Columbia Archives - Missourinet

Schatz: Missouri Senate to return next week; two senators who tested positive for COVID have recovered (AUDIO)

November 24, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri Senate leader says two state senators and a Senate staff member who tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered.

Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz (R-Sullivan) briefs Capitol reporters on March 12, 2020 in Jefferson City, as Democratic Leader John Rizzo (D-Kansas City) and Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden (R-Columbia) look on (file photo from Missourinet’s Alisa Nelson)

Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, says the full Senate plans to return to Jefferson City next week.

“I haven’t spoken to both of them (the two state senators who tested positive for COVID) but I’ve spoken with one of those senators and he has fully recovered and feeling fine. And I do believe the other senator according to reports, that he is fine also and fully recovered,” Schatz says.

Schatz and Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, announced last Monday that the Senate would postpone debate and votes on the proposed $1.2 billion supplemental budget until after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, due to the positive COVID cases. Schatz says that decision was not made lightly and was done in the best interest of protecting senators, staff members and the public.

Pro Tem Schatz tells Missourinet that the Senate will return next Tuesday afternoon to debate and vote on the supplemental budget. He says the Senate needs two days to get it done, and that will include time for committee hearings.

“Our plan is we adjourned until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, December 1,” says Schatz. “So we are planning to come back and take up some of the appropriations work that the House has sent over to us.”

The House approved the supplemental budget on November 10, on a bipartisan 133-4 vote. The budget deploys federal resources across numerous state departments.

It also provides more authority to spend federal dollars on personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing. It also addresses Missouri’s unemployment fund shortage.

Schatz expects a final vote on the supplemental budget next Wednesday. If the Senate approves it as is, it would go straight to the governor’s desk. If any changes are made, the budget would go to a conference committee.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, which was recorded on November 23, 2020:

Look for Missouri Senate to vote on $1.27 billion supplemental next week (AUDIO)

November 13, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri Senate is expected to debate and vote on the proposed $1.27 billion supplemental budget next Thursday and Friday. That’s according to Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia.

Missouri House Majority Leader Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold, (left) speaks to House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, in the House chamber in Jefferson City on November 10, 2020 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The House gave final approval to the supplemental budget this week, with a bipartisan 133-4 vote. That pleases House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage.

“It (the budget) was more of a what I call ‘keep the trains running on time supplemental budget bill.’ The deployment of federal resources across a variety of state departments is mostly what the bill was about,” Smith says.

He says the budget also provides more authority to spend federal dollars on personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing. Chairman Smith says it also addresses Missouri’s unemployment fund shortage.

“Our plans for unemployment program ran short with higher than expected unemployment,” says Smith.

If the Senate approves the supplemental budget as is, it would head straight to the governor’s desk. If changes are made by the Senate, the budget would head to a Senate-House conference committee.

Smith is hopeful the Senate will send it to Governor Parson’s desk, saying he doesn’t expect it to be controversial in the upper chamber.

Meantime, the state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) says there have been 25,961 new COVID cases in Missouri in the past seven days, along with 63 new deaths in the past week.

State Rep. Jon Carpenter, D-Gladstone, a senior Democrat in the Missouri House, addressed the issue on the floor this week. He’s warning his colleagues that COVID hospitalizations are skyrocketing in the Midwest.

“We now have twice as many people getting infected with coronavirus in our region (the Midwest) than any other region in this country at any point during the pandemic,” Carpenter says.

During his House floor speech, Carpenter called on the Parson administration to address the pandemic itself and to use some of the $1.2 billion supplemental to address economic hardships, school hardships and food hardships in Missouri.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, which was recorded on November 10, 2020 at the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City:

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 and Galloway focusing on rural Missouri in final days of campaign; both appealing to blue-collar voters (AUDIO)

October 30, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The two main gubernatorial candidates are focusing on rural Missouri again Friday, and during the final days of the campaign.

Governor Mike Parson (R) brings his “Mike works bus tour” to four rural western Missouri towns: his hometown of Bolivar, as well as Clinton, Belton and El Dorado Springs. He’ll finish Friday evening in Springfield.

The governor tells Missourinet he feels confident about where the race is and that he’s on message. Parson also says that if he wins Tuesday, he’ll continue to focus on putting people first.

“I think what we seen what we did by taking the largest income tax cut in our state’s history, by creating 40,000 new jobs by focusing on workforce development and infrastructure,” Parson says, highlighting achievements of his term.

Parson will speak at Friday evening’s “Keep Missouri Red Rally” in Springfield, with former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Sanders will also join the governor Saturday for a rally in eastern Missouri’s St. Peters.

Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, will meet Friday morning with Teamsters Union members in Springfield and with UAW members in Pleasant Valley.

She campaigned Thursday in Columbia, before heading to southwest Missouri’s Marshfield and Springfield. During an interview with Missourinet outside her bus in Columbia, Galloway says rural voters tell her that Jefferson City is disconnected from what matters to them, in their communities.

“Rural hospitals are closing. Jobs are leaving the area,” Galloway says. “They’re concerned about funding for their schools, which are the center of those rural communities.”

The Missouri Hospital Association (MHA) says ten rural hospitals have closed in Missouri, since 2014. Click here to see the full map and years. To be clear, several of those closings happened when Governor Jay Nixon (D) was in office.

But several have also happened during the tenure of Governors Eric Greitens (R) and Parson.

While Parson and Galloway disagree on numerous policy issues, one thing they both have been doing during the campaign’s final stretch is campaign heavily in rural towns across the state.

Galloway says her top priority, if elected governor, will be implementation of Medicaid expansion.

“Making sure that not only folks have access to affordable health insurance, but also have access to health care, meaning we can keep our rural hospitals open and open clinics in parts of our state that desperately need it,” says Galloway.

In August, Missouri voters approved Medicaid expansion for residents between the ages of 19 and 64 with an income level at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty level. While the issue was defeated in 105 of Missouri’s 114 counties, Galloway notes it passed by six points statewide, and that hundreds of thousands of votes from rural residents were key to its passage.

Galloway also says Missouri needs a reset on COVID strategy, so people can get back to work.

During a campaign stop Tuesday at Emery Sapp and Sons in Columbia, Governor Parson emphasized his rural roots, and talked about growing up in southwest Missouri’s Wheatland. He also discussed saying the Pledge of Allegiance in school.

He’s also emphasizing his experience.

“I think what people are seeing right now with everything we’ve been through is experience does matter at a time like this, and I think that’s one of the things I have,” says Parson. “All the way from serving my country in the military, law enforcement, being a business owner.”

Parson says it’s important to take a balanced approach to combating COVID, and that it’s crucial to look at the state as a whole. He says businesses are opening back up, and children are back in school.

Both candidates are appealing to blue-collar voters.

Parson praised their work ethic during his speech at Emery Sapp and Sons, talking about the workers wearing coveralls in the back of the room. He noted he had done work like that. It drew applause from the audience.

As for Galloway, she told her audience on Thursday that Governor Parson’s supporters want to make Missouri a right-to-work state. She’s pledging to veto a right-to-work bill, if she’s elected. That also drew applause from her audience.

Election day is Tuesday across Missouri.

Click here to listen to Governor Mike Parson speak to Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and other reporters at Columbia’s Emery Sapp and Sons on October 27, 2020:

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway, on October 29, 2020 in Columbia:

Expect transition tonight between snow and freezing drizzle in parts of western and mid-Missouri (AUDIO)

October 26, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The National Weather Service (NWS) may extend the winter weather advisory for northwest, western and west-central Missouri, which is currently in effect until 1 a.m. Tuesday.

The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Pleasant Hill has issued a winter weather advisory until 1 a.m. Tuesday (October 26, 2020 maps courtesy of NWS Pleasant Hill Twitter page)

NWS Pleasant Hill meteorologist Scott Blair says elevated areas like bridges will see the most accumulation.

“We’ll continue to monitor that and see if there’s any changes that we might need to extend that for, at least the very worst of it is going to be between now and the early morning hours on Tuesday,” Blair says.

A line between Kansas City, Marshall and Moberly is expected to see one to two inches of snow. About 1.5 inches of snow have already fallen in Pleasant Hill.

Since 2 a.m. Monday, Kansas City Police have responded to about 100 injury crashes involving snow, and to another 46 non-injury crashes. Kansas City Police are urging motorists to slow down.

Mr. Blair says three inches of snow is possible by tonight in western Missouri’s Warrensburg and Belton.

Meantime, freezing drizzle and icy conditions are possible tonight into Tuesday morning in western, west-central and mid-Missouri. Blair says Kansas City, Marshall, Sedalia, Columbia and Jefferson City could be impacted.

“As the snow begins to wrap up towards this evening, we’re going to see a transition between snow and some freezing drizzle, some light glazing possible in those areas you mentioned,” says Blair.

Western Missouri’s Nevada and Clinton could also be impacted.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with National Weather Service (NWS) Pleasant Hill meteorologist Scott Blair, which was recorded on October 26, 2020:

Missouri public utility crews working to restore power in Louisiana, after Hurricane Delta

October 12, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

14 lineworkers representing four rural Missouri hometown public utilities worked throughout the weekend to help restore power in hurricane-damaged Louisiana. CNN reports about 320,000 Louisiana residents are without electricity, because of Hurricane Delta.

Linemen from western Missouri’s Harrisonville stop for a quick picture, before leaving for Louisiana on October 8, 2020 (photo courtesy of city of Harrisonville)

Missouri Public Utility Alliance (MPUA) spokesman Kerry Cordray says the lineworkers are working in difficult conditions.

“But these guys are great at what they do, and they’re very dedicated to doing their work well, wherever they’re doing it,” Cordray says.

The MPUA crews are from four Missouri municipal utilities: Harrisonville, Nixa, Palmyra and Poplar Bluff. They’re working in Alexandria, which is northwest of New Orleans. Cordray tells Missourinet the damage in Alexandria wasn’t as big as it was for Hurricane Laura six weeks ago.

“If there are still outages in nearby public power communities when restoration at Alexandria is complete, the crews may be made available to another location before coming home,” he says.

Harrisonville is located south of Kansas City, while Nixa is south of Springfield. Palmyra is in northeast Missouri, and Poplar Bluff is in southeast Missouri. Cordray says the four towns have “public power” electric utilities and are part of MPUA.

“These public power utilities (MPUA) are as large as Springfield, Columbia, Independence, but include many smaller towns and rural communities, some with only a few hundred residents,” says Cordray.

MPUA has 79 Missouri members that provide electricity. The Missouri crews in Alexandria are equipped with four bucket trucks, another specialty truck and other linework vehicles and machines.

The town of Alexandria, Louisiana issued a call to the MPUA for mutual aid assistance, which is coordinated through MPUA’s mutual aid network. Towns that assist are reimbursed by the municipal utilities receiving assistance.

Cordray also notes last week was public power week.

Missouri congresswoman says Republican National Convention will focus on optimism and heroes (AUDIO)

August 24, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A west-central Missouri GOP congresswoman says this week’s 2020 Republican National Convention in Charlotte will focus on optimism.

U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, spoke at the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri in Columbia on August 21, 2020, along with two USDA officials (photo courtesy of Brownfield’s Julie Harker)

While U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, isn’t a delegate this year, she’s excited about the convention.

“And looking at the great American heroes that we have in our local communities, and how we together collectively have made this the greatest country in the world,” Hartzler says.

She predicts Americans will be inspired by their stories. The convention, which begins Monday, will primarily be virtual.

Congresswoman Hartzler says law-and-order will be a theme at the convention. She is praising President Donald Trump’s leadership.

“Making us safer as a nation and contrasting that to what we’re seeing on the other side of chaos and lawlessness versus law and other. I don’t think we want to go there,” says Hartzler.

The widow of retired St. Louis Police Captain David Dorn will be addressing the nation on Thursday evening. Mr. Dorn was killed during June looting on a night where four other St. Louis police officers were also shot, in the line of duty.

St. Louis Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards told St. Louis reporters the next day that more than 200 people engaged in “persistent criminal activity” overnight. He also announced that the FBI, ATF, the Missouri National Guard, Missouri State Highway Patrol and other agencies had arrived to help patrol St. Louis, after the early June incidents.

Hartzler, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, says this week’s convention will also focus on the military. Her district includes Fort Leonard Wood in southern Missouri’s Pulaski County, and Whiteman Air Force Base in western Missouri’s Knob Noster.

“I think it’s going to look at the amazing achievements that have been done in the last three or four years, to grow the economy, to rebuild our military,” Hartzler says.

Hartzler, who was elected to the House in 2010, is finishing her fifth term on Capitol Hill. Her district also includes Columbia, Moberly, Sedalia and Nevada.

Mark and Patricia McCloskey of St. Louis are scheduled to speak on Monday evening. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner (D) filed a felony unlawful use of a weapon count against each of the McCloskeys, for a June incident outside their Central West End home. They were seen pointing guns at protesters. The McCloskeys have said they feared for their lives that evening.

Like last week’s Democratic convention, Missourinet will have coverage throughout the GOP convention.

Congresswoman Hartzler spoke to Missourinet on Friday, after an event with two top USDA officials at the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri in Columbia.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, which was recorded on August 21, 2020 outside the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri in Columbia:

USDA officials tout food box program, during Friday visit to Missouri food bank

August 21, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Two officials at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) traveled to mid-Missouri’s Columbia on Friday to promote a federal program that is addressing hunger needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A resident makes a donation to the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri in Columbia on August 21, 2020 (photo courtesy of the food bank’s Twitter page)

USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Greg Ibach says the farmers to families food box program is providing fresh fruits and vegetables to hungry Americans, including clients of the food bank in Columbia.

“And it’s been able to get fresh fruits and vegetables, milk and dairy products and meat products to families across America,” Ibach says.

The farmers to families food box program is managed by USDA, which partners with national, regional and local distributors to purchase up to $3 billion in fresh produce, dairy and meat products from American farmers. USDA says the program has delivered more than 67 million food boxes to needy American families, as of today.

Funding is coming from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), and other sources.

Mr. Ibach was joined by USDA Farm Service Agency Administrator Richard Fordyce and by U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, at Friday’s press conference, which took place in the food bank’s parking lot.

Mr. Fordyce, who has a farm in northwest Missouri’s Bethany, served as the state Department of Agriculture (MDA) director from 2013 to 2017, under former Governor Jay Nixon (D). Fordyce emphasizes the importance of the farmers to families food box program.

Under Secretary Ibach also praises the work being done at the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri in Columbia, which serves 32 counties in the two regions.

Columbia, Jefferson City, Hannibal, Marshall, Mexico, Moberly and Sedalia are some of the towns served by the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri.

Congresswoman Hartzler, who serves on the House Agriculture Committee in Washington, also praises the food bank. She tells reporters that the food bank distributed 33-million pounds of food last year.

“Just very proud of the way that they are taking the food that is being provided to them and making sure that it gets to feed hungry families in our area,” says Hartzler.

Hartzler says more than 100,000 Missourians received food assistance last year, from the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri. The food bank’s website notes it works with 140 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and other agencies.

It is the only food bank in Missouri that provides food at no charge to other organizations.

Missouri House committee to hear Tuesday testimony from Vandeven and Williams about COVID-19

August 7, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s health director and the education commissioner will both testify Tuesday in Jefferson City before a bipartisan Missouri House Committee that’s related to the coronavirus.

Missouri Commissioner of Education Dr. Margie Vandeven briefs Capitol reporters in Jefferson City on July 6, 2020 (file photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

The Missouri House Special Committee on Disease Control and Prevention will meet Tuesday morning at 10:30 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City. The committee is chaired by State Rep. Jonathan Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit, a private practice general surgeon. The committee’s ranking Democrat is State Rep. Kip Kendrick, D-Columbia. Kendrick is the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee.

The committee will be examining the decision by school districts in reopening buildings to students, and will get an update on Missouri’s use of federal CARES Act funding.

The state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) says Missouri now has 57,379 confirmed cases, up from 55,321 on Wednesday.

Chairman Patterson tells Missourinet that DHSS Director Dr. Randall Williams will testify on Tuesday morning, about the trajectory Missouri is on. Dr. Patterson is also interested what will happen if/when a COVID-19 vaccine is developed. Patterson wants to know if DHSS has a plan in place.

Another key part of Tuesday’s hearing will involve Missouri Commissioner of Education Dr. Margie Vandeven, who will testify about schools.

Chairman Patterson notes that he has a nine-year-old and a six-year-old in public school. He says the number one issue he’s hearing about from constituents is about school plans.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson says his office has worked closely with the State Departments of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and DHSS to address questions about reopening.

Earlier this week, DESE and DHSS released updated schoool reopening guidance, which addresses frequently asked questions. DESE and DHSS recommend that local school leaders require school staff members to wear face coverings, “as the data indicates COVID-19 transmission is more likely from adult to student, than from student to adult.”

Contact tracing is also addressed in the report from DESE and DHSS.

Governor Parson says the state is working to help school districts with personal protective equipment (PPE), noting that 1.8 million cloth masks have been made available through the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).

The governor says DESE and SEMA are currently working to develop a plan to distribute the masks to Missouri school districts.

Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, announced the committee’s creation earlier this year. Chairman Patterson notes this will be the committee’s second hearing: they met on March 2 and heard testimony from Dr. Williams.

At that time, Dr. Williams testified there had been no confirmed cases in Missouri. About 100 people had been self-monitoring, according to testimony.

Governor Parson says Missouri is one of the states the White House is concerned about, with increasing COVID-19 cases. The governor told Capitol reporters this week that Vice President Mike Pence called him on Sunday, to offer additional assistance and resources to battle the pandemic.

Parson emphasizes violent crime and homicides during Kansas City visit (AUDIO)

July 20, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

(Audio is courtesy of Missourinet Kansas City television partner KMBC)

Saying that violent crime and homicides are escalating across Missouri, Governor Mike Parson traveled to Kansas City and Springfield on Monday afternoon to meet with local leaders and law enforcement officers about next week’s special session.

Law enforcement officers from across Missouri joined Governor Mike Parson at his special session call regarding violent crime on July 15, 2020 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

The special session about violent crime starts Monday in Jefferson City.

“There’s no doubt with the homicide increases across the state, especially St. Louis, Kansas City, even Columbia and Springfield Missouri, across our state. It’s something we don’t want to be happening every day,” Parson tells Kansas City reporters.

The governor was joined in Kansas City by state lawmakers from both parties, who listened to his presentation. Parson was also joined by state Department of Public Safety (DPS) Director Sandy Karsten and by Kansas City Police Chief Richard Smith, who notes there was another homicide while the roundtable meeting was about to begin.

Kansas City has had 105 homicides in 2020, a 35 percent increase from last year. Chief Smith says there is a sense of urgency in Kansas City, and that action must be taken. The chief thanks the governor and state lawmakers for addressing the violent crime issue.

As for Governor Parson, he says witness protection and juvenile certification will be key parts of the upcoming special session. He also says eliminating the residency requirement for St. Louis Police officers is another key part of the call.

“One of the reasons since I’ve been governor that’s been an issue for the last two years since I’ve been there (as governor), they have run consistently about 150 to 200 officers down in their police department,” says Parson.

St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden testified in January that the residency requirement is the greatest challenge that his department has with recruitment and retention.

There have been at least 135 homicides in St. Louis this year.

DPS Director Karsten says witness protection is essential to reducing Missouri’s homicide rates.

“We need our communities’ help in solving the violent crime that we’re seeing. We need people to come forth as witnesses,” Karsten says.

A key part of the governor’s January State of the State Address was $1 million in funding for witness protection. Despite bipartisan support in both chambers, the measure did not pass this year.

Click here to watch the full Kansas City media briefing, courtesy of Missourinet Kansas City television partner KMBC.

State Reps. Ashley Bland Manlove, D-Kansas City, Richard Brown, D-Kansas City, Jerome Barnes, D-Raytown, and Jonathan Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit, were among the lawmakers who listened to the governor’s Kansas City presentation. They also participated in the roundtable discussion.

Representative Bland Manlove tells Missourinet that witness protection is a bipartisan issue. She also says that while she supports Governor Parson on the issue of witness protection, she would much rather see the special session address issues such as mental health, education and health care. She also notes that the Legislative Black Caucus requested a special session last year, about violent crime.

Governor Parson also traveled to Springfield on Monday, where he met with Police Chief Paul Williams, Springfield officers and Greene County Sheriff’s deputies. State lawmakers also joined the governor at the Springfield visit.

Springfield has had 15 homicides this year, and the “News-Leader” reports the city is on pace to break its previous yearly record of 16.

The governor will travel to northeast Missouri’s Hannibal on Tuesday afternoon to meet with leaders there about the special session.