at Jefferson City’s Capitol Plaza Hotel:

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Repair of broken levee system in northwest Missouri hindered by weather

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By BRENT MARTIN, St. Joseph Post

Repair of the broken levee system along the Missouri River has been slow going, as a wet fall and a cold winter has delayed assessment of the damage and construction work.

Emergency Management Specialist Mike Dulin with the Kansas City District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it has been especially slow going north of St. Joseph.

“But in that Holt County area north of St. Joe it’s been a real challenge getting out there and just completing our damage assessments,” Dulin tells St. Joseph Post.

Dulin says even survey crews have had difficulty getting to some levees to assess the damage.

“With everything soggy and frozen the way it is it’s a real challenge to complete those damage assessments,” according to Dulin.

Floodwaters from a swollen Missouri River spilled over the river banks, cutting a path of destruction in northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas truly breathtaking in scope.

“So, overall, we’re looking at a thousand miles of levee system on both sides of the Missouri River and some levees over in Kansas, too,” Dulin says. “I mean, it’s everything, from sod kill and erosion, scour, all the way to breaches being the worst case.”

The Kansas City District of the Corps is working on 67 repair projects, with damage estimated at $100 million. Floodwaters badly damaged 20 federal levees and took out many non-federal levees that are eligible to receive federal money for repairs. That doesn’t even count the damage done to the levee system north of Holt County, from Atchison County to Omaha, which likely will top the KC District total, according to Dulin.

The Corps of Engineers has been able to receive the amount of money needed to make repairs if the weather and conditions finally allow repair to proceed.

Dulin says it has been some time since the Corps faced such a daunting challenge.

“This is the largest levee rehab effort that we’ve seen since 1993,” Dulin says. “So, there’s a very real possibility this could take us up to two years to complete all repairs. So, obviously some repairs will be done much sooner than that, but to fix everything it could take us until the spring of 2021.”

Winter weather advisories and flood watch in effect for different parts of Missouri (AUDIO)

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A winter weather advisory remains in effect for west-central, central and northeast Missouri until midnight. Far northwest Missouri, the Ozarks and southeast Missouri’s Bootheel are not included in the winter weather advisory.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a winter weather advisory for west-central, mid and northeast Missouri (February 12, 2020 map courtesy of NWS Pleasant Hill Twitter page)

Cities and towns in the impacted advisory areas include Sedalia, Marshall, Columbia, Jefferson City and Hannibal. National Weather Service (NWS) Pleasant Hill meteorologist Scott Blair says light to moderate snow has been falling in those areas.

“And that corridor is going to be under the gun for accumulating snowfall, with a lot of wet, slushy snowfall accumulating up to two to four inches by the time all is said and done later on this evening,” Blair says.

Blair tells Missourinet snow totals will be higher on elevated and grassy surfaces. He’s urging motorists in the advisory areas to avoid the roads, if possible.

“But if you do have to venture out, reduce your speed, use those headlights and take extra precautions as you’re driving,” says Blair.

Northeast Missouri’s Hannibal and Louisiana could see up to four inches of snow.

Blair is urging mid-Missourians to have extra coats, hats and gloves on-hand, with frigid Arctic air coming in behind the snowfall. He says the temperatures will quickly fall.

“After the snow does move out later on tonight, we’re going to be looking at some bitterly cold temperatures moving in with temperatures dropping down potentially into the single digits across portions of central Missouri,” Blair says.

Meantime, heavy rain is the biggest issue in southern Missouri. The NWS Springfield office says West Plains, Sikeston and Dexter are under a flood watch, and ponding of roadways is possible.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and National Weather Service (NWS) Pleasant Hill meteorologist Scott Blair, which was recorded on February 12, 2020:

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