Blue Springs Archives

Missouri’s governor is reiterating his call for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to manage the Missouri River differently. Governor Mike Parson briefed Capitol reporters last week at the Statehouse in Jefferson City.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson talks with Congressman Emanuel Cleaver (left) and others in flooded Orrick in April 2019 (file photo courtesy of Congressman Cleaver’s office)

“And if it means more money through some of the states, we’ve met with other governors,” Parson says. “The governor of Nebraska, the governors of Iowa and Kansas and talked about that very same thing.”

Parson notes more than 80 Missouri levees have overtopped or breached in 2019.

“How can we maybe pool some resources together to try to help this management of the Missouri River on the Missouri side of it, similar to what we do on the Mississippi (River) side,” says Parson.

Meantime, Governor Parson (R) will be meeting with U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Kansas City, and western Missouri farmers on Tuesday to discuss flooding and other agricultural issues.

Parson will travel to the state Department of Conservation’s Burr Oak Woods Nature Center in Blue Springs to meet with Congressman Cleaver and the Fifth District Agriculture Advisory Committee. Blue Springs is a Kansas City suburb.

The governor has signed an executive order creating a flood recovery advisory working group. Parson says Missouri “has been plagued by record-level flooding this year.” Parson says the group will provide input on Missouri’s flood recovery priorities and will also give feedback on Missouri’s current levee system.

While tomorrow’s 10 a.m. meeting is closed, Governor Parson and Congressman Cleaver will brief reporters after the Blue Springs meeting.

During an interview at the 2018 Missouri State Fair in Sedalia, Cleaver praised Parson’s emphasis on infrastructure.

“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. You can expect all the support you need from me,” Cleaver told Missourinet at the fair.

Cleaver’s district includes Kansas City and three rural western Missouri counties: Lafayette, Ray and Saline.