Boonville Archives - Missourinet

Mass vaccination clinics are scheduled for Monday in four Missouri towns

February 28, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

Four mass vaccination clinics are planned across Missouri on Monday.

The Missouri National Guard directs traffic at a mass vaccination clinic in northern Missouri’s Unionville on February 27, 2021 (photo courtesy of the State Emergency Management Agency’s Twitter page)

The Missouri National Guard, state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), the state Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and local health agencies are conducting the clinics.

Monday’s mass vaccination clinics are taking place in eastern Missouri’s Arnold, which is south of St. Louis. They’re also taking place in southeast Missouri’s Cape Girardeau, mid-Missouri’s Boonville and in southern Missouri’s Cuba, which is northeast of Rolla.

Locations are the First Baptist Church of Arnold, Cape Girardeau’s Show Me Center, the Isle of Capri casino in Boonville and Cuba’s Knights of Columbus hall.

Governor Mike Parson announced Thursday afternoon that more than 66,500 Missourians have received an initial COVID vaccine dose at a mass vaccination event. More than 70 of these clinics have been completed across the state, including an event Saturday in northern Missouri’s Unionville.

Missouri vaccinators have now administered more than 1.2 million doses of the COVID vaccine, which includes first and second doses. DHSS says 13.7 percent of Missourians have received at least one dose.

MoDOT expects influx of construction workers in central Missouri’s Rocheport, for I-70 bridge project

January 27, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

State transportation officials say construction of the $240 million project to replace the aging I-70 bridge in mid-Missouri’s Rocheport will begin late this year.

The current I-70 bridge in mid-Missouri’s Rocheport was built in 1960. It’s in poor condition, according to MoDOT (2020 file photo courtesy of MoDOT’s Lissie Wade)

Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) deputy project director Derek Lepper and other officials answered about 90 minutes of questions from residents, during a virtual open house Tuesday evening. The current bridge will be used, while the new one is built.

“Well our plan is to try and keep two lanes open in each direction (on current bridge) for the majority of the project and just utilize like single lane closures during non-peak hours to try and alleviate any congestion that we can,” Lepper says.

The new bridge is expected to be completed by December 2024. MoDOT describes the current bridge as “the lynchpin of America,” carrying more than 12 million vehicles annually. That includes 3.6 million trucks.

The current bridge, which was built in 1960, is listed in poor condition by MoDOT. The agency says the bridge connects a majority of the nation. Within 48 hours, trucks carrying goods to all 48 lower states will have crossed the Rocheport bridge, according to MoDOT.

The agency is also thanking leaders in several mid-Missouri communities for contributing to the massive Rocheport project. MoDOT Rocheport bridge project director Brandi Baldwin says local support is key.

“$4.2 million has been provided by Boone County, Cooper County, Boonville and Columbia making up those local monies,” says Baldwin. “And we would like to thank them today for helping us make this project a reality.”

Baldwin also announced during the virtual town hall that the current bridge will be demolished, once the new bridge opens.

She also says the new bridge will be required to carry six lanes of traffic, to accommodate future I-70 growth. She also says the project will bring an influx of construction workers to Rocheport, which is 16 miles west of Columbia.

Missouri has received an $81 million federal grant to replace the bridge. The federal grant was also tied-in to a related project to build 1.2 miles of truck climbing lanes on I-70 at east-central Missouri’s Mineola Hill. The Mineola Hill project, which is happening in Montgomery County, continues to progress. There are cranes on-site, along with equipment.

UPDATE: New Year’s Day winter storm could bring half-inch of ice to portions of Missouri (AUDIO)

January 1, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

The National Weather Service (NWS) is urging most Missourians to avoid traveling most of New Year’s Day, as a major winter storm approaches from the south.

The National Weather Service (NWS) offices in Pleasant Hill and Springfield have issued winter storm warnings for large parts of Missouri (December 31, 2020 map courtesy of NWS Springfield Twitter)

NWS Pleasant Hill meteorologist Pamela Pietrycha says Kansas City, Columbia, Jefferson City, Chillicothe, Moberly and Marshall will be under a winter storm warning starting at midnight, January 1st.

“Generally along that Butler to Sedalia to Moberly line, including Columbia, Jefferson City and some areas south of there … could see a quarter-of-an-inch all the way up to perhaps a half-an-inch of ice accumulation,” Pietrycha says.

Mid-Missouri’s Boonville and northeast Missouri’s Hannibal are also included in the warning area.

“If you don’t need to travel, please don’t. Conditions are going to deteriorate very rapidly tomorrow (New Year’s Day) morning especially,” says Pietrycha.

Many other parts of Missouri will be under a winter weather advisory. Northwest Missouri’s St. Joseph and Trenton are in the advisory area.

“We’re looking at about one to three inches (of snow), possibly some people on the south side of St. Joe (St. Joseph), down towards the Kansas City area would see a little bit higher snowfall,” Pietrycha says.

Meantime, the NWS Springfield office says southwest Missouri’s Lebanon and Bolivar could see up to a half-inch of ice. Waynesville, which is near Fort Leonard Wood, could get a quarter-of-an-inch of ice.

Those areas are all under a winter storm warning, along with Osage Beach.

The NWS Springfield office is urging residents across the Ozarks to be prepared for the loss of power.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and National Weather Service (NWS) Pleasant Hill meteorologist Pamela Pietrycha, which was recorded on December 31, 2020:

Christmas Eve and Christmas Catholic masses will be different this year in Missouri (AUDIO)

December 22, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The COVID pandemic has prompted the Roman Catholic Church to schedule additional Christmas Eve masses this year, and 3 p.m. Christmas Eve services will be allowed for the first time ever in Missouri.

St. Mary Parish in mid-Missouri’s Glasgow is located in the Diocese of Jefferson City (December 2020 photo courtesy of Bishop McKnight)

Diocese of Jefferson City Bishop Shawn McKnight, who was appointed by Pope Francis in 2017, says the early Christmas Eve masses are the most popular ones of the year.

“We are stepping things up in order to provide even multiple opportunities for mass perhaps even in the same parish. Having more than one mass going at the same time,” Bishop McKnight says.

The Diocese of Jefferson City has 110 parishes in 38 counties in central, west-central and northeast Missouri. The diocese includes Jefferson City, Columbia, Boonville, Hannibal, Moberly, Marshall, Rolla and Sedalia.

Columbia’s Our Lady of Lourdes church, the largest parish in the diocese, is offering two separate 3 pm and 5 pm masses on Christmas Eve.

Some of the other larger parishes in the state have similar plans. Assumption Parish in eastern Missouri’s O’Fallon plans a 4 p.m. Christmas Eve mass in the church and a 4:15 p.m. mass in the chapel.

“The more opportunities that we have available, then the greater allowances for social distancing,” says McKnight.

Bishop McKnight has asked every available priest in his diocese to celebrate a 3 p.m. Christmas Eve mass. He says it’s about safety during the pandemic.

“It was a recommendation of the priest council of the diocese to me several months ago that we move up the time period for Christmas vigil masses,” McKnight says. “Normally, it’s at 4 o’clock, the earliest mass that can take place before a holy day.”

Masks and social distancing are required at all masses in Missouri, and the bishops in all four dioceses have given Catholics dispensation from mass obligations until further notice. That’s due to the pandemic.

Bishop McKnight says divine law still requires Catholics to pray the rosary, read scripture or watch a live-streamed mass, if they’re unable to attend mass in-person.

He’ll celebrate a Christmas Eve mass at 7 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Jefferson City.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with Diocese of Jefferson City Bishop Shawn McKnight, which was recorded on December 17, 2020:

Boonville hospital closing and Medicaid expansion emerge as issues in key Missouri Senate race (AUDIO)

November 2, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Both major parties are pouring money and resources into a mid-Missouri state Senate race, a race that could determine whether Republicans keep a veto-proof majority in that chamber.

The race features Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, and former State Rep. Judy Baker, D-Columbia.

The district covers Boone and Cooper counties, along the I-70 corridor. While Columbia and Boonville are the two major cities in the district, there are also numerous small towns and farms across the two counties.

Rowden, who served two terms in the Missouri House from 2013-2016, won the Senate seat in 2016 by defeating then-State Rep. Stephen Webber, D-Columbia. Rowden had 45,335 votes, to Webber’s 43,179. Rowden won the race by about two-and-a-half points.

The majority leader is the two number two position in the Missouri Senate. Rowden says serving as majority leader gives him a larger role in impacting the agenda.

“For me that’s making sure that we find a way to get past COVID, trying to find a way to make sure that small businesses have what they need on the back end of COVID, that’s going to be a challenge,” Rowden says. “Trying to make sure the budget situation is stable.”

Rowden also says transportation is huge in the district, noting the importance of an $81-million dollar federal grant to replace the aging I-70 Rocheport bridge. Rocheport is just west of Columbia.

More than 12 million vehicles cross the massive bridge annually, including three million trucks. The bridge connects Boone with Cooper county, across the Missouri River. The current bridge is more than 60 years old, and the state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) has said it’s in poor condition.

Judy Baker served two terms in the Missouri House, from 2005-2008. She left her House seat to run for an open U.S. House seat in 2008, narrowly losing that race to Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-St. Elizabeth, who’s now in his sixth term.

If elected to the Missouri Senate, Baker’s top priority is implementing and protecting Medicaid expansion, which was approved by Missouri voters in August.

“We just passed it (in August) and in this (senatorial) district, it passed with 62 percent of the vote. And my opponent, of course, has voted against it every time he could,” Baker says.

Medicaid expansion supporters say it will provide healthcare to Missourians who earn less than $18,000 annually.

This year’s closing of a hospital in Boonville has emerged as an issue in this race. Baker tells Missourinet that Pinnacle Regional Hospital in Boonville and some other hospitals would have been saved by Medicaid expansion.

“Those hospitals would have been able to stay in their communities, had they had some kind of revenue for the patients they were already seeing,” says Baker.

But Rowden tells Missourinet that the Boonville hospital closed because of mismanagement, saying hospital leaders in Boonville didn’t have the best interest of the community at heart. Rowden disagrees with Baker on Medicaid expansion.

“Well Medicaid expansion wouldn’t keep any rural hospital open, and there’s no data to back that up,” says Rowden. “I do think the infusion of federal dollars could have postponed the inevitable, in some cases.”

The Missouri Hospital Association says ten rural hospitals have closed in Missouri, since 2014.

Rowden and Baker are also clashing over the initial cost of Medicaid expansion, with Rowden saying it will cost $300 to $500 million in the first five years. He says the money has to come from somewhere, and doesn’t want it coming from Mizzou.

Baker says Medicaid expansion would be an economic boost to hospitals and to the towns that have hospitals, especially rural areas.

Republicans currently control the Senate 23-8, with three vacancies. Two of the three vacancies are in the heavily-Democratic Kansas City area, and one is in southeast Missouri, a GOP stronghold.

A veto-proof majority in the Missouri Senate is 23 Senate seats.

Democrats hope to unseat both Majority Leader Rowden and State Sen. Andrew Koenig, R-Manchester, on Tuesday. If that happens and if the other Senate races end up as expected, Republicans would have 22 seats, one short of a veto-proof majority.

Governor Mike Parson (R) noted the importance of Rowden’s seat, during a speech last week to supporters at Emery Sapp and Sons in Columbia. Parson spoke directly to the construction workers in the back of the room, saying “I need him,” referring to Senator Rowden.

Rowden’s other top priorities include protecting funding for Mizzou, as well as K-12 and other higher education funding.

Baker is also focused on the COVID pandemic, and says any economic recovery should be geared toward working families.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with Missouri Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, which was recorded on October 28, 2020:

Click here to listen to Brian’s full interview with former State Rep. Judy Baker, D-Columbia, which was recorded in Columbia on October 29, 2020:

Parson: Missouri now has 15 confirmed cases of coronavirus

March 17, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor announced Tuesday night in Jefferson City that there are five new positive cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 15.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson addresses Capitol reporters in Jefferson City, after he declared a state of emergency in Missouri for coronavirus (March 13, 2020 file photo courtesy of the Governor’s office)

Governor Mike Parson says there are now four confirmed cases in southwest Missouri’s Greene County, four in St. Louis County, two in western Missouri’s Cass County, one in mid-Missouri’s Boone County, one in mid-Missouri’s Cole County, one in St. Louis City, one in Jackson County and one in western Missouri’s Henry County.

The governor says the state health lab has tested 267 people for COVID-19. There have been 253 negative patients, while 15 have tested positive.

Governor Parson is starting daily briefings about coronavirus, and the first one is happening tonight at the Statehouse in Jefferson City.

The governor was joined by state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) Director Dr. Randall Williams, State Medicaid Director Todd Richardson and state Department of Public Safety (DPS) Director Sandy Karsten.

The governor is emphasizing the importance of personal responsibility, and washing your hands.

The governor announced earlier that the state’s 13 riverboat casinos will close at midnight, and will remain closed through March 30. Governor Mike Parson says the aim is to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Some of the towns impacted by the casino closings are Boonville, Cape Girardeau, Caruthersville and St. Joseph.

Winter weather advisories will cover most of Missouri on Thursday into Friday (AUDIO)

January 23, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The National Weather Service (NWS) will be issuing multiple winter weather advisories on Thursday afternoon and evening, that will impact almost all of Missouri.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Pleasant Hill says the heaviest snow on Thursday will be in the Moberly and Macon areas (January 23, 2020 map courtesy of NWS Pleasant Hill Twitter)

NWS Pleasant Hill meteorologist Spencer Mell is urging you to slow down on the road.

“Roads across, especially across northern Missouri this afternoon, are already snow-covered,” Mell says. “And it really doesn’t take much, we’ve seen a lot of accidents already out there.”

Missourinet Cameron affiliate KMRN (AM 1360) and Chillicothe affiliate KCHI (FM 102.5) report dozens of school districts across northwest Missouri canceled classes today. Many of them have been closed all week.

The winter weather advisory for northern Missouri will take effect at 3 p.m. The heaviest band of snow will impact towns like Moberly, Macon, Boonville, Fayette, and Marshall, where four to six additional inches is possible.

“As we get into this evening, the temperatures are going to cool down out there and we will see a band of heavier snow set up in that area,” says Mell.

As for the Kansas City metro over to west-central Missouri’s Sedalia, NWS meteorologist Mell expects more snow to fall tonight.

“So we’re probably looking at more of the 8 to 10 p.m. time frame before we really start to see the snow stick in the Kansas City area,” Mell says.

In mid-Missouri, Mell says snow is expected to start falling again at about 10 p.m. in Jefferson City and Columbia. Two to four inches of additional snow is expected.

In St. Louis, the NWS office there says light snow and snow will change to all snow during tonight’s evening rush hour. The NWS says it will reduce visibility for St. Louis-area motorists, and potentially create snow-covered road conditions. About an inch of snow is expected.

Snow will also impact the Ozarks tonight into Friday. The I-44 corridor between Lebanon, Waynesville and Rolla should see two to three inches.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with National Weather Service (NWS) Pleasant Hill meteorologist Spencer Mell, which was recorded on January 23, 2020:

Winter weather advisory for northern Missouri goes into effect Tuesday night (AUDIO)

October 29, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Pleasant Hill has issued a winter weather advisory for northern Missouri, primarily from Boonville and Moberly points north. The advisory includes Kansas City.

The National Weather Service is expecting snow to begin Tuesday night in northern Missouri (October 29, 2019 map courtesy of NWS St. Louis Twitter page)

NWS meteorologist Chris Bowman tells Missourinet the advisory takes effect Tuesday night at 10.

“The best chances for any kind of accumulating snow and any kind of light glaze from freezing drizzle is going to be north of the (Missouri) river, into that Maryville, Chillicothe, Kirksville area,” Bowman says.

He says the heaviest snowfall will be north of the Highway 36 corridor.

“Areas from Moberly to (northwest Missouri’s) Chillicothe could see about one to two inches,” says Bowman. “Kirksville, maybe upwards of four inches.”

Northeast Missouri’s Edina could also see three to four inches of snow by Thursday morning, while northwest Missouri’s Maryville and Albany are expected to receive two to three inches of snow.

The winter weather advisory issued by the NWS in Pleasant Hill does not include mid-Missouri, at this time. Mr. Bowman tells Missourinet that Jefferson City, Columbia, Mexico and Sedalia could see a glaze of ice, primarily on elevated surfaces, along with light snow.

“Looking at maybe a trace to an inch of snowfall, so you know, a dusting to maybe an inch,” Bowman says.

The NWS also says three-tenths of an inch of snow fell Monday night at Kansas City International Airport, making it only the 14th measurable October snowfall in 132 years of record-keeping. It’s also only the third time it’s happened in back-to-back years.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Chris Bowman, which was recorded on October 29, 2019:

Levee breached in southern Howard County

May 31, 2019 By Ashley Byrd

photo: LG Patterson, 93.9The Eagle

A levee in the southern part of the county breached late Friday morning. Even more road closures and property damage were expected in the Boonville, New Franklin, and Rocheport area.

Hundreds of roads are closed in the state, and it may stay that way for a while. See MoDot’s latest list here. Spur 240 was one of the newer closures as of Friday morning, between Highway 40 and Route BB in Rocheport. Evacuations continue in parts of towns like New Franklin and Brunswick.

Sandbagging efforts continue in Missouri River towns like Rocheport and Hartsburg to fight back the flood.

Read more at 93.9 The Eagle, our Columbia affiliate.

Boonville gets historic rail bridge, state money toward refurbishments

January 8, 2013 By Mike Lear

What has been called one of Missouri’s most endangered historic places has a new owner.

The Katy Bridge includes a 408-foot lift span using technology that is unique to this bridge.

A train hasn’t crossed the 81-year-old Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad Bridge over the Missouri River at Boonville since 1986. Since then there has been an effort and even a legal battle to save the bridge. Last night the Boonville City Council voted to take ownership from Union Pacific.

The bridge will become part of the Katy Trail, and Boonville Special Projects Coordinator Kate Fjell says that’s not all.

“We wanted it to be able to be event space or a place where people can watch eagles because we know that eagles roost over there during the season. You can just enjoy the River. It’s the only River crossing along the Katy Trail, so we really feel it has lots of uses beyond just something that people are going to walk or bicycle over.”

The City has also received about $430-thousand dollars in state transportation enhancement funds that will support the first phase of bridge renovations.

Fjell says, “That’s going to build the missing span, which is on the Boonville side, and also will repair and rehabilitate a certain portion of the bridge to the first truss span. After the completion of that people will actually be able to walk out onto the bridge, or a certain portion, and have a River view.”

The following phases will repair and clean the uniquely designed lift span and the rail bed will be converted to the trail, the third phase will refurbish the bridge from the lift span to the Howard County side, and finally the bridge will be reconnected to the Howard County side.

The City plans to keep the lift span operational. Fjell says the project will cost an estimated $3.5 to $4-million dollars.

The bridge was the subject of a legal battle when Union Pacific planned in 2005 to remove portions of it to be used on a bridge over the Osage River. Stimulus funds secured by the state in 2010 are building that bridge and allowed for the Boonville bridge to remain intact.