Doniphan Archives - Missourinet

Flood watch issued for much of southeast Missouri; Cape Girardeau and Poplar Bluff in watch area (AUDIO)

October 28, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Most of southeast Missouri will be under a flood watch from 7 o’clock tonight until 10 Thursday morning. National Weather Service (NWS) Paducah meteorologist Sean Poulos tells Missourinet that Cape Girardeau, Sikeston, Poplar Bluff and Dexter are in the watch area.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Paducah has issued a flood watch for southeast Missouri from 7 p.m. on Wednesday until 10 a.m. on Thursday (October 28, 2020 map courtesy of NWS Paducah Twitter page)

“We’re anticipating rain moving up into those areas here later this afternoon and continuing pretty heavy this evening into the overnight hours, and then gradually trying to lessen in intensity as we get through the day tomorrow,” Poulos says.

New Madrid and Doniphan are also included in the flood watch area.

The NWS warns southeast Missouri could see three to four inches of additional rain, with the ground already saturated. Flooding is likely in low-lying and poor drainage areas.

“We’re concerned with flooding, especially in areas that get over three inches,” says Poulos. “In southeast Missouri we have a lot of low-lying, hilly terrain out there.”

The NWS is urging motorists who are traveling in southeast Missouri tonight and overnight to be careful, noting flooded roadways are hard to see in the dark.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with National Weather Service (NWS) Paducah meteorologist Sean Poulos, which was recorded on October 28, 2020:

Rural hospital closings getting attention from both candidates in southern Missouri congressional race (AUDIO)

October 28, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Health care has emerged as a major issue in southern Missouri’s Eighth Congressional district race between U.S. Rep. Jason Smith (R-Salem) and his Democratic challenger Kathy Ellis.

The sprawling district includes 30 southern Missouri counties and about 20,000 square miles. It stretches from Jefferson County, south of St. Louis, all the way to the Bootheel. It also includes southern Missouri towns like West Plains, Ava, and St. James. The district hasn’t sent a Democrat to Washington since Congressman Bill Burlison, who served from 1969 to 1981.

The Eighth Congressional district has seen five hospital closings since 2016:

** Parkland Health Center in Farmington (2016)
** Southeast Health Center of Reynolds County in Ellington (2016)
** Southeast Health Center of Ripley County in Doniphan (2018)
** Twin Rivers Regional Medical Center in Kennett (2018)
** Black River Medical Center in Poplar Bluff (2019)

Ellis, a social worker who lives in Festus, supports Medicaid expansion and says federally qualified health centers must be expanded in southeast Missouri.

“So that they’re delivering primary care, behavioral health, dental, OBGYN, everything that the area needs,” Ellis says.

As for Congressman Smith, he says Medicaid expansion is a state issue. He has described the hospital closings as “unacceptable” several times, during interviews with Missourinet. He notes that people die when hospitals close, noting that rural hospital closures are associated with an increase in an area’s mortality rate.

But Smith says attention hasn’t been given to the hospitals he’s worked to save, like the Iron County Medical Center in Pilot Knob. Smith tells Missourinet the facility was days away from closing, and that he and U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R) worked with the hospital administrator to keep it open.

Smith also says that when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, he immediately got hospital administrators, local health clinics and doctors on the phone, and brought their needs to the president. He notes he successfully urged the Trump Administration this year to reverse its earlier rule requiring telehealth to have audio and video, saying that’s been huge for the district, which has major issues with lack of rural broadband and cell service.

“And so working with the president (Donald Trump), I was able to get him to do an executive order to rescind it, that they could do telehealth by just audio. It didn’t have to be audio and visual,” Smith says.

Congressman Smith also filed legislation in July called the “Saving Rural Hospitals from Closure Act,” which would keep rural hospitals open by allowing the HHS Secretary to give hospitals flexibility to remain financially viable.

The two candidates agree that access to quality health care is critical in southeast Missouri, and that the district needs every hospital and rural clinic in it.

They also agree on the need for improved rural broadband in the district.

As for Ms. Ellis, she reiterates that health care is the top priority for residents in the district. She notes it’s impoverished and that some southeast Missourians must drive two hours for health care.

“We have huge infant/mother mortality rates in the Bootheel and we have fully one-third of the 16 counties surrounding the Bootheel where children don’t have enough to eat on the weekends,” says Ellis.

She says her priorities are the priorities of district residents, and that it’s time to have a representative who listens to the people.

During her interview with Missourinet, she notes that many southeast Missouri Republicans have run unopposed for state legislative seats during recent years.

She says there’s not been a lot of energy from the Missouri Democratic Party, for southeast Missouri and other rural areas. She says that’s happened around the nation as well.

But Ellis emphasizes that elections are won and lost in rural areas, and that Democrats must focus on rural America. She says winning can take multiple election cycles, and says young voters in her district are energized.

Ellis put 75,000 miles on her car in 2018, when she faced Smith. Smith won with about 73 percent of the vote, getting 194,042 votes to Ellis’ 66,151 votes.

Congressman Smith describes the district as “God’s Country.” It includes the Mississippi Delta and the Ozark Hills. He says his priority is to represent his constituents.

“That is to make sure our rural Missouri values has a strong voice and is represented in Washington D.C. Those values include limited government, freedom, lower taxes,” says Smith.

Smith says the tax cut signed by President Trump should be made permanent, along with doubling the child tax credit.

He also says the 2020 election is not just about the next two or four years, it’s about the next 50 years.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem, which was recorded on October 26, 2020:

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with Democrat Kathy Ellis of Festus, which was recorded on October 26, 2020:

Southern Missouri congressman emphasizes importance of rural hospitals and telehealth (AUDIO)

May 12, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A congressman who represents 30 counties across southern Missouri thanks the Trump Administration for reversing decisions involving rural hospitals and telehealth.

U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem, speaks to a community member at Mercy Hospital Jefferson in Festus in 2016 (file photo courtesy of Congressman Smith’s office)

U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem, describes the two reversals as major wins for rural Missouri and rural America.

The first decision involves rural hospitals and the CARES Act’s paycheck protection program (PPP). Smith says rural hospitals were not originally eligible for the program.

Now they are.

“When you’re looking at rural community hospitals such as those in Potosi, Ironton, Houston, Salem, Ste. Gen (Ste. Genevieve), they will be impacted now that they can participate in this program,” Smith says.

The Small Business Administration’s PPP is a forgivable loan that’s aimed at keeping employees on the payroll, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Smith says health care professionals and business leaders in his district say that’s critical.

Congressman Smith’s district has seen five hospital closings since 2016. Impacted towns have included Poplar Bluff, Farmington and Doniphan.

Smith is also praising federal health officials, for expanding telehealth to allow care to be administered over the phone. He says the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has reversed its earlier rule requiring telehealth to have audio and video.

“In southeast Missouri, a lot of folks don’t have internet, don’t have broadband … and they’re being told to stay at home and not come to hospitals but they still need to talk to their doctors,” says Smith.

Smith learned about the issue during COVID-19 conference calls with health care providers and business leaders in his district, and says he passed the concerns along to the Trump Administration.

He says the administration is willing to listen, adding that it “is making a big difference for southern Missourians.”

Smith’s massive district covers 20,000 square miles, from Jefferson County all the way to the Bootheel. It also includes part of the I-44 corridor, and extends into southwest Missouri.

The district includes Cape Girardeau, Sikeston, Kennett, West Plains and Ava.

Smith, who serves as the GOP Conference Secretary on Capitol Hill, tells Missourinet that his constituents want to re-open the country.

While he emphasizes that safety is the top priority, he says his constituents want the district to be the leader for the nation, in re-opening the country for business.

“We’re in such a rural area, over 20,000 square miles that covers the 8th congressional district in Missouri, we know how to social distance ourselves,” Smith says.

Congressman Smith voted for the bipartisan COVID-19 legislation in Washington in late April. It contains $75 billion for personal protective equipment for health care employees, and another $25 billion to expand testing.

Smith also praises President Donald Trump for quickly approving Governor Mike Parson’s request for a major disaster declaration. Smith says the administration has assisted more than 46,000 small businesses in Missouri during the pandemic, “to the tune of $7.5 billion.”

Click here to listen to the full seven-minute interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem, which was recorded on May 5, 2020:

GOP congressman describes rural Missouri hospital closings as unacceptable (AUDIO)

March 4, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A congressman who represents 30 counties in southern Missouri has seen five hospital closings in his sprawling district since 2016.

U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem, speaks to a community member at Mercy Hospital Jefferson in Festus (2016 file photo courtesy of Congressman Smith’s office)

U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem, describes the rural hospital closures as unacceptable.

“Just because you live in a zip code that’s in a rural area doesn’t mean that you should have a different class of care, or different opportunities as other people throughout the state,” Smith says.

Smith says people die when hospitals close, noting that rural hospital closures are associated with an increase in an area’s mortality rate.

The state Hospital Association (MHA) says ten rural Missouri hospitals have closed since 2014. Five of those happened in Congressman Smith’s district:

Smith, the GOP Conference Secretary on Capitol Hill, serves on the House Budget Committee. He tells Missourinet that rural hospitals must be reimbursed appropriately.

“Where it’s at the same level as you see in the cities,” says Smith. “The fact that they’re (rural hospitals) not reimbursed at the same levels as the hospitals in St. Louis forces closures, and that’s unacceptable.”

Smith’s district covers 20,000 square miles, from just south of St. Louis to ten miles east of Branson. The district includes Cape Girardeau, Sikeston, Dexter, West Plains, Rolla, St. James and Ava.

Congressman Smith is calling for an increase in the number of healthcare professionals that can serve rural Missouri patients.

“Whenever one hospital closes in a community, that has drastic implications and it can cost lives,” Smith says.

Nine of the ten poorest counties in the state are in southeast Missouri, which has seen the largest number of closings.

The Missouri Hospital Association supports Medicaid expansion, which Smith opposes.

Smith spoke to Missourinet, after he traveled recently to Jefferson City to file for his fourth full term. Smith was elected to Congress in 2013, during a special election.

Smith was re-elected in 2018, capturing 73 percent of the vote against Democrat Kathy Ellis. Ms. Ellis, a Festus Democrat, has filed to challenge Smith again this November.

Click here to listen to the full four-minute interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem, which was recorded on February 25, 2020 in Jefferson City:

Attorney General’s Office: Solution for grant loss to domestic violence shelters could come next week

March 7, 2014 By Mike Lear

See the updated story from Friday afternoon

The Attorney General’s Office says it expects the Missouri Housing Development Commission staff to have a proposed solution next week for the domestic violence shelters it turned down for a grant last month.

A shelter for homeless veterans in Columbia revealed on Thursday it had also been denied for that grant.

At least 15 domestic violence shelters were told their applications for the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) had been rejected but were not told why. Missourinet has been told that the Commission has not voted on the final decisions on how the grants will be awarded this cycle.

The members of the commission include Governor Jay Nixon, Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder, State Treasurer Clint Zweifel and Attorney General Chris Koster. When Missourinet reached out to their offices about the situation, Koster Press Secretary Nanci Gonder issued this statement:

“Funding is critical for our state’s domestic violence shelters. After learning of the cuts in emergency shelter grants, we discussed the issue with MHDC staff and expect they will present a proposal at next week’s meeting.”

The Commission will meet at the Stoney Creek Inn in Columbia Friday, March 14 at 9:00.

After learning about those domestic violence shelters, a shelter for homeless veterans in Columbia reached out to Missourinet to say it had also lost the ESG.

Executive Director of Welcome Home, Inc, Aneisa Sherrill-Mattox, says Welcome Home Inc. has been approved for about $18,000 each of the 8 years she has worked there. Last year the shelter was approved for $50,000.

Like the domestic violence shelters, she has not been told why Welcome Home’s ESG application was turned down and instead was told the shelter is on a list to receive its evaluations.

Sherrill-Mattox says the shelter has already cut two caseworker positions and is cutting programs. She says much of what Welcome Home used that grant for was to provide emergency motel stays for homeless female veterans and veterans with small children.

“Female veterans are one of the fastest-growing parts of the homeless population and there are virtually no services available to them,” says Sherrill-Mattox. “Our shelter, by virtue of how small we are, we couldn’t provide safe housing for them in the shelter so we had relied on the ESG for them to be placed into a motel until a more permanent housing solution could be identified.”

The Nixon Administration has also told Representative Chris Kelly (D-Columbia) and other legislators it is looking for a funding source for those shelters, perhaps using money from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

The Office of Administration told Missourinet Wednesday the Administration’s office of Budget & Planning and the Department of Social Services are looking at multiple possible solutions, but have not nailed down any mechanics.

Earlier stories:

Domestic Violence Shelters still waiting for replacement of lost grant

Nixon Administration moves swiftly to back domestic violence shelters after loss of grant

Domestic Violence Shelters still waiting for replacement of lost grant

March 5, 2014 By Mike Lear

Workers at 15 domestic violence shelters are anxiously awaiting word on whether funding will be available for those shelters after learning that they had been turned down for a grant.

The Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) is in its second year of being administered by the Missouri Housing Development Commission. The Commission’s staff rejected the applications of those 15 shelters, most of them in rural parts of the state, and has not yet released explanations of the rejections. The Commission has not yet voted on the awarding of those grants.

The shelters whose applications had been rejected are in Cape Girardeau, Clinton, Harrisonville, Lebanon, Moberly, Bolivar, Doniphan, Sedalia, Sikeston, Lexington, Nevada, Parkville, Portageville and one each in St. Louis and Kansas City. A shelter in Springfield had an application for shelter funds rejected, but was approved for other ESG grant money.

When the administration of Governor Jay Nixon (D) was informed of the situation by state lawmakers whose districts included those shelters, it began looking for ways to make sure they would be funded. The Office of Administration says several options are being considered but a mechanism hasn’t been decided on.

That’s encouraging news to Kelly Pedigo, Co-Director at Safe Passage in Moberly, but it’s still a long way from a solution.

“This is far from over,” she tells Missourinet.

The ESG reimburses recipients for expenses already paid. The grant coverage cycle begins April 1. Pedigo says her shelter can’t go very long paying bills without confidence that money is coming for that reimbursement.

“Locating replacement funding is a have-to thing. There’s nowhere else in (our) budget to cut,” says Pedigo.

Safe Passage applied for more than $28,000 dollars, but like most shelters, didn’t anticipate receiving the full amount. Getting cut completely was a shock.

“When your entire annual budget is around $250,000 and you just took out $20,000 of your essential expenses, that hits pretty hard,” says Pedigo.

She says the loss of that funding at Safe Passage would cause employees to be laid off, but it could also result in the loss of matching federal funds.

“Once you start having to lay people off because you can’t afford the general revenue portion of their salary,” Pedigo says, “then you have to start turning down government funding as well, so it’s a really slippery slope.”

See our earlier story on these shelters’ loss of the ESG

Ann Gosnell with House of Hope, Inc. in Lexington says local fundraising efforts are an option, but can only go so far in rural areas.

“It becomes burdensome on our community, which is very supportive of House of Hope,” says Gosnell. “We have a lot of supporters, but … going to the same people over and over again to ask them for money to help run our program can sometimes put a barrier up between us and our community, and we absolutely don’t want that.”

She says it also puts the shelters at a disadvantage to not yet know why they lost the grant.

“It’s frustrating, then, to go into our community and say, ‘We need your help, but I can’t tell you why our funding was cut. I can’t tell you why other shelters are funded at 100-percent and we’re funded at zero.'”

Both Gosnell and Pedigo hope members of their communities will work to raise attention about the issue.

“Please go to your legislators and ask them what their plan is,” says Gosnell. “Ask what’s going on and ask what the solution is.”